This paper describes, for the first time, an experimental study on the layout design considerations of GaAs HBT MMIC switchable-amplifier-chain-based power amplifiers (SWPAs) for CDMA handsets. The transient response of the quiescent current and output power (Pout) in GaAs HBT power amplifiers that consist of a main chain and a sub-chain is often affected by a thermal coupling between power stages and their bias circuits in the same chain or a thermal coupling between power stages and/or their bias circuits in different chains. In particular, excessively strong thermal coupling inside the MMIC SWPA causes failure in 3GPP-compliant inner loop power control tests. An experimental study reveals that both the preheating in the main/sub-chains and appropriate thermal coupling inside the main chain are very effective in reducing the turn-on delay for the two-parallel-amplifier-chain topology; for example, i) the sub-power stage is arranged near the main power stage, ii) the sub-driver stage is placed near the main driver stage and iii) the main driver bias circuit is placed near the main power stage and the sub-power stage. The SWPA operating in Band 9 (1749.9 to 1784.9 MHz), which was designed and fabricated from the foregoing considerations, shows a remarkable improvement in the Pout turn-on delay: a reduced power level error of 0.74 dB from turn-off to turn-on in the sub-amplifier chain and a reduced power level error of over 0.30 dB from turn-off to turn-on in the main amplifier chain. The main RF power measurements conducted with a 3.4-V supply voltage and a Band 9 WCDMA HSDPA modulated signal are as follows. The SWPA delivers a Pout of 28.5 dBm, a power gain (Gp) of 28 dB, and a PAE of 39% while restricting the ACLR1 to less than -40 dBc in the main amplifier chain. In the sub-amplifier chain, 17 dBm of Pout, 23.5 dB of Gp, and 27% of PAE are obtained at the same ACLR1 level.

CMOS amperometric sensors with a microelectrode array offer great potential for counting bacteria because of their low cost, compact size, and ease of use. This paper presents a current-integration-based CMOS amperometric sensor for high-sensitivity bacteria counting. It has a current integrator for noise reduction and reportedly the most large-scale microelectrode array (1024 × 1024). This proposed sensor can count the number of bacteria ranging from a single cell to approximately a million cells. A prototype chip was fabricated using two-poly three-metal (2P3M) 0.6-µm standard CMOS technology. A 7.6 × 7.1-mm2 chip operates from a 5V supply at 1.9mA. In addition, by using the prototype chip, we performed electrochemical measurement and partial 2D imaging of silicone through constant potential amperometry. The measurement results indicate that the proposed sensor chip was able to accurately readout redox current from the 1024 × 1024 sensor array.

In heterogenous networks (HetNets), the deployment of small cells with the reuse of limited frequency resources to improve the spectral efficiency results in cross- and co-tier interference. In addition, the excessive power usage in such networks is also a critical problem. In this paper, we propose precoding and postcoding schemes to tackle interference and energy efficiency (EE) challenges in the two-tier downlink multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) HetNets. We propose transmission strategies based on hierarchical partial coordination (HPC) of the macro cell and small cells to reduce channel state information (CSI) exchange and guarantee the quality of service (QoS) in the upper tier with any change of network deployment in the lower tier. We employ the interference alignment (IA) scheme to cancel cross- and co-tier interference. Additionally, to maximize the EE, power allocation schemes in each tier are proposed based on a combination of Dinkelbach's method and the bisection searching approach. To investigate insights on the optimization problem, a theoretical analysis on the relationship between the maximum achievable EE and the transmit power is derived. Simulation results prove the superior EE performance of the proposed EE maximization scheme over the sum rate maximization approach and confirm the validity of our theoretical findings.

