The interference rejection combining (IRC) receiver, which can suppress inter-cell interference, is effective in improving the cell-edge user throughput. The IRC receiver is typically based on the minimum mean square error (MMSE) criteria, and requires a covariance matrix including the interference signals, in addition to a channel matrix from the serving cell. Therefore, in order to clarify the gain from the IRC receiver, the actual estimation error of these matrices should be taken into account. In a system performance evaluation, the link performance modeling of the IRC receiver, i.e., the output signal-to-interference-plus-noise power ratio (SINR) after IRC reception including the estimation errors, is very important in evaluating the actual performance of the IRC receiver in system level simulations. This is because these errors affect the suppression of the interference signals for the IRC receiver. Therefore, this paper investigates and proposes IRC receiver modeling schemes for the covariance matrix and channel estimation errors. As the modeling scheme for the covariance matrix, we propose a scheme that averages the conventional approximation using the complex Wishart distribution in the frequency domain to address issues that arise in a frequency selective fading channel. Furthermore, we propose a modeling scheme for the channel estimation error according to the ideal channel response of all cells and a channel estimation filter to address channel fading fluctuations. The results of simulations assuming the LTE/LTE-Advanced downlink with two transmitter and receiver antenna branches show that the proposed modeling scheme for the covariance matrix estimation error accurately approximates the performance of a realistic IRC receiver, which estimates the covariance matrix and channel matrix of the serving cell based on the demodulation reference signal (DM-RS), even in a frequency selective fading channel. The results also show that the proposed modeling scheme for the channel estimation error is a robust scheme in terms of the r.m.s. delay spread of a channel model compared to the scheme using the mean square error (MSE) statistic of the estimated channel coefficients based on a channel estimation filter.

In this paper, a hybrid parallel implementation of inverse matrix computation using SMW formula is proposed. By aggregating the memory bandwidth in the hybrid parallel implementation, the bottleneck due to the memory bandwidth limitation in the authors previous multicore implementation has been dissolved. More than 8 times of speed up is also achieved with dual-core 8-nodes implementation which leads more than 20 simulation steps per second, or near real-time performance.

A laser irradiation experiment for photocurrent induced failure investigations was described. In order to focus a laser beam on a desired transistor, novel test circuit structures using selectively metal-covered transistors were proposed. Photocurrent induced upset failures were successfully observed in fabricated CMOS SRAM test cells. Results were discussed with SPICE simulations.

A numerical model of multi-layered organic light emitting diode (OLED) is presented in this paper. The current density-voltage (J-V) model for OLED was performed by using the injection-limited current and bulk-limited current. The mobility equation was based on the field dependent model, so called “Poole-Frenkel mobility model.” The accuracy of this simulation was represented by comparing to the experimental results with a variable of EML thickness of multi-layered OLED device. There are two hetero-junction models which should be dealt with in the simulation. The Langevin recombination rate of electron and hole is also calculated through the device simulation.

Reverse-recovery modeling for p-i-n diodes in the high current-density conditions are discussed. With the dynamic carrier-distribution-based modeling approach, the reverse recovery behaviors are explained in the high current-density conditions, where the nonquasi-static (NQS) behavior of carriers in the drift region is considered. In addition, a specific feature under the high current-density condition is discussed. The proposed model is implemented into a commercial circuit simulator in the Verilog-A language and its reverse recovery modeling ability is verified with a two-dimensional (2D) device simulator, in comparison to the conventional lumped-charge modeling technique.

There exists a considerable number of node placement models and algorithms for simulation of wireless multihop networks. However, the topologies created with the existing algorithms do not have properties of real networks. We have developed NPART (Node Placement Algorithm for Realistic Topologies) in order to resolve this fundamental issue in simulation methodology. We compare topologies generated by NPART with open wireless multihop network in Berlin. The NPART generated topologies have almost identical node degree distribution, number of cut-edges and vertices as the real network. Unlike them, topologies generated with the common node placement models have their own characteristics which are considerably different both from NPART and from reality. NPART algorithm has been developed into a tool. We propose a method and present a tool for integration of NPART with various realistic node mobility algorithms and tools, such as Citymob [1] and MOVE [2]. This integrated tool allows easy and time-efficient generation of highly complex, realistic simulation scenarios. We use the tool to evaluate effects of integration between existing open community wireless multi-hop networks and vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs). The evaluation shows that despite partial coverage and peculiar topological properties of open networks, they offer high levels of performance and network availability to the mobile end users, virtually identical to performance and availability of planned, dedicatedly deployed networks. Our results indicate that the integration of these networks may bring considerable benefits to all parties involved.

Robustness is one of the significant properties in wireless sensor networks because sensor nodes and wireless links are subjected to frequent failures. Once these failures occur, system performance falls into critical condition due to increases in traffic and losses of connectivity and reachability. Most of the existing studies on sensor networks, however, do not conduct quantitative evaluation on robustness and do not discuss what brings in robustness. In this paper, we define and evaluate robustness of wireless sensor networks and show how to improve them. By computer simulation, we show that receiver-initiated MAC protocols are more robust than sender-initiated ones and a simple detour-routing algorithm has more than tripled robustness than the simple minimum-hop routing algorithm.

