Performance analysis of lognormally shadowed generalized Gamma fading channels

A new composite channel model is proposed for the performance analysis of shadowed fading channels. This model is represented as a mixture of generalized Gamma (GG) multipath fading and lognormal shadowing. GG distribution includes the Rayleigh, Nakagami, and Weibull as special cases; hence the presented model, which is referred to as GG‐L, is a generic model that covers many well‐known composite fading models, including the Rayleigh–lognormal (R‐L), Nakagami–lognormal (N‐L), and Weibull–lognormal (W‐L). The main drawback of the lognormal‐based composite models is that the composite probability density function (PDF) is not in closed form, thereby making the performance evaluation of communication links in these channels cumbersome. To bypass this problem, an approximation method is developed which makes it possible to derive a closed‐form, analytical expression for GG‐L composite distribution. The proposed method only needs the mean and the variance of the underlying lognormal distribution, and hence, bypasses the required complicated integration needed to calculate the PDF of the received signal envelope in GG‐L channel. Based on this method, the most statistical characteristics, such as cumulative density function (CDF) and moments of the GG‐L composite distribution, are derived and used for the performance analysis of a single receiver operating over GG‐L fading channel. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new learning automata based approach for increasing utility of service providers

Utility is an important factor for serviceproviders, and they try to increase their utilities through adopting different policies and strategies. Because of unpredictable failures in systems, there are many scenarios in which the failures may cause random losses for service providers. Loss sharing can decrease negative effects of unexpected random losses. Because of capabilities of learning automata in random and stochastic environments, in this paper, a new learning automaton based method is presented for loss sharing purpose. It is illustrated that the loss sharing can be useful for service providers and helps them to decrease negative effect of the random losses. The presented method can be used especially in collaborative environments such as federated clouds. Results of the conducted experiments show the usefulness of the presented approach to improve utility of service providers.     

Design of an Ultra-Wideband Microstrip Patch Antenna Suspended by Shorting Pins

Designing a compact wideband microstrip patch antenna which is composed of a folded-patch feed, a symmetric E-shaped edge and shorting pins is presented in this paper. One pin is applied in order to expand the impedance bandwidth. Two other pins are utilized to miniaturize the size of patch as well. The measured impedance bandwidth ( $\text{ VSWR}\le 2$ ) of the fabricated antenna is more than 90 % in the frequency range 3.92–10.67 GHz for ultra-wideband (UWB) applications. The antenna size is $0.438\lambda _{0}\times 0.365\lambda _{0}\times 0.170\lambda _{0}$ at its center operating frequency. Also, radiation patterns with acceptable stability within the bandwidth are obtained. In addition, the effects of some key parameters are investigated to describe the performance of the proposed design.     

Synthesis,characterization, and supercapacitor studies of manganese (IV) oxide nanowires

One-dimensional manganese (IV) oxide (MnO₂) (～20 nm in average diameter) were synthesized by cathodic electrodeposition and heat treatment. The mechanism of electrodeposition and nanowire formation were discussed. The product was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). Nanowires with varying lengths and diameters were found in TEM and SEM images of the sample. The results of N₂ adsorption–desorption analysis indicated that the BET surface area of the MnO₂ nanowires was 157 m² g^?1 and the pore size distributions were 2.5 and 4.5 nm. The electrochemical performances of the prepared MnO₂ as an electrode material for supercapacitors were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements in a solution of 0.5 M Na₂SO₄. The higher specific capacitance of 318 F g^?1 and good capacity retention of 86% were achieved after 1000 charge–discharge cycles had been observed for the MnO₂ nanowires electrode.     

Power efficiency enhancement analysis of an inverse class D power amplifier for NB-IoT applications

Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing - The power amplifiers (PAs) are generally the most power-consuming building blocks in Radio Frequency (RF) transceivers. This paper presents a high...     

