This paper proposes a Mean-Separated and Normalized Vector Quantizer with edge-Adaptive Feedback estimation and variable bit rates (AFMSN-VQ). The basic idea of the AFMSN-VQ is to estimate the statistical parameters of each coding block from its previous coded blocks and then use the estimated parameters to normalize the coding block prior to vector quantization. The edge-adaptive feedback estimator utilizes the interblock correlations of edge connectivity and gray level continuity to accurately estimate the mean and standard deviation of the coding block. The rate-variable VQ is to diminish distortion nonuniformity among image blocks of different activities and to improve the reconstruction quality of edges and contours to which the human vision is sensitive. Simulation results show that up to 2.7dB SNR gain of the AFMSN-VQ over the non-adaptive FMSN-VQ and up to 2.2dB over the 1616 ADCT can be achieved at 0.2-1.0 bit/pixel. Furthermore, the AFMSN-VQ shows a comparable coding performance to ADCT-VQ and A-PE-VQ.

The encoding of high quality and super high definition images requires new approaches to the coding problem. The nature of such images and the applications in which they are used prohibits the introduction of perceptible degradation by the coding process. In this paper, we discuss techniques for the perceptually transparent coding of images. Although technically lossy methods, images encoded and reconstructed using these techniques appear identical to the original images. The reconstructed images can be postprocessed (e.g., enhanced via anisotropic filtering), due to the absence of structured errors, commonly introduced by conventional lossy methods. The compression, ratios obtained are substantially higher than those achieved using lossless means.

A frame-installed lightwave synthesizer is constructed for optical frequency-division-multiplexing (FDM) communication. The synthesizer consists of two DFB diode lasers, electrical feedback loops, and an HCN gas cell used as a frequency reference at v0=192,843GHz (1.55459µm in wave-length). Output frequency can be stabilized at anywhere within v0(220) GHz. The beat note observed between the synthesizer and another HCN-stabilized DFB laser is constant within 2MHz over 100 hours. Frequency stability better than 410-10 (80kHz, without normalization) is obtained for an averaging time of 200s.

This paper examines the key technologies and applications of optical frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. It is clarified that a 100-channel OFDM system is feasible as a result of multichannel frequency stabilization, common optical amplification and channel selection utilizing a tunable optical filter. Transmission limitation due to fiber four-wave mixing is also described. Major functions and applications of the OFDM are summarized and the applicability of OFDM add/drop multiplexing is examined.

First, a number of issues pertaining to analog VLSI implementation of Backpropagation (BP) and Deterministic Boltzmann Machine (DBM) learning algorithms are clarified. According to the results from software simulation, a mismatch between the activation function and derivative generated by independent circuits degrades the BP learning performance. The perfomance can be improved, however, by adjusting the gain of the activation function used to obtain the derivative, irrespective of the original activation function. Calculation errors embedded in the circuits also degrade the learning preformance. BP learning is sensitive to offset errors in multiplication in the learning process, and DBM learning is sensitive to asymmetry between the weight increment and decrement processes. Next, an analog VLSI architecture for implementing the algorithms using common building block circuits is proposed. The evaluation results of test chips confirm that synaptic weights can be updated up to 1 MHz and that a resolution exceeding 14 bits can be attained. The test chips successfully perform XOR learning using each algorithm.

Serious failures of the latest electronic equipments occur easily due to electrostatic discharge (ESD) , which can be caused frequently by the electrification phenomena of human-body walking on the floor. The number of the above damaging incidents has significantly been increasing with an increased use of integrated semiconductor elements with lower operation power. The most effective measures against the ESD consist in preventive ones, which are to obtain dynamic behaviors of the electric charge before the ESD happens, thereby preventing the charge accumulation. From this point of view, this paper describes new approaches for measurement of the static electricity directed toward preventing the ESD. First, a two-dimensional measurement method for visualizing charge distributions is described. This principle is based on visualizing the potential distribution induced in the array electrodes from the electrostatic fields. For showing usefulness of the visualization measurement, a prototype was built and attempts were made on the visualizations for the static electricity distributions of charged bodies. Second, a potential calculation of the human body charged by walking on the floor is described. A model was shown for analyzing the human-body potential on the floor, and the theoretical equation for describing the potential attenuation process was derived in the closed form in the Laplacian transformation domain. In order to obtain the typical half-life of the human-body potential, numerical computations were performed using a reverse Laplacian transformation. The experiments were also conducted for confirming the validity of the computed results. Finally, a new method is described for estimating dynamic behaviors of the occurrence charges of the human body electrified by walking-motions. Statistical measurements of the charges and potentials were made for the fundamental walking-motions specified here. The pace transitions of the potentials due to continuous walking and stepping were also measured and their results were explained from the electrification properties for the fundamental walking-motions.

