Abstract: A gas turbine having at least one compressor, at least one combustion chamber, and at least one turbine, the or each compressor and/or the or each turbine having a rotor that includes rotor blades surrounded by a stationary housing, and a run-in coating being assigned to the housing is disclosed. The gas turbine includes at least one channel which is configured to apply a pressure prevailing on the high-pressure side of the blades of a rotor to a low-pressure side of the same in the area of a gap between the radially outer ends of the blades and the housing and thereby prevent a flow through the gap.

Abstract: An airplane has a fuselage shell and a floor structure that includes cross members and floor plates. Rods are used exclusively to connect the fuselage shell to the floor structure.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method for identifying the elemental composition of an object (120) characterized by comprising the following procedures: (210) selecting an energy range of an irradiation energy range according to at least one energy-selection criterion to obtain a selected energy range; (215) selecting, according to at least one element-selection criterion, pure elements and/or compounds for which analysis of said object is performed, to obtain selected elements; (220) determining the absorption coefficient for the selected pure elements and/or compounds according to the selected energy range; (230) determining the integrated density of the selected pure elements and/or compounds. Additional and alternative embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

Abstract: The current invention relates, inter alia, to charge pulse amplitude and time detecting circuits, offering very low amplitude and temporal noise, and overcoming noise performance limits in charge pulse detection circuits according to prior art. Embodiments of the present invention may include a sensing device delivering charge pulses onto a sense node, an active buffer buffering the voltage on the sense node with a low impedance, a recharge device removing signal charge from the sense node, a noise filter connected to the output of the active buffer transmitting signal voltage pulses while attenuating noise from the recharge device. Additional and alternative embodiments are specified and claimed.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a solid-state electric charge sensor (200, 600) comprising at least one signal-readout circuit (205, 605) that comprises a current source (140, 640) and a column line (120, 620). The sensor also comprises at least one charge detector circuit (210, 610) that is operatively coupled with the at least one signal-readout circuit (205, 605). The at least one signal-readout circuit (205, 605) is characterized by further comprising at least one open-loop amplifier (250, 650), the input of which is operatively connectable with the at least one column signal line (220, 620) and with the at least one current source (240, 640); at least one feedback line (230, 630) that is operatively connectable with the output (254, 654) of the at least one open-loop amplifier (250, 650); and operative to selectively form a negative feedback loop; and wherein the open-loop amplifier (250, 650) has an inverting voltage gain.

Abstract: A pixel for detecting incident radiation (In) over a large area with high sensitivity and low power consumption. The pixel comprises a semiconductor substrate (1), covered by a thin insulating layer (2), on top of which a dendritic or arborescent gate structure (3) is arranged. The dendritic gate (3) is electrically connected at two or more contacts (C1, C2) with voltage sources, leading to the flow of a current and a position-dependent potential distribution in the gate (3). Due to the use of arborescent structures and various materials (31, 32), the pixel can be optimized for a certain application, in particular in terms of the electric field distribution, the RC time constant, the power consumption and the spectral sensitivity. Due to its compact size, the photo sensor can be arranged in linear or two-dimensional manner for the realization of line and area sensors.

Abstract: The present invention discloses, inter alia, an authentication item manufactured on product units for encoding the product units as being authentic. The authentication item is an intensity-modulating surface comprising a plurality of adjacent protrusions such that the intensity-modulating surface has alternating height. Each of the protrusions has at least two slopes of respective different orientation. When being in an authenticating position with respect to incident electromagnetic radiation employed for authentication, the authentication item modulates the intensity of the electromagnetic radiation in a manner that generates an intensity profile which is characteristic of the authentication item. In the authentication position, the propagation direction of the incident electromagnetic radiation is at least approximately parallel to one of the at least two slopes of the plurality of protrusions.

