Abstract: A resonant power converter for ultra-efficient radio frequency transmission and associated methods. In one exemplary embodiment, the invention is digitally actuated and uses a combination of a noise-shaped encoder, a charging switch, and a high-Q resonator coupled to an output load, typically an antenna or transmission line. Energy is built up in the electric and magnetic fields of the resonator, which, in turn, delivers power to the load with very little wasted energy in the process. No active power amplifier is required. The apparatus can be used in literally any RF signal application (wireless or otherwise), including for example cellular handsets, local- or wide-area network transmitters, or even radio base-stations.

Abstract: Method for transmitting information in a multi-band OFDM system, comprising delivering according to a given communication standard an initial data stream (IDS), splitting (11) said initial data stream into a chosen number of elementary data streams and simultaneously transmitting (12) said elementary data streams according to said communication standard on said communication medium (MD) within different respective sub-bands (SBi). These sub-bands all blong to the same band group. Proposal based on the MBOA standard.

Abstract: A method may compensate for direct current (DC) offset in a radio frequency reception device. The method may include partitioning an analog portion of the reception device into a plurality of zones, for each zone, calibrating initial DC offset compensation to be applied within an operating range of a respective zone, the operating range of the other zones being limited to a threshold operating range, and determining DC offset compensation to be applied to the reception device throughout the operating range based on the basic DC offset compensations.

Abstract: The method is for detecting the eventual presence of an interferer that is adapted to interfere with a wireless device. The wireless device is provided with at least one receiving chain including an analog to digital conversion stage. The method includes receiving on the receiving chain an incident signal, and delivering to the ADC stage an analog signal from the incident signal. The method further includes elaborating or determining a binary information from a binary signal delivered by the ADC stage and representative of the level of the analog signal, analyzing a temporal evolution of the binary information and detecting the presence of the interferer from the analysis.

Abstract: An interface is described which has at least one chip side port with a first plurality of pins for conveying fields of a packet and first and second circuit side ports each port having a set of pins with a lower number than the first set of pins in the chip side port. The interface is constructed so that interrupt signals from an off-chip circuit can be conveyed on-chip in a manner such that the interrupt signals are indistinguishable from interrupt signals received from on-chip modules connected to an on-chip communication path. The same principle is applicable to power-down signals.

Abstract: A method processes defects in a radio frequency transmission subsystem due to elements therein. The defects may include mismatch between two channels in phase quadrature in the transmission subsystem and a transposition signal leaking from a first frequency transposition stage of the transmission subsystem. The method may include calibration processing including estimating compensation parameters representative of the defects. The estimating may include delivering, into the transmission subsystem upstream of the elements creating the defects, a reference signal having a reference frequency, obtaining, downstream of the first transposition stage, of a resultant reference signal, and obtaining, from the resultant reference signal, of an approximate value for each compensation parameter. The method also may include compensating for the defects by injecting the approximate values into the transmission subsystem.

Abstract: An Adjustable Field Effect Rectifier uses aspects of MOSFET structure together with an adjustment pocket or region to result in a device that functions reliably and efficiently at high voltages without significant negative resistance, while also permitting fast recovery and operation at high frequency without large electromagnetic interference.

Abstract: The method includes defining from all the check nodes at least one group of check nodes mutually connected through at least one second variable node defining an internal second variable node. The method includes performing for each group the joint updating of all the check nodes of the group via a Maximum-A-Posteriori (MAP) type process, and the updating of all the first variable nodes and all the second variable nodes connected to the group except the at least one internal second variable node. The method may include iteratively repeating the updates.

Abstract: An electronic device, includes sigma-delta modulation circuit to operate with a clock signal and having output circuitry to deliver a digital data signal. First circuitry delivers a radiofrequency transposition signal. A notch filter includes radiofrequency digital-to-analog conversion blocks, having first input circuitry coupled to the output circuitry. Second input circuitry receives the radiofrequency transposition signal. Second output circuitry delivers a radiofrequency analog signal. Digital delay circuitry is controlled by the clock signal and includes a delay block between the two first input circuits. The frequency of a notch of the notch filter is related to the value of the delay from the delay block. Summation circuitry sums the radiofrequency signals.

Abstract: An Adjustable Field Effect Rectifier uses aspects of MOSFET structure together with an adjustment pocket or region to result in a device that functions reliably and efficiently at high voltages without significant negative resistance, while also permitting fast recovery and operation at high frequency without large electromagnetic interference.

