A 1 Gbit synchronous dynamic random access memory with anindependent subarray-controlled scheme and a hierarchical decodingscheme

A prototype 1 Gbit synchronous DRAM with independent subarray-controlled isolation and hierarchical decoding schemes is demonstrated to alleviate the difficulties encountered in high-density devices with regard to failure analysis and performance optimization. The scheme to isolate memory arrays from “hard” defects and to overcome the dc leakages of “soft” defects with external sources allows monitoring of the leakage current for the defect analysis and testing of the device without being limited by the capabilities of on-chip voltage sources. A hierarchical decoding scheme with a dynamic CMOS series logic predecoder achieves improvements in circuit speed, power, and complexity. As a result, evaluation of the prototype devices can be facilitated, and the optimized circuit schemes achieve enhanced circuit performance. A fully working 1 Gbit synchronous DRAM with a chip size of 570 mm² was fabricated using a 0.16 μm CMOS process and tested for excellent functionality up to 143 MHz     

Characterization of InGaAs/GaAs(001) films grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy using alternative sources

Thin films of In_xGa_1−xAs (0<x<0.012) on GaAs (001) were grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy using triisopropylindium, triisobutylgallium, and tertiarybutylarsine. The effect of the process conditions, temperature, and V/III ratio on the film quality was studied using high resolution x-ray diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy, and Hall measurements. High quality films were grown at temperatures as low as 475 °C and at a V/III ratio of 100. However, under these conditions, a change in growth mode from step flow to two-dimensional nucleation was observed.     

Power generation characteristics of a sandwich‐type self‐heating thermoelectric generator with spatially varying embedded heat source

Power generation characteristics of a sandwich‐type thermoelectric generator in which the heat source is embedded into thermoelectric elements are investigated. Our previous work on a similar concept only considered a uniform heat source distribution inside thermoelectric elements. In this work, the effect of the spatial distribution of a heat source is examined. In particular, the effect of the concentration of heat source near the one end, that is, the hot end, is intensively studied as a potential means of improving the efficiency of the device. Although the effects of heat source concentration in impractical cases without heat transfer limitations on the cold side remain ambiguous, it become clear that heat source concentration indeed has positive effects in more realistic cases with finite heat transfer coefficients imposed on the cold side. Because of the relatively low efficiency of typical thermoelectric generation, a significant amount of heat must be dissipated from the cold end of the thermoelectric element. Greater heat source concentration near the hot end leads to more effective utilization of available heat source, reduces the amount of heat rejected at the cold end, and lowers the hot end temperature of the thermoelectric element. Overall, it is suggested that heat source concentration can be used as a method to achieve more efficient operation and better structural integrity of the system. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous Measurements of Dispersion Parameter and Fiber Length Using the Self-Seeding Laser Oscillation of a Fabry–PÉrot Laser Diode

A simultaneous measurement technique of the dispersion parameter and the length of an optical fiber has been demonstrated by using the self-seeding laser oscillation of a Fabry-Perot laser diode. We measured the dispersion parameter and the length of an optical fiber from the modulation frequency changes required to induce single-mode laser oscillations through an optical closed-loop path. The dispersion and fiber length measurements were within 1.5% and 0.2%, respectively, of the values measured by commercial instruments.     

Measurement-Based Achievable Throughput Estimation in IEEE 802.11a WLANs

Knowledge of dynamically changing achievable throughput is important in the design of an adaptive QoS-provisioning system over WLANs. In this letter, we introduce a novel measurement-based throughput estimation scheme and its practical realization for IEEE 802.11a WLAN environment. By utilizing traffic statistics measurements at the wireless AP (access point) in a timely manner, the proposed scheme estimates idle (i.e., remaining) channel time and converts it into available min/max throughput guidelines. Prototype realization in a Linux-based testbed verifies that the proposed scheme can estimate the available throughput with precision.     

