A novel Markov analytical model for the TCP/AQM systems

A novel closed-loop feedback TCP/AQM(Transfer Control Protocol/Active Queue Management) model is proposed in this paper using a discrete-time Markov chain,and a way to calculate the equilibrium distribution of this model is given.In the model,system time is divided into time slots,the bottleneck router queue model and TCP window size model in each slot are analyzed.Finally,by combining adjacent slots,an integrated TCP/AQM analytical model is developed.By this model,the average values of packets dropping rat...     

Low power clock recovery circuit for passive HF RFID tag

A low power clock recovery circuit for passive HF RFID tag is presented. The proposed clock recovery circuit, based on the architecture of Phase Locked Loop (PLL), is used to generate a stable system clock when communication occurs from interrogator to tag with 100% ASK modulation. An envelope detector is designed to detect the incident power from interrogator and control the operating state of the proposed clock recovery circuit. Loop bandwidth of PLL circuits is minimized to reduce the frequency deviation when operating in frequency maintaining state. Furthermore, an initialization circuit for loop filter is also used to speed up locking during initial system power-on-reset. Prototype chips have been fabricated in 0.35 μm 2P4M CMOS technology. A total current consumption of 3 μA has been achieved in the frequency maintaining state. Measurement results show that, when communication occurs from interrogator to tag with 100% ASK modulation, clock recovery circuit generates a stable and consecutive system clock and has an inevitable frequency derivation of 7.5% when operating in frequency maintaining state.     

Rheological Behavior of Thermal Interface Pastes

Polyol-ester-based thermal pastes containing carbon black, fumed alumina or nanoclay exhibit Bingham plastic behavior with shear thinning. Carbon black gives double yielding, but fumed alumina and nanoclay give single yielding. The plastic viscosity increases with the solid content. Antioxidants increase the plastic viscosity and yield stresses. Nanoclay (1.0 vol.%) gives low shear moduli, high critical shear strain, and high loss tangent, thus resulting in low bond-line thickness and high thermal contact conductance for smooth (0.009 μm) proximate surfaces. Carbon black (Tokai, 8.0 vol.%) gives high moduli, low critical strain, and low loss tangent, thus resulting in high bond-line thickness, though the high thermal conductivity due to the high solid content results in high thermal contact conductance for rough (15 μm) proximate surfaces. Antioxidants enhance the solid-like character, increase the yield stress, plastic viscosity, and bond-line thickness, and decrease the thermal contact conductance.     

Reducing Signaling Traffic for the Authentication and Key Agreement Procedure in an IP Multimedia Subsystem

In the IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) of UMTS, two authentication procedures are necessary for IMS subscribers before accessing IMS services: (i) packet-switch domain authentication using the authentication and key agreement of the 3rd Generation Partnership Projects (3GPP AKA), and (ii) IMS authentication using IMS AKA. However, since IMS AKA is based on 3GPP AKA, almost all of the operations are the same. Besides, IMS AKA needs two round-trips to carry out. Therefore, it is inefficient that almost all involved steps in IMS AKA are duplicated. Therefore, we propose a one-pass IMS AKA instead of IMS AKA. The one-pass IMS AKA can keep the security properties of IMS AKA, such as mutual authentication and key agreement. Furthermore, the one-pass IMS AKA not only has at least 45% improvement over IMS AKA in terms of authentication signaling, but also has 76.5% improvement over IMS AKA in terms of storage space.     

Trade-offs in the OTA-based analog filter design

Operational transconductance amplifiers (OTAs) are widely used in the design of electronically tunable circuits. However, electronic tunability ranges of the OTA based filters are restricted by the limited bandwidth of the transconductance gain of the OTA. Furthermore, stability conditions and the linearity of the OTA which depends on the control current restrict the tunability. In this paper, some trade-offs in the electronically tunable filters are investigated. In addition, the tunability ranges of some first and second order OTA-C and OTA-RC filters are comparatively examined. Moreover, an OTA-C all-pass filter circuit is presented. SPICE simulations are performed and stability analyses are given for both of the OTA-C and OTA-RC filters. Operation of the presented all-pass filter is verified experimentally.     

