New two CFOA-based sinusoidal RC oscillators with buffered outlet

Using a unified representation for a class of buffered-outlet two current-feedback operational amplifier (CFOAs)-based sinusoidal oscillators, new circuits of this type can be systematically discovered. A catalogue of four circuit structures, each structure realizing nine oscillator circuits, is presented. Moreover, using the RC:CR transformation, additional nine oscillator circuits can be obtained from each structure. While each circuit requires five passive elements, some of the circuits enjoy one or more of the following attractive features: use of grounded capacitors, feasibility of absorbing the parasitic components of the CFOAs and orthogonal tuning of the frequency and the startup condition of oscillation.     

Personal identification using feature and score level fusion of palm- and fingerprints

The ever increasing demand of security has resulted in wide use of Biometric systems. Despite overcoming the traditional verification problems, the unimodal systems suffer from various challenges like intra class variation, noise in the sensor data etc, affecting the system performance. These problems are effectively handled by multimodal systems. In this paper, we present multimodal approach for palm- and fingerprints by feature level and score level fusions (sum and product rules). The proposed multi-modal systems are tested on a developed database consisting of 440 palm- and fingerprints each of 55 individuals. In feature level fusion, directional energy-based feature vectors of palm- and fingerprint identifiers are combined to form joint feature vector that is subsequently used to identify the individual using a distance classifier. In score level fusion, the matching scores of individual classifiers are fused by sum and product rules. Receiver operating characteristics curves are formed for unimodal and multimodal systems. Equal Error Rate (EER) of 0.538% for feature level fusion shows best performance compared to score level fusion of 0.6141 and 0.5482% of sum and product rules, respectively. Multimodal systems, however, significantly outperform unimodal palm- and fingerprints identifiers with EER of 2.822 and 2.553%, respectively.     

A novel approach to high-level switching activity modeling withapplications to low-power DSP system synthesis

We address high-level synthesis of low-power digital signal processing (DSP) systems by using efficient switching activity models. We present a technology-independent hierarchical scheme that can be easily integrated into current communications/DSP CAD tools for comparing the relative power/performance of two competing DSP designs without specific knowledge of transistor-level details. The basic building blocks considered for such systems are a full adder, a half adder, and a one-bit delay. Estimates of the switching activity at the output of these primitives are used to model the activity in more complex building blocks of DSP systems. The presented hierarchical method is very fast and simple. The accuracy of estimates obtained using the proposed approach is shown to be within 4% of the results obtained using extensive bit-level simulations. Our approach shows that the choice of multiplier/multiplicand is important when using array multipliers in a datapath. If the input signal with smaller mean square value is chosen as the multiplicand, almost 20% savings in switching activity can be achieved. This observation is verified by an analog simulation using a 16 × 16 bit array multiplier implemented in a 0.6-μ process with 3.3 V supply voltage     

Large signal analysis of mixers with difference frequency injection

Large signal analysis of mixers excited by three tone signals is presented. The special case of two equal-amplitude sinusoids plus a difference-frequency injection is considered in detail and the results are compared, whenever possible, with previously published results. Contrary to previously published results, it is shown that even under large signal conditions and strong nonlinearity it is possible, at least in theory, to totally eliminate the third-order intermodulation when the amplitudes of the equal-amplitudes input sinusoids and the difference-frequency injection are equal.     

Cognitive Radio as the Facilitator for Advanced Communications Electronic Warfare Solutions

Throughout the 1990s, Software Defined Radio (SDR) technology was viewed almost exclusively as a solution for interoperability problems between various military standards, waveforms and devices. In the meantime, Cognitive Radio (CR) – a novel communication paradigm which embodies SDR with intelligence and self-reconfigurability properties – has emerged. Intelligence and on-the-fly self-reconfiguration abilities of CRs constitute an important next step in the Communications Electronic Warfare, as they may enable the jamming entities with the capabilities of devising and deploying advanced jamming tactics. Similarly, they may also aid the development of the advanced intelligent self-reconfigurable systems for jamming mitigation. This work outlines the development and implementation of the Spectrum Intelligence algorithm for Radio Frequency (RF) interference mitigation. The developed system is built upon the ideas of obtaining relevant spectrum-related data by using wideband energy detectors, performing narrowband waveform identification, extracting the waveforms’ parameters and properly classifying the waveforms. All relevant spectrum activities are continuously monitored and stored. Coupled with the self-reconfigurability of various transmission-related parameters, Spectrum Intelligence is the facilitator for the advanced interference mitigation strategies. The implementation is done on the Cognitive Radio test bed architecture which consists of two military Software Defined Radio terminals, each interconnected with the computationally powerful System-on-Module.     

Geometrical design of thin film photovoltaic modules for improved shade tolerance and performance

Partial shading in photovoltaic modules is an important reliability and performance concern for all photovoltaic technologies. In this paper, we show how cell geometry can be used as a design variable for improved shade tolerance and performance in monolithic thin film photovoltaic modules (TFPV). We use circuit simulations to illustrate the geometrical aspects of partial shading in typical monolithic TFPV modules with rectangular cells, and formulate rules for shade tolerant design. We show that the problem of partial shading can be overcome by modifying the cell shape and orientation, while preserving the module shape and output characteristics. We discuss two geometrical designs with cells arranged in radial and spiral patterns, which (i) prevent the reverse breakdown of partially shaded cells, (ii) improve the overall power output under partial shading, and (iii) in case of spiral design, may additionally improve the module efficiency by reducing sheet resistance losses. We compare these designs quantitatively using realistic parameters and discuss the practical aspects for their implementation. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interconnecting networks with optimized service provisioning

Telecommunication Systems - A recent trend of peering at geo-diversified Internet exchange points (IXPs) has empowered decades-old proposal of inter-networking and opened up new avenues of business...     

Structural,Thermal and Luminescence Properties of AlN:Tm Thin Films Deposited on Silicon Substrate and Optical Fiber

Semiconductors - Thin films of AlN:Tm are deposited on a Si(111) and Si(100) substrates and optical fiber by rf magnetron sputtering method. 200–400 nm thick films are deposited at various...     

Sustainable Green Fog Computing for Smart Agriculture

Wireless Personal Communications - Medical Body Area Networks or MBANs are gaining popularity in healthcare circles because of the convenience they provide to patients and caregivers and assist in...     

CuPc based organic--inorganic hetero-junction with Au electrodes

In present work, a hetero-junction of n-silicon (n-Si) with copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) has been fabricated. The current-voltage characteristics were investigated to explain the rectification and conduction mechanism. The effect of temperature and humidity on electrical properties of n-Si/CuPc hetero-junction has also been investigated. The characteristics of the junction have been observed to be temperature and humidity dependent so it is suggested that this junction can be used as temperature and humidity sensor.