This paper studies the propagation and crossing of signals in cellular automata whose cells are updated at random times. The signals considered consist of a core part, surrounded by an insulating sheath that is missing at the side of the core that corresponds to the direction into which the signal moves. We study two types of signals: (1) signals by which the sheath at the left and right sides of the core advance first in a propagation step, followed by the core, and (2) signals by which the core advances first, followed by the sheath at its left and right sides. These types naturally arise in, respectively, Moore neighborhood cellular automata with semi-totalistic rules and von Neumann neighborhood cellular automata with symmetric transition rules. The type of a signal has a profound impact on the way signals cross each other, as we show by the construction of one signal of each type. The results we obtained should be of assistance in constructing asynchronous circuits on asynchronous cellular automata.

This paper proposes an SoC test architecture generation framework. It contains a database, which stores the test cost information of several DFTs for every core, and a DFT selection part which performs DFT selection for minimizing the test application time using this database in the early phase of the design flow. Moreover, the DFT selection problem is formulated and the algorithm that solves this problem is proposed. Experimental results show that bottlenecks in test application time when using a single DFT method for all cores in an SoC is reduced by performing DFT selection from two types of DFTs. As a result, the whole test application time is drastically shortened.

This paper describes a comprehensive simulation and test environment for prototype LSI verification. We develop a Perl package, ST, for simulation & test of digital circuits. A designer can describe a testbench with the Perl syntax, which can be converted to various kinds of simulators and LSI testers. Parameters such as a target simulator/tester, cycle time and voltage levels can be changed very easily just modifying arguments of subroutines. We also develop DUT boards which consist of a tester-dependent mother board and a package-dependent daughter board. Using ST and the DUT boards, a designer can start verification just after getting fabricated LSIs.

In this paper, we analyze behaviors of bridging faults in CMOS synchronous sequential circuits based on transient analysis. From analysis results, we expose dynamic and analog behaviors of the circuit caused by the bridging faults, which are oscillation, asynchronous sequential behavior, IDDT failure and IDDQ failure as well as logic error. In order to detect this kind of fault, we show that not only IDDQ testing but also IDDT testing and logic testing which guarantees correct state transitions are required.

This paper investigates modified random timers based on uniform and exponentially distributed timers for feedback scalability for large groups. We observe the widely-used probability distribution functions and propose new ones that are aware of network delays. The awareness of network delays of our proposed modified p.d.fs proves to be able to achieve lower expected number of messages compared to the original ones given that the parameters are optimized for the network variables: the number of receivers, and the network delay. In our analysis we derive an equation to estimate the optimized parameter based on these network variables. We also simulate the p.d.fs for heterogenous network delays and find that each receiver only needs to be aware of its network delay.

This paper presents a scalable and efficient quota-based admission control scheme for the 3rd generation (3G) operator's IP backbone network, where quota denotes a chunk of bandwidth. This research is motivated by the 3G operator's need for guaranteeing end-to-end IP QoS of mobile-to-mobile and mobile-to-server multimedia sessions. In the proposed scheme, the quota size of a path implies the proper amount of allocated and released resources on the path condition. Employing the quota size makes the job of allocating or releasing resources at nodes in a path simple so that it becomes scalable. Moreover, with this simple scheme, an edge node can be allowed not only to initiate the allocation/release request but also to perform admission control function. To maximize the efficiency, the path quota size varies depending on the bottleneck link condition in the path. In high offered load, the proposed scheme decreases the path quota size and retains higher utilization while it requires lower signaling cost than the fixed scheme using a fixed size aggregation. As the load lessens, it increases the path quota size and reduces the signaling cost significantly.

The handoff in Mobile IP networks causes packet sequence disruption during a packet forwarding procedure and may result in performance degradation in higher layer protocols. We investigate the impact of handoff in the Mobile IPv6 networks, where an optimized routing with the smooth handoff is adopted. The impact on the packet sequence is measured by an 'unstable time period (UTP)' and a 'silence time period (STP).' The UTP explains the time duration of out-of-sequence packets while the STP reflects the blackout duration of a mobile node after the initiation of handoff procedure. With the analysis on the UTP and STP, the total transient time period (denoted as handoff time period or HTP) after the handoff initiation can be estimated. In our previous work, focusing on the UTP, the packet flow sequence under the smooth handoff is analyzed for the Mobile IPv4 networks. The proposed queuing-based analysis is extended in this work for the Mobile IPv6 networks. That is, several modifications are made to conform to Mobile IPv6 and at the same time the queuing analysis itself is improved to better model the handoff procedure. The numerical results show that the queuing delay for the handoff packets (affected by background traffic) and the involved link (or route) capacities affect the estimated UTP, STP, and HTP. In addition, two schemes such as priority queuing and buffered packet forwarding are introduced to reduce the transient period and the improvements are analyzed for comparison.

