Two types of biomimetic chemical sensing systems are reviewed. One is an electronic nose and tongue which can recognize odor or taste from the output pattern of arrayed chemical sensors with different but overlapped specificities. The other is a chemical plume tracing system which has been developed to mimic the moth behavior in tracing the sexual pheromone from a female. We have created an odor/gas tracing robot and a compass, both of which can detect the direction from which an odor/gas is issuing.

We consider the problem of placing resources in a distributed computing system so that certain performance requirements may be met while minimizing the number of resource copies needed. Resources include special I/O processors, expensive peripheral devices, or such software modules as compilers, library routines, and data files. Due to the delay in accessing each of these resources, system performance degrades as the distance between each processor and its nearest resource copy increases. Thus, every processor must be within a given distance k1 of at least one resource copy, which is called the k-bounded placement problem. The structure of a distributed computing system is represented by a graph. The k-bounded placement problem is first transformed into the problem of finding smallest k-dominating sets in a graph. Searching for smallest k-dominating sets is formulated as a state-space search problem. We derive heuristic information to speed up the search, which is then used to solve the problem with the well-known A* algorithm. An illustrative example and some experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the heuristic search.

We have developed a new type electrical probing system based on an atomic force microscope. This method enables us to measure simultaneously the surface topography and surface potential of thin films containing the crystal grains. The obtained local potential changes give an insight into conduction through the grains and their boundaries.

Polymeric thin films can be prepared by physical vapor deposition in several manners such as direct evaporation of the polymer, co-evaporation of two monomers followed by polyaddition or polycondensation reaction, or evaporation of single monomer followed by chain polymerization. The ionization-assisted deposition (IAD) was proposed as a new method of polymer deposition that has special features such as activation of polymerization reaction and aligning of the dipole orientation. These mechanisms were utilized for the formation of vinyl polymer and polyurea thin films aiming for such applications as organic light emitting diodes and piezoelectric devices.

To implement soft handoff in cellular communication systems that employ code division multiple access (CDMA), it is necessary to establish communication lines between the switch and multiple base stations and distribute the communication data via these multi-connections to the base stations simultaneously. This means that, when soft handoff is performed with the same amount of communication line resources as hard handoff, the blocking probability is higher than for hard handoff, and service quality is thus worse. Furthermore, handoffs occur more frequently as the size of cells becomes smaller, and this increases the probability of forced terminations. Switches must be endowed with greater processing capacity to accommodate the more frequent handoffs. The use of the queuing handoff method can be expected, in general, to mitigate forced termination probability compared with the immediate handoff method. In this regard, we propose a prioritized queuing handoff method that gives priority to fast-moving mobile stations (MSs) as a way to mitigate forced terminations even more than the non-priority queuing method without appreciably increasing the processing load. We then compare the traffic characteristics of our proposed method with these of three other methods in micro cell systems--immediate method, non-priority queuing method, and conventional hard handoff method without multi-connections--by computer simulation. Here, considering that the proposed method gives priority to fast-moving calls, traffic characteristics for these methods were evaluated separately for slow- and fast-moving MSs. The results reveal that proposed method can reduce the forced termination probability and total call failure probability more than non-priority queuing method without having an appreciable impact on slow-moving calls.

This paper presents a universally verifiable Mix-net where the amount of work done by a verifier is independent of the number of mix-servers. Furthermore, the computational task of each mix-server is constant with regard to the number of mix-servers except for some negligible tasks like computing hash function when no disruption occurs. The scheme also provides robustness.

Interference suppression is one of the important functions for mobile communications and software radio. First, this paper shows a new type of interference suppression method by P-RCE (Probability-Restricted Coulomb Energy) which is applicable to mobile communications and software radio. P-RCE is one of the neural networks and mainly used in the field of pattern classification. Secondly, this paper presents several characteristics of this method. For example, it is found from our studies that good suppression effects can be performed even when the interference signals exist closely adjacent to the desired signal and/or total number of signals is more than that of the antenna elements. Next, this paper discusses two types of improvement of processing speed for new suppression method. One is the setting up the learning and non-learning intervals, and the other is the restriction of the number of prototype cells. According to the results, fairly good improvement is realized.

We report on a novel micromechanical photonic integrated circuits (PIC) for integrating free-space optical systems on a chip. Using polysilicon surface-micromachining technique, micro-optical elements, three-dimensional optomechanical structures, and microactuators are monolithically integrated on silicon substrate. We will discuss the basic building blocks of the micromechanical PIC, including XYZ micropositioners, 2-axis tilting micromirrors, scanning microlenses, and their integration with vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers. We will also discuss their applications in reconfigurable optical interconnect and active alignment in parallel free-space optical interconnect systems.

