Abstract: An integrated programmable gain amplifier circuit that receives at an input an analog signal, circuit including an operational amplifier and a gain setup network comprising resistive elements and selection elements, which may be controlled in order to setup the gain of the amplifier circuit. The gain setup network further includes capacitive elements, for defining, together with the resistive elements and the operational amplifier, an anti-aliasing filter of the active RC type.

Abstract: A low drop-out DC voltage regulator regulates a voltage from a DC supply and includes: a pass device controllable to maintain a voltage at an output of the regulator and arranged to provide a first current from the DC supply, at least part of said first current being provided to a load coupled to the output of the regulator; and a current regulator coupled to said pass device and to the output of the regulator. The current regulator is arranged to conduct a second current controllable such that the first current through said pass device remains constant irrespective of variations in a load current to said load.

Abstract: A method for producing a photosensitive integrated circuit including producing circuit control transistors, producing, above the control transistors, and between at least one upper electrode and at least one lower electrode, at least one photodiode, by amorphous silicon layers into which photons from incident electromagnetic radiation are absorbed, producing at least one passivation layer, between the lower electrode and the control transistors, and producing, between the control transistors and the external surface of the integrated circuit, a reflective layer capable of reflecting photons not absorbed by the amorphous silicon layers.

Abstract: A system having an input and output buffer includes a dynamic driver reference generator to generate dynamic driver reference signals based on a data signal and an IO buffer supply voltage, a level shifter to generate level shifted signals based, in part, on the dynamic driver reference signals, and a driver having at least one stress transistor. The driver dynamically adjusts a voltage across the stress transistor based on at least one of dynamic driver reference signals, the level shifted signals, and a current state of an IO pad.

Abstract: An inertial device that is integratable in a portable electronic device includes: an inertial sensor for generating at least one raw acceleration signal in response to accelerations caused by movements of walking and running of a user of the pedometer; and a processing unit, associated to the inertial sensor for counting a number of steps of the user of the pedometer on the basis of the raw acceleration signal. The inertial sensor and the processing unit are both encapsulated within a single package for integrated circuits, which can be coupled to a circuit board of an electronic device and is provided with at least one connection terminal for making the number of steps available to the outside world.

Abstract: A subframe structure for wireless communication uses a master common subframe and second master common subframe method to give BSs different priorities to serve overlapping areas in common subframes. The subframe structure and corresponding method can increase overlapping cells' capacity and reduce interference.

Abstract: A common control channel for base station (“BS”)/consumer premise equipment (“CPE”) communication in areas of overlapping coverage by wireless regional area network (“WRAN”) cells operating on different working channels is disclosed. A common control channel is selected from among the various working channels sensed in each of a plurality of overlapping WRAN cells so as to enable BS/CPE and BS/BS communication. Once chosen, each CPE within the overlapping area communicates with the controlling BS via an enhanced coexistence beacon protocol messages. These messages include timing and other synchronization information.

Abstract: An optical navigation device, such as that used on a computer or mobile communications device, includes a radiation source capable of producing a beam of radiation. A sensor receives an image. An optical element identifies movement of an elastic object on a first surface to thereby enable a control action to be carried out. The device further determines the relative pressure on a first surface by an elastic object based upon the value of an optical parameter, such as the average radiation intensity of the image received at the sensor. The device may be arranged to operate as a push button or a linear pressure sensor.

Abstract: A method for decontaminating at least one object contained in a chamber, the method including a succession of alternated steps of lowering and increasing the pressure in the chamber.

Abstract: A method and a system of multichannel transmission over a twin-wire bus including a data signal and a synchronization signal, data of a first channel being transmitted by a state coding of the data signal for a time period containing a first state of the synchronization signal, data of a second channel being transmitted by pulse coding outside of said period.

Abstract: An embodiment of a process for manufacturing a semiconductor power device envisages the steps of: providing a body made of semiconductor material having a first top surface; forming an active region with a first type of conductivity in the proximity of the first top surface and inside an active portion of the body; and forming an edge-termination structure. The edge-termination structure is formed by: a ring region having the first type of conductivity and a first doping level, set within a peripheral edge portion of the body and electrically coupled to the active region; and a guard region, having the first type of conductivity and a second doping level, higher than the first doping level, set in the proximity of the first top surface and connecting the active region to the ring region.