The increase in network access devices and demand for high quality of service (QoS) by the users have led to insufficient capacity for the network operators. Moreover, the existing control equipment and mechanisms are not flexible and agile enough for the dynamically changing environment of heterogeneous cellular networks (HetNets). This non-agile control plane is hard to scale with ever increasing traffic demand and has become the performance bottleneck. Furthermore, the new HetNet architecture requires tight coordination and cooperation for the densely deployed small cell base stations, particularly for interference mitigation and dynamic frequency reuse and sharing. These issues further complicate the existing control plane and can cause serious inefficiencies in terms of users' quality of experience and network performance. This article presents an SDN control framework for energy efficient downlink/uplink scheduling in HetNets. The framework decouples the control plane from data plane by means of a logically centralized controller with distributed agents implemented in separate entities of the network (users and base stations). The scheduling problem consists of three sub-problems: (i) user association, (ii) power control, (iii) resource allocation and (iv) interference mitigation. Moreover, these sub-problems are coupled and must be solved simultaneously. We formulate the DL/UL scheduling in HetNet as an optimization problem and use the Markov approximation framework to propose a distributed economical algorithm. Then, we divide the algorithm into three sub-routines for (i) user association, (ii) power control, (iii) resource allocation and (iv) interference mitigation. These sub-routines are then implemented on different agents of the SDN framework. We run extensive simulation to validate our proposal and finally, present the performance analysis.

This paper illustrates various content sharing systems that take advantage of cloud's storage and computational resources as well as their supporting conventional technologies. First, basic technology concepts supporting cloud-based systems from a client-server to cloud computing as well as their relationships and functional linkages are shown. Second, the taxonomy of cloud-based system models from the aspect of multiple clouds' interoperability is explained. Interoperability can be categorized into provider-centric and client-centric scenarios. Each can be further divided into federated clouds, hybrid clouds, multi-clouds and aggregated service by broker. Third, practical cloud-based systems related to contents sharing are reported and their characteristics are discussed. Finally, future direction of cloud-based content sharing is suggested.

Adaptive and flexible network control technology is considered essential for efficient network resource utilization. Moreover, such technology is becoming a key to cost-effectively meet diverse service requirements and accommodate heavier traffic with limited network resources; demands that conventional static operation cannot satisfy. To address this issue, we previously studied dynamic network control technology for large-capacity network services including on-demand broad bandwidth provisioning services and layer-one VPN. Our previous study introduced a simple weighting function for achieving fairness in terms of path length and proposed two dynamic Make Before Break Routing algorithms for reducing blocking probability. These algorithms enhance network utilization by rerouting existing paths to alternative routes while completely avoiding disruption for highly reliable services. However, the impact of this avoidance of service disruption on blocking probability has not been clarified. In this paper, we propose modified versions of the algorithms that enhance network utilization while slightly increasing disruption by rerouting, which enable us to elucidate the effectiveness of hitless rerouting. We also provide extensive evaluations including a comparison of original and modified algorithms. Numerical examples demonstrate that they achieve not only a high degree of fairness but also low service blocking probability. Hitless rerouting is achieved with a small increase in blocking probability.

The present paper introduces the construction of quadriphase sequences having a zero-correlation zone. For a zero-correlation zone sequence set of N sequences, each of length l, the cross-correlation function and the side lobe of the autocorrelation function of the proposed sequence set are zero for the phase shifts τ within the zero-correlation zone z, such that |τ|≤z (τ ≠ 0 for the autocorrelation function). The ratio $rac{N(z+1)}{ell}$ is theoretically limited to one. When l=N(z+1), the sequence set is called an optimal zero-correlation sequence set. The proposed zero-correlation zone sequence set can be generated from an arbitrary Hadamard matrix of order n. The length of the proposed sequence set can be extended by sequence interleaving, where m times interleaving can generate 4n sequences, each of length 2m+3n. The proposed sequence set is optimal for m=0,1 and almost optimal for m>1.

In this paper, a non-isolated bidirectional DC-DC converter with zero voltage switching and constant switching frequency is proposed. Unlike the active clamp bidirectional converters, to create soft switching condition in both direction, only one auxiliary switch is used, which reduces conduction losses and the complexity of the circuit. The proposed converter is controlled by pulse width modulation and the switches are gated complementary, thus the implementation of the control circuit is simple. Low switching losses, high efficiency, high power density, are the advantages of this converter. The simulation and experimental results of the converter verify theoretical analysis. Based on an implemented prototype of the proposed converter at 80 watts, the measured efficiency is 96.5%.

Zero correlation zone (ZCZ) aperiodic complementary sequence (ZACS) sets have potential applications in multi-carriers (MC) CDMA communication systems, which can support more users than traditional complementary sequence sets. In this letter, methods for constructing ZACS sets based on orthogonal matrices are proposed. The new constructions may propose ZACS sets with optimal parameters. The new ZACS sets can be applied in approximately synchronized MC-CDMA to remove interferences.

