Abstract: An apparatus includes an electromagnetic which supports propagation of an electromagnetic wave in a first direction between a first end thereof and a second end thereof, and an electromagnetic-field shaping structure within the electromagnetic waveguide. The electromagnetic-field shaping structure defines a channel extending from a first aperture in a first wall of the apparatus to a second aperture in a second, opposite, wall. The channel has an axis extending in a second direction which is nonparallel with the first direction. The distance between the first aperture and the second aperture in the second direction is less than the width of the interior region of the waveguide at the first and second ends thereof. In some embodiments, a plasma torch is disposed within the channel. The length of the torch closely matches its interaction region.

Abstract: An apparatus includes an electromagnetic which supports propagation of an electromagnetic wave in a first direction between a first end thereof and a second end thereof, and an electromagnetic-field shaping structure within the electromagnetic waveguide. The electromagnetic-field shaping structure defines a channel extending from a first aperture in a first wall of the apparatus to a second aperture in a second, opposite, wall. The channel has an axis extending in a second direction which is nonparallel with the first direction. The distance between the first aperture and the second aperture in the second direction is less than the width of the interior region of the waveguide at the first and second ends thereof. In some embodiments, a plasma torch is disposed within the channel. The length of the torch closely matches its interaction region.

Abstract: A feature phone has two processors that share a display. The display is attached to an applications processor that has a frame buffer for refreshing the display. A base-band processor also runs programs that generate graphics data that is written to a base-band frame buffer. Updates to the base-band frame buffer are sent through a shared-memory interface to a shared memory, and a shared mailbox is written with the message length, triggering a mailbox-interrupt to the applications processor. The applications processor reads the message from the shared memory and updates a copied frame buffer. An overlay engine uses the copied frame buffer to refresh the display when the base-band processor has the focus, or to refresh a smaller base-band window that covers a portion of the display, leaving the rest of the display area for applications-processor graphics data. Rapid switching between the copied and local frame buffer is possible.

Abstract: A feature phone has two processors that share a key pad for user input. The key pad is attached to a base-band processor and sends an interrupt to a user-hardware-interrupt UHI driver running on the base-band processor when the user presses a key. When a hot switch indicates that the local base-band processor has the focus, a key-press event is sent to the local kernel to be sent to programs on the base-band processor. When the hot switch indicates that a remote applications processor has the focus, a message for the event is written through a shared-memory interface to a shared memory on the applications processor. A shared mailbox is written with the message length, triggering a mailbox-interrupt to the applications processor. A virtual UHI driver running on the applications processor reads the event message from the shared memory and passes key-press information to programs on the applications processor.

Abstract: The properties of features formed in a substrate are measured. Lenslet array illumination is used to illuminate regions of a substrate so that the features of interest occupy a greater proportion of the illuminated area. The signal-to-noise ratio of the measurement signal is therefore increased, and the sensitivity of the measurement is thus improved.