Did You Know...
...Chester Carlson was a patent agent who tired of having to make multiple copies of patent applications using the only duplication method available at the time: carbon paper. In 1959 he came up with a new copying system and took it to IBM for evaluation. The "experts" at IBM determined potential sales to be only 5,000 units because people wouldn't want to use a bulky machine when they had carbon paper. Carlson's invention was the xerography process, the company founded on the system is Xerox.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8121450 | Coupling between free space and optical waveguide using etched coupling surfaces A plasma-based etching process is used to specifically shape the endface of an optical substrate supporting an optical waveguide into a contoured facet which will improve coupling efficiency between the waveguide and a free space optical signal. The ability to use s... | 02/21/2012 |
| 8036503 | Low loss optical delay line using a microfiber coil An optical delay line is formed from a coil of optical fiber (in many cases microfiber), where the radius of the optical fiber is greater than the wavelength λ of the propagating signal and the radius R of the coil is selected, in consideration with the optical fib... | 10/11/2011 |
| 8031991 | Low index, large mode field diameter optical coupler An optical coupler is formed of a low index material and exhibits a mode field diameter suitable to provide efficient coupling between a free space optical signal (of large mode field diameter) and a single mode high index waveguide formed on an optical substrate. O... | 10/04/2011 |
| 8025555 | System for measuring and controlling the level of vacuum applied to a conditioning holder within a CMP system A method and apparatus for conditioning polishing pads that utilizes an apertured conditioning disk for introducing operation-specific slurries, without the need for additional tooling, platens, and materials handling. The method and apparatus utilizes a vacuum capa... | 09/27/2011 |
| 8023179 | Enhanced continuum generation in nonlinear bulk optic materials In accordance with the present invention, a bulk optic material (for example, silica) is processed to form a spatially microstructured element, such as a photonic bandgap (PBG) structure. An ultra-short laser pulse source is used as an input signal that is applied t... | 09/20/2011 |
| 7992473 | Pipe cutting apparatus and method of using the same An apparatus for cutting a pipe includes a housing with a central aperture for holding the pipe in a fixed position. A rotatable collar is mounted on the outer surface of the fixed housing, with a cutting head attached to the collar. The cutting head is configured t... | 08/09/2011 |
| 7941023 | Ultra low-loss CMOS compatible silicon waveguides A low loss optical waveguiding structure for silicon-on-insulator (SOI)-based arrangements utilizes a tri-material configuration including a rib/strip waveguide formed of a material with a refractive index less than silicon, but greater than the refractive index of ... | 05/10/2011 |
| 7940816 | Figure eight fiber laser for ultrashort pulse generation A polarization-maintaining figure eight (PMFE) fiber laser is configured to generate ultrashort (femtosecond) output pulses by intentionally inserting asymmetry (in the form of a phase bias) into the bi-directional loop of the fiber laser. The introduction of asymme... | 05/10/2011 |
| 7936448 | LIDAR system utilizing SOI-based opto-electronic components A compact, integrated LIDAR system utilizes SOI-based opto-electronic components to provide for lower cost and higher reliability as compared to current LIDAR systems. Preferably, an SOI-based LIDAR transmitter and an SOI-based LIDAR receiver (both optical component... | 05/03/2011 |
| 7929814 | Sub-micron planar lightwave devices formed on an SOI optical platform A set of planar, two-dimensional optical devices is able to be created in a sub-micron surface layer of an SOI structure, or within a sub-micron thick combination of an SOI surface layer and an overlying polysilicon layer. Conventional masking/etching techniques may... | 04/19/2011 |
| 7913705 | Cleaning cup system for chemical mechanical planarization apparatus The present invention is related to an improved cleaning cup arrangement for CMP systems that efficiently and effectively removes most, if not all, of any slurry material present on the abrasive conditioning disk and conditioner head as they are resting in the cup b... | 03/29/2011 |
| 7909910 | Vacuum line clean-out separator system A vacuum clean-out system including a separator chamber and associated collection chamber for removing liquid material and debris from a vacuum output and providing a vacuum return line free of contaminants. A vacuum exhaust line is coupled to a cyclonic separator c... | 03/22/2011 |
