On global and local convergence of half-quadratic algorithms.

This paper provides original results on the global and local convergence properties of half-quadratic (HQ) algorithms resulting from the Geman and Yang (GY) and Geman and Reynolds (GR) primal-dual constructions. First, we show that the convergence domain of the GY algorithm can be extended with the benefit of an improved convergence rate. Second, we provide a precise comparison of the convergence rates for both algorithms. This analysis shows that the GR form does not benefit from a better convergence rate in general. Moreover, the GY iterates often take advantage of a low cost implementation. In this case, the GY form is usually faster than the GR form from the CPU time viewpoint.     

On the detection of simple points in higher dimensions using cubical homology.

Simple point detection is an important task for several problems in discrete geometry, such as topology preserving thinning in image processing to compute discrete skeletons. In this paper, the approach to simple point detection is based on techniques from cubical homology, a framework ideally suited for problems in image processing. A (d-dimensional) unitary cube (for a d-dimensional digital image) is associated with every discrete picture element, instead of a point in epsilon(d) (the d-dimensional Euclidean space) as has been done previously. A simple point in this setting then refers to the removal of a unitary cube without changing the topology of the cubical complex induced by the digital image. The main result is a characterization of a simple point p (i.e., simple unitary cube) in terms of the homology groups of the (3d - 1) neighborhood of p for arbitrary, finite dimensions     

Experimental validation of the linear drive train for a total artificial heart system

In industrialized countries cardiovascular diseases are the major cause of death. Beside heart transplants, which are a limited option due to the limited number of available human donor hearts, Total Artificial Hearts (TAHs) are the only therapy available for some patients with terminal heart diseases. For various reasons a total implantable artificial heart is desirable, but also sets restrictions in terms of weight and dimensions due to the limited space in the human thorax. Therefore a precise requirement profile is needed for the drive design to provide sufficient force for the blood pump and to avoid oversizing of the drive and to prevent blood damage by overheating.     

Investigation of the degradation mechanisms of InP/InGaAs DHBT under bias stress conditions to achieve electrical aging model for circuit design

The reliability of InP/InGaAs DHBT under high collector current densities and low junction temperatures is analyzed and modeled. From the Gummel characteristics, we observe several types of device degradation, resulting from the long term changes of base and collector current in both lower and higher base–emitter voltage ranges which impacts the reduction of DC current gain. In this paper, we investigate the underlying physical mechanism of base and collector current degradation with the help of TCAD device simulation. We chose the HICUM model level2 for the modeling purpose to evaluate the drift of model parameters according to stress time. The evolution of the model parameters is described with suitable equations to achieve a physics based compact electrical aging model. The aging laws and the parameter evolution equations with stress time are implemented in compact electrical aging model which allows us to simulate the impact of device failure mechanisms on the circuit in operating conditions.     

CMOS and SiGe bipolar circuits for applications up to 110 GHz

Recently, CMOS has been demonstrated to be a viable technology for very-high-bit-rate broad-band and wireless communication systems up to 40 Gb/s and 50 GHz. Advances in device scaling and doping-profile optimization have also resulted in SiGe bipolar transistors with impressive performance, including cut-off frequencies of more than 200 GHz. This paper presents advances in circuit design which fully exploit the high-speed potential of a 0.13 µm CMOS technology up to 50 GHz and of a high-performance SiGe bipolar technology up to 110 GHz operating frequency. The combination of advanced circuit techniques and a state-of-the-art fabrication-process technology results in continuing the upward shift of the frequency limits.     

Efficient Non-Malleable Commitment Schemes

Non-malleability protects against man-in-the middle attacks on cryptographic protocols. Non-malleable commitment schemes, for example, assure that a commitment of a message does not help to produce a commitment of a related message. Here we present efficient constructions of such commitment schemes in the common reference string model based on standard assumptions such as RSA, factoring, or discrete logarithm. Our protocols require only three rounds and a few modular exponentiations, and provide statistical or even perfect secrecy of committed values.     

Telecommunications Demand and Pricing Structure: An Econometric Analysis

The main objective of this paper is to analyse residential demand by traffic destination, using a translogarithmic indirect utility function. We focus on five traffic directions, in order to construct a model adapted to evaluate the characteristics of telecommunications demand in a competitive market. The resulting price elasticities express high reactivity to own price changes for the main traffic directions, as well as little interactions between the different types of traffic. Moreover, the high values of income elasticities confirm the importance of income effects when analysing residential telecommunications demand. This model shows useful for welfare analysis. The computation of customers' income equivalent variation shows, on average, a higher willingness to pay for some traffic directions than the bill actually paid. Finally, we show that the optimal prices for the operator, in a cost minimisation point of view, are higher than the observed prices for local and national traffic directions. This emphasises the existence of important cross-subsidies among the different segments of customers.     

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...     

Licence de brevet et partage du risque: Résultats de simulation

Annals of Telecommunications - Le partage du risque est une des raisons les plus souvent avancées pour expliquer les clauses financières des contrats de licence. Pour autant, aucune...     

Self-assembled monolayers for electrode fabrication and efficient threshold voltage control of organic transistors with amorphous semiconductor layer

In this paper we show that thiolated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) can be used to anchor source–drain gold electrodes on the substrate, leading to excellent electrical performances of the organic field-effect transistor (OFET) on a par with those using a standard electrode process. Using an amorphous semiconductor and a gate dielectric functionalized with SAMs bearing different dipole moments, we demonstrate that we can tune the threshold voltage alone, while keeping nearly unchanged the other electrical properties (hole carrier mobility, I_on/I_off ratio, subthreshold swing). This differs from previous studies for which SAMs functionalization induced significant changes in all the OFET electrical performances. This result opens doors to design organic circuits using reproducible amorphous semiconductor based OFETs for which only the threshold voltage can be tuned on demand.