High-Repetition-Rate MHz Acoustooptic $Q$-Switched Fiber Laser

A simple actively Q-switched double-clad fiber laser combining an amplifying cavity is reported by using a dynamic acoustooptic Q-switching as a beam splitter. Sub-100-ns pulses independence of the repetition rate of acoustooptic modulator are almost changeless with repetition rate varied from 50 kHz to 1.5 MHz. With 4.5-W absorbed power, 9.4-W peak-power pulses at 1.5-MHz repetition rate with 75-ns pulse duration are generated.     

Optimization of Passively Repetitively $Q$-Switched Three-Level Lasers

A generalized model of a passively repetitively $Q$-switched three-level laser is presented. The method for evaluation of the small-signal gain coefficient and the dissipative losses of a three-level laser is shown. To demonstrate the use of this optimization procedure, it was applied to a microchip laser generating 1.5- $mu$m radiation. The model may be expanded for a four-level laser by replacing the calculation of the small-signal gain coefficient.      

Effect of Polarization States on the Laser Performance of Passively $Q$-switched Yb:YAG/Cr,Ca:YAG Microchip Lasers

The polarization states of passively $Q$-switched microchip lasers were investigated by adopting different combinations of Yb:YAG, Cr,Ca:YAG crystals and ceramics. The results show that except for the random polarization oscillation of Yb:YAG/Cr,Ca:YAG all-ceramics combination, other three combinations including crystals exhibit linearly polarization. Highly efficient, nearly diffraction-limited beam quality, high peak power, sub-nanosecond passively $Q$-switched lasers were obtained for all combinations of Yb:YAG, Cr,Ca:YAG ceramics and crystals. The best laser performance was obtained with Yb:YAG/Cr,Ca:YAG crystals combination. The effect of polarization states on the laser performance was also addressed.      

The Performance of Acoustic-Optical $Q$-switched Mode-Locking 1.34 $mu$m Nd:GdVO$_{4}$ Laser

A diode-end-pumped $Q$ -switched mode-locking $hbox{Nd:GdVO}_{4}$ laser operating at 1.34 $mu{hbox {m}}$ with an acousto-optical (AO) Q-switch in a compact V-type cavity was realized in our experiment for the first time. When the AO Q-switch repetition rate was 10 kHz, the maximum average output power of 750 mW and the pulse energy of 75 $muhbox{J}$ were obtained at the maximum incident pump power of 9 W. The mode-locking modulation depth of about 100% was obtained at certain pump power over the threshold. The mode-locked pulse inside in the $Q$-switched pulse had a repetition rate of 341 MHz, and its average pulsewidth was estimated to be about 350 ps. A developed rate equation model for the $Q$ -switched and mode-locked lasers with an AO Q-switch were proposed by using the hyperbolic secant functional methods. The results of numerical calculations of the rate equations were in good agreement with the experimental results.      

Diode-Side-Pumped Acoustooptic $Q$ -switched 1319-nm Nd:YAG Laser

In this paper, a diode-side-pumped acoustooptic Q-switched 1319-nm Nd:YAG laser is described. The output characteristics under the different repetition rates and output couplers have been studied. With a pumping power of 555 W, the average output power decreases from 94 W at 50 kHz to 71 W (slope efficiency 25.2%, optical conversion efficiency 12.8%) at 5 kHz. The highest peak power is up to 95 kW with the pulse duration of 150 ns at the repetition rate of 5 kHz.     

Tunable Passively $Q$-switched Erbium-Doped Fiber Laser With Carbon Nanotubes as a Saturable Absorber

An all-fiber tunable passively $Q$ -switched erbium-doped fiber (EDF) laser is presented. Saturable absorbers are constructed by optically driven deposition of single-wall carbon nanotubes on fiber connectors. A low pump threshold of 11.1 mW is achieved. Self-mode-locking effect is also observed, and it could be suppressed by splicing an extra unpumped EDF into the laser ring cavity. The laser can be tuned by applying axial strain on the fiber Bragg grating which serves as a narrowband external mirror of the cavity.      

