The performance of AC plasma displays has been improved in the area of brightness and contrast, while significant advances in image quality are still required for the HDTV quality. In particular, in full color motion video, motion artifacts and lack of color depth are still visible in some situations. These motional artifacts are mitigated as the number of the subfields increases, usually at the cost of losing brightness or increasing driving circuitry. Therefore, it is still one of our great concerns to find out the optimized subfield configuration through weighting and order of each subfield, and their coding of combination. For evaluation and improvement of motion picture disturbance, we have established a procedure that fully simulates the image quality of displays which utilize the subfield driving scheme. The simulation features virtually located sensor pixels on human retina, eye-tracking sensor windows, and a built-in spatial low pass filter. The model pixelizes the observers retina like a sensor chip in a CCD camera. An eye-tracking sensor window is assigned to every light emission from the display, to calculate the emissions from one to four adjoining pixels along the trajectory of motion. Through this model, a scene from original motion picture without disturbance is transformed into the still image with simulated disturbance. The integration of the light emission from adjoining pixels through the window, also functions as a built-in spatial low pass filter to secure the robust output, considering the MTF of the human eye. Both simulation and actual 42-in-diagonal PDPs showed close results under various conditions, showing that the model is simple, but reasonable. Through the simulation, general properties of the subfield driving scheme for gray scale have been elucidated. For example, a PWM-like coding offers a better performance than an MSB-split coding in many cases. The simulation also exemplifies the motion picture disturbance as a non-linear filter process caused by the dislocation of bit weightings, suggesting that tradeoffs between disturbance and resolution in motion area are mandatory.

A 14. 4-in. diagonal EL display with 640128 pixels has been developed in red/green multicolor structures by using a new phosphor layer consisting of Zn1-xMgxS:Mn and ZnS:Mn. The display is designed for 240 Hz-frame rate, enabling the luminance to be improved by a factor of two. In addition, the contrast ratio is strongly enhanced by optimizing the black background structure and color filters. Improved characteristics make it possible for the EL panel to meet the requirements for the public information display taking advantages of high-reliability, crisp image and wide-viewing angle. Furthermore, the possibility of full-color EL displays will be described on the basis of "color by white" approach.

We have studied the electro-optical properties in Polymer Network Liquid Crystal Displays which are composed of a three-dimensional polymer network formed in continuous liquid crystal layers prepared by photo-polymerization induced phase separation processes. In view of the behavior in the orientation of the liquid crystal molecule at the polymers surface, it can be clarified that the electro-optical properties are strongly governed by the polymer. By a combination of two different characteristics of the polymers with respect to a temperature dependence, a variation in the driving voltage for a temperature change can be improved.

A method to improve the reflection efficiency of holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal (HPDLC) is proposed and its effectiveness is confirmed. Controlling the alignment of liquid crystal (LC) in tiny droplets of HPDLC can increase the refractive-index difference between the LC droplet layer and the polymer layer, causing the peak reflectance and reflective spectral width to expand. We observed experimentally that 96% of the light components excluding the scattering loss can be diffracted in a transmission HPDLC device by ordering the LC. In a reflection HPDLC, we found that reflection could be improved by ordering through an applied shear force. Our findings should lead to an improvement in the quality of reflective display devices.

This paper investigates the lossless video aggregation and transport, a concept of transmitting a group of video sessions as a bundle over a communication network. We focus on the design of optimal transmission plan with minimum receiver buffer requirement for stored variable bit-rate (VBR) videos over a constant bit-rate (CBR) channel without incurring buffer underflow and overflow. For a single video, an efficient algorithm is proposed to calculate the optimal transmission plan in only O(N) time, a significant improvement of the previous result with time complexity of O(N2log N). For multiple video sessions, we propose an aggregation scheme to calculate the changes of optimal transmission plans at the joints or separations, where a session bundled in the aggregated video stream begins or stops. The experimental results show that our algorithms stand out in terms of simplicity and efficiency.

The coming information society will require images at the high end of the quality range. By using a new method which focuses on the assessment words of the high order sensation, we are investigating the important physical factors for the difficult reproduction of high level, high quality sensation in the electronic capture and display of images. We have found a key assessment word "image depth" that describes appropriately the high order subjective sensation that is indispensable for the display of extra high quality images. Related to the depth of images, we have discovered a new physical factor and the degree of precision required of already known physical factors for the display of extra high quality images. The cross modulation among R, G and B signals is the newly discovered important physical factor affecting the quality of an electronic display. In addition, we have found that very strict control of distortion in the gamma and the step response and the strict suppression of the halation in a CRT display are necessary. We note that aliasing of the displayed images also destroys the sensation of depth. This paper first outlines the overall objective of our work, second considers the important physical factors as important for extra high quality imaging, and then describes the specific effects of cross modulation distortion, gamma, step response, halation and aliasing as they relate to image depth. Finally, the relation of the discussed physical factors with the high order sensation are discussed broadly.