| 7901267 | Method for controlling the forces applied to a vacuum-assisted pad conditioning system A method and apparatus for conditioning polishing pads that utilizes an apertured conditioning disk for introducing operation-specific slurries, without the need for additional tooling, platens, and materials handling. The method and apparatus utilizes a vacuum capa... | 03/08/2011 |
| 7881620 | Stabilized optical fiber continuum frequency combs using post-processed highly nonlinear fibers An arrangement for generating beat notes with a relatively high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) utilizes a pulsed laser source coupled into a section of post-processed highly-nonlinear optical fiber (HNLF) to generate a frequency comb having one or more regions of enhan... | 02/01/2011 |
| 7873569 | Web-based loan auctions for individual borrowers and lenders A web-based loan auction system is available to individual borrowers and individual lenders and is particularly well-suited for individual borrowers that cannot meet the standards of conventional lending institutions. The system is also attractive to potential lende... | 01/18/2011 |
| 7796842 | AC-coupled differential drive circuit for opto-electronic modulators An AC-coupled differential drive circuit for an optical modulator is utilized, where a common “node” is defined between top (or bottom) plates of the modulator arms themselves (the “arms” of a modulator taking the form of MOS capacitors). A low pass filter i... | 09/14/2010 |
| 7701985 | SOI-based tunable laser A silicon-on-insulator (SOI)-based tunable laser is formed to include the gain medium (such as a semiconductor optical amplifier) disposed within a cavity formed within the SOI substrate. A tunable wavelength reflecting element and associated phase matching element ... | 04/20/2010 |
| 7697793 | Silicon modulator offset tuning arrangement A silicon-based optical modulator structure includes one or more separate localized heating elements for changing the refractive index of an associated portion of the structure and thereby providing corrective adjustments to address unwanted variations in device per... | 04/13/2010 |
| 7657130 | Silicon-based optical modulator for analog applications A silicon-insulator-silicon capacitive (SISCAP) optical modulator is configured to provide analog operation for applications which previously required the use of relatively large, power-consuming and expensive lithium niobate devices. An MZI-based SISCAP modulator (... | 02/02/2010 |
| 7641047 | Interlocking member protective blade cover A protective cover for a saw blade is formed of a plurality of interlocking members, linked together to form a chain of a length sufficient to completely surround a given blade, where the sharp edge of the blade is then encases within the interior region of the link... | 01/05/2010 |
| 7603827 | Apparatus for packaging of foodstuffs in containers of various dimensions A semi-automated packaging apparatus allows for an operator to fill a presented container without contaminating the container rim. The presentation of an empty container and subsequent removal of a filled container are performed automatically under control of the op... | 10/20/2009 |
| 7587106 | Optical crossover in thin silicon An arrangement for providing optical crossovers between waveguides formed in an SOI-based structure utilize a patterned geometry in the SOI structure that is selected to reduce the effects of crosstalk in the area where the signals overlap. Preferably, the optical s... | 09/08/2009 |
| 7575503 | Vacuum-assisted pad conditioning system A method and apparatus for conditioning polishing pads that utilize an apertured conditioning disk for introducing operation-specific slurries, without the need for additional tooling, platens, and materials handling. The method and apparatus utilize a vacuum capabi... | 08/18/2009 |
| 7570889 | Common electronic dispersion compensation arrangement for use with multiple optical communication channels An electronic dispersion compensation (EDC) arrangement for a multi-channel optical receive utilizes a time division technique to “share” a common adaptive algorithm block between a plurality of N separate channels. The algorithm block embodies a specific algori... | 08/04/2009 |
| 7567094 | Tri-stated driver for bandwidth-limited load A CMOS driver circuit is configured to provide a tri-state condition after a predetermined number of like-valued data bits have been transmitted, reducing the presence of intersymbol interference (ISI) along a transmission channel. In situations where the transmissi... | 07/28/2009 |
| 7556440 | Dual-lensed unitary optical receiver assembly A unitary optical receiver assembly is formed to include a V-groove passively aligned with a first aspheric lens (the lens formed along a surface perpendicular to the V-groove). An optical fiber is disposed along the V-groove and is used to bring the received optica... | 07/07/2009 |