Abstract: An equalizer for a multi carrier signal for carrying out equalization adapted to each carrier or group of carriers, Fourier transforms the multi carrier signal, and obtains difference terms of the multi carrier signal. Both are input to an adaptive filter, to output equalized signals, wherein decimation is applied to at least some of the difference terms input to the filter. This enables the complexity to be reduced for a given performance level. In particular since only non-zero filter taps need to be stored and updated, coefficient memory and coefficient calculation capacity can be reduced. Another way to reduce complexity involves measuring noise for at least some of the carriers, and dynamically adapting the size of the filter on a per carrier basis according to global optimizion heuristic algorithms which adapt this filter size based on the comparison between this noise and an optimal performance figure achieved in a previous ISI-ICI free measurement phase.

Abstract: A data cache memory coupled to a processor including processor clusters are adapted to operate simultaneously on scalar and vectorial data by providing data locations in the data cache memory for storing data for processing. The data locations are accessed either in a scalar mode or in a vectorial mode. This is done by explicitly mapping the data locations that are scalar and the data locations that are vectorial.

Abstract: A processor architecture for multimedia applications includes processor clusters providing vectorial data processing capability. Processing elements in the processor clusters process both data with a bit length N and data with bit lengths N/2, N/4, and so on according to a Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD) function. A load unit loads into the processor clusters data to be processed according to a same instruction. An intercluster data path exchanges data between the processor clusters. The intercluster data path is scalable to activate selected processor clusters. The processor operates simultaneously on SIMD, scalar and vectorial data.

Abstract: The method is for managing the operation of a wireless communication device including several different communication modules respectively adapted to operate according to several given communication protocols including a UWB module operating according to a UWB protocol based on an OFDM modulation scheme. The method includes controlling the UWB module for scanning a chosen frequency band, and managing a communication to be performed by the device on the basis of the scanning result.

Abstract: This is a method for controlling the decoding of a LDPC encoded codeword composed of several digital data, said LDPC code being represented by a bipartite graph between check nodes (CN1) and variable nodes (VNi). Said method comprises updating messages exchanged iteratively between variable nodes (VN1) and check nodes (CN1). Said method comprises, at each iteration, calculating for each variable node a first sum (?n) of all the incident messages (?i) received by said variable node and the corresponding digital data (?ch) and calculating a second sum (VNRnew) of all the absolute values of the first sums (?n), and stopping the decoding process if the second sum (VNRnew) is unchanged or decreases within two successive iterations and if a predetermined threshold condition is satisfied.

Abstract: A method may be for detecting potentially suspicious operation of an electronic device configured to operate in the course of activity sessions. The method may include within the device, a metering, from an initial instant of the number of activity sessions having a duration below a first threshold, and a comparison of this number with a second threshold.

Abstract: A resonant power converter for ultra-efficient radio frequency transmission and associated methods. In one exemplary embodiment, the invention is digitally actuated and uses a combination of a noise-shaped encoder, a charging switch, and a high-Q resonator coupled to an output load, typically an antenna or transmission line. Energy is built up in the electric and magnetic fields of the resonator, which, in turn, delivers power to the load with very little wasted energy in the process. No active power amplifier is required. The apparatus can be used in literally any RF signal application (wireless or otherwise), including for example cellular handsets, local- or wide-area network transmitters, or even radio base-stations.

Abstract: A method is for estimating drift between a first clock used in a digital transmission processing of a first Ultra Wide Band (UWB) pulse train signal and a second clock used in a digital reception processing of a second UWB pulse train signal resulting from a transmission of the first UWB pulse train signal. The method may include sampling the second UWB pulse train signal, and calculating trellis information representative of a trellis having reference paths respectively associated to different reference values of the drift and including sample transitions of a sampled third signal from the sampled second UWB pulse train signal. The method may further include processing the sampled third signal along the trellis for obtaining a path metric for each processed reference path, and selecting the processed reference path having a greatest path metric, the drift being the reference value associated to the selected processed reference path.

Abstract: Semiconductor protection devices, and related methods and systems, especially devices for providing series current limiting. The device typically comprises two regenerative building blocks and/or MOSFETs connected back-to-back in series, where one of the MOSFETs/Regenerative Building Blocks has an extra voltage probe electrode that provides a regenerative signal with self-limited voltage to the other via coupling to its gate electrode.

Abstract: The block de-interleaving system includes an input for receiving a set of time-aligned blocks or interleaved data, physical memory unit, and a de-interleaving block for writing the blocks in the memory in a first predetermined manner and reading the blocks from the memory in a second predetermined manner to de-interleave the data of the blocks. The physical memory unit may include several different physical memories, and the de-interleaving block is adapted to completely write and read a block into and from one physical elementary memory.