This paper introduces current-mode biquad using multiple current output operational transconductance amplifiers (OTAs) and grounded capacitors. The circuit configuration is obtained from a second-order integrator loop structure with loss-less and lossy integrators. The proposed circuit can realize low-pass, band-pass, high-pass, band-stop and all-pass transfer functions by suitably choosing the input and output terminals. And the circuit characteristics can be electronically tuned through adjusting the transconductance gains of OTAs. It is also made clear that the proposed circuit has very low sensitivities with respect to the circuit active and passive elements. An example is given together with simulated results by PSpice.

Focusing on a distributed control service-control-node (SCP) that houses a database (DB) distributed across multiple modules, this paper proposes an autonomous distributed SCP architecture using multicasting access to the distributed DB, and highlights its application areas. We assume as a basic condition that neither the network nor the other modules in the system are aware of the DB configuration. Based on this condition, we propose two basic methods: a unicast approach in which the DB management module that is selected at random by the network routes the DB access request to the module where the target data resides (Method A), and a multicast method in which DB access requests are broadcast to all modules (Method B). A quantitative evaluation is made of the number of required modules and required communications performance between modules which is determined by the capacity of the main memory and processing capacity of the processors. Based on the results, we conclude that Method B better exploits the advantages of module autonomous distribution technology within the limits that the economy of inter-module communication overhead is not impaired. Furthermore, in the event a module fails in Method B, a scheme is proposed in which the defective module is cut out of the multicast group, and multicasting continues. This could be implemented most effectively using a separate route under hardware control that is independent of the on-line communications route between modules.

There is an ever-increasing demand for better performance and scalability in workflow systems. We describe how mobile agents can be used to satisfy such a requirement. For the purpose two important design issues are pointed out in workflow execution and architecture levels. Agent delegation models and a 3-layer architecture are suggested in mobile agent based workflow systems as a solution for each consideration. Workload is statically distributed over task performers based on the proposed method. As a result the performance and the scalability are improved. The effectiveness is shown through stochastic Petri-nets simulation through comparison with client-server based- and another mobile agent-based workflow systems.

The imprecise computation is one of the promising schemes in the real time systems to adapt quality of computations to change of load with keeping the deadlines of tasks in the systems. When overload occurs in the systems, the minimum requirements on the deadline are assured by decreasing quality of the computation. This paper describes how to apply the concept of the imprecise computation to automobile control in the expressway assuming the intelligent transportation system (shortly, ITS). The deadline violation of tasks for automobile control in the expressway induces collision of automobiles. Regardless of whether the expressway is congested or not, collision of automobiles must be avoided. To satisfy such requirement, the concept of the imprecise computation is effective. This paper proposes an adaptive scheduling using the imprecise computation to avoid collision of automobiles and increase throughput, and shows results of simulation experiments about an adaptive scheduling for automobiles control.

The IETF Differentiated Services (DiffServ) framework achieves scalability by (1) aggregating traffic flows with coarse grain QoS on the data plane, and (2) allocating network resources with a bandwidth broker (BB) on the control plane. However, there are many issues that need to be addressed under such framework. First, it has been shown that the concatenation of strict priority (SP) scheduler of class-based queues (CBQ) can cause delay jitter unbounded under certain utilization, which is not acceptable to support the premium service (PS). Furthermore, it is not clear how such a DiffServ network can support traffic flows requiring the guaranteed service (GS), which is a desirable feature of the future Internet. This paper presents architecture and mechanisms to support multiple QoS under the DiffServ paradigm. On the data plane, we present a node architecture based on the virtual time reference system (VTRS). The key building block of our node architecture is the core-stateless virtual clock (CSVC) scheduling algorithm, which, in terms of providing delay guarantee, has the same expressive power as a stateful weighted fair queueing (WFQ) scheduler. With the CSVC scheduler as our building block, we design a node architecture that is capable of supporting integrated transport of the GS, the PS, the assured service (AS), and the traditional best effort (BE) service. On the control plane, we present a BB architecture to provide flexible resource allocation and QoS provisioning. Simulation results demonstrate that our architecture and mechanisms can provide scalable and flexible transport of integrated traffic of the GS, the PS, the AS, and the BE services.

This paper proposes a bandwidth division type parallel combinatory (PC) spread spectrum (SS) modulation scheme. In the proposed system, a given system bandwidth for the conventional single-carrier PC-SS system is divided into H subbands, and H PC-SS signals are transmitted in parallel. We evaluate the frame error rate (FER) of the proposed system under the asynchronous CDMA environment. We show that the proposed scheme provides a smaller FER than the single-carrier PC-SS system for a given information bit rate. We also show that the proposed scheme attains a higher information bit rate than the single-carrier PC-SS system for a given FER.

