Abstract: A semiconductor integrated device is provided with: a die having a body of semiconductor material with a front surface, and an active area arranged at the front surface; and a package having a support element carrying the die at a back surface of the body, and a coating material covering the die. The body includes a mechanical decoupling region, which mechanically decouples the active area from mechanical stresses induced by the package; the mechanical decoupling region is a trench arrangement within the body, which releases the active area from an external frame of the body, designed to absorb the mechanical stresses induced by the package.

Abstract: A register file organization is used to support multiple accesses from more than one processor or pipeline. This shared register file is organized for a multiple processor device that includes a high performance (HP) and a low power (LP) core. The shared register file includes separate HP and LP storage units coupled to separate HP and LP write and read ports.

Abstract: A method determines a resonance frequency of a resonant device. The method includes stimulating the resonant device with a periodic input signal having a frequency in a frequency interval; determining a frequency value for said periodic input signal in said frequency interval for which a phase-difference between said periodic input signal and a corresponding periodic output signal of the resonant device is minimum; generating a flag indicating that a resonance frequency has been determined; and generating signals representing said resonance frequency as a value of the frequency of said periodic input signal.

Abstract: A semiconductor package substrate suitable for supporting a damage-sensitive device, including a substrate core having a first and opposite surface; at least one pair of metal layers covering the first and opposite surfaces of the package substrate core, which define first and opposite metal layer groups, at least one of said layer groups including at least one metal support zone; one pair of solder mask layers covering the outermost metal layers of the at least one pair of metal layers; and a plurality of routing lines; wherein the at least one metal support zone is formed so that it lies beneath at least one side of the base of the damage-sensitive device and so as to occupy a substantial portion of the area beneath the damage-sensitive device which is free of said routing lines; a method for the production of such substrate is also described.

Abstract: A method of acquiring a satellite signal includes providing a CDMA-modulated signal, defining a first search frequency interval and a first reception sensitivity, and performing a first acquisition of the modulated signal according to the first sensitivity and the first frequency interval in order to provide an acquisition or failed acquisition result. In case of a failed acquisition, performing a second acquisition of the modulated signal as a function of a second search frequency interval, narrower than the first frequency interval, and a second reception sensitivity, greater than the first sensitivity and depending on a power of a side lobe of the modulated signal.

Abstract: Image defects in digital images are easily detectable by the human eye but may be difficult to detect in a computer-implemented fashion. In an embodiment of a digital-image-acquisition device, defects are removed on the CFA domain before color interpolation takes place. In order to allow cancellation of couplets of defective pixels, a two pass embodiment is presented. Such embodiment presents methods and systems that can remove both couplets and singlets without damaging the image. The system includes a ring corrector that detects a defect in the ring of pixels that surround a central pixel, a singlet corrector that detects and corrects the central pixel and removes a couplet if the ring corrector is activated, whereas if the ring corrector is switched off, the singlet corrector only removes singlets, and a peak-and-valley detector that avoids overcorrection by avoiding correcting signal peaks or valleys in case of spikes or drops in signal.

Abstract: The mass of an object may be estimated based on intersection points of a representation of a surface in an image space with cubes defining the image space, the surface representing a surface of an object. The representation may be, for example, based on marching cubes. The mass may be estimated by estimating a mass contribution of a first set of cubes contained entirely within the representation of the surface, estimating a mass contribution of a second set of cubes having intersection points with the representation of the surface, and summing the estimated mass contribution of the first set of cubes and the estimated mass contribution of the second set of cubes. The object may be segmented from other portions of an image prior to estimating the mass of the object.

Abstract: An embodiment described herein includes a method for producing a wafer of a first semiconductor material. Said first semiconductor material has a first melting temperature. The method comprises providing a crystalline substrate of a second semiconductor material having a second melting temperature lower than the first melting temperature, and exposing the crystalline substrate to a flow of first material precursors for forming a first layer of the first material on the substrate. The method further comprising bringing the crystalline substrate to a first process temperature higher than the second melting temperature, and at the same time lower than the first melting temperature, in such a way the second material melts, separating the second melted material from the first layer, and exposing the first layer to the flow of the first material precursor for forming a second layer of the first material on the first layer.

Abstract: A DSC type device manufacturing process includes placing a circuit assembly in a mold. The circuit assembly includes a first heat sink, a semiconductor chip mounted on the first heat sink, a second heat sink mounted on the semiconductor chip and a pin block electrically connected to the semiconductor chip. An outer surface of the first heat sink and an outer surface of the pin block are placed in contact with a first inner surface of the mold. A spacer insert is placed in contact with, and positioned between, a second inner surface of the mold and an outer surface of the second heat sink. The mold is filled with an insulating material that is subsequently hardened. After hardening, a resulting device is extracted from the mold with the outer surfaces of the first heat sink, the pin block and the second heat sink exposed.

Abstract: An embodiment of a system for physical link adaptation in a wireless communication network such as e.g., a WLAN, selectively varies the physical mode of operation of the transmission channels serving the mobile stations in the network. The system includes an estimation module to evaluate transmission losses due to collisions as well as transmission losses due to channel errors over the transmission channel, and an adaptation module to select the physical mode of operation of the transmission channel as a function of the transmission losses due to collisions and to channel errors as evaluated by the estimation module.

