In this paper we propose a new method for removing the characteristic of the piezoelectric transducer from the received signal in the pulse-echo method so that the time resolution in the determination of transit time of ultrasound in a thin layer is increased. The total characteristic of the pulse-echo system is described by cascade of distributed-constant systems for the ultrasonic transducer, matching layer, and acoustic medium. The input impedance is estimated by the inverse matrix of the cascade system and the voltage signal at the electrical port. From the inverse Fourier transform of input impedance, the transit time in a thin layer object is accurately determined with high time resolution. The principle of the method is confirmed by simulation experiments.

With a view to applying to the active matrix displays, micromechanical electrostatic switches having Si-N both-ends-fixed beam of size 1.4 µm by 23 µm grown with LP-CVD on Si wafer were studied about its kinetic switching characteristics, especially its switching speed and hysteresis behavior. Electrostatic beam sticking problems were improved with the additional inverse polarity and short duration pulse following on the turn-on signal. The switching beam deflection of 0.16 µm with the switching time of less than 100 nsec. was measured by tightly focused laser interferometric method. Observed turn-on threshold voltages were more than 30 V, and the on/off hysteresis widths were from one third to two thirds of its threshold voltage. The memory function was experimented for the 2 msec. long holding period with the hold voltage of 25 V following on the writing pulse with the duration of 2 µsec. and the amplitude of 32 V. Now, planarization process has been considered to imtroduce the contact electrodes that were not built-in for these experiments. Although conductive actual switches were not tested, with the obtained results, it seems that the micromechanical electrostatic switch has the large potentials as an active matrix element in display panel especially in electro-luminescent devices or field-emission devices.

This paper discusses the performance of non-coherent reception for M-ary spread-spectrum (M-ary/SS) signals in the presence of carrier frequency offset. In general, the M-ary/SS scheme is expected to be of higher spectral efficiency than the conventional DS/SS schemes, but its performance may be degraded by the carrier frequency offset. We, therefore, analyze the effect of carrier frequency offset on the performance of the non-coherent M-ary/SS system with orthogonal modulation using a set of sequences generated by the Hadamard matrix. As a result of the analysis, it has been found that the carrier frequency offset may cause a great deal of degradation in the performance, and that its effect has a distinctive property which is due to the characteristic of Hadamard matrix, at the same time. Making use of this property, we propose two schemes that can mitigate the effect of carrier frequency offset: one is based on choise of the code sequences, the other is on the error correcting code. The effectiveness of the schemes is evaluated in the terms of symbol-error-rates through analysis and computer simulation.

A description language for matrix and vector expressions and its compiler for DSPs are shown. They provide both a user-friendly programming environment and efficient codes. In order to increase throughput and to reduce amount of methods based on mathematical laws are introduced. A method to decide the matrix and vector storage location suitable for processing on DSP is also proposed.

Any minimum test set (MLTS) for locally exhaustive testing of multiple output combinational circuits (CUTs) has at least 2w test patterns, where w is the maximum number of inputs on which any output depends. In the previous researches, it is clarified that every CUT with up to four outputs has an MLTS with 2w elements. On the other hand, it can be easily shown that every CUT with more than five outputs does not have such an MLTS. It has not been however known whether every CUT with five outputs has such an MLTS or not. In this paper, it is clarified that every CUT with five outputs has such an MLTS. First, some terminologies are introduced as preliminaries. Second, features of 5(w1) dependence matrices of CUTs with five outputs and (w1) inputs are discussed. Third, an equivalence relation between dependence matrices of two CUTs is introduced. The relation means that if it holds and one of the CUTs has an MLTS with 2w elements, then the other CUT also has such an MLTS. Based on the features described above, a theorem is established that there exists a 5w dependence matrix which is equivalent to each of the above 5(w1) matrices. Finally, it is proved by the use of the theorem that every CUT with five outputs has an MLTS with 2 w elements.

A new approximation calculation method, named the Recursive Matrix-calculation (RM) method, is proposed. It uses matrix calculation to determine the number of link disjoint paths under a hop link number constraint, i.e. hop limit. The RM method does not overestimate the number of link disjoint paths. When networks are designed by this method, network reliability is perfectly guaranteed. Moreover, the RM method is based on matrix calculation, so CPU time can be reduced by using super-computers equipped with vector processors. Simulation results confirm that the RM method yields rapid approximations that are conservative. Thus the proposed method is very useful for designing reliable multimedia networks.

