公开(公告)号：US20180106854A1

公开(公告)日：2018-04-19

申请号：US15841585

申请日：2017-12-14

Applicant: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.

Inventor： Alberto Pagani

IPC: G01R31/27 ,  H01L21/66 ,  H01L23/48 ,  H01L21/768 ,  G01R31/28

CPC classification number: G01R31/275 ,  G01R31/2853 ,  H01L21/76898 ,  H01L22/34 ,  H01L23/481 ,  H01L2924/0002 ,  H01L2924/00

Abstract: A testing system for carrying out electrical testing of at least one first through via forms an insulated via structure extending only part way through a substrate of a first body of semiconductor material. The testing system has a first electrical test circuit integrated in the first body and electrically coupled to the insulated via structure. The first electrical test circuit enables detection of at least one electrical parameter of the insulated via structure.

公开(公告)号：US09948193B2

公开(公告)日：2018-04-17

申请号：US15178822

申请日：2016-06-10

Applicant: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.

Inventor： Egidio Ragonese ,  Nunzio Spina ,  Pierpaolo Lombardo ,  Nunzio Greco ,  Alessandro Parisi ,  Giuseppe Palmisano

IPC: H02M3/335

CPC classification number: H02M3/33553 ,  H01L2224/48137 ,  H02M3/33523 ,  H02M3/33584 ,  H02M2001/0012

Abstract: A galvanic isolation is provided between a first circuit and a second circuit. A first galvanically isolated link is configured to transfer power from a first circuit to a second circuit across the galvanic isolation. A second galvanically isolated link is configured to feed back an error signal from the second circuit to the first circuit across the galvanic isolation for use in regulating the power transfer and further configured to support bidirectional data communication between the first and second circuits across the galvanic isolation.

公开(公告)号：US20180102922A1

公开(公告)日：2018-04-12

申请号：US15601299

申请日：2017-05-22

Applicant: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.

Inventor： Alessandro Nizza ,  Roberto Aletti ,  Francesco Pulvirenti ,  Giuseppe Cantone

IPC: H04L25/02 ,  H04B1/58 ,  H04B1/16 ,  H04B1/38 ,  H04L25/08 ,  H04B3/46 ,  H04B3/56

CPC classification number: H04L25/0266 ,  H04B1/1607 ,  H04B1/38 ,  H04B1/581 ,  H04B3/04 ,  H04B3/46 ,  H04B3/56 ,  H04B2001/0425 ,  H04L25/085

Abstract: A circuit with galvanic isolation includes a series of n cascaded transformers including a first transformer and a last transformer in the series. A transmitter is coupled to the primary winding of the first transformer in the series of cascaded transformers, the transmitter being configured for supplying to the primary winding a transmission signal as a function of an input signal. A receiver is coupled to the secondary winding of the last transformer of the series of cascaded transformers and is configured for receiving at the secondary winding a reception signal transmitted over the series of cascaded transformers. A predistortion module is configured for applying to the transmission signal a predistortion including an (n−1)-fold integration, where n is the number of cascaded transformers, of a transmission signal that would be supplied to the input of a sole transformer present in a single-transformer solution.

公开(公告)号：US20180100825A1

公开(公告)日：2018-04-12

申请号：US15836587

申请日：2017-12-08

Applicant: STMICROELECTRONICS S.R.L.

Inventor： Antonello SANTANGELO ,  Salvatore CASCINO ,  Roberto MODICA ,  Viviana CERANTONIO ,  Maurizio MOSCHETTI

IPC: G01N27/22

CPC classification number: G01N27/225 ,  G01N27/22 ,  G01N27/223 ,  G01N27/227

Abstract: A sensor of volatile substances including: a sensitive layer, of a sensitive material that is permeable to a volatile substance and has an electrical permittivity depending upon a concentration of the volatile substance absorbed; a first electrode structure and a second electrode structure capacitively coupled together and arranged so that a capacitance between the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure is affected by the electrical permittivity of the sensitive material; and a supply device, configured to supply a heating current through one between the first electrode structure and the second electrode structure in a first operating condition, so as to heat the sensitive layer.

公开(公告)号：US09941821B2

公开(公告)日：2018-04-10

申请号：US14446237

申请日：2014-07-29

Applicant: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.

Inventor： Francesco Procopio ,  Carlo Valzasina ,  Alberto Corigliano ,  Raffaele Ardito ,  Giacomo Gafforelli

IPC: H02N2/18

CPC classification number: H02N2/186 ,  H02N2/181 ,  H02N2/188

Abstract: A piezoelectric transducer for energy-harvesting systems includes a substrate, a piezoelectric cantilever element, a first magnetic element, and a second magnetic element, mobile with respect to the first magnetic element. The first magnetic element is coupled to the piezoelectric cantilever element. The first magnetic element and the second magnetic element are set in such a way that, in response to relative movements between the first magnetic element and the second magnetic element through an interval of relative positions, the first magnetic element and the second magnetic element approach one another without coming into direct contact, and the interaction between the first magnetic element and the second magnetic element determines application of a force pulse on the piezoelectric cantilever element.

公开(公告)号：US09936886B2

公开(公告)日：2018-04-10

申请号：US14724579

申请日：2015-05-28

Applicant: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.

