This paper proposes a closed-form formula for the jitter-induced noise spectrum at the output of continuous-time ΔΣ modulators with NRZ feedback waveform. In this approach, the clock jitter effects are modeled as an additive noise in the feedback loop of the modulator. Making use of a conceptual model and following from the linear system theory, the output spectrum is explained versus the spectrum of the additive jitter noise.

External interferences can severely degrade the performance of an Over-the-horizon radar (OTHR), so suppression of external interferences in strong clutter environment is the prerequisite for the target detection. The traditional suppression solutions usually began with clutter suppression in either time or frequency domain, followed by the interference detection and suppression. Based on this traditional solution, this paper proposes a method characterized by joint clutter suppression and interference detection: by analyzing eigenvalues in a short-time moving window centered at different time position, clutter is suppressed by discarding the maximum three eigenvalues at every time position and meanwhile detection is achieved by analyzing the remained eigenvalues at different position. Then, restoration is achieved by forward-backward linear prediction using interference-free data surrounding the interference position. In the numeric computation, the eigenvalue decomposition (EVD) is replaced by singular values decomposition (SVD) based on the equivalence of these two processing. Data processing and experimental results show its efficiency of noise floor falling down about 10-20 dB.

We consider a problem of global asymptotic stabilization of a class of feedforward nonlinear systems that have the unknown linear growth rate and unknown input delay. The proposed output feedback controller employs a dynamic gain which is tuned adaptively by monitoring the output value. As a result, a priori knowledge on the linear growth rate and delay size are not required in controller design, which is a clear benefit over the existing results.

We present an attractive approach for OFDM transmission using an adaptive pre-FFT equalizer, which can select ICI reduction mode according to channel condition, and a degenerated-inverse-matrix-based channel estimator (DIME), which uses a cyclic sinc-function matrix uniquely determined by transmitted subcarriers. In addition to simulation results, the proposed system with an adaptive pre-FFT equalizer and DIME has been laboratory tested by using a software defined radio (SDR)-based test bed. The simulation and experimental results demonstrated that the system at a rate of more than 100 Mbps can provide a bit error rate of less than 10-3 for a fast multi-path fading channel that has a moving velocity of more than 200 km/h with a delay spread of 1.9 µs (a maximum delay path of 7.3 µs) in the 5-GHz band.

In this study, we introduce shift-invariant sparse image representations using tree-structured dictionaries. Sparse coding is a generative signal model that approximates signals by the linear combinations of atoms in a dictionary. Since a sparsity penalty is introduced during signal approximation and dictionary learning, the dictionary represents the primal structures of the signals. Under the shift-invariance constraint, the dictionary comprises translated structuring elements (SEs). The computational cost and number of atoms in the dictionary increase along with the increasing number of SEs. In this paper, we propose an algorithm for shift-invariant sparse image representation, in which SEs are learnt with a tree-structured approach. By using a tree-structured dictionary, we can reduce the computational cost of the image decomposition to the logarithmic order of the number of SEs. We also present the results of our experiments on the SE learning and the use of our algorithm in image recovery applications.

A 2.45-GHz-band small passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag consists of a small loop antenna and chip, and its size is several millimeters. Because of the tag's poor impedance-matching characteristic and radiation efficiency, an ordinary reader has difficulty reading it. We propose a new technique for reading the tag that involves installing a square half-wavelength meander-line conductor on the reader as an adapter and placing the adapter in the vicinity of the tag, and verify the effectiveness of the technique by simulation and experiment. Moreover, characteristics of simultaneous read of the small RFID tags by the proposed reading technique are revealed by simulation and experimental results.

Invariants of Petri nets are fundamental algebraic characteristics of Petri nets, and are used in various situations, such as checking (as necessity of) liveness, boundedness, periodicity and so on. Any given Petri net N has two kinds of invariants: a P-invariant is a |P|-dimensional vector Y with Yt A = and a T-invariant is a |T|-dimensional vector X with A X = for the place-transition incidence matrix A of N. T-invariants are nonnegative integer vectors, while this is not always the case with P-invariants. This paper deals only with nonnegative integer invariants (invariants that are nonnegative vectors) and shows results common to the two invariants. For simplicity of discussion, only P-invariants are treated. The Fourier-Motzkin method is well-known for computing all minimal support integer invariants. This method, however, has a critical deficiency such that, even if a given Perti net N has any invariant, it is likely that no invariants are obtained because of an overflow in storing intermediate vectors as candidates for invariants. The subject of the paper is to give an overview and results known to us for efficiently computing minimal-support nonnegative integer invariants of a given Petri net by means of the Fourier-Motzkin method. Also included are algorithms for efficiently extracting siphon-traps of a Petri net.

