Abstract:
A high resolution light pen is disclosed for use with graphic displays and more particularly, a light pen (10) having a collimation tube (22) slidably mounted within a housing (20). The collimation tube includes an axially extending channel (38) having a non-reflective surface. A photodetector (30) is fixably mounted within the housing aligned with the channel. A lens (42) is mounted adjacent the front end of the channel and has a focal length equal to the spacing between the lens and an aligned pixel (P2) of the video screen. By this arrangement, all light rays emanating from an aligned pixel and passing through the lens are refracted axially along the channel and directed to the photodetector thereby maximizing the input thereto. The light pen further includes a discrimination circuit which generates an interrupt signals for reading an address counter. The discrimination circuit generates an interrupt signal when the signal from the photodetector is valid. The interrupt signal is generated at a time which is substantially independent of the amplitude and slope of the signals thereby reducing the effects ofjitter.
Abstract:
An RF power amplifier is presented herein including an RF source for providing a train of RF pulses having a fixed frequency and wherein each pulse is of a fixed amplitude and duration. A bridge circuit includes a first circuit having a first transistor switching means for, when on, connecting a DC voltage source across a load for DC current flow therethrough in a first direction. The bridge circuit includes a second circuit including a second transistor switch for, when on, connecting the DC voltage source across the load for DC current flow therethrough in a second direction. A switch driver control serves, when enabled, to pass the RF pulses for driving the first and second transistor switches on and off at a frequency dependent upon that of the RF signal and in such a manner that current from the DC voltage source alternately flows in the flows in the first and second directions through the load.
Abstract:
A switch provides time multiplexed connections between ports or slots, and information in the form of digital words are transmitted in packets. A Switching Unit makes the connections and disconnections between the ports under the control of a central processing unit and a telephone processing unit. These connections and disconnections are organized according to protocols located in software programs on an Integrated multi-protocol processing unit (IMP) located on a peripheral card within the Switching Unit. An IMP includes processing systems for processing the protocols in response to data received through a respective slot and transmitted to the IMP. A switch may include a plurality of IMP's. Each IMP may include a plurality of separate processors, each for a separate and distinct protocol. The protocol processed data is transmitted to the CPU directly without use of the switch increasing the speeed of communications.
Abstract:
A remote measurement unit (11) for testing and conditioning one or more telephone lines (13) including multiple electronically erasable flash memory banks (21, 22), which contain respective versions of the operating system employed by the test unit's micro-controller. An operating system modification routine employed by the host processor of a remote site allows the functionality of the remote test unit to be selectively modified by electronically installing an upgraded or downgraded version of the operating system, or by electronically selectively activating or deactivating one or more operational features of the currently active operating system. A rest routine ensures that the operating system modification mechanism will only boot up the "correct" one of two quasi-redundant systems available to the RMU's microcontroller after a system modification has been performed. In addition, the temporary insertion of a no-op code field just prior to the beginning of the program prevents the RMU's processor from accidentally booting up a modified system until the system has been verified as operational.
Abstract:
A circuit and methods for protecting a high voltage linear regulator from failure due to overheating, including a heat generating transistor in the regulator protected by limiting the collector current during operation above normal operating temperatures. Limiting the collector current reduces the heatgenerating load on the transistor and thus allows operation of the transistor at less than full capacity rather than allowing the transistor to catastrophically fail. The invention is applicable in an integrated circuit, which may be combined with circuits for the protection of a transistor against excessive current and over voltage.
Abstract:
A method for an IC with enhanced reverse bias breakdown. A field plate covering the surface PN junction and extending laterally therefrom is biased to partially deplete the island under the field plate and the substrate supporting the island is biased to complete the total depletion of the island under the field plate, establishing a substantially vertical field at less than critical for avalanche. Because most of the charge is required to support the vertical component of the field, the rate of change in the horizontal component is small per unit of additional terminal voltage and the lateral extension of the field plate increases the breakdown voltage beyond the plane breakdown for a PN junction of a given doping profile. If the lateral extension of the field plate results in undesirable field strengths in the corners of the island, or if proximity to island edge creates field strength problems with island contacts or interconnect conductors, the vertical and lateral isolation of the island may be separately biased.
Abstract:
A proximity detector includes a low frequency magnetic field generator, located with an individual being monitored, the generator sequentially generating a plurality of encoded, time varying magnetic fields having mutually orthogonal polarizations. A magnetic field sensor unit is provided within a second device, carried by another individual. The magnetic field sensor unit is operative to detect encoded magnetic field energy associated with one or more of the magnetic fields generated by the magnetic field generator. Preferably, the magnetic field sensor unit includes a plurality of magnetic field sensors having respective magnetic field polarization sensitivities that are oriented mutually orthogonal with respect to one another. Each of the magnetic field sensors produces a respective first output signal in response to detecting encoded magnetic field energy generated by the magnetic field generator of at least a predefined level and containing a code pattern corresponding to that stored by the magnetic field sensor unit. A time-out circuit is coupled to each of the magnetic field sensors, and generates an alarm signal in response to a prescribed failure to receive a first output signal from any of the magnetic field sensors within periodic time intervals, thereby indicating that the monitored individual is beyond a prescribed range or distance from the monitoring individual.
Abstract:
A proximity detector includes a low frequency magnetic field generator, located with an individual being monitored, the generator sequentially generating a plurality of time-varying magnetic fields having mutually orthogonal polarizations. A magnetic field sensor unit is provided within a second device, carried by another individual. The magnetic field sensor unit is operative to detect magnetic field energy associated with one or more of the magnetic fields generated by the magnetic field generator. Preferably, the magnetic field sensor unit includes a plurality (two or more) of magnetic field sensors having respective magnetic field polarization sensitivities that are oriented mutually orthogonal with respect to one another.
Abstract:
Low temperature wafer bonding using a chemically reacting material between wafers to form a bonded zone to bond two wafers together. Examples include silicon wafers with a silicon-oxidizing bonding liquid which also permits introduction of radiation hardening dopants and electrically active dopants as constituents of the bonding liquid. Silicon wafers also may use solid reactants which include deposited layers of metal and polysilicon to form silicide bonded zones. Oxidizers such as nitric acid may be used in the bonding liquid, and a bonding liquid may be used in conjunction with a solid bonding reactant. Dielectric layers on silicon wafers may be used when additional silicon is provided for the bonding reactions. Integrated circuits fabricated from such bonded wafers may have buried layers and radiation hardening and buried resistors.
Abstract:
Semiconductor devices having a curved P-N junction in an active area of the device and an edge passivation region extending from the active area to an edge region of the device include an electrically resistive ribbon that spirals outwardly from the active area to the edge of the device so that a voltage difference between the active area and the edge region is spread along the length of the ribbon. The ribbon may take the form of a linear resistor or may include plural diodes. The distance between radially overlapping portions of the spiralling ribbon and the cross-sectional area of the ribbon may be varied to spred the equipotential lines in the device so as to reduce the effect of the curved P-N junctions on the breakdown voltage of the device.