Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for controlling aerosol streams being deposited onto a substrate via pneumatic shuttering. The aerosol stream is surrounded and focused by an annular co-flowing sheath gas in the print head of the apparatus. A boost gas flows to a vacuum pump during printing of the aerosol. A valve adds the boost gas to the sheath gas at the appropriate time, and a portion of the two gases is deflected in a direction opposite to the aerosol flow direction to at least partially prevent the aerosol from passing through the deposition nozzle. Some or all of the aerosol is combined with that portion of the boost gas and sheath gas and is exhausted from the print head. By precisely balancing the flows into and out of the print head, maintaining the flow rates of the aerosol and sheath gas approximately constant, and keeping the boost gas flowing during both printing and shuttering, the transition time between printing and partial or full shuttering of the aerosol stream is minimized.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for controlling aerosol streams being deposited onto a substrate via pneumatic shuttering. The aerosol stream is surrounded and focused by an annular co-flowing sheath gas in the print head of the apparatus. A boost gas flows to a vacuum pump during printing of the aerosol. A valve adds the boost gas to the sheath gas at the appropriate time, and a portion of the two gases is deflected in a direction opposite to the aerosol flow direction to at least partially prevent the aerosol from passing through the deposition nozzle. Some or all of the aerosol is combined with that portion of the boost gas and sheath gas and is exhausted from the print head. By precisely balancing the flows into and out of the print head, maintaining the flow rates of the aerosol and sheath gas approximately constant, and keeping the boost gas flowing during both printing and shuttering, the transition time between printing and partial or full shuttering of the aerosol stream is minimized.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for controlling aerosol streams being deposited onto a substrate via pneumatic shuttering. The aerosol stream is surrounded and focused by an annular co-flowing sheath gas in the print head of the apparatus. A boost gas flows to a vacuum pump during printing of the aerosol. A valve adds the boost gas to the sheath gas at the appropriate time, and a portion of the two gases is deflected in a direction opposite to the aerosol flow direction to at least partially prevent the aerosol from passing through the deposition nozzle. Some or all of the aerosol is combined with that portion of the boost gas and sheath gas and is exhausted from the print head. By precisely balancing the flows into and out of the print head, maintaining the flow rates of the aerosol and sheath gas approximately constant, and keeping the boost gas flowing during both printing and shuttering, the transition time between printing and partial or full shuttering of the aerosol stream is minimized.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for controlling aerosol streams being deposited onto a substrate via pneumatic shuttering. The aerosol stream is surrounded and focused by an annular co-flowing sheath gas in the print head of the apparatus. A boost gas flows to a vacuum pump during printing of the aerosol. A valve adds the boost gas to the sheath gas at the appropriate time, and a portion of the two gases is deflected in a direction opposite to the aerosol flow direction to at least partially prevent the aerosol from passing through the deposition nozzle. Some or all of the aerosol is combined with that portion of the boost gas and sheath gas and is exhausted from the print head. By precisely balancing the flows into and out of the print head, maintaining the flow rates of the aerosol and sheath gas approximately constant, and keeping the boost gas flowing during both printing and shuttering, the transition time between printing and partial or full shuttering of the aerosol stream is minimized.

Abstract: A system, method, and apparatus for obtaining a record of logic level transitions within a signal, and for accurately determining a voltage-time pair exhibited by the signal. To achieve these ends, a front-end device may be mated to a real-time sampling system, such as an oscilloscope. The front-end device effectively permits the oscilloscope to observe signals exhibiting greater data rates than otherwise possible without the front-end device.

Abstract: A method and system for removing the effect of intersymbol interference (ISI) from a data record indicating times of logic level transitions exhibited by a data signal that has been distorted by ISI exhibited by a system having a particular step response may perform the following acts. The data record may be received, and a transition from within the data may be selected record for removal of ISI. Preceding transitions within the data record are then inspected. A time defect is obtained, based at least in part upon the inspected preceding transitions. Finally, the data record is adjusted, based upon the time defect, to indicate a new time of transition for the selected transition, thereby removing the effect of ISI for the selected transition.

