We introduce a complexity measure r for the class F of read-once formulas over the basis {AND,OR,NOT, XOR, MUX} and show that for any Boolean formula F in the class F, r(F) is a lower bound on the quantum query complexity of the Boolean function that F represents. We also show that for any Boolean function f represented by a formula in F, the deterministic query complexity of f is only quadratically larger than the quantum query complexity of f. Thus, the paper gives further evidence for the conjecture that there is an only quadratic gap for all functions.

Recent advanced technology makes digital circuits small and the number of digital functional blocks that can be integrated on a single chip is increasing rapidly. On the other hand, reduction in the size of analog circuits has been insufficient. This means that the analog circuit area is relatively large, and reducing analog circuit area can be effective to make a low cost radio receiver. In this paper, a new wireless receiver architecture that occupies small analog area is proposed, and measured results of the core analog blocks are described. To reduce the analog area, a balanced 3-phase analog system is adopted and the functions of analog baseband filters and VGAs are moved to the digital domain. The test chip consists of a 3-phase downconverter and a 3-phase ADC. There is no analog baseband filter on the chip and the analog filter is assumed to be replaced with a digital filter. The downconverter and ADC occupy 0.28 mm2. The measured results show the possibility that the requirements for IMT-2000 are fulfilled even with a small chip area.

This paper proposes a new realization technique of image rejection function by noise-coupling architecture, which is used for a complex bandpass ΔΣAD modulator. The complex bandpass ΔΣAD modulator processes just input I and Q signals, not image signals, and the AD conversion can be realized with low power dissipation. It realizes an asymmetric noise-shaped spectra, which is desirable for such low-IF receiver applications. However, the performance of the complex bandpass ΔΣAD modulator suffers from the mismatch between internal analog I and Q paths. I/Q path mismatch causes an image signal, and the quantization noise of the mirror image band aliases into the desired signal band, which degrades the SQNDR (Signal to Quantization Noise and Distortion Ratio) of the modulator. In our proposed modulator architecture, an extra notch for image rejection is realized by noise-coupled topology. We just add some passive capacitors and switches to the modulator; the additional integrator circuit composed of an operational amplifier in the conventional image rejection realization is not necessary. Therefore, the performance of the complex modulator can be effectively raised without additional power dissipation. We have performed simulation with MATLAB to confirm the validity of the proposed architecture. The simulation results show that the proposed architecture can achieve the realization of image-rejection effectively, and improve the SQNDR of the complex bandpass ΔΣAD modulator.

We propose a new Internet group management protocol (IGMP) which can be used in passive optical network (PON) especially for IPTV services which dramatically reduces the channel change response time caused by traditional IGMP. In this paper, the newly proposed IGMP is introduced in detail and performance analysis is also included. Simulation results demonstrated the performance of the newly proposed IGMP, whereby, viewers can watch the shared IPTV channels without the channel change response time when channel request reaches a threshold.

We analyze the beat noise cancellation in two-dimensional optical code-division multiple-access (2-D OCDMA) systems using an optical hard-limiter (OHL) array. The Gaussian shape of optical pulse is assumed and the impact of pulse propagation is considered. We also take into account the receiver noise and multiple access interference (MAI) in the analysis. The numerical results show that, when OHL array is employed, the system performance is greatly improved compared with the cases without OHL array. Also, parameters needed for practical system design are comprehensively analyzed.

We propose the multi-domain adaptive learning that enables us to find a point meeting possibly time-varying specifications simultaneously in multiple domains, e.g. space, time, frequency, etc. The novel concept is based on the idea of feasibility splitting -- dealing with feasibility in each individual domain. We show that the adaptive projected subgradient method (Yamada, 2003) realizes the multi-domain adaptive learning by employing (i) a projected gradient operator with respect to a ‘fixed’ proximity function reflecting the time-invariant specifications and (ii) a subgradient projection with respect to ‘time-varying’ objective functions reflecting the time-varying specifications. The resulting algorithm is suitable for real-time implementation, because it requires no more than metric projections onto closed convex sets each of which accommodates the specification in each domain. A convergence analysis and numerical examples are presented.

A wireless power link utilizing inductive coupling is developed between stacked chips. In this paper, we discuss inductor layout optimization and rectifier circuit design. The inductive-coupling power link is analyzed using simple equivalent circuit models. On the basis of the analytic models, the inductor size is minimized for the given required power on the receiver chip. Two kinds of full-wave rectifiers are discussed and compared. Various low-power circuit design techniques for rectifiers are employed to decrease the substrate leakage current, reduce the possibility of latch-up, and improve the power transmission efficiency and the high-frequency performance of the rectifier block. Test chips are fabricated in a 0.18 µm CMOS process. With a pair of 700700 µm2 on-chip inductors, the test chips achieve 10% peak efficiency and 36 mW power transmission. Compared with the previous work the received power is 13 times larger for the same inductor size .

To detect the natural clusters for irregularly shaped data distribution is a difficult task in pattern recognition. In this study, we propose an efficient clustering algorithm for irregularly shaped clusters based on the advantages of spectral clustering and Affinity Propagation (AP) algorithm. We give a new similarity measure based on neighborhood dispersion analysis. The proposed algorithm is a simple but effective method. The experimental results on several data sets show that the algorithm can detect the natural clusters of input data sets, and the clustering results agree well with that of human judgment.

In and we have presented a simulation-based algorithm for optimizing the average reward in a parameterized continuous-time, finite-state semi-Markov Decision Process (SMDP). We approximated the gradient of the average reward. Then, a simulation-based algorithm was proposed to estimate the approximate gradient of the average reward (called GSMDP), using only a single sample path of the underlying Markov chain. GSMDP was proved to converge with probability 1. In this paper, we give bounds on the approximation and estimation errors for GSMDP algorithm. The approximation error of that approximation is the size of the difference between the true gradient and the approximate gradient. The estimation error, the size of the difference between the output of the algorithm and its asymptotic output, arises because the algorithm sees only a finite data sequence.

