Some conventional beamformers require the direction of the desired signal. The performance of such beamformers can substantially be degraded even in the presence of small error on the directional information. In this letter, we propose a prefilter-type beamforming scheme robust to directional error by employing a simple compensator. The performance of the proposed scheme is verified by computer simulation.

In order to achieve a transponder antenna for intersection collision avoidance systems in Intelligent Transport Systems, a lens horn antenna that generates a cosecant squared beam is developed. This paper clarifies the method for designing the antenna to achieve accurate radiation pattern synthesis. A H-plane sectral horn is selected. The ray tracing method is employed in the design of the lens shape. The aperture of the horn is determined to be seven wavelengths based on a comparison of calculated radiation patterns and the desired cosecant squared beam shape. Accurate electrical performance, such as radiation patterns and electrical fields in the horn, is calculated using Finite Difference Time Domain software. Electrical field disturbances caused by reflected waves at the lens surfaces expanded widely inside the small horn. As a result, sidelobe levels of the radiation patterns are increased. In order to eliminate these disturbances, matching layers are attached to the shaped lens surface. Then, electrical field distributions in the horn are recovered and disturbances disappear. Measured radiation patterns become almost the same as that designed using the ray tracing method. The results show that application of the ray tracing method to radiation pattern synthesis of a small lens horn antenna is effective. We clarify the electrical field disturbances caused by reflections at the lens surfaces and show that eliminating the reflection at the lens surface by attaching matching layers is very important to achieving radiation pattern synthesis.

This letter studies the impact of chip waveform shaping on the multiple access interference (MAI) in band-limited direct sequence code-division multiple access (DS-CDMA) systems. The family of band-limited waveforms with zero interchip interference (ICI) and with an excess bandwidth β in the range 0β 1 is considered. A criterion for the performance comparison of various band-limited chip waveforms based on the elementary density function is established. The effect of varying the roll-off factor of a band-limited chip waveform on the MAI level is also investigated.

In this paper, we propose two adaptive filtering schemes for Stereophonic Acoustic Echo Cancellation (SAEC), which are based on the adaptive projected subgradient method (Yamada et al., 2003). To overcome the so-called non-uniqueness problem, the schemes utilize a certain preprocessing technique which generates two different states of input signals. The first one simultaneously uses, for fast convergence, data from two states of inputs, meanwhile the other selects, for stability, data based on a simple min-max criteria. In addition to the above difference, the proposed schemes commonly enjoy (i) robustness against noise by introducing the stochastic property sets, and (ii) only linear computational complexity, since it is free from solving systems of linear equations. Numerical examples demonstrate that the proposed schemes achieve, even in noisy situations, compared with the conventional technique, (i) much faster and more stable convergence in the learning process as well as (ii) lower level mis-identification of echo paths and higher level Echo Return Loss Enhancement (ERLE) around the steady state.

This paper proposes an alternative learning algorithm for a stereophonic acoustic echo canceller without pre-processing which can identify the correct echo-paths. By dividing the filter coefficients into the former/latter parts and updating them alternatively, conditions both for unique solution and for perfect echo cancellation are satisfied. The learning for each part is switched from one part to the other when that part converges. Convergence analysis clarifies the condition for correct echo-path identification. For fast and stable convergence, a convergence detection and an adaptive step-size are introduced. The modification amount of the filter coefficients determines the convergence state and the step-size. Computer simulations show 10 dB smaller filter coefficient error than those of the conventional algorithms without pre-processing.

This paper proposes a new implementation of an adaptive noise canceller based upon a parallel block structure, which aims to raise the processing and convergence rates and to improve the steady-state performance. The procedure is as follows: First, an IIR bandpass filter with a variable center angular frequency using adaptive Q-factor control and two adaptive control signal generators are realized by the parallel block structure. Secondly, a new algorithm for adaptive Q-factor control with parallel block structure is proposed to improve the convergence characteristic. In addition, the steady-state performance of the filter is stabilized by using the variable step size parameter in adaptive control of the center frequency and the speed up of the convergence rate is achieved by adopting a normalized gradient algorithm for adaptive control. Finally, simulation results are given to demonstrate the convergence performance.

The paper reviews methods for the measurement and analysis of high precision surfaces. A number of measurement techniques are discussed with the emphasis on the application of con-focal methods. The various techniques are compared in terms of measurement times, data density, and the ability to detect near vertical surfaces, and steps. The two sensing methods discussed are the auto-focus laser method and the white light methods. Particular applications considered are in the measurement of eroded electrical contact surfaces, spherical and near spherical surfaces, and MEMS. The particular emphasis here is on the metrology of such surfaces and devices and methods for the assessment of complex micro-machined surfaces. The paper points to a number of directions for improved metrology and discusses these in the context of the application given.

