Abstract: The use of a deposition process involving a plasma struck in a gas including tetraethoxysilane and a source of oxygen yields, at low temperatures, conformal coatings of silicon dioxide. This process has significant implications for semiconductor device fabrication involving the deposition of a dielectric over a metallic non-planar structure.

Abstract: Apparatus for displaying information about a very large number of entities. The apparatus includes very small entity representations which represent the entities. The entity representations are contained in columns which represent contexts for the entities. In one embodiment of the apparatus, the entities are lines of text and the contexts are files containing the lines. Also included is a selector with a set of colored fields corresponding to values of attributes of the entities. When either an entity representation or a selector field is activated by means of a pointing device, the selector field and all of the entity representations for entities having the attribute value corresponding to the selector field are turned on and appear in the same color. The pointing device may also be used to specify an entity representation for detailed viewing. In response to this operation, a code viewer opens which displays detailed information about the entity corresponding to the specified entity representation.

Abstract: An optical waveguide sensor arrangement for sensing at least one physical parameter is provided. This arrangement comprises an optical waveguide having guided modes, lossy non-guided modes, and a long period grating coupling the guided modes to the lossy non-guided modes wherein the long period grating produces a wavelength transmission spectrum functionally dependent on the physical parameter sensed. A source means provides light to the optical waveguide sensor and an optoelectronic detector, which is positioned in an operable relationship to the optical waveguide sensor, detects light transmitted through the optical waveguide sensor. Lastly, a processing means is attached to the optoelectronic detector for correlating the wavelength transmission spectrum with a numerical value for the physical parameter sensed. The physical parameters sensed by the optical waveguide sensor include: temperature, strain, shape, refractive index and corrosion.

Abstract: An amplifier comprises an input transistor for receiving an input signal and a current source having a first and a second terminal, coupled to the input transistor at said first terminal and being adapted to be coupled to a direct current (DC) power supply at said second terminal. An active load is coupled to said input transistor, said active load being adapted to be biased by a biasing signal such that a noise signal at said second terminal is substantially attenuated at said first terminal.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods which employ a machine learning system to "learn" the specification for a program from a trace of an execution of the program on a set of test problems. The program is instrumented to produce the trace. Performance is improved by means of a declarative bias which expresses knowledge of the user about the program and constrains the learning system to produce only specifications which are consistent with the declarative bias. The apparatus and methods of the preferred embodiment are employed to learn specifications of views in a data base for a telephone switching system from traces produced by executing the programs which produce the views. Techniques for producing more than one specification and for dealing with views which involve conversions are also disclosed.

Abstract: An integral transformer/rectifier component includes a lead frame having terminals for connecting to conductors of a circuit substrate. A transformer primary and secondary winding is mounted on the lead frame and a rectifying diode is mounted on the same frame and is directly connected to a winding terminal end of the secondary winding, The transformer windings and diode are encapsulated in a thermoset plastic. A terminal end of the diode is extended beyond the encapsulation and used as an output terminal of the integral transformer/rectifier component.

Abstract: An out-of-band controller for a large packet switch which is distributed throughout partitions or pipes of the packet switch. Thus, the out-of-band controller is divided into multiple pipe controllers. These pipe controllers are connected and operated in a ring such that each pipe controller is with a respective fraction of the input path requests for packets. The requests are processed concurrently and any request that is not fulfilled in one pipe controller is offered to up to three subsequent pipe controllers to hunt a path for the awaiting packets. The controller, by using up to four levels of parallelism, can hunt paths and set up connections for 256 or more input ATM packet lines, thus providing a throughput of 1 terabit per second or more. By distributing the controller both tremendous aggregate switching speeds may be attained without resort to exotic semiconductor technologies.

Abstract: An access director provides a gateway for customer premise based equipment (both wired and wireless) and a wireless port facility to a narrowband/broadband information distribution network. It provides a portable narrowband duplex synchronous and isochronous telephony service and concurrent broad fixed location dodwn link from network to customer isochronous service. The down link broadband service may be combined with narrowband up link service to provide non-symmetric duplex operation or services such as interactive video.

Abstract: A Si IC includes an Al-based layer which is deposited as a composite of sublayers of different composition Al-based materials. In one embodiment a first sublayer comprises an Al-Si-based alloy disposed so as to prevent substantial Si migration into the first sublayer, and a second sublayer, above the first, comprises an Al-based alloy with substantially no Si to alleviate precipitation-induced problems.

Abstract: The invention provides a self-powered device having at least one substrate, at least one radioactive power source formed over the substrate, and integrated circuits formed over the substrate. The radioactive power source includes a first active layer of a first conductivity type, a second active layer of a second conductivity type. The first and second active layers form a depletion layer. A tritium containing layer is provided which supplies beta particles that penetrates the depletion layer generating electron-hole pairs. The electron-hole pairs are swept by the electric field in the depletion layer producing an electric current.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for drawing a self-aligned core fiber free of surface contamination and inserting the core fiber into a cladding material to make an optical fiber preform. Single or multi-mode optical fibers having high quality core-clad interfaces can be directly drawn from the preforms described herein.

Abstract: A system for employing a computer to control a device to provide a plurality of services for a plurality of entities. Each entity corresponds to exactly one of the services and each service has its own copy of the code which defines the service. The system associates a process which executes the service with each service. The code for a service defines a finite state machine which is continually executed by the service's process. While in a given state, the finite state machine may traverse a decision graph which is directly accessible to the process. Actions to be taken on traversal of a node of the decision graph may be defined in the finite state machine. The service's process communicates with other processes and with itself by means of interprocess messages. Each state of the finite state machine contains event handlers for responding to messages received by the service's process.

Abstract: An optical switch array in an M.times.N configuration has a set of M input digital optical Y-branches; a set of N output digital optical Y-branch; and at least one S-bend interconnect waveguide connecting at least one input digital optical Y-branch to at least one output digital optical Y-branch, with the S-bend interconnect waveguide being adiabatically tapered for providing adiabatic modal evolution between the at least one input and output digital optical Y-branches. Each of the set of N output digital optical Y-branches has an associated branch separation point; and an output port of the at least one tapered S-bend interconnect waveguide is connected substantially adjacent to a respective branch separation point of a respective one of the set of N output digital optical Y-branch.

Abstract: A soft margin classifier and method are disclosed for processing input data of a training set into classes separated by soft margins adjacent optimal hyperplanes. Slack variables are provided, allowing erroneous or difficult data in the training set to be taken into account in determining the optimal hyperplane. Inseparable data in the training set are separated without removal of data obstructing separation by determining the optimal hyperplane having minimal number of erroneous classifications of the obstructing data. The parameters of the optimal hyperplane generated from the training set determine decision functions or separators for classifying empirical data.

Abstract: An apparatus and method enables a user to control the selection of electronic multimedia services to be provided to the user by one or more servers over a communication medium. The apparatus includes a scanner for reading marks on an object and for communicating a request signal, having an object code representing the read marks, to a user interface. The interface receives the request signal and transmits to the servers a request command including an interface identification code and the object code which is used to select the desired electronic multimedia service. The servers identify the selected electronic multimedia service using the object code. The interface then enables the selected electronic multimedia service transmitted from the servers to be received by the user's receiver.

Abstract: The present invention provides an RF transmitter network for cellular telephone systems. The network includes power amplifier circuitry which coupled to a closed loop control system to provide a controllable RF amplitude envelope for the output power of the amplifier circuitry over a dynamic range of between about 5 milliwatts and about 3200 milliwatts.