Reliability Bounds for Multi-State $k$-out-of- $n$ Systems

Algorithms have been available for exact performance evaluation of multi-state k-out-of-n systems. However, especially for complex systems with a large number of components, and a large number of possible states, obtaining "reliability bounds" would be an interesting, significant issue. Reliability bounds will give us a range of the system reliability in a much shorter computation time, which allow us to make decisions more efficiently. The systems under consideration are multi-state k-out-of-n systems with i.i.d. components. We will focus on the probability of the system in states below a certain state d, denoted by Q_sd. Based on the recursive algorithm proposed by Zuo & Tian [14] for performance evaluation of multi-state k-out-of-n systems with i.i.d. components, a reliability bounding approach is developed in this paper. The upper, and lower bounds of Q_sd are calculated by reducing the length of the k vector when using the recursive algorithm. Using the bounding approach, we can obtain a good estimate of the exact Q_sd value while significantly reducing the computation time. This approach is attractive, especially to complex systems with a large number of components, and a large number of possible states. A numerical example is used to illustrate the significance of the proposed bounding approach.     

Temperature Dependence of Optical Gain and Loss in $lambda approx$ 8.2–10.2 $mu$m Quantum-Cascade Lasers

Temperature-dependent optical gain and waveguide loss have been measured for continuous-wave operated quantum-cascade lasers with wavelengths between 8.2 and 10.2 mum up to room temperature using the Hakki-Paoli method. The gain coefficient decreases with increasing temperature, and is close to the designed value for vertical transition lasers, but smaller than the designed value for diagonal transition lasers. The waveguide loss, however, is two to three times higher than calculated from free carrier absorption, and can be nearly constant, increase or decrease with temperature depending on sample design, which indicates that it is dominated by another mechanism other than plain free carrier absorption. One likely factor resulting in high waveguide loss is intersubband resonant absorption into higher lying states.     

Two-Way Handshaking Circular Sequential $k$-Out-of- $n$ Congestion System

Many communication systems require a two-way, or three-way handshaking process to improve their dependability & authenticity in order to achieve a more successful operation. In this paper, we present a new two-way handshaking reliability model based upon threshold-based cryptography systems. Such systems require a two-way handshaking process to i) establish a group of participated servers in the first handshaking process, and ii) calculate a cipher with successfully connected servers collaboratively in the second handshaking process. When the servers are attempted, each server has three known connection probabilities in the following three states: i) successful, ii) breakdown, and iii) congested. These connection probabilities are unchanged in both handshaking processes. During the first handshaking process, we establish connections that more than servers are willing to participate. For the second handshaking process, the system becomes successful as soon as we can connect these servers successfully again. Because we need to connect servers successfully in the second handshaking process, we would rather connect additional servers besides the servers required to be connected successfully in the first handshaking process. This preference will minimize the chance that the system breaks down when fewer than servers can be reconnected successfully in the second handshaking process. We refer to this system as a Two-Way Handshaking Circular Sequential-out-of-Congestion (TWHCSknC) system. In this paper, we derived analytical formulas for the system's successful probability & average stop length, and we showed that the TWHCSknC system is a communication system with an efficient two-way handshaking process.     

Actively $Q$ -switched and Mode-Locked Diode-Pumped ${hbox {Nd:GdVO}}_{4}{hbox {--KTP}}$ Laser

By using a comparative simple configuration and a short cavity length, a diode-pumped actively Q -switched and mode-locked intracavity frequency doubled Nd:GdVO₄-KTP green laser with the modulation depth 100% was realized, from which the great average output power, the high efficiency were obtained and the mode-locked pulse inside the Q -switched pulse has a repetition rate of 476 MHz. Using the hyperbolic secant function methods and by considering the Gaussian distribution of the intracavity photon density, the influences of continuous pump rate, the upper state lifetime of the active medium and the turnoff time of the acousto-optic Q -switch, we proposed a developed rate equation model for actively Q -switched and mode-locked green lasers. With this developed model, the theoretical calculations are in good agreement with the experimental results and the width of the mode-locked green pulse is estimated to be about 185 ps.     

