Abstract: A method for controlling the electrical conduction between two electrically conductive portions may include placing of an at least partially ionic crystal between the two electrically conductive portions. The crystal may include at least one surface region coupled to the two electrically conductive portions. The surface region is insulating under the application of an electrical field to the surface region, and electrically conductive in the absence of the electrical field. An application or not of an electrical field to the at least one surface region reduces or establishes the electrical conduction.

Abstract: The charge pump circuit has a plurality of cascaded charge pump stages, each provided with a first pump capacitor connected to a first internal node and receiving a first high voltage phase signal, and a second pump capacitor connected to a second internal node and receiving a second high voltage phase signal, complementary with respect to the first. A first transfer transistor is coupled between the first internal node and an intermediate node, and a second transfer transistor is coupled between the second internal node and the intermediate node. The first and second high voltage phase signals have a voltage dynamics higher than a maximum voltage sustainable by the first and second transfer transistors. A protection stage is set between the first internal node and second internal node and respectively, the first transfer transistor and second transfer transistor, for protecting the same transfer transistors from overvoltages.

Abstract: A layer of a semiconductor material is epitaxially grown on a single-crystal semiconductor structure and on a polycrystalline semiconductor structure. The epitaxial layer is then etched in order to preserve a non-zero thickness of said material on the single-crystal structure and a zero thickness on the polycrystalline structure. The process of growth and etch is repeated, with the same material or with a different material in each repetition, until a stack of epitaxial layers on said single-crystal structure has reached a desired thickness. The single crystal structure is preferably a source/drain region of a transistor, and the polycrystalline structure is preferably a gate of that transistor.

Abstract: A confocal optical detector including a light source generating a first optical beam along an axis; an optoelectronic sensor; an optical focusing device, which receives and focuses the first optical beam; and a hole, which receives the first optical beam and is arranged between the optoelectronic sensor and the optical focusing device. The optoelectronic sensor is arranged between the light source and the hole. In addition, the optoelectronic sensor and the optical focusing device are aligned along the axis.

Abstract: The first electrode of the transistor may include a first electrically conductive region provided within the semiconductor substrate. The second electrode may include a second electrically conductive region provided within the semiconductor substrate. The first and second regions may be separated by the substrate region, and the control electrode may include a third electrically conductive region provided within the substrate. The third electrically conductive region may be both separated from the substrate region by an insulating region and electrically coupled to the substrate region by a junction diode intended to be reverse-biased.

Abstract: An imaging system includes a plurality of pixels. A pixel readout circuit produces a plurality of first image frames from those pixels. An image output circuit produces a plurality of second image frames and operates to produce a second image frame from more than one of the first image frames. The pixel readout circuit is enabled to produce the first images frames at a rate faster than the image output circuit produces the second image frames. Through combining first image frames, by averaging or other statistical combinations, the photon shot noise of second image frames is reduced. Photon shot noise affects images with high light levels more than those with low light levels and, as such, the system processing alters the rate of first image frames dependent on the current light levels.

Abstract: A chip package includes a substrate, an integrated circuit proximate a top surface of the substrate, and a cap comprising encapsulant that encapsulates the integrated circuit on at least a portion of the top surface of the substrate. The chip package further includes at least one extension feature positioned on at least a portion of the top surface of the substrate. The at least one extension feature also comprises the encapsulant and extends from the cap to a perimeter of the substrate.

Abstract: An RF amplifier including first and second branches coupled in parallel between first and second supply voltage terminals, and a differential pair including first and second transistors each having first and second main current terminals, the second main current terminal of the first transistor being coupled by a first capacitor to the first main current terminal of the second transistor, and the second main current terminal of the second transistor being coupled by a second capacitor to the first main current terminal of the first transistor, wherein the first branch includes a first resistor coupled between the first main current terminal of the first transistor and the second capacitor, and the second branch includes a second resistor; coupled between the first main current terminal of the second transistor and the first capacitor.

Abstract: The present invention concerns an image sensor having a plurality of pixels each including a photosensor, a first node having a first capacitance connected to the photosensor, a second node having a second capacitance and selectively connected to the photosensor, and reading circuitry operable to read independently a first voltage value stored at the first node and a second voltage value stored at the second node.

Abstract: An embodiment is proposed for trimming a programmable delay line in an integrated device, which delay line is adapted to delay an input signal being synchronous with a synchronization signal of the integrated device—by a total delay. An embodiment of a corresponding method includes the steps of: preliminary programming the delay line to provide a selected nominal value of the total delay equal to a period of the timing signal, and trimming the delay line to vary an actual value of the total delay until the actual value of the total delay matches the period of the synchronization signal.

