Abstract: A packaged electronic device includes a substrate with an upper surface interrupted by a well formed in the substrate. The well has a substrate bottom surface and a substrate sidewall. An electronic device is located in the well over the substrate bottom surface and has a device top surface and a device sidewall. A trench is bounded by the substrate bottom surface, the substrate sidewall and the device sidewall. An encapsulant at least partially fills the trench and contacts the substrate sidewall and the device sidewall. The encapsulant has a first elevation on the substrate sidewall with respect to the substrate bottom surface and a second elevation on the substrate device sidewall with respect to the substrate bottom surface that is at least about 35% greater than the first elevation.

Abstract: Over the years, ring counter and prescalers have been used in a variety of microelectronic applications, including Phased Locked Loops or PLLs. All of these applications have experienced both decreases in size and increases in speed. As a result, current-mode logic or CML has come into use in some high speed applications, calling for alternative designs for components such as prescalers. Here, a divide-by-three prescaler is described that uses internal states from mater-slave flip-flop pairs and that is well-suited for microelectronics that employ CML.

Abstract: A digital system and method of operation is provided in which several processors (440, 450) are connected to a shared memory resource (460). Translation lookaside buffers (TLB) (400, 402) are connected to receive a request address (404a-n) from each respective processor. Each TLB has a set of entries that correspond to pages of address space. Each entry provides a set of task memory attributes (TMA) (412a-n) for the associated page of address space. Task memory attributes are defined by a task control block associated with a currently executing task. For each memory transfer request, the TLB accesses an entry corresponding to the request address and provides a translated physical memory address and a task memory attribute value associated with that requested address space page. Functional circuitry (470) performs pre/post-processing on data that is being transferred between a processor and the memory in accordance with the task memory attribute value provided by the TLB with each memory transfer request.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for detecting a first device on a first bus issuing a read request for an amount of data to a second device on a second bus. The systems and methods further include detecting a bridge requesting a first portion of the data from the second device on behalf of the first device in response to the bridge receiving the read request, where the bridge couples the first bus to the second bus. In addition, the systems and methods include triggering the bridge to request an additional portion of the data on behalf of the first device.

Abstract: An apparatus for compensating temperature changes in a temperature associated with a compensated device includes: (a) An input circuit having a first input locus for receiving a temperature-indicating signal and a second input locus for receiving a sign-indicating signal. The temperature-indicating signal indicates magnitude of the temperature. The sign-indicating signal indicates a first sign when a control signal is greater than a predetermined value and indicates a second sign when the control signal is less than the predetermined value.

Abstract: A wireless communication system (10). The system comprises a user station (12). The user station comprises despreading circuitry (22) for receiving and despreading a plurality of slots received from at least a first transmit antenna (A121) and a second transmit antenna (A122) at a transmitting station (14). Each of the plurality of slots comprises a first channel (DPCH) comprising a first set of pilot symbols and a second channel (PCCPCH) comprising a second set of pilot symbols. The user station further comprises circuitry (50) for measuring a first channel measurement (?1,n) for each given slot in the plurality of slots from the first transmit antenna and in response to the first set of pilot symbols in the given slot. The user station further comprises circuitry (50) for measuring a second channel measurement (?2,n) for each given slot in the plurality of slots from the second transmit antenna and in response to the second set of pilot symbols in the given slot.

Abstract: Formation of an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection device having a desired breakdown voltage (BV) is disclosed. The breakdown voltage (BV) of the device can be set, at least in part, by varying the degree to which a surface junction between two doped areas is covered. This junction can be covered in one embodiment by a dielectric material and/or a semiconductor material. Moreover, a variable breakdown voltage can be established by concurrently forming, in a single process flow, multiple diodes that have different breakdown voltages, where the diodes are also formed concurrently with circuitry that is to be protected. To generate the variable or different breakdown voltages, respective edges of isolation regions can be extended to cover more of the surface junctions of different diodes. In this manner, a first diode can have a first breakdown voltage (BV1), a second diode can have a second breakdown voltage (BV2), a third diode can have a third breakdown voltage (BV3), etc.

Abstract: An integrated circuit includes a substrate having a semiconducting surface (605) and a plurality of standard cells arranged in a plurality of rows including at least a first row (610) and a second row (615) immediately above the first row. The first row (610) include at least a first decap filler cell (602) including a first active area (612) and a field dielectric outside the first active area (612) having a portion with a full field dielectric thickness portion 621and a portion with a thinned field dielectric (622), and at least a first MOS transistor (618) having a gate electrode (619) on a thick gate dielectric (613) on the first active area (612) connected as a decoupling capacitor.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for a Regulator that automatically configures to work in either SMPS mode or linear mode are disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes inputting a constant current source to a CBoot_pin for a first predetermined amount of time upon enabling an autodetect circuit by a Regulator control circuit. The CBoot voltage at the CBoot_pin is then determined to see if the CBBoot voltage at the CBoot_pin is above a predetermined CBoot voltage for a second predetermined amount of time. The Regulator is then switched to operate in SMPS mode if the CBoot voltage is substantially continuously above the predetermined CBoot voltage for a second predetermined amount of time. The SMPS is operated in linear mode if the CBoot voltage is substantially continuously below or equal to the predetermined CBoot voltage for a second predetermined amount of time.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an AC/DC converter (1) of the type having an AC/DC conversion stage (2) and a DC/DC conversion stage (3), the AC/DC conversion stage (2) comprising an input filter stage (4), an input rectifier stage (5) and a tracking boost converter stage. The boost converter stage in turn comprises an input choke (10), a boost diode (16) and a bulk capacitor (17). The bulk capacitor (17) is arranged to store a range of voltages substantially proportional to the input voltage of the converter. The DC/DC stage (3) is arranged to receive the range of voltages from the bulk capacitor (17) and is controllable to provide a desired DC output regardless of the voltage received from the bulk capacitor (17). This is achieved through careful combination of components and use of output feedback control to control the voltage applied to an isolated transformer (41) in the DC/DC stage.

