Integrated Inductors Modeling for Library Development and Layout Generation

In this work we propose a modification to the conventional lumped equivalent circuit model for integrated inductors. Also the widely used parametric model is modified. The proposed models expand the frequency range where the integrated inductor behavior is accurately predicted. They are useful in developing automatic tools to assist the designers in selecting and automatically laying-out integrated inductors [1]. This work is based on measurements from integrated inductors fabricated in a standard silicon process.     

Transmission Fiber Chromatic Dispersion Dependence on Temperature: Implications on 40 Gb/s Performance

In this letter, we will evaluate the performance degradation of a 40 km high‐speed (40 Gb/s) optical system, induced by optical fiber variations of the chromatic dispersion induced by temperature changes. The chromatic dispersion temperature sensitivity will be estimated based on the signal quality parameters.     

Directional Estimation of Block-Fading MIMO Channels Using Spherical Harmonics Expansion and Tensor Analysis

The well-known benefits of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) wireless communication systems suppose an efficient use of spatial diversity at both the transmitter and receiver. An important and not well-explored path toward improving MIMO system performance using spatial diversity takes into account the interactions among the antennas and the (physical) propagation medium. In this work, spherical harmonics and tensor analysis are originally combined into the problem of MIMO channel modeling and estimation. The use of spherical harmonics allows to represent the antenna radiation patterns in terms of coefficients of an expansion of spatially orthogonal functions, thus decoupling the transmit and receive antenna array responses from the physical propagation medium. Assuming a single-scattering propagation scenario driven by a finite number of specular multipaths, the parallel factor model is used to decompose the spherical modes of the MIMO channel into a sum of rank-one spherical mode tensors, whose dimensions are transmit modes, receive modes, and time. Then, we extend the tensor modeling framework to double scattering channels by resorting to the PARATUCK model that captures the interactions between multiple-scattering clusters. Capitalizing on the structure of these tensor models, we derive tensor-based alternating least squares algorithms for estimating directional MIMO channels in the spherical harmonics domain, from which the directions of arrival and directions of departure are extracted by means of a MUSIC-based method. Simulation results are provided to assess the performance of the proposed algorithms in selected system configurations. Our results also show the impact of the spherical expansion order on the accuracy of DoD/DoA estimates using the proposed algorithms.     

A High Voltage Line Driver for Subscriber Loop Interfaces in a Low Voltage Submicron BiCMOS Technology

This paper presents a 30 V line driver for short loop subscriber line interface circuit applications. The high voltage line drivers was implemented in a low-voltage 0.8 m BiCMOS process using 30 V extended-drain MOS transistors, fully compatible with the low voltage technology. Using a Quasi-Current Mirror architecture for the output stage, the line driver is capable of delivering more than 30 mA current into the lines with an idle current as low as 1 mA, satisfying the short loop requirements. With less than 0.24 mm² area, the circuit can be easily integrated with low-voltage circuitry on a single chip.     

Multihour engineering and traffic routing optimization in hierarchical telephone networks

Classical hierarchical routing in telephone networks is extended to a wider class called out-of-chain routing in such a way that some useful properties of hierarchical routing are retained. This new routing pattern offers more potential paths than the fixed hierarchical one and can be introduced as a dynamic routing where the fixed alternate sequences change at some predetermined instants during the day. The effect of this new routing pattern on the network performances is examined. The main topic of this paper is to present heuristic methods used to optimise such routings in large networks. We show on artificial networks that the throughput of a given network can be significantly improved by suitable routing choices. We demonstrate that the integration of routing changes within a multihour dimensioning process is possible but the lack of realistic data does not permit at this time to quantify the value of routing optimization on real networks.     

NACR: A New Adaptive Channel Reservation in Cellular Communication Systems

Future Personal Communication Networks (PCN) will employ microcells and picocells to support a higher capacity, thus increasing the frequency of handoff calls. Forced call terminations due to handoff call blocking are generally more objectionable than new call blocking. The proposed guard channel schemes for radio channel allocation in cellular networks reduce handoff call blocking probability at the expense of increases in new call blocking probability by giving resource access priority to handoff calls over new calls in call admission control. Under uniform traffic assumptions, it has been shown that a fixed number of guard channels leads to good performance results. In a more realistic system, non-uniform traffic conditions should be considered. In this case, the achieved call blocking probability may deviate significantly from the desired objective. In this paper, we propose a new adaptive guard channel scheme: New Adaptive Channel Reservation (NACR). In NACR, for a given period of time, a given number of channels are guarded in each cell for handoff traffic. An approximate analytical model of NACR is presented. Tabu search method has been implemented in order to optimize the grade of service. Discrete event simulations of NACR were run. The effectiveness of the proposed method is emphasized on a complex configuration.     

Variational optical flow computation in real time.

This paper investigates the usefulness of bidirectional multigrid methods for variational optical flow computations. Although these numerical schemes are among the fastest methods for solving equation systems, they are rarely applied in the field of computer vision. We demonstrate how to employ those numerical methods for the treatment of variational optical flow formulations and show that the efficiency of this approach even allows for real-time performance on standard PCs. As a representative for variational optic flow methods, we consider the recently introduced combined local-global method. It can be considered as a noise-robust generalization of the Horn and Schunck technique. We present a decoupled, as well as a coupled, version of the classical Gauss-Seidel solver, and we develop several multgrid implementations based on a discretization coarse grid approximation. In contrast, with standard bidirectional multigrid algorithms, we take advantage of intergrid transfer operators that allow for nondyadic grid hierarchies. As a consequence, no restrictions concerning the image size or the number of traversed levels have to be imposed. In the experimental section, we juxtapose the developed multigrid schemes and demonstrate their superior performance when compared to unidirectional multgrid methods and nonhierachical solvers. For the well-known 316 x 252 Yosemite sequence, we succeeded in computing the complete set of dense flow fields in three quarters of a second on a 3.06-GHz Pentium4 PC. This corresponds to a frame rate of 18 flow fields per second which outperforms the widely-used Gauss-Seidel method by almost three orders of magnitude.