We report enhanced photocurrent properties of dye/Au-loaded titanium dioxide (TiO2) films on Au gratings. Au-loaded TiO2 nanopowders were first synthesized by a modified sol-gel method and then prepared by the impregnation method. We also fabricated dye-sensitized solar cells, which were composed of Au grating/Au-TiO2/TMPyP-SCC LbL (20 bilayers)/electrolyte/ITO substrates. Short-circuit photo-current measurements showed that Au-loaded TiO2 with grating-coupled surface plasmon excitation can enhance the short-circuit photocurrentof the fabricated cells.

We outline a number of high temperature superconducting Josephson junction-based devices including superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) developed for a wide range of applications including geophysical exploration, magnetic anomaly detection, terahertz (THz) imaging and microwave communications. All these devices are based on our patented technology for fabricating YBCO step-edge junction on MgO substrates. A key feature to the successful application of devices based on this technology is good stability, long term reliability, low noise and inherent flexibility of locating junctions anywhere on a substrate.

Fluoropolymer thin films were prepared by the ion-assisted vapor deposition polymerization (IAD) of 2-(perfluorohexyl)ethylacrylate (Rf-6). The adhesion strength of the film to substrates was estimated by sonicating the films in water and by immersing the films into dichloro-pentafluoro propane (HCFC225). The Rf-6 polymer films by IAD showed stronger adhesion to glass compared to a spin-coated Teflon AF film. The adhesion strength was improved with increasing ion energy Eion of IAD. The IAD films showed superior adhesion to PET surface compared to the glass substrate. The Rf-6 polymer film was effective as a single-layer antireflective coating. The refractive index of the film was 1.368 (λ = 546 nm), which increased slightly with increasing Eion. IAD can be a promising method to prepare fluoropolymer thin films due to the solvent-less process and the flexibility in controlling the film characteristics by the ion energy.

Among the cognitive radio technologies, cooperative spectrum sensing has been corroborated to be an effective approach to counter channel fading. Recent research about it is mainly with the assumption that secondary users (SUs) are synchronous with primary users (PUs). In this letter, we discuss the asynchronous situation for the first time, which means SUs have no idea about the communication time table of PUs' network. Based on the ON/OFF channel model, we derive the detection and false alarm probabilities, and the optimal sensing parameters under such asynchronous scenario. Simulation results are shown in the end.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) measures very weak neuromagnetic signals using SQUID sensors. Standard MEG analyses include averaged waveforms, isofield maps and equivalent current dipoles. Beamforming MEG analyses provide us with frequency-dependent spatiotemporal information about the cerebral oscillatory changes related to not only somatosensory processing but also language processing. Language dominance is able to be evaluated using laterality of power attenuation in the low γ band in the frontal area. Neuromagnetic signals of the unilateral upper movements are able to be decoded using a support vector machine.

We show an improved throughput scaling law for an ultra-wide band (UWB) ad hoc network by using a modified hierarchical cooperation (HC) strategy; the n wireless nodes are assumed to be randomly sited. In a dense network of unit area, our result indicates that the derived throughput scaling depends on the path-loss exponent α for certain operating regimes due to the power-limited characteristics. It also turns out that the use of HC is helpful in improving the throughput scaling of our UWB network in some conditions. More specifically, assuming that the bandwidth scales faster than nα+1(log n)α/2, it is shown that the HC protocol outperforms nearest multi-hop routing for 2 < α < 3 while using nearest multi-hop routing leads to higher throughput for α ≥ 3.

This paper is focused on discussing a low-voltage system for lightning, and in particular the testing equipment of surge arresters. Only by demonstrating the performance and applicability of arresters can we seek the most feasible and economic low-voltage solutions. After performing repeated experiments with the same testing samples, using different testing equipment, we compare the different test results in order to select the most suitable and applicable testing equipment. In addition, the basis of a surge current parameter design theory is confirmed and verified through the test results using a simple and compact Impulse Current Generator to test a wide range of samples. By performing the actual analyzes and experiments, we can understand deeply how R, L, and C affect surge current, current wave, and current wave time. The ideal testing equipment standards have been set as follows: (1) Test Voltage up to 20 kV; (2) Expand current range from 1.5 kA to 46.5 kA, with resolution 1.5 kA; and (3) Simple operational procedures.

