Recently, the marginalized particle filter (MPF) has been applied to blind symbol detection problems over selective fading channels. The MPF can ease the computational burden of the standard particle filter (PF) while offering better estimates compared with the standard PF. In this paper, we investigate the application of the blind MPF detector to more realistic situations where the systems suffer from analog imperfections which are non-linear signal distortion due to the inaccurate analog circuits in wireless devices. By reformulating the system model using the widely linear representation and employing the auxiliary variable resampling (AVR) technique for estimation of the imperfections, the blind MPF detector is successfully modified to cope with the analog imperfections. The effectiveness of the proposed MPF detector is demonstrated via computer simulations.

The selection of effective features is especially important in achieving highly accurate speech recognition. Although the mel-cepstrum is a popular and effective feature for speech recognition, it is still unclear that the filterbank adopted in the mel-cepstrum always produces the optimal performance regardless of the phonetic environment of any specific speech recognition task. In this paper, we propose a new cepstral domain feature extraction approach utilizing the entropic distance-based filterbank for highly accurate speech recognition. Experimental results showed that the cepstral features employing the proposed filterbank reduce the relative error by 31% for clean as well as noisy speech compared to the mel-cepstral features.

This paper proposes a voltage-to-current converter with nested feedback loop configuration to achieve high loop gain without reducing the bandwidth. Simulation results using 0.18-µm CMOS process parameters show that the proposed circuit has a good linearity performance. The simulated bandwidth is 350 MHz. The THD improvement of the proposed circuit is more than 60 dB compared to the one of a common gate circuit under a same total current consumption of 10.4 mA.

Energy efficient routing is one of the key design issues to prolong the lifetime of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) since sensor nodes can not be easily re-charged once they are deployed. During routing process, the routes with only few hops or with too many hops are not energy efficient. Hop-based routing algorithms can largely improve the energy efficiency of multi-hop routing in WSNs because they can determine the optimal hop number as well as the corresponding intermediate nodes during multi-hop routing process under medium or high density network. In this paper, we not only focus on studying the relationship between energy consumption and hop number from theoretical point of view but also provide a practical selection criterion of the sub-optimal hop number under practical sensor network so as to minimize the energy consumption. We extend the theoretical deduction of optimal hop number and propose our Hop-based Energy Aware Routing (HEAR) algorithm which is totally distributed and localized. Simulation results show that our HEAR algorithm can reduce the average energy consumption about 10 times compared to the direct transmission algorithm and 2 to 10 times than other algorithms like LEACH and HEED under various network topologies.

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.

Substrate noise analysis has become increasingly important in recent LSI design. This is because substrate noise, which affects PLLs, causes jitter that results in timing error. Conventional analysis techniques of substrate noise are, however, impractical for large-scale designs that have hundreds of millions of transistors because the computational complexity is too huge. To solve this problem, we have developed a fast substrate noise analysis technique for large-scale designs, in which a chip is divided into multiple domains and the circuits of each domain are reduced into a macro model. Using this technique, we have designed a processor chip for use in the supercomputer (die size: 20 mm 21 mm, frequency: 3.2 GHz, transistor count: 350M). Computation time with this design is five times faster than that with a 1/3000 scale design using a conventional technique, while resulting discrepancy with measured period jitter is less than 15%.

Multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU-MIMO) systems have attracted much attention as a technology that enhances the total system capacity by generating a virtual MIMO channel between a base station and multiple terminal stations. Extensive evaluations are still needed because there are many more system parameters in MU-MIMO than in single user (SU)-MIMO and the MU-MIMO performance in actual environments is still not well understood. This paper describes the features and effectiveness of a 1616 MU-MIMO testbed in an actual indoor environment. Moreover, we propose a simple adaptive modulation scheme for MU-MIMO-OFDM transmission that employs a bit interleaver in the frequency and space domains. We evaluate the frequency efficiency by obtaining the bit error rate of this testbed in an actual indoor environment. We show that 1644-user MU-MIMO transmission using the proposed modulation scheme achieves the frequency utilization of 870 Mbps and 1 Gbps (respective SNRs: 31 and 36 dB) with a 20-MHz bandwidth.

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 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.

We propose a surface profiling algorithm by white-light interferometry that extends sampling interval to twice of the widest interval among those used in conventional algorithms. The proposed algorithm uses a novel function called an in-phase component of an interferogram to detect the peak of the interferogram, while conventional algorithms used the squared-envelope function or the envelope function. We show that the in-phase component has the same peak as the corresponding interferogram when an optical filter has a symmetric spectral distribution. We further show that the in-phase component can be reconstructed from sampled values of the interferogram using the so-called quadrature sampling technique. Since reconstruction formulas used in the algorithm are very simple, the proposed algorithm requires low computational costs. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

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.

