Abstract: A voltage converter device includes a voltage regulator having a supply terminal for receiving a supply voltage and an output terminal for providing a regulated voltage. A voltage multiplier is for receiving the regulated voltage and providing a boosted voltage higher in absolute value than the regulated voltage. The voltage multiplier includes circuitry for providing a clock signal that switches periodically between the regulated voltage and a reference voltage, and a sequence of capacitive stages that alternately accumulate and transfer electric charge according to the clock signal for generating the boosted voltage from the regulated voltage. The voltage regulator includes a power transistor and a regulation transistor each having a first conduction terminal, a second conduction terminal and a control terminal.

Abstract: A moving device to move across a surface including a motor rolling motion apparatus is disclosed. The moving device is coupled to the motor and has a body with an outer surface. A dense population of fibrils protrudes from the outer surface, with each fibril having a free-end termination configured to establish adhesion to the surface by inter-molecular Van der Waals forces.

Abstract: A Voltage regulator includes a first input terminal configured to receive an input supply voltage, includes a second input terminal configured to receive a regulated output supply voltage as a function of the input supply voltage or to receive a test supply voltage and comprises a power transistor including an input terminal configured to receive the input supply voltage and including an output terminal configured to generate the regulated output supply voltage.

Abstract: A solid state sensor to sense pressure includes a semiconductor substrate having a crystallographic design axis, and an odd number of identical inverter modules coupled in series to form a ring oscillator on the semiconductor substrate. Each inverter module includes a pair of structurally identical CMOS inverter stages. A logic input circuit starts oscillation of the ring oscillator and select a signal propagation path therein, either through CMOS inverter stage more affected by the induced mechanical stress or through CMOS inverter stages less affected by the pressure, using two logic command signals. The ring oscillator allows a reading of a frequency of oscillation based on the two logic command signals.

Abstract: A modular hub driver architecture may include a multi-delay block configured to provide an enhanced delay match among N distinct stages of a distributed modulating electro-optical interface core. The electro-optical multi-core modulator driver may include an input impedance matching stage and a pre-conditioning circuit configured to generate a number M, an integer divisor of N, of delayed replicas of an electrical modulating signal. The electro-optical multi-core modulator may include an array of M launch buffers of the replica signals, and an array of M multi-delay blocks, each including delay circuit modules differently cascaded on distinct signal paths, and configured to receive, at respective inputs, the M replica signals and to output N/M differently delayed replicas of the input signals, each driving a correspondent output stage of one on the N electro-optical interface cores.

Abstract: A method for automatic design of an electronic circuit, includes: generating (100) a layout (L) of the aforesaid electronic circuit; generating (200) abstract data (A) at the substrate level associated to the layout (L) of the aforesaid electronic circuit; generating (300) a grid (TG) of subdivision into meshes and nodes with respect to a view pertaining to the aforesaid abstract (A) and applying it to the aforesaid substrate (SBS); and extracting (400), on the basis of the aforesaid subdivision grid (TG), a full electrical netlist (NC) pertaining to the substrate (SBS). The method further includes performing an evaluation (500, 600) of the interactions between devices (DV) of the electronic circuit at the substrate level according to the aforesaid full electrical netlist (NC) pertaining to the substrate (SBS).

Abstract: A method for control of an internal combustion engine includes generating, with a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) accelerometer, an acceleration signal representing vibrations of the internal combustion engine. An engine crank angle signal is generated based on the acceleration signal. The engine crank angle signal is compared with a target value. The internal combustion engine is adjusted based upon the comparing.

Abstract: An oscillator device includes: a structural layer extending over a first side of a semiconductor substrate; a semiconductor cap set on the structural layer; a coupling region extending between and hermetically sealing the structural layer and the cap and forming a cavity within the oscillator device; first and second conductive paths extending between the substrate and the structural layer; first and second conductive pads housed in the cavity and electrically coupled to first terminal portions of the first and second conductive paths by first and second connection regions, respectively, which extend through and are insulated from the structural layer; a piezoelectric resonator having first and second ends electrically coupled, respectively, to the first and second conductive pads, and extending in the cavity; and third and fourth conductive pads positioned outside the cavity and electrically coupled to second terminal portions of the first and second conductive paths.

Abstract: In an embodiment, access transactions of at least one module of a system such as a System-on-Chip (SoC) to one of a plurality of target modules, such as memories, are managed by assigning transactions identifiers subjected to a consistency check. If an input identifier to the check has already been issued for the same given target module, to the related identifier/given target module pair the same input identifier is assigned as a consistent output identifier. If, on the contrary, said input identifier to the check has not been already issued or has already been issued for a target module different from the considered one, to the related identifier/given target module pair a new identifier, different from the input identifier, is assigned as a consistent output identifier.

Abstract: An electronic system comprises a resistive sensor structure and an electronic circuit portion whose design is selected such that different resistive sensor structures may be combined within the same electronic circuit. To this end, the resistive sensor structure is used as a voltage/current converter that provides input currents to a current amplifier, which in turn provides an amplified output voltage on the basis of a difference of the input currents. The operating range of the current amplifier is adjusted on the basis of a programmable current source irrespective of the configuration of the resistive sensor structure.