Abstract: A photo sensor exhibiting low noise, low smear, low dark current and high dynamic range consists of a pinned (or buried) photodiode (PPD) with associated transfer gate (TG), a reset circuit (3) and a device (SL) with sub-linear voltage-to-current characteristic. The exposure cycle is started by reverse biasing the buried photodiode to its pinning potential and by setting the transfer gate (TG) to a non-zero skimming potential. Photo-generated charge carriers start to fill the buried photodiode; if illumination intensity is high, excessive photocharges are flowing over the transfer gate (TG) to the sensing node. Because of the sub-linear device (SL) connected to the sensing node, the voltage at the sensing node is a sub-linear function of the illumination intensity, and hence the dynamic range of the pixel is increased.

Abstract: The pixel for use in an image sensor comprises a low-doped semiconductor substrate (A). On the substrate (A), an arrangement of a plurality of floating areas, e.g., floating gates (FG2-FG6), is provided. Neighboring floating gates are electrically isolated from each other yet capacitively coupled to each other. By applying a voltage (V2?V1) to two contact areas (FG1, FG7), a lateral steplike electric field is generated. Photogenerated charge carriers move along the electric-field lines to the point of highest potential energy, where a floating diffusion (D) accumulate the photocharges. The charges accumulated in the various pixels are sequentially read out with a suitable circuit known from image-sensor literature, such as a source follower or a charge amplifier with row and column select mechanisms. The pixel of offers at the same time a large sensing area, a high photocharge-detection sensitivity and a high response speed, without any static current consumption.

Abstract: The invention relates to the sampling of temporally changing amounts of charge (102) by receiving varying amounts of charge (102) varying as a function of time, transforming the varying amounts of charge received into a linear distribution pattern, sampling the linear distribution pattern at a plurality of discretely spaced sampling locations (104), and collecting the amounts of charge (102) located between two adjacent scanning locations, and further detecting the collected amounts of charges (102).

Abstract: The pixel for use in an image sensor comprises a low-doped semiconductor substrate (A). On the substrate (A), an arrangement of a plurality of floating areas e.g., floating gates (FG2-FG6), is provided. Neighboring floating gates are electrically isolated from each other yet capacitively coupled to each other. By applying a voltage (V2-V1) to two contact areas (FG1, FG7), a lateral steplike electric field is generated. Photogenerated charge carriers move along the electric-field lines to the point of highest potential energy, where a floating diffusion (D) accumulate the photocharges. The charges accumulated in the various pixels are sequentially read out with a suitable circuit known from image-sensor literature, such as a source follower or a charge amplifier with row and column select mechanisms. The pixel of offers at the same time a large sensing area, a high photocharge-detection sensitivity and a high response speed without any static current consumption.

Abstract: The present invention refers, inter alia, to pixel circuits. The pixel circuit according to embodiments of the invention may include a photo-sensitive device having charge storage capability connected to a sense node. The pixel circuit may further include an inverting amplifier which is able to amplify a voltage from the sense node to a voltage on an output node of the amplifier, when being operated in open-loop configuration; and a reset switch being able to connect the input and output nodes of the inverting amplifier and thus to reset the inverting amplifier to an operating point providing high open loop gain by temporarily establishing negative feedback. Moreover, the pixel circuit may include a low-pass filter at the output node of the inverting amplifier for limiting the signal frequencies passing to the readout node to those frequencies that contain useful signal information. Additional and alternative embodiments are specified and claimed.

Abstract: An optically reflective or translucent object (14) can be microscopically imaged in all three dimensions and in true color for observation by a human observer. An interferometric optical setup is employed, using the low temporal coherence of a tunable broad-band light source (10, 20) to resolve the axial dimension, a single opto-mechanical or electronic scanning mechanism for accessing different object depths, and a two-dimensional photo sensor device (15, 34) capable of demodulating the temporally or spatially modulated scanning signals to reconstruct the object's full volume. Three volume scans are carried out sequentially, and the tunable broad-band source (10, 20) is operated in such a way that its spectral distribution for each of the volume scans results in an effective system sensitivity corresponding to one of the three CIE (Commission Internationale d'Éclairage) tristimulus curves, or a linear combination thereof.

Abstract: An airplane has a fuselage shell and a floor structure that includes cross members and floor plates. Rods are used exclusively to connect the fuselage shell to the floor structure.

