This paper focuses on the comparison of OFDM system channel estimation using time domain techniques and using frequency domain techniques. The channel model is based on the Taiwan DTV field-testing results, with static and dynamic multipath distortion. The simulation results prove that the channel estimation performance of the OFDM system in the time domain is better than in the frequency domain.

This paper presents closed form expressions to evaluate the average bit error rate (BER) of coherent binary phase shift keying (BPSK) and quadrature PSK (QPSK) systems in the presence of Nakagami-m fading channel and noisy phase reference. Performance degradation due to noisy phase reference is investigated versus both the fading parameter m and the maximum phase error φ. When m is increased from 1 to 9 and φ = 30, the degradation at the average BER of 10-3 for BPSK is increased from 0.3 dB to 0.48 dB. For φ increasing from 10 to 40 and m=5, the degradation is increased from 0.06 dB to 0.92 dB. Degradation thus increases with increasing φ and m.

In this paper, we survey the fairness issues in the congestion control mechanisms of TCP, which is one of most important service aspects in the current and future Internet. We first summarize the problems from a perspective of the fair service among connections. Several solution methods are next surveyed. Those are modifications of TCP congestion control mechanism and router support for achieving the fair service among TCP connections. We finally investigate the fair share of resources at endhosts.

We propose a two-level hierarchical method for dependability evaluation of distributed systems with replicated programs and data files. Since Markov modeling is limited only to each component in this method, state explosion can be circumvented successfully. Simulation results show that the method can accomplish evaluation even for large systems for which Markov modeling is not feasible.

This paper concerns resource planning in a VLSI assembly facility. The facility can process more than 100 sorts of WIPs (Works-In-Process) simultaneously. Specifically it performs product-mix production. An old resource estimation system, which gave a good estimation for a memory VLSI production facility, went wrong for an assembly facility. To adjust the estimation of required machinery resources of the assembly facility, a new parameter--the tuning value for the service time--is introduced. The tuning value expresses the reduction in machine utilization in the processing steps due to the product-mix. The value is empirically determined and the machinery resources can be estimated in good accuracy. Also the waiting time for processing in the incoming buffer is successfully considered in the estimation of turnaround time. However the tuning value is not enough in estimating human resources. A novel algorithm to estimate the resources for machine adjustments is proposed. The algorithm is based on a periodic assignment of multiple sorts of WIPs in a single machine, where the adjustments of machines for the product-mix are considered. The adjustments are additional operator's jobs in the product-mix. It estimates the operator request rate and machine utilization rate when multiple sorts of WIPs with different arrival rates are processed in a single machine. Finally, this resource estimation system considers the operator allocated not only to the preprocessing and postprocessing but also to the adjustments of machines for the product-mix. The estimated machinery, human resources, and turnaround time were evaluated in a real facility, and the proposed method is confirmed to be applicable in the weekly or monthly resource planning for the facility.

In this paper, we investigate the bit error rate (BER) of OMC-CDMA (Orthogonal Multi-Carrier-Code Division Multiple Access) with Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC) scheme on two-ray Rayleigh multipath fading channels, and compare the MRC scheme with the Equal Gain Combing (EGC) scheme according to not only the number of users (M) and subcarriers (N) but also the power of delayed signal. We found that the MRC scheme outperforms the EGC scheme, and the BER of OMC-CDMA depends greatly on the power of delayed signal. If the delayed path power is increased from 10% to 50%, as compared with the direct path power, CDMA capacity is decreased approximately by 30% at BER=10-3, N=256 and SNR=15 dB. When the system is heavily loaded by users in large decaying parameter, the performance of OMC-CDMA with the MRC scheme can not increase the BER significantly compared to that with the EGC scheme.

A completely symmetric dual-level spiral inductor structure is proposed. The symmetry, area efficiency, the size dependence of the coupling factor, and the quality factors of the dual-level inductors are evaluated and compared with that of the single-level. This work demonstrates that, with most RF applications, the dual-level inductors are the better choice than the single-level.

The present paper discusses several promising application areas for optical data links based on high-performance vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser diodes (VCSELs). Both 850 and 980 nm emission wavelength devices realized in the GaAs-AlGaAs or InGaAs-AlGaAs material systems are considered. We show data transmission results of 10 Gb/s signals at 830 nm wavelength over a new high-bandwidth multimode silica fiber of up to 1.6 km length. The same fiber type is employed to demonstrate the first 40 Gb/s transport over 300 m distance by means of a 4-channel coarse wavelength-division multiplexing approach. A first 1 10 linear VCSEL array capable of 10 Gb/s per channel operation is presented for use in next generation parallel optical modules. To improve the singlemode emission characteristics for output power in the 5 mW range we introduce a new device concept incorporating a long monolithic cavity. For low-cost short-distance data links we investigate graded-index polymer optical fibers and report on up to 9 Gb/s transmission over a length of 100 m. Polymer waveguides are also used in an optical layer of a hybrid electrical-optical printed circuit board. Transmitted 10 Gb/s optical data over a prototype board show the potential of this new technology. Finally we present two-dimensional VCSEL arrays for highly parallel data transport on a CMOS chip level. Both 980 and 850 nm bottom emitting devices with modulation capabilities up to 12.5 Gb/s are discussed.

