Conformal array controlled by photonics

A 96-element conformal array controlled by photonics was built and tested for airborne radars. The L-band array consists of 1 km fibre-optic links and a photonic time shift network. There was no beam squint (shift in angle) as the frequency sweeps over the entire band (850-1400 MHz). A nanosecond impulse response was measured to demonstrate a 50% instantaneous bandwidth (550 MHz), corresponding to a 30 cm range resolution     

A new shared AWG-based OCDMA scheme implemented with time-spreading and wavelength-group-hopping embedded M-sequence code

This paper exploits the inherent cyclic and periodic free-spectral-range (FSR) properties of arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) routers to construct a two-dimensional (2D) time-spreading and wavelength-group-hopping embedded M-sequence code for optical multiple-access networks. In the proposed codecs (encoder/decoder), a fine arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) is used to generate an M-sequence code pattern, which is then spread in the wavelength domain by multiple coarse AWGs. The signals produced at the output ports of the coarse AWGs are then spread in the time domain using optical delay lines. The 2D code is evaluated in terms of its correlation, bit-error-rate (BER) and cardinality characteristics. It is shown that the TS/GH embedded M-sequence code yields a significant improvement in both the BER and cardinality performance of the optical multiple-access networks compared to that obtained using conventional prime-hop code (PHC), modified prime-hop code (MPHC), Barker and Walsh-based bipolar–bipolar sequence.     

A seamless handoff scheme for IEEE 802.11 wireless networks

The advance of computer network technologies such as IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network has made it possible for users to connect to Internet almost anywhere. A mobile node (MN) is likely to move between different base stations while running applications. The IETF has defined the Mobile IP (MIP) to allow MNs to maintain their communication uninterrupted while roaming across different IP subnets. However, the mechanisms defined in MIP may cause undesired connection disruptions or packet losses, which will significantly degrade the quality of real‐time applications. It is an important and challenging issue to support seamless handoff management. To achieve seamless handoff, we propose a unified scheme to address application quality degradation. Our main contribution is the concept and implementation of utilising buffering and resending method to eliminate the packet losses while keeping the end‐to‐end delay of real‐time traffic flow in an acceptable value. The NS‐2 simulation results show that our proposed scheme can significantly maintain application quality during layer‐2 and ‐3 handoffs. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cross-Interaction Between Au/Sn and Cu/Sn Interfacial Reactions

The cross-interaction between Sn/Cu and Sn/Au interfacial reactions in an Au/Sn/Cu sandwich structure was studied. Field-emission electron probe microanalysis (FE-EPMA) revealed that the Cu content in the three Au-Sn phases (AuSn, AuSn₂, and AuSn₄) was very low, less than 1 at.%. This means␣that Cu from the opposite Cu foil did not participate in the interfacial reaction at the Sn/Au interface. On the opposite Sn/Cu side, Au-substituted (Cu,Au)₆Sn₅ formed within the initial 1 min of reflow. With prolonged reflow, the Au content in the Au-substituted (Cu,Au)₆Sn₅ increased and it transformed into a Cu-substituted (Au,Cu)Sn phase with 25 at.% Cu after 1 min of reflow at 250°C. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern confirmed the phase transformation of Au-substituted (Cu,Au)₆Sn₅ to Cu-substituted (Au,Cu)Sn phase. In addition, there was greater Au consumption in the Au/Sn/Cu sandwich joint structure than in the single Au/Sn reaction case, due to some of the Au participating in the opposite Sn/Cu interfacial reaction.     

Topology-aided cross-layer fast handoff designs for IEEE 802.11/mobile IP environments

This study first reviews state-of-the-art fast handoff techniques for IEEE 802.11 or Mobile IP networks. Based on that review, topology-aided cross-layer fast handoff designs are proposed for Mobile IP over IEEE 802.1.1 networks. Time-sensitive applications, such as voice over IP (VoIP), cannot tolerate the long layer-2 plus layer-3 handoff delays that arise in IEEE 802.11/Mobile IP environments. Cross-layer designs are increasingly adopted to shorten the handoff latency time. Handoff-related layer-2 triggers may reduce the delay between layer-2 handoff completion and the associated layer-3 handoff activation. Cross-layer topology information, such as the association between 802.11 access points and Mobile IP mobility agents, together with layer-2 triggers, can be utilized by a mobile node to start layer-3 handoff-related activities, such as agent discovery, address configuration, and registration, in parallel with or prior to those of layer-2 handoff. Experimental results indicate that the whole handoff. delay can meet the delay requirement of VoIP applications when layer-3 handoff activities occur prior to layer-2 handoffs.     