Double $phi$-Step $theta$-Scanning Technique for Spherical Near-Field Antenna Measurements

Probe-corrected spherical near-field antenna measurements with an arbitrary probe set certain requirements on an applicable scanning technique. The computational complexity of the general high-order probe correction technique for an arbitrary probe, that is based on the Phi scanning, is O(N⁴), where N is proportional to the radius of the antenna under test (AUT) minimum sphere in wavelengths. With the present knowledge, the computational complexity of the probe correction for arbitrary probes in the case of the thetas scanning is O(N^-6), which is typically not acceptable. This paper documents a specific double Phi-step thetas scanning technique for spherical near-field antenna measurements. This technique not only constitutes an alternative spherical scanning technique, but it also enables formulating an associated probe correction technique for arbitrary probes with the computational complexity of 0(N4) while the possibility for the exploitation of the advantages of the thetas scanning are maintained.     

Design of Photonic Crystal Nanocavity With $Q$-Factor of ${{sim}10^{9}}$

Photonic crystal nanocavities are expected to make great contributions in areas of physics and engineering such as the slowing and stopping of light and optical quantum information processing. We first review approaches to the goal of increasing the quality factor of two-dimensional photonic crystal nanocavities. Losses from a cavity can be suppressed, with a consequent increase of the quality factor, by containing the electromagnetic field in the form of a Gaussian envelope function. We then propose a new method of analytical cavity design, based on the detailed investigation of waveguide modes, in order to realize Gaussian cavity mode fields. This has enabled us to achieve a quality factor of while maintaining a cavity volume of one cubic wavelength.     

Lifetime of Combined $k$-out-of-$n$ , and Consecutive $k_{c}$ -out-of-$n$ Systems

A combined k-out-of-n:F(G) & consecutive k_c -out-of-n :F(G) system fails (functions) iff at least k components fail (function), or at least fcc consecutive components fail (function). Explicit formulas are given for the lifetime distribution of these combined systems whenever the lifetimes of components are exchangeable, and have an absolutely continuous joint distribution. The lifetime distributions of the aforementioned systems are represented as a linear combination of distributions of order statistics by using the concept of Samaniego's signature. Formulas for the mean lifetimes are given. Some numerical results are also presented.     

Subthreshold Parallel FM-to-Digital $Delta$– $Sigma$ Converter With Output-Bit-Stream Addition by Interleaving

Single and parallel subthreshold frequency-modulation-to-digital $Delta$–$Sigma$ modulators (FDSMs) have been implemented in a standard 90-nm CMOS technology. Theoretical and measured results are presented for both topologies. The 512-stage parallel FDSM adopts a tunable delay line and achieves bit-stream addition by interleaving at the output stage. This architecture, with respect to the conventional parallel FDSM, reduces power, area, and complexity at the cost of using clocks with higher speed in its output stage. In addition, compared to the single FDSM, the parallel converter shows an improvement in signal-to-quantization-noise ratio of more than 25 dB at supply voltages as low as 300 mV.      

Analytical HFET $I$– $V$ Model in Presence of Current Collapse

A compact analytical model of short-channel AlGaN/GaN HEMTs in the presence of a current collapse is presented. The model is based on an experimentally established trapping mechanism at the gate edges and relies on significant differences between the characteristic carrier capture-escape times and typical RF signal periods. For the first time, we implement the theory describing electric field distributions in the HEMT gate-to-drain spacing region, with and without trapped charge distributions. By consequently accounting for velocity saturation effects in gated and trapped regions of the device, the presented model shows good agreement with the experimental data. The model uses a minimal number of fitting parameters, most of which are physical parameters describing velocity-field dependence of the carriers.     

Underdetermined Anechoic Blind Source Separation via $ell^{q}$-Basis-Pursuit With $q≪1$

In this paper, we address the problem of underdetermined blind source separation (BSS) of anechoic speech mixtures. We propose a demixing algorithm that exploits the sparsity of certain time-frequency expansions of speech signals. Our algorithm merges lscr^q -basis-pursuit with ideas based on the degenerate unmixing estimation technique (DUET) [Yiotalmaz and Rickard, "Blind Source Separation of Speech Mixtures via Time-Frequency Masking," IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, vol. 52, no. 7, pp. 1830-1847, July 2004]. There are two main novel components to our approach: 1, our algorithm makes use of all available mixtures in the anechoic scenario where both attenuations and arrival delays between sensors are considered, without imposing any structure on the microphone positions, and 2, we illustrate experimentally that the separation performance is improved when one uses lscr^q-basis-pursuit with q < 1 compared to the q = 1 case. Moreover, we provide a probabilistic interpretation of the proposed algorithm that explains why a choice of 0.1 les q les 0.4 is appropriate in the case of speech. Experimental results on both simulated and real data demonstrate significant gains in separation performance when compared to other state-of-the-art BSS algorithms reported in the literature.     