On the Mechanisms Governing Aluminum-Mediated Solid-Phase Epitaxy of Silicon

Mechanisms governing the aluminum-mediated solid-phase epitaxy of Si on patterned crystalline Si substrates have been identified by studying the deposited material as a function of growth conditions when varying parameters such as temperature, growth time, and layer-stack properties. Early growth stages can be discerned as first formation of “free” Si at the Al/α-Si interface, then diffusion of Si along the Al grain boundaries, nucleation at the Si substrate surface, nuclei rearrangement, and finally crystal growth. The acquired understanding is applied to control the selectivity and completeness of single-crystal growth in various sizes of contact windows to the Si substrate.     

Methodology for Analyzing Strain States During <Emphasis Type="Italic">In Situ</Emphasis> Thermomechanical Cycling in Individual Lead-Free Solder Joints Using Synchrotron Radiation

To examine how a lead-free solder joint deforms in a thermal cycling environment, both the elastic and plastic stress and strain behavior must be understood. Methods to identify evolution of the internal strain (stress) state during thermal cycling are described. A slice of a package containing a single row of solder joints was thermally cycled from 0°C to 100°C with a period of about 1 h with concurrent acquisition of transmission Laue patterns using synchrotron radiation. These results indicated that most joints are single crystals, with some being multicrystals with no more than a few Sn grain orientations. Laue patterns were analyzed to estimate local strains in different crystal directions at different temperatures during a thermal cycle. While the strains perpendicular to various crystal planes all vary in a similar way, the magnitude of strain varies. The specimens were subsequently given several hundred additional thermal cycles and measured again to assess changes in the crystal orientations. These results show that modest changes in crystal orientations occur during thermal cycling.     

Dewetting Retardation on Ag/Cu Coated Light Emitting Diode Lead Frames During the Solder Immersion Process

The process of SnPb immersion in Ag/Cu coated light emitting diode lead frames (LED LFs) (alloy 42) was investigated. SnPb solder was found to cause dewetting of the LF substrate after 6 s of immersion. We believed that the dewetting of the SnPb solder could be attributed to spalling of the interfacial compound grains. The addition of a small amount of Ni to the molten SnPb solder (0.1 wt.%) retarded that spalling and helped to prevent dewetting. The mechanisms for spalling retardation by the addition of Ni additives are as follows: (1) the Ni additives slow down the reaction rate between the molten SnPb solder and the Ag/Cu plating layer; (2) the Ni additives participate in interfacial reactions to form (Cu,Ni)₆Sn₅ ternary compounds, which are more stable than binary compounds and have a slower ripening process.     

A wafer-level 3D packaging structure with Benzocyclobutene as a dielectric for multichip module fabrication

A new wafer-level 3D packaging structure with Benzocyclobutene (BCB) as interlayer dielectrics (ELDs) for multichip module fabrication is proposed for application in the Ku-band wave. The packaging structure consists of two layers of BCB films and three layers of metallized films, in which the monolithic microwave IC (MMIC), thin film resistors, striplines and microstrip lines are integrated. Wet etched cavities fabricated on the silicon substrate are used for mounting active and passive components. BCB layers cover the components and serve as ILDs for interconnections. Gold bumps are used as electric interconnections between different layers, which eliminates the need to prepare vias by costly dry etching and deposition processes. In order to get high-quality BCB films for the subsequent chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) and multilayer metallization processes, the BCB curing profile is optimized and the roughness of the BCB film after the CMP process is kept lower than 10 nm. The thermal, mechanical and electrical properties of the packaging structure are investigated. The thermal resistance can be controlled below 2 ℃/W. The average shear strength of the gold bumps on the BCB surface is around 70 N/mm~2. The performances of MMIC and interconnection structure at high frequencies are optimized and tested. The 5 -parameters curves of the packaged MMIC shift slightly showing perfect transmission character. The insertion loss change after the packaging process is less than 1 dB range at the operating frequency and the return loss is less than -8 dB from 10 to 15 GHz.