Analysis of Power Supply Noise in the Presence of Process Variations

Characterizing the impact of variability on circuit performance measurements (delay, power, and signal integrity) is necessary to avoid chip failure. The authors present a comprehensive methodology for analyzing the impact of device and metal variations on the power supply noise, and hence the signal integrity, of on-chip power grids.     

Mass transfer across wind-sheared interfaces

A predictive analogy of turbulent mass transfer across wavy, sheared air-water interface, in deep water bodies is proposed. The theory is based on the formulation of a theoretical eddy diffusivity profile in the surface region, and it applies to the non-breaking wave regime. The predictions for a water-side friction velocity range of 0.5–6 cm/s are in excellent agreement with laboratory data from wind-wave facilities with an average error of 15.4%.     

Antimutagenic activity of natural phenolic compounds present in the common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris ) against aflatoxin B 1

Polyphenols with antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic properties are present in fruits, vegetables and legumes. In this study, the Salmonella typhimurium tester strains TA98 and TA100 were used in the microsuspension assay to examine the antimutagenic effect of phenolic compounds extracted from the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) against mutagenicity induced by aflatoxin B 1 (AFB 1 ). A dose-response curve was constructed for AFB 1 ; from which a level of 40ng AFB 1 /tube was selected for all antimutagenicity assays. The AFB 1 and phenolic extract (PE) were not toxic to the bacteria at concentrations tested. In the case of PE, results were similar to the number of spontaneous revertants for TA98 and TA100. The inhibitory effect of PE against AFB 1 mutagenicity was dose-dependent at the lower concentrations tested (2.5, 5, 10, 12.5, 15 and 25 μg-equivalent ( + )-catechin/tube for TA98; 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2.5, 5, 10 and 25 μg-equivalent ( + )-catechin/ tube for TA100). Further, a two-stage incubation procedure was used to investigate the potential interaction between PE and AFB 1 . The greatest inhibitory effect of the PE on AFB 1 mutagenicity occurred when PE and AFB 1 were incubated together. When the bacteria were first incubated with PE followed by a second incubation with AFB 1 , lower inhibition was observed. Lower inhibition was also observed when the bacteria were first incubated with AFB 1 followed by a second incubation with PE. The results suggest that the mechanism of inhibition could involve the formation of a chemical complex between of PE and AFB 1 .     

A VLSI CMOS delay oriented waveform converter for polyphasefrequency synthesizer

In this paper, we present a waveform converter implemented on a 0.25-μm CMOS technology using a dedicated design methodology (Delay Oriented Design). The circuit converts a square wave signal in both in-phase and quadrature-phase sinusoidal differential outputs. It also multiplies the frequency by seven. The output frequency range of this converter extends from 1.05 GHz up to 2.17 GHz. This converter is dedicated for the design of a third-generation mobile phone synthesizer using a double-loop architecture. For an output frequency of 2 GHz, the measured phase noise at 10-kHz offset from the carrier is -97 dBc/Hz. The circuit consumes 50 mW from a 2.5-V supply     

PKI: it's not dead, just resting

Like other flexible objects, the public key infrastructure sacrifices some utility in trying to be all things to all people. Mainly, PKI's generic, all-purpose identity certificates fall short of what the marketplace demands, forcing vendors to develop more economically efficient, useful, and imaginative business models. Thus, we must adapt the PKI design to the real world rather than trying to constrain the real world to match the PKI. A variety of alternative approaches, ranging from simple workarounds to designing the application to sidestep PKI's shortcomings entirely, can help solve the problems inherent in the standard X.509 model.

Despite an original design that failed to address the marketplace's needs, the use of innovative public key infrastructure models can make the technology meet today's requirements.