A homeotropic liquid crystal display utilizing a liquid crystal with positive dielectric anisotropy, 13. 3" XGA TFT-LCD, has been fabricated. The rubbing-free device, appears black in the absence of electric field. When an electric field generated by interdigital electrodes is applied, a bend deformation of molecular director to the direction of the field occurs and thus the cell transmits light, showing brightness uniformity in all directions owing to the dual domainlike director configuration. With an addition of negative-birefringent film, this device shows excellent viewing angle characteristics.

We have studied an in situ edge preparation process and the effect of a substrate rotation during the edge preparation in order to improve the uniformity and electrical characteristics of high-Tc edge-type Josephson junctions. The improved YBa2Cu3Ox/PrBa2Cu3Ox/YBa2Cu3Ox edge junctions showed small 1σ-critical current spreads as low as 10% for 12 junctions. We have confirmed that the spreads do not increase significantly by adding groundplane over the junctions. In this paper, we will describe these processes developed for the fabrication of high-Tc superconducting integrated circuits.

Reentrant delay line memories using narrow YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) coplanar transmission lines are proposed. The proposed memory is composed of a looped YBCO coplanar delay line and a 22 semiconductor crossbar switch. This type of memory is superior to semiconductor memories in operating speed, the number of logic gates, power dissipation, and so on. We have also developed narrow and low-loss YBCO coplanar transmission lines for use in these reentrant delay line memories. Etch-back planarization and a patterning process combining Ar-ion milling and wet-etching enabled us to fabricate 18-cm-long YBCO coplanar transmission lines as narrow as 5 µm, and these lines did not suffer from electrical shorts even when the spacing was only 2. 5 µm. The surface resistances calculated from the attenuation constants of 5-, 10-, and 25-µm-wide lines provide similar low values of 0. 18-0. 26 mΩ at 10 GHz and 55 K. This indicates that the process damage was sufficiently suppressed despite the narrow line widths. The 5-µm-wide line attained a low attenuation constant of 2. 7 dB/m, which is similar to that in Cu coaxial cables. Even in the 5-µm-wide line, no significant increase in transmission loss was observed up to an input power level of 16 mW at 10 GHz and 55 K. This input power is comparable to that required to propagate digital signals from semiconductor circuits. Therefore high-speed digital signals can propagate through these narrow YBCO coplanar lines without significant attenuation of the signal pulses. Thus, these narrow YBCO coplanar lines can be used in the reentrant delay line memories.

An innovative small planar packaging(SPP)system is described that can be combined with card-on-board(COB)packaging in high-speed asynchronous transfer mode switching systems with throughput of over 40-Gb/s. The SPP system provides high I/O pin count density and high packaging density, combining the advantages of both planar packaging used in computer systems and COB packaging used in telecommunication systems. Using a newly developed quasi-coaxial zero-insertion-force connector, point-to-point 311 Mb/s of 8-bit parallel signal transmission is achieved in an arbitrary location on the SPP systems shelf. Also about 5400 I/O connections in the region of the planar packaging system are made, thus the SPP system effectively eliminates the I/O pin count limitation. Furthermore, the heat flux management capability of the SPP system is five times higher than of conventional COB packaging because of its air flow control structure. An SPP system can easily enlarge the switch throughput and it will be useful for future high-speed, high-throughput ATM switching systems.

The small planar packaging (SPP) system described here can be combined with card-on-board (COB) packaging in high-speed asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switching systems with throughput of over 40-Gb/s. The SPP system provides high I/O pin count density, high packaging density and high cooling capability. Prototype SPP system with air flow control structure for switching MCMs is constructed. Each MCM contained a 35 array of low thermal resistance butt-lead pin-grid-array on a glass ceramic substrate measuring 100170 mm with a plate fin heat-sink. This allows a power dissipation of more than 125 W per MCM, and 300 W per printed circuit board (PCB). Obtained board level heat flux density of the SPP system is 0. 37 W/cm2, which is six times that of conventional COB packaging. The SPP system combined with the COB packaging provides a small system foot-print and compact hardware for high-speed, large capacity ATM switching systems. This high-performance air cooling technology will be especially useful for future broadband ISDN high-speed switching systems.

YBa2Cu3O7-δ co-planar Josephson junctions by Focused Ion Beam were characterized by changing the thickness of YBa2Cu3O7-δ films. The junctions had the thickness dependence of the characteristics. The characteristics were dominantly divided into two types. One had the I-V curve of a flux-flow junction and a weak magnetic response. The other had the I-V curve of RSJ, the IcRn product from 0. 1 mV to 0. 5 mV at 4. 2 K, and a good magnetic response. The critical current density of the junctions increased exponentially with increasing film thickness. From the observation of the junction surface, the junction length was decreased with increasing film thickness by the horizontal growth of the normally grown YBaCuO. In the thicker film (above 240 nm), the microshorts of the normally grown YBaCuO on the abnormally grown YBaCuO area were observed. It is considered that the main part of Josephson current for the junctions changes from the abnormally grown YBaCuO to microshorts when increased with the film thickness.

