Abstract: An electronic device includes a substrate provided with a passing opening and a MEMS device including an active surface wherein a portion of the MEMS device is integrated sensitive to chemical/physical variations of a fluid. The active surface of the MEMS device faces the substrate and is spaced therefrom, the sensitive portion being aligned to the opening. A protective package incorporates at least partially the MEMS device and the substrate, leaving at least the sensitive portion of the MEMS device, and the opening of the substrate exposed. A barrier element is positioned in an area which surrounds the sensitive portion to realize a protection structure for the MEMS device, so that the sensitive portion is free.

Abstract: An integrated circuit includes a first storage location, a first generator, a converter, and a second generator. The first storage location is operable to store a first adjustment value. The first generator is coupled to the first storage location, is operable to generate a first signal having a first characteristic, and includes a first adjuster operable to change the first characteristic in response to the first adjustment value. The converter is coupled to the first storage location and is operable to generate from the first adjustment value a modified adjustment value. The second generator is coupled to the converter, is operable to generate a second signal having a second characteristic, and includes a second adjuster operable to change the second characteristic in response to the modified adjustment value.

Abstract: An automatic speech recognition method includes converting an acoustic signal into a digital signal; determine a power spectrum of at least one portion of the digital signal; and non-linearly determining envelope values of the power spectrum at a plurality of respective frequencies, based on a combination of the power spectrum with a filter function. Non-linearly determining envelope values involves calculating each envelope value based on a respective number of values of the power spectrum and of the filter function and the respective number of values is correlated to the respective frequency of the envelope value.

Abstract: An optical die, which is intended to be placed in front of an optical sensor of a semiconductor component, has an optically useful zone having an optical axis and exhibiting a variable refractive index. Specifically the refractive index of the die is variable in an annular peripheral zone lying between a radius Ru enveloping the useful zone and a smaller radius Ro. The index is varies as a function of radial distance from a higher value near the smaller radius Ro to a lower value near the radius Ru. The function of the variable refractive index lies between a maximum and minimum profile.

Abstract: A system renders a primitive of an image to be displayed, for instance in a mobile 3D graphic pipeline, the primitive including a set of pixels. The system locates the pixels in the area of the primitive, generates, for each pixel located in the area, a set of associated sub-pixels, borrows a set of sub-pixels from neighboring pixels, subjects the set of associated sub-pixels and the borrowed set of pixels to adaptive filtering to create an adaptively filtered set of sub-pixels, and further filters the adaptively filtered set of sub-pixels to compute a final pixel for display. Preferably, the set of associated sub-pixels fulfils at least one of the following: the set includes two associated sub-pixels and the set includes associated sub-pixels placed on pixel edges.

Abstract: A transconductor circuit, particularly according to the multi-tanh principle, having a first input node and a second input node, a first differential amplifier coupled to the first and second input nodes, and having a first offset voltage, and a second differential amplifier coupled to the first and second input nodes, and having a second offset voltage different from the first offset voltage. A first resistance circuit is coupled between the first differential amplifier and at least one current source, and a second resistance circuit is coupled between the second differential amplifier and the at least one current source. Varying of the current sources enables control of the transconductance without degrading linearity.

Abstract: An integrated circuit includes at least one photodiode associated with a read transistor. The photodiode is formed from a stack of three semiconductor layers comprising a buried layer, an floating substrate layer and an upper layer. The drain region and/or the source region of the transistor are incorporated within the upper layer. The buried layer is electrically isolated from the upper layer so as to allow the buried layer to be biased independently of the upper layer.

Abstract: A method for correcting an image from defects and filtering from Gaussian noise corrects each pixel of the image when it is considered defective and filters it from Gaussian noise in one-pass. The one-pass improves the speed for performing the correcting and filtering. The drawbacks associated with choosing incompatible defect correction and filtering operations are overcome.

Abstract: An integrated device, including: a first conductive region; a second conductive region set at a distance from the first conductive region; an etch-stop layer, made of a first dielectric material, at least partially overlapped on the first and second conductive regions; an insulating layer, made of a second dielectric material, different from the first, overlapped on the first and second conductive regions and on the etch-stop layer; at least one through opening extending through the insulating layer and the etch-stop layer; and a barrier layer, made of a third dielectric material, different from the first, set between the first conductive region and the etch-stop layer and between the second conductive region and the etch-stop layer.

Abstract: A method for forming a resonator including a resonant element, the resonant element being at least partly formed of a body at least partly formed of a first conductive material, the body including open cavities, this method including the steps of measuring the resonator frequency; and at least partially filling said cavities.

