A 3.3 V Current-Controlled √ -Domain Oscillator

In this paper, the strong inversion MOS analog of the recentlyproposed class of log-domain filters, or translinear filters, isproposed.The dynamic -domain principle, or dynamicvoltage-translinear principle, exploits the quadratic law, describing theMOS transistor in the strong inversion region, both to perform an expandingV-I conversion of the capacitor voltages and to implement multiplicationsand square roots of currents based on the voltage-translinear principle.Thepresented theory is applied to the design of a current-controlledtwo-integrator oscillator. Experiment results of a pure CMOS test IC showthe feasibility of the -domain principle. The realized oscillatorhas a THD of –42 dB and is linearly frequency tunable across 1.3decades.     

Low Voltage Rail to Rail CMOS Current Feedback Operational Amplifier and its Applications for Analog VLSI

This paper presents a new CMOS current feedback operational amplifier (CFOA) with rail to rail swing capability at all terminals. The circuit operates as a class AB for lower power consumption. Besides operating at low supply voltages of ±1.5 V, the proposed CFOA has a standby current of 200 A. The proposed CFOA circuit is thus a versatile building block for low voltage low power applications. The applications of the CFOA to realize a transconductor/multiplier cell, MOS-C differential integrator, MOS-C bandpass filter and MOS-C oscillator are given. PSpice simulations based on 1.2 m level three parameters obtained from MOSIS are given.     

Admission control with priorities: Approaches for multi‐rate wireless systems

Priority based linkbandwidth partitioning is required to support wireless multimedia services, having diverse QoS (delay, throughput) requirements, in mobile ad hoc networks with multimedia nodes. A new class of service disciplines, termed batch and prioritize or BP admission control (AC), is proposed. The BP algorithms use the delay tolerance of applications to batch requests in time slots. Bandwidth assignment is made either at the end of the slot, or during the slot, on a priority basis. Analytical and simulation models are developed to quantify the performance of the BP schemes. The results are compared with those obtained for a FirstComeFirstServed (FCFS) service discipline. The class of BP schemes trade off the delay and loss tolerance of applications to improve the net carried traffic on the link. Further, such schemes enable an easy implementation for adaptive prioritization, where the degree of precedence given to an application varies with offered load and the link capacity.     

Detection of Defects Using Fault Model Oriented Test Sequences

This paper analyzes the possibilities and limitations of defect detection using fault model oriented test sequences. The analysis is conducted through the example of a short defect considering the static voltage test technique. Firstly, the problem of defect excitation and effect propagation is studied. It is shown that the effect can be either a defective effect or a defect-free effect depending on the value of unpredictable parameters. The concept of Analog Detectability Interval (ADI) is used to represent the range of the unpredictable parameters creating a defective effect. It is demonstrated that the ADIs are pattern dependent. New concepts (Global ADI, Covered ADI) are then proposed to optimize the defect detection taking into account the unpredictable parameters. Finally, the ability of a fault oriented test sequence to detect defect is discussed. In particular, it is shown that the test sequence generated to target the stuck-at faults can reasonably guarantee short defect detection till a limit given by the Analog Detectability Intervals.     

Bilateral polynomial matrix equations in two indeterminates

Two special cases of the bilateral 2-D polynomial matrix equationDU +VN=C whenC=I andC=I with being a -stable 2-D polynomial, which are related respectively to deadbeat and asymptotic control problems of 2-D systems, are first considered. By generalizing the concepts of factor coprimeness, zero coprimeness and zero skew primeness in the 2-D polynomial ring to the ring of causal -stable 2-D rational functions, a constructive solution of these two problems mentioned is proposed. Based on these results, we derive a solvability condition for the bilateral equiation whereC is a general 2-D polynomial matrix. The general solutions are investigated as well.     