This paper describes key techniques for automatic program generation of office data handling for all types of switching systems. Our office data scenario tool generates logical-physical office data conversion programs to be installed in switching systems. Also, it generates logical office data generation programs to be installed in a logical office data generation tool that converts office conditions to a logical office data file. We were able to apply this tool to all the office data types for our new switching systems, and automatically generated about 5. 5% of the total program size. This technique reduces not only the software production cost but also the bug ratio because there is no room for human error. Also, switching system programs are much more portable, since no machine-code-dependent parts are involved in office data handling. Thus, we expect that these techniques will be the basis for highly productive, reliable, and portable software platforms for the next-generation multimedia communication systems.

In the commonsense reasoning, priorities among rules are often required to be found out in order to derive the desired conclusion as a theorem of the reasoning. In this paper, first we present the bottom-up and top-down abduction procedures to compute skeptical explanations and secondly show that priorities of circumscription to infer a desired theorem can be abduced as a skeptical explanation in abduction. In our approach, the required priorities can be computed based on the procedure to compute skeptical explanations provided in this paper as well as Wakaki and Satoh's method of compiling circumscription into extended logic programs. The method, for example, enables us to automatically find the adequate priority w. r. t. the Yale Shooting Problem to express a human natural reasoning in the framework of circumscription.

In this paper, we present a hierarchical technique for simultaneous pin assignment and global routing during floorplanning based on the minimum cost maximum integer flow algorithm with several heuristic cost functions. Furthermore, our algorithm handles feedthrough pins and equi-potential pins taking into account global routes. Our algorithm allows various user specified constraints such as pre-specified pin positions, wiring paths, wiring widths and critical nets. Experimental results including Xerox floorplanning benchmark have shown the effectiveness of the heuristics.

Planar lightwave circuits (PLCs) provide various important devices for optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems, subscriber networks and etc. This paper reviews the recent progress and future prospects of PLC technologies including arrayed-waveguide grating multiplexers, optical add/drop multiplexers, programmable dispersion equalizers and hybrid optoelectronics integration technologies.

2-pole band-pass filters (BPFs) with tap-excitation are prepared by using high temperature superconductors (HTS). The possibility of realizing superconducting coplanar filters with attenuation poles is revealed.

High- and low-reflection Bragg gratings with a flat-top spectral response free from ripples are proposed. Add/drop filters are created based on gratings photoinduced on planar waveguides by using the new design schemes. The measured spectral responses for the high and low reflection gratings are in good agreement with the calculated ones, and show the flat-top spectral responses.

Attenuated total reflection (ATR) properties and scattered light properties were measured for Ag thin films and arachidic acid (C20) Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) ultrathin films on the Ag thin films to obtain the information about their complex dielectric constants and surface roughness utilizing an excited surface plasmon polariton. The complex dielectric constants for the Ag thin films and the C20 LB films were obtained by fitting the calculated ATR curves to the experimental ones. The surface roughnesses of these films were estimated by the angular distribution of the scattered light assuming the Gaussian function as an autocorrelation function and a linear superposition of roughness spectra. The angular spectra strongly depended on the roughness parameters: the transverse correlation length σ and the surface corrugation depth δ. The experimental angular distributions were explained by some pairs of σ and δ. It was suggested that the surface roughness of the C20 LB films changed with the number of monolayers since the angular spectra varied with the number of the C20 LB monolayers on the Ag films. It is thought that the measurement of the scattered light is useful to evaluate surface roughnesses of LB ultrathin films.

Two types of CPW-fed active antenna for television receivers, printed on thin dielectric film, are analyzed numerically and experimentally and their broadband operations are reported. The actual gain of the receiving active antenna is expressed in terms of the transducer power gain of the amplifier circuit and the effective length of the passive antenna. Between the feed point of the passive antenna element and the CPW, the silicon transistor 2SC2585 or 2SC3604 is integrated with a dipole antenna or loop antenna. The actual gains of a dipole antenna with 24 cm length are more than 8 dBd (relative gain to the standard half-wave dipole) at frequencies from 470 to 770 MHz for television channels 13-62 in Japan. In the case of a loop antenna with a size of 25. 8 cm12 cm, actual gains of more than 3. 5 dBd are obtained for channels 1-12, from 90 to 222 MHz, and more than 6. 5 dBd for channels 13-62, from 470 to 770 MHz.