Graceful Degradation FEC Layer for Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service in LTE Mobile Systems

This paper proposes an additional forward error correction (FEC) layer to compensate for the defectiveness inherent in the conventional FEC layer in the Long Term Evolution specifications. The proposed additional layer is called a graceful degradation (GD)‐FEC layer and maintains desirable service quality even under burst data loss conditions of a few seconds. This paper also proposes a non‐delayed decoding (NDD)‐GD‐FEC layer that is inherent in the decoding process. Computer simulations and device‐based tests show a better loss recovery performance with a negligible increase in CPU utilization and occupied memory size.     

Electronic compensation technique to mitigate nonlinear phase noise

Nonlinear phase noise, often called the Gordon-Mollenauer effect, can be compensated electronically by subtracting from the received phase a correction proportional to the received intensity. The optimal scaling factor is derived analytically and found to be approximately equal to half of the ratio of mean nonlinear phase noise and the mean received intensity. Using optimal compensation, the standard deviation of residual phase noise is halved, doubling the transmission distance in systems limited by nonlinear phase noise.     

Self‐Assembled Room Temperature Multiferroic BiFeO3‐LiFe5O8 Nanocomposites

Multiferroic materials have driven significant research interest due to their promising technological potential. Developing new room‐temperature multiferroics and understanding their fundamental properties are important to reveal unanticipated physical phenomena and potential applications. Here, a new room temperature multiferroic nanocomposite comprised of an ordered ferrimagnetic spinel α‐LiFe₅O₈ (LFO) and a ferroelectric perovskite BiFeO₃ (BFO) is presented. It is observed that lithium (Li)‐doping in BFO favors the formation of LFO spinel as a secondary phase during the synthesis of Li_xBi_1?xFeO₃ ceramics. Multimodal functional and chemical imaging methods are used to map the relationship between doping‐induced phase separation and local ferroic properties in both the BFO‐LFO composite ceramics and self‐assembled nanocomposite thin films. The energetics of phase separation in Li doped BFO and the formation of BFO‐LFO composites are supported by first principles calculations. These findings shed light on Li's role in the formation of a functionally important room temperature multiferroic and open a new approach in the synthesis of light element doped nanocomposites for future energy, sensing, and memory applications.     

A Multi‐Functional Highly Efficient Upconversion Luminescent Film with an Array of Dielectric Microbeads Decorated with Metal Nanoparticles

Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have been integrated with photonic platforms to overcome the intrinsically low quantum efficiency limit of upconversion luminescence (UCL). However, platforms based on thin films lack transferability and flexibility, which hinders their broader and more practical application. A plasmonic structure is developed that works as a multi‐functional platform for flexible, transparent, and washable near‐infrared (NIR)‐to‐visible UCL films with ultra‐strong UCL intensity. The platform consists of dielectric microbeads decorated with plasmonic metal nanoparticles on an insulator/metal substrate. Distinct improvements in NIR confinement, visible light extraction, and boosted plasmonic effects for upconversion are observed. With weak NIR excitation, the UCL intensity is higher by three orders of magnitude relative to the reference platform. When the microbeads are organized in a square lattice array, the functionality of the platform can be expanded to wearable and washable UCL films. The platform can be transferred to transparent, flexible, and foldable films and still emit strong UCL with a wide viewing angle.     

Modeling subjectively perceived annoyance of H.264/AVC video as a function of perceived artifact strength

This paper is concerned with the subjective perception of video coding artifacts in H.264/AVC encoded and decoded video. Our objective is to model the perceived annoyance of such low bit rate video sequences as a function of perceived artifact strength. We introduce a new method for determining this function and apply it to the data from two psychophysical experiments. Both experiments produced numerical judgments of the subjectively perceived annoyance of artifact combinations and the perceived strength of the respective coding artifacts. Our method produces a discrete multi-dimensional representation of the relationships in the data from which the function relating annoyance to artifact strength is derived. The method is applied to the data of the first experiment and the resulting function is shown to describe the data from the second experiment as well.     

Stable single-frequency fiber ring laser for 25-GHz ITU-T grids utilizing saturable absorber filter

A stable single-frequency fiber ring laser is proposed that operates in a single mode for more than an hour by incorporating unpumped erbium-doped fiber (EDF) as a saturable absorber filter and optimizing the length of EDF used as gain medium. This laser can be continuously tuned to 25-GHz spacing that precisely matches the ITU-T grids by temperature control of etalon filter. This laser had a signal-to-source spontaneous emission ratio higher than 70 dB, and lasing frequencies of 361 channels was matched to ITU-T grids with excellent flatness. Frequency offset from the ITU-T grid was less than 0.14 GHz. The linewidth and the relative intensity noise value was less than 1.3 kHz and 130 dB/Hz (above 250 kHz), respectively.     