This paper focuses on fusion estimation algorithms weighted by matrices and scalars, and relationship between them is considered. We present new algorithms that address the computation of matrix weights arising from multidimensional estimation problems. The first algorithm is based on the Cholesky factorization of a cross-covariance block-matrix. This algorithm is equivalent to the standard composite fusion estimation algorithm however it is low-complexity. The second fusion algorithm is based on an approximation scheme which uses special steady-state approximation for local cross-covariances. Such approximation is useful for computing matrix weights in real-time. Subsequent analysis of the proposed fusion algorithms is presented, in which examples demonstrate the low-computational complexity of the new fusion estimation algorithms.

This paper proposes a frequency asynchronous cross-polarization interference canceller for Vertical/Horizontal (V/H) polarization multiplexing satellite communications. In satellite communications, V/H polarization signals are likely to experience different frequency fluctuations, and so the cross-polarization undergoes two different frequency fluctuations. To cancel this cross-polarization interference, a new frequency asynchronous cross-polarization interference canceller that removes interference and frequency offsets is proposed. Computer simulations are carried out to evaluate its fundamental performance. The results show that the proposed canceller can remove the cross-polarization interference created by the two different frequency offsets, simultaneously.

In a Decode and Forward (DF) type of an OFDM-based Full Duplex Relay (FDR), the frequency-domain approach is more efficient than the time-domain approach for feedback interference cancellation. However, Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI) and Inter-Carrier Interference (ICI) may occur due to timing mismatch between the feedback interference signal and the desired signal from the Base Station (BS). In this letter, the effects of a timing mismatch on synchronous types and asynchronous types of OFDM-based FDRs are investigated in uplink and downlink cases. A synchronization procedure and techniques for minimizing ISI and ICI in OFDM-based FDRs with a frequency-domain feedback interference canceller are proposed.

We developed a new method for characterizing molecular distribution in very thin liquid crystal layer (5-40 nm) evaporated onto rubbed polyimide film used by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD). The diffraction peaks corresponding to intermolecular correlation perpendicular to longitudinal axis of liquid crystal molecule and the clear anisotropic distribution of liquid crystal molecules in a thin layer were successfully observed. We found that in the vicinity of the alignment film, the intermolecular spacing correlation perpendicular to longitudinal axis of the 5CB molecule was expanded by the alignment film, and that the ordering of the 5CB was not so high. As the distance from the alignment film the spacing came close to the intrinsic intermolecular spacing.

We investigated effect of annealing after rubbing by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, since annealing process is performed in the actual process of liquid crystal display (LCD) fabrication. It was found that rubbed surface polymers were highly crystallized by annealing at 250 after rubbing, and that the crystallization of surface polymers by annealing occurred in the aligned polymer region induced by rubbing. Crystallization of surface polymers by annealing increasingly occurred as increasing of rubbing strength. Thus, it is considered that annealing process after rubbing should also play an important role to control liquid crystal alignment in LCD.

The self-organized microwrinkles can serve as a surface alignment layer to align nematic liquid crystals, which is primarily based on the groove mechanism. The azimuthal anchoring energy is discussed and estimated from the groove topography and the actual twist angle in the twisted nematic cell.

By using multiple repeated signal replicas to formulate the accumulative observed noisy signal sequence (AONSS) or the differential observed noisy signal sequence (DONSS) in the hybrid ARQ system, a novel data-aided maximum likelihood (DA ML) SNR estimation and a blind ML SNR estimation technique are proposed for the AWGN channel. It is revealed that the conventional DA ML estimate is a special case of the novel DA ML estimate, and both the proposed DA ML and the proposed blind ML SNR estimation techniques can offer satisfactory SNR estimation without introducing significant additional complexity to the existing hybrid ARQ scheme. Based on the AONSS, both the generalized deterministic and the random Cramer-Rao lower bounds (GCRLBs), which include the traditional Cramer-Rao lower bounds (CRLBs) as special cases, are also derived. Finally, the applicability of the proposed SNR estimation techniques based on the AONSS and the DONSS are validated through numerical analysis and simulation results.