In erbium doped optical fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) used in modern high-capacity wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems, the gain flatness of EDFA is very important in wide-band long-haul systems. In the EDFAs using the passive gain equalizers, the gain flatness deteriorates due to gain-tilt when the operating condition of the EDFA changes, while the EDFAs should maintain the gain flatness even if the operating condition has changed. To solve this problem, we have developed an active gain-slope compensation technique of an EDFA using a thulium-doped optical fiber (TDF) as a saturable absorber. The actively gain-slope compensated EDFA with the TDF compensator keeps the gain profile constant for the wide gain dynamic range more than 8 dB with the low noise figure less than 6 dB in the wavelength range of 1539-1564 nm.

Based on filtering ground clutter power directly in the frequency domain, a new non-coefficient Adaptive MTI (AMTI) scheme is presented in this letter. The results of simulation example show that this scheme has smaller signal-to-noise ratio loss than the classical AMTI based on spectral estimation, as well as high improvement factor.

A new algorithm called core-stateless random-early-detection (CS-RED) is described. This algorithm can improve the fairness characteristics under a wide range of network conditions and is robust in terms of the setting of its control parameters. It can be used in a distributed architecture, as can the core-stateless fair-queuing (CSFQ) algorithm, so it is applicable to large-capacity backbone routers. Through a detailed evaluation, we have identified and clarified the fairness degradation problem in the CSFQ algorithm. We solved this problem by incorporating the congestion notification proposed in the RED algorithm into CSFQ; we call this hybrid CS-RED. Comparison of the fairness characteristics in a computer-simulated network using either the CS-RED or CSFQ algorithm showed that a higher level of fairness is achieved with the CS-RED algorithm under a wide variety of network conditions without degrading link utilization. Furthermore, the CS-RED algorithm uses a treatment that is more general than the penalty box mechanism to penalize unresponsive flows in best-effort networks.

A schedule for a parallel program is said to be 1-fault-secure if a system that uses the schedule can either produce correct output for the program or detect the presence of any faults in a single processor. Although several fault-secure scheduling algorithms have been proposed, they can all only be applied to a class of tree-structured task graphs with a uniform computation cost. Besides, they assume a stringent error model, called the redeemable error model, that considers extremely unlikely cases. In this paper, we first propose two new plausible error models which restrict the manner of error propagation. Then we present three fault-secure scheduling algorithms, one for each of the three models. Unlike previous algorithms, the proposed algorithms can deal with any task graphs with arbitrary computation and communication costs. Through experiments, we evaluate these algorithms and study the impact of the error models on the lengths of fault-secure schedules.

Multi-level divide-and-conquer (MDC) is a generalized divide-and-conquer technique, which consists of more than one division step organized hierarchically. In this paper, we investigate the paradigm of the MDC and show that it is an efficient technique for designing parallel algorithms. The following parallel algorithms are used for studying the MDC: finding the convex hull of discs, finding the upper envelope of line segments, finding the farthest neighbors of a convex polygon and finding all the row maxima of a totally monotone matrix. The third and the fourth algorithms are newly presented. Our discussion is based on the EREW PRAM, but the methods discussed here can be applied to any parallel computation models.

In the wireless asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks, a custom data link control (DLC) layer protocol with stronger error correction ability is needed for mitigating the affect of radio channel errors. This paper applies punctured turbo code schemes to the protection of the header and various payloads in wireless ATM cell, which are realized by the combination of programmable interleaving and puncturing. Their performance is analyzed for Rayleigh fading channel, which shows more significant reduction in cell loss rate (CLR) than the previous systems. Our proposal also provides good balance designs for CLR and the payload bit error rate (BER), and offers potential for future evolutionary improvement of the wireless ATM coding scheme.

In erbium doped optical fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) used in modern high-capacity wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems, the gain flatness of EDFA is very important in wide-band long-haul systems. In the EDFAs using the passive gain equalizers, the gain flatness deteriorates due to gain-tilt when the operating condition of the EDFA changes, while the EDFAs should maintain the gain flatness even if the operating condition has changed. To solve this problem, we have developed an active gain-slope compensation technique of an EDFA using a thulium-doped optical fiber (TDF) as a saturable absorber. The actively gain-slope compensated EDFA with the TDF compensator keeps the gain profile constant for the wide gain dynamic range more than 8 dB with the low noise figure less than 6 dB in the wavelength range of 1539-1564 nm.