By close analogy of annealing for solids, we devise a new algorithm, called APS, for the time evolution of both the state and the synapses of the Hopfield's neural network. Through constrainedly random perturbation of the synapses of the network, the evolution of the state will ignore the tremendous number of small minima and reach a good minimum. The synapses resemble the microstructure of a network. This new algorithm anneals the microstructure of the network through a thermal controlled process. And the algorithm allows us to obtain a good minimum of the Hopfield's model efficiently. We show the potential of this approach for optimization problems by applying it to the will-known traveling salesman problem. The performance of this new algorithm has been supported by many computer simulations.

It is important to develop methods of measuring radiated electromagnetic interference level that will produce identical results at all measuring locations. We have considered a number of problems which prevent the achievement of identical results, and proposed some solutions. However, agreement of measurement values adequate for practical purposes has not been achieved. After our successive studies, we finally became aware that there is a causal relationship with changes in the line-to-ground impedance of the power supply. It is presumed that power cables of AC-powered devices operate as antenna elements that produce emission. Thus changes in the power line-to-ground impedance cause variations in the radiation efficiency to produce a different EMI level. We therefore made plans to measure the values of line-to-ground impedance at the AC power outlet for the frequency range of 100kHz to 500MHz at various locations where measurements are made of EMI from EUT (Equipment Under Test). The impedance varies greatly between 6ohms and 2 k-ohm, not only according to the frequency, but also according to the measurement location. In such cases, the EMI level shows a different value even with the same EUT, and it usually increases-especially for vertical polarization. We have developed a new type of LISN (Line Impedance Stabilization Network or Artificial Mains Network) to stabilize the power line-to-ground impedance to get consistent measurement conditions. The LISN consists of feed-through capacitors and an disk type RF resistor. The measurements confirm the consistency in the impedance value which is maintained at 50 ohms in the frequency range from 1MHz to 500MHz. Thus the newly developed LISN improves consistency of measurement values at all locations, while it was difficult to obtain good correlation before employing the LISN. We feel confident that incorporation of the method discussed here in the pertinent technical standards of EMI measurements, such as CISPR, would lead to a major improvement in getting consistent measurements values.

Modeling and numerical simulation of crystal growth of Si film and heat transport in 3D structure were made for optimization of physical and geometrical parameters used during laser recrystallization. Based on simulations a new concept called micro-absorber was introduced for obtaining defect-free Si films.

Suppose that there are terminals on two concentric circles, Cin and Cout, with Cin inside of Cout. We are given a set of nets each of which consists of a terminal on Cin and a terminal on Cout. The routing area is the annular region between the two circles. In this paper, we present an O(nk-1) time algorithm for testing whether the given net set is k-layer routable without vias, where k2 and n is the number of nets.

Binaural effects in two measures are studied. One measure is the detectable limen of click sounds under lateralization of diotic or dichotic noise signals, and the other is phoneme articulation score under localization or lateralization of speech and noise signals. The experiments use a headphones system with listener's own head related transfer function (HRTF) filters. The HRTF filter coefficients are calculated individually from the impulse responses due to the listener's HRTF measured in a slightly sound reflective booth. The frequency response of the headphone is compensated for using an inverse filter calculated from the response at the subject's own ear canal entrance point. Considering the speech frequency band in tele-communication systems is not sufficiently wide, the bandwidth of the HRTF filter is limited below 6.2 kHz. However, the experiments of the localization simulation in the horizontal plane show that the sound image is mostly perceived outside the head in the simulated direction. Under simulation of localization or lateralization of speech and noise signals, the phoneme articulation score increases when the simulation spatially separates the phonemes from the noise signals while the total signal to noise ratio for both ears is maintained constant. This result shows the binaural effect in speech intelligibility under the noise disturbance condition, which is regarded as a part of the cocktail party effect.

This paper proposes a technique for designing two-dimensional (2-D) digital filters approximating an arbitrary magnitude function. The technique is based on 2-D spectral factorization and rational approximation of the complex exponential function. A 2-D spectral factorization technique is used to obtain a recursively computable and stable system with nonsymmetric half-plane support from the desired 2-D magnitude function. Since the obtained system has an exponential function type transfer function and cannot be realized directly in a rational form, a class of realizable 2-D digital filters is introduced to approximate the exponential type transfer function. This class of filters referred to as two-dimensional log magnitude approximation (2-D LMA) filters can be viewed as an extension of the class of 1-D LMA filters to the 2-D case. Filter coefficients are given by the 2-D complex cepstrum coefficients, i.e., the inverse Fourier transform of the logarithm of the given magnitude function, which can be efficiently computed using 2-D FFT algorithm. Consequently, computation of the filter coefficients is straightforward and efficient. A simple stability condition for the 2-D LMA filters is given. Under this condition, the stability of the designed filter is guaranteed. Parallel implementation of the 2-D LMA filters is also discussed. Several examples are presented to demonstrate the design capability.