This paper presents a joint linear processing scheme for two-hop and half-duplex distributed amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying networks with one source, one destination and multiple relays, each having multiple antennas. By using the minimum mean-square error (MMSE) criterion and the Wiener filter principle, the joint relay and destination design with perfect channel state information (CSI) is first formulated as an optimization problem with respect to the relay precoding matrix under the constraint of a total relay transmit power. The constrained optimization with an objective to design the relay block-diagonal matrix is then simplified to an equivalent problem with scalar optimization variables. Next, it is revealed that the scalar-version optimization is convex when the total relay power or the second-hop SNR (signal to noise ratio) is above a certain threshold. The underlying optimization problem, which is non-convex in general, is solved by complementary geometric programming (CGP). The proposed joint relay and destination design with perfect CSI is also extended for practical systems where only the channel mean and covariance matrix are available, leading to a robust processing scheme. Finally, Monte Carlo simulations are undertaken to demonstrate the superior MSE (mean-square error) and SER (symbol error rate) performances of the proposed scheme over the existing relaying method in the case of relatively large second-hop SNR.

To support mobility, multihoming, routing scalability, and security, there are a lot of proposals based on ID/Locator split approach not only for the current Internet but also for the future Internet. However, none of them meet the requirements for practical operation such as (1) support heterogeneous network layer protocols, (2) scalability of ID/Locator mapping system, (3) independence of mapping information management, and (4) avoidance of locator leakage beyond the administrative boundary. This paper proposes a network layer protocol called Z Network Protocol (ZNP) for the future Internet based on the clean slate approach. ZNP supports heterogeneity of network layer protocols by “Internetworking with a Common ID Space”. Its mapping systems meet the requirements (1)–(4) described above. For manipulating the mapping systems, Z Control Message Protocol (ZCMP) is designed. For resolving the link layer (L2) address from the ZNP Locator, Z Neighbor Discovery Protocol (ZNDP) is designed. We implement ZNP and ZNDP in the Linux kernel, ZCMP in the user space and measure the times needed for transmission, reception, forwarding, and locator conversion. The results show the practicability of ZNP as a network layer protocol for the future Internet.

In this letter, unlike the previous work in [2], the optimal power allocation in a non-orthogonal, amplify-and-forward (AF) relay-assisted transmission is investigated in the uplink. Here, the inter-user-interference among the signals from MTs and relays exists due to non-zero interference suppression factor (ISF), i.e., finite spreading factor. In this letter, we show that the optimal solution to achieve a 'max-min fairness' among mobile terminals can be alternatively obtained by solving its inverse problem. The impact of various ISFs as well as the Jain's fairness is investigated in comparison with the equal power allocation.

In this paper, an energy- and traffic-balance-aware mapping algorithm from IP cores to nodes in a network is proposed for application-specific Network-on-Chip(NoC). The multi-objective optimization model is set up by considering the NoC architecture, and addressed by the proposed mapping algorithm that decomposes mapping optimization into a number of scalar subproblems simultaneously. In order to show performance of the proposed algorithm, the application specific benchmark is applied in the simulation. The experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm has advantages in energy consumption and traffic balance over other algorithms.

We propose a novel network traffic matrix decomposition method named Stable Principal Component Pursuit with Frequency-Domain Regularization (SPCP-FDR), which improves the Stable Principal Component Pursuit (SPCP) method by using a frequency-domain noise regularization function. An experiment demonstrates the feasibility of this new decomposition method.

Given a graph G = (V,E) together with a nonnegative integer requirement on vertices r:V Z+, the annotated edge dominating set problem is to find a minimum set M ⊆ E such that, each edge in E - M is adjacent to some edge in M, and M contains at least r(v) edges incident on each vertex v ∈ V. The annotated edge dominating set problem is a natural extension of the classical edge dominating set problem, in which the requirement on vertices is zero. The edge dominating set problem is an important graph problem and has been extensively studied. It is well known that the problem is NP-hard, even when the graph is restricted to a planar or bipartite graph with maximum degree 3. In this paper, we show that the annotated edge dominating set problem in graphs with maximum degree 3 can be solved in O*(1.2721n) time and polynomial space, where n is the number of vertices in the graph. We also show that there is an O*(2.2306k)-time polynomial-space algorithm to decide whether a graph with maximum degree 3 has an annotated edge dominating set of size k or not.

In this paper, we consider a problem of simultaneously optimizing a sequence of graphs and a route which exhaustively visits the vertices from each pair of successive graphs in the sequence. This type of problem arises from repetitive routing of grasp-and-delivery robots used in the production of printed circuit boards. The problem is formulated as follows. We are given a metric graph G*=(V*,E*), a set of m+1 disjoint subsets Ci ⊆ V* of vertices with |Ci|=n, i=0,1,...,m, and a starting vertex s ∈ C0. We seek to find a sequence π=(Ci1, Ci2, ..., Cim) of the subsets of vertices and a shortest walk P which visits all (m+1)n vertices in G* in such a way that after starting from s, the walk alternately visits the vertices in Cik-1 and Cik, for k=1,2,...,m (i0=0). Thus, P is a walk with m(2n-1) edges obtained by concatenating m alternating Hamiltonian paths between Cik-1 and Cik, k=1,2,...,m. In this paper, we show that an approximate sequence of subsets of vertices and an approximate walk with at most three times the optimal route length can be found in polynomial time.

