Abstract: A passive cable adaptor for connecting a data source device with a display device is described. The adaptor has a packet-based interface connector at one end, the connector having a positive main link pin, a negative main link pin, a positive auxiliary channel pin, and a negative auxiliary channel pin. At the other end is a micro serial interface connector, wherein multimedia content is transmitted over the cable adaptor and electrical power is supplied over the cable adaptor simultaneously. The cable adaptor has an auxiliary and hot plug detect (HPD) controller utilized to map the auxiliary channel and HPD signals of the packet-based digital display to the micro serial interface ID signal.

Abstract: A method of designing a desired modular package assembly: determining the configuration and dimensions of the assembly from received user input design data, the assembly having a protective modular package cover with first and second fastening sections, subassembly receiving sections disposed between the fastening sections and having a cross member formed along the underside of the protective modular package cover and configured to receive a subassembly, and one or more subassemblies to be received by the subassembly receiving sections; determining an adhesive deposition strategy for deposition of an adhesive layer to the cross members of the subassembly receiving sections sufficient to affix the top side of the subassemblies to the cross members on the underside of the subassembly receiving sections; and incorporating the configuration and dimensions of the modular package assembly and the adhesive deposition strategy into a manufacturing assembly process configured to manufacture the modular package assembl

Abstract: The deposition method comprises providing a substrate with a first mono-crystalline zone made of a semiconductor material and a second zone made of an insulating material. During a passivation step, a passivation atmosphere is applied on the substrate so as to cover the first zone with doping impurities. During a deposition step, gaseous silicon and/or germanium precursors are introduced and a doped semiconductor film is formed. The semiconductor film is mono-crystalline over the first zone and has a different texture over the second zone. During an etching step, a chloride gaseous precursor is applied on the substrate so as to remove the semiconductor layer over the second zone.

Abstract: In capacitive sensor circuits where physical contact is required and excess pressure may be inadvertently applied to the sensor surface, aluminum is not sufficiently hard to provide “scratch” protection and may delaminate, causing circuit failure, even if passivation integrity remains intact. Because hard passivation layers alone provide insufficient scratch resistance, at least the capacitive electrodes and preferably all metallization levels within the sensor circuit in the region of the capacitive electrodes between the surface and the active regions of the substrate are formed of a conductive material having a hardness greater than that of aluminum, and at least as great as the lowest hardness for any interlevel dielectric or passivation material employed.

Abstract: A multiband dynamics compressor implements a solution for minimizing unwanted changes to the long-term frequency response. The solution essentially proposes undoing the multiband compression in a controlled manner using much slower smoothing times. In this regard, the compensation provided acts more like an equalizer than a compressor. What is applied is a very slowly time-varying, frequency-dependent post-gain (make-up gain) that attempts to restore the smoothed long-term level of each compressor band.

Abstract: Content that is delivered nearly on-demand, in overlapping streams that start in staggered intervals on different channels, is played on-demand for the user using a storage system in conjunction with the receiver. A portion of the content corresponding to the staggering interval of the various streams is pre-cached and employed for playback when the user initiates on-demand playback. Content from the most-recently-started stream at the time of playback initiation is then buffered, and playback switches from the pre-cached content to the buffered content at a preselected alignment point.

Abstract: Discovery of safety and non-safety capable single-radio devices in vehicular wireless environments is made possible through the use a two-bit indicator. A first indicator is associated with a type C device. A second indicator is associated with a non-type C device within one hop of a type C device. A third indicator is associated with a non-type C device within two hops of a type C device. A fourth indicator is associated with a non-type C device within three hops or more (out of range) of a type C device. Discovery of safety and non-safety capable single-radio vehicular devices within a protection range in multiple-channel based wireless vehicular environments is thus made possible.

Abstract: A device and method are provided for detecting a root moisture content of clothing in a clothes dryer. The dryer has two conducting bars situated in the dryer bin. A pulse generator circuit is coupled to the conducting bars. A microcontroller is coupled to an output of the pulse generator circuit. The pulse generator circuit generates a pulse when wet clothing contacts the conducting bars in the dryer bin. The microcontroller receives the pulses and counts the pulses that are longer than a threshold length. The microcontroller issues a termination signal based on the number of counted pulses.

Abstract: Disclosed is a programmable pulse width discriminator circuit operable to receive a set of parameters from a user and indicate when an input signal satisfies conditions set by the user-defined parameters. The input signal is sampled by the pulse width discriminator circuit to detect a desired state of the input signal. The user may set the parameters such that the pulse width discriminator indicates the condition wherein the number of consecutive samples for which the input signal is the desired state is (i) greater than a first threshold value, (ii) less than a second threshold value, or (iii) between the first and second threshold values. In these embodiments, the user sets the first and second threshold values and selects which set of conditions are indicated by the output of the circuit.

Abstract: An interleave address generation circuit includes a plurality of linear feedback shift registers operable to generate addresses for permuting a data block in a first domain to a data block in a second domain on a subword basis. The interleave address generation circuit is operable to generate the lane addresses for each subword and the linear feedback registers configured to generate circulant addresses and sub-circulant address to map bits in each subword in the data block in the first domain to a corresponding subword in the second domain.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for implementing a robust unicast/broadcast/multicast protocol are provided. In one aspect, a method of avoiding collision of intra-basic service set unicast, broadcast or multicast transmissions notifies stations in the basic service set of a reserved transmit opportunity for a unicast, broadcast or multicast transmission. Transmissions from at least one station in the basic service set are deferred until after the reserved unicast, broadcast or multicast transmit opportunity.