| 7544113 | Apparatus for controlling the forces applied to a vacuum-assisted pad conditioning system An apparatus for conditioning polishing pads that utilizes an apertured conditioning disk for introducing operation-specific slurries, without the need for additional tooling, platens, and materials handling. The apparatus utilizes a vacuum capability to pull waste ... | 06/09/2009 |
| 6761063 | True position sensor for diaphragm valves An arrangement for measuring the true position of a diaphragm within a diaphragm valve assembly utilizes a thin conductive element disposed in the valve between the diaphragm membrane and the actuator. The conductive element and the valve body are then used as the p... | 07/13/2004 |
| 7535934 | Optical continuum source including light generation beyond wavelength edges of continuum An optical continuum source is formed that is used to generate both a continuum and one or more light peaks outside the bandwidth of the continuum. In particular, one or more fiber Bragg gratings exhibiting a resonant wavelength less than the short wavelength edge (... | 05/19/2009 |
| 7519254 | Polarization insensitive microbend fiber gratings and devices using the same A microbend-induced fiber grating is formed from a section of optical fiber configured to exhibit “splitting” between the resonant wavelengths supported by the TE and TM components of the LP1m mode and the resonant wavelength supported by the odd/even... | 04/14/2009 |
| 7515778 | Segmented optical modulator An optical modulator is formed to include an adjustable drive arrangement for dynamically adjusting the effective length of the optical signals path(s) within the modulator. Each modulator arm is partitioned into a plurality of segments, with each segment coupled to... | 04/07/2009 |
| 7503670 | Novelty sparkplug flashlight A novelty flashlight in the form of a sparkplug, with a set of LEDs (or other appropriate light emitting devices) included in the conventional “spark” emitting end of the plug. A battery source and micro-controller are included within the sparkplug housing and u... | 03/17/2009 |
| 7499620 | Low loss SOI/CMOS compatible silicon waveguide A method and structure for reducing optical signal loss in a silicon waveguide formed within a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure uses CMOS processing techniques to round the edges/corners of the silicon material along the extent of the waveguiding region. One exe... | 03/03/2009 |
| 7483597 | Optical modulator utilizing multi-level signaling An optical modulator is formed to include a plurality of separate electrodes disposed along one arm, the electrodes having different lengths and driven with different signals to provide for multi-level signaling (e.g., PAM-4 signaling). By using separate drivers to ... | 01/27/2009 |
| 7455257 | Motorized self-winding reel for divers An automated reel for use by divers comprises a battery-operated motor in communication with a take-up reel through a gearing arrangement, where the activation/de-activation of the motor is controlled by a tension-sensing mechanism. In operation, when the mechanism ... | 11/25/2008 |
| 7447395 | Silicon modulator offset tuning arrangement A silicon-based optical modulator structure includes one or more separate localized heating elements for changing the refractive index of an associated portion of the structure and thereby providing corrective adjustments to address unwanted variations in device per... | 11/04/2008 |
| 7440664 | Microstructured optical waveguide for providing periodic and resonant structures A microstructured optical waveguide is formed to include a periodic sequence of “plugs” of optically active material within the inner cladding air tunnels. The plugs are utilized as a grating structure for generating resonant and periodic structures. The wavegui... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7440703 | High-speed, silicon-based electro-optic modulator with feedback control An electro-optic modulator arrangement for achieving switching speeds greater than 1 Gb/s utilizes pre-emphasis pulses to accelerate the change in refractive index of the optical waveguide used to form the electro-optic modulator. In one embodiment, a feedback loop ... | 10/21/2008 |
| 7437046 | Optical fiber configuration for dissipating stray light An optical transmission fiber is formed to include a relatively low-index, relatively thin outer cladding layer disposed underneath the protective polymer outer coating. Stray light propagating along an inner cladding layer(s) within the fiber will be refracted into... | 10/14/2008 |
| 7415184 | Wideband optical coupling into thin SOI CMOS photonic integrated circuit An arrangement for providing optical coupling into and out of a relatively thin silicon waveguide formed in the SOI layer of an SOI structure includes a lensing element and a defined reference surface within the SOI structure for providing optical coupling in an eff... | 08/19/2008 |