Abstract: High speed networking systems such as PCI-Express and Serial Rapid I/O are based on the exchange of packets across switched networks of high speed serial links. Information in the headers of these packets indicate the kind of transaction they represent. Queuing all received packets in a single queue will cause interactions between transaction types. Indirection can be used create the effect of multiple independent queues from a shared memory. This provides efficient centralized packet storage, while allowing independent processing of different transactions types.

Abstract: A method of context adaptive binary arithmetic coding and decoding groups a plurality N binary symbols in corresponding syntax elements and divides a range into 2N subranges based upon corresponding contexts. The invention encodes data by selecting an offset determined by the probability states of the context of the N binary symbols. Decoding is similar with the place of the coded offset within the 2N subranges determining the syntax decoding. When the total number of binary symbols to be coded does not equal an integral multiple of N, the invention codes dummy binary symbols at the end of a grouping of a plurality N binary symbols. Probability state updates occur only following every N binary symbols.

Abstract: According to one embodiment, a method for providing position feedback for a device includes providing a photointerrupter having a light-emitting diode, a phototransistor, and an aperture between the light-emitting diode and the phototransistor. For a given size aperture, a current through the phototransistor is a function of a current through the light-emitting diode. The method also includes controlling the current through the light-emitting diode current such that a change in the effective aperture size results in a desired approximately proportional change in current through the phototransistor. While controlling the current through the light-emitting diode, a portion of the aperture is blocked by an arm that has a position indicative of the position of the device. The method also includes providing a signal indicative of the change in current through the photodiode as an indication of the change in position of the device.

Abstract: In at least some embodiments, a system may comprise one or more devices configurable to communicate according to a first protocol that implements a first data packet, and one or more devices configurable to communicate according to a second protocol that implements a second data packet having a predetermined quadrature component. The one or more devices configurable to communicate according to the second protocol associate detection of the predetermined quadrature component with a function that is not supported by the one or more devices that communicate according to the first protocol.

Abstract: An SRAM device that includes an array of SRAM cells arranged in rows and columns. The SRAM device also includes a word line associated with at least one row, the word line operable to control access to cells in the row for both read and write. In addition, the SRAM device includes a write bit-line associated with at least one column operable to provide input to the cells in the column for write. Furthermore, the SRAM device includes a read bit-line associated with the column operable to receive output from cells in the column.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided that includes a laser that produces light at a first wavelength, an optical element that converts the light at the first wavelength received at an input end thereof into light at a second wavelength, and an optical interface proximate the input end of the optical element that directs light at the second wavelength through the optical element toward an output end of the optical element.

Abstract: An apparatus for frustrating unwanted access to data stored with a host device includes: (a) A data disrupting unit coupled with the host device for disrupting the data in response to an action signal. (b) At least one power source unit coupled with the host device. (c) A sensor unit coupled with the host device and with the at least one power source unit. The sensor unit is configured and coupled for sensing at least one alert condition associated with the host device. The sensor unit generates an alerting signal when at least one respective alert condition of the at least on alert condition is sensed. At least one respective power source unit of the at least one power source unit responds to the alerting signal to present the action signal to the data disrupting unit.

Abstract: System and method for reducing failures due to hinge memory in a microdisplay display system. A preferred embodiment includes setting the state of each micromirror in a digital micromirror device based on an image being displayed, recording a usage history for the micromirrors, and providing a sequence of states to each micromirror when the display system is in an inactive mode. The sequence of states provided to a micromirror is based on the micromirror's usage history. The operation of the micromirrors while a display system containing the digital micromirror device is not in active use can help to reverse or eliminate hinge memory, thereby extending the lifetime of the digital micromirror device.

Abstract: In one aspect, there is provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device that comprises placing a blocking layer, a CMP stop layer and a bulk oxide layer over an oxide cap layer that is located over gate structures and source/drains located adjacent thereto. The bulk oxide layer and the CMP stop layer are removed with a CMP process to expose the top of gate electrodes and are removed from over the source/drain areas with a wet etch. The CMP stop layer has a CMP removal rate that is less than a CMP removal rate of the bulk oxide layer and has a wet etch removal rate that is greater than a wet etch removal rate of the blocking layer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical projection illumination module that projects highly uniform radiative energy (e.g., visible light, ultraviolet radiation, infrared radiation, etc.) onto a target area. More particularly, the illumination module comprises a radiative energy source (e.g., a LED) configured to provide divergent radiative energy (e.g., a non-uniform illumination) directly to a reflective tunnel (e.g., a total internal reflection tunnel), separated from the radiative energy source by a small gap and optically in contact (e.g., physically coupled) to a front optical element (e.g., collimator lens). The reflective tunnel mixes the divergent radiative energy, and outputs a substantially uniform radiative energy to a front optical element. One or more downstream optical elements image the output of the reflective tunnel directly to the target area (i.e., the object imaged on to the target area is located on an image plane embedded between the reflective tunnel and the front optical element).