A new antenna for a wristwatch phone is proposed. The proposed antenna is a one-wavelength rectangular loop along the cap of the wristwatch phone. The loop is fitted at the periphery of the openable cap connected to the wristwatch case by a hinge. In order to discuss the antenna gain, we define the two different conditions as follows. When the user opens the cap and talks over the wristwatch phone, his wrist is held in front of his face, which is called the "talk position" in this paper. When the user closes the cap and waits for a call, his wrist rests down at the side, which is called the "stand-by position. " We measured the radiation patterns and calculated the pattern averaging gain (PAG) of the proposed antenna for the two positions. In addition, we compared the proposed antenna with the other antennas: a planar inverted F antenna (PIFA) fixed on the strap and a normal mode helical antenna (NMHA) installed on the case. As a result, the PAG of the proposed antenna was about -5.5 dBd, which was the same as the PAG of the other antennas for the talk position. In the case of the stand-by position, the PAG of the proposed antenna was about -3 dBd, which was 7 dB higher than that of the other antennas. The gains of the proposed antenna reached the goal, which was the PAG of a whip antenna of a handy phone held near the head. The results demonstrate that the proposed antenna is suited to a wristwatch phone.

In this paper, a novel approach is proposed to identify the detailed typeface of Gothic characters in document images. The identification is performed by evaluating two types of typeface models, named the Gs-pattern and the Gd-pattern according to the principle of MDL. The typeface models are generated from the observed character image by using morphology and are viewed as approximating expressions of the observed character. Consequently, this method is unique in that it is free from both character recognition and dictionary lookup.

The problems caused by misbehaving flows are becoming important issues in high-speed best effort networks. In this paper, we propose the MXQ (MaXimal Queuing) mechanism which correctly identifies and adequately penalizes misbehaving flows. Identification and penalization are the keys to controlling misbehaving flows, which is believed to be crucial for providing best effort services to a large number of residential customers at reasonable cost. The proposed mechanism consists of estimating incoming traffic at network edges and selective packet discard at network nodes. This combination realizes the identification and penalization in a correct, adequate and easy to understand way, thus maintaining the stability and efficiency of best effort networks. A number of experiments are performed on a prototype system to examine the unfairness caused by different TCP implementations, which is one type of misbehavior. The results show that the MXQ mechanism can adequately penalize the misbehaving flows, and can improve fairness, even when differently implemented TCP flows are present.

The present paper discusses several promising application areas for optical data links based on high-performance vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser diodes (VCSELs). Both 850 and 980 nm emission wavelength devices realized in the GaAs-AlGaAs or InGaAs-AlGaAs material systems are considered. We show data transmission results of 10 Gb/s signals at 830 nm wavelength over a new high-bandwidth multimode silica fiber of up to 1.6 km length. The same fiber type is employed to demonstrate the first 40 Gb/s transport over 300 m distance by means of a 4-channel coarse wavelength-division multiplexing approach. A first 1 10 linear VCSEL array capable of 10 Gb/s per channel operation is presented for use in next generation parallel optical modules. To improve the singlemode emission characteristics for output power in the 5 mW range we introduce a new device concept incorporating a long monolithic cavity. For low-cost short-distance data links we investigate graded-index polymer optical fibers and report on up to 9 Gb/s transmission over a length of 100 m. Polymer waveguides are also used in an optical layer of a hybrid electrical-optical printed circuit board. Transmitted 10 Gb/s optical data over a prototype board show the potential of this new technology. Finally we present two-dimensional VCSEL arrays for highly parallel data transport on a CMOS chip level. Both 980 and 850 nm bottom emitting devices with modulation capabilities up to 12.5 Gb/s are discussed.

Highly reliable and high power weakly index guided buried-stripe type 980 nm pump laser diodes developed for undersea applications are reviewed. The 10,000-hour large scale reliability tests of the first generation LD chips shows that 16.7 FIT for the random failure was confirmed at 10C with 60% confidence level at 120 mW output power. We also fabricated a FBG locked co-axial type module using a can-sealed LD with a two-lens system, which showed a stable FBG locked mode oscillation at 980 nm under the temperature range from 5C to 45C. The 5,000-hour heat cycle test of the modules reveals that the cumulative failure rate after 27 years at 10C is expected to be 0.023%. These first generation LD modules were employed in the transoceanic commercial systems such as Pacific Crossing-1 and the Japan-US cable system projects. We have also succeeded in developing the 980 nm LD for higher output operation with optimizing waveguide design. The 1000 µm long LD showed CW kink-free operation up to 545 mW optical output and a maximum output power of over 650 mW, which was limited by thermal rollover. In addition, a preliminary aging test at 350 mW optical output power at 50C has shown stable operation up to 2,300 h. We also confirmed 300 mW kink-free fiber output power with a co-axial type module with the improved coupling efficiency of approximately 78%. These figures are the highest reported operation levels for 980-nm co-axial type modules.