Silicon Resonator Based 3.2 $mu$W Real Time Clock With $pm$10 ppm Frequency Accuracy

This paper presents an ultra-low power generic compensation scheme that is used to implement a real time clock based on an AlN-driven 1 MHz uncompensated silicon resonator achieving 3.2 ?W power dissipation at 1 V and ±10 ppm frequency accuracy over a 0-50°C temperature range. It relies on the combination of fractional division and frequency interpolation for coarse and fine tuning respectively. By proper calibration and application of temperature dependent corrections, any frequency below that of the uncompensated resonator can be generated yielding programmability, resonator fabrication tolerances and temperature drift compensation without requiring a PLL. To minimize the IC area, a dual oscillator temperature measurement concept based on a ring oscillator/resistor thermal sensor was implemented yielding a resolution of 0.04°C. The IC was fabricated on a 0.18 ?m 1P6M CMOS technology.     

Achievable Limits on the Reliability of $k$-out-of- $n$:G Systems Subject to Imperfect Fault Coverage

Systems which must be designed to achieve very low probabilities of failure often use redundancy to meet these requirements. However, redundant k-out-of-n:G systems which are subject to imperfect fault coverage have an optimum level of redundancy, n _opt. That is to say, additional redundancy in excess of nopt will result in an increase, not a decrease, in the probability of system failure. This characteristic severely limits the level of redundancy considered in the design of highly reliable systems to modest values of n. Correct modeling of imperfect coverage is critical to the design of highly reliable systems. Two distinctly different k-out-of-n:G imperfect fault coverage reliability models are discussed in this paper: Element Level Coverage (ELC), and Fault Level Coverage (FLC). ELC is the appropriate model when each component can be assigned a given coverage level, while FLC is the appropriate model for systems using voting as the primary means of selection among redundant components. It is shown, over a wide range of realistic coverage values and relatively high component reliabilities, that the optimal redundancy level for ELC systems is 2 and 4 for FLC systems. It is also shown that the optimal probability of failure for FLC systems exceeds that of ELC systems by several orders of magnitude. New functions for computing the mean time to failure for i.i.d. k-out-of-n:G ELC, and FLC systems are also presented.     

Numerical Modeling of Diode-End-Pumped High-Power ${hbox {Er}}^{3+}$:YAG Lasers

A theoretical model is presented describing continuous-wave operation of diode-end-pumped Er³⁺ :YAG lasers. Implemented as a numerical computer model it takes into account the full spectral information of the pump and laser transitions as well as all important ionic levels, their Stark splitting, decay schemes, up-conversion processes, excited-state absorption and especially the thermal dependencies of these important parameters. The model is compared to experimental results with good agreement and predicts highly efficient operation of Er:YAG lasers even at high temperatures.     

A Time-Interleaved $DeltaSigma$-DAC Architecture Clocked at the Nyquist Rate

This paper describes a delta–sigma ( $DeltaSigma$) digital-to- analog converter (DAC) architecture that combines a polyphase decomposition of the interpolation filter and a time-interleaved error-feedback $DeltaSigma$ modulator. Noise-shaped oversampling is achieved while clocking the digital circuitry at the Nyquist rate. The design of a third-order 4-bit modulator with eight times oversampling using the architecture is presented. Results from a prototype current-DAC driven by a VHDL simulation of the digital design at 2.66 GHz show that 56-dB linearity is achievable in 90-nm CMOS within a 1-V supply over a 155-MHz signal bandwidth making the architecture suitable for emerging ultra-wide-band and 60-GHz radio applications.