Abstract: Fiber optic connectors typically have a light reflection occurring at the fiber to air interface. This reflection may be minimized by a connector having a supporting means with an opening therethrough, a pellicle and having first and second major surfaces wherein the first major surface is attached to the supporting means and extends over the opening and a low refection coating on the second major surface. The connector may be assembled by supporting the fiber and positioning the pellicle such that the end face of the fiber is adjacent the first major surface. The connector may also be assembled by forming the supporting means, forming the pellicle and attaching the pellicle to the supporting means such that the pellicle extends over the opening.

Abstract: A vacuum pad has a plurality of orifices on one surface. Structure is provided for creating, at selected ones of said orifices, a reduced pressure relative to atmospheric pressure and for creating at the other orifices an elevated pressure relative to the atmospheric pressure.

Abstract: A pix-in-pix television signal processing system develops a composite video pix-in-pix signal representing a reduced-size auxiliary image insert in a full-sized main image. The auxiliary video signal is separated into luminance and chrominance components by filtering circuitry. The luminance signal is subsampled in a ratio of one to four and the chrominance signal, which is composed of two color difference signals modulating quadrature phase related subcarrier signals, is applied to circuitry which interpolates between selected pairs of samples to develop a frequency converted chrominance signal, representing the two quadrature phase related color difference signals modulating quadrature phase related subcarrier signals having frequencies that are one-quarter the frequency of the original subcarrier signal. The frequency converted chrominance signal and subsampled luminance signal are combined to generate a composite video signal representing the reduced-size auxiliary image.

Abstract: An RF switch employing a PIN diode as the switching element includes a first bias circuit providing forward dc current through the diode to enable RF transmission therethrough, and a second bias circuit providing reverse dc voltage across the diode to disable RF transmission through the switch. Status circuitry monitors the switch for failure modes of the diode, and control circuitry selectively enables the bias circuits. A short circuit failure of the PIN diode is indicated by the flow of reverse current in the second bias circuit in excess of the diode leakage current. Under this condition, the reverse current is latched by a thyristor in the second bias circuit and the status circuitry generates an alarm signal to the control circuitry inhibiting further selection of the first bias circuit. Optical couplers provide electrical isolation of the first and second bias circuit from the control and status circuitry.

Abstract: A low resistance silicon conductor for tunnelling under an intervening metal conductor on a semiconductor device is provided. The low resistance conductor includes two layers of highly doped single crystalline or polycrystalline silicon which are stacked so that one is directly over the other. A pair of metal conductors are arranged, one on each side of the intervening metal conductor. Each of the pair of metal conductors is formed in ohmic contact with a portion of each of the two layers of silicon near one of their adjacent edges, thereby forming a two layer conductive tunnel under the intervening metal conductor.

Abstract: An optical system is described for use in processing information on a surface of an erasable record disc. The system decreases erasure time by forming an elongated spot from the generally circular cross section of a collimated laser beam so as to provide increased illumination time to an area recorded on the disc. The system includes a source of collimated light having a generally circular cross section, a cylindrical lens for focusing one aspect of the collimated light at a finite distance f, and a beam expander having the principal plane of its input lens at the distance f from the cylindrical lens, where the light forms a beam waist. An objective lens focuses the expanded elongated beam to a diffraction spot on the surface of the record disc. A linear actuator, such as a voice coil, responds to a control signal to position the cylindrical lens in the path of the collimated light beam for the erasing process, or out of the light path for the recording process.

Abstract: A control circuit for controlling ink supplied to the inking surface of an intaglio printing device includes a sensor for sensing voids in the ink on the inking surface. The control circuit provides a predetermined volume of ink to a reservoir when such a void is detected. A timer inhibits the control circuit for a predetermined time after each ink transfer to avoid overfilling the reservoir.

Abstract: A transmit/receive space diversity system communicates between transmitter-receivers at two separate sites. Each site has at least two antennas. Each antenna at a first one of the sites transmits a pilot signal, at differing frequencies. At the second or other site, all the pilot signals are received by each antenna, and the pilot signals are evaluated to determine which pilot-signal-receiving antenna is part of the lowest loss path between the sites. A data source at the second site is routed to the identified antenna for transmission of data signals back to the first site. At the first site, the data signals are received by all the antennas, and the best of the received data signals is routed to utilization apparatus. A data signal from the first site is transmitted to the second site, at which it is received by the selected antenna.

Abstract: A rinse tank for rinsing residue from fine apertures in a moving strip of material includes a chamber having an elongated slot. The slot has a length sufficient to span the aperture pattern. Fluid is injected into the chamber and exits through the slot as a fluid curtain substantially normal to one side of the strip. Fluid is also passed over the other side of the strip substantially parallel to the fluid curtain. The combined fluid actions cause the fluid to flow into the small apertures to remove any residue from the apertures.

Abstract: A test mask is provided for determining that an automatic IC photomask testing machine is scanning within a desired die area. The test mask includes a plurality of care areas which correspond to the die areas of a mask to be tested. The peripheral region surrounding each care area includes portions which may be opaque and portions which may be transparent. These opaque and transparent portions are arranged so that when two care areas are being scanned and the scan improperly leaves the care area and enters the peripheral region, the portion of the peripheral region of the one care area being scanned is opaque while the portion of the peripheral region of the other care area is transparent. This will be interpreted by the mask testing machine as an error and will therefor be indicative that the machine will scan outside of the desired die areas when testing an IC photomask.

