Abstract: According to various embodiments described herein, a circuit includes a decode logic circuit, a buffer coupled to the decode logic, a positive level shifter with an input coupled to receive address signals and an output coupled to the buffer, and a negative level shifter with an input coupled to receive the address signals and an output coupled to the buffer.

Abstract: A packaged MEMS transducer device comprising: a die, including: a semiconductor body having a front side and a back side, opposite to one another in a first direction, at least one cavity extending through the semiconductor body between the front side and the back side, and at least one membrane extending on the front side at least partially suspended over the cavity; and a package designed to house the die on an inner surface thereof. The transducer device moreover includes a sealing layer extending on the back side of the semiconductor body for sealing the cavity, and includes a paste layer extending between the sealing layer and the inner surface of the package for firmly coupling the die to the package.

Abstract: A method for application of an anti-wetting coating to a substrate of a semiconductor material is described. The method includes applying to a support a solution of a hydrocarbon comprising at least one unsaturated bond and, optionally, at least one hetero-atom for obtaining a layer of hydrocarbons. The method also includes treating at least one surface of the substrate of the semiconductor material with an acid. The layer of hydrocarbons is transferred from the support to the surface of the substrate of the semiconductor material. The layer of hydrocarbons is chemically coupled with the surface of the substrate of the semiconductor material. The method may be applied to an integrated ink jet printhead provided with a nozzle plate in which the nozzle plate serves as the substrate of the semiconductor material.

Abstract: An electronic semiconductor device comprising: a semiconductor body, having a first side and a second side opposite to one another and including a first structural region facing the second side, and a second structural region extending over the first structural region and facing the first side; a body region extending in the second structural region at the first side; a source region extending inside the body region; an LDD region facing the first side of the semiconductor body; and a gate electrode. The device comprises: a trench dielectric region extending through the second structural region a first trench conductive region immediately adjacent to the trench dielectric region; and a second trench conductive region in electrical contact with the body region and with the source region. An electrical contact at the second side of the semiconductor body is in electrical contact with the drain region via the first structural region.

Abstract: A manufacturing method of an electrochemical sensor comprises forming a graphene layer on a donor substrate, laminating a film of dry photoresist on the graphene layer, removing the donor substrate to obtain an intermediate structure comprising the film of dry photoresist and the graphene layer, and laminating the intermediate structure onto a final substrate with the graphene layer in electrical contact with first and second electrodes positioned on the final substrate. The film of dry photoresist is then patterned to form a microfluidic structure on the graphene layer and an additional dry photoresist layer is laminated over the structure. In one type of sensor manufactured by this process, the graphene layer acts as a channel region of a field-effect transistor, whose conductive properties vary according to characteristics of an analyte introduced into the microfluidic structure.

Abstract: A transmission channel transmits high-voltage pulses and receives echos of the high-voltage pulses. The transmission channel includes a current generator circuit, which generates current-integrator drive currents, a receiver, which amplifies transducer-echo signals, and control circuitry. The control circuitry generates one or more control signals to control generation of current-integrator drive currents by the current generator circuit during transducer-driving periods and reception of transducer-echo signals by the receiver during echo-reception periods. A current integrator integrates current-integrator drive currents generated by current generator circuit to generate transducer drive signals.

Abstract: An inertial sensor having a body with an excitation coil and a first sensing coil extending along a first axis. A suspended mass includes a magnetic-field concentrator, in a position corresponding to the excitation coil, and configured for displacing by inertia in a plane along the first axis. A supply and sensing circuit is electrically coupled to the excitation coil and to the first sensing coil, and is configured for generating a time-variable flow of electric current that flows in the excitation coil so as to generate a magnetic field that interacts with the magnetic-field concentrator to induce a voltage/current in the sensing coil. The integrated circuit is configured for measuring a value of the voltage/current induced in the first sensing coil so as to detect a quantity associated to the displacement of the suspended mass along the first axis.

Abstract: An electronic device includes a chip and a support element which supports the chip. Leads are provided to be electrically coupled to at least one terminal of the chip. A coupling element is mounted to a free region of the support element that is not occupied by the chip. The coupling element includes a conductive portion electrically connected to at least one lead and to the at least one terminal of the chip to obtain an electrical coupling.

Abstract: A MEMS device wherein a die of semiconductor material has a first face and a second face. A membrane is formed in or on the die and faces the first surface. A cap is fixed to the first face of the first die and is spaced apart from the membrane by a space. The die is fixed, on its second face, to an ASIC, which integrates a circuit for processing the signals generated by the die. The ASIC is in turn fixed on a support. A packaging region coats the die, the cap, and the ASIC and seals them from the outside environment. A fluidic path is formed through the support, the ASIC, and the first die, and connects the membrane and the first face of the die with the outside, without requiring holes in the cap.

Abstract: A switching circuit is electrically coupled between a connection terminal and an output terminal of a transmission channel and includes first and second switching transistors electrically coupled in series to each other and having respective body diodes in anti-series, between the connection terminal and the output terminal. The switching circuit comprises a bootstrap circuit connected to respective first and second control terminals of these first and one second switching transistors, as well as to respective first and second voltage references. The bootstrap circuit includes a first parasitic capacitance electrically coupled between the first control terminal and a first bootstrap node, and a second parasitic capacitance electrically coupled between the second control terminal and a second bootstrap node. The parasitic capacitances have value of at least one order of magnitude lower with respect to the gate-source capacitances of the first and second switching transistors.