Numerical Study of Self-Complementary Antenna Characteristics on Substrate Lenses at Terahertz Frequency

This paper presents a numerical study of self-complementary antennas on substrate lenses made of high-permittivity dielectric material. Bowtie, logarithmically periodic, and logarithmic spiral antennas with the same outer and inner dimensions were selected for study, and their overall performances were compared in the terahertz band at frequencies up to 5.0?THz. The resonance and radiation characteristics of the three antennas were investigated in terms of input impedance, directivity, and radiation efficiency, using a full electromagnetic simulator. This study provides useful guidelines and partially solves the difficult problems of choosing the proper feed and optimizing the lens structure for a THz broadband integrated lens antenna.     

Doping Effects on Thermoelectric Properties in the Mg2Sn System

A weak point of Mg₂X thermoelectrics is the absence of a p-type composition, which motivates research into the Mg₂Sn system. Mg₂Sn thermoelectrics were fabricated by a vacuum melting method and a spark plasma sintering process. As a result, Mg₂Sn single phases were acquired in a wide range of Mg-to-Sn atomic ratios (67:33 to 71:29), showing slightly different thermoelectric characteristics. However, the thermoelectric properties of the undoped system were not sufficient for application in commercial production. To maximize the p-type characteristics, many atoms [Ni (VIIIA), Cu (IB), Ag (IB), Zn (IIB), and In (IIIB)] were doped into the Mg₂Sn phase. Among them, the power factor values increased only in the Ag-doped case. Ag-doping resulted in a power factor that was more than 10 times larger than the value in the undoped case. This result could be important for developing p-type polycrystalline thermoelectrics in the Mg₂X (X?=?Si, Sn) system. However, other atoms [Ni (VIIIA), Cu (IB), Zn (IIB), and In (IIIB)] were not determined to act as acceptor atoms. The maximum ZT value for the Ag-doped Mg₂Sn thermoelectric was more than 0.18, which is comparable to the value for the n-type Mg₂Si system.     

Selective Wavelength Enhanced Photochemical and Photothermal H2 Generation of Classical Oxide Supported Metal Catalyst

Conventional views of constructing simply broadband catalysts for photothermal-enhanced catalysis do not realize that without designating photochemical and photothermal conversion to their optimal working spectra can lead to a performance trade-off. Here, spectrally selective designed photoredox and photothermal heating functions of a classical oxide supported metal catalyst are demonstrated, which exhibits markedly improved hydrogen reactivity. While photothermal hydrogen producing catalysis is previously demonstrated, distinctive wavelength dominant redox and thermal phenomena are not studied due to the complex interdependent behavior they exhibit. The exceptionally high H₂ evolution rate of 30.2 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ (≈74 times that of the control sample) is attributed to the nonoverlapped light absorption and undisrupted charge transfer rationales. This study presents a proof-by-existence that spectrally tailored solar utilization strategy is broadly impactful for the hybrid photothermal–photochemical catalysis. Moreover, the spatially decoupled structural configuration may open up discrete parametric control over photoredox and photoheating functionalities.     

Development of Metallic Hermetic Sealing for MEMS Packaging for Harsh Environment Applications

Hermetic sealing of microelectromechanical system sensors is indispensable to ensure their reliable operation and also to provide protection during fabrication. This work proposes two prospective candidates for hermetic sealing for rugged environment applications, i.e., Al-Ge and Pt-In. Al-Ge was chosen due to its compatibility with complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor technology. Pt-In possesses the highest remelting temperature among all the solder systems, which is desired for high-temperature applications in both the energy and aerospace industries. The various bonding parameters for Al-Ge eutectic bonding and Pt-In transient liquid-phase (TLP) bonding have been optimized, and their influence on the bond quality is reported. Optimization of bonding parameters has been carried out with the objective of ensuring void-free bonds. A new configuration for stacking Al-Ge thin films has been demonstrated to tackle the issue of loss of Ge prior to bonding, since native Ge oxides are soluble in deionized water. The impact of solid-state aging prior to Al-Ge eutectic bonding has been investigated. The method of tailoring the phases in the Pt-In joint is also discussed. The prospects and constraints of eutectic and TLP bonding from the hermeticity perspective are discussed in detail. Furthermore, changes in the microstructure under aging at 300°C up to 500 h and the resulting influence on the mechanical properties are presented. The overall finding of this work is that Al-Ge can achieve better mechanical and hermetic performance for high-temperature applications.