Nitride-Based Schottky Barrier Sensor Module With High Electrostatic Discharge Reliability

In this study, we proposed and realized a nitride-based Schottky barrier sensor module with high electrostatic discharge (ESD) reliability. By including a Si-based ESD protection chip into the module, we can significantly enhance endurable ESD voltages under both forward and reverse human-body-mode (HBM) ESD stresses. It was found that the fabricated module can endure reverse HBM ESD stress of 7.5 KV and forward HBM ESD stress larger than 8 KV. It was also found that the inclusion of the Si-based ESD protection chip will not result in a decrease in detector responsivity     

Nitride-Based High-Power Flip-Chip LED With Double-Side Patterned Sapphire Substrate

A nitride-based high-power flip-chip (FC) light-emitting diode (LED) with a double-side patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) was proposed and realized. Under 350-mA current injection, it was found that forward voltages were 3.24, 3.26, and 3.25 V for the conventional FC LED, FC LED prepared on PSS, and FC LED with double-side PSS, respectively. It was found that the 350-mA LED output powers were 79.3, 98.1, and 121.5 mW for the conventional FC LED, FC LED prepared on PSS, and FC LED with double-side PSS, respectively. In other words, we can enhance the electroluminescence intensity by 53% without increasing operation voltage of the fabricated LED     

ECG measurement on a chair without conductive contact

For the purpose of long-term, everyday electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring, we present a convenient method of ECG measurement without direct conductive contact with the skin while subjects sat on a chair wearing normal clothes. Measurements were made using electrodes attached to the back of a chair, high-input-impedance amplifiers mounted on the electrodes, and a large ground-plane placed on the chair seat. ECGs were obtained by the presented method for several types of clothing and compared to ECGs obtained from conventional measurement using Ag-AgCl electrodes. Motion artifacts caused by usual desk works were investigated. This study shows the feasibility of the method for long-term, convenient, everyday use.     

Bioinspired Interlocked and Hierarchical Design of ZnO Nanowire Arrays for Static and Dynamic Pressure‐Sensitive Electronic Skins

The development of electronic skin (e‐skin) is of great importance in human‐like robotics, healthcare, wearable electronics, and medical applications. In this paper, a bioinspired e‐skin design of hierarchical micro‐ and nano‐structured ZnO nanowire (NW) arrays in an interlocked geometry is suggested for the sensitive detection of both static and dynamic tactile stimuli through piezoresistive and piezoelectric transduction modes, respectively. The interlocked hierarchical structures enable a stress‐sensitive variation in the contact area between the interlocked ZnO NWs and also the efficient bending of ZnO NWs, which allow the sensitive detection of both static and dynamic tactile stimuli. The flexible e‐skin in a piezoresistive mode shows a high pressure sensitivity (?6.8 kPa^?1) and an ultrafast response time (<5 ms), which enables the detection of minute static pressure (0.6 Pa), vibration level (0.1 m s^?2), and sound pressure (≈57 dB). The flexible e‐skin in a piezoelectric mode is also demonstrated to be able to detect fast dynamic stimuli such as high frequency vibrations (≈250 Hz). The flexible e‐skins with both piezoresistive and piezoelectric sensing capabilities may find applications requiring both static and dynamic tactile perceptions such as robotic hands for dexterous manipulations and various healthcare monitoring devices.     

Error Concealment Using Inter‐layer Correlation for Scalable Video Coding

In this paper, we propose a new error concealment (EC) method using inter‐layer correlation for scalable video coding. In the proposed method, the auxiliary motion vector (MV) and the auxiliary mode number (MN) of intra prediction are interleaved into the bitstream to recover the corrupted frame. In order to reduce the bit rate, the proposed method encodes the difference between the original and the predicted values of the MV and MN instead of the original values. Experimental results show that the proposed EC outperforms the conventional EC by 2.8 dB to 6.7 dB.     

Pixel‐Structured Scintillator with Polymeric Microstructures for X‐Ray Image Sensors

We introduce a pixel‐structured scintillator realized on a flexible polymeric substrate and demonstrate its feasibility as an X‐ray converter when it is coupled to photosensitive elements. The sample was prepared by filling Gd₂O₂S:Tb scintillation material into a square‐pore‐shape cavity array fabricated with polyethylene. For comparison, a sample with the conventional continuous geometry was also prepared. Although the pixelated geometry showed X‐ray sensitivity of about 58% compared with the conventional geometry, the resolving power was improved by about 70% above a spatial frequency of 3 mm^?1. The spatial frequency at 10% of the modulation‐transfer function was about 6 mm^?1.     

A traffic control system for IEEE 802.11 networks based on available bandwidth estimation

To support Quality of service (QoS)‐sensitive applications like real‐time video streaming in IEEE 802.11 networks, a MAC layer extension for QoS, IEEE 802.11e, has been recently ratified as a standard. This MAC layer solution, however, addresses only the issue of prioritized access to the wireless medium and leaves such issues as QoS guarantee and admission control to the traffic control systems at the higher layers. This paper presents an IP‐layer traffic control system for IEEE 802.11 networks based on available bandwidth estimation. We build an analytical model for estimating the available bandwidth by extending an existing throughput computation model, and implement a traffic control system that provides QoS guarantees and admission control by utilizing the estimated available bandwidth information. We have conducted extensive performance evaluation of the proposed scheme via both simulations and measurements in the real test‐bed. The experiment results show that our estimation model and traffic control system work accurately and effectively in various network load conditions without IEEE 802.11e. The presence of IEEE 802.11e will allow even more efficient QoS provision, as the proposed scheme and the MAC layer QoS support will complement each other. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A dry-patterned Cu(Mg) alloy film as a gate electrode in a thin-film transistor liquid crystal display

The annealing of a Cu(4.5at.%Mg)/SiO₂/Si structure in ambient O₂ at 10 mtorr and 300–500°C allows for the out-diffusion of the Mg to the Cu surface, forming a thin MgO (15 nm) layer on the surface. The surface MgO layer was patterned and successfully served as a hard mask for the subsequent dry etching of the underlying Mg-depleted Cu films using an O₂ plasma and hexafluoroacetylacetone (H(hfac)) chemistry. The resultant MgO/Cu structure, with a taper slope of about 30°, shows the feasibility of dry etching of Cu(Mg) alloy films using a surface MgO mask scheme. A dry-etched Cu(4.5at.%Mg) gate a-Si:H thin-film transistor (TFT) has a field-effect mobility of 0.86 cm²/Vs, a subthreshold swing of 1.08 V/dec, and a threshold voltage of 5.7 V. A novel process for the dry etching of Cu(Mg) alloy films that eliminates the use of a hard mask, such as Ti, and results in a reduction in the process steps is reported for the first time in this work.     

Distributed self-stabilizing placement of replicated resources in emerging networks

Emerging large scale distributed networking systems, such as P2P file sharing systems, sensor networks, and ad hoc wireless networks, require replication of content, functionality, or configuration to enact or optimize communication tasks. The placement of these replicated resources can significantly impact performance. We present a novel self-stabilizing, fully distributed, asynchronous, scalable protocol that can be used to place replicated resources such that each node is "close" to some copy of any object. We describe our protocol in the context of a graph with colored nodes, where a node's color indicates the replica/task that it is assigned. Our combination of theoretical results and simulation prove stabilization of the protocol, and evaluate its performance in the context of convergence time, message transmissions, and color distance. Our results show that the protocol generates colorings that are close to the optimal under a set of metrics, making such a protocol ideal for emerging networking systems.