Abstract: A system, method, and apparatus for obtaining a record of logic level transitions within a signal, and for accurately determining a voltage-time pair exhibited by the signal. To achieve these ends, a front-end device may be mated to a real-time sampling system, such as an oscilloscope. The front-end device effectively permits the oscilloscope to observe signals exhibiting greater data rates than otherwise possible without the front-end device.

Abstract: A method of preparing a signal for measurement includes receiving the signal and selecting a first edge and a second edge within the signal. The method also includes delivering the first edge to a time interval measurement system after expiration of a first delay period and delivering the second edge to a time interval measurement system after expiration of a second delay period.

Abstract: A method of preparing a signal for measurement includes receiving the signal and selecting a first edge and a second edge within the signal. The method also includes delivering the first edge to a time interval measurement system after expiration of a first delay period and delivering the second edge to a time interval measurement system after expiration of a second delay period.

Abstract: A system, method, and apparatus for obtaining a record of logic level transitions within a signal, and for accurately determining a voltage-time pair exhibited by the signal. To achieve these ends, a front-end device may be mated to a real-time sampling system, such as an oscilloscope. The front-end device effectively permits the oscilloscope to observe signals exhibiting greater data rates than otherwise possible without the front-end device.

Abstract: A method for measuring a bit error rate in a communication system that includes a transmitter, a medium, and a receiver. The method may include identifying a plurality of causes of bit errors. For each cause, the communication system is measured to determine a corresponding probability density function. Each of the corresponding probability density functions is integrated over an interval representing a range in which the corresponding cause creates a bit error, thereby generating a plurality of integrated quantities. The integrated quantities are summed to arrive at a bit error rate for the communication system. An apparatus may be programmed to execute the foregoing method.

Abstract: A dynamic perimeter circular bus method and system includes a serial interconnect and elements connected in a serial loop through the serial interconnect. In operation, a variable sized loop word is transferred between elements along the serial loop. A sync character of the loop word is transferred from element to element along the serial loop. The sync character is indicative of the beginning of the loop word. At least one present character of the loop word after the sync character is then transferred from element to element along the serial loop. A present character is then asserted at an element to indicate that a data word follows the asserted present character in the loop word. The data word from the element is then put on to the loop word after the asserted present character thereby increasing the size of the loop word. The data word of the loop word is then transferred from element to element along the serial loop.

Abstract: A DC balanced, single bit manipulation method and system for encoding a serial data stream having a plurality of low and high bits includes generating a pulse stream. The serial data stream is to be transferred along a serial loop. The pulse stream includes a series of pulses each having a nominal time duration. A pulse of the pulse stream is modified to have a time duration longer than the nominal time duration to encode a transition of the data stream from a low bit to a high bit. A pulse of the pulse stream is modified to have a time duration shorter than the nominal time duration to encode a transition of the data stream from a high bit to a low bit. The time duration of a pulse of the pulse stream is maintained at the nominal time duration to encode two sequential high bits of the data stream. The time duration of a pulse of the pulse stream is maintained at the nominal time duration to encode two sequential low bits of the data stream.

Abstract: A system that measures a segment of a waveform by isolating the segment by virtue of gating. A waveform anomaly may be gated. The gated waveform is supplied to a plurality of frequency information extractors, which yield information regarding the frequency content of the gated waveform at individual frequencies. Distortion introduced into the gated waveform may be measured by applying the same gating function to a reference waveform. The system may measure or gate an incoming waveform at time intervals dictated by a clock signal recovered from the incoming waveform. A segment of the waveform to be measured may be circulated through a fiber loop, with a fraction of the circulated signal split off for presentation to a measurement system with each circulation. The point in time at which the waveform crosses a threshold may be determined by straddle sampling.