A simple phase compensation technique with improved power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) for CMOS opamps is proposed. This technique is based on feeding back a current proportional to a derivative of the voltage difference between an output and an input, and does not require a common-gate circuit or a noise-free bias for the circuit. The proposed technique requires only two additional transistors, which are connected to the differential pair of transistors in a cascade manner, and the compensation capacitor is connected to the source node of the additional transistor. Experimental results show an improvement of more than 20 dB in the PSRR at high frequencies, comparing the technique with a Miller compensation. This technique also improves the unity gain frequency and the phase margin from 0.9 MHz and 17 to 1.8 MHz and 44 for 200 pF load capacitance, respectively.

The sign-language can be used as a communication means between avatars having no common language. As a trial to overcome the linguistic barrier, we have previously developed a 2D model-based sign-language chatting system between Korean and Japanese on the the Internet. In that system, there have been some problems to be solved for natural animation and real-time transmission. In this paper, we employ a 3D character model for stereoscopic gestures in the sign-language animation. We also utilize CG animation techniques which use the variable number of frames and a cubic spline interpolation in order to generate realistic gestures. For real-time communication, on the other hand, we make use of an intelligent communication method on a client-server architecture. We implement a preliminary communication system with Visual C++ 5.0 and Open Inventor on Windows platforms. Experimental results show a possibility that the system could be used for avatar communications between different languages.

A new type of Meteor Burst Communication (MBC) network is developed. Each unit of the network is based on a DSP board running a modem software. All the fundamental blocks and functions of a modem are implemented in software. Unlike hardware modems, this software modem has flexibility of system configuration and operation. The system implements adaptability in terms of modulation type (number of phases in MPSK) using a unique dynamic channel estimation scheme appropriate for MBC channel. An MBC network protocol is implemented within the modem software. Some preliminary experiments were carried out for differential BPSK and differential QPSK modulations over a practical meteor burst link, and the results are presented.

In a multihop network, radio packets are often relayed through inter-mediate stations (repeaters) in order to transfer a radio packet from a source to its destination. We consider a scheduling problem in a multihop network using a graphtheoretical model. Let D=(V,A) be the digraph with a vertex set V and an arc set A. Let f be a labeling of positive integers on the arcs of A. The value of f(u,v) means a frequency band assigned on the link from u to v. We call f antitransitive if f(u,v)f(v,w) for any adjacent arcs (u,v) and (v,w) of D. The minimum antitransitive-labeling problem is the problem of finding a minimum antitransitive-labeling such that the number of integers assigned in an antitransitive labeling is minimum. In this paper, we prove that this problem is NP-hard, and we propose a simple distributed approximation algorithm for it.

Our recent progress in improving the performance of the GaInNAs laser is fully reviewed here. We improved the crystal quality of GaInNAs by optimizing the conditions for its grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) using N radicals as a N source. We found that the temperature window for obtaining GaInNAs with high crystal quality, good surface morphology, and good photoluminescence (PL) characteristics is smaller than that for obtaining this kind of GaInAs. Like dopant atoms such as Si or Be in GaAs, the N radicals produced by an RF discharge have a high sticking coefficient. Their use is therefore effective when we want to increase and control the N content of GaInNAs. We found that the AsH3-flow-rate mainly affected crystal quality of GaInNAs rather than incorporation of nitrogen atoms. We also investigated the effects of thermal annealing on the optical properties of as-grown GaInNAs layers and found that it greatly increased the PL intensity and produced the large shift in the PL wavelength. The absorption spectra of the GaInNAs bulk layer revealed that the large shift in the PL wavelength is probably caused by a bandgap shift in the GaInNAs well layer, and cathodeluminescence measurements revealed that the increased PL intensity is due to the improved emission being more uniform spatially: uniformity from the entire region; in comparison, nonuniform dot-like regions exist in an as-grown GaInNAs layer. Optimizing the growth conditions and using thermal annealing effect, we made a 1.3-µm GaInNAs/GaAs single-quantum-well laser that has a high characteristic temperature (215 K) under pulsed operation. To our knowledge, this is the highest characteristic temperature reported for a 1.3-µm band-edge emitter suitable for used in optical-fiber communication systems. The use of GaInNAs as an active layer is, therefore, very promising for the fabrication of long-wavelength laser diodes with excellent high-temperature performance.

This paper reports the prehistory of software defined radio (SDR) studies in Japan. In 1999, a boom in the field of SDR started in Japan, and this year an ARIB study group completed its final report on SDR. SDR is a recently proposed technology concept and has attracted the attention of many communication engineering researchers. SDR will become one of the most important technologies in advanced communication, broadcasting and intelligent transportation systems on the 21st century. Although SDR has several attractive features, there are also many design issues to be solved. In this work we have examined these issues and discussed a new design methodology for wireless receivers in the SDR era.