Abstract: A system and method of locating the position of a satellite or a user using a satellite positioning system. The system and method includes receiving, at a terminal, satellite positioning data for at least one specified time period over a communications channel. In addition, the system includes storing, at the terminal, the satellite positioning data for the at least one specified time period. Responsive to an event at a later time, the system generally calculates, at the terminal, the satellite position at the later time based only on the satellite positioning data for the at least one specified time period.

Abstract: A method includes receiving a sequence of frames containing audio information and determining that a frame is missing in the sequence of frames. The method also includes comparing the frame that precedes the missing frame to the received frames to identify a selected frame. The method further includes identifying a replacement frame comprising the frame that follows the selected frame. In addition, the method includes inserting the replacement frame into the sequence of frames in place of the missing frame.

Abstract: A method manufactures a vertical power MOS transistor on a semiconductor substrate comprising a first superficial semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type, comprising: forming trench regions in the first semiconductor layer, filling in said trench regions with a second semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type, to form semiconductor portions of the second conductivity type contained in the first semiconductor layer, carrying out an ion implantation of a first dopant type in the semiconductor portions for forming respective implanted body regions of said second conductivity type, carrying out an ion implantation of a second dopant type in one of the implanted body regions for forming an implanted source region of the first conductivity type inside one of the body regions, carrying out an activation thermal process of the first and second dopant types with low thermal budget suitable to complete said formation of the body and source regions.

Abstract: A system and method for adaptive rate control in audio processing is provided. The process could include receiving uncompressed audio data from an input and generating MDCT spectrum for each frame of the uncompressed audio data using a filterbank. The process could also include estimating masking thresholds for current frame to be encoded based on the MDCT spectrum. The masking thresholds reflect a bit budget for the current frame. The process could also include performing quantization of the current frame based on the masking thresholds. After the quantization of the current frame, the bit budget for next frame is updated for estimating the masking thresholds of the next frame. The process could also include encoding the quantized audio data.

Abstract: A memory cell is protected against current or voltage spikes. The cell includes a group of redundant data storage nodes for the storage of information in at least one pair of complementary nodes. The cell further includes circuitry for restoring information to its initial state following a current or voltage spike which modifies the information in one of the nodes of the pair using the information stored in the other node. The data storage nodes of each pair in the cell are implanted on opposite sides of an opposite conductivity type well from one another within a region of a substrate defining the boundaries of the memory cell.

Abstract: The generation of a chip identifier supporting at least one integrated circuit, which includes providing a cutout of least one conductive path by cutting the chip, the position of the cutting line relative to the chip conditioning the identifier.

Abstract: A process for manufacturing an array of bipolar transistors, wherein deep field insulation regions of dielectric material are formed in a semiconductor body, thereby defining a plurality of active areas, insulated from each other and a plurality of bipolar transistors are formed in each active area. In particular, in each active area, a first conduction region is formed at a distance from the surface of the semiconductor body; a control region is formed on the first conduction region; and, in each control region, at least two second conduction regions and at least one control contact region are formed. The control contact region is interposed between the second conduction regions and at least two surface field insulation regions are thermally grown in each active area between the control contact region and the second conduction regions.

Abstract: A capacitive array comprising at least two capacitive entities, comprising a substrate layer. The substrate layer comprises a comb comprising at least four substantially identical teeth, and, for each capacitive entity, a set of fingers comprising one or more interlinked fingers. At least two sets of fingers comprise a different number of fingers, each finger being nested between two teeth of the comb and being substantially identical to the other fingers. The fingers of each set of fingers are substantially distributed symmetrically relative to a median axis of the comb. The comb and the fingers are integrated in a single block.

Abstract: A process for manufacturing a suspended structure of semiconductor material envisages the steps of: providing a monolithic body of semiconductor material having a front face; forming a buried cavity within the monolithic body, extending at a distance from the front face and delimiting, with the front face, a surface region of the monolithic body, said surface region having a first thickness; carrying out a thickening thermal treatment such as to cause a migration of semiconductor material of the monolithic body towards the surface region and thus form a suspended structure above the buried cavity, the suspended structure having a second thickness greater than the first thickness. The thickening thermal treatment is an annealing treatment.

Abstract: A method of metal deposition may include chemically modifying a surface of a substrate to make the surface hydrophobic. The method may further include depositing a layer of metal over the hydrophobic surface and masking at least a portion of the deposited metal layer to define a conductive metal structure. The method may also include using an etching agent to etch unmasked portions of the deposited metal layer.