Abstract: Cryptographic circuitry, in operation, conditionally swaps a first operand and a second operand of a cryptographic operation based on a control value. The conditional swapping includes setting a first mask of a number of bits and a second mask of the number of bits based on the control value, the first mask and the second mask being complementary and having a same Hamming weight. A result of a bitwise XOR operation on the first operand and the second operand is stored as a temporary value. A combination of bitwise logical operations are performed to conditionally swap the first operand and the second operand.

Abstract: A method and device for unlatching a door from a frame, using a keyless door latch system, is provided. In one embodiment, a secondary unlocking component receives a signal and derives power from the signal to provide a power source for the keyless door latch system. A microcontroller generates a control signal and an actuator, in response to receiving the control signal, actuates the secondary unlocking component, which allows an energy source, from an exterior of the door, to be transferred to the keyless door latch system for the unlatching of the door.

Abstract: Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a read/write device for a hard-disk memory system. The read/write device includes a fixed structure; a membrane region including a first and a second membrane, which are constrained to the fixed structure, and a central portion, interposed between the first and second membranes; a first and a second piezoelectric actuator, mechanically coupled, respectively, to the first and second membranes; and a read/write head, which is fixed to the central portion of the membrane region. The first and second piezoelectric actuators can be controlled so as to cause corresponding deformations of the first and second membranes, said deformations of the first and second membranes causing corresponding movements of the read/write head with respect to the fixed structure.

Abstract: A method of operating a radar sensor system includes: frequency down-converting a reception signal that is chirp-modulated with a sequence of chirp ramps to an intermediate frequency signal; and high-pass filtering the intermediate frequency signal to produce a high-pass filtered signal. High-pass filtering includes: first high-pass filtering, with a first corner frequency, the intermediate frequency signal at each chirp in the chirp modulation of the reception signal; and replacing the first high-pass filtering with a second high-pass filtering with a second corner frequency, the first corner frequency being higher than the second corner frequency.

Abstract: One or more embodiments are directed to semiconductor packages and methods in which one or more electrical components are positioned between a semiconductor die and a surface of a substrate. In one embodiment, a semiconductor package includes a substrate having a first surface. One or more electrical components are electrically coupled to electrical contacts on the first surface of the substrate. A semiconductor die is positioned on the one or more electrical components, and the semiconductor die has an active surface that faces away from the substrate. An adhesive layer is on the first surface of the substrate and on the one or more electrical components, and the semiconductor die is spaced apart from the one or more electrical components by the adhesive layer. Wire bonds are provided that electrically couples the active surface of the semiconductor die to the substrate.

Abstract: A circuit for reading or writing a RAM includes a shift register coupled to the RAM, a test data input, and a test data output. The circuit further includes a control circuit configured to generate a pulse every N clock cycles, each pulse triggering a RAM access operation transferring data between the shift register and the RAM, N being equal to a data width of the RAM divided by a parallel factor, the parallel factor being a number of pins in either the test data input or the test data output configured for parallel data loading.

Abstract: A multi-axis MEMS gyroscope includes a micromechanical detection structure having a substrate, a driving-mass arrangement, a driven-mass arrangement with a central window, and a sensing-mass arrangement which undergoes sensing movements in the presence of angular velocities about a first horizontal axis and a second horizontal axis. A sensing-electrode arrangement is fixed with respect to the substrate and is set underneath the sensing-mass arrangement. An anchorage assembly is set within the central window for constraining the driven-mass arrangement to the substrate at anchorage elements. The anchorage assembly includes a rigid structure suspended above the substrate that is elastically coupled to the driven mass by elastic connection elements at a central portion, and is coupled to the anchorage elements by elastic decoupling elements at end portions thereof.

Abstract: A microelectromechanical membrane transducer includes: a supporting structure; a cavity formed in the supporting structure; a membrane coupled to the supporting structure so as to cover the cavity on one side; a cantilever damper, which is fixed to the supporting structure around the perimeter of the membrane and extends towards the inside of the membrane at a distance from the membrane; and a damper piezoelectric actuator set on the cantilever damper and configured so as to bend the cantilever damper towards the membrane in response to an electrical actuation signal.

Abstract: A MEMS device includes a semiconductor support body having a first cavity, a membrane including a peripheral portion, fixed to the support body, and a suspended portion. A first deformable structure is at a distance from a central part of the suspended portion of the membrane and a second deformable structure is laterally offset relative to the first deformable structure towards the peripheral portion of the membrane. A projecting region is fixed under the membrane. The second deformable structure is deformable so as to translate the central part of the suspended portion of the membrane along a first direction, and the first deformable structure is deformable so as to translate the central part of the suspended portion of the membrane along a second direction.

Abstract: A multiphase DC-DC converter has two converter arrangements, each with a switching stage that has a switching node, an inductor, a converter output node, a high-side switch, and a low-side switch. Current sensing circuits detect the instantaneous current flowing through either the high-side or low-side switches, and signal time-averaging circuits produce time-averaged signals indicating the average current during a switch conduction interval. The time-averaged signals are added up and re-scaled based on the time period of the switching nodes' electrical coupling to the converter output nodes to generate an output signal for the average output current.