Abstract: A gas turbine having at least one compressor, at least one combustion chamber, and at least one turbine, the or each compressor and/or the or each turbine having a rotor that includes rotor blades surrounded by a stationary housing, and a run-in coating being assigned to the housing is disclosed. The gas turbine includes at least one channel which is configured to apply a pressure prevailing on the high-pressure side of the blades of a rotor to a low-pressure side of the same in the area of a gap between the radially outer ends of the blades and the housing and thereby prevent a flow through the gap.

Abstract: A turbocompressor flow structure comprises a ring chamber which is arranged concentrically to an axis of a turbocompressor in an area of free blade/vane ends of a rotor blade ring/vane ring and is adjacent radially to a main flow channel. A ring chamber is provided which is bordered by a front upstream wall, a rear downstream wall and a wall that runs essentially axially. Baffle elements are arranged in the ring chamber and the ring chamber permits flow penetration in a circumferential direction in a front and/or rear area. At least one opening is provided in the area of the wall that runs essentially axially or in the area of the upstream wall and permits flow penetration out of the ring chamber, at least one compressor chamber being provided to accommodate this outgoing flow.

Abstract: A modulated optical radiation field (I) whose modulation amplitude and temporal phase depend on the local position can be detected with a plurality of pixels 1. Each pixel 1 consists of a transducing stage (T) that converts incoming light (I) into a proportional electric signal, a sampling stage (S), two subtraction/summation stages (SUB1, SUM1; SUB2, SUM2), and an output stage. Each pixel can be addressed individually. The optical radiation field (I) is locally sensed and sampled at a frequency that is four times the wavefield's modulation frequency. The subtraction/summation stages (SUB1, SUM1; SUB2, SUM2) accumulate differences of two samples per modulation period, separated by half the period, during several averaging periods; the two stages are time shifted with respect to each other by a quarter period. The resulting two output signals are employed for the determination of the local envelope amplitude and the temporal phase.

Abstract: A pixel for detecting incident radiation (In) over a large area with high sensitivity and low power consumption. The pixel comprises a semiconductor substrate (1), covered by a thin insulating layer (2), on top of which a dendritic or arborescent gate structure (3) is arranged. The dendritic gate (3) is electrically connected at two or more contacts (C1, C2) with voltage sources, leading to the flow of a current and a position-dependent potential distribution in the gate (3). Due to the use of arborescent structures and various materials (31, 32), the pixel can be optimized for a certain application, in particular in terms of the electric field distribution, the RC time constant, the power consumption and the spectral sensitivity. Due to its compact size, the photo sensor can be arranged in linear or two-dimensional manner for the realization of line and area sensors.

Abstract: A compressor includes a casing defining a generally cylindrical flow passage, a rotor carrying at least one set of rotor blades, at least one set of stator blades, and anti-stall casing treatment. The casing treatment includes an annular recess in the casing for removing low momentum flow adjacent the tips of the rotor blades, and returning the flow to the generally cylindrical flow passage upstream of the point of removal. A plurality of curved guide vanes are located within the annular recess so as to define an annular inlet downstream of the vanes and/or an annular outlet upstream of the vanes. Each guide vane projects radially inwardly from the casing towards a free end which is exposed at or near the mouth of the recess to define a series of curved channels within the recess adjacent the annular inlet and/or the annular outlet.

Abstract: A solid-state image sensor (1) with very high sensitivity approaching the single-photon limit is realized with three modular building blocks: (a) a pixel (2.11, 2.12, . . . ) with a photo-site, intermediate photo-charge storage capability as used for correlated double sampling, and an electronic circuit for signal buffering or amplification, (b) a column or row signal line (3.1) to which a plurality of such pixels (2.11, 2.21, . . . ) is connected using transistor switches, incorporating a low-pass filter (30.1), and (c) a readout circuit (4) to which the row signal lines (3.1, 3.2, . . . ) are connected, consisting of a plurality of analog amplifiers (41.1, 41.2, . . . ) with an analog multiplexer (42). Photo-generated signals are read out and the reset level is subtracted either in the analog or in the digital domain, to implement a correlated-double-sampling method.