Abstract:
A method for masking a digital quantity used by a calculation executed by an electronic circuit and including several iterations, each including at least one operation which is a function of at least one value depending on the digital quantity, the method including at least one first step of displacement of at least one operand of the operation in a storage element selected independently from the value.
Abstract:
An electronic charge retention circuit for time measurement, implanted in an array of EEPROM memory cells, each including a selection transistor in series with a floating-gate transistor, the circuit including, on any one row of memory cells: a first subassembly of at least a first cell, the thickness of the dielectric of the tunnel window of the floating-gate transistor of which is less than that of the other cells; a second subassembly of at least a second cell, the drain and source of the floating-gate transistor of which are interconnected; a third subassembly of at least a third cell; and a fourth subassembly of at least a fourth cell, the tunnel window of which is omitted, the respective floating gates of the transistors of the cells of the four subassemblies being interconnected.
Abstract:
A module of a biofuel cell includes three module elements each having a porous membrane. At least two of the porous membranes are electrically conducting and form the cathode and the anode of the biofuel cell. The third membrane, which is preferably positioned between the two electrically conducting membranes need not be conducting, but defines two emergent cavities within the module. A porous through-channel extends through a silicon support of the module so as to connect one of the emergent cavities to at least one external wall of the silicon support.
Abstract:
A method of reading voltages from an image sensor having an array of pixels, each pixel having at least one photodiode connectable to a storage node, the method having: controlling each pixel in a row of pixels to transfer charge accumulated in the photodiode above a first threshold to the storage node at the start and end of a first integration period and reading a first voltage at the storage node of each pixel in the row at the end of the first integration period; controlling of the pixels in the row to transfer charge accumulated in the photodiode above a second threshold to the storage node at the start and end of a second integration period longer than the first integration period, and reading a second voltage value at the storage node of each pixel in the row at the end of the second integration period; controlling each pixel in a row of pixels to transfer charge accumulated in the photodiode to the storage node at the end of a third integration period longer than the first and second integration periods; comparing for each pixel in the row, the first voltage values with a reference voltage; and based on the comparison, for each pixel in the row, performing one of: determining a pixel output value based on the first and/or second voltage values; and reading a third voltage value at the end of the third integration period, and determining a pixel output value based on the second and/or third voltage values.
Abstract:
A spiral structure having at least one planar winding in at least one first conductive level to form at least one inductive element, wherein the winding is surrounded with a conductive plane and at least one track is formed in a second conductive level and has two ends connected by conductive vias to the plane of the first level, at diametrically opposite positions with respect to the center of the winding.
Abstract:
A differential successive approximation analog to digital converter including: a comparator; a first plurality of capacitors coupled between a corresponding plurality of first switches and a first input of the comparator, at least one of the first capacitors being arranged to receive a first component of a differential input signal; and a second plurality of capacitors coupled between a corresponding plurality of second switches and a second input of the comparator, at least one of the second capacitors being arranged to receive a second component of the differential input signal, wherein each of the first and second plurality of switches are each adapted to independently couple the corresponding capacitor to a selected one of: a first supply voltage level; a second supply voltage level; and a third supply voltage level; and control circuitry adapted to sample the differential input voltage during a sample phase, and to control the first and second switches to couple each capacitor of the first and second plurality of capacitors to the third supply voltage level at the start of a voltage conversion phase.
Abstract:
An integrated-circuit semiconductor device includes external electrical connection pads on one face and electrical connection vias under said pads. The electrical connection vias are arranged with a defined pitch in a defined direction. Each via is respectively associated with one of a plurality of adjacent zones of the face. These zones extend perpendicularly to the pitch direction. The electrical connection pads are grouped in adjacent pairs. An insulation space is located between the pads of each pair of electrical connection pads. In a direction perpendicular to the pitch direction, the pads in the pair are spaced apart. The pads of each pair of electrical connection pads extend over a pair of adjacent zones and are associated with two adjacent vias.
Abstract:
A main blind hole is formed in a front face of a wafer having a rear face. A through capacitor is formed in the main blind hole including a conductive outer electrode, a dielectric intermediate layer, and a filling conductive material forming an inner electrode. Cylindrical portions of the outer electrode, the dielectric intermediate layer and the inner electrode have front ends situated in a plane of the front face of the wafer. A secondary rear hole is formed in the rear face of the wafer to reveal a bottom of the outer electrode. A rear electrical connection is made to contact the bottom of the outer electrode through the secondary rear hole. A through hole via filled with a conductive material is provided adjacent the through capacitor. An electrical connection is made on the rear face between the rear electrical connection and the through hole via.
Abstract:
An image sequence sensor senses images. To associate a motion vector with an image of the sequence currently being processed, k candidate vectors are generated by adding, to a reference motion vector, respectively k search vectors. Then, a motion vector is selected from among the k candidate vectors as a function of a selection rule. Thereafter, the previous two steps are repeated m times, the reference motion vector being on the one hand, for a first iteration of the first step, an initial reference vector selected from among a set of vectors comprising at least one motion vector associated with a previous processed image and being on the other hand, for the m repetitions of the first step, the motion vector selected in the second step preceding the first step. Then, the vector obtained in the third step is associated with the image currently being processed.
Abstract:
A frequency shift of a carrier frequency of an input signal is estimated with a frequency estimator in order to obtain an estimate value. Then, the estimate of the frequency shift is refined, and the carrier frequency is corrected in consequence, with a phase-locked loop that is initialized with the estimate value. The phase-locked loop has a locking frequency range that is narrower than a locking frequency range of the frequency estimator.