Abstract: A microfluidic device provided in a body accommodating a fluid containment chamber. A fluidic access channel and a drop emission channel are formed in the body and are in fluidic connection with the fluid containment chamber to form a fluidic path towards the body outside through a nozzle having an outlet section. An actuator is operatively coupled to the fluid containment chamber and is configured to cause ejection of fluid drops through the drop emission channel in an operating condition of the microfluidic device. The drop emission channel comprises a portion of reduced section having a smaller area than the outlet section of the nozzle.

Abstract: A bandgap circuit includes a supply node as well as a first and second bipolar transistors having jointly coupled base terminal at a bandgap node providing a bandgap voltage. First and second current generators are coupled to the supply node and supply mirrored first and second currents, respectively, to first and second circuit nodes. A third circuit node is coupled to the first bipolar transistor via a first resistor and coupled to ground via a second resistor, respectively. The third circuit node is also coupled to the second bipolar transistor so that the second resistor is traversed by a current which is the sum of the currents through the bipolar transistors. A decoupling stage intermediate the current generators and the bipolar transistors includes first and second cascode decoupling transistors having jointly coupled control terminals receiving a bias voltage sensitive to the bandgap voltage.

Abstract: A circuit includes a current path and a negative bootstrap circuitry coupled to the current path. The current path is coupled between a floating voltage and a reference ground, and includes a current generator coupled through a resistor to the floating voltage at a first node of the current generator. The current generator is controlled by a pulse signal. The negative bootstrap circuitry includes a pump capacitor coupled to a second node of the current generator and to the reference ground. The pump capacitor is configured to provide a negative voltage at the second node of the current generator based on the pulse signal.

Abstract: A method is provided for controlling an electronic apparatus on the basis of a value of a lid angle between a first hardware element accommodating a first magnetometer and a second hardware element accommodating a second magnetometer. The method includes acquiring, through the magnetometers, first signals representing an orientation of the hardware elements. A calibration parameter indicative of a condition of calibration of the magnetometers is generated on the basis of the first signals. A reliability value indicative of a condition of reliability of the first signals is generated on the basis of the first signals. A first intermediate value of the lid angle is calculated on the basis of the first signals. A current value of the lid angle is calculated on the basis of the calibration parameter, of the reliability value, and of the first intermediate value, and the electronic apparatus is controlled on the basis of the current value.

Abstract: A PWM signal generator circuit includes a multiphase clock generator that generates a number n of phase-shifted clock phases having the same clock period and being phase shifted by a time corresponding to a fraction 1/n of the clock period. The PWM signal generator circuit determines for each switch-on duration first and second integer numbers, and for each switch-off duration third and fourth integer numbers. The first integer number is indicative of the integer number of clock periods of the switch-on duration and the second integer number is indicative of the integer number of the additional fractions 1/n of the clock period of the switch-on duration. The third integer number is indicative of the integer number of clock periods of the switch-off duration, and the fourth integer number is indicative of the integer number of the additional fractions 1/n of the clock period of the switch-off duration.

Abstract: A high-to-low voltage interface circuit includes a differential circuit stage with a differential amplifier circuit having inverting and non-inverting inputs coupled to first and second input pads as well as a differential output having first and second output nodes. A pair of bias amplifier stages sensitive to the common mode voltage of the differential amplifier circuit are arranged in first and second current mirror paths from the first and second input pads to the inverting/non-inverting inputs of the differential amplifier circuit, respectively. The bias amplifier stages are configured to maintain the first input pad and the second input pad of the differential circuit stage at the common mode voltage.

Abstract: An embodiment power-on-reset circuit, having a power supply input to receive a power supply voltage, generates a reset signal with a value switching upon the power supply voltage crossing a POR detection level. The power-on-reset circuit has: a PTAT stage having a left branch and a right branch and generating a current equilibrium condition between the currents circulating in the left and right branches upon the power supply voltage reaching the POR detection level; and an output stage coupled to the PTAT stage and generating the reset signal, with the value switching at the occurrence of the current equilibrium condition for the PTAT stage. The power-on-reset circuit further comprises a detection-level generation stage, coupled to the PTAT stage as a central branch thereof to define the value of the POR detection level.

Abstract: A power stage in an electronic fuse circuit is driven by controller. The controller includes a first comparator set for output voltage control and a second comparator set for output current control. Each comparator set includes at least one comparator having a reference input, a feedback input, and one or more outputs. A driver circuit includes output terminals for driving the power stage. The driver circuit includes a switch that is selectively activated in response to outputs from the first and second comparator sets to clamp the voltage across the output terminals of the driver circuit. The clamp operation is made in response to feedback input to either of the first and second comparator sets having exceeded a certain reference.

Abstract: A device for detecting a chemical species including a Geiger mode avalanche photodiode, which comprises a body of semiconductor material delimited by a front surface. The semiconductor body includes: a cathode region having a first type of conductivity, which forms the front surface; and an anode region having a second type of conductivity, which extends within the cathode region starting from the front surface. The detection device further includes: a dielectric region, which extends on the front surface; and a sensitive region, which is arranged on top of the dielectric region and electrically coupled to the anode region and has a resistance that depends upon the concentration of the chemical species.

