Abstract: Disclosed are semiconductor dice with backside trenches filled with elastic conductive material. The trenches reduce the on-state resistances of the devices incorporated on the dice. The elastic conductive material provides a conductive path to the backsides of the die with little induced stress on the semiconductor die caused by thermal cycling. Also disclosed are packages using the dice, and methods of making the dice.

Abstract: Semiconductor devices and methods for making such devices that contain a 3D channel architecture are described. The 3D channel architecture is formed using a dual trench structure containing with a plurality of lower trenches extending in an x and y directional channels and separated by a mesa and an upper trench extending in a y direction and located in an upper portion of the substrate proximate a source region. Thus, smaller pillar trenches are formed within the main line-shaped trench. Such an architecture generates additional channel regions which are aligned substantially perpendicular to the conventional line-shaped channels. The channel regions, both conventional and perpendicular, are electrically connected by their corner and top regions to produce higher current flow in all three dimensions. With such a configuration, higher channel density, a stronger inversion layer, and a more uniform threshold distribution can be obtained for the semiconductor device. Other embodiments are described.

Abstract: Disclosed are semiconductor dice with backside trenches filled with elastic conductive material. The trenches reduce the on-state resistances of the devices incorporated on the dice. The elastic conductive material provides a conductive path to the backsides of the die with little induced stress on the semiconductor die caused by thermal cycling. Also disclosed are packages using the dice, and methods of making the dice.

Abstract: Disclosed are semiconductor die structures that enable a die having a vertical power device to be packaged in a wafer-level chip scale package where the current-conducting terminals are present at one surface of the die, and where the device has very low on-state resistance. In an exemplary embodiment, a trench and an aperture are formed in a backside of a die, with the aperture contacting a conductive region at the top surface of the die. A conductive layer and/or a conductive body may be disposed on the trench and aperture to electrically couple the backside current-conducting electrode of the device to the conductive region. Also disclosed are packages and systems using a die with a die structure according to the invention, and methods of making dice with a die structure according to the invention.

Abstract: A technique to implement software debugging capability using breakpoints includes creating breakpoints, storing them in a watchlist, and paging out a virtual address (VA) to physical address (PA) page entry in a translation look-aside buffer (TLB). When software under test is run at full speed, memory is accessed via the TLB VA to PA page translations. When a translation is missing, an exception is generated. Handling the exception includes determining if the page missing from the TLB matches a breakpoint address in the watchlist. The address and operation type are compared to the watchlist. If the operation matches the address and not the specified data, then the software under test is single stepped, the TLB page is removed and the software under test continues to execute. If the breakpoint and data type matches, then a debugger is notified and debugger action to service the breakpoint occurs.

Abstract: Software breakpoints for code that normally executes from ROM are set by remapping a page of virtual addresses normally translated to a page of physical addresses in ROM to a page of physical addresses in RAM. This new mapping is stored in the page table and translation look-aside table (TLB). Further, the information stored at the page of ROM is copied to the remapped physical addresses of the RAM. As a result, the ROM information is stored at physical addresses of RAM, and virtual addresses of that ROM code are remapped to these RAM physical addresses. Accordingly, software breakpoints can be written for the ROM code because the code is now stored in RAM.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of operating a communication network, the network comprising a plurality of stations which are able to transmit data to and receive data from one another. The method comprises monitoring, at each station, the transmission path quality between that station and each other station with which that station can communicate. Data corresponding to the monitored path quality is recorded at each station, thereby permitting a transmission power value based on the relevant path quality data to be selected when transmitting data to another station. Thus, the probability of transmitting data to any selected station at an optimum power level is increased. Each station transmits path quality data in its own transmissions as well as local noise/interference data, so that other stations can obtain path quality data for a particular station even if they are out of range of that particular station. The invention extends to communication apparatus which can be used to implement the method.

Abstract: A spraying device rinses recyclable or reusable containers by inverting the container over an open end of a rigid, tubular member. The rigid, tubular member is of substantially uniform diameter with openings of smaller diameter than the tubular member at its open end. A water stream flowing through the tubular member is controlled by hand-operation of a valve member or by valve actuation using the weight of the container and/or the pressure by a user holding the container which depresses a lever initiating the water stream. Therefore, either single-handed or two-handed operation for cleaning or rinsing containers may be performed.

Abstract: This apparatus uses cladding to cover the inner surfaces of a door frame. The cladding also overlaps the door nose and its mounting screws. Two-sided adhesive tape on one edge of the cladding attaches the cladding to the door nose. The cladding has a perpendicular integral fin which extends into an opposed mating slit parallel to the door frame edge in the door frame inner surface. This combination aligns the cladding parallel to the door frame and holds theh cladding in place against tangential forces. An outwardly extending groove from the edge of the door frame opposite the door nose and parallel to the edge terminates in a keyway. The edge of the cladding opposite the nose has an perpendicular inset, which is sized to fit within the groove in the door frame. The inset terminates in an inwardly directed projecting key. The end of this key is pointed to engage the door frame keyway to hold that edge of the cladding securely in place.