Abstract: A random signal generator uses a folded MOS transistor, whose drain-source current includes a random component, as an electronic noise source. The random signal generator generates a random binary signal from the random component. The invention may be applied, in particular, to smart cards.

Abstract: A solution for restoring operation of a storage device based on a flash memory is proposed. The storage device emulates a logical memory space (including a plurality of logical blocks each one having a plurality of logical sectors), which is mapped on a physical memory space of the flash memory (including a plurality of physical blocks each one having a plurality of physical sectors for storing different versions of the logical sectors). A corresponding method starts by detecting a plurality of conflicting physical blocks for a corrupted logical block (resulting from a breakdown of the storage device). The method continues by determining a plurality of validity indexes (indicative of the number of last versions of the logical sectors of the corrupted logical block that are stored in the conflicting physical blocks). One ore more of the conflicting physical blocks are selected according to the validity indexes. The selected conflicting physical blocks are then associated with the corrupted logical block.

Abstract: The method of synchronizing sequential phase switchings in driving stator windings of a multiphase sensorless brushless motor with a reconstructed information on the current angular position of a permanent magnet rotor, includes sampling on a currently non-conductive stator winding a voltage induced thereon by the resultant magnetic field produced by the drive current forced through currently conductive stator windings that inverts its sign when the rotor transitions across a plurality of significant angular positions, at which orthogonality between the resultant magnetic field and a magnetic axis of the non-excited winding verifies.

Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor channel region and a gate region, wherein the gate region includes at least one buried part extending under the channel region. The buried part of the gate region is formed from a cavity under the channel region. The cavity is filled with a first material. An opening is made to access the first material. In one implementation, aluminium is deposited in the opening in contact with the first material. An anneal is performed to cause the aluminium to be substituted for the first material in the cavity. In another implementation, a second material different from the first material is deposited in the opening. An anneal is performed to cause an alloy of the first and second materials to be formed in the cavity.

Abstract: An address configuration circuit and a method for sharing a series bus connected to a first device between two secondary devices by a configuration within each secondary device of a different address, including, in a configuration phase, the temporary configuring of an output terminal of each secondary device in a mode of reading of the voltage present on this terminal to select one address out of two within the device.

Abstract: An audio selection circuit. The audio selection circuit includes a control/switch circuit having a first input, a second input, and a first output, and a signal detector module configured to detect an audio signal on the second input. If the signal detector detects presence of the audio signal on the second input, the signal detector is configured to transmit a control signal to the control/switch circuit, and the control/switch circuit is configured in response to the control signal to disconnect the first input from the first output and to connect the second input to the first output. Otherwise, the control/switch circuit is configured to connect the first input to the first output and to disconnect the second input from the first output.

Abstract: A filter is arranged to selectively block or allow a data access command from an initiator according to whether the initiator is secure or insecure and whether a data source or destination being accessed is privileged or unprivileged. The data access command contains an identification of the initiator from which the data access command originated and an identification of the data source or destination being accessed. The security filter compares the initiator identification and data source or destination identification contained within the data access command with a list of those initiators defined as secure and a list of those data sources or destinations which are defined as unprivileged. The filter then blocks or allows the data access command signal according to a set of rules.

Abstract: A method and a device for estimating a first value of a signal formed of a series of values corresponding either to the first value or to a second value equal to the opposite of the first value, where the signal can take values other than the first and second values due to noise.

Abstract: A moving-image signal, such as typically a luminance signal organized in blocks of pixels is coded via a technique that envisages the steps of: comparing a block to be coded with a plurality of candidate prediction blocks; determining, for each candidate prediction block, a respective value of an index representing the difference between the block to be coded and each candidate prediction block; and choosing between the candidate prediction blocks, as a function of the respective value of the aforesaid index, a prediction block to be used for coding of the block to be coded. The signal is sampled pixel by pixel on the block to be coded and on the plurality of candidate prediction blocks, thus generating respective surfaces representing the pattern of the signal in the block to be coded and in the candidate prediction blocks. Chosen as an index is an index of the parallelism between the aforesaid respective surfaces.