Primality Proving via One Round in ECPP and One Iteration in AKS

In August 2002, Agrawal, Kayal and Saxena announced the first deterministic and polynomial-time primality-testing algorithm. For an input n, the Agarwal-Kayal-Saxena (AKS) algorithm runs in time (heuristic time ). Verification takes roughly the same amount of time. On the other hand, the Elliptic Curve Primality Proving algorithm (ECPP) runs in random heuristic time (some variant has heuristic time complexity ) and generates certificates which can be easily verified. However, it is hard to analyze the provable time complexity of ECPP even for a small portion of primes. More recently, Berrizbeitia gave a variant of the AKS algorithm, in which some primes (of density ) cost much less time to prove than a general prime does. Building on these celebrated results, this paper explores the possibility of designing a randomized primality-proving algorithm based on the AKS algorithm. We first generalize Berrizbeitia's algorithm to one which has higher density ( ) of primes whose primality can be proved in time complexity . For a general prime, one round of ECPP is deployed to reduce its primality proof to the proof of a random easily proved prime, thus we achieve heuristic time complexity for all primes.     

Conditionally-perfect secrecy and a provably-secure randomized cipher

Shannon's pessimistic theorem, which states that a cipher can be perfect only when the entropy of the secret key is at least as great as that of the plaintext, is relativized by the demonstration of a randomized cipher in which the secret key is short but the plaintext can be very long. This cipher is shown to be perfect with high probability. More precisely, the eavesdropper is unable to obtain any information about the plaintext when a certain security event occurs, and the probability of this event is shown to be arbitrarily close to one unless the eavesdropper performs an infeasible computation. This cipher exploits the assumed existence of a publicly-accessible string of random bits whose length is much greater than that of all the plaintext to be encrypted; this is a feature that our cipher has in common with the previously considered book ciphers. Two modifications of this cipher are discussed that may lead to practical provably-secure ciphers based on either of two assumptions that appear to be novel in cryptography, viz., the (sole) assumption that the enemy's memory capacity (but not his computing power) is restricted and the assumption that an explicit function is, in a specified sense, controllably-difficult to compute, but not necessarily one-way.A preliminary version of this paper was presented at Eurocrypt '90, May 21–24, Århus, Denmark, and has appeared in the proceedings, pp.361–373.     

On proxy agents, mobility, and web access

With the emerging need for ubiquitous access to information, web access from mobile clients is gaining increasing importance. Unfortunately, the underlying protocols of the web are not designed to support operations from a resource poor platform in a low bandwidth, disconnection prone environment. Efforts to create systems to support mobile browsing have typically been proxybased. However, such solutions have recently been criticized due to their nonscalability. Developments in ad hoc networking also threaten the viability of proxybased approaches. In this paper, we critically examine the proxybased approach and its place in mobile access to the web in particular, and networked multimedia information in general. We argue for a hybrid approach that uses both proxybased and end–end techniques as appropriate, suggest when each is more appropriate, and present a preliminary implementation.     

Permissively structured transfinite electrical networks

Transfinite electrical networks of ranks larger than 1 have previously been defined by arbitrarily joining together various infinite extremities through transfinite nodes that are independent of the networks' resistance values. Thus, some or all of those transfinite nodes may remain ineffective in transmitting current through infinity. In this paper, transfinite nodes are defined in terms of the paths that permit currents to reach infinity. This is accomplished by defining a suitable metricd ^v on the node setN _S ^v of eachv-sectionS ^v, av-section being a maximal subnetwork whose nodes are connected by two-ended paths of ranks no larger thanv. Upon taking the completion ofN _S ^v under that metricd ^v, we identify those extremities (now calledv-terminals) that are accessible to current flows. These are used to define transfinite nodes that combine such extremities. The construction is recursive and is carried out through all the natural number ranks, and then through the first arrow rank and the first limit-ordinal rank . The recursion can be carried still further. All this provides a more natural development of transfinite networks and indeed simplifies the theory of electrical behavior for such networks.This work was partially supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant MIP-9423732.     

Performance analysis of a slotted CDMA ALOHA network

ALOHA is a simple and efficient way of allowing many machines with bursty data streams to communicate with a central computer. For cases where machines are equally likely to transmit to one another, CDMA ALOHA, which allows for full connectivity, may be a better multiple access protocol than slotted ALOHA through a central machine. This paper first describes a model for a fully connected, full duplex, and slotted CDMA ALOHA network where the receiver-based code access protocol is used. The stations can send data to, and receive data from, different stations simultaneously. The model is analyzed using discrete-time Markov chain, and some numerical results are presented. For a system with a large number of users where Markov analysis is impractical, equilibrium point analysis is used to predict the stability of the system and determine the throughput as well as the delay performance of the system when it is stable. It is shown that a CDMA slotted ALOHA network has a much better performance compared to simple slotted ALOHA networks.     