Abstract: A system for compensating orientation of a portable device is provided with a processing unit for: determining a roll rotation angle of the portable device in a mobile reference system associated thereto; and applying a rotation matrix, which is a function of the roll rotation angle, for transforming relative displacements of the mobile device in the mobile reference system into corresponding displacements in a fixed reference system, of an inertial type, thus compensating the orientation of the portable device. The processing unit determines the roll rotation angle, in the presence of dynamic acceleration, by means of: acquisition of a roll angular velocity of the portable device by a gyroscopic sensor fixed with respect thereto; and time integration of the same roll angular velocity.

Abstract: An embodiment of a consumer electronics product having a thumbnail display feature includes a system for generating and storing thumbnails having a given size from images, such as JPEG images, for which a spatial frequency domain representation is available. The system includes a zooming processor to reduce the size of the images by zooming. The zooming processor is configured to perform both spatial frequency domain zooming to approximate the desired thumbnail size and then image pixel domain zooming to fit the desired thumbnail size. The product includes cache storage configured to store a plurality of thumbnails in a file system as free blocks in the file system, so that file system data structures are left unchanged.

Abstract: A process for manufacturing a membrane of nozzles of a spray device, comprising the steps of laying a substrate, forming a membrane layer on the substrate, forming a plurality of nozzles in the membrane layer, forming a plurality of supply channels in the substrate, each supply channel being substantially aligned in a vertical direction to a respective nozzle of the plurality of nozzles and in direct communication with the respective nozzle.

Abstract: A method of processing digital images by transforming a set of pixels from a three-dimensional space to a normalized two-dimensional space, determining a membership class and membership class level of each pixel in the set of pixels, and selectively modifying colors of pixels in the set of pixels based on the determined membership classes and membership class levels.

Abstract: A fully differential operational amplifier includes a differential input stage, at least one output stage and a common-mode feedback circuit connected with the input stage. The differential input stage includes a differential pair of transistors and a bias circuit for the differential pair of transistors. A start-up circuit operates to detect an operating condition of the differential pair of transistors of the input stage and in response thereto turn on the bias circuit.

Abstract: A static random access memory (SRAM) device includes a memory array of a plurality of memory cells, a controller that receives an external clock signal formed by a succession of external pulses and generates an internal clock signal formed by a succession of internal pulses, and a driving circuit that receives the internal clock signal. The controller is operable in a first mode, wherein the controller generates, for each external pulse, a corresponding internal pulse and the controller controls the driving circuit so that the driving circuitry carries out one access to the memory array for each internal pulse. The controller is further operable in a second mode, wherein the controller generates, for each external pulse, a pair of internal pulses, and the controller controls the driving circuitry so that, for each pair of internal pulses, the driving circuitry writes a first data item in a set of memory cells, and then reads the set of memory cells, so as to acquire a second data item.

Abstract: A MEMS gyroscope includes: a microstructure having a fixed structure, a driving mass, movable with respect to the fixed structure according to a driving axis, and a sensing mass, mechanically coupled to the driving mass so as to be drawn in motion according to the driving axis and movable with respect to the driving mass according to a sensing axis, in response to rotations of the microstructure; and a driving device, for keeping the driving mass in oscillation with a driving frequency. The driving device includes a discrete-time sensing interface, for detecting a position of the driving mass with respect to the driving axis and a control stage for controlling the driving frequency on the basis of the position of the driving mass.

Abstract: An embodiment concerns a method for encrypting a message through a cryptographic algorithm including a computation of a mathematical function including the computation of one or more modular multiplications. Such a cryptographic algorithm has a respective module. The method, carried out with an electronic device, includes: providing a first parameter; generating a random number; calculating a Montgomery parameter based on said first parameter and on a integer multiple of said random number; generating a representation of the message to be encrypted in a Montgomery domain through a Montgomery conversion function applied to the message and to the Montgomery parameter; carrying out the calculation of the mathematical function on the message represented in the Montgomery domain.

Abstract: A method performs electrical testing and assembly of an electronic device on a wafer and comprising a pad made in an oxide layer covered by a passivation layer. The method includes connecting the electronic device to a testing apparatus; providing said electronic device with a metallization layer extending on the passivation layer from the pad to a non-active area of said wafer. The method comprises-performing the electrical testing on wafer of the electronic device by placing a probe of on a portion of the extended metallization layer; performing the cut of said wafer, reducing the extension of the metallization layer to the edge of the electronic device; embedding the device inside a package, forming on the metallization layer an electrical connection configured to connect the metallization layer to a circuit in said package.

Abstract: One or more embodiments are directed to encapsulating structure comprising: a substrate having a first surface and housing at least one conductive pad, which extends facing the first surface and is configured for being electrically coupled to a conduction terminal at a reference voltage; a cover member, set at a distance from and facing the first surface of the substrate; and housing walls, which extend between the substrate and the cover member. The substrate, the cover member, and the housing walls define a cavity, which is internal to the encapsulating structure and houses the conductive pad. Moreover present inside the cavity is at least one electrically conductive structure, which extends between, and in electrical contact with, the cover member and the conductive pad for connecting the cover member electrically to the conduction terminal.