In this paper, we propose a novel noncoherent maximum likelihood detection (NMLD) method for differential spatial multiplexing (SM) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. Unlike the conventional maximum likelihood detection (MLD) method which needs the knowledge of channel state information (CSI) at the receiver, NMLD method has no need of CSI at either the transmitter or receiver. After repartitioning the observation block of multiple-symbol differential detection (MSDD) and following a decision feedback process, the decision metric of NMLD is derived by reforming that of MSDD. Since the maximum Doppler frequency and noise power are included in the derived decision metric, estimations of both maximum Doppler frequency and noise power are needed at the receiver for NMLD. A fast calculation algorithm (FCA) is applied to reduce the computational complexity of NMLD. The feasibility of the proposed NMLD is demonstrated by computer simulations in both slow and fast fading environments. Simulation results show that the proposed NMLD has good bit error rate (BER) performance, approaching that of the conventional coherent MLD with the extension of reference symbols interval. It is also proved that the BER performance is not sensitive to the estimation errors in maximum Doppler frequency and noise power.

An inverter is a circuit which outputs ¬ x1, ¬ x2, ..., ¬ xn for any Boolean inputs x1, x2, ..., xn. We consider constructing an inverter with AND gates and OR gates and a few NOT gates. Beals, Nishino and Tanaka have given a construction of an inverter which has size O(nlog n) and depth O(log n) and uses ⌈ log (n+1) ⌉ NOT gates. In this paper we give a construction of an inverter which has size O(n) and depth log 1+o(1)n and uses log 1+o(1)n NOT gates. This is the first negation-limited inverter of linear size using only o(n) NOT gates. We also discuss implications of our construction for negation-limited circuit complexity.

Routing in wireless ad hoc networks is a challenging issue because it dynamically controls the network topology and determines the network performance. Most of the available protocols are based on single-rate radio networks and they use hop-count as the routing metric. There have been some efforts for multirate radios as well that use transmission-time of a packet as the routing metric. However, neither the hop-count nor the transmission-time may be a sufficient criterion for discovering a high-throughput path in a multirate wireless ad hoc network. Hop-count based routing metrics usually select a low-rate bound path whereas the transmission-time based metrics may select a path with a comparatively large number of hops. The trade-off between transmission time and effective transmission range of a data rate can be another key criterion for finding a high-throughput path in such environments. In this paper, we introduce a novel routing metric based on the efficiency of a data rate that balances the required time and covering distance by a transmission and results in increased throughput. Using the new metric, we propose an on-demand routing protocol for multirate wireless environment, dubbed MR-AODV, to discover high-throughput paths in the network. A key feature of MR-AODV is that it controls the data rate in transmitting both the data and control packets. Rate control during the route discovery phase minimizes the route request (RREQ) avalanche. We use simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed MR-AODV protocol and results reveal significant improvements in end-to-end throughput and minimization of routing overhead.

We have developed an easy fabrication method of Si field effect transistors (FETs) with poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) gate films for science education. In this process, we can easily fabricate the silicon FETs only by means of metal deposition and thermal diffusion without any lithography processes. The organic isolation films of PMMA can be deposited by casting or painting at room temperature in air. The metal-organic-semiconductor FETs with PMMA exhibited almost the same drain current -- gate voltage characteristics as those of conventional Si metal-oxide-semiconductor FETs, which are suitable for the education material of semiconductor engineering. The organic gate Si FETs can be used not only for education but also as thin film transistors for active matrix displays.

Analytical solutions for the frequency-dependent transmission line model parameters of a stranded coaxial cable, which are not trivial due to the complex geometry, are presented and discussed in this paper. A frequency-dependent effective conductor radius of a stranded wire coaxial cable is proposed to estimate the internal impedance using the Bessel function solutions of a solid wire coaxial cable. The performance of the proposed model is verified by electromagnetic field solver simulation and by experimental measurement. The results show that the proposed model successfully calculates the broadband frequency-dependent RLGC model parameters and characteristic impedance of a stranded wire coaxial cable with high accuracy.

A Multi-Property-Preserving (MPP) hash function is a hash function that simultaneously preserves several security properties of the underlying compression function. The Merkle-Damgård with a Permutation (MDP) was shown to preserve unforgeability and pseudorandom oracle property. In this paper, we consider the most basic security properties of hash functions, namely collision resistance, second-preimage resistance, and preimage-resistance. We first show which of these properties are preserved by MDP in the dedicated-key setting. We also identify the properties preserved by four variants of MDP, and five other variants of Merkle-Damgård iterated hash functions. As a result, for the ten hash functions we analyze, we obtain their complete MPP characteristics.

A method for reducing ground clutter contribution from ground penetrating radar (GPR) data is proposed for discrimination of landmines located in shallow depth. The algorithm of this method is based on the Matching Pursuit (MP) that is a technique for non-orthogonal signal decomposition using dictionary of functions. As the dictionary of function, a wave-based dictionary constructed by taking account of scattering mechanisms of electromagnetic (EM) wave by rough surfaces is employed. Through numerical simulations, performance of ground clutter reduction is evaluated. The results show that the proposed method has good performance and is effective for GPR data preprocessing for discrimination of shallowly buried landmines.

A digital 3 Gbps 0.2 V differential transmitter is proposed using a voltage-mode pseudo-LVDS output driver. The delay mismatch between two pre-drivers is digitally calibrated by a modified digital DLL with the duty cycle correction. The height and width of eye opening are improved by 103% and 46%, respectively. The power consumption is 11.4 mW at 1.2 V with 0.18 µm process.