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ELECTRONIC DEVICE FAILURE ANALYSIS | VOLUME 18 NO. 3
INVENTOR'S CORNER
The second part of invention is learning to observe
things in amore general sense. Abottle opener is generally
a pry bar. The primary purpose of a knife is to cut things
into smaller pieces, but knives can be readily repurposed:
• They make an acceptable emergency screwdriver.
• Prior to forks and spoons, theywere the primary eating
tool.
• They are a great tool for cleaning crevices.
As adults, we tend to focus on and accept the given
use. As children, we play with the alternatives without
concern of looking foolish.
My first patentable invention (U.S. Patent 4,611,912)
was a laser distance-measurement tool, or ladar. (
Ladar
is
a take-off on
radar
, with
laser
substituting for
radio
.) The
invention sticks in my mind in part because I had never
heard of a ladar until I invented one. It also represents
the above principles coupled with one more: turning a
problem into an advantage.
At the time of the invention, my coworker and I had
been asked to attend a presentation on these new things
called laser diodes that were coming out of Japan. During
the presentation, the diode manufacturer was forced to
admit that the lasers would chirp in frequency while they
were modulated. This was a potentially big problem for
many applications, but my coworker and I could hardly
containour excitement. After asking a fewquestions about
the nature of this chirp, we moved on. When outside the
meeting, I askedmy coworker, “Are you thinking what I’m
thinking?” Sure enough, we had both come up with the
idea of a heterodyne chirped radar approach to range-
finding distance, but using a laser instead of microwaves.
My personal patenting career (as well as a rapid shift
into becoming a ladar expert) took off by taking what, to
everyone else in the room, was a detrimental effect and
turning it into an asset.
As a task toward making yourself more inventive,
see what you can come up with as a substitute for that
remarkable bit of technology called a pencil. What is so
remarkable about a pencil?
• It leavesmarks on amultitude of surfaceswithminimal
pressure.
• The marks are fairly permanent but can be erased if
necessary.
• It fits nicely into one’s hand.
• It can be readily resharpened to make narrow lines.
Note that your “invention” does not need to be earth-
shattering or a viable substitute for a pencil. The point
of the task is to encourage yourself to let go and rethink
a very common item, that is, release your imagination.
“Listening to the noise in your head” is not an idle
pastime. It exercises your imagination, serves as the
pathway to turning a problem into a solution, andmakes
you a better inventor.
ITC 2016
The International Test Conference (ITC) will be held
November 15 to 17, 2016
, at the
Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. ITC is the world’s premier conference
dedicated to the electronic test of devices, boards, and systems and covers the complete
cycle from design verification and validation, test, diagnosis, failure analysis, and back to process, yield, reliability, and
design improvement. At ITC, test and design professionals can confront the challenges the industry faces and learn how
these challenges are being addressed by the combined efforts of academia, design tool and equipment suppliers, design-
ers, and test engineers.
ITC, the cornerstone of TestWeek events, offers a wide variety of technical activities targeted at test and design
theoreticians and practitioners, including formal paper sessions, tutorials, panel sessions, case studies, a lecture series,
commercial exhibits and presentations, and a host of ancillary professional meetings.
ITC is sponsored by the IEEE. For more information, visit itctestweek.org.
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