This paper provides a review on the optimal design of photonic bandgap structures by inverse problem techniques. An overview of inverse problems techniques is given, with a special focus on topology design methods. A review of first applications of inverse problems techniques to photonic bandgap structures and waveguides is given, as well as some model problems, which provide a deeper insight into the structure of the optimal design problems.

This letter handles symbolic simulation for high-level hardware design descriptions including uninterpreted functions. Two new heuristics are introduced, which are named "symbolic function table" and "synchronization". In the experiment, the equivalence of a hardware/software codesign was checked up to a given finite number of cycles, which is composed of a behavioral design, that is, a small DSP program written in C, and its register-transfer-level implementation, a VLIW architecture with an assembly program. Our symbolic simulator succeeded in checking the equivalence of the two descriptions which were not tractable without the heuristics.

A reversible cellular automaton (RCA) is a computing model having a property analogous to physical reversibility. We investigate the problem of finding simple RCAs in which any circuit composed of rotary elements (REs) can be embedded. Since an RE is known to be a universal reversible logic element, such RCAs are also universal in this respect. In this paper, after giving a survey of known results on RE and its implementation in RCAs, we propose a new RCA model in which REs and some signal routing elements can be embedded. The new model has a simpler local transition function (in the sense it is described by fewer rules) than the previous one, though the number of states is the same. In addition, the patterns realizing an RE and signal routing elements are smaller than those of the previous model.

In this paper, we propose a preemptive test scheduling technique (a test can be interrupted and later resumed) for core-based systems with the objective to minimize the test application time. We make use of reconfigurable core test wrappers in order to increase the flexibility in the scheduling process. The advantage with such a wrapper is that it is not limited to a single TAM (test access mechanism) bandwidth (wrapper chain configuration) at each core. We model the scheduling problem as a Bin-packing problem, and we discuss the transformation: number of TAM wires (wrapper-chains) versus test time in combination with preemption, as well as the possibilities and the limitations to achieve an optimal solution in respect to test application time. We have implemented the proposed preemptive test scheduling algorithm, and we have through experiments demonstrated its efficiency.

In future mobile networks, new technologies will be needed to enable a mobile host to move across heterogeneous wireless access networks without disruption of the connection. In the past, many researchers have studied handover in such IP networks. In almost all cases, special network devices are needed to maintain the host's mobility. Moreover, a host cannot move across heterogeneous wireless access networks without degradation of the goodput for real-time communication, although a mobile host with multiple network interfaces can connect to multiple wireless access networks. For these reasons, we consider that a mobile host needs to manage seamless handover on an end-to-end basis. In this paper, we propose a multi-path transmission algorithm for end-to-end seamless handover. The main purpose of this algorithm is to improve the goodput during handover by sending the same packets along multiple paths, minimizing unnecessary consumption of network resources. We evaluate our algorithm through simulations and show that a mobile host gains a better goodput.

Measuring and modeling network traffic is of key importance for the traffic engineering of IP networks, due to the growing diversity of multimedia applications and the need to efficiently support QoS differentiation in the network. Several recent measurements have shown that Internet traffic may incorporate long-range dependence and self-similar characteristics, which can have significant impact on network performance. Self-similar traffic shows variability over many time scales, and this behavior must be taken into account for accurate prediction of network performance. In this paper, we propose a new parameter fitting procedure for a superposition of Markov Modulated Poisson Processes (MMPPs), which is able to capture self-similarity over a range of time scales. The fitting procedure matches the complete distribution of the arrival process at each time scale of interest. We evaluate the procedure by comparing the Hurst parameter, the probability mass function at each time scale, and the queuing behavior (as assessed by the loss probability and average waiting time), corresponding to measured traffic traces and to traces synthesized according to the proposed model. We consider three measured traffic traces, all exhibiting self-similar behavior: the well-known pOct Bellcore trace, a trace of aggregated IP WAN traffic, and a trace corresponding to the popular file sharing application Kazaa. Our results show that the proposed fitting procedure is able to match closely the distribution over the time scales present in data, leading to an accurate prediction of the queuing behavior.