A 10 bit Current-Mode CMOS A/D Converter with a Current Predictor and a Modular Current Reference

This paper describes a 10 bit CMOS current-mode A/D converter with a current predictor and a modular current reference circuit. A current predictor and a modular current reference circuit are employed to reduce the number of comparator and reference current mirrors and consequently to decrease a power dissipation. The 10 bit current-mode A/D converter is fabricated by the 0.6 m n-well double poly/triple metal CMOS technology. The measurement results show the input current range of 16–528 A, DNL and INL of ±0.5 LSB and ±1.0 LSB, conversion rate of 10 M samples, and power dissipation of 94.4 mW with a power supply of 5 V. The effective chip area excluding the pads is 1.8 mm×2.4 mm.     

Shorts of block operators and infinite networks—A note on the shorted operator: II

Let A_ij i, j=1, 2,..., be operators on a Hilbert spaceX, such that the compound operatorA =A _{ij i, j=1} induces a bounded positive operator onl ₂(X). We show that S(A , theshorted operator (orgeneralized Schur complement), of A can be obtained as the limits of shorts of the operators A_n, where A_n is the truncated version ofA , thenA _n=A _{ij i, j=1} ⁿ . We use these results to study the short-circuit approximations to infinite networks.     

Contact TiSi2and Barrier TiN Layers for ULSI Multilevel Metallization

TiSi₂and TiN thin films are deposited with the surface-diffusion reactions of titanium with silicon and nitrogen, respectively. It is demonstrated that the deposition of a TiSi_1.3alloy onto an Si substrate heated to 675°C produces a low-resistivity TiSi₂film. At the same time, a silicide film forms on SiO₂. This film can be distinguished from the disilicide on Si for the purpose of total selective etching. Special process conditions are determined for the fabrication of homogeneous polycrystalline TiN films with a columnar structure and low resistivity (25–35 cm)     

Thermal oxidation of polycrystalline and single crystalline aluminum nitride wafers

Two types of aluminum nitride (AlN) samples were oxidized in flowing oxygen between 900°C and 1150°C for up to 6 h—highly (0001) textured polycrystalline AlN wafers and low defect density AlN single crystals. The N-face consistently oxidized at a faster rate than the Al-face. At 900°C and 1000°C after 6 h, the oxide was 15% thicker on the N-face than on the Al-face of polycrystalline AlN. At 1100°C and 1150°C, the oxide was only 5% thicker on the N-face, as the rate-limiting step changed from kinetically-controlled to diffusion-controlled with the oxide thickness. A linear parabolic model was established for the thermal oxidation of polycrystalline AlN on both the Al- and N-face. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the formation of a thicker crystalline oxide film on the N-face than on the Al-face, and established the crystallographic relationship between the oxide film and substrate. The oxidation of high-quality AlN single crystals resulted in a more uniform colored oxide layer compared to polycrystalline AlN. The aluminum oxide layer was crystalline with a rough AlN/oxide interface. The orientation relationship between AlN and Al₂O₃ was (0001) AlN//( ) Al₂O₃ and ( ) AlN//( ) Al₂O₃.     

A Very Low Voltage Bipolar Op-Amp for Sensor Applications

A new bipolar four-quadrant operational amplifier operating at a power supply voltage of 0.8 V and with a supply current of 800 A is here presented and illustrated. It features low input offset, low bias current, low noise, low crossover distortion and a rail-to-rail output swing. Control circuits ensuring minimum and maximum current limits for the output transistors have been incorporated. The biasing circuitry follows a PTAT scheme. A simple compensation topology allows the reduction of the area. The chip, whose area is about 2 mm², has been fabricated in HF2CMOS 2 /6 GHz technology. Finally, Spice simulations and experimental results, which confirm the expected overall performances of the low voltage op-amp, are reported.     