As a first step to develop a system to analyze or recognize patterns contained in mages, it is important to provide a good base representation that can facilitate efficiently the interpretation of such patterns. Since structural features of basic patterns in document images such as characters or tables are horizontal and vertical stroke components, we propose a new expression of document image based on the MCR expression that can express well such features of text and tabular components of an image.

We propose an asymmetric neural network which can solve inequality-constrained combinatorial optimization problems that are difficult to solve using symmetric neural networks. In this article, a knapsack problem that is one of such the problem is solved using the proposed network. Additionally, we study condition for obtaining a valid solution. In computer simulations, we show that the condition is correct and that the proposed network produces better solutions than the simple greedy algorithm.

We developed a parallel bordered-block-diagonal (BBD) matrix solution for parallel circuit simulation. In parallel circuit sumulation on a MIMD parallel computer, a circuit is partitioned into as many subcircuits as the processors of a parallel computer. Circuit partition produce a BBD matrix. In parallel BBD matrix solution, diagonal blocks are easily solved separately in each processor. It is difficult, however, to solve the interconnection (IC) submatrix of a BBD matrix effectively in parallel. To make matters worse, the more a circuit is partitioned into subcircuits for highly parallel circuit simulation, the larger the size of an IC submatrix becomes. From an examination, we found that an IC submatrix is more dense (about 30% of all entries are non-zeros) than a normal circuit matrix, and the non-zeros per row in an IC submatrix are almost constant with the number of subcircuits. To attain high-speed circuit simulation, we devised a data structure for BBD matrix processing and an approach to parallel BBD matrix solution. Our approach solves the IC submatrix in a BBD matrix as well as the diagonal blocks in parallel using all processors. In this approach, we allocate an IC submatrix in block-wise order rather than in dot-wise order onto all processors. Thus, we balance the processor perfomance with the communication capacity of a parallel computer system. When we changed the block size of IC submatrix allocation from dot-wise order to 88 block-wise order, the 88 block-wise order allocation almost halved the matrix solution time. The parallel simulation of a sample circuit with 3277 transistors was 16.6 times faster than a single processor when we used 49 processors.

Synchronization has been one of the problems in M–ary spread spectrum communication systems. In this letter, we propose the frame synchronization method using the Hadamard matrix and a frame synchronization method of PCM communication systems. Moreover, we analyze the probabilities of keeping synchronous state and frame renewal rates, and we evaluate the relationship between these probabilities and the number of stages of counters.

We prove that the maximum likelihood estimator for estimating 3-D motion from noisy optical flow is not optimal", i.e., there is an unbiased estimator whose covariance matrix is smaller than that of the maximum likelihood estimator when a Gaussian noise distribution is assumed for a sufficiently large number of observed points. Since Gaussian assumption for the noise is given, the maximum likelihood estimator minimizes the mean square error of the observed optical flow. Though the maximum likehood estimator's covariance matrix usually reaches the Cramér-Rao lower bound in many statistical problems when the number of observed points is infinitely large, we show that the maximum likelihood estimator's covariance matrix does not reach the Cramér-Rao lower bound for the estimation of 3-D motion from noisy optical flow under such conditions. We formulate a superior estimator, whose covariance matrix is smaller than that of the maximum likelihood estimator, when the variance of the Gaussian noise is not very small.

A new algorithm, which is incorporated into the waveform relaxation analysis, for efficiently simulating the transient response of single lossy transmission lines or lossy coupled multiconductor transmission lines, terminated with arbitrary networks will be presented. This method exploits the inherent delay present in a transmission line for achieving simulation efficiency equivalent to obtaining converged waveforms with a single iteration by the conventional iterative waveform relaxation approach. To this end we propose 'line delay window partitioning' algorithm in which the simulation interval is divided into sequential windows of duration equal to the transmission line delay. This window scheme enables the computation of the reflected voltage waveforms accurately, ahead of simulation, in each window. It should be noted that the present window partitioning scheme is different from the existing window techniques which are aimed at exploiting the non–uniform convergence in different windows. In contrast, the present window technique is equivalent to achieving uniform convergence in all the windows with a single iteration. In addition our method eliminates the need to simulate the transmission line delay by the application of Branin's classical method of characteristics. Further, we describe a simple and efficient method to compute the attenuated waveforms using a particular form of lumped element model of attenuation function. Simulation examples of both single and coupled lines terminated with linear and nonlinear elements will be presented. Comparison indicates that the present method is several times faster than the previous waveform relaxation method and its accuracy is verified by the circuit simulator PSpice.

In this letter we present an electronic circuit based on a neural net to compute the discrete Walsh transform. We show both analytically and by simulation that the circuit is guaranteed to settle into the correct values.

