Design and frequency/phase-noise analysis of a 10-GHz CMOS ring oscillator with coarse and fine frequency tuning

A 10-GHz CMOS ring oscillator that employs a multi-pass technique for boosting its frequency is proposed in this paper. The proposed circuit allows the tuning gain to be lowered by deploying the coarse/fine frequency tuning whilst maintaining wide frequency coverage. The small signal model of the proposed delay stage and the circuit operation are discussed in this paper. The time-variant analysis presented permits accurate prediction of the frequency tuning characteristic and the results have been verified by simulation. The phase noise analysis is also discussed in detail to provide better insight to the noise that is contributed by each transistor. The calculated results agreed well with that of the simulations. Hai Qi Liu was born in Jiangsu, China, in 1979. He received the B.S. and M.Sc. degrees, both in electrical engineering from the Tianjin University, Tianjin, China, in 2000, and Tongji University, Shanghai, China, in 2003, respectively. He is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. His research focuses mainly on the design of fully integrated oscillators and Phase-Locked Loops for optical communication applications. His research interests also include RF frequency synthesizers and RF front-end designs for wireless applications. Wang Ling Goh obtained both her B.Eng and Ph.D. degrees from the department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the Queen’s University of Belfast (QUB) in United Kingdom. When working on her Ph.D., she was also engaged as a research associate at the Northern Ireland Semiconductor Research Centre (NISRC) at QUB. Dr Goh joined the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore as a lecturer in January 1996. She is now an Associate Professor in the Division of Circuits and Systems, School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering. Dr Goh has to-date co-authored 1 book, filed 13 patents (granted), and published about 60 research papers in international conferences and journals. Her research interests are in areas of silicon device processing technologies as well as digital and mixed-signal IC designs. Liter Siek received the B.A.Sc. degree from University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; the M.Eng.Sc. from University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; and the Ph.D. from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. From 1981 to 1983 he was employed in several companies in the area of automation and control. From 1983 to 1985, he was with SGS, currently known as ST Microelectronics situated in Castelletto, Milan, Italy, where he worked in the central R&D Laboratories for Linear IC. From 1985 to 1987, he was with the same company situated in Singapore’s Asia Pacific Design Center. Since October 1988, he has been with Nanyang Technological University. His research interests are in the design of bipolar, CMOS and BiCMOS analog/mixed signal ICs. In addition, he has authored and co-authored 53 international journal/conference technical papers.     

Laser compatible waveguide electroabsorption modulator with high contrast and low operating voltage in GaAs/AlGaAs

The authors demonstrate a SQW-GRINSCH ridge-waveguide electroabsorption modulator in GaAs/Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As that has a very high contrast ratio and low operating voltage and also acts as a laser with relatively low threshold current. They achieve contrast ratios of 10 dB/100 mu m of cavity length with an operating voltage of less than -4 V. In addition, when operated as laser, the device exhibits a threshold current of 25 mA. The active layer has a capacitance of 205 pF/mm/sup 2/ which would allow the fabrication of a device with a modulation bandwidth of over 20 GHz. The laser operated at a wavelength only 2-3 nm shorter than the optimum modulation wavelength.<>     

Changes in the phase structure and formation of chemical compounds by ion implantation of tantalum thin films

Evaporated films of tantalum+tantalum oxide, 500 Å thick, were implanted with argon, oxygen and nitrogen ions. The phase structure of the films was determined by transmission electron microscopy and the dose dependence of resistivity and thermal coefficient of resistivity was satisfactorily explained in terms of the precipitation of compounds formed in the film. Argon bombardment had little effect on the structure of a film until sputter etching had reduced the film thickness considerably, when precipitates of TaO₂ in the form of rounded islands were created. Oxygen bombardment resulted in the precipitation of the b.c.c. phase of tantalum, and at higher doses precipitates of TaO₂ were formed. Nitrogen bombardment resulted in a sudden phase change and the precipitation of Ta₄N₅ in the form of hexagonal platelets; the conduction process in these films was highly activated, probably as a result of the presence of an amorphous oxide matrix. The dependence of changes in electrical properties on oxygen content of the film is explained by this phase structure.     

