Abstract: A half-bridge converter is controlled by a circuit including a differential circuit receiving a reference signal and a feedback signal which is a function of an output signal from the converter. The half-bridge converter includes high-side and low-side electronic switches. A comparator generates a PWM-modulated signal for controlling the converter as a function of the duty cycle of the PWM-modulated signal in response to a signal at an intermediate node between the high-side and low-side electronic switches and an output of the differential circuit. A gain circuit block coupled between the intermediate node and the input of the comparator applies a ramp signal to the input of the comparator which is a function of the signal at the intermediate node. A variable gain is applied by the gain circuit block in order to keep a constant value for the duty cycle of said PWM-modulated signal irrespective of converter operation.

Abstract: In at least one embodiment, an interface electronic circuit for a capacitive acoustic transducer having a sensing capacitor is provided. The interface electronic circuit includes an amplifier, a voltage regulator, a common-mode control circuit, and a reference generator. The amplifier has an input coupled to an electrode of the sensing capacitor. The voltage regulator is configured to receive a regulator reference voltage, generate a regulated voltage based on the regulator reference voltage, and supply the regulated voltage to a supply input of the amplifier. The common-mode control circuit controls a common-mode voltage present on the input of the amplifier based on a common-mode reference voltage. The reference generator receives a supply voltage and generates the regulator reference voltage and the common-mode reference voltage with respective values that are variable as a function of the supply voltage.

Abstract: A receiver circuit includes a rectifier operable in full-, half-synchronous and asynchronous modes. A measurement circuit, with method, provides for real-time power measurement within the rectifier. The measurements are made based on the average output current from the rectifier delivered to the load and measurements sampled over time of the instantaneous voltage at each input/output node of the rectifier. Equivalent resistance in the rectifier is determined from the measurements and power dissipation calculated from the determined equivalent resistance and the average output current. The instantaneous voltages are synchronously captured through high-voltage AC coupling in order to detect the voltage drop across each element of the rectifier. The sensed voltages are amplified in the low voltage domain and converted by a high-speed analog-to-digital converter in order to produce data useful in computing equivalent resistance values.

Abstract: An integrated circuit is protected against at attack. An electrically conductive body at floating potential is situated in the integrated circuit. The electrically conductive body has an initial amount of electric charge prior to the attack and functions to collect electric charge as a result of the attack. A detection circuit operates to detect an amount of electric charge collected on the electrically conductive body and determine whether the collected amount is different from the initial amount. If the detected amount of charge is different from the initial amount, a control circuit trigger the taking of a protective action.

Abstract: A wireless power receiving circuit includes a transistor based rectifier receiving an AC input voltage, and control logic receiving an overvoltage signal. The control logic generates control signals for controlling turn on of transistors within the transistor based rectifier based upon the overvoltage signal so as to cause the transistor based rectifier to produce a rectified output voltage from the AC input voltage. A comparator compares the rectified output voltage to a reference voltage and asserts the overvoltage signal if the rectified output voltage is greater than the reference voltage. In response to assertion of the overvoltage signal, the control logic asserts the control signals to simultaneously turn on all transistors of the transistor based rectifier.

Abstract: An embedded system includes a peripheral and system-on-a-chip executing virtual machines and a hypervisor. The peripheral includes a crossbar circuit receiving digital sensor signals and selectively outputting the digital sensor signals to different outputs, queue circuits each receiving a different one of the digital sensor signals from the crossbar circuit, and queue protection circuits associated with the queue circuits and selectively permitting access to one of the queue circuits by the virtual machines. The hypervisor controls the queue protection circuits to set which of the virtual machines may access which queue circuits. A sensor protection circuit selectively permits reading of the digital sensor signals from the crossbar circuit by the queue circuits. The hypervisor controls the sensor protection circuit to set which of the queue circuits may access each of the digital sensor signals from the crossbar circuit.

Abstract: A light sensor includes a semiconductor substrate supporting a number of pixels. Each pixel includes a photoconversion zone extending in the substrate between a front face and a back face of the substrate. An optical diffraction grating is arranged over the back face of the substrate at a position facing the photoconversion zone of the pixel. For at least two different pixels of the light sensor, the optical diffraction gratings have different pitches. Additionally, the optical grating of each pixel is surrounded by an opaque wall configured to absorb at operating wavelengths of the sensor.

Abstract: A system comprising includes a wireless power receiver generating a rectified voltage. A low dropout regulator (LDO) generates a first regulated output voltage from the rectified voltage, during a first phase. A first switch couples the first regulated output voltage to a voltage output node during the first phase. During a second phase, the LDO generates a second regulated output voltage from the rectified voltage. A switching regulator generates a third regulated output voltage during the second phase. A second switch couples the third regulated output voltage to the voltage output node during the second phase. During a third phase, the LDO is disabled, while the switching regulator continues to generate the third regulated output voltage. The first switch opens during the third phase while the second switch remains closed.

Abstract: A high-side switching transistor of a rectifier circuit is driven by a high-side driver circuit to supply current to an output node. The high-side driver circuit is powered between a capacitive bootstrap node and the output node. A boot charge circuit charges the bootstrap capacitor by supplying current to the bootstrap node. The boot charge circuit includes: a first current path that selectively supplies a first charging current to the bootstrap node when the rectifier circuit is operating in a switching mode; and a second current path that selectively supplies a second charging current to the bootstrap node when the rectifier circuit is operating in a reset mode.