A new self-holding optical switch that consists of an optical matrix board and a precision robot is proposed. Fabrication and evaluation of 33 optical matrix boards confirm the feasibility of large-size optical switching. Suppressing deviations in the groove position will realize lower loss optical matrix boards in the near future. The apparent roughness of the groove walls can be evaluated simply and effectively by measuring return loss with an interferometric optical-time-domain reflectometer.

A stochastic system represented by an input-output model can be described by mainly two different types of state space representation. Corresponding to state space representations innovation models are examined. The relationship between both representations is made clear systematically. An easy transformation between them is presented. Zeros of innovation models are the same as those of an ARMA model which is stochastically equivalent to innovation models, and related to stable eigenvalues of generalized eigenvalue problem of matrix Riccati equation.

We have studied a circuit partitioning approach in the view of parallel circuit simulation on a MIMD parallel computer. In parallel circuit simulation, a circuit is partitioned into equally sized subcircuits while minimizing the number of interconnection nodes. Besides circuit partitioning time should be short enough compared with the total simulation time. From the details of circuit simulation time, we found that balancing subcircuits is critical for low parallel processing, whereas minimizing the interconnection nodes is critical for highly parallel processing. Our circuit partitioning approach consists of four steps： Grouping transistors, initial partitioning the transistor-groups, minimizing the number of interconnection nodes, and balancing the subcircuits. It is based on an algorithmic approach, and can directly control the tradeoffs between balancing subcircuits and minimizing the interconnection nodes by adjusting the parameters. We partitioned a test circuit with 3277 transistors into 4, 9, ... , 64 subcircuits, and did parallel simulations using PARACS, our parallel circuit simulator, on an AP1000 parallel computer. The circuit partitioning time was short enough-less than 3 percent of the total simulation time. The highest performance of parallel analysis using 49 processors was 16 times that of a single processor, and that for total simulation was 9 times.

For a discrete Lyapunov matrix equation, we present another such equation that shares the solution to the original one. This renders some existing lower bounds for measures of the size of the solution meaningful, when they yield only trivial bounds. A generalization of this result is suggested.

The photonic Space-Division (SD) switching network is attractive for constructing flexible broadband networks. This paper first describes possible applications of the network. A broadband STM switching system, Digital Cross-connect System (DCS) and Video signal distribution switch, especially for HDTV signals, are attractive near term applications. Recent activities on photonic SD switching network developments aiming at these application are also reviewed. A 128 line prototype switching system has been developed. This system utilizes LiNbO3 photonic switch matrices, semiconductor traveling wave amplifiers (TWAs) and three dimensional optical interconnections for multi stage switching networks. It is confirmed that the system has been operating in providing 150Mb/s TV phone services and 600Mb/s HDTV distribution services with high stability. An experimental optical Digital Crossconnect System (optical DCS) has also been demonstrated. Line failure restoration operation at 2.4Gb/s has been successfully demonstrated. These experimental demonstrations prove that practical photonic switching systems are feasible with current technologies.

To realize a high performance optical subscriber network a route reconnect switch is desired which has bistability, polarization and wavelength independence and compactness. This paper proposes an electrocapillarity optical (ECO) switch, in which a micro-mirror formed by a mercury droplet is driven by electrocapillarity. This switch has a potential for use in bistable waveguide matrix switches, which are suitable for route reconnection in the optical subscriber network. A theoretical model is presented that the driving force of the electrocapillarity originates in an electrically induced gradient in the surface tension of the mercury-electrolyte interface where an electrical double layer is formed. The experimentally obtained relation between the flow velocity of a mercury droplet and the electric current in an electrocapillary system is well described by this model. A prototype of the ECO switch is made using a resin molded single-mode fiber with a slit sawed in it in which a electrocapillary system is made. Optical switching is demonstrated and possible improvements in switching performance are discussed.

A new automated main distributing frame (AMDF) system is developed that reduces operating costs in metallic-cable main distributing frames (MDFs) used for communication networks. In this AMDF system, a robot inserts connecting-pins into the crosspoint holes of matrix-boards. This process allows jumpering to be completed within three minutes and the route-setting for line testing within one minute. The AMDF system provides approximately 2,100 office equipment cable-terminals. Parallel installation of several AMDF systems allows larger MDF systems to be constructed. This system reduces costs and achieves high reliability through three new technologies: high-density matrix-board, precision pin-handling, and a highly reliable system control. Test results for a prototype AMDF system confirm their effectiveness.