PEEC capacitance extraction of 3-D interconnects

As feature size of electronic devices decreases, fast and accurate capacitance extraction has become increasingly critical for verification and analysis as regard as electromagnetic compatibility and signal integrity issues. The partial element equivalent circuit method is implemented for three-dimensional capacitance extraction of interconnects and very large-scale integration circuits with multiple dielectrics. The electric field coupling due to free and bound charges are analysed and modelled separately thus allowing to distinguish their contribution. The proposed approach provides physical insight, totally compatible fast methods for accelerating matrix-vector products, allows an easy treatment of lossy and dispersive dielectrics and is well suited for applying model order reduction techniques     

Design of signal-adapted multidimensional lifting scheme for lossy coding

This paper proposes a new method for the design of lifting filters to compute a multidimensional nonseparable wavelet transform. Our approach is stated in the general case, and is illustrated for the 2-D separable and for the quincunx images. Results are shown for the JPEG2000 database and for satellite images acquired on a quincunx sampling grid. The design of efficient quincunx filters is a difficult challenge which has already been addressed for specific cases. Our approach enables the design of less expensive filters adapted to the signal statistics to enhance the compression efficiency in a more general case. It is based on a two-step lifting scheme and joins the lifting theory with Wiener's optimization. The prediction step is designed in order to minimize the variance of the signal, and the update step is designed in order to minimize a reconstruction error. Application for lossy compression shows the performances of the method.     

The metabolic anatomy of tremor in Parkinson's disease

OBJECTIVE: To identify regional metabolic brain networks related specifically to the presence of tremor in PD. BACKGROUND: The pathophysiology of parkinsonian tremor is unknown. Because tremor in PD occurs mainly in repose, we used resting state PET with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) to identify specific metabolic brain networks associated with this clinical manifestation. METHODS: We studied two discrete groups of eight PD patients with and without tremor using FDG/PET. Both patient groups were matched for gender, age, and Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale ratings for akinesia and rigidity. Ten normal volunteer subjects served as controls. RESULTS: Network analysis with the Scaled Subprofile Model was performed in two steps. 1) We computed the expression of the PD-related pattern (PDRP) identified by us previously in each of the PD patients and control subjects. Although PDRP subject scores were abnormally elevated in the combined PD cohort (p < 0.005), these values did not differ in the PD patient groups with and without tremor (p = 0.36). 2) We used SSM to analyze the data from the combined PD cohort comprising both patient groups. We found that PD patients with tremor were characterized by increased expression of a metabolic network comprising the thalamus, pons, and premotor cortical regions. Subject scores for this pattern were elevated in the tremor group compared with the atremulous patient group and the normal control group (p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that PD patients with tremor are characterized by distinct increases in the functional activity of thalamo-motor cortical projections. Modulation of this functional anatomic pathway is likely to be the mechanism for successful interventions for the relief of parkinsonian tremor.     

Rheological behaviour of multiphase slurries for combustion applications

The rheological behaviour of a concentrated coal-water-fuel oil slurry was investigated with a tube viscometer, to optimize its formulation. The non-Newtonian character of the slurry follows the rheological model of Ostwald de Waele, according to the experimental results obtained. A factorial plan was used and empirical equations were obtained which correlate rheological characteristics with the mass fractions of the slurry components.     

Optimal decoder for block-transform based video coders

In this paper, we introduce a new decoding algorithm for DCT-based video encoders, such as Motion JPEG (M-JPEG), H26x, or MPEG. This algorithm considers not only the compression artifacts but also the ones due to transmission, acquisition or storage of the video. The novelty of our approach is to jointly tackle these two problems, using a variational approach. The resulting decoder is object-based, allowing independent and adaptive processing of objects and backgrounds, and considers available information provided by the bitstream, such as quantization steps, and motion vectors. Several experiments demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method. Objective and subjective quality assessment methods are used to evaluate the improvement upon standard algorithms, such as the deblocking and deringing filters included in MPEG-4 postprocessing.     

Customizing MRI-Compatible Multifunctional Neural Interfaces through Fiber Drawing

Fiber drawing enables scalable fabrication of multifunctional flexible fibers that integrate electrical, optical, and microfluidic modalities to record and modulate neural activity. Constraints on thermomechanical properties of materials, however, have prevented integrated drawing of metal electrodes with low-loss polymer waveguides for concurrent electrical recording and optical neuromodulation. Here, two fabrication approaches are introduced: 1) an iterative thermal drawing with a soft, low melting temperature (T_m) metal indium, and 2) a metal convergence drawing with traditionally non-drawable high T_m metal tungsten. Both approaches deliver multifunctional flexible neural interfaces with low-impedance metallic electrodes and low-loss waveguides, capable of recording optically-evoked and spontaneous neural activity in mice over several weeks. These fibers are coupled with a light-weight mechanical microdrive (1 g) that enables depth-specific interrogation of neural circuits in mice following chronic implantation. Finally, the compatibility of these fibers with magnetic resonance imaging is demonstrated and they are applied to visualize the delivery of chemical payloads through the integrated channels in real time. Together, these advances expand the domains of application of the fiber-based neural probes in neuroscience and neuroengineering.     

Wavelet packet-based EMI signal processing and sourceidentification

Existing techniques for recognizing and identifying disturbed signals waveforms are primarily based on visual inspection. This paper proposes a wavelet packet based technique to perform a feature extraction from the disturbance signal and a classification of the extracted features in order to identify the possible causes of the disturbance. The same wavelet based procedure is applied to signal compression and denoising in order to make the EMC analysis of the data easier     

A Low-Frequency Accurate Cavity Model for Transient Analysis of Power-Ground Structures

With increased operating frequencies and circuit component density, signal and power integrity problems caused by voltage bounces have become more important for high-speed digital systems. This paper presents a systematic macromodeling of power-bus structures based on the cavity model: first, more accurate models are used to describe conductor and dielectric losses, thus improving accuracy at low frequencies; second, a rational model of the overall power/ground structure in the Laplace domain is presented, and third, the rational macromodel is used to identify the dominant poles, and a simplified SPICE-compatible equivalent circuit is synthesized by using only the selected poles. The numerical results confirm the correctness and effectiveness of the method.     

Equivalent network synthesis for via holes discontinuities

A methodology is presented for the synthesis of the passive equivalent circuit of via holes in multilayer printed circuit boards. The paper describes the network synthesis starting from the extraction of the poles and residues from the driving point transfer functions for two port networks. The via hole is partitioned into elementary structures assumed not electromagnetically coupled and the scattering parameters for each one of them are evaluated by using a numerical approach suitably validated by comparison with results computed by other independent numerical methods. The equivalent circuit of the complete via hole is given by the cascading of the circuits of the elementary structures. The proposed technique is validated by comparing the computed scattering parameters with those from measurements for real test boards.     

Nonorthogonal PEEC formulation for time- and frequency-domain EM and circuit modeling

Electromagnetic solvers based on the partial element equivalent circuit (PEEC) approach have proven to be well suited for the solution of combined circuit and EM problems. The inclusion of all types of Spice circuit elements is possible. Due to this, the approach has been used in many different tools. Most of these solvers have been based on a rectangular or Manhattan representation of the geometries. In this paper, we systematically extend the PEEC formulation to nonorthogonal geometries since many practical EM problems require a more general formulation. Importantly, the model given in this paper is consistent with the classical PEEC model for rectangular geometries. Some examples illustrating the application of the approach are given for both the time and frequency domain.