Abstract: Systems and devices are provided to enable granular control over a retention or active state of each of a plurality of memory circuits, such as a plurality of memory cell arrays, within a memory. Each respective memory array of the plurality of memory arrays is coupled to a respective ballast driver and a respective active memory signal switch for the respective memory array. One or more voltage regulators are coupled to a ballast driver gate node and to a bias node of at least one of the respective memory arrays. In operation, the respective active memory signal switch for a respective memory array causes the respective memory array to transition between an active state for the respective memory array and a retention state for the respective memory array.

Abstract: A field effect transistor has a semiconductor layer with a top surface extending in a horizontal plane, and an active area defined in which are trench gate regions, which extend in depth with respect to the top surface and have an insulating coating layer and a conductive inner layer, and source regions, adjacent to the trench gate regions so as to form a conductive channel extending vertically. The trench gate regions have a plurality of first gate regions, which extend in length in the form of stripes through the active area along a first direction of the horizontal plane, and moreover a plurality of second gate regions, which extend in length in the form of stripes through the same active area along a second direction of the horizontal plane, orthogonal to, and crossing, the first gate regions. In particular, the first gate regions and second gate regions cross in the active area, joining with a non-zero curvature radius.

Abstract: MEMS structure, comprising: a semiconductor body; a cavity buried in the semiconductor body; a membrane suspended on the cavity; and at least one antistiction bump completely contained in the cavity with the function of preventing the side of the membrane internal to the cavity from sticking to the opposite side, which delimits the cavity downwardly.

Abstract: A semiconductor device for ambient sensing including: a cap traversed by a hole; and a main body mechanically coupled to the cap so as to delimit a cavity, which is interposed between the main body and the cap. The main body includes a semiconductor body and a coupling structure, which is interposed between the semiconductor body and the cap and laterally delimits a channel, which fluidically couples the cavity and the hole. The channel performs a mechanical filtering that is finer than the mechanical filtering performed by the hole.

Abstract: A power-saving system includes a retention memory element for a retained peripheral that is set to a logic state during an operational-power mode and maintains the logic state during an enhanced power-saving mode. The power-saving system also includes a non-retention memory element for a non-retained peripheral that is set to a logic state during the operational-power mode of the power-saving system; and a controller that instructs the retention memory element to maintain its logic state while in an enhanced power-saving mode.

Abstract: A voltage regulator receives an input voltage and produces a regulated output voltage. A first feedback network compares a feedback signal to a reference signal to assert/de-assert a first pulsed control signal when the reference signal is higher/lower than the feedback signal. A second feedback network compares the output voltage to a threshold signal to assert/de-assert a second control signal when the threshold signal is higher/lower than the output voltage. A charge pump is enabled if the second control signal is de-asserted and is clocked by the first pulsed control signal to produce a supply voltage higher than the input voltage. A first pass element is enabled when the second control signal is asserted and is selectively activated when the first pulsed control signal is asserted. A second pass element is selectively activated when the second control signal is de-asserted.

Abstract: A method of operating a MEMS device includes generating a MEMS drive signal, and generating and modifying the MEMS drive signal based upon a control signal to produce a modified drive signal. The method further includes generating the control signal by determining when a feedback signal from the MEMS device is at its peak value, comparing the peak value to a desired value when the feedback signal is as its peak, and generating the control signal depending upon whether the peak value is at least equal to a desired value. The modification of the MEMS drive signal based upon the control signal to produce the modified drive signal includes skipping generation of a next pulse of the modified drive signal when the control signal indicates the peak value is at least equal to the desired value.

Abstract: A digital audio playback circuit includes a noise shaping circuit configured to receive an input digital audio signal, and a digital to analog converter (DAC) configured to convert the input digital audio signal to a pre-amplified output analog audio signal according to a gain ramp defined by a gain control signal. A muting circuit is configured to compare input digital audio signal to a threshold and assert a mute control signal when the input digital audio signal is below the threshold. An analog gain control ramp circuit is configured to generate the gain control signal in response to the mute control signal to cause the gain ramp to ramp down. An amplifier is configured to amplify the pre-amplified output analog audio signal for playback by an audio playback device.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for performing dynamic current scaling of an input current of a voltage regulator are provided. The method and apparatus allow tuning current consumption in various applications, calculating a duration of an activity phase in which various algorithms are executed and activating dynamic current scaling of a regulator if the activity duration is shorter than a programmable threshold. A controller receives a threshold for an activity duration and a window size in which to evaluate the activity duration.

Abstract: Current signals indicative of sensed physical quantities are collected from sensing transistors in an array of sensing transistors. The sensing transistors have respective control nodes and current channel paths therethrough between respective first nodes and a second node common to the sensing transistors. A bias voltage level is applied to the respective first nodes of the sensing transistors in the array and one sensing transistor in the array of sensing transistors is selected. The selected sensing transistor is decoupled from the bias voltage level, while the remaining sensing transistors in the array of sensing transistors maintain coupling to the bias voltage level. The respective first node of the selected sensing transistor in the array of sensing transistors is coupled to an output node, and an output current signal is collected from the output node.