In this letter, an improved statistical simulation model with a new parameter computation method is proposed for Rayleigh fading channels. Compared with the existing simulators, the proposed model yields much higher simulation efficiency, while it can still obtain adequate approximations of the desired statistical properties.

We propose a fast and precise transient response and frequency characteristics simulation method for switching converters. This method uses a behavioral simulation tool without using a SPICE-like analog simulator. The nonlinear operation of the circuit is considered, and the nonlinear function is realized by defining the nonlinear formula based on the circuit operation and by applying feedback. To assess the accuracy and simulation time of the proposed simulation method, we designed current-mode buck and boost converters and fabricated them using a 0.18-µm high-voltage CMOS process. The comparison in the transient response and frequency characteristics among SPICE, the proposed program on a behavioral simulation tool which we named NSTVR (New Simulation Tool for Voltage Regulators) and experiments of fabricated IC chips showed good agreement, while NSTVR was more than 22 times faster in transient response and 85 times faster in frequency characteristics than SPICE in CPU time in a boost converter simulation.

In this paper, we investigate the performance of Thorup's algorithm by comparing it to Dijkstra's algorithm for large-scale network simulations. One of the challenges toward the realization of large-scale network simulations is the efficient execution to find shortest paths in a graph with N vertices and M edges. The time complexity for solving a single-source shortest path (SSSP) problem with Dijkstra's algorithm with a binary heap (DIJKSTRA-BH) is O((M + N) log N). An sophisticated algorithm called Thorup's algorithm has been proposed. The original version of Thorup's algorithm (THORUP-FR) has the time complexity of O(M + N). A simplified version of Thorup's algorithm (THORUP-KL) has the time complexity of O(M α(N) + N) where α(N) is the functional inverse of the Ackerman function. In this paper, we compare the performances (i.e., execution time and memory consumption) of THORUP-KL and DIJKSTRA-BH since it is known that THORUP-FR is at least ten times slower than Dijkstra's algorithm with a Fibonaccii heap. We find that (1) THORUP-KL is almost always faster than DIJKSTRA-BH for large-scale network simulations, and (2) the performances of THORUP-KL and DIJKSTRA-BH deviate from their time complexities due to the presence of the memory cache in the microprocessor.

The development of new technologies has undoubtedly promoted the advances of modern education, among which Virtual Reality (VR) technologies have made the education more visually accessible for students. However, classroom education has been the focus of VR applications whereas not much research has been done in promoting sports education using VR technologies. In this paper, an immersive VR system is designed and implemented to create a more intuitive and visual way of teaching tennis. A scalable system architecture is proposed in addition to the hardware setup layout, which can be used for various immersive interactive applications such as architecture walkthroughs, military training simulations, other sports game simulations, interactive theaters, and telepresent exhibitions. Realistic interaction experience is achieved through accurate and robust hybrid tracking technology, while the virtual human opponent is animated in real time using shader-based skin deformation. Potential future extensions are also discussed to improve the teaching/learning experience.

This study shows a fast simulation method of turbo codes over slow Rayleigh fading channels. The reduction of the simulation time is achieved by applying importance sampling (IS). The conventional IS method of turbo codes over Rayleigh fading channels focuses only on modification of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) sequences. The proposed IS method biases not only AWGNs but also channel gains of the Rayleigh fading channels. The computer runtime of the proposed method is about 1/5 of that of the conventional IS method on the evaluation of a frame error rate of 10-6. When we compare with the Monte Carlo simulation method, the proposed method needs only 1/100 simulation runtime under the condition of the same accuracy of the estimator.

We herein investigate the operation stability of the single-electron-pump (SEP) refrigerator with respect to thermal and dimensional fluctuations. The SEP refrigerator was found to successfully demonstrate single-electron extraction and injection at temperatures up to 2 K. Although the dimensional fluctuation in junction capacitance will seriously affect operation, the effect of the gate capacitance fluctuation is unlikely to be severe.

In the near future, interconnection networks of massively parallel computer systems will connect more than a hundred thousands of computing nodes. The performance evaluation of the interconnection networks can provide real insights to help the development of efficient communication library. Hence, to evaluate the performance of such interconnection networks, simulation tools capable of modeling the networks with sufficient details, supporting a user-friendly interface to describe communication patterns, providing the users with enough performance information, completing simulations within a reasonable time, are a real necessity. This paper introduces a novel interconnection network simulator NSIM, for the evaluation of the performance of extreme-scale interconnection networks. The simulator implements a simplified simulation model so as to run faster without any loss of accuracy. Unlike the existing simulators, NSIM is built on the execution-driven simulation approach. The simulator also provides a MPI-compatible programming interface. Thus, the simulator can emulate parallel program execution and correctly simulate point-to-point and collective communications that are dynamically changed by network congestion. The experimental results in this paper showed sufficient accuracy of this simulator by comparing the simulator and the real machine. We also confirmed that the simulator is capable of evaluating ultra large-scale interconnection networks, consumes smaller memory area, and runs faster than the existing simulator. This paper also introduces a simulation service built on a cloud environment. Without installing NSIM, users can simulate interconnection networks with various configurations by using a web browser.