A secret image transmission scheme based on vector quantization (VQ) and a secret codebook is proposed in this article. The goal of this scheme is to transmit a set of good-quality images secretly via another high-quality cover image with the same image size. In order to reduce the data size of secret images, the images are encoded by an adaptive codebook. To guarantee the visual quality of secret images, the adaptive codebook applied at the transmitter is transmitted to the receiver secretly as well. Moreover, to enhance the security of the proposed scheme and to compact the data size of the codebook, the adaptive codebook is encoded based on VQ using another codebook generated from the cover image. Experiments show impressive results.

A band-pass bilateral filter is an improved variant of a bilateral filter that does not have low-pass characteristics but has band-pass characteristics. Unfortunately, its computation time is relatively large since all pixels are subjected to Gaussian calculation. To solve this problem, we pay attention to a nonlinear filter called ε-filter and propose an advanced ε-filter labeled band-pass ε-filter. As ε-filter has low-pass characteristics due to spatial filtering, it does not enhance the image contrast. On the other hand, band-pass ε-filter does not have low-pass characteristics but has band-pass characteristics to enhance the image contrast around edges unlike ε-filter. The filter works not only as a noise reduction filter but also as an edge detection filter depending on the filter setting. Due to its simple design, the calculation cost is relatively small compared to the band-pass bilateral filter. To show the effectiveness of the proposed method, we report the results of some comparison experiments on the filter characteristics and computational cost.

This paper deals with the maximum-weight 2-path packing problem (M2PP), which is the problem of computing a set of vertex-disjoint paths of length 2 in a given edge-weighted complete graph so that the total weight of edges in the paths is maximized. Previously, Hassin and Rubinstein gave a randomized cubic-time approximation algorithm for M2PP which achieves an expected ratio of - ε ≈ 0.5223 - ε for any constant ε > 0. We refine their algorithm and derandomize it to obtain a deterministic cubic-time approximation algorithm for the problem which achieves a better ratio (namely, 0.5265 - ε for any constant ε>0).

This paper introduces several techniques for achieving RF and analog CMOS circuits for wireless communication systems under ultra-low-voltage supply, such as 0.5 V. Forward body biasing and inverter-based circuit techniques were applied in the design of a feedforward Δ-ΣA/D modulator operating with a 0.5 V supply. Transformer utilization is also presented as an inductor area reduction technique. In addition, application of stochastic resonance to A/D conversion is discussed as a future technology.

Disturbance attenuation for a class of time-delay systems is performed by a combined simple adaptive control (SAC) with a new configuration of disturbance observer (DOB). The nominal system results from the Pade approximation, which is in the form of a non-minimum phase LTI system. For the implementation of SAC and DOB, two parallel feedforward compensators (PFC) are designed with the inverses of PD- and PID-controller, respectively. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed controller to compensate the disturbance response and uncertain delay time.

Digital fingerprinting is used to trace back illegal users, where unique ID known as digital fingerprints is embedded into a content before distribution. On the generation of such fingerprints, one of the important properties is collusion-resistance. Binary codes for fingerprinting with a code length of theoretically minimum order were proposed by Tardos, and the related works mainly focused on the reduction of the code length were presented. In this paper, we present a concrete and systematic construction of the Tardos's fingerprinting code using a chaotic map. Using a statistical model for correlation scores, the actual number of true-positive and false-positive detection is measured. The collusion-resistance of the generated fingerprinting codes is evaluated by a computer simulation.

This paper proposes closed form solutions to the L2-sensitivity minimization subject to L2-scaling constraints for second-order state-space digital filters with real poles. We consider two cases of second-order digital filters: distinct real poles and multiple real poles. The proposed approach reduces the constrained optimization problem to an unconstrained optimization problem by appropriate variable transformation. We can express the L2-sensitivity by a simple linear combination of exponential functions and formulate the L2-sensitivity minimization problem by a simple polynomial equation. As a result, L2-sensitivity is expressed in closed form, and its minimization subject to L2-scaling constraints is achieved without iterative calculations.

In this letter, a broadband coupler is presented that makes use of a half mode substrate integrated waveguide (HMSIW) technique using a printed circuit board process. The coupler is realized by a parallel HMSIW line which couples energy by magnetic field. Compared with micro-strip coupler and conventional HMSIW coupler, it has lower loss and better Electromagnetic Compatibility owning to the closed field structure. Compared with SIW coupler, it has smaller size and lower cost owing to the half TE10 model. The coupler is simulated and measured at 8-12 GHz. Measured results show a good agreement with simulation.

In this paper, a design methodology for the minimization of various performance metrics of MOS Current-Mode Logic (MCML) circuits is described. In particular, it allows to minimize the delay under a given power consumption, the power consumption under a given delay and the power-delay product. Design solutions can be evaluated graphically or by simple and effective automatic procedures implemented within the MATLAB environment. The methodology exploits the novel concepts of crossing-point current and crossing-point capacitance. A useful feature of it is that it provides the designer with useful insights into the dependence of the performance metrics on design variables and fan-out capacitance. The methodology was validated by designing several MCML circuits in an IBM 130 nm CMOS process.

We consider the use of the additive white Gaussian noise channel to achieve information theoretically secure oblivious transfer. A protocol for this primitive that ensures the correctness and privacy for players is presented together with the signal design. We also study the information theoretic efficiency of the protocol, and some more practical issues where the parameter of the channel is unknown to the players.

We present the Fuzzy Directional (FD) filter to remove impulse noise from corrupted colour images. Simulation results have shown that the restoration performance is better in comparison with other known filters.