Board-level reliability of Pb-free solder joints of TSOP and various CSPs

To evaluate various Pb-free solder systems for leaded package, thin small outline packages (TSOPs) and chip scale packages (CSPs) including leadframe CSP (LFCSP), fine pitch BGA (FBGA), and wafer level CSP (WLCSP) were characterized in terms of board level and mechanical solder joint reliability. For board level solder joint reliability test of TSOPs, daisy chain samples having pure-Sn were prepared and placed on daisy chain printed circuit board (PCB) with Pb-free solder pastes. For CSPs, the same composition of Pb-free solder balls and solder pastes were used for assembly of daisy chain PCB. The samples were subjected to temperature cycle (T/C) tests (-65/spl deg/C/spl sim/150/spl deg/C, -55/spl deg/C/spl sim/125/spl deg/C, 2 cycles/h). Solder joint lifetime was electrically monitored by resistance measurement and the metallurgical characteristics of solder joint were analyzed by microstructural observation on a cross-section sample. In addition, mechanical tests including shock test, variable frequency vibration test, and four point twisting test were carried out with daisy chain packages too. In order to compare the effect of Pb-free solders with those of Sn-Pb solder, Sn-Pb solder balls and solder paste were included. According to this paper, most Pb-free solder systems were compatible with the conventional Sn-Pb solder with respect to board level and mechanical solder joint reliability. For application of Pb-free solder to WLCSP, Cu diffusion barrier layer is required to block the excessive Cu diffusion, which induced Cu trace failure.     

Low-power 3D graphics processors for mobile terminals

A full 3D graphics pipeline is investigated, and optimizations of graphics architecture are assessed for satisfying the performance requirements and overcoming the limited system resources found in mobile terminals. Two mobile 3D graphics processor architectures, RAMP and DigiAcc, are proposed based on the analysis, and a prototype development platform (REMY) is implemented. REMY includes a software graphics library and simulation environment developed for more flexible realization of mobile 3D graphics. The experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of mobile 3D graphics with 3.6 Mpolygons/s at 155 mW power consumption for full 3D operation.     

Dielectric reliability of stacked Al2O3–HfO2 MIS capacitors with cylinder type for improving DRAM data retention characteristics

Dielectric reliability in Al₂O₃(2–3.1nm)–HfO₂(3nm) stack capacitor with Metal–Insulator–Si(MIS) structure is investigated in this paper. We propose an optimized capacitor process through the Time–Dependent Dielectric Breakdown (TDDB) data under various process conditions. Furthermore, due to asymmetric current at both negative and positive voltage stress polarities, we show different lifetime extrapolation by a fluence–driven model. As a result, the maximum allowed operating voltage is projected to be 1.7V (failure rate 10ppm during 10year @ 85°C) for Data “0” retention lifetime.     

A simple and accurate method of probability of bit error analysisfor asynchronous band-limited DS-CDMA systems

This paper considers probability of bit error (P_e) analysis in asynchronous band-limited direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) systems. It presents a simple and accurate method of P_e analysis. The proposed method can serve as an attractive alternative to the only two techniques currently available for band-limited systems: the standard Gaussian approximation (SGA) and the characteristic function method. The former is prone to inaccuracy while the latter, large computational complexity. The method generalizes the simplified improved Gaussian approximation (SIGA) derived previously for rectangular pulses. This paper also outlines a generalization of another method referred to as the improved Gaussian approximation (IGA). Numerical examples demonstrate the far greater accuracy of the generalized SIGA with respect to the SGA. The examples consider the IS-95 and square-root raised cosine (Sqrt-RC) pulses as well as uniform and nonuniform received power conditions     

Quadriphase DS-CDMA with pulse shaping and the accuracy of the Gaussian approximation for matched filter receiver performance analysis

Probability of bit-error (P/sub e/) performance of asynchronous direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) systems is analyzed. In particular, the effects of pulse shaping, quadriphase (or direct-sequence quadriphase shift keying (DS-QPSK)) spreading, aperiodic spreading sequences and the coherent correlator or, equivalently, the matched filter (MF) receiver are considered. An exact P/sub e/ expression and several approximations: one using the characteristic function (CF) method, a simplified expression for the improved Gaussian approximation (IGA) and the simplified improved Gaussian approximation (SIGA) are derived. Two main results are presented. Under conditions typically satisfied in practice and even with a small number of interferers, the standard Gaussian approximation (SGA) for the multiple-access interference component of the MF statistic and for MF P/sub e/ performance is shown to be accurate. Moreover, the IGA is shown to reduce to the SGA for pulses with zero excess bandwidth. Second, the P/sub e/ performance of quadriphase DS-CDMA is shown to be superior or equivalent to that of biphase DS-CDMA. Numerical examples with Monte Carlo simulation are presented to illustrate P/sub e/ performance for square-root raised-cosine (Sqrt-RC) pulses and spreading factors of moderate to large values.