The conventional algorithms in the echo canceling system have drawback when they are faced with double-talk condition in noisy environment. Since the double-talk and noise signal are exist, then the error signal is contaminated to estimate the gradient correctly. In this paper, we define a new class of adaptive algorithm for tap adaptations, based on the correlation function processing. The computer simulation results show that the Correlation LMS (CLMS) and the Extended CLMS (ECLMS) algorithms have better performance than conventional LMS algorithm. In order to implement the ECLMS algorithm, the Frequency domain Extended CLMS (FECLMS) algorithm is proposed to reduce the computational complexity. However the convergence speed is not sufficient. In order to improve the convergence speed, the Wavelet domain Extended CLMS (WECLMS) algorithm is proposed. The computer simulation results support the theoretical findings and verify the robustness of the proposed WECLMS algorithm in the double-talk situation.

We have developed a code-division-multiplexing (CDM) transmission scheme for future cellular communication systems, which uses cyclic shifted-and-extended (CSE) codes generated from an M-sequence to enable seamless communication in highly mobile environments. Because the correlation characteristics of CSE codes are determined by the M-sequence, the cross-correlation values are accumulated as a result of combining transmitted signals with opposite polarities in parallel channels. The accumulated cross-correlation values significantly degrade transmission performance, especially with multi-level modulation schemes such as quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). We thus propose a cancellation technique to eliminate the accumulated cross-correlation values. We have evaluated the transmission performance of the CDM transmission scheme with the proposed technique by computer simulation. The new scheme enables high-quality data transmission in fast-fading channels.

This paper presents a multipath interference canceller (MPIC) configuration based on multipath interference (MPI) replica generation per transmit antenna (called PTA-MPIC). This configuration is associated with Space Time Transmit Diversity (STTD) for the common control physical channel (CCPCH), which takes advantage of tentative decision data after STTD decoding, and with closed-loop type phase control (PC) transmit diversity for the dedicated physical channel (DPCH) employing tentative decision data after diversity combining, in the W-CDMA forward link. This paper also proposes transmitter carrier phase verification, i.e., an antenna verification method used in PC transmit diversity, that utilizes the dedicated pilot symbols in a DPCH after the PTA-MPIC removes the MPI components. The one-stage PTA-MPIC removes the MPI from the common pilot channel (CPICH), the CCPCH, and the synchronization channel (SCH). The simulation results show that this canceller reduces the required average transmit Eb/N0 of the DPCH at the average BER of 10-3 by approximately 3.0 dB compared to that using a MF-based Rake receiver (the transmit power ratio of each common channel to DPCH is RCPICH/DPCH = 3 dB, RCCPCH/DPCH = 5 dB, and RSCH/DPCH = 3 dB, with TPC and without antenna diversity reception at the user equipment). Furthermore, it is shown that in the two-stage PTA-MPIC with MPI suppression for all channels associated with PC transmit diversity, the required average transmit Eb/N0 employing the proposed antenna verification is reduced by approximately 0.3 dB, 0.5 dB, and 1.2 dB compared to that using the conventional antenna verification when the transmission power ratio of the interfering DPCH to the desired DPCH is RInt/Des = 0 dB, 3 dB, and 6 dB for ten DPCHs. This is because the number of detection errors of the transmitted carrier phase in the second antenna due to feedback information bit decoding error is reduced.

The lithography process on the deep trench pattern above the large cavity is proposed to fabricate the MEMS structure. Generally, bubbles generated on the trench patterns when it was baked after coating resist. The probability of the generation of bubbles was reduced by decreasing the backing rate. The fast scanning micromirror with 50.8 kHz resonant frequency was fabricated by controlling the backing rate.

Development of new sliding contact, usable under sever conditions such as high-temperature, extremely low-temperature or high vacuum, has recently become an urgent necessity. This research mainly examined the contact resistance and coefficient of friction of 3 kinds of self-lubricant composite materials with electrical conductivity and mechanical stiffness. The result showed that a composite material (CMML-1) containing the least quantity of solid lubricants [WS2, Gr.(Graphite)] among them was low in both contact resistance and coefficient of friction and less in fluctuation. By EPMA analysis, contribution of Sn to electrical conductivity was suggested.