An automatic optimization system for semiconductor devices has been built-up by fully interfacing an optimizer and a device-analysis code supplemented with sensitivity analysis. The device-analysis code is thought of as a part of a pipeline of simulators. The latters are regarded as subprocesses by the optimizer, which controls their I/O stream. The action of the pipeline is iterated until the optimum set of design parameters is determined. An important feature of the system is that all the derivatives required in the sensitivity analysis are calculated analytically, this providing a substantial improvement in both the numerical accuracy and computational efficiency, and making the scheme attractive from the application standpoint. A few examples of optimization of MOS devices are shown and the performance is reported, indicating that a system of this kind can usefully be exploited in a design environment.

The nonlinear optical properties of organics with unsaturated bonds were compared with those of inorganics including semiconductors and dielectrics. Because of the mesomeric effect, namely quantum mechanical resonance effect among configurations, aromatic molecules and polymers have larger optical nonlinear parameters defined as δ(n)=X(n)/(X(l))n both for the second (n=2) and third-order (n=3) nonlinearities. Experimental results of ultrafast nonlinear response of conjugated polymers, especially polydiacetylenes, were described and a model is proposed to explain the relaxation processes of photoexcitations in the conjugated polymers. Applying the model constructed on the basis of the extensive experimental study, we propose model polymers to obtain ultrafast resonant optical nonlinearity.

The nonlinear optical properties of organics with unsaturated bonds were compared with those of inorganics including semiconductors and dielectrics. Because of the mesomeric effect, namely quantum mechanical resonance effect among configurations, aromatic molecules and polymers have larger optical nonlinear parameters defined as δ(n)X(n)/(X(1))n both for the second (n2) and third-order (n3) nonlinearities. Experimental results of ultrafast nonlinear response of conjugated polymers, especially polydiacetylenes, were described and a model is proposed to explain the relaxation processes of photoexcitations in the conjugated polymers. Applying the model constructed on the basis of the extensive experimental study, we propose model polymers to obtain ultrafast resonant optical nonlinearity.

Suppose that there are terminals on two concentric circles Cin and Cout, with Cin inside of Cout. A set of two-terminal nets is given and the routing area is the annular region between the two circles. In this paper, we present an O(n2) time algorithm for testing whether the given net set is two-layer routable, where n is the number of nets. Applying this algorithm repeatedly, we can find, in O(n3) time, a maximal subset of nets which is two-layer routable.

We propose Polarization-Shift-Keying (POLSK) homodyne system using phase-diversity receivers and theoretically analyze its bit-error-rate (BER) performance. Since the proposed system uses polarization modulation and homodyne detection, it can cancel the phase noise and is attractive at a high bit-rate transmission. It is found that the receiver sensitivity of the proposed POLSK homodyne system is the same as that of POLSK heterodyne system and is much better than that of DPSK phase-diversity homodyne systems at high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). We also cosider theoretically the effect of the fluctuation of state of polarization (SOP) on the BER performance of POLSK homodyne system.

We propose Polarization-Shift-Keying (POLSK) homodyne system using phase-diversity receivers and theoretically analyze its bit-error-rate (BER) performance. Since the proposed system uses polarization modulation and homodyne detection, it can cancel the phase noise and is attractive at a high bit-rate transmission. It is found that the receiver sensitivity of the proposed POLSK homodyne system is the same as that of POLSK heterodyne system and is much better than that of DPSK phase-diversity homodyne systems at high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). We also cosider theoreically the effect of the fluctuation of state of polarization (SOP) on the BER performance of POLSK homodyne system.

We consider applications of optical solitons to signal processing. Soliton switching devices promise ultrafast operation and compatibility with communications systems using optical pulses. Quantum soliton effects include broadband squeezing and quantum nondemolition measurements, and can reduce noise and increase sensitivities of optical measurements. We report the demonstration of two-color soliton switching and describe progress towards implementation of quantum nondemolition measurement of photon number using soliton collisions.

We consider applications of optical solitons to signal processing. Soliton switching devices promise ultrafast operation and compatibility with communications systems using optical pulses. Quantum soliton effects include broadband squeezing and quantum nondemolition measurements, and can reduce noise and increase sensitivities of optical measurements. We report the demonstration of two-color soliton switching and describe progress towards implementation of quantum nondemolition measurement of photon number using soliton collisions.