Qualcomm Assigned Two Patents

MRAM device
Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA, has been assigned a patent (8,674,465) developed by three co-inventors for a “MRAM device and integration techniques compatible with logic integration.”

The co-inventors are Xia Li, Xiaochun Zhu and Seung H. Kang, San Diego, CA.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “A semiconductor device includes a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) storage element configured to be disposed in a common interlayer metal dielectric (IMD) layer with a logic element. Cap layers separate the common IMD layer from a top and bottom IMD layer. Top and bottom electrodes are coupled to the MTJ storage element. Metal connections to the electrodes are formed in the top and bottom IMD layers respectively through vias in the separating cap layers. Alternatively, the separating cap layers are recessed and the bottom electrodes are embedded, such that direct contact to metal connections in the bottom IMD layer is established. Metal connections to the top electrode in the common IMD layer are enabled by isolating the metal connections from the MTJ storage elements with metal islands and isolating caps.“

The patent application was filed on Aug. 5, 2010 (12/850,860).

Memory-efficient storage and extraction of maximum power reduction values
in two-carrier wireless systems
Qualcomm, Inc., San Diego, CA, has been assigned a patent (8,644,183) developed by three co-inventors for systems and methods “for memory-efficient storage and extraction of maximum power reduction values in two-carrier wireless data systems.”

The co-inventors are Jinhua Jiang, Palo Alto, CA, Zae Yong Choi, and Mei Chen, San Diego, CA.

The abstract of the patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office states: “Systems and methods for memory-efficient storage and extraction of maximum power reduction (MPR) values in two-carrier wireless data systems are presented. A wireless broadband device can operate under the HSUPA Category 9 standard, in which two carriers can be employed for data uplinks. Due to power saturation, interference, and other factors, transmission output power is limited to various levels depending on channel configuration. Under previous standards using one carrier, the maximum power reduction (MPR) needed to address those issues could be stored on the device, since the total number of MPR values was limited. With the introduction of dual carriers in HSUPA-9, storing all possible MPR values is no longer feasible. Platforms and techniques are disclosed which allow accurate generation of MPR values in a two-carrier system, utilizing the 2nd, 4th, and 6th moments of the complex signals to derive MPR values without attempting to store all possible carrier combinations.”

The patent application was filed on June 26, 2012 (13/533,585).