Abstract: A differential or pseudo-differential TIA includes an auxiliary differential amplifier input transistor pair cross-coupled to the output nodes to cancel undesired output signal components. The advantages of a classical differential topology are retained while performance at a high data rate is significantly improved.

Abstract: Contactless differential coupling structures can be used to communicate signals between circuits located on separate chips or from one chip to a probing device. The contactless coupling structures avoid problems (breaks, erosion, corrosion) that can degrade the performance of ohmic-type contact pads. The contactless coupling structures comprise pairs of conductive pads placed in close proximity. Differential signals are applied across a first pair of differential pads, and the signals are coupled wirelessly to a mating pair of conductive pads. Circuitry for generating and receiving differential signals is described.

Abstract: A row decoder circuit for a phase change non-volatile memory device may include memory cells arranged in a wordlines. The device may be configured to receive a first supply voltage and a second supply voltage higher than the first supply voltage. The row decoder may include a global predecoding stage configured to receive address signals and generate high-voltage decoded address signals in a range of the second supply voltage and a biasing signal with a value based upon an operation. The row decoder may include a row decoder stage coupled to the global predecoding stage. The row decoder stage may include a selection driving unit configured to generate block-address signals based upon the high-voltage decoded address signals and a row-driving unit configured to generate a row-driving signal for biasing the wordlines based upon the block-address signals and the biasing signal.

Abstract: A voltage regulator has an input terminal for receiving a supply voltage and an output terminal for providing a regulated voltage and a regulated current. Furthermore, the voltage regulator includes a regulator for generating the regulated voltage and the regulated current according to a regulation of the supply voltage. The regulator includes a plurality of regulation branches arranged between the input terminal and the output terminal, each one for providing an output voltage used for obtaining the regulated voltage and for providing an output current contributing to define the regulated current. The regulation branches are partitioned into a plurality of subsets each one including components adapted to operate within a corresponding maximum voltage different from the maximum voltage of the other subsets. In addition, the regulator includes a selector for selectively enabling the regulation branches according to an indicator of the supply voltage.

Abstract: A device having an FET structure for the emission of an optical radiation integrated on a substrate of a semiconductor material, includes a first mirror, a second mirror of a dielectric type and an active layer comprising a main zone designed to be excited to generate the radiation. The device also includes a first electrically conductive layer containing two doped regions constitutes a source well and a drain well between which a current flows, a second electrically conductive layer which constitutes a gate, and a dielectric region between the first and second layer, to space corresponding peripheral portions of the first and second layers so that the current is channeled in the main zone for generating excitation radiation. The first and second electrically conductive layers and the active layer define an optical cavity.

Abstract: A monitoring system includes an array of concatenated sensing nodes, with each sensing node being configured to have at least one of near-field and far-field RF coupling circuitry to interface with an adjacent sensing node. A respective device is coupled to each of the sensing nodes. A reader device is configured to have at least one of near-field and far-field RF coupling circuitry to interface with the array of concatenated sensing nodes to read data from the devices.

Abstract: A decoding system for a phase change non-volatile memory device having a memory array may include a column decoder that selects at least one column of the memory array during programming operations. The decoding system includes a selection circuit that includes selection switches on a number of hierarchical decoding levels for defining a conductive path between at least one column and a driving stage. A biasing circuit may supply biasing signals to the selection switches for defining the first conductive path and bringing the selected column to a programming voltage value. The programming selection circuit may have protection elements between columns and the selection switches. The selection switches and the protection elements may include metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors having an upper threshold voltage level lower than the programming voltage.

Abstract: A method for determining the position of a contact on a panel envisages, during a detection operation, detecting vibration signals at a plurality of detection areas fixed with respect to the panel as a function of vibrations generated by the contact; determining detection values of temporal differences between times of detection of the vibrations at pairs of said detection areas; and determining the position of the contact as a function of said temporal differences. A characterization operation, preceding that of detection, envisages defining contact areas (key1-keyn) on the panel and associating to these contact areas respective ranges of admissible values for the temporal differences. In order to determine the position of the contact in a given contact area, the membership of the detection values of the temporal differences to the respective ranges of admissible values of the given contact area is verified.

Abstract: An offset-compensation circuit in a MEMS sensor device, provided with a micromechanical detection structure that transduces a quantity to be detected into an electrical detection quantity, and with an electronic reading circuit, coupled to the micromechanical detection structure for processing the electrical detection quantity and supplying an output signal, which is a function of the quantity to be detected. A compensation structure is electrically coupled to the input of the electronic reading circuit and can be controlled for generating an electrical compensation quantity, of a trimmable value, for compensating an offset on the output signal; the compensation circuit has a control unit, which reads the output signal during operation of the MEMS sensor device; obtains information on the offset present on the output signal itself; and controls the compensation structure as a function of the offset information.

Abstract: A microelectromechanical gyroscope having a microstructure that includes a first mass and a second mass, wherein the first mass is oscillatable according to a first axis and the second mass is constrained to the first mass so as to be drawn along by the first mass according to the first axis and to oscillate according to a second axis, in response to a rotation of the microstructure, a driving device coupled to the microstructure to maintain the first mass in oscillation at the driving frequency, and a reading device that detects displacements of the second mass according to the second axis. The gyroscope is provided with a self-test actuation system coupled to the second mass for applying an electrostatic force at the driving frequency so as to move the second mass according to the second axis.