For reliable communication, this letter proposes cooperative transmission scheme with spatial phase coding (SPC) in the edge area among base stations. The diversity method has the a difficulty in terms of the price and complexity in a base station with multiple antennas. Thus, this problem may be resolved by using the cooperative scheme among the base stations and the proposed scheme increases that uses economically resource by using less feedback bits. Especially, if the coverage of many base stations is overlapped, the performance of the proposed scheme is improved. From the simulation results, the proposed scheme has the better performance compared to the conventional scheme in heterogeneous network.

In this paper, we present two classes of zero difference balanced (ZDB) functions, which are derived by difference balanced functions, and a class of perfect ternary sequences respectively. The proposed functions have parameters not covered in the literature, and can be used to design optimal constant composition codes, and perfect difference systems of sets.

To deal with the recent explosion of mobile data traffic, heterogeneous cellular networks, in which a large number of small cells are deployed in a macro-cell coverage area, are considered to be a promising approach. However, when a mobile terminal (MT) traveling at a high velocity moves through several small cells in a short period of time, the frequent handovers (HOs) that occur between small cells lead to a deterioration of user quality of experience. To avoid such HO problems, while improving the network capacity in the heterogeneous cellular network, it is effective to introduce an inter-layer HO control policy where MTs traveling at high velocities are connected to the macro-cell layer to reduce the number of HOs and MTs traveling at low velocities or which are stationary are connected to the small-cell layer for offloading traffic from the macro-cells to the small-cells. However, to realize such inter-layer HO control policy in the heterogeneous cellular network, it is crucial to estimate the velocity of each MT. Due to the technological constraints of MT velocity estimation based on the Global Positioning Systems (GPS), we focus on MT velocity estimation algorithms which do not require information provided by GPS. First, we discuss the issues of the existing MT velocity estimation algorithms and then focus on a MT velocity estimation algorithm based on a conventional Doppler spread detection using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Since few studies have evaluated Doppler spread based MT velocity estimation techniques for practical communication systems in actual radio propagation environments, we implement the MT velocity estimation algorithm to a Long Term Evolution (LTE) based experimental system, and perform its field experiments. Based on these experimental results we also evaluate the high or low velocity decision accuracy for the inter-layer HO control policy and show that good decision accuracy is achieved in both line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) outdoor propagation environment. These results show its feasibility for practical mobile communication systems in actual radio propagation environments.

Wafers with smooth Au thin films (rms surface roughness: < 0.5nm, thickness: < 50nm) were successfully bonded in ambient air at room temperature after an Ar radio frequency plasma activation process. The room temperature bonded glass wafers without any heat treatment showed a sufficiently high die-shear strength of 47-70MPa. Transmission electron microscopy observations showed that direct bonding on the atomic scale was achieved. This surface-activated bonding method is expected to be a useful technique for future heterogeneous photonic integration.

The layered cell configuration, in which a large number of small cells are set in a macro-cell coverage area, is attracting much attention recently as a promising approach to handle the rapidly increasing mobile data traffic. In this configuration, cells of various sizes, from macro to small, are placed in various locations, so that the variation in the number and the distribution of the users among cells becomes much wider than in conventional macro-cell homogeneous networks. Therefore, even in the layered cell configuration, the users in the cell with many users and low received signal quality may experience low throughput especially at cell edge. This is because such users experience both low spectral efficiency and few radio resources. In order to resolve this issue, a lot of techniques have been proposed such as load balancing and cooperative multi-point transmission. In this paper, we focus on scheduling priority control as a simple solution that can also be used in combination with load balancing and coordinated multi-point transmission. We propose an adaptive scheduling priority control scheme based on the congestion and user distribution of each cell and clarify the effect of the proposed method by computer simulations.