This paper considers online vertex exploration problems in a simple polygon where starting from a point in the inside of a simple polygon, a searcher is required to explore a simple polygon to visit all its vertices and finally return to the initial position as quickly as possible. The information of the polygon is given online. As the exploration proceeds, the searcher gains more information of the polygon. We give a 1.219-competitive algorithm for this problem. We also study the case of a rectilinear simple polygon, and give a 1.167-competitive algorithm.

A stopping criterion is an indispensable function to reduce unnecessary power consumption and decoding delay in turbo decoding. Until now, a common design philosophy in previous works has involved using the entire block of information from the MAP decoder and its input/output information to calculate the stopping index. It is an intuitive method but suffers from heavy memory requirements and high calculation complexity. In this paper, a low-complexity stopping criterion is proposed that avoids the aforementioned disadvantages. A general abstraction model is utilized to analyze the design bottleneck of stopping criteria. Instead of using an entire block of information, a compact representation derived from the internal information of the MAP decoder at a single time instant is used as a low-complexity stopping index. Theoretical explanation is provided to justify the feasibility of the proposed criterion. Simulation results show that the proposed criterion can reduce the complexity of stopping criterion dramatically while continuing to achieve the same level of performance as previous works.

The Start-frame-delimiter (SFD) is crucial in packet-based communications system since it indicates the end of preamble and the start of a frame. In 802.15 smart utility network system, the function of SFD is extended. Two different SFDs are used for achieving frame synchronization and at the same time, to differentiate coded and uncoded packets. This paper proposes a systematic method for the selection of SFD pair for FSK based systems. The design method is adopted by 802.15.4g Task Group with the backward compatibility to IEEE 802.15.4d systems taken into account. Four selection criteria are specified and discussed to determine the pair of sequences providing least packet error detection rate with the consideration of eliminating the adjacent channel image signal commonly occurred in the low IF receiver. The probability of false alarm and miss detection is analyzed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed selection method. The simulation results confirm that error frame detection rate of 1e-3 can be achieved with selected SFD sequences. The proposed method for selection of SFD pairs ensures a robust packet header and thus better payload protection. The SFD design approach is applicable to other packet-based wireless communication FSK systems with the support of more than one SFD sequence.

Flat Panel Displays (FPDs) are manufactured using many pieces of different processing equipment arranged sequentially in a line. Although the constant inter-arrival time (i.e., the tact time) of glass substrates in the line should be kept as short as possible, the collision probability between glass substrates increases as tact time decreases. Since the glass substrate is expensive and fragile, collisions should be avoided. In this paper, we derive a closed form formula of the approximate collision probability for a model, in which the processing time on each piece of equipment is assumed to follow Erlang distribution. We also compare some numerical results of the closed form and computer simulation results of the collision probability.

PREIMAGE CONSTRUCTION problem by Kratsch and Hemaspaandra naturally arose from the famous graph reconstruction conjecture. It deals with the algorithmic aspects of the conjecture. We present an O(n8) time algorithm for PREIMAGE CONSTRUCTION on permutation graphs and an O(n4(n+m)) time algorithm for PREIMAGE CONSTRUCTION on distance-hereditary graphs, where n is the number of graphs in the input, and m is the number of edges in a preimage. Since each graph of the input has n-1 vertices and O(n2) edges, the input size is O(n3) (, or O(nm)). There are polynomial time isomorphism algorithms for permutation graphs and distance-hereditary graphs. However the number of permutation (distance-hereditary) graphs obtained by adding a vertex to a permutation (distance-hereditary) graph is generally exponentially large. Thus exhaustive checking of these graphs does not achieve any polynomial time algorithm. Therefore reducing the number of preimage candidates is the key point.

This paper proposes an agent-based modeling and simulation methodology for analyzing the tactical and operational effectiveness of warfare environment. To do this, we adopt the advanced agent modeling principle, HEAP (Hierarchical Encapsulation and Abstraction Principle), as well as the hierarchical modeling and simulation framework, SES/MB (System Entity Structure/Model Base). Proposed methodology is differentiated from other conventional agent-based defense M&S approaches in that; (i) it supports an intelligent hierarchical multi-agent architecture, (ii) it provides an efficient mechanism for analyzing the strategic and operational effectiveness of warfare environment between multiple platforms. The proposed methodology is successfully applied to the two by two warships warfare simulation for analyzing the tactical effectiveness.