Performance analysis of error propagation effects in the DFE for ATSC DTV receivers

The paper analyzes the error propagation phenomenon in the decision feedback equalizer (DFE) for the receivers of Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) digital television (DTV) and presents the performance upper-limits of the DFE by comparing various error propagation cases and the no-error propagation case. As one approach to the performance limit, we consider a blind DFE, adopting a trellis decoder with a trace-back depth of 1 as a decision device. Through simulation, we show how much the DFE performance in ATSC DTV receivers is affected by error propagation. We found that while blind equalization is preferable to decision-directed (DD) equalization at signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) values less than 18 dB, DD equalization is superior to blind equalization at SNR values greater than 18 dB. In addition, symbol error rate curves quantitatively show that the performance difference in the DFE caused by error propagation becomes clearer at the trellis decoder following the DFE. The analysis results presented are very informative for developing equalization algorithms for ATSC DTV receivers.     

Modeling and Simulation of New Encoding Schemes for High‐Speed UHF RFID Communication

In this paper, we present novel high‐speed transmission schemes for high‐speed ultra‐high frequency (UHF) radio‐frequency identification communication. For high‐speed communication, tags communicate with a reader using a high‐speed Miller (HS‐Miller) encoding and multiple antennas, and a reader communicates with tags using extended pulse‐interval encoding (E‐PIE). E‐PIE can provide up to a two‐fold faster data rate than conventional pulse‐interval encoding. Using HS‐Miller encoding and orthogonal multiplexing techniques, tags can achieve a two‐ to three‐fold faster data rate than Miller encoding without degrading the demodulation performance at a reader. To verify the proposed transmission scheme, the MATLAB/Simulink model for high‐speed backscatter based on an HS‐Miller modulated subcarrier has been designed and simulated. The simulation results show that the proposed transmission scheme can achieve more than a 3 dB higher BER performance in comparison to a Miller modulated subcarrier.     

An SSD‐Based Storage System for an Interactive Media Server Using Video Frame Grouping

For real‐time interactive multimedia operations, such as video uploading, video play, fast‐forward, and fast‐rewind, solid state disk (SSD)‐based storage systems for video streaming servers are becoming more important. Random access rates in storage systems increase significantly with the number of users; it is thus difficult to simultaneously serve many users with HDD‐based storage systems, which have low random access performance. Because there is no mechanical operation in NAND flash‐based SSDs, they outperform HDDs in terms of flexible random access operation. In addition, due to the multichannel architecture of SSDs, they perform similarly to HDDs in terms of sequential access. In this paper, we propose a new SSD‐based storage system for interactive media servers. Based on the proposed method, it is possible to maximize the channel utilization of the SSD's multichannel architecture. Accordingly, we can improve the performance of SSD‐based storage systems for interactive media operations.     

Reverse‐Conducting IGBT Using MEMS Technology on the Wafer Back Side

In this paper, we present a 600‐V reverse conducting insulated gate bipolar transistor (RC‐IGBT) for soft and hard switching applications, such as general purpose inverters. The newly developed RC‐IGBT uses the deep reactive‐ion etching trench technology without the thin wafer process technology. Therefore, a freewheeling diode (FWD) is monolithically integrated in an IGBT chip. The proposed RC‐IGBT operates as an IGBT in forward conducting mode and as an FWD in reverse conducting mode. Also, to avoid the destructive failure of the gate oxide under the surge current and abnormal conditions, a protective Zener diode is successfully integrated in the gate electrode without compromising the operation performance of the IGBT.     

Enhanced carrier mobility and photon-harvesting property by introducing Au nano-particles in bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells

In this study, polymer solar cells (PSCs) doped with Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) were successfully fabricated to maximize the photon-harvesting properties on the photoactive layer. In addition, a conductivity-enhanced hybrid buffer layer was introduced to improve the photon absorption properties and effectively separate the generated charges by adding Au NPs and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) to the PH 500 as a buffer layer. The PSC performance was optimized with a 88% improvement over the conventional PSCs (photoactive area: 225 mm², power conversion efficiency (PCE): 3.2%) by the introduction to the buffer layer of Au NPs and DMSO at 10 wt% and 1.0 wt%, respectively, and with 15 wt% Au NP doping in the photoactive layer. The internal resistance was decreased due to the increased photocurrent caused by the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of the Au NPs in the photoactive layer and by the improvement of carrier mobility induced by the DMSO doping of the buffer layer. As a result, the series resistance (R_S) deceased from 42.3 to 19.7 Ω cm² while the shunt resistance (R_SH) increased from 339 to 487 Ω cm².     

