A wide axial-ratio beamwidth circularly-polarized oval patch antenna with sunlight-shaped slots for gnss and wimax applications

Wireless Networks - This paper proposes a quadruple band stacked oval patch antenna with sunlight-shaped slots supporting L1/L2/L5 GNSS bands and the 2.3 Ghz WiMAX band. The antenna produces...     

Correction to: Enhanced TOA Estimation Using OFDM over Wide-Band Transmission Based on a Simulated Model

Wireless Personal Communications -     

A reliable energy-efficient pressure-based routing protocol for underwater wireless sensor network

Recently, Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs) has witnessed significant attention from both academia and industries in research and development, due to the growing number of applications for wide range of purposes including commercial, scientific, environmental and military. Some of the major applications include pollution monitoring, tactical surveillance, tsunami warnings and offshore exploration. Efficient communication among sensors in UWSNs is a challenging task due to the harsh environments and peculiar characteristics of UWSNs. Therefore, design of routing protocol for efficient communication among sensors and sink is one of the fundamental research themes in UWSNs. In this context, this paper proposes a location-free Reliable and Energy efficient Pressure-Based Routing (RE-PBR) protocol for UWSNs. RE-PBR considers three parameters including link quality, depth and residual energy for balancing energy consumption and reliable data delivery. Specifically, link quality is estimated using triangle metric method. A light weight information acquisition algorithm is developed for efficient knowledge discovery of the network. Multi-metric data forwarding algorithm is designed based on route cost calculation which utilizes residual energy and link quality. Simulations are carried out in NS-2 with Aqua-Sim package to evaluate the performance of RE-PBR. The performance of the proposed protocol is compared with the stat-of-the-art techniques: DBR and EEDBR. The comprehensive performance evaluation attests the benefit of RE-PBR as compared to the state-of-the-art techniques in terms of network lifetime, energy consumption, end-to-end delay and packet delivery ratio.     

Fabrication of a <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>–<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis> Heterojunction Using Topological Insulator Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>Te<Subscript>3</Subscript>–Si and Its Annealing Response

A junction device has been fabricated by growing p-type Bi₂Te₃ topological insulator (TI) film on an n-type silicon (Si) substrate using a thermal evaporation technique. Annealing using different temperatures and durations was employed to improve the quality of the film, as confirmed by microstructural study using x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The p–n diode characteristics of the junction devices were studied, and the effect of annealing investigated. An improved diode characteristic with good rectification ratio (RR) was observed for devices annealed for longer duration. Reduction in the leakage or reverse saturation current (\( I_{\rm{R}} \)) was observed with increase in the annealing temperature. The forward-bias current (\( I_{\rm{F}} \)) dropped in devices annealed above 400°C. The best results were observed for the sample device annealed at 450°C for 3 h, showing figure of merit (FOM) of 0.621 with RR ≈ 504 and \( I_{\rm{R}} \) = 0.25 μA. In terms of ideality factor, the sample device annealed at 550°C for 2 h was found to be the best with \( n \) = 6.5, RR ≈ 52.4, \( I_{\rm{R}} \) = 0.61 μA, and FOM = 0.358. The majority-carrier density \( \left( {N_{\rm{A}} } \right) \) in the p-Bi₂Te₃ film of the heterojunction was found to be on the order of 10⁹/cm³ to 10¹¹/cm³, quite close to its intrinsic carrier concentration. These results are significant for fundamental understanding of device applications of TI materials as well as future applications in solar cells.     