Abstract: A first generator produces a first signal that is supplied to an energy storage circuit. Energy transfer circuitry coupled to the energy storage circuit transfers energy stored in the energy storage circuit to an output node. A driver circuit coupled to the energy transfer circuitry switches the energy transfer circuitry between a state where energy from the first signal is stored in the energy storage circuit and a state where energy stored in the energy storage circuit section is delivered to the output node. A voltage at the energy storage circuit varies between an upper value and a lower value around a voltage setting point. A second generator, which is a scaled-down replica of the first generator, produces a second signal that is indicative of an open-circuit voltage of the first generator. The driver circuit uses the second signal to set the voltage setting point.

Abstract: Cantilever probes are produced for use in a test apparatus of integrated electronic circuits. The probes are configured to contact corresponding terminals of the electronic circuits to be tested during a test operation. The probe bodies are formed of electrically conductive materials. On a lower portion of each probe body that, in use, is directed to the respective terminal to be contacted, an electrically conductive contact region is formed having a first hardness value equal to or greater than 300 HV; each contact region and the respective probe body form the corresponding probe.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a voltage controlled oscillator comprising a plurality of oscillator cores magnetically coupled in series.

Abstract: A converter circuit includes an input node for receiving an input signal and an output node for providing a converted output signal to a load, a switching power stage to receive the input signal and an on-off drive signal switching between an on-state and an off-state, and a reactive output network coupled to the switching power stage and configured to provide the converted output signal to the load. The converter circuit comprises a first feedback signal path configured to generate a PWM-modulated control signal for the switching power stage as a function of the converted output signal, and a second feedback signal path including an output variation sensing circuit to generate at least one output variation signal indicative of variations of the converted output signal over time.

Abstract: A low-power pointing method and an electronic device are disclosed. In an embodiment, an electronic device includes a first processor configured to receive attitude quaternion data, indicative of an orientation of the electronic device in a 3D-space, generated by a sensor-fusion algorithm from joint processing of an acceleration signal, indicative of acceleration acting on the electronic device along three reference axes of the 3D-space, and of a gyroscope signal, indicative of angular rate of rotation of the electronic device about the three reference axes of the 3D-space, process the quaternion data to determine an orientation difference between a current orientation and a previous orientation of the electronic device in the 3D-space, translate the orientation difference from the quaternion space to a tilt-compensated angular rate of rotation of the electronic device in the 3D-space and generate screen-frame displacement data based on the tilt-compensated angular rate of rotation.

Abstract: A method includes receiving a time series of slice images of medical imaging. The images have a region of interest located at a lung lesion. The method also includes tracking over at least one subset of slice images in a time series of slice images variations over time of at least one image parameter at the set of points in the region of interest. Classifier processing is applied to set of signals indicative of tracked time variations of the at least one image parameter at respective points in the set of points. A classification signal is indicative of the tracked time variations of the at least one image parameter reaching or failing to reach at least one classification threshold.

Abstract: A particle detector formed by a body defining a chamber and housing a light source and a photodetector. A reflecting surface is formed by a first reflecting region and a second reflecting region that have a respective curved shape. The curved shapes are chosen from among portions of ellipsoidal, paraboloidal, and spherical surfaces. The first reflecting region faces the light source and the second reflecting region faces the photodetector. The first reflecting region has an own first focus, and the second reflecting region has an own first focus. The first focus of the first reflecting region is arranged in an active volume of the body, designed for detecting particles, and the photodetector is arranged on the first focus of the second reflecting region.

Abstract: A process for manufacturing a strained semiconductor device envisages: providing a die of semiconductor material, in which elementary components of the semiconductor device have been integrated by means of initial front-end steps; and coupling, using the die-attach technique, the die to a support, at a coupling temperature. The aforesaid coupling step envisages selecting the value of the coupling temperature at a value higher than an operating temperature of use of the semiconductor device, and moreover selecting the material of the support so that it is different from the material of the die in order to determine, at the operating temperature, a coupling stress that is a function of the different values of the coefficients of thermal expansion of the materials of the die and of the support and of the temperature difference between the coupling temperature and the operating temperature.

Abstract: A thermally-isolated-metal-oxide-semiconducting (TMOS) sensor has inputs coupled to first and second nodes to receive first and second bias currents, and an output coupled to a third node. A tail has a first conduction terminal coupled to the third node and a second conduction terminal coupled to a reference voltage. A control circuit applies a control signal to a control terminal of the tail transistor based upon voltages at the first and second nodes so that a common mode voltage at the first and second nodes is equal to a reference common mode voltage. A differential current integrator has a first input terminal coupled to the second node and a second input terminal coupled to the first node, and provides an output voltage indicative of an integral of a difference between a first output current at the first input terminal and a second output current at the second input terminal.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a SiC-based electronic device, that includes implanting, at a front side of a solid body of SiC having a conductivity of N type, dopant species of P type, thus forming an implanted region that extends in depth in the solid body starting from the front side and has a top surface co-planar with said front side; and generating a laser beam directed towards the implanted region in order to generate heating of the implanted region at temperatures comprised between 1500° C. and 2600° C. so as to form an ohmic contact region including one or more carbon-rich layers, for example graphene and/or graphite layers, in the implanted region and, simultaneously, activation of the dopant species of P type.

Abstract: A power device for surface mounting has a leadframe including a die-attach support and at least one first lead and one second lead. A die, of semiconductor material, is bonded to the die-attach support, and a package, of insulating material and parallelepipedal shape, surrounds the die and at least in part the die-attach support and has a package height. The first and second leads have outer portions extending outside the package, from two opposite lateral surfaces of the package. The outer portions of the leads have lead heights greater than the package height, extend throughout the height of the package, and have respective portions projecting from the first base.