With the progress of process technology in recent years, low voltage power supplies have become quite predominant. With this, the voltage margin has decreased and therefore the on-chip decoupling capacitance optimization that satisfies the voltage drop constraint becomes more important. In addition, the reduction of the on-chip decoupling capacitance area will reduce the chip area and, therefore, manufacturing costs. Hence, we propose an algorithm that satisfies the voltage drop constraint and at the same time, minimizes the total on-chip decoupling capacitance area. The proposed algorithm uses the idea of the network algorithm where the path which has the most influence on voltage drop is found. Voltage drop is improved by adding the on-chip capacitance to the node on the path. The proposed algorithm is efficient and effectively adds the on-chip capacitance to the greatest influence on the voltage drop. Experimental results demonstrate that, with the proposed algorithm, real size power/ground network could be optimized in just a few minutes which are quite practical. Compared with the conventional algorithm, we confirmed that the total on-chip decoupling capacitance area of the power/ground network was reducible by about 4050%.

In most existing warships combat simulation system, the tactics of a warship is manipulated by human operators. For this reason, the simulation results are restricted due to the capabilities of human operators. To deal with this, we have employed the genetic algorithm for supporting the evolutionary simulation environment. In which, the tactical decision by human operators is replaced by the human model with a rule-based chromosome for representing tactics so that the population of simulations are created and hundreds of simulation runs are continued on the basis of the genetic algorithm without any human intervention until finding emergent tactics which shows the best performance throughout the simulation. Several simulation tests demonstrate the techniques.

This report describes a crystallization method we developed for amorphous (a)-Si film by using 405-nm laser diodes (LDs). The proposed method has been used to fabricate bottom gate (BG) microcrystalline (µc)-Si TFTs for the first time. A µc-Si film with high crystallinity was produced and high-performance BG µc-Si TFTs with a field effect mobility of 3.6 cm2/Vs and a current on/off ratio exceeding 108 were successfully demonstrated. To determine the advantages of a 405-nm wavelength, a heat flow simulation was performed with full consideration of light interference effects. Among commercially available solid-state lasers and LDs with wavelengths having relatively high optical absorption coefficients for a-Si, three (405, 445, and 532 nm) were used in the simulation for comparison. Results demonstrated that wavelength is a crucial factor for the uniformity, efficiency, and process margin in a-Si crystallization for BG µc-Si TFTs. The 405-nm wavelength had the best simulation results. In addition, the maximum temperature profile on the gate electrode through the simulation well explained the actual crystallinity distributions of the µc-Si films.

The description and analysis of emergence in complex adaptive system has recently become a topic of great interest in the field of systems, and lots of ideas and methods have been proposed. A Sign-based model of Stigmergy is proposed in this paper. Stigmergy is widely used in complex systems. We pick up “Sign” as a key notion to understand it. A definition of “Sign” is given, which reveals the Sign's nature and exploit the significations and relationships carried by the “Sign”. Then, a Sign-based model of Stigmergy is consequently developed, which captures the essential characteristics of Stigmergy. The basic architecture of Stigmergy as well as its constituents are presented and then discussed. The syntax and operational semantics of Stigmergy configurations are given. We illustrate the methodology of analyzing emergence in CAS by using our model.

This paper focuses on the research of a new high-speed DC switch repulsion mechanism with experimental and simulation methods. Multi-physical equations reflecting the transient electromagnetic field, electric circuit, mechanical motion and material deformation are coupled in the calculation. For the reason of accuracy, skin effect and the proximity effect caused by the current in the coil are also taken into account. According to the simulation results, which indicate several key parameters severely affecting the mechanism speed, a high-speed DC switch repulsion mechanism is developed. By the test of mechanism motion, its average speed can be up to 8.4 m/s and its mechanism response time is 250 µs, which verifies the simulation results. Furthermore, during high speed motion the stress on the metal plate and moving contact is also discussed. It is noticed that the influence of the material deformation on the mechanical motion is very important.

In view of the frequent and complex changes of GNSS visible satellite constellation in attitude determination system, an improved attitude signal simulation algorithm for high dynamic satellite signal simulator is proposed. Based on Software Radio architecture, elevation calculation in the antenna coordinate system and channel state control logic under the condition of carrier attitude changes are introduced into the algorithm to implement synchronous scheduling of visible satellite constellation and attitude signal simulation. This work guarantees the simulator to run constantly and stably for a long time with the advantages of high precision and low complexity. Compared with synchronous positioning results from the receiver, the simulation results show that not only can the output signals of the simulator accurately reflect the carrier's attitude characteristics, but also no step error is generated and the positioning precision is not influenced when visible satellite constellation changes.