Method for switching a system clock and clock synchronization unit
Granted: October 20, 2009
Patent Number:
7605617
A clock synchronization unit is provided for an electronic system, particularly for a microprocessor, that includes a first input for a first clock signal, a second input for a second clock signal, a third input for a select control signal, and an output for a system clock signal. A first control module controlled by the first clock signal, a second control module controlled by the second clock signal and connected to the first control module in terms of signaling technique is also…
Autonomous antifuse cell
Granted: October 20, 2009
Patent Number:
7606058
An autonomous antifuse cell providing protection against intruders includes an antifuse, sense circuitry, feedback circuitry, program circuitry, and blocking circuitry. The blocking circuitry blocks access of any programming voltage input signals to the antifuse device if the antifuse is previously blown and when power is applied to the cell. In an exemplary embodiment, the antifuse cell uses only a single external access pin. Once the antifuse device is blown and during subsequent…
Deep under voltage recovery in a battery pack
Granted: October 20, 2009
Patent Number:
7605568
In one implementation, a method for charging a battery system is provided. The method includes enabling determining if a charger is coupled to a battery system, the battery system including one or more cells and a charge enable transistor. The method also includes enabling determining if a voltage level of the cells is less than a predetermined first low voltage level. If the voltage level of the cells is less than the predetermined first low voltage level, enabling charging of the cells…
MOS transistor and method for producing a MOS transistor structure
Granted: October 13, 2009
Patent Number:
7601568
A MOS transistor, and a method for producing the same, is provided with a source region, a gate-region, a drain region, and a drift region in an SOI wafer. The SOI-wafer has a carrier layer, which carries an insulating intermediate layer, and whereby the insulating intermediate layer carries an active semiconductor layer, in which laterally different doping material concentrations define the source region, the drift region, and the drain region. Whereby, the active semiconductor layer,…
Semiconductor array and method for manufacturing a semiconductor array
Granted: October 13, 2009
Patent Number:
7601584
A method for manufacturing a semiconductor array, particularly a high-frequency bipolar transistor, is provided, the method includes process steps, so that a dielectric is produced on a mono-crystalline, first semiconductor region of a first conductivity type, a silicide layer is deposited and patterned in such a way that the silicide layer is insulated from the first semiconductor region by the dielectric, and, to form a base region, a second semiconductor region of a second…
Method for fabricating conducting plates for a high-Q MIM capacitor
Granted: October 13, 2009
Patent Number:
7601604
A method of forming one or more capacitors on or in a substrate and a capacitor structure resulting therefrom is disclosed. The method includes forming a trench in the substrate, lining the trench with a first copper-barrier layer, and substantially filling the trench with a first copper layer. The first copper layer is substantially chemically isolated from the substrate by the first copper-barrier layer. A second copper-barrier layer is formed over the first copper layer and a first…
Circuit for changing a frequency
Granted: October 6, 2009
Patent Number:
7598782
A circuit is provided for multiplying a frequency by a cascade formed of a transadmittance having a transfer characteristic and a transimpedance having a transfer characteristic. The transadmittance includes two terminals for a signal of a first frequency and the transimpedance includes two terminals for a signal of a second frequency. A transfer characteristic of the transimpedance is steeper than a transfer characteristic of the transadmittance, and a modulation region of the…
Electronic circuit with transistors sharing one and the same well
Granted: October 6, 2009
Patent Number:
7598819
The disclosure relates to an electronic circuit including at least one first and one second differential pair each including a plurality of transistors. All the transistors of said first and second differential pair are included in a single well.
Adaptive regulator for idle state in a charge pump circuit of a memory device
Granted: October 6, 2009
Patent Number:
7599231
An apparatus and method for improving the performance of an electronic device is disclosed. An idle voltage state is introduced by an adaptive voltage generator when providing or removing a high voltage signal from a line or a node in a circuit. The idle state reduces the undesirable effects of switching disturbances caused by sudden voltage changes in a line or node.