In-plane-aligned a-axis-oriented YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) thin films are attractive for the formation of planar intrinsic Josephson devices. In this study, these films were deposited by dc sputtering on LaSrGaO4 (LSGO) (100) substrates and the dependence of the characteristics on the deposition conditions was investigated. In-plane-aligned a-axis-oriented YBCO thin films were successfully grown in the substrate temperature range of 555-615. With the temperature gradient method, it was seen that the critical temperature of the film increased to 81 K. The current-voltage characteristic along the c-axis exhibited clear multibranch structures. These results indicate that ion-cleaning of the substrate surface broadens the growth temperature range of these films and planar intrinsic Josephson devices can be fabricated from these films.

This letter presents a new concatenated code and a new criterion for the new concatenated code in fast Rayleigh fading channel. The new concatenated code consists of the cascade of a new space-time trellis code (STTC) as an inner code and a new convolutional code as an outer code. The new criterion maximizes the minimum free distance for the new convolutional code and both the minimum trace and the average trace of distance matrix for the new STTC. The new concatenated code improves the frame error rate (FER) performance significantly with low complexity. The new STTC and convolutional code are designed so as to satisfy the new criterion for 4-state 4 phase shift keying (PSK). The results of the suggested concatenated code are obtained using two transmit antennas, and shown to be significantly superior to the new and existing STTCs. As the number of receive antennas increases, the performance of the new concatenated code significantly improves, for instance, reaches FER = 10-3 at signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) = 5.2 dB for four receive antennas. Note that the proposed concatenated code also improves significant FER performance by using only one receive antenna for high SNR.

An amperometric thin-film glucose biosensor based on a plasma-polymerized film using hexamethyldisiloxane as the monomer is presented. The plasma-polymerized film, achieved in plasma in the vapor phase, offers a new alternative for use in the design of the electrode-enzyme interface of biosensors. The film shows promise of high sensor performance; namely, rapid sensor response, low noise, a wide dynamic range, reproducibility, and reduction in the effects of interfering materials such as ascorbic acid. In this study, we examined the usefulness of the hexamethyldisiloxane plasma-polymerized film and investigated how the thickness of the plasma-polymerized film on a platinum electrode affected sensor characteristics: the selectivity for hydrogen peroxide versus interfering agents, the sensor response due to enzymatic reaction, and oxygen depletion.

A device structure for polymer Schottky diode, which has the glass chimney as a dopant reservoir enabling the reduction of series resistance without cathode corrosion, has been proposed. Doping with the acetonitrile solution of FeCl3 in the device resulted in the increase in the forward-bias current by one order of magnitude without notable increase in reverse-bias current, suggesting that the doping reduced the series resistance. It is found that the penetration speed depends on the solvents. Short time doping with the nitromethane solution of FeCl3 resulted in the increase by three orders of magnitude. However, doping for a long period yielded the considerable increase in the reverse-bias current due to the complete penetration of dopatn solution. When the upper opening of glass chimney of device is left opened and the sample after doping stored in air, the forward-bias current of the device reduced rapidly due to the undoping and/or degradation of polymer. It is possible to protect the degradation of device characteristics after doping, by sealing the chimney and storing the device in vacuum.

In this paper, a novel description method of the contour of a shape using extended fractal interpolation functions (EFIFs) is presented. Although the scope of application of traditional FIFs has been limited to cases in which a given signal is represented by a single-valued function, the EFIFs derived by the introduction of a new parameter can describe a multiple-valued signal such as the contour of a shape with a high level of accuracy. Furthermore, the proposed description method possesses the useful property that once a given contour has been modeled by the proposed description method, the shape can be easily expanded at an arbitrary expansion rate. Experimental results show the effectiveness and usefulness of the proposed description method for representing contours.

The behavior of visitors browsing in a web site offers a lot of information about their requirements and the way they use the respective site. Analyzing such behavior can provide the necessary information in order to improve the web site's structure. The literature contains already several suggestions on how to characterize web site usage and to identify the respective visitor requirements based on clustering of visitor sessions. Here we propose to combine visitor behavior with the content of the respective web pages and the similarity between different page sequences in order to define a similarity measure between different visits. This similarity serves as input for clustering of visitor sessions. The application of our approach to a bank's web site and its visitor sessions shows its potential for internet-based businesses.

We study relationships between the class of Boolean formulas called exclusive-or expansions based on monotone DNF formulas (MDNF formulas, for short) and the class of Horn DNF formulas. An MDNF formula f is a Boolean formula represented by f = f1fd , where f1 > > fd are monotone DNF formulas and no terms appear more than once. A Horn DNF formula is a DNF formula where each term contains at most one negative literal. We show that the class of double Horn functions, where both f and its negation can be represented by Horn DNF formulas, coincides with a subclass of MDNF formulas such that each DNF formula fi consists of a single term. Furthermore, we give an incrementally polynomial time algorithm that transforms a given Horn DNF formula into the MDNF representation.