This letter considers multiple access systems without bandwidth expansion. To improve the spectral efficiency, each user employs a QPSK modulation. The orientation of QPSK constellations is designed to maximize the minimum distance of the superimposed symbol constellation. The upper and lower bounds for the error performance of the proposed design demonstrate its advantage.

A fully differential direct conversion receiver IC for W-CDMA is presented. The receiver IC consists of an LNA, a quadrature demodulator, low-pass filters (LPFs), and variable gain amplifiers (VGAs). In order to suppress DC offset, which is the most important issue in a direct conversion system, an active harmonic mixer is applied to the quadrature demodulator. Furthermore, a receiving system, including the LNA and an RF filter, adopts a differential architecture to reduce local signal leakage, which generates DC offset. Performance of the entire receiving system was evaluated and DC offset in steady state was measured at only 40 mV. Moreover, DC offset variation at the LNA gain change, which has the largest affect on the receiving performance, was limited to 70 mV, which is less than -10 dB compared to desired signal strength. It was confirmed by computer simulation that the DC offset variation at the LNA gain change did not degrade bit error rate (BER) performance at all.

The non-individualized head related transfer function (HRTF) is known to have a few problems, which are referred to as the 'hole in the middle' phenomenon and 'front-back reversals.' To overcome these problems, an HRTF refinement technique was introduced, but unfortunately, this refinement technique causes sudden degradation in sound quality and difficulty in cross-talk cancellation because of notch frequency exaggeration. In this paper, an HRTF refinement using directional weighting function is proposed. This newly proposed technique weights ordinary HRTF according to its direction to amplify frontal sound intensity. Since the proposed technique does not exaggerate the notch frequency, spectral differences in the 'cone-of-confusion' region become more pronounced within overall audible frequencies, resulting in mitigating the sound degradation. In addition, the cross-talk cancellation can be done more easily. We verified the superiority of the proposed technique over the existing one by means of the sound localization and sound quality tests in headphone and loudspeakers.

A linear-in-dB gain-control amplifier for direct conversion systems employs linearized transconductors in a core amp, a dc offset canceler, and a gain control circuit. The offset compensation circuit achieves a constant corner frequency over a gain range of 14 to 76 dB by simultaneous tuning of the transconductors.

We present a new space-time successive interference cancellation (ST-SIC) scheme with multiple transceiver antennas for direct-sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) systems. The proposed scheme is computationally very efficient, while maintains the performance close to the previous space-time multiuser detection (ST-MUD) scheme. The bit error rate (BER) performance of the ST-SIC scheme for coherent phase shift keying (PSK) modulation is analytically examined in Rayleigh fading channels, and its validity and usefulness are demonstrated by computer simulations.

In this paper, the design of signature waveforms for asynchronous CDMA systems equipped with a correlation receiver is first considered. Optimal signature waveforms that minimize the average multiple access interference (MAI) at the output of a correlation receiver are found, while satisfying the constraint on available transmission bandwidth. Comparison to signature waveforms previously obtained for synchronous systems is also made to justify the superior performance of the designed signature waveforms in asynchronous systems. Furthermore, for direct-sequence CDMA (DS-CDMA) systems with random signature sequences, the use of multiple chip waveforms is also proposed as a means of suppressing MAI. Bandwidth constrained multiple chip waveforms that maximize the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) at the output of each correlation receiver are found. Numerical results show that by using double chip waveforms instead of a single chip waveform, it is possible to reduce the MAI by 10% for a fixed transmission bandwidth (or equivalently, to save about 10% of transmission bandwidth for a given SIR requirement). The advantage of using double chip waveforms is also demonstrated in terms of the bit error rate (BER), whose calculation is based on our extension to Holtzman's approximation in.

We consider a new post-filtering algorithm for residual acoustic echo cancellation in hands-free application. The new post-filtering algorithm is composed of AR analysis, pitch prediction, and noise reduction algorithm. The residual acoustic echo is whitened via AR analysis and pitch prediction during no near-end talker period and then is cancelled by noise reduction algorithm. By removing speech characteristics of the residual acoustic echo, noise reduction algorithm reduces the power of the residual acoustic echo as well as the ambient noise. For the hands-free application in the moving car, the proposed system attenuated the interferences more than 15 dB at a constant speed of 80 km/h.

We present an overview of our work on the application of scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) to photonic crystal structures. Our results show that SNOM can be used to map the subwavelength confinement of light to a point-defect in a 2D photonic crystal microresonator. Comparison with numerical modelling shows that SNOM is able to resolve patterns in the intensity distribution that are due to the slight non-uniformity in the crystal structure. We also discuss the future possibilities for applications of different modes of SNOM to photonic crystal devices.