An RF Power Amplifier in a Digital CMOS Process

A two stage class B power amplifier for 1.9 GHz is presented. The amplifier is fabricated in a standard digital EPI-CMOS process with low resistivity substrate. The measured output power is 29 dBm in a 50 load. A design method to find the large signal parameters of the output transistor is presented. It separates the determination of the optimal load resistance and the determination of the large signal drain-source capacitance. Based on this method, proper values for on-chip interstage matching and off-chip output matching can be derived. A envelope linearisation circuit for the PA is proposed. Simulations and measurements of a fabricated linearisation circuit are presented and used to calculate the achievable linearity in terms of the spectral leakage and the error vector magnitude of a EDGE (3/8-8PSK) modulated signal.     

The Complex Bootstrap Algorithm for Blind Separation of QAM Multiuser CDMA Signals

The bootstrap separator for multiuser signals is principally composed of cancelers, each one using the output of the other cancelers to facilitate control of its adaptive weight. In fact, such a structure performs as a signal separator rather than an interference canceler. Since for its separation there is no need for a reference signal (as in LMS cancelers), it is sometimes justifiably called a Blind Separator. However, for its operation the bootstrap separator requires a signal distinguisher termed discriminator. The algorithm was used in the past in applications such as dually polarized satellite communications and microwave terrestrial links. It was particularly reported for multiuser CDMA signal separating, with the signum function as discriminator. Especially for QAM signals, complex presentation is important. Therefore, we will concentrate in this report on what we call the Complex Bootstrap Algorithm. It is an extension to the previously reported bootstrap structure of [5]. We will examine its performance and emphasize the hardware saving in its implementation, and the ease of using it in simulation.     

A New Bluetooth Scatternet Formation Protocol

A Bluetooth ad hoc network can be formed by interconnecting piconets into scatternets. The constraints and properties of Bluetooth scatternets present special challenges in forming an ad hoc network efficiently. In this paper, we present and analyze a new randomized distributed protocol for Bluetooth scatternet formation. We prove that our protocol achieves O(logn) time complexity and O(n) message complexity. The scatternets formed by our protocol have the following properties: (1) any device is a member of at most two piconets, and (2) the number of piconets is close to be optimal. These properties can help prevent overloading of any single device and lead to low interference between piconets. We validate the theoretical results by simulations, which also show that the scatternets formed have O(logn) diameter. As an essential part of the scatternet formation protocol, we study the problem of device discovery: establishing multiple connections simultaneously with many Bluetooth devices. We investigate the collision rate and time requirement of the inquiry and page processes. Our simulation results indicate that the total number of packets sent is O(n) and that the maximum number of packets sent by any single device is O(logn).     

Frequency Independent Nonlinear Feedforward Phase Estimator

The major focus of this work deals with fast and efficient phase estimation in an additive white Gaussian noise environment, where the received signal is a function of both phase and frequency error (, ). The paper proposes a modified version of the Viterbi and Viterbi phase estimator, and compares this modified version with the original. The comparison is performed in terms of two criteria – estimator variance and phase ambiguity resolution. Results suggest that the new estimator has a lower variance than the original technique when a frequency error is present. In addition, when the frequency is perfectly synchronized, the two estimators yield similar performances at moderate to high levels of signal-to-noise ratios. Phase ambiguity resolution by unique word preambles is also investigated. Although the new estimator requires additional processing to resolve ambiguity, its probability of resolution error is shown to be almost the same as for the V & V estimator.     

Applying a formal analysis technique to the CCITT X.509 strong two-way authentication protocol

In the quest for open systems, standardization of security mechanisms, framework, and protocols are becoming increasingly important. This puts high demands on the correctness of the standards. In this paper we use a formal logic-based approach to protocol analysis introduced by Burrows et al. [1]. We extend this logic to deal with protocols using public key cryptography, and with the notion of duration to capture some time-related aspects. The extended logic is used to analyse an important CCITT standard, the X.509 Authentication Framework. We conclude that protocol analysis can benefit from the use of the notation and that it highlights important aspects of the protocol analysed. Some aspects of the formalism need further study.This research was sponsored by the Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research under Grant IT 0333.22222, and was performed while K. Gaarder was at Alcatel STK Research Centre.