MDP-Based Network Selection Scheme by Genetic Algorithm and Simulated Annealing for Vertical-Handover in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

The hybrid algorithm for real-time vertical handover using different objective functions has been presented to find the optimal network to connect with a good quality of service in accordance with the user’s preferences. Markov processes are widely used in performance modelling of wireless and mobile communication systems. We address the problem of optimal wireless network selection during vertical handover, based on the received information, by embedding the decision problem in a Markov decision process (MDP) with genetic algorithm (GA), we use GA to find a set of optimal decisions that ensures the best trade-off between QoS based on their priority level. Then, we emerge improved genetic algorithm (IGA) with simulated annealing (SA) as leading methods for search and optimization problems in heterogeneous wireless networks. We formulate the vertical handoff decision problem as a MDP, with the objectives of maximizing the expected total reward and minimizing average number of handoffs. A reward function is constructed to assess the QoS during each connection, and the AHP method are applied in an iterative way, by which we can work out a stationary deterministic handoff decision policy. As it is, the characteristics of the current mobile devices recommend using fast and efficient algorithms to provide solutions near to real-time. These constraints have moved us to develop intelligent algorithm that avoid the slow and massive computations. This paper compares the formulation and results of five recent optimization algorithms: artificial bee colony, GA, differential evolution, particle swarm optimization and hybrid of (GA–SA). Simulation results indicated that choosing the SA rules would minimize the cost function, and also that, the IGA–SA algorithm could decrease the number of unnecessary handovers, and thereby prevent the ‘Ping-Pong’ effect.     

Discrete-time chaotic-map truly random number generators: design, implementation, and variability analysis of the zigzag map

In this paper, we introduce a novel discrete chaotic map named zigzag map that demonstrates excellent chaotic behaviors and can be utilized in truly random number generators (TRNGs). We comprehensively investigate the map and explore its critical chaotic characteristics and parameters. We further present two circuit implementations for the zigzag map based on the switched current technique as well as the current-mode affine interpolation of the breakpoints. In practice, implementation variations can deteriorate the quality of the output sequence as a result of variation of the chaotic map parameters. In order to quantify the impact of variations on the map performance, we model the variations using a combination of theoretical analysis and Monte-Carlo simulations on the circuits. We demonstrate that even in the presence of the map variations, a TRNG based on the zigzag map passes all of the NIST 800-22 statistical randomness tests using simple post processing of the output data.     

EMI Shielding Characteristics of Electrically Conductive Polymer Blends of PS/PANI in Microwave and IR Region

Conductive polymeric blends (CPBs) of polystyrene and polyaniline (PS/PANI) were prepared by solution casting method in various compositions. Film thickness of CPBs was achieved?～?250 micron. PS/PANI blend films were analyzed for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding characteristics in microwave and near-infrared (NIR) regions. PS/PANI blends showed remarkable features. Most mobile telecommunications use GHz frequency range and shielding effectiveness was observed in 9 GHz to 18 GHz. In 9 GHz to 18 GHz frequency range, 45 dB shielding effectiveness was measured. CPBs were also analyzed in the NIR region and showed transmittance of <1%. Microwaves and NIR radiation are the most abundant in the environment and cause damage to human health. Both types of radiation causes serious damage to electronic devices as well.

     

Low-power CMOS distributed amplifier using new cascade gain cell for high and low gain modes

A CMOS distributed amplifier (DA) with low-power and flat and high power gain (S₂₁) is presented. In order to decrease noise figure (NF) an RL terminating network used for the gate transmission line instead of single resistance. Besides, a flat and high S₂₁ is achieved by using the proposed cascade gain cell consist of a cascode-stage with bandwidth extension capacitor. In the high-gain mode, under operation condition of V _dd  = 1.2 V and the overall current consumption of 7.8 mA, simulation result shown that the DA consumed 9.4 mW and achieved a flat and high S₂₁ of 20.5 ± 0.5 dB with an average NF of 6.5 dB over the 11 GHz band of interest, one of the best reported flat gain performances for a CMOS UWB DA. In the low-gain mode, the DA achieved average S₂₁ of 15.5 ± 0.25 dB and an average NF of 6.6 dB with low power consumption (P_DC) of 3.6 mW, the lowest P_DC ever reported for a CMOS DA or LNA with an average gain better than 10 dB.