RC6 is a common-key block cipher that was proposed as one of the AES candidates. Although any weakness of RC6 in the use of the confidentiality is not known, Saarinen pointed out the existence of almost equivalent keys in RC6 with 176-byte keys. This means that the Davies-Meyer hash function based on RC6 with 176-byte keys is not a good collision-resistance function. However, Saarinen could not find a precise collision of it. In this paper, we propose a practical method for obtaining a collision of the Davies-Meyer hash function based on RC6-32/20/176. In other words, there exist equivalent user supplied keys in RC6-32/20/176, and it is possible to obtain them practically. This means that the essential key space of RC6-32/20/176 is smaller than the space provided by 176-byte keys. Our computer simulation shows that a collision can be found in about 100 minutes. We should notice that the result of this paper does not affect the security of the AES version of RC6 because RC6-32/20/176 discussed in this paper is different from the parameter of the AES version.

Photoelectric techniques, such as photoluminescence are commonly used to evaluate and qualify heterostructure materials. These studies provide invaluable information on the energy configuration of these devices. In this paper, we extend photoelectric techniques to the evaluation of fully fabricated HBTs. We describe photoconduction measurements performed on the base/collector junctions in GaAs based HBTs. The devices studied contained a window in the emitter metal and monochromatic, chopped light was focused through a microscope into the window. The measurements are performed on wafer at room temperature. The spectral characteristic of the photocurrent provides information on the material and allows the determination of the source of the measured photocurrent. The dependence of the photocurrent on the junction bias allows the profiling of the junction. Three different collector structures were investigated, containing GaAs, AlGaAs, and InGaP. The effects of electron and hole barriers are evaluated. The information obtained allows for the design of improved HBTs.

The boundary integral equation (BIE) on interior walls with surface impedance conditions is implemented to the iterative physical optics method and how to treat the singularities involved in the BIE of an impedance cavity is described. Singular integrals over a rectangular region can be represented by simple elementary functions.

In this paper, a simple chaotic circuit using two RC phase shift oscillators and a diode is proposed and analyzed. By using a simpler model of the original circuit, the mechanism of generating chaos is explained and the exact solutions are derived. The exact expression of the Poincare map and its Jacobian matrix make it possible to confirm the generation of chaos using the Lyapunov exponents and to investigate the related bifurcation phenomena.

This paper describes a cumulative distribution function (CDF) of edge direction for detecting road lanes. Based on the assumptions that there are no abrupt changes in the direction and location of road lanes and that the intensity of lane boundaries differs from that of the background, the CDF is formulated, which accumulates the edge magnitude for edge directions. The CDF has distinctive peak points at the vicinity of lane directions due to the directional and the positional continuities of a lane. To obtain lane-related information, we construct a scatter diagram by collecting edge pixels, of which the direction corresponds to the peak point of the CDF, then perform the principal axis-based line fitting for the scatter diagram. Because noises can cause many similar features appear or disappear in an image, to prevent false alarms or miss detection, a recursive estimator of the CDF was introduced, and also a scene understanding index (SUI) was formulated by the statistical parameters of the CDF. The proposed algorithm has been implemented in real time on video data obtained from a test vehicle driven on a typical highway.

Electric beam scanning reflector antennas provide beam scanning and pattern control, and can create narrow beams efficiently. However, they are not popular because the beam control circuit is large and difficult to realize. This paper proposes a new BFN configuration for cluster feeding of highly functional scanning antenna. The Enhanced PAttern Control nonswiTch (EPACT) BFN simplifies the beam control circuit and its control algorithm by using a fast Fourier transform (FFT) circuit, phase shifters, and a power divider. Furthermore, this paper proposes a design technique that uses modules to implement the FFT circuit and a method that optimizes amplifier placement to improve antenna efficiency. The design technique facilitates the manufacture of large-scale FFT circuits. The optimized amplifier location improves the antenna efficiency by eliminating the partial concentration of signal power.

Most of the current research is focused on the row-column scanning keyboard interface for English letter and number input. At the present time, there are insufficient methods to control the computer mouse effectively. In this study, a categorized row-column scanning computer interface is developed to improve the conventional single key-in row-column scanning method. The beneficial developments include: speed enhancement by categorizing radicals of keyboard, input control of mouse, and multiple selection of input methods such as surface electromyographic (SEMG) control, breath pressure sensibility control with puff, force sensibility control, infrared sensibility control and single key-in control. Meanwhile, an enhancement software package is developed to increase the row-column scanning keyboard capabilities and to upgrade the completeness of the computer mouse for the disabled persons to control the operation of data entry and the associated implementation better.

We present a scalable parallel rasterizer based on our interleaved scanline rasterization. The sorting overhead of a conventional scanline-based parallel rendering approach has been studied and removed by implementing a scanline assignment hardware. All advantages of the scanline-based parallel rendering are kept such that a good scalability and a small memory usage are achieved. Our architecture is evaluated precisely by a discrete event-based simulation, and the rendering performance and utilization are shown for a various number of rasterizers. The simulation results show more than 8 Mtriangles/s of performance with 64 rasterization engines running at 10 MHz.