Microcontroller based flash memory digital controller system
Granted: October 6, 2009
Patent Number:
7600090
A digital control system including a microcontroller for handling timed events, a command decoder for interpreting user commands, a separate burst controller for handling burst reads of the Flash memory, a program buffer for handling page writes to the Flash memory, a page transfer controller for handling data transfers from the Flash core to the program buffer as well as address control for page writes from the program buffer to the Flash memory, a memory control register block for…
Gate driver for a battery pack
Granted: September 29, 2009
Patent Number:
7595608
Apparatus, method and computer program product are provided for battery management. In one implementation, a method is provided. The method includes enabling determining if a charger is coupled to a battery system. The battery system includes one more cells and a charge enable transistor. The method also includes substantially fully enabling the charge enable transistor including driving a charge enable transistor gate terminal at a potential that is substantially greater than a…
Microcontroller information extraction system and method
Granted: September 29, 2009
Patent Number:
7596719
A system for debugging a device under test may include a processor register with a program count and a debug program register that receives the program count upon execution of an instruction by a processor. In one implementation, a microcontroller under test by a debugger is accessed using a serial interface, such as a JTAG interface. The interface can communicate directly with a debug register to retrieve program count values, both when the microcontroller is halted and when it is…
Device for transmitting and receiving
Granted: September 29, 2009
Patent Number:
7596365
A device for transmitting and receiving is disclosed that includes: a) an antenna, b) a transmitting/receiving unit for transmitting and receiving data according to a communications standard, which has a transmitting unit, connected to the antenna, for transmitting first data frames to a second transmitting/receiving device and a receiving unit, connected to the antenna, for receiving second data frames from the second transmitting/receiving device, and c) a control unit, connected to…
Differential amplifier with single ended output
Granted: September 22, 2009
Patent Number:
7592872
Various embodiments for converting a differential signal to a single ended signal are disclosed. The embodiments comprise a transistor pair for receiving a differential signal; and a tank circuit coupled to the transistor pair. The tank circuit includes a first inductor and one or more capacitors. The embodiments also include a second inductor magnetically coupled to the first inductor to form a balanced/unbalanced inductor (BIMI) arrangement. The BIMI arrangement directly converts the…
Integrated circuit with at least one integrated transmission line
Granted: September 22, 2009
Patent Number:
7592879
An integrated circuit is disclosed that includes at least one integrated transmission line for the transmission of a high-frequency differential signal with a number of at least two series-connected line arrangements, each of which has a differential input, a differential output, a first trace, connected to a first terminal of the differential input and a first terminal of the differential output, and a second trace, connected to a second terminal of the differential input and a second…
Circuit arrangement for use in RF transponders and method for controlling a number of such transponders
Granted: September 22, 2009
Patent Number:
7592919
A storage circuit arrangement for a semi-passive or passive RFID transponder is provided. In prior-art circuit arrangements, storage capacitors are routinely discharged in an undefined fashion via leakage currents for a control mode of the transponder, so that the persistence times depend greatly on the ambient temperature and on existing manufacturing tolerances. It is proposed according to an embodiment to charge a first electrical storage device with a first reference voltage and then…
Device for final inspection
Granted: September 15, 2009
Patent Number:
7589545
A device is provided for subjecting a plurality of singulated semiconductor components to functional verification, which includes contact pins that are integrated in a test socket and establish a mechanical and electrical contact between the test socket and the integrated semiconductor circuits, a holding fixture (DUT board) connected to the test socket for transmitting electrical signals to and from a program-controlled electronic switching system, and lines and control devices for…
Method and device for managing a power supply power-on sequence
Granted: September 15, 2009
Patent Number:
7589572
Apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed that operate to trigger a reference voltage generator from a supply voltage detector, compare an output voltage level from the reference voltage generator with a supply voltage, and to generate an enable signal when the supply voltage is greater than the output voltage level. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.
Methods for wireless data transmission between a base station and one or more transponders
Granted: September 15, 2009
Patent Number:
7590087
A method and device for wireless data transmission between a base station and one or more transponders, in which electromagnetic carrier waves are emitted by the base station and symbols are transmitted from a given transponder to the base station by modulation and backscattering of the electromagnetic carrier waves, wherein a change in a modulation state takes place synchronously with synchronization markers transmitted by the base station. A change in the modulation state is carried…
Sense amplifier circuit for low voltage applications
Granted: September 1, 2009
Patent Number:
7583107
A sense amplifier circuit for low voltage applications is provided. In one implementation, the sense amplifier circuit includes a reference current generation circuit coupled to a power supply. The reference current generation circuit generates a reference current that varies linearly with respect to changes in voltages of the power supply. The sense amplifier circuit further includes a sensing circuit coupled to the reference current generation circuit. The sensing circuit senses an…