Controlling synchrony as well as desynchrony in a network of neuronal oscillators has been one of the focus issues in nonlinear science and engineering. It has been well known that spike stimuli injected commonly to multiple neurons can synchronize them if the strength of the common spike stimuli is high enough. Our recent study showed that this common spike-induced synchrony could be suppressed by introducing heterogeneity to inhibitory connections, through which the common spikes are transmitted. The aim of the present study is apply this methodology to electronic neurons as a real physical hardware. Using an Axon-Hillock circuit that represents basic properties of the leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) neuron, our experiment demonstrated that the method was quite effective for desynchronizing the neuron circuits. The experimental results are also in a good agreement with the linear response theory that describes the input-output relationship of LIF neurons. Our method of suppressing the neuronal synchrony should be of practical use for enhancement of neural information processing as well as for improvement of pathological state of the brain.

Recently, the Static Heterogeneous Particle Swarm Optimization (SHPSO) has been studied by more and more researchers. In SHPSO, the different search behaviours assigned to particles during initialization do not change during the search process. As a consequence of this, the inappropriate population size of exploratory particles could leave the SHPSO with great difficulties of escaping local optima. This motivated our attempt to improve the performance of SHPSO by introducing the dynamic heterogeneity. The self-adaptive heterogeneity is able to alter its heterogeneous structure according to some events caused by the behaviour of the swarm. The proposed triggering events are confirmed by keeping track of the frequency of the unchanged global best position (pg) for a number of iterations. This information is then used to select a new heterogeneous structure when pg is considered stagnant. According to the different types of heterogeneity, DHPSO-d and DHPSO-p are proposed in this paper. In, particles dynamically use different rules for updating their position when the triggering events are confirmed. In DHPSO-p, a global gbest model and a pairwise connection model are automatically selected by the triggering configuration. In order to investigate the scalability of and DHPSO-p, a series of experiments with four state-of-the-art algorithms are performed on ten well-known optimization problems. The scalability analysis of and DHPSO-p reveals that the dynamic self-adaptive heterogeneous structure is able to address the exploration-exploitation trade-off problem in PSO, and provide the excellent optimal solution of a problem simultaneously.

An uncorrelated asymmetric ZCZ (UA-ZCZ) sequence set is a special version of an asymmetric ZCZ (A-ZCZ) sequence set, which contains multiple subsets and each subset is a typical ZCZ sequence set. One of the most important properties of UA-ZCZ sequnence set is that two arbitrary sequences from different sequence subsets are uncorrelated sequences, whose cross-correlation function (CCF) is zeros at all shifts. Based on interleaved technique and an uncorrelated sequence set, a new UA-ZCZ sequence set is obtained via interleaving a perfect sequence. The uncorrelated property of the UA-ZCZ sequence sets is expected to be useful for avoiding inter-cell interference of QS-CDMA systems.

An optical intensity distribution under light irradiation in the organic photovoltaic cell affects the absorbance of the active layer, which determines the photovoltaic performance. In this research, we evaluated the optimum thickness of the organic active layer with poly[4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b;4,5-b']dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-(4-(2-ethylhexyl)-3-fluorothieno[3,4-b]thiophene-)-2-carboxylate-2-6-diyl)] and [6,6]-phenyl C71-butyric acid methyl ester. The spectral response of external quantum efficiency was good agreement with the simulated optical intensity distribution within a device stack as a function of the position and the wavelength. As a result, the highest photoconversion efficiency of 10.1% was achieved for the inverted device structure.

By installing the various types of cells, imbalance in traffic load and excessive handover among cells in a heterogenous network can be prevalent. To deal with this problem, we propose a mobility-based cell association algorithm for load balancing in a heterogenous network. By defining a dynamic system load as a function of the mobility of mobile stations (MSs) and the transmit powers of cells, the proposed algorithm is designed such that it can optimize a utility function based on the fairness of the dynamic system load. Simulation results verify that the proposed algorithm improves the user perceived rate of MSs located at cell edges with slight increase in the number of handovers compared to a conventional cell association based on received signal strength.

In this paper, we present several cryptanalyses of Hierocrypt-L1 block cipher, which was selected as one of the CRYPTREC recommended ciphers in Japan in 2003. We present a differential attack and an impossible differential attack on 8 S-function layers in a related-key setting. We first show that there exist the key scheduling differential characteristics which always hold, then we search for differential paths for the data randomizing part with the minimum active S-boxes using the above key differentials. We also show that our impossible differential attack is a new type.