A newly developed hybrid-integrated Symmetric Mach-Zehnder (HI-SMZ) all-optical switch is reported. For integration, we chose the Symmetric Mach-Zehnder (SMZ) structure rather than the Polarization-Discriminating Symmetric Mach-Zehnder (PD-SMZ) structure which is similar to SMZ but more often used in experiments using discrete optical components. We discuss advantages and disadvantages of SMZ and PD-SMZ to show that SMZ is more suitable for integration. We also discuss about the use of SOAs as nonlinear elements for all-optical switches. We conclude that, although the ultrafast switching capability of SMZ is limited by the gain compression of SOAs, the very low switching energy is more important for practical devices. We then describe the HI-SMZ all-optical switch. This integration scheme has advantages which include low loss, low dispersion silica waveguides for high speed operation and ease in large scale integration of many SMZs with other optical, electrical, and opto-electrical devices. We show that a very high dynamic extinction ratio is possible with HI-SMZ. We also examine HI-SMZ with 1 ps pulses to show its ultrafast capability. Finally, we describe a 168 to 10.5 Gbps error-free demultiplexing experiment which is to our best knowledge the fastest experiment with an integrated device.

10-Gbit/s monolithic receiver OEIC's for 1.55-µm optical transmission systems were fabricated using a stacked layer structure of p-i-n photodiodes and HEMT's grown on InP substrates by single-step MOVPE. A receiver OEIC with a large O/E conversion factor was obtained by adding a three-stage differential amplifier to a conventional feedback amplifier monolithically integrated with a surface-illuminated p-i-n photodiode. The circuit configuration gave a preamplifier a transimpedance of 60 dBΩ. The receiver OEIC achieved error-free operation at 10 Gbit/s without a postamplifier even with the optical input as low as -10.3 dBm because of its large O/E conversion factor of 890 V/W. A two-channel receiver OEIC array for use in a 10-Gbit/s parallel photoreceiver module based on a PLC platform was made by monolithically integrating multimode WGPD's with HEMT preamplifiers. The side-illuminated structure of the WGPD is suitable for integration with other waveguide-type optical devices. The receiver OEIC arrays were fabricated on a 2-inch wafer with achieving excellent uniformity and a yield over 90%: average transimpedance and average 3-dB-down bandwidth were 43.8 dBΩ and 8.0 GHz. The two channels in the receiver OEIC array also showed sensitivities of -16.1 dBm and -15.3 dBm at 10 Gbit/s. The two-channel photoreceiver module was constructed by assembling the OEIC array on a PLC platform. The frequency response of the module was almost the same as that of the OEIC chip and the crosstalk between channels in the module was better than -27 dB in the frequency range below 6 GHz. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using our receiver OEIC's in various types of optical receiver systems.

We present two estimation methods for camera rotation from two images obtained by the active camera before and after rotation. Based on the representation of the projected rotation group, quasi moment features are constructed. Camera rotation can be estimated by applying the singular value decomposition (SVD) or Newton's method to tensor quasi moment features. In both cases, we can estimate 3D rotation of the active camera from only two projected images. We also give some experiments for the estimation of the actual active camera rotation to show the effectiveness of these methods.

Photonic crystals have optical properties characterized by photonic bandgap, large anisotropy and high dispersion, which can be applied to various optical devices. We have proposed an autocloning method for fabricating 2D or 3D photonic crystals and are developing novel structures and functions in photonic crystals. The autocloning is an easy process based on the combination of sputter deposition and sputter etching and is suitable for industry. We have already demonstrated devices or functions such as polarization splitters and surface-normal waveguides. In this paper, we describe our latest work on photonic crystals utilizing the autocloning technology. Phase plates and polarization selective gratings for optical pick-ups are demonstrated utilizing TiO2/SiO2 photonic crystals. The technology to introduce CdS into 3D photonic crystals is also developed and photoluminescence from the introduced CdS is observed, which is the first step to realize luminescent devices with 3D confinement or high polarization controllability.

This paper proposes a private communication system with chaos using fixed-point digital computation. When fixed-point computation is adopted, chaotic properties of the modulated signal should be checked carefully as well as calculation error problems (especially, overflow problems). In this paper, we propose a novel chaos modem system for private communications including a chaotic neuron type nonlinearity, an unstable digital filter and an overflow function. We demonstrate that the modulated signal reveals hyperchaotic property within 10,000 data point fixed-point computation, and evaluate the security of this system in view of the sensitivity of coefficients for demodulation.

A three-dimensional beam propagation method based on a finite element scheme is described for the analysis of second harmonic generation devices. For the wide-angle beam propagation analysis, the Pade approximation is applied to the differential operator along the propagation direction. In order to avoid spurious reflection from the computational windows edges, the transparent boundary condition is introduced. Numerical results are shown for quasi-phase matched second harmonic generation devices using periodically domain-inverted LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 waveguides. The influences of the shape of domain-inverted regions and the inversion width on the conversion efficiencies are investigated in detail.