Abstract: Psychoacoustic bass audio signal enhancement can be accomplished using a monotonic, asymmetric polynomial distortion. A non-linear process applies a monotonic, asymmetric polynomial distortion function that has continuous first and second derivatives to generate even and odd harmonics of missing fundamental frequencies. This polynomial distortion produces the desired psychoacoustic effect with a fairly rapid roll-off so as to avoid unpleasant aliasing. Moreover, the lack of first-order discontinuities prevents clicks or glitches.

Abstract: In a 60 Hz WGA wireless network, not all frames with the duration field are received by a STA in a WGA network because of directional antennas. Therefore, a NAV Timer cannot account for the reserved duration of the channel by only updating with the longest duration field received. A STA can receive two frames each with a source and destination addresses and update the NAV Timer by comparing the received addresses to overcome such problem. Further, a STA can receive one frame with a source and destination addresses and update the NAV Timer by comparing the received addresses with the NAVSRC and NAVDST values.

Abstract: A method and circuit to stop a spindle motor in the absence of the external supply voltage in which the spindle motor is structured to move a hard disk provided with at least one reading or writing head moved by a voice coil motor, the spindle motor provided with a plurality of coils. The method includes rectifying the backelectromotive force of the spindle motor to produce a braking current, driving the voice coil motor with at least a portion of the braking current until the speed of the spindle motor becomes lower than a predetermined stop speed, and, after the parking of the at least one reading or writing head of the voice coil motor, stopping the spindle motor by short-circuiting the coils of the spindle motor.

Abstract: A shallow trench is formed to extend into a handle substrate of a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) layer. A dielectric liner stack of a dielectric metal oxide layer and a silicon nitride layer is formed in the shallow trench, followed by deposition of a shallow trench isolation fill portion. The dielectric liner stack is removed from above a top surface of a top semiconductor portion, followed by removal of a silicon nitride pad layer and an upper vertical portion of the dielectric metal oxide layer. A divot laterally surrounding a stack of a top semiconductor portion and a buried insulator portion is filled with a silicon nitride portion. Gate structures and source/drain structures are subsequently formed. The silicon nitride portion or the dielectric metal oxide layer functions as a stopping layer during formation of source/drain contact via holes, thereby preventing electrical shorts between source/drain contact via structures and the handle substrate.

Abstract: A shallow trench isolation is formed in a semiconductor substrate adjacent a MOS transistor. The shallow trench is filled with a fill material while other processing steps are performed. The fill material is later removed through a thin well etched into layers above the trench, leaving the trench hollow. A thin strain inducing layer is then formed on the sidewall of the hollow trench. The well is then plugged, leaving the trench substantially hollow except for the thin strain inducing layer on the sidewall of the trench. The strain inducing layer is configured to induce compressive or tensile strain on a channel region of the MOS transistor and thereby to enhance conduction properties of the transistor.

Abstract: A system for adjusting the light uniformity of a monitor. The system comprises a camera for capturing a test pattern image on a display of the monitor and a controller configured to select the test pattern image and to cause the monitor to display the selected test pattern image. The controller receives the captured image from the camera and compares pixel values from the captured image to known pixel values associated with the selected test pattern image. The selected test pattern image has an ideal uniform light distribution and the captured image has a non-uniform light distribution. In response to the comparison, the controller calculates a compensation light distribution that may be combined with the non-uniform light distribution to generate a resulting image on the display of the monitor having a resulting light distribution that approximates the ideal uniform light distribution.

Abstract: Embodiments are directed to efficient frequency-domain implementations of time-varying FIR filters. More specifically, time-varying FIR filters according to embodiments exploit the duality of the fast Fourier transform that windowing in the time domain equals convolution in the frequency domain. In one embodiment, convolution of the output of the FIR filter and a desired windowing function is performed in the frequency domain instead of taking the output of the FIR filter in the frequency domain, converting this output the time domain via an IFFT, and then windowing this output in the time domain before again converting back to the frequency domain. As long as the windowing function has certain characteristics, then the time-varying FIR filter is computationally efficient and introduces minimal audible artifacts into the output of the filter. Concepts described herein are discussed in terms of audio signals and systems but are not limited to audio signals and systems.

Abstract: Chemical-Mechanical Polishing can be used to planarize a semiconductor wafer having a patterned overlapping layer. Isotropic etching can remove a portion of the patterned overlapping layer to produce tapered sidewalls of reduced height. A portion of the overlapping layer can be removed using CMP. The overlapping layer can have a higher polishing rate than the underlying layer so that the underlying layer remains substantially intact after removing the overlying layer.

Abstract: When two loudspeakers play the same signal, a “phantom center” image is produced between the speakers. However, this image differs from one produced by a real center speaker. In particular, acoustical crosstalk produces a comb-filtering effect, with cancellations that may be in the frequency range needed for the intelligibility of speech. Methods for using phase decorrelation to fill in these gaps and produce a flatter magnitude response are described, reducing coloration and potentially enhancing dialogue clarity. These methods also improve headphone compatibility and reduce the tendency of the phantom image to move toward the nearest speaker.