An equalization technique for orthogonal frequency-divisionmultiplexing systems in time-variant multipath channels

A loss of subchannel orthogonality due to time-variant multipath channels in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems leads to interchannel interference (ICI) which increases the error floor in proportion to the Doppler frequency. A simple frequency-domain equalization technique which can compensate for the effect of ICI in a multipath fading channel is proposed. In this technique, the equalization of the received OFDM signal is achieved by using the assumption that the channel impulse response (CIR) varies in a linear fashion during a block period and by compensating for the ICI terms that significantly affect the bit-error rate (BER) performance     

Systematic Study of Widely Applicable N‐Doping Strategy for High‐Performance Solution‐Processed Field‐Effect Transistors

A specific design for solution‐processed doping of active semiconducting materials would be a powerful strategy in order to improve device performance in flexible and/or printed electronics. Tetrabutylammonium fluoride and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide contain Lewis base anions, F^? and OH^?, respectively, which are considered as organic dopants for efficient and cost‐effective n‐doping processes both in n‐type organic and nanocarbon‐based semiconductors, such as poly[[N,N′‐bis(2‐octyldodecyl)‐naphthalene‐1,4,5,8‐bis(dicarboximide)‐2,6‐diyl]‐alt‐5,5′‐(2,2′‐bithiophene)] (P(NDI2OD‐T2)) and selectively dispersed semiconducting single‐walled carbon nanotubes by π‐conjugated polymers. The dramatic enhancement of electron transport properties in field‐effect transistors is confirmed by the effective electron transfer from the dopants to the semiconductors as well as controllable onset and threshold voltages, convertible charge‐transport polarity, and simultaneously showing excellent device stabilities under ambient air and bias stress conditions. This simple solution‐processed chemical doping approach could facilitate the understanding of both intrinsic and extrinsic charge transport characteristics in organic semiconductors and nanocarbon‐based materials, and is thus widely applicable for developing high‐performance organic and printed electronics and optoelectronics devices.     

Relationship between HOMO energy level and open circuit voltage of polymer solar cells

A series of π-conjugated polymers (PDHF-BT and PDHF-TBT) with 4-(3,4-ethylenedioxythienyl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BT), 4,7-bis(3,4-ethylenedioxythienyl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (TBT), and 9,9′-dihexylfluorene were synthesized by the Suzuki coupling reaction. The HOMO energy level of PDHF-BT was −5.47 eV, which was lower than that of PDHF-TBT (−5.22 eV), while the LUMO energy level of PDHF-BT (−3.45 eV) was very similar to that of PDHF-TBT (−3.42 eV). These energy levels of PDHF-BT and PDHF-TBT were also supported by a DFT calculation. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the polymer solar cell (PSC) with a structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/PDHF-BT:PCBM (1:1)/Al was determined as 0.34% and it was larger than that of the device based on PDHF-TBT (0.22%). Correspondingly, the V_oc of the PSC based on PDHF-BT (0.71 V) was much larger than that of the device based on PDHF-TBT (0.40 V). The results support that the V_oc of polymer based PSCs is strongly related to the HOMO energy level of the active polymers.     

InGaP//GaAs//c‐Si 3‐junction solar cells employing spectrum‐splitting system

In this work, we practically demonstrated spectrum‐splitting approach for advances in efficiency of photovoltaic cells. Firstly, a‐Si:H//c‐Si 2‐junction configuration was designed, which exhibited 24.4% efficiency with the spectrum splitting at 620 nm. Then, we improved the top cell property by employing InGaP cells instead of the a‐Si:H, resulting in an achievement of efficiency about 28.8%. In addition, we constructed 3‐junction spectrum‐splitting system with two optical splitters, and GaAs solar cells as middle cell. This InGaP//GaAs//c‐Si architecture was found to deliver 30.9% conversion efficiency. Our splitting system includes convex lenses for light concentration about 10 suns, which provided concentrated efficiency exceeding 33.0%. These results suggest that our demonstration of 3‐junction spectrum‐splitting approach can be a promising candidate for highly efficient photovoltaic technologies. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.