Admission Control Algorithms for Revenue Optimization with QoS Guarantees in Mobile Wireless Networks

We propose and analyze call admission control algorithms integrated with pricing for revenue optimization with QoS guarantees to serve multiple service classes in mobile wireless networks. Traditional admission control algorithms make acceptance decisions for new and handoff calls to satisfy certain QoS constraints such as the dropping probability of handoff calls and the blocking probability of new calls being lower than a pre-specified threshold. We analyze a class of partitioning and threshold-based admission control algorithms that make acceptance/rejection decisions not only to satisfy QoS requirements but also to optimize the revenue of the system by taking prices and arrival/departure information of service calls into account. We show that for a “charge-by-time” pricing scheme, there exist optimal resource allocation settings under which the partitioning and threshold-based admission control algorithms would produce the maximum revenue obtainable by the system without sacrificing QoS requirements. Further, we develop a new hybrid admission control algorithm which outperforms both partitioning and threshold-based admission control algorithms over a wide range of input parameters characterizing the operating environment and service workload conditions. Methods for utilizing of the analysis results for realtime admission control for revenue optimization with QoS guarantees are described with numerical data given to demonstrate the applicability.     

Spatiotemporal Magnetocaloric Microenvironment for Guiding the Fate of Biodegradable Polymer Implants

The degradation behavior of implants is significantly important for bone repair. However, it is still unprocurable to spatiotemporally regulate the degradation of the implants to match bone ingrowth. In this paper, a magneto-controlled biodegradation model is established to explore the degradation behavior of magnetic scaffolds in a magnetothermal microenvironment generated by an alternating magnetic field (AMF). The results demonstrate that the scaffolds can be heated by magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) under AMF, which dramatically accelerated scaffold degradation. Especially, magnetic NPs modified by oleic acid with a better interface compatibility exhibit a greater heating efficiency to further facilitate the degradation. Furthermore, the molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the enhanced motion correlation between magnetic NPs and polymer matrix can accelerate the energy transfer. As a proof-of-concept, the feasibility of magneto-controlled degradation for implants is demonstrated, and an optimizing strategy for better heating efficiency of nanomaterials is provided, which may have great instructive significance for clinical medicine.     

Algorithms for supporting disconnected write operations for wireless Web access in mobile client-server environments

In a wireless mobile client-server environment, a mobile user may voluntarily disconnect itself from the Web server to save its battery life and avoid high communication prices. To allow Web pages to be updated while the mobile user is disconnected from the Web server, updates can be staged in the mobile host and propagated back to the Web server upon reconnection. In this paper, we analyze algorithms for supporting disconnected write operations for wireless Web access and develop a performance model to identify the optimal length of the disconnection period under which the cost of update propagation is minimized. The analysis result is particularly applicable to Web applications which allow wireless mobile users to modify Web contents while on the move. We show how the result can be applied to real-time Web applications such that the mobile user can determine the longest disconnection period such that it can still propagate updates to the server before the deadline so that a minimum communication cost is incurred.     

New voice over Internet protocol technique with hierarchical datasecurity protection

The authors propose a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) technique with a new hierarchical data security protection (HDSP) scheme. The proposed HDSP scheme can maintain the voice quality degraded from packet loss and preserve high data security. It performs both the data inter-leaving on the inter-frame of voice for achieving better error recovery of voices suffering from continuous packet loss, and the data encryption on the intra-frame of voice for achieving high data security, which are controlled by a random bit-string sequence generated from a chaotic system. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed HDSP scheme, we have successfully verified and analysed the proposed approach through software simulation and statistical measures on several test voices     

Intermetallic formation in Sn3Ag0.5Cu and Sn3Ag0.5Cu0.06Ni0.01Ge solder BGA packages with immersion Ag surface finish

The intermetallic compounds formed in Sn3Ag0.5Cu and Sn3Ag0.5Cu0.06Ni0.01Ge solder BGA packages with Ag/Cu pads are investigated. After reflow, scallop-shaped η-Cu₆Sn₅ and continuous planar η-(cu_0.9Ni_0.1)₆Sn₅ intermetallics appear at the interfaces of the Sn3Ag0.5Cu and Sn3Ag0.5Cu0.06Ni0.01Ge solder joints, respectively. In the case of the Sn3Ag0.5Cu specimens, an additional ε-Cu₃Sn intermetallic layer is formed at the interface between the η-Cu₆Sn₅ and Cu pads after aging at 150°C, while the same type of intermetallic formation is inhibited in the Sn3Ag0.5Cu0.06Ni0.01Ge packages. In addition, the coarsening of Ag₃Sn precipitates also abates in the solder matrix of the Sn3Ag0.5Cu0.06Ni0.01Ge packages, which results in a slightly higher ball shear strength for the specimens.