The effect of Unbalanced-Magnetic-Pull (UMP) on vibration and run-outs has become stringent in the design for high performance HDD spindle motors. In this paper, reducing the UMP and also minimizing its variability for an 8-pole 9-slot spindle motor to achieve robustness in the performance is described and illustrated using novel robust design methods. A screening experiment identifies the key design parameters. Using Design of experiment (DOE) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), the parameter design reduces the amplitude of UMP and minimizes its variability by product parameter optimization. The tolerance design improves the quality by tightening tolerances on product or process parameters to reduce the performance variation. The optimal design process includes considerations of manufacturing and process noises, such as manufacturing tolerances for the slot opening and variation of the rotor magnet magnetization distribution due to the magnetization fixture and process. The optimal design procedure is briefly introduced and the results are presented.

Analysis of electromagnetic wave propagation and scattering in a random medium is a field of great interest. This research field becomes more important if we consider the study of phsyical effects on wave propagation and scattering from targets in random media. Curvature of the targets' cross-sections plays an important parameter in the radar detection problem. In previous study, analysis of scattering data from nonconvex conducting targets has pointed out to the effect of target configuration together with both effects of the spatial coherence length of incident waves around the target and the double passage on the backscattering enhancement. Here, we make sure this fact by considering targets with relatively large sizes in continuous random media for H-wave incidence. We assume the cross-section of targets to be smoothly deformed contour comprising concave and convex portions.

We propose an effective model that can reproduce the reverse short channel effect (RSCE) of the threshold voltage (Vth) of MOSFETs using a conventional process simulator that solves one equation for each impurity. The proposed model is developed for local modeling which is effective within the limited process conditions. The proposed model involves the physics in which RSCE is due to the pile up of channel dopant at the Si/SiO2 interface. We also report the application to actual device design using our model. The calculation cost is much lower than for a pair diffusion model, and device design in an acceptable turn around time is possible.

This paper presents a fast inversion method for electromagnetic imaging of cylindrical dielectric objects with the optimal regularization parameter used in the Levenberg-Marquardt method. A novel procedure for choosing the optimal regularization parameter is proposed. The method of moments with pulse-basis functions and point matching is applied to discretize the equations for the scattered electric field and the total electric field inside the object. Then the inverse scattering problem is reduced to solving the matrix equation for the unknown expansion coefficients of a contrast function, which is represented as a function of the relative permittivity of the object. The matrix equation may be solved in the least-squares sense with the Levenberg-Marquardt method. Thus the contrast function can be reconstructed by the minimization of a functional, which is expressed as the sum of a standard error term on the scattered electric field and an additional regularization term. While a regularization parameter is usually chosen according to the generalized cross-validation (GCV) method, the optimal one is now determined by minimizing the absolute value of the radius of curvature of the GCV function. This scheme is quite different from the GCV method. Numerical results are presented for a circular cylinder and a stratified circular cylinder consisting of two concentric homogeneous layers. The convergence behaviors of the proposed method and the GCV method are compared with each other. It is confirmed from the numerical results that the proposed method provides successful reconstructions with the property of much faster convergence than the conventional GCV method.

Scattering responses from a dielectric sphere are analyzed in the time-frequency domain by using two types of wavelet transform in order to reveal the scattering mechanisms. In the resulting time-frequency displays, various scattering processes including reflection, refraction, and diffraction can be clearly resolved and identified. The delay time of each scattering process agrees well with that obtained by the ray theory. Furthermore, the natural frequencies that are not easy to extract by the conventional Fourier analysis can be extracted.

A high quality speech synthesis technique based on the wavelet subband analysis of speech signals was newly devised for enhancing the naturalness of synthesized voiced consonant speech. The technique reproduces a speech characteristic of voiced consonant speech that shows unvoiced feature remarkably in the high frequency subbands. For mixing appropriately the unvoiced feature into voiced speech, a noise inclusion procedure that employed the discrete wavelet transform was proposed. This paper also describes a developed speech synthesizer that employs several random fractal techniques. These techniques were employed for enhancing especially the naturalness of synthesized purely voiced speech. Three types of fluctuations, (1) pitch period fluctuation, (2) amplitude fluctuation, and (3) waveform fluctuation were treated in the speech synthesizer. In addition, instead of a normal impulse train, a triangular pulse was used as a simple model for the glottal excitation pulse. For the compensation for the degraded frequency characteristic of the triangular pulse that overdecreases than the spectral -6 dB/oct characteristic required for the glottal excitation pulse, the random fractal interpolation technique was applied. In order to evaluate the developed speech synthesis system, psychoacoustic experiments were carried out. The experiments especially focused on how the mixed excitation scheme effectively contributed to enhancing the naturalness of voiced consonant speech. In spite that the proposed techniques were just a little modification for enhancing the conventional LPC (linear predictive coding) speech synthesizer, the subjective evaluation suggested that the system could effectively gain the naturalness of the synthesized speech that tended to degrade in the conventional LPC speech synthesis scheme.