Noncoherent MMSE multiuser receivers and their blind adaptiveimplementations

Three noncoherent minimum mean-squared error (NMSE)-based multiuser receivers are proposed for multipulse modulation. These receivers have a common MMSE prefilter and are followed by one of three phase-independent decision rules. The simplest decision rule selects the maximum magnitude of the MMSE filter outputs, and the other two account for the second-order statistics of the residual multiple-access interference that remains after MMSE filtering. Blind adaptive algorithms are then proposed for the three noncoherent MMSE receivers. The common adaptive algorithm for the MMSE prefilter, which is based on the stochastic approximation method, is shown to converge in the mean-squared error sense to the nonblind NMSE prefilter. Our convergence analysis yields new insight into the tradeoff between the rate of convergence and the residual mean-squared error. The noncoherent blind receivers obtained here do not require the knowledge of the received signals of any of the interfering users, and are hence well-suited for distributed implementation in cellular wireless networks or in communication systems that must operate in noncooperative environments     

Pad effects on material-removal rate in chemical-mechanical planarization

The role of a porous pad in controlling material-removal rate (MRR) during the chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) process has been studied numerically. The numerical results are used to develop a phenomenological model that correlates the forces on each individual abrasive particle to the applied nominal pressure. The model provides a physical explanation for the experimentally observed domains of pressure-dependent MRR, where the pad deformation controls the load sharing between active-abrasive particles and direct pad-wafer contact. The predicted correlations between MRR and slurry characteristics, i.e., particle size and concentration, are in agreement with experimentally measured trends reported by Ouma¹ and Izumitani.²     

A model for the performance analysis and design of waveguide p-i-n photodetectors

A model to investigate the frequency response of waveguide (WG) p-i-n photodetectors (PDs) is presented. The model is based on the 2-D position-dependent distribution of carriers in the device and the results show that the contribution to the total current mainly comes from a small length of the PD measured from its input end. The effect of carrier trapping at a heterointerface has also been considered to study the frequency dependence of the photocurrent at low-bias voltages. The frequency response and bandwidth obtained from the model are in good agreement with published experimental results. A simplified and approximate relation for the fiber-to-WG coupling efficiency has also been used to calculate the overall quantum-efficiency of WGPDs. Then, the effect of WG geometry on the bandwidth-quantum efficiency product has been analyzed and some results on the optimum design of a WG p-i-n PD for maximum bandwidth-quantum efficiency product have been tabulated.     

Mobility management for VoIP service: Mobile IP vs. SIP

Wireless Internet access has gained significant attention as wireless/mobile communications and networking become widespread. The voice over IP service is likely to play a key role in the convergence of IP-based Internet and mobile cellular networks. We explore different mobility management schemes from the perspective of VoIP services, with a focus on Mobile IP and session initiation protocol. After illustrating the signaling message flows in these two protocols for diverse cases of mobility management, we propose a shadow registration concept to reduce the interdomain handoff (macro-mobility) delay in the VoIP service in mobile environments. We also analytically compute and compare the delay and disruption time for exchanging signaling messages associated with the Mobile IP and SIP-based solutions.     

High extinction, broadband polarisers using long-period fibre gratings in few-mode fibres

Long-period fibre gratings in specially designed birefringent few-mode fibres are used to demonstrate spectrally flat polarisers with bandwidths of 10 nm and polarisation extinction levels of 20 dB. This is enabled by the special dispersive properties of few-mode fibres, yielding fibre polarisers with performance approaching that of bulk-optic devices.     

A review of reliability prediction methods for electronic devices

A wide range of reliability prediction methods is available today for electronic systems. This article classifies the commonly used and referred to reliability prediction methodologies into some categories easy to understand. A set of selected methods, which are of relevance to many industries, the aerospace industry among others, are reviewed and the possibility they offer to address the stated objectives is assessed. Their respective advantages and shortcomings are the basis for the recommendation we make to use the methods in a combined fashion (simultaneously or successively) along the product development process.     

Routing Correlated Data with Fusion Cost in Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper, we propose a routing algorithm called minimum fusion Steiner tree (MFST) for energy efficient data gathering with aggregation (fusion) in wireless sensor networks. Different from existing schemes, MFST not only optimizes over the data transmission cost, but also incorporates the cost for data fusion, which can be significant for emerging sensor networks with vectorial data and/or security requirements. By employing a randomized algorithm that allows fusion points to be chosen according to the nodes' data amounts, MFST achieves an approximation ratio of 5/4log(k + 1), where k denotes the number of source nodes, to the optimal solution for extremely general system setups, provided that fusion cost and data aggregation are nondecreasing against the total input data. Consequently, in contrast to algorithms that only excel in full or nonaggregation scenarios without considering fusion cost, MFST can thrive in a wide range of applications     

Improved Thermal Performance of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs by an Optimized Flip-Chip Design

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) on sapphire substrates have been studied for their potential application in RF power applications; however, the low thermal conductivity of the sapphire substrate is a major drawback. Aiming at RF system-in-a-package, the authors propose a flip-chip-integration approach, where the generated heat is dissipated to an AlN carrier substrate. Different flip-chip-bump designs are compared, using thermal simulations, electrical measurements, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and infrared thermography. The authors show that a novel bump design, where bumps are placed directly onto both source and drain ohmic contacts, improves the thermal performance of the HEMT     

Recent Developments in Semipolar InGaN Laser Diodes

Semiconductors - Group III-nitride semiconductors (GaN, AlN, and InN) are attractive materials for a wide range of electronic and photonic applications. The most widely employed growth plane for...     

Aperture Field Estimation in E Plane and H-Plane T-Junctions Using Field Theoretic Analysis

Wireless Personal Communications - This paper presents method of moment based analysis of E Plane and H-Plane T-junctions to find the field distributions on different transverse and longitudinal...