1 V 2 GHz CMOS frequency divider

A new frequency divider, called differential injection locking, is proposed. The proposed divider has no transistor stacking to suppress the performance degradation due to supply voltage reduction. It is shown that the proposed frequency divider achieves 2 GHz with 1 V supply voltage and 540 /spl mu/W power consumption.     

10 Gbit/s optical BPSK homodyne detection experiment with solitaryDFB laser diodes

Solitary DFB laser diodes with 174 kHz beat linewidth are applied to a 10 Gbit/s optical BPSK homodyne detection system for the first time: a sensitivity of -38.9 dBm was achieved. A three-electrode laser forms the local oscillator and is modulated with a partial push-pull scheme to improve its frequency response     

High power and high sensitivity planar lightwave circuit moduleincorporating a novel passive alignment method

A high-power, high-sensitivity planar lightwave circuit (PLC) module, comprising a laser diode (LD) and a photodiode (PD) surface mounted on a PLC platform, has been realized by a novel passive alignment technique. We used a spot-size transformed LD and a corner-illuminated PD to form a highly efficient optical coupling between the devices and a PLC waveguide. We used the unique marker alignment method to ensure accurate positioning of them. The positioning precision achieved in the lateral direction was within 1 μm for the LD's and within 10 μm for the PD's. The rotational precision was within 0.4° for both chips. We realized high power operation (>8 mW) with a high receiver sensitivity (0.3 A/W). In this paper, we describe a high power, high sensitivity PLC incorporating a novel passive optical alignment technique for LD's and PD's     

Statistical analysis on stimulated Raman crosstalk in dispersion-managed fiber links

Power impairments due to stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in dispersion-managed (DM) fiber links are evaluated theoretically. We extend previous work on the statistical analysis of SRS crosstalk to the case of multiple fiber segments. Closed-form formulas are derived, and the applicable range is presented by comparison with simulation results. The SRS crosstalk in DM fiber links is evaluated using derived formulas, and the preferable configuration of DM fiber links for suppressing SRS crosstalk is discussed. We also evaluate the exact power penalty induced by the SRS crosstalk in consideration of the log-normal waveform distribution due to SRS and non-Gaussian noise and clarify the system bounds in some typical DM fiber links. The developed approach provides a design rule for DM fiber links from the viewpoint of SRS crosstalk suppression.     

An optical 90°-hybrid balanced receiver module using a planarlightwave circuit

An optical 90°-hybrid coherent receiver module is constructed that uses the planar lightwave circuit technique. The module consists of an optical 90°-hybrid silica planar waveguide and two 14 GHz balanced O/E converters; the solder-bump technique is employed. For both sets of paths between the optical coupler and the twin-p-i-n photodetector pairs, the effective propagation time differences were reduced to within 4 ps. A 10 Gb/s BPSK homodyne detection experiment confirms the feasibility of the receiver     

Development of passive heat control system for direct methanol fuel cell using electric double layer capacitor

A direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is highly anticipated as a new, high‐density energy source for mobile usage; however, its poor power density presents a problem. As a result, the size of portable electronic equipment using DMFCs is far larger than that of equipment using another type of battery. In addition, steady power supply control is difficult, because the output power of the DMFC is affected by the environment. First, this paper presents a pulse charge control system that is a new control system applied to a mobile device, which uses the DMFC and an electric double layer capacitor (EDLC), then describes the new passive heat control and presents experimental results. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 179(1): 46–53, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21129     

Development of a maximum‐power‐point‐limiting control system for a direct methanol fuel cell

A new maximum‐power‐point limiting (MPPL) control method for a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) was proposed. In regard to achieving MPPL, it was affirmed by experiment that it is possible to control the DMFC by simply ensuring that its voltage does not fall below a certain level regardless of its state. An MPPL control system that accomplishes the DMFC voltage limitation required for MPPL control by using a ‘soft‐start function’ fitted in a ready‐made DC/DC converter was developed. It was confirmed by experimental tests that the circuit board of the developed MPPL control system can perform DMFC voltage limitation control. © 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Development of novel thermoelectric materials by reduction of lattice thermal conductivity

Thermal conductivity is one of the key parameters in the figure of merit of thermoelectric materials. Over the past decade, most progress in thermoelectric materials has been made by reducing their thermal conductivity while preserving their electrical properties. The phonon scattering mechanisms involved in these strategies are reviewed here and divided into three groups, including (i) disorder or distortion of unit cells, (ii) resonant scattering by localized rattling atoms and (iii) interface scattering. In addition, we propose construction of a ‘natural superlattice’ in thermoelectric materials by intercalating an MX layer into the van der Waals gap of a layered TX₂ structure which has a general formula of (MX)_1+x(TX₂)_n (M=Pb, Bi, Sn, Sb or a rare earth element; T=Ti, V, Cr, Nb or Ta; X=S or Se and n=1, 2, 3). We demonstrate that one of the intercalation compounds (SnS)_1.2(TiS₂)₂ has better thermoelectric properties compared with pure TiS₂ in the direction parallel to the layers, as the electron mobility is maintained while the phonon transport is significantly suppressed owing to the reduction in the transverse phonon velocities.     

Waveform distortion due to stimulated Raman scattering in wide-bandWDM transmission systems

The influence of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) taking into account the random modulation and the walk-off effect on wide-band wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) transmission systems are studied theoretically. First, it is shown that power depletion due to SRS can be separated into average power loss and waveform distortion. The waveform distortion is evaluated for various types of pulse shapes and fibers, and simple equations for evaluating the waveform distortion due to SRS are derived. These equations can be easily applied for designing wide-band WDM transmission systems from the viewpoint of the SRS waveform distortion. We also compare results obtained from our method with those from the split-step Fourier method, and confirm validity of our method. Our method should be useful in the design of wide-band WDM transmission systems, in which SRS is expected to be a serious limitation