Abstract: A device for sensing and straightening the pins of a kinescope is configured congruently to the outside of the base of the kinescope. A slidable pin is included in the device to engage the high voltage pin of the kinescope. The pin closes a switch which turns on a light to indicate that the high voltage pin is properly located in the silo of the base.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are disclosed for replenishing the depleted component of a multicomponent etching solution. A portion of the etching solution is analyzed with a UV detector to determine the concentration of the depleted component. An output signal is produced by the UV detector which is a function of the depleted component's concentration. In response to this output signal, a microprocessor is used to control the amount of make-up solution, enriched with the depleted component of the multicomponent etching solution, which is added to the etching solution. With the use of this system, a substantially uniform etch bath composition is maintained.

Abstract: The inking bars of an intaglio inking device are mounted in a cartridge which is easily inserted into and removed from the inking device. Adjacent inking bars have different aperture patterns to form an ink path transversely across the inking bars to remove ink from between adjacent bars. A moveable shuttle carries stop bars which can be used to selectively detent the inking bars.

Abstract: An angle .alpha. from 0.degree. to 45.degree. is determined from an equation .alpha..degree.=LK.iota.(tan .alpha.).sup..iota., where .iota. is an index varying from 0 to n. The value of tan .alpha. is arrived at by dividing the smaller of the I,Q magnitude values by the larger of the two magnitude values. The angle .alpha. from 0.degree. to 45.degree. is transposed to the corresponding phase angle .theta. of the vector sum C of the orthogonal I,Q signals over the full range of values from 0.degree. to 360.degree..

Abstract: The amount of hardware required to implement a Burt Pyramid or an FSD (filter-subtract-decimate) pyramid analyzer (or synthesizer) stage of a sampled temporal signal representing an n-dimensional information component or (such as a video signal) is substantially reduced by employing a time-synchronized multiplexed analyzer stage to derive (or a time-synchronized multiplexed synthesizer stage that is responsive to) a single serial stream of samples of a predetermined plural number of sub-spectra that are arranged in a predetermined temporal order format with respect to one another in accordance with each of a given set of time synchronized, repetitively generated, serially applied control signals.

Abstract: A deflection circuit generates a deflection current at a scan frequency selected from any one of at least two ranges of frequencies. When the scan frequency is selected from the first range, only a first S-capacitor provides S-correction. When the scan frequency is selected from a lower second range, a series connected FET switch couples a second S-capacitor across the first S-capacitor. A DC average voltage is developed at a junction between the first and second S-capacitors. A resistor coupled to the second S-capacitor causes the second S-capacitor to be charged to the average DC voltage to prevent the average DC voltage from developing across the main current conducting electrodes of the FET switch when the FET switch is nonconductive. The FET switch is controlled by an output voltage of a comparator. The comparator is responsive to a signal that is indicative of the frequency range from which the scan frequency is selected.

Abstract: A synchronizing circuit for a video display apparatus provides inputs for a composite sync signal or separate horizontal and vertical sync signals. The composite sync signal and the separate horizontal sync signal are applied to a sync separator that provides horizontal and vertical sync pulses in response to a composite sync input or horizontal sync pulses in response to a separate horizontal sync input. The separate vertical sync input is caused to bypass the sync separator. The bypass circuitry provides that the separate vertical sync input will take precedence over the separated vertical sync pulses of a composite sync signal in the event both signals are present.

Abstract: A wide screen video signal is encoded for transmission as a composite signal having standard line and field rates and the standard frequency color burst. The signal includes chrominance components modulated on a color subcarrier frequency greater than the standard in proportion to the aspect ratio of the wide screen signal divided by the aspect ratio of the standard. A decoder converts the wide screen signal to a given broadcast standard without component separation or chroma demodulation by time expanding center samples of each active line of the wide screen signal.

Abstract: An optically-coupled device package including a housing containing an optical device further includes an optical fiber assembly which comprises an optical cable with a support sleeve on its end. The support sleeve comprises a body with an axial opening therethrough and has a plurality of holes near a first end. The optical cable includes a first portion comprising a protective coating overlying an optical fiber, and a second portion comprising an optical fiber extending from said coating. The cable enters the first end of the sleeve and nodules integral with the protective coating extend into the plurality of holes. In one embodiment, the optical fiber is sealed to the inside of the sleeve through a solder window provided through the side of the sleeve. The second end of the sleeve extends through an aperture in said housing and is aligned to the device therein.

Abstract: A fiber-optic communication system for data bursts includes a plurality of nodes, each including a laser diode transmitter. In order to reduce the noise floor of the system, each laser diode receives bias current only when it is transmitting data. Due to the propagation delay between nodes, there is a dead time between data bursts received by each node during which no data signals are received. The bias current of the laser diode is adjusted following each data transmission, so that the light attributable to laser operation during the setting of bias is received during the dead time. The adjustment is accomplished by stepping an up-down counter by one clock pulse following transmission of each data burst.