Inventor： Stefano Cervini

IPC: A61B5/04 ,  A61B5/02 ,  A61N1/00 ,  A61B5/024 ,  A61B5/00 ,  A61B5/11

CPC classification number: A61B5/02416 ,  A61B5/02438 ,  A61B5/11 ,  A61B5/681 ,  A61B5/6824 ,  A61B5/721 ,  A61B5/7225 ,  A61B5/7257 ,  A61B5/742 ,  A61B2562/0219

Abstract: Method for the estimation of the heart-rate using photoplethysmography on a body organ, for example a wrist of a user, comprising acquiring optically from said body organ a heart beat signal, acquiring an acceleration signal representative of the acceleration of said body organ, selecting data blocks of said acquired heart beat signal and acceleration signal, compensating said heart beat signal by the acceleration signal, calculating the heart rate value on the basis of said compensated heart beat signal.

公开(公告)号：US20180092168A1

公开(公告)日：2018-03-29

申请号：US15830788

申请日：2017-12-04

Applicant: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.

Inventor： Davide Lena ,  Simone Crespi

IPC: H05B33/08

CPC classification number: H05B33/083 ,  H05B33/0812 ,  H05B33/0845

Abstract: LED strings cascaded to one another are driven by an electronic circuit that includes regulation modules and a brightness-compensation module. The regulation modules carry out in sequence a current-regulation phase, in which they regulate the current that flows in the corresponding LED strings. The regulation module includes: a compensation regulator coupled to a compensation LED string and to a capacitor and a generator that generates an electrical quantity indicating the luminous flux emitted by the LED strings and by the compensation LED string. The compensation regulator regulates a current that flows in the compensation LED string as a function of the electrical quantity, discharging the capacitor through the compensation LED string.

公开(公告)号：US09921598B1

公开(公告)日：2018-03-20

申请号：US15397137

申请日：2017-01-03

Applicant: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.

Inventor： Marco Pasotti ,  Laura Capecchi ,  Riccardo Zurla

IPC: G11C16/06 ,  G05F3/26

CPC classification number: G05F3/26

Abstract: A current mirror includes an input transistor and an output transistor, wherein the sources of the input and output transistor are connected to supply voltage node. The gates of the input and output transistor are connected through a switch. A first current source is coupled to the input transistor to provide an input current. A copy transistor has a source connected to the supply node and a gate connected to the gate of the input transistor at a mirror node. A second current source is coupled to the copy transistor to provide a copy current. A source-follower transistor has its source connected to the mirror node and its gate connected to the drain of the copy transistor. Charge sharing at a mirror node occurs in response to actuation of the switch and the source-follower transistor is turned on in response thereto to discharge the mirror node.

公开(公告)号：US09917886B2

公开(公告)日：2018-03-13

申请号：US14222770

申请日：2014-03-24

Applicant: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.

Inventor： Alexandro Sentinelli ,  Andrea Lorenzo Vitali ,  Allan Taschini

IPC: H04L29/08 ,  H04L1/00

CPC classification number: H04L67/10 ,  H04L1/00 ,  H04L1/0041 ,  H04L67/108

Abstract: In an embodiment, information contents, such as, e.g., media contents arranged in pieces including blocks of bits, is distributed over a network including plural terminals at least one of which acts as a source of the pieces of information distributed. Various terminals in the network are configured to act as peer terminals with at least one first peer terminal sending the information to one or more second peer terminals. A set of blocks of a corresponding piece of information is received at the first peer terminal and the corresponding piece of information is reconstructed from the set of blocks received. The pieces of information distributed over the network are fountain encoded by XOR-ing the blocks in a piece, so that a received piece is reconstructable from a combination of a corresponding set of linearly independent XOR-ed blocks. The first peer terminal may start sending to the second peer terminal(s) blocks it is receiving before the corresponding piece of information is reconstructed and possibly subjected to integrity check at the first terminal. Fountain encoding the pieces of information is by means of plural sets of linearly independent XOR-ed blocks. A same piece of information is distributed to a plurality of peer terminals by sending thereto different sets of linearly independent XOR-ed blocks, thus avoiding undue redundancy in the information further propagated to other peers.

公开(公告)号：US09917540B2

公开(公告)日：2018-03-13

申请号：US14937248

申请日：2015-11-10

Applicant: STMicroelectronics S.r.l.

Inventor： Michele Boscolo Berto ,  Siro Vittoni

IPC: H02P6/14 ,  H02P6/18 ,  H02P6/182 ,  H02P6/185 ,  H02P6/15 ,  H02K1/34 ,  H02K3/04

CPC classification number: H02P6/182 ,  H02P6/157 ,  H02P6/185

Abstract: A control circuit controls the operation of a brushless DC (BLDC) sensorless motor having a first terminal connected to a first winding, a second terminal connected to a second winding and a third terminal connected to a third winding. A driver circuit applies drive signals to the first and second terminals and places the third terminal in a high-impedance state. The drive signals include first drive signals at a first current amplitude and second drive signals at a second current amplitude different from the first current amplitude. A differencing circuit senses a first mutual inductance voltage at the third terminal in response to the first drive signals and senses a second mutual inductance voltage at the third terminal in response to the second drive signals. The differencing circuit further determines a difference between the first and second mutual inductance voltages and produces a difference signal that is used for zero-crossing detection and rotor position sensing.