Abstract: A network switch including a port receiving a first frame. A memory includes first buffers available to store frames and second buffers reserved for the port. A pointer module stores first pointers for the first buffers. A reserve module includes a counter, requests from the pointer module some of the first pointers, and increments the counter to count a number of pointers reserved for the first port. The pointers received from the pointer module are deemed reserved and as a result the first buffers, pointed to by the pointers received from the pointer module, are included in the second buffers. An ingress module stores the first frame in some of the second buffers and determines a destination channel for the first frame. The counter is incremented for each of the second buffers used to store the first frame. An egress module transmits the frame on the destination channel.

Abstract: A liquid crystal pixel driving technique is described that uses a voltage amplifier employing operational transconductance amplifiers and current mirrors to increase LC (Liquid Crystal)-based micro display contrast fidelity and lower production costs. The voltage amplifier has a current follower coupled between a voltage-to-current converter and a voltage buffer. The voltage amplifier employs operational transconductance amplifiers and at least one current mirror to achieve a fixed output swing of an output voltage from the voltage buffer based upon an input swing of a single-ended input voltage to the voltage-to-current converter. A marginal change in the output voltage from the voltage buffer is substantially linear and proportional to a marginal change in the input voltage input to the voltage-to-current converter. For one embodiment of the voltage amplifier, gain and voltage offset of the output voltage can be adjusted by changing the values of two resistors.

Abstract: A liquid crystal pixel current sensing technique is described that increases LC (Liquid Crystal)-based micro display contrast fidelity and lowers production costs. A spatial light modulator has an electro-optical material (such as a liquid crystal layer) between an array of pixel electrodes and a common electrode (such as an indium tin oxide (ITO) layer). An amplifier biases the common electrode of the spatial light modulator and outputs a differential current proportional to the electro-optical material current. The output is used to determine delay of a light source to compensate for switching delay of the modulator. For one embodiment, the amplifier has a common-source push-pull output stage and current mirrors. For another embodiment, the output stage is a cascode common-source push-pull output stage. Because the current sensor does not perform current-to-voltage conversion, it does not alter the impedance between the pixel driver and the pixel electrode.