Zero Orders and Dimensions of Some Invariant Subspaces in Linear Structured Systems

In this paper we consider linear structured systems which represent a large class of parameter-dependent linear systems and we study invariants for such systems under a large group of transformations including state feedback. In this context we consider the dimension of the maximal output-nulling invariant subspace of a linear structured system, the number and structure of its invariant zeros and its structure at infinity. We give generic characterizations of the invariants in terms of properties of the directed graph that can be naturally associated with a linear structured system. Date received: March 1, 2002. Date revised: April 1, 2003. The first authors stay at the Laboratoire dAutomatique de Grenoble was supported by grants of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG) and the French Ministry of Research.     

Static and dynamic pressure profiles of a patellar-tendon-bearing (PTB) socket

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the pressure distribution at the stump/socket interface in amputees wearing the patellar-tendon-bearing socket. A specially built strain gauged type pressure transducer was used for measuring this pressure distribution in four unilateral transtibial amputees. Pressure and gait parameters were measured simultaneously while they were standing and walking. Pressure profiles were compiled at 10, 25 and 50 per cent of gait cycle and compared with the pressure profiles predicted by Radcliffe in 1961. The subject's anterior-posterior pressure profiles were different from each other. However, at toe-off, each subject exhibited an increase in pressure at the patellar tendon. Their medial-lateral pressure profiles were similar: exhibiting high pressure at the medial proximal and lateral distal regions except for one subject who exhibited high pressure at the lateral proximal region instead. The subjects' pressure profiles did not resemble Radcliffe's anticipated pressure profiles. This was because ground reaction force was not the only factor affecting the resulting pressure profiles.     

A multiobjective memetic algorithm based on particle swarm optimization.

In this paper, a new memetic algorithm (MA) for multiobjective (MO) optimization is proposed, which combines the global search ability of particle swarm optimization with a synchronous local search heuristic for directed local fine-tuning. A new particle updating strategy is proposed based upon the concept of fuzzy global-best to deal with the problem of premature convergence and diversity maintenance within the swarm. The proposed features are examined to show their individual and combined effects in MO optimization. The comparative study shows the effectiveness of the proposed MA, which produces solution sets that are highly competitive in terms of convergence, diversity, and distribution.     

Mechanical Reinforcement of Polyethylene Using Polyethylene‐Grafted Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

The incorporation of carbon nanotubes to a polymer generally improves the stiffness and strength of the polymer, but the ductility and toughness of the polymer are compromised in most cases. Here we report the mechanical reinforcement of polyethylene (PE) using polyethylene‐grafted multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PE‐g‐MWNTs). The stiffness, strength, ductility and toughness of PE are all improved by the addition of PE‐g‐MWNTs. The grafting of PE onto MWNTs enables the well‐dispersion of nanotubes in the PE matrix and improves MWNT/PE interfacial adhesion. The grafting was achieved by a reactive blending process through melt blending of PE containing 0.85 wt % of maleic anhydride and amine‐functionalized MWNTs. The reaction between maleic anhydride and amine groups, as evidenced by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, leads to the grafting of PE onto the nanotubes.     

A new bonding-tool solution to improve stitch bondability

A new bonding-tool solution is proposed to improve stitch bondability by creating a new surface morphology on the tip surface of a wire-bonding tool (capillary). The surface has relatively deep lines with no fixed directions. This new capillary has less slipping between the wire and the capillary tip surface and provides better coupling effect between them. Experiments of wire bonding on unstable lead frames/substrates, alloyed wire (2N gold wire) bonding, and copper wire bonding were carried out to confirm the effect of the new capillary on the stitch bondability. The experimental results are promising and have proved that the use of the new capillary could improve the bondability of the stitch bond and minimize the occurrence of short tail defects and non-sticking on lead during bonding.