Growth of Epitaxial (110) 0.7Pb(Mg<Subscript>1/3</Subscript>Nb<Subscript>2/3</Subscript>)O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-0.3PbTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> Thin Films on r-Plane Sapphire Substrates by RF Magnetron Sputtering

The role of substrate temperature and substrate surface geometry in determining the crystal structure and crystallinity of 0.7Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-0.3PbTiO₃ (PMN-PT) thin films grown on r-plane sapphire substrates is examined. A 30-nm-thick amorphous PMN-PT seed layer deposited at 250°C and subjected to rapid thermal annealing at 850°C results in the formation of an epitaxial (110) perovskite PMN-PT growth template that can be used for subsequent growth of single-crystal (110) perovskite PMN-PT films at elevated temperature. The data show that single-crystal perovskite is promoted when the films nucleate with the \( \langle \overline{1} 11 \rangle \) PMN-PT direction parallel to the \( \langle 0\bar{2}21 \rangle \) Al₂O₃ direction.     

A new call control scheme of Push-To-Talk system

For Push-To-Talk (PTT) system based on Public Mobile Data Network (PMDN), the end-to-end time delay is the key aspect of the user’s experience. The Push-Over-Cellular (POC) scheme defined by Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) is based on the VoIP phone model and use SIP protocol as the call control scheme. The call setup time delay in SIP may reach to several seconds, which is unacceptable for the PTT service. In this paper, we provide a new call control scheme for PTT system based on PLMN network. By combining the apriority knowledge of PTT call model and the priority control scheme, we encapsulate the signaling message and the voice data into a same data packet, when the user push the button, the voice and the call control signaling are sent to the server at the same time. So the long time delay of call setup procedure of POC scheme can be eliminate. The end-to-end call delay can be decreased significantly. The experiment result based on the commercial CDMA2000 1X network of China Unicom shows that the call delay can be decreased to 600 ms, which approach to the traditional trunk communication system’s requirement.     

A Novel Electroless Process for Embedding a Thin Film Resistor on the Benzocyclobutene Dielectric

To realize embedded resistors on multilayer benzocyclobutene (BCB) either on-chip or on-board, a low-cost large format electroless process for deposition of NiP and NiWP thin-film resistors using both low-temperature (25°C) and high-temperature (90°C) baths has been developed. The electroless process exhibits uniform resistor thickness in the submicron range and offers low profile and excellent adhesion to the BCB dielectric layer. The resistor films also act as a seed layer for direct electroplating of copper traces. The NiP alloys can also be tailored to a variable temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) with different alloy compositions. The electroless process can be adopted in the PCB manufacturing industries with no additional investment. This article is the first report on electroless plated thin film resistors on low loss BCB dielectric.     

A Distributed Query Protocol in Wireless Sensor Networks

In wireless sensor networks, query execution over a specific geographical region is an essential function for collecting sensed data. However, sensor nodes deployed in sensor networks have limited battery power. Hence, the minimum number of connected sensor nodes that covers the queried region in a sensor network must be determined. This paper proposes an efficient distributed protocol to find a subset of connected sensor nodes to cover the queried region. Each node determines whether to be a sensing node to sense the queried region according to its priority. The proposed protocol can efficiently construct a subset of connected sensing nodes and respond the query request to the sink node. In addition, the proposed protocol is extended to solve the k-coverage request. Simulation results show that our protocol is more efficient and has a lower communication overhead than the existing protocol.     

On the Impact of Ultra Wide Band (UWB) on Macrocell Downlink of CDMA-PCS System

In this paper, we present an analytical model to quantify the effect of the Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) transmitters on the CDMA-PCS downlink range and normalized capacity. The effect is given for different configuration and environments. Our analysis shows that, for a single UWB transmitter, an UWB power density of −78dBm/MHz is the maximum permitted power density to have only PCS macrocell capacity reduction of 1% when the distance between the PCS mobile and the UWB transmitter is 1 m. For the multiple UWB transmitters case, a power density of −80dBm/MHz, is the maximum permitted power density to have only PCS macrocell capacity reduction of 1% when the distance between the PCS mobile and the UWB transmitter is 1 m.     

Design for 2-D error feedback networks with identical coefficient sets

In realization of recursive digital filters with fixed point arithmetic, an error caused by roundoff arises. It is known that the level of the roundoff noise of an IIR filter tends to be high when the poles are close to the unit circle. Error feedback (EF) is an effective method to reduce the roundoff noise. It is desirable to design an EF network using as few parameters as possible in order to keep computational costs low. In this paper, we propose a method for designing a 2D EF network with identical coefficient sets. That is, the EF coefficients are divided into several subsets such that all the elements within each set have the same absolute value. In order to optimize the coefficient sets, we propose an algorithm by using the genetic algorithm. In the numerical example, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Service configuration and user profiling in 4G terminals

This paper presents a middleware platform for managing devices that operate in heterogeneous environments. The proposed management framework supports terminal-controlled, preference-based access network selection. Two separate problems are identified in this domain: one involving the computation of optimal allocations of services to access networks and quality levels (service configuration), and one concerning the dynamic inference of the user’s preferences, according to the usage context (user profiling). This paper includes an approach to the definition, mathematical formulation and solution of both these problems. Indicative results of the proposed solution methods are presented in the context of a real-life scenario simulating a day in the life of an ordinary user.     

Iterative receiver for OFDM systems based on semi-blind channel estimation

In this paper we propose two iterative algorithms of joint channel estimation and symbol detection for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing （OFDM） systems. In which, superimposed pilot scheme is adopted and an initial Channel State Information （CSI） is obtained by employing a first-order statistic. In each subsequent iteration, we propose two algorithms to update the CSI. The Mean Square Error （MSE） of channel estimation and Bit Error Rate （BER） performance are given and simulation results demonstrate that the iterative algorithm using method B has good performance approaching the ideal condition.     

Ultra-high-Q optical filter based on photonic crystal ring resonator

In this study, a photonic crystal ring resonator with a triangular lattice is used to design an optical filter. The proposed structure is able to filter the central wavelength of 1548 nm with a transmission coefficient of over 95%. Moreover, this structure has an ultra-high-quality factor (Q) of about 1290. With altering the features of the structure including the refractive index, the lattice constant and the radius of the rods in the resonator core, their effects on the central wavelength of the filter, transmission coefficient, quality factor and bandwidth are investigated. The plane wave expansion and finite-difference time-domain methods are used to extract photonic band gap and investigate the photonic behavior of the proposed structure, respectively.     

Electroporation-Induced Cell Modifications Detected with THz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

Electroporation (electropermeabilization) increases the electrical conductivity of biological cell membranes and lowers transport barriers for normally impermeant materials. Molecular simulations suggest that electroporation begins with the reorganization of water and lipid head group dipoles in the phospholipid bilayer interface, driven by an externally applied electric field, and the evolution of the resulting defects into water-filled, lipid pores. The interior of the electroporated membrane thus contains water, which should provide a signature for detection of the electropermeabilized state. In this feasibility study, we use THz time-domain spectroscopy, a powerful tool for investigating biomolecular systems and their interactions with water, to detect electroporation in human cells subjected to permeabilizing pulsed electric fields (PEFs). The time-domain response of electroporated human monocytes was acquired with a commercial THz, time-domain spectrometer. For each sample, frequency spectra were calculated, and the absorption coefficient and refractive index were extracted in the frequency range between 0.2 and 1.5 THz. This analysis reveals a higher absorption of THz radiation by PEF-exposed cells, with respect to sham-exposed ones, consistent with the intrusion of water into the cell through the permeabilized membrane that is presumed to be associated with electroporation.