Abstract: A driving circuit for a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) gyroscope operating based on the Coriolis effect is provided. The driving circuit supplies drive signals to a mobile mass of the MEMS gyroscope to cause a driving movement of the mobile mass to oscillate at an oscillation frequency. The driving circuit includes an input stage, which receives at least one electrical quantity representing the driving movement and generates a drive signal based on the electrical quantity; a measurement stage, which measures an oscillation amplitude of the driving movement based on the drive signal; and a control stage, which generates the drive signals based on a feedback control of the oscillation amplitude. The measurement stage performs a measurement of a time interval during which the drive signal has a given relationship with an amplitude threshold, and measures the oscillation amplitude as a function of the time interval.

Abstract: An electronic module includes an ambient light sensor and a proximity sensor. The ambient light sensor includes an ambient light photodetector. The proximity sensor includes an infrared photoemitter, a reference infrared photodetector and another infrared photodetector. The ambient light sensor is arranged in a stack over the proximity sensor with a position that allows infrared photons transmitted by the infrared photoemitter to be received by the reference infrared photodetector.

Abstract: An electronic device includes an appended module coupled to a core having a standby state comprising a first power supply circuit, a first clock and a circuit that recognizes multiple vocal commands timed by the first clock. The appended module includes a second power supply circuit independent of the first power supply circuit, a second clock independent of the first clock and having a frequency lower than that of the first clock, digital unit timed by the second clock including a sound capture circuit that delivers a processed sound signal, and a processing unit configured in order, in the presence of a parameter of the processed sound signal greater than a threshold, to analyze the content of the processed sound signal and to deliver, when the content of the sound signal comprises a reference pattern, an activating signal to the core that can take it out of its standby state.

Abstract: A distance from an apparatus to at least one object is determined by generating a first signal and generating light modulated by the first signal to be emitted from the apparatus. Light reflected by the at least one object is detected using a Time-of-flight detector array, wherein each array element of the Time-of-flight detector array generates an output signal from a series of photon counts over a number of consecutive non-overlapping time periods. The output signals are compared to the first signal to determine at least one signal phase difference. From this at least one signal phase difference a distance from the apparatus to the at least one object is determined.

Abstract: A first multiplier multiplies a first input with a first coefficient and a first adder sums an output of the first multiplier and a second input to generate a first output. A second multiplier multiplies a third input with a second coefficient, a third multiplier multiplies a fourth input with a third coefficient, and a second adder sums outputs of the second and third multipliers to generate a second output. The second and third inputs are derived from the first output and the first and fourth inputs are derived from the second output. The first and second outputs generate digital values for first and second digital sinusoids, respectively.

Abstract: A transmit integrated circuit includes a light source configured to generate a beam of light. A receive integrated circuit includes a first photosensor. A transmit optic is mounted over the transmit and receive integrated circuits. The transmit optic is formed by a prismatic light guide and is configured to receive the beam of light. An annular body region of the transmit optic surrounds a central opening which is aligned with the first photosensor. The annular body region includes a first reflective surface defining the central opening and further includes a ring-shaped light output surface surrounding the central opening. Light is output from the ring-shaped light output surface in response to light which propagates within the prismatic light guide in response to the received beam of light and which reflects off the first reflective surface.

Abstract: A time-of-flight detection pixel includes a photosensitive area and at least two assemblies. Each assembly includes: a charge storage area; a transfer transistor configured to control charge transfer from the photosensitive area to the charge storage area; and readout circuit configured to non-destructively measure a quantity of charges stored in the charge storage area.

Abstract: An electronic integrated circuit chip includes a semiconductor substrate with a front side and a back side. A first reflective shield is positioned adjacent the front side of the semiconductor substrate and a second reflective shield is positioned adjacent the back side of the semiconductor substrate. Photons are emitted by a photon source to pass through the semiconductor substrate and bounce off the first and second reflective shields to reach a photon detector at the front side of the semiconductor substrate. The detected photons are processed in order to determine whether to issue an alert indicating the existence of an attack on the electronic integrated circuit chip.

Abstract: The supply voltage for a module of an integrated circuit managed to support protection against side channel attacks. Upon startup of the integrated circuit, one action from the following actions is selected in response to a command: supplying the module with the supply voltage having a fixed value that is selected from a plurality of predetermined values, or varying the value of the supply voltage in time with a pulsed signal.

Abstract: A diffractive optical element (DOE) is designed to implement both a collimation function with respect to an input divergent beam and a beam shaping function with respect to an output divergent beam. The phase designs of the collimation function and the beam shaping function are independently produced in the phase domain. These phase designs are then combined using a phase angle addition of the individual functions and wrapped between 0 and 2? radians. The diffractive surface of the DOE is then defined from the wrapped phase angle addition of the individual functions.

Abstract: Absorbed ionizing particles differentially effect first and second acquiring circuit stages configured to respectively generate first and second acquisition signals. Each acquisition signal has a characteristic that is variable as a function of an amount of absorbed ionizing particles. A measuring circuit generates, on the basis of the first and second acquisition signals, a relative parameter indicative of a relationship between the variable characteristics. A computation of a total ionizing dose is made using a 1st- or 2nd-degree polynomial relationship in the relative parameter.