Hybrid symbol- and bit-based source-controlled channel decoding for MELP speech parameters

A joint source channel coding (JSCC) scheme which exploits bit-level correlation as well as symbol-level correlation efficiently in a source-controlled channel decoding (SCCD) process is proposed and applied to the mixed-excitation linear prediction (MELP) parameters of speech. A modified BCJR algorithm is also proposed for use in the SCCD algorithm. Simulation results show that our proposed scheme performs better than other redundancy-based JSCC schemes such as bit-based SCCD, soft-bit speech decoding (SBSD) and iterative source-channel decoding.     

Meshing wireless personal area networks: Introducing IEEE 802.15.5

This article presents an overview of the IEEE project 802.15.5 that targets providing mesh capabilities to both high-rate and low-rate wireless personal area networks. Low-rate mesh is built on IEEE 802.15.4 MAC, while high-rate mesh utilizes IEEE 802.15.3 MAC. We seek to share our insights and motivations of the approach adopted in the major components of the standard instead of presenting a la carte items drawn in the specification. We hope this article helps readers of the 802.15.5 standard to better understand the rationale and intent of the protocol design.     

A 9‐Bit 80‐MS/s CMOS Pipelined Folding A/D Converter with an Offset Canceling Technique

A 9‐bit 80‐MS/s CMOS pipelined folding analog‐to‐digital converter employing offset‐canceled preamplifiers and a subranging scheme is proposed to extend the resolution of a folding architecture. A fully differential dc‐decoupled structure achieves high linearity in circuit design. The measured differential nonlinearity and integral nonlinearity of the prototype are ×0.6 LSB and ×1.6 LSB, respectively.     

Self‐Healing Reduced Graphene Oxide Films by Supersonic Kinetic Spraying

The industrial scale application of graphene and other functional materials in the field of electronics has been limited by inherent defects, and the lack of simple deposition methods. A simple spray deposition method is developed that uses a supersonic air jet for a commercially available reduced graphene oxide (r‐GO) suspension. The r‐GO flakes are used as received, which are pre‐annealed and pre‐hydrazine‐treated, and do not undergo any post‐treatment. A part of the considerable kinetic energy of the r‐GO flakes entrained by the supersonic jet is used in stretching the flakes upon impact with the substrate. The resulting “frozen elastic strains” heal the defects (topological defects, namely Stone‐Wales defect and C₂ vacancies) in the r‐GO flakes, which is reflected in the reduced ratio of the intensities of the D and G bands in the deposited film. The defects can also be regenerated by annealing.     

Experimental Demonstration of 1.25-Gb/s Radio-Over-Fiber Downlink Using SBS-Based Photonic Upconversion

We experimentally demonstrate a radio-over-fiber downlink system using a stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS)-based photonic upconversion technique. The Brillouin selective amplification characteristic of SBS is incorporated to generate the 11-GHz band radio-frequency (RF) carrier. The dual-electrode Mach-Zehnder optical modulator, which is used to carry the broadband data in the optical carrier instead of the optical sideband, is adopted along with the SBS-based carrier generation setup. To vindicate the broadband capabilities of the proposed scheme, 1.25-Gb/s pseudorandom bit sequence data is carried in the optical carrier. Error-free operation of the 1.25-Gb/s downlink is achieved without critical power penalties after the 13-km fiber transmission.     

Soluble processed low-voltage and high efficiency blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting devices using small molecule host systems

We report low voltage driving and highly efficient blue phosphorescence organic light emitting diodes (PHOLEDs) fabricated by soluble process. A soluble small molecule mixed host system consisting of hole transporting 4,4’,4’’ tris(N-carbazolyl)triphenylamine (TCTA) and bipolar carrier transporting 2,6-bis(3-(carbazol-9-yl)phenyl)pyridine (26DCzPPy) exhibits high solubility with smooth surface properties. Moreover, this small molecule host shows the smoothest morphological property similar to a vacuum deposited amorphous film. A low driving voltage of 5.4 V at 1000 cd/m² and maximum external quantum efficiency 14.6% obtained in the solution processed blue PHOLEDs are useful for large area low cost manufacturing.     

Base station location in a cellular CDMA system

We consider a cellular CDMA system in which blocking is enforced when the relative interference exceeds a certain threshold level. This paper addresses a radio network design problem in such a CDMA system. Given the data of call‐traffic distributed over the service area and potential sites of base stations, the objective of the problem is to locate base stations so as to minimize the associated cost for establishing base stations while keeping the probability of blocking under control. We develop an efficient algorithm for solving the design problem. Computational experiments with real‐world data are conducted to show both the efficiency and the practicality of the proposed design method. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Reverse link capacity analysis of a CDMA cellular system with mixedcell sizes

The demands for mobile communication services are growing rapidly. In heavily populated areas, cell splits are unavoidable to increase the capacity of the cellular system. Cell splitting makes a cellular system have mixed cell sizes. For cell planning, it is necessary to analyze the reverse link capacity of a code-division multiple-access (CDMA) cellular system with mixed cell sizes. In this paper, we propose a method to calculate the reverse link capacity of a CDMA cellular system with mixed cell sizes. When a macro cell is split into three micro cells, as an example, we calculate the reverse link capacities for the three micro cells and the neighboring macro cells. The results show that as the radius of a micro cell decreases, the reverse link capacity of the micro cell increases, while those of the neighboring macro cells decrease     

Optoelectronic and microwave transmission characteristics of indium solder bumps for low-temperature flip-chip applications

This paper describes low-temperature flip-chip bonding for both optical interconnect and microwave applications. Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays were flip-chip bonded onto a fused silica substrate to investigate the optoelectronic characteristics. To achieve low-temperature flip-chip bonding, indium solder bumps were used, which had a low melting temperature of 156.7/spl deg/C. The current-voltage (I-V) and light-current (L-I) characteristics of the flip-chip bonded VCSEL arrays were improved by Ag coating on the indium bump. The I-V and L-I curves indicate that optical and electrical performances of Ag-coated indium bumps are superior to those of uncoated indium solder bumps. The microwave characteristics of the solder bumps were investigated by using a flip-chip-bonded coplanar waveguide (CPW) structure and by measuring the scattering parameter with an on-wafer probe station for the frequency range up to 40 GHz. The indium solder bumps, either with or without the Ag coating, provided good microwave characteristics and retained the original characteristic of the CPW signal lines without degradation of the insertion and return losses by the solder bumps.