Optically preamplified receiver performance due to VSB filtering for 40-Gb/s optical signals modulated with various formats

Optically preamplified receiver performance according to the vestigial sideband (VSB) filtering has been numerically investigated for 40-Gb/s optical signals modulated with nonreturn-to-zero, duobinary nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ), return-to-zero (RZ), carrier-suppressed RZ, and duobinary carrier-suppressed RZ formats. The VSB filtering enables the spectral widths of NRZ, duobinary NRZ, and RZ signals to be reduced without severe power penalties at the receiver. On the other hand, carrier-suppressed RZ and duobinary carrier-suppressed RZ signals have no large advantages over VSB filtering because of the characteristics of their signals. Our results suggest that RZ signals are the most suitable modulation format for VSB filtering, without considering the filter loss, because of the tolerance of the intersymbol interference and a large spectral width. However, duobinary NRZ signals are the most suitable modulation format for VSB filtering, considering the filter loss, because of their narrow spectral width.     

Conference key distribution schemes for secure digital mobilecommunications

We propose a new service for digital mobile communication systems. The service enables two or more users to hold a secure conference. Two requirements must be considered: privacy and authentication. Privacy involves ensuring that an eavesdropper cannot intercept the conversations of the parties holding the conference. Authentication involves ensuring that service is not obtained fraudulently in order to avoid usage charges. We present two new conference key distribution schemes for digital mobile communication systems. In these schemes, a group of users can generate a common secret keg over a public channel so that they may hold a secure conference     

Two-level optimal output feedback stabilizer design

The paper addresses the design of two-level power system stabilizers using an optimal reduced order model whose state variables are torque angles and speeds. The reduced order model retains their physical meaning and is used to design a two-level linear feedback controller that takes into account the realities and constraints of electrical power systems. The two-level control strategy is used, and a global control signal is generated from the output variables to minimize the effect of interactions. The effectiveness of this controller is evaluated and a multimachine system is given as an example to illustrate the advantages of the proposed method. Responses of the system with a two-level scheme and an optimal reduced order scheme are included for comparative analysis.     

Degradation of junction leakage in devices subjected to gateoxidation in nitrous oxide [MOS transistors]

Nitrided gate oxides offer several electrical and reliability advantages over conventional oxides and also provide a good barrier against impurity diffusion. Oxidation in nitrous oxide (N₂O) has been very successful in overcoming some of the problems associated with nitridation in ammonia. The authors have observed that the extent of N₂O oxidation has a strong detrimental effect on the drain leakage current of MOS transistors in the off state. This phenomenon has been identified to be caused by an increase in the active area junction leakage current     

Multi-H phase-coded modulations with asymmetric modulationindexes

Multi-H phase-coded modulation (MHPM) is a bandwidth-efficient modulation scheme which offers substantial coding gain over conventional digital modulation schemes. MHPM with asymmetric modulation indices corresponding to the bipolar data +1 and -1 is considered, and numerical results for the minimum Euclidean distances are provided. It is shown that performance improvements on the error probability over conventional MHPM are gained with essentially the same bandwidth and a very slight modification in implementation. The upper bounds on the error probabilities as functions of observation intervals and received E_b/N₀ are also investigated in detail. It is concluded that the concept of asymmetric modulation indices for MHPM is attractive for bandwidth and power-efficient modulation     

Two-level optimal output feedback stabilizer design

Design of two-level system stabilizers is considered using an optimal reduced-order model whose state variables are torque angles and speeds. The reduced-order model retains their physical meaning and is used to design a two-level linear feedback controller that takes into account the realities and constraints of the electrical power systems. The two-level control strategy is used, and a global control signal is generated from the output variables to minimize the effect of interaction. The effectiveness of this controller is evaluated, and an example, the multimachine system, is given to illustrate the advantages of the proposed method. The responses of the system with the two-level scheme and optimal reduced order scheme are included for comparative analyses     

Catalytic Combustion of Methane over Rare Earth Stannate Pyrochlore

Well-defined Ln₂Sn₂O₇ powders (Ln = La, Sm and Gd) with a phase-pure pyrochlore structure were synthesized by hydrothermal reaction. The catalytic activities of Ln₂Sn₂O₇ powders for methane combustion were measured. Methane oxidation started at 500 °C and increased with oxidation temperature. Catalytic methane combustion is strongly influenced by the presence of oxygen vacancies that form by breaking Sn–O lattice bonds as the temperature increases. Addition of manganese to the rare earth pyrochlores improved methane oxidation activity. Manganese-doped samarium stannate pyrochlore (Sm₂Sn_1.8Mn_0.2O₇) shows highest the catalytic activity. Light-off and complete oxidation temperatures were measured at about 400 and 650 °C, respectively.     

Transformation of β-Ni(OH)2 to NiO nano-sheets via surface nanocrystalline zirconia coating: Shape and size retention

Shape and size of the synthesized NiO nano-sheets were retained during transformation of sheet-like β-Ni(OH)₂ to NiO at elevated temperatures via nano-sized zirconia coating on the surface of β-Ni(OH)₂. The average grain size was 6.42 nm after 600 °C treatment and slightly increased to 10 nm after 1000 °C treatment, showing effective sintering retardation between NiO nano-sheets. The excellent thermal stability revealed potential application at elevated temperatures, especially for high temperature catalysts and solid-state electrochemical devices.     

Prediction model of compressive strength development of fly-ash concrete

Based on experimental results concerning the compressive strength development of concrete containing fly ash, the authors derived an estimation equation for compressive strength development. The equation can express coefficient , which indicates the activity of fly ash as a binder, in the form of a function of age, fly-ash content, and Blaine specific surface area of fly ash.

This equation is capable of explaining the increases in the early strength due to fly ash in place of part of fine aggregate, the decreases in the early strength due to fly ash in place of part of cement, the increases in the long-term strength due to pozzolanic reaction, the relationship between the fly-ash replacement ratio and the ratio of strength increase/decrease, and the effect of fly ash's Blaine specific surface area on the strength.