Abstract: A radio-frequency amplifier includes a common gate amplification stage configured to be biased in a saturation condition with a first current and configured to receive an input signal as a gate-source voltage and to generate an output voltage as an amplified replica of the input signal. A feedback transistor is configured to be biased in a saturation condition with a second current and coupled to the common gate amplification stage so as to have a gate-drain voltage corresponding to a difference between the output voltage and the input signal.

Abstract: A lateral phase change memory includes a pair of electrodes separated by an insulating layer. The first electrode is formed in an opening in an insulating layer and is cup-shaped. The first electrode is covered by the insulating layer which is, in turn, covered by the second electrode. As a result, the spacing between the electrodes may be very precisely controlled and limited to very small dimensions. The electrodes are advantageously formed of the same material, prior to formation of the phase change material region.

Abstract: Fan-out wafer level packaging includes an integrated circuit having a top surface, a bottom surface, a plurality of side surfaces, and a bond pad defined on the top surface. A layer of encapsulant substantially surrounds the side surfaces of the integrated circuit, the layer of encapsulant having a height substantially equal to a height of the integrated circuit. A bump is spaced apart from the integrated circuit, and a redistribution layer electrically couples the bond pad of the integrated circuit to the bump.

Abstract: A database stores updated information concerning protected communications services. A base station for a coexisting, and potentially co-channel, non-protected communications service makes an inquiry of the database requesting an identification of geographically relevant protected services along with the database stored information pertinent to each of those identified protected services. The returned information is processed by the base station to determine what channels are available for use by the non-protected service. An available channel is identified by the base station as the working channel for the non-protected service and the base station initiates a process to establish a communications network using the non-protected service and the selected working channel.

Abstract: An intelligent audio speaker that uses a power line communication element to provide audio distribution within homes, businesses, apartment complexes, and other buildings. Multiple intelligent audio speakers may be networked together, with common control. The intelligent audio speaker may, in some embodiments of the present invention, contain enhanced ambient backlight effects to further enhance the listener's experience. In some embodiments of the present invention, an existing audio speaker is retrofitted to an intelligent audio speaker using a retrofit kit.

Abstract: A via connecting the front surface of a substrate to its rear surface and having, in cross-section in a plane parallel to the surfaces, the shape of a scalloped ring.

Abstract: For coarse resistor string DACs, a resistor string is placed in an array of columns and rows, each resistor tap is connected to a switch network, and a decoder is used to select switches to be closed such that sub-DAC voltage comes from the resistor taps connected to the selected switches. The voltages from each row are fed into multiplexers, wherein the multiplexers produce output voltages. DAC circuit designs extend the resolution of the output voltages by feeding them into a voltage interpolation amplifier. A method and apparatus are disclosed for implementing Gray code to design coarse DAC architecture for voltage interpolation such that the number of switches required by the circuit is significantly reduced, thereby decreasing required surface area, and improving glitch performance without increasing design complexity.

Abstract: An apparatus for adaptively suppressing noise in an input signal frequency spectrum derived from overlapping input frames is provided. The system includes a psychoacoustic power computation module configured to compute a noisy signal power in psychoacoustic bands, a voice activity scoring module configured to compute a probabilistic score for a presence of a speech, and a noise estimation module configured to estimate a noise power in the psychoacoustic bands based on information of past frames, the probabilistic score, and the computed noisy signal power. The system also includes a gain computation module configured to compute a gain for each frequency, based on a probabilistic heuristic, the probabilistic score and the information on the past frames, and a gain post-processing module configured to perform a gain time smoothing, a gain frequency smoothing, and a gain regulation for the computed gain.

Abstract: A device may include a programmable gain amplifier and an analog-digital converter with pipeline architecture having several stages. The first stage of the analog-digital converter may incorporate the programmable gain amplifier and an analog-digital conversion circuit with a programmable threshold.

Abstract: The presence of a child within an enclosed space in an appliance, such as a washing machine, dishwasher or refrigerator, is detected using one or more MEMS sensors positioned to detect movement within the enclosed space through various measured characteristics. In preference, combinations of different types of MEMS sensors are utilized to detect the movement. Movement may be attributed to the presence of a child inside the enclosed space, rather than resulting from other influences, with increased reliability if the determination is made based upon such combinations of different characteristics. Safety processes may be initiated upon detecting the presence of the child.