A neutralization line is internally added to a 770 MHz LTE-band miniature dual-antenna system to improve its antenna efficiency. The odd-mode antenna impedance simulations indicate that the position of the neutralization line along the radiating structure determines the operation frequency. Measurement results show that the line reduces the antenna coupling loss from -6 to -17 dB while improving the individual antenna efficiency from 42 to 65 percent at 770 MHz.

A composite patch array antenna with built-in polarizer has been developed to reduce road clutter noise by 20 dB for 76 GHz automotive radars. A polarizer is placed in front of Tx and Rx patch arrays within their reactive near-field region to suppress cross-polarized sidelobe radiation from their feeding lines while maintaining a low-profile characteristic with 4 mm thickness. Additional metal-lined absorbers within the composite antenna structure, while terminating cross-polarized waves undesirably excited by the patch arrays, also serve as miniature clutter plates to further reduce sidelobes toward the road surface. The resultant composite antenna achieved sidelobe levels of -45 dB, a 20 dB improvement over standard patch arrays, at elevation angles close to 90.

A precision in thickness recycling modus for a displays' color filter surface using a gear-form cathode in microelectrochemical removal is developed in the study. Through the precise removal processes of optical materials of nanostructure of Indium-Tin-Oxide crystallization, the optoelectronic semiconductor industry can effectively recycle defective products, and reducing production costs.

Quantification of the hip cartilages is clinically important. In this study, we propose an automatic technique for segmentation and visualization of the acetabular and femoral head cartilages based on clinically obtained multi-slice T1-weighted MR data and a hybrid approach. We follow a knowledge based approach by employing several features such as the anatomical shapes of the hip femoral and acetabular cartilages and corresponding image intensities. We estimate the center of the femoral head by a Hough transform and then automatically select the volume of interest. We then automatically segment the hip bones by a self-adaptive vector quantization technique. Next, we localize the articular central line by a modified canny edge detector based on the first and second derivative filters along the radial lines originated from the femoral head center and anatomical constraint. We then roughly segment the acetabular and femoral head cartilages using derivative images obtained in the previous step and a top-hat filter. Final masks of the acetabular and femoral head cartilages are automatically performed by employing the rough results, the estimated articular center line and the anatomical knowledge. Next, we generate a thickness map for each cartilage in the radial direction based on a Euclidian distance. Three dimensional pelvic bones, acetabular and femoral cartilages and corresponding thicknesses are overlaid and visualized. The techniques have been implemented in C++ and MATLAB environment. We have evaluated and clarified the usefulness of the proposed techniques in the presence of 40 clinical hips multi-slice MR images.

If ranging processes are not frequent in an uplink OFDMA system, timing synchronization between the base and mobile stations may not be maintained and the performance may be degraded. This paper proposes a random access scheme in which a short OFDMA symbol is transmitted to maintain the orthogonality with timing offsets. A short symbol is constructed by inserting zero-padding to an OFDMA symbol.

For phased and adaptive arrays of antennas, an optimal arrangement of antenna elements is essential to avoid grating lobes in the visible angular region of the array. Large sidelobes cause degradation in signal-to-noise ratio; grating lobes, in the worst case, cause malfunctions. One method of evaluating sidelobe level is square integration. For a given set element positions, evaluation by square integration of the sidelobes involves Fourier transform and numerical integration. For faster evaluation, we developed an equivalent transform algorithm that requires no numerical Fourier transform or integration. Using this new algorithm, we introduced a fast trial-and-error algorithm that iteratively applies random perturbation to the array, evaluates the function, and minimizes it. A number of separate runs of this algorithm have been conducted under the constraint of 3-fold rotational symmetry for stability. The optimal output, for which the function is minimized, is a uniformly spaced equilateral-triangular-type arrays that, unfortunately, has unwanted grating lobes. However the algorithm also yields variations trapped at local minima, some of which do not have grating lobes and whose sidelobe peaks are sufficiently low within a wide angular region. For the case N=12, a characteristic triagular-rectangular-type array often arises, which has not only better sidelobe properties as evaluated by square-integration and peak sidelobe, but also sufficient element-to-element clearance. For the case N=36, one of the results achieves a peak-sidelobe level of -8 dB, with a minimum element-to-element separation of 0.76 wavelength.