Additional degree of freedom in phased-MIMO radar signal design using space-time codes

In this paper, an additional degree of freedom in phased multi-input multi-output (phased-MIMO) radar with any arbitrary desired covariance matrix is proposed using space-time codes. By using the proposed method, any desired transmit covariance matrix in MIMO radar (phased-MIMO radars) can be realized by employing fully correlated base waveforms such as phased-array radars and simply extending them to different time slots with predesigned phases and amplitudes. In the proposed method, the transmit covariance matrix depends on the base waveform and space-time codes. For simplicity, a base waveform can be selected arbitrarily (ie, all base waveforms can be fully correlated, similar to phased-array radars). Therefore, any desired covariance matrix can be achieved by using a very simple phased-array structure and space-time code in the transmitter. The main advantage of the proposed scheme is that it does not require diverse uncorrelated waveforms. This considerably reduces transmitter hardware and software complexity and cost. One the receiver side, multiple signals can be analyzed jointly in the time and space domains to improve the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio.     

The PANOPTIC Camera: A Plenoptic Sensor with Real-Time Omnidirectional Capability

A new biologically-inspired vision sensor made of one hundred “eyes” is presented, which is suitable for real-time acquisition and processing of 3-D image sequences. This device, named the Panoptic camera, consists of a layered arrangement of approximately 100 classical CMOS imagers, distributed over a hemisphere of 13 cm in diameter. The Panoptic camera is a polydioptric system where all imagers have their own vision of the world, each with a distinct focal point, which is a specific feature of the Panoptic system. This enables 3-D information recording such as omnidirectional stereoscopy or depth estimation, applying specific signal processing. The algorithms dictating the image reconstruction of an omnidirectional observer located at any point inside the hemisphere are presented. A hardware architecture which has the capability of handling these algorithms, and the flexibility to support additional image processing in real time, has been developed as a two-layer system based on FPGAs. The detail of the hardware architecture, its internal blocks, the mapping of the algorithms onto the latter elements, and the device calibration procedure are presented, along with imaging results.     

Acquisition of high-precision images for non-contact atomic force microscopy

The atomic force microscope (AFM) system has evolved into a useful tool for direct measurements of intermolecular forces with atomic-resolution characterization that can be employed in a broad spectrum of applications. The distance between cantilever tip and sample surface in non-contact AFM is a time-varying parameter even for a fixed sample height, and typically difficult to identify. A remedy to this problem is to directly identify the sample height in order to generate high-precision atomic-resolution images. For this, the microcantilever (which forms the basis for the operation of AFM) is modeled as a single mode approximation and the interaction between the sample and cantilever is derived from a van der Waals potential. Since in most practical applications only the microcantilever deflection is accessible, we will use merely this measurement to identify the sample height. In most non-contact AFMs, cantilevers with high-quality factors are employed essentially for acquiring high-resolution images. However, due to high-quality factor, the settling time is relatively large and the required time to achieve a periodic motion is long. As a result, identification methods based on amplitude and phase measurements cannot be efficiently utilized. The proposed method overcomes this shortfall by using a small fraction of the transient motion for parameter identification, so the scanning speed can be increased significantly. Furthermore, for acquiring atomic-scale images of atomically flat samples, the need for feedback loop to achieve setpoint amplitude is basically eliminated. On the other hand, for acquiring atomic-scale images of highly uneven samples, a simple PI controller is designed to track the desired constant sample height. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the feasibility of the approach for both sample height identification and tracking the desired sample height.     

Analysis and Design of a Phase-Tunable Source Injection-Coupled LC Quadrature Oscillator

This paper presents the design and analysis of phase-tunable injection-coupled quadrature oscillator (PT-IC-QO). Like other LC QOs, the mismatches between LC tanks are the main source of phase error in this oscillator. Using tail current in network coupling is novel approach to design new IC-QO. One of the advantages using added extra tail current in coupling network is control of coupling factor and also that it drastically reduces supply noise over classic IC-QO. Analysis and simulation result show that phase error can be controlled and cancelled simply by using tunable tail current in network coupling while that is difficultly controlled in the previse work. The basic idea of the presented design to reduce phase error due to tank mismatches is its compensation with an intentional mismatch between \(I\hbox {/}Q\)-side injection current. Based on the equations, a new tunable source-injected QO is proposed which is able to cancel the phase errors up to \(\pm 20^\circ \), without undesirable impact on phase noise. To evaluate the proposed analysis and consequent designed quadrature oscillator, a 5.4-GHz CMOS PT-QO is designed and simulated using the practical \(0.18\,\upmu \hbox {m}\) TSMC CMOS technology.