Abstract: A device includes an epitaxial region extending into a front surface of a chip. A portion of the chip adjacent the epitaxial region defines a collector. A gate is provided in a trench extending into the epitaxial region from the front surface. An emitter includes a body extending into the epitaxial region at a first side of the trench and a source extending into the body region from the front surface at the trench. A dummy emitter extends into the epitaxial region from the front surface at a second side of the trench opposite said first side. The dummy emitter lacks the source. The gate extends along a first wall of the trench facing the emitter region. A dummy gate is formed in the trench in a manner electrically isolated from the gate and extending along a second wall of the trench opposite said first wall.

Abstract: According to an embodiment, a sequence of video frames as produced in a video-capture apparatus such as a video camera is stabilized against hand shaking or vibration by:—subjecting a pair of frames in the sequence to feature extraction and matching to produce a set of matched features;—subjecting the set of matched features to an outlier removal step; and—generating stabilized frames via motion-model estimation based on features resulting from outlier removal. Motion-model estimation is performed based on matched features having passed a zone-of-interest test confirmative that the matched features passing the test are distributed over a plurality of zones across the frames.

Abstract: A semiconductor structure includes at least a semiconductor body, a delimiting structure delimiting a cup-shaped recess in the body and a conductive region in the recess. The conductive region is made of a low-melting-temperature material, having a melting temperature lower than that of the materials forming the delimiting structure.

Abstract: An optoelectronic device for detecting electromagnetic radiation and including: a body of semiconductor material delimited by a main surface and including a first region and a second region that form a junction; and a recess formed in the body, which extends from the main surface and is delimited at least by a first wall, the first wall being arranged transverse to the main surface. The junction faces the first wall.

Abstract: A shock sensor includes: a supporting body; a bistable mechanism, configured to switch from a first stable mechanical configuration to a second stable mechanical configuration in response to an impact force applied along a detection axis and such as to supply to the bistable mechanism an amount of energy higher than a transition energy; and a detection device, coupled to the bistable mechanism and having a first state, when the bistable mechanism is in an initial stable mechanical configuration and a second state, after the bistable mechanism has made a transition from the initial stable mechanical configuration to a final stable mechanical configuration. The bistable mechanism includes at least one elastic element, constrained to the supporting body in at least two opposite peripheral regions and defining a first concavity in the first stable mechanical configuration and a second concavity, opposite to the first concavity, in the second stable mechanical configuration.

Abstract: In a multi-phase power supply voltage regulator functioning at a nominal switching frequency, one or more phases are kept off for optimizing energy efficiency at relatively low load conditions. Reactivation of stand-by phases in response to a load increase transient is made more efficiently by exploiting information already present in the output voltage control loop. The technique comprises a) deriving from the control loop information on the equivalent nominal switching frequency given by the product of the nominal switching frequency by the number of active phases; b) updating at every beat of a clock signal the instantaneous value of the equivalent switching frequency; c) determining the band of equivalent switching frequency values to which the instantaneous value belongs; d) logically combining the equivalent switching frequency information with a determined band of output current level, for switching on one or more stand-by phases in response to a load increase transient.

Abstract: A method of controlling a switching converter and a related controller suitable for the switching converter allow to implement a burst-mode functioning without generating acoustic noise and with a relevantly reduced ripple of the regulated DC voltage or current provided in output to a supplied load. The method includes sensing the difference between the error signal and the burst-stop threshold at the beginning of a burst period. If the error signal has surpassed (either upwards or downwards) the burst-stop threshold, the method sets the switching stage in a high impedance state at a new active edge of a clock signal, keeps the switching stage in the high impedance state for an integer number of cycles of the clock signal, and re-enables the switching stage to switch the energy tank circuit up to the end of the burst period. The integer number is determined based on the difference between the error signal and the burst-stop threshold.

Abstract: An embodiment of a method for computing pyramids of input images (I) in a transformed domain, e.g., for search and retrieval purposes, includes:—arranging input images in blocks to produce input image blocks,—subjecting the input image blocks to block processing including: transform into a transformed domain, subjecting the image blocks transformed into a transformed domain to filtering, subjecting the image blocks transformed into a transformed domain and filtered to inverse transform implementing an inverse transform with respect to the previous transform into a transformed domain, thus producing a set of processed blocks. The set of processed blocks, which is recomposeable to an image pyramid, may be used, e.g., in detecting extrema points in images in the pyramid, extracting a patch of given size around the extrema points detected, and processing the patch to obtain local descriptors such as SIFT descriptors of a feature.

Abstract: A depth map is generated from at least a first and a second image. A plurality of reference pixels in the first image are selected and associated with respective pixels in the second image. A disparity between each reference pixel and the respective pixel in said second image is determined, and a depth value is determined as a function of the respective disparity. The plurality of reference pixels is selected based on detected contours in the first image.

Abstract: A drive transistor is connected to a resonant load in a low-side drive configuration. The voltage across the conduction terminals of the drive transistor is sensed and compared to an over-voltage threshold. An over-voltage signal is asserted in response to the comparison. The drive transistor is controlled by a PWM control signal in normal mode. In response to the assertion of the over-voltage signal, the drive transistor is forced to turn on (irrespective of the PWM control signal) to relieve the over-voltage condition. Operation of the circuit may be disabled or forced into soft start mode in response to the assertion of the over-voltage signal. Additionally, the pulse width of the PWM control signal may be reduced in response to the assertion of the over-voltage signal.