NEC

About: NEC is a company organization based out in Tokyo, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Signal & Layer (electronics). The organization has 33269 authors who have published 57670 publications receiving 835952 citations. The organization is also known as: NEC Corporation & NEC Electronics Corporation.

Semiconductor integrated circuit incorporated with substrate bias control circuit

Abstract: The semiconductor IC according to this invention comprises an internal circuit including a plurality of transistors formed on a P-type or an N-type substrate (or a well) which carries out a prescribed signal processing operation during the time of operation mode, a standby detection circuit which generates a standby detection signal of active level by detecting standby mode, a bias potential generating circuit which generates a forward bias potential from the substrate (well) of the transistor to the source electrode, and a switching circuit which supplies to the substrate (well) the potential of the source electrode and the bias potential in response to the active level and the inactive level, respectively, of the standby detection signal. At the time of the operation mode, a high speed operation is secured by bringing the transistors to a low threshold voltage by receiving the supply of the bias potential, while at the time of the standby mode, the generation of malfunctions and defective data holding are prevented and the power consumption is saved by raising the threshold voltage of the transistors through a halt of supply of the bias voltage to the substrate (well).

Location system and method for operating mobile terminal as a responsible location for selecting a positioning method

Abstract: In a mobile communication network, a controlling node receives capability information from a mobile terminal, indicating positioning methods supported by the mobile terminal and selectability of the positioning methods. In response to a location request message from a client terminal requesting the location information of a target mobile terminal, the controlling node transmits a first control message via a wireless node to the target mobile terminal, containing a copy of requested accuracy of the location information, if the capability information indicates that the target mobile terminal is capable of selecting positioning methods. The mobile terminal performs measurement according to a positioning method that satisfies the requested accuracy. Otherwise, the controlling transmits a second control message to the mobile terminal, specifying a positioning method. In this case, the mobile terminal performs measurement according to the specified positioning method.

Method and apparatus for forming bump structure used for flip-chip mounting, the bump structure and the flip-chip

Abstract: A bump structure has a bump constituted by a metal projection which is formed on an electrode of a substrate, and a solder which covers the metal projection but does not touch the electrode. The metal projection is substantially spherical and has a projected portion at a center portion on an upper surface thereof. The metal projection is made of a metal having properties of solder diffusion prevention and adhesion to solder. The bump structure may have two bumps, the first bump being substantially the same as the bump described above and the second being such that its diameter is smaller than an outer diameter of the first bump and it covers the projected portion on the first bump. This bump structure can be formed using a simple process, and can be applied to flip-chip mounting in semiconductor devices with high reliability and yield.

Multiple Sector ID Capture (MIDC): A Novel Beamforming Technique for 60-GHz Band Multi-Gbps WLAN/PAN Systems

Abstract: A novel beamforming (BF) technique (MIDC: Multiple sector-ID Capture) is proposed for 60-GHz band WLAN/PAN systems. In contrast to conventional BF techniques adopted in 60-GHz band standards, where quasi-omni (Q-omni) antenna radiation patterns are utilized, MIDC precisely detects the best link even when the Q-omni pattern is imperfect. Furthermore, it can reserve multiple antenna settings corresponding to existing communication links in the initial training by making use of the quasi-optical nature of millimeter-waves. This enables fast beam switching when link blockage occurs. The training is executed in short durations by putting together DoA/DoD-estimation and “beam-combining” techniques. The basic function of MIDC is verified experimentally in a simple multipath propagation environment by using our 60-GHz CMOS transceiver LSIs integrated with planar phased-array antennas. MIDC has been adopted in the MAC/PHY specification of the primary 60-GHz band standards: WiGig (Wireless Gigabit Alliance) and IEEE 802.11ad.