Microscale Patterning of Mesoscopic PZN-PT Single Crystal Films by Crystal ion Slicing and Laser-Induced Etching

Advances in the fabrication of solid-solution single crystal relaxor ferroelectrics have made it possible to produce highly efficient piezoelectric crystals, and have attracted renewed interest in the use of these crystals for a new generation of piezoelectric transducers, actuators and sensors. Of particular interest is their incorporation into micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). In this paper we report on the laser-induced wet chemical etching of lead zinc niobate-lead titanate (PZN-PT) in hydrochloric acid (HCl). Argon-ion laser radiation at power levels up to 4 W is focused to a spot diameter of about 15μm and results in the chemical etching of grooves at patterning speeds up to 5μm/sec. Crystal ion slicing, an ion-implant-based film separation technique, is used in combination with laser etching to form 5 to 10μm-thick patterned and freestanding films for incorporation into micro-electromechanical devices.     

Analytic models for the latency and steady-state throughput of TCP Tahoe, Reno, and SACK

Continuing the process of improvements made to TCP through the addition of new algorithms in Tahoe and Reno, TCP SACK aims to provide robustness to TCP in the presence of multiple losses from the same window. In this paper we present analytic models to estimate the latency and steady-state throughput of TCP Tahoe, Reno, and SACK and validate our models using both simulations and TCP traces collected from the Internet. In addition to being the first models for the latency of finite Tahoe and SACK flows, our model for the latency of TCP Reno gives a more accurate estimation of the transfer times than existing models. The improved accuracy is partly due to a more accurate modeling of the timeouts, evolution of cwnd during slow start and the delayed ACK timer. Our models also show that, under the losses introduced by the droptail queues which dominate most routers in the Internet, current implementations of SACK can fail to provide adequate protection against timeouts and a loss of roughly more than half the packets in a round will lead to timeouts. We also show that with independent losses SACK performs better than Tahoe and Reno and, as losses become correlated, Tahoe can outperform both Reno and SACK.     

A VQ-based blind image restoration algorithm

Learning-based algorithms for image restoration and blind image restoration are proposed. Such algorithms deviate from the traditional approaches in this area, by utilizing priors that are learned from similar images. Original images and their degraded versions by the known degradation operator (restoration problem) are utilized for designing the VQ codebooks. The codevectors are designed using the blurred images. For each such vector, the high frequency information obtained from the original images is also available. During restoration, the high frequency information of a given degraded image is estimated from its low frequency information based on the codebooks. For the blind restoration problem, a number of codebooks are designed corresponding to various versions of the blurring function. Given a noisy and blurred image, one of the codebooks is chosen based on a similarity measure, therefore providing the identification of the blur. To make the restoration process computationally efficient, the principal component analysis (PCA) and VQ-nearest neighbor approaches are utilized. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.     

Synthesis of ZSM‐5 Films and Monoliths with Bimodal Micro/Mesoscopic Structures

A route to synthesize ZSM‐5 crystals with a bimodal micro/mesoscopic pore system has been developed in this study; the successful incorporation of the mesopores within the ZSM‐5 structure was performed using tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPAOH)‐impregnated mesoporous materials containing carbon nanotubes in the pores, which were encapsulated in the ZSM‐5 crystals during a solid rearrangement process within the framework. Such mesoporous ZSM‐5 zeolites can be readily obtained as powders, thin films, or monoliths.     

On trading wavelengths with fibers: a cost-performance based study

We consider the effect of multiple fibers on wavelength division multiplexing networks without wavelength conversion. We study networks with dynamic wavelength routing and develop accurate analytical models to compare various possible options using single- and multiple-fiber networks. We use results of an analytical model and simulation-based studies to evaluate the blocking performance and cost of multifiber networks. The number of fibers required providing high performance in multifiber networks and their costs are compared. A case is made for using multiple fibers in each link with fewer wavelengths instead of using a single fiber with many wavelengths. In particular, we show that a network with four fibers per link and with four wavelengths on each fiber without any wavelength conversion on any node yields similar same performance as the networks with one fiber per link and 16 wavelengths per fiber on each link and with full wavelength conversion capability on all nodes. In addition, the multifiber network may also offer the cost advantage depending on the relative cost of components. We develop a parametric cost model to show that multiple fibers in each link are an attractive option. Finally, such multifiber networks also has fault tolerance, with respect to a single fiber failure, already built into the system.     

Passive alignment method of polymer PLC devices by using a hot embossing technique

A novel fabrication process using a hot embossing technique has been developed for micromechanical passive alignment of polymer planar lightwave circuit (PLC) devices. With only one step of embossing, single-mode waveguide straight channels and micropedestals for passive aligning are simultaneously defined on a polymer thin film with an accuracy of /spl plusmn/0.5 /spl mu/m. This process reduces the steps for fabricating alignment structures. A fabricated polymer PLC chip and fibers are combined on a v-grooved silicon optical bench (SiOB) in a flip-chip manner. The process provides a coupling loss as low as 0.67 dB per coupling face and a cost-effective packaging solution for various polymer PLC devices.     

Derivation of a second-order switching surface in the boundary control of buck converters

A second-order switching surface in the boundary control of buck converters is derived in this letter. The formulated switching surface can make the overall converter exhibit better steady-state and transient behaviors than the one with a first-order switching surface. The switching surface is derived by estimating the state trajectory movement after a switching action, resulting in a high state trajectory velocity along the switching surface. This phenomenon accelerates the trajectory moving toward the target operating point. The proposed control scheme has been successfully applied to a 120-W buck converter. The large-signal performance and a comparison with the first-order switching surface have been studied.     

Influence of device engineering on the analog and RF performances of SOI MOSFETs

This work presents a systematic comparative study of the influence of various process options on the analog and RF properties of fully depleted (FD) silicon-on-insulator (SOI), partially depleted (PD) SOI, and bulk MOSFET's with gate lengths down to 0.08 /spl mu/m. We introduce the transconductance-over-drain current ratio and Early voltage as key figures of merits for the analog MOS performance and the gain and the transition and maximum frequencies for RF performances and link them to device engineering. Specifically, we investigate the effects of HALO implantation in FD, PD, and bulk devices, of film thickness in FD, of substrate doping in SOI, and of nonstandard channel engineering (i.e., asymmetric Graded-channel MOSFETs and gate-body contacted DTMOS).     

Static energy reduction techniques for microprocessor caches

Microprocessor performance has been improved by increasing the capacity of on-chip caches. However, the performance gain comes at the price of static energy consumption due to subthreshold leakage current in cache memory arrays. This paper compares three techniques for reducing static energy consumption in on-chip level-1 and level-2 caches. One technique employs low-leakage transistors in the memory cell. Another technique, power supply switching, can be used to turn off memory cells and discard their contents. A third alternative is dynamic threshold modulation, which places memory cells in a standby state that preserves cell contents. In our experiments, we explore the energy and performance tradeoffs of these techniques. We also investigate the sensitivity of microprocessor performance and energy consumption to additional cache latency caused by leakage-reduction techniques.     

2-D symmetry: theory and filter design applications

In this comprehensive review article, we present the theory of symmetry in two-dimensional (2-D) filter functions and in 2-D Fourier transforms. It is shown that when a filter frequency response possesses symmetry, the realization problem becomes relatively simple. Further, when the frequency response has no symmetry, there is a technique to decompose that frequency response into components each of which has the desired symmetry. This again reduces the complexity of two-dimensional filter design. A number of filter design examples are illustrated.