Decomposition of electromagnetic boundary conditions at planarinterfaces with applications to TE and TM field solutions

Electromagnetic fields in homogeneous source-free regions can be decomposed into fields that are TE and TM with respect to a particular reference direction (e.g., the z direction). If transverse sources exist, both TE and TM fields may be excited simultaneously. This paper considers the case of two infinite regions having a common planar interface and prescribed sources (surface currents) on the interface. The source currents are decomposed in a manner consistent with the decomposition of the fields. Accordingly, a procedure is established for describing the boundary conditions at the interface in terms of the longitudinal field components E_z, H_z and the surface currents J¯_s. The development is unique in that the continuity of the transverse field components at the boundary are not explicitly considered but interpreted in terms of z-directed fields. This boundary condition approach is shown to give results consistent with those obtained by matching the tangential fields at the interface using vector transforms. A simple example illustrating the procedure using a ring of current in free-space is presented     

Ultralow-voltage boron-doped diamond field emitter vacuum diode

A boron-doped diamond field emitter diode with ultralow turn-on voltage and high emission current is reported. The diamond field emitter diode structure with a built-in cap was fabricated using molds and electrostatic bonding techniques. The emission current versus anode voltage of the capped diamond emitter diode with boron doping, sp² content, and vacuum thermal electric (VTE) treatment shows a very low turn-on voltage of 2 V. A high emission current of 1 μA at an anode voltage of less than 10 V can be obtained from a single diamond tip. The turn-on voltage is significantly lower than comparable silicon field emitters     

Gordon-Haus timing jitter reduction in dispersion-managed solitoncommunications

An analytic theory is presented which demonstrates that the noise induced Gordon-Haus timing jitter in arbitrary dispersion-managed transmission systems is reduced by the power-enhancement factor required to support a dispersion-managed solitons provided the path-average soliton period is much greater than the dispersion-map period. The analysis further predicts the behaviour of the amplitude, width, and quadratic chirp fluctuations due to the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise     

Three-dimensional reconstruction of live embryos using roboticmacroscope images

To determine the three-dimensional (3-D) shape of a live embryo is a technically challenging task. The authors show that reconstructions of live embryos can be done by collecting images from different viewing angles using a robotic macroscope, establishing point correspondences between these views by block matching, and using a new 3-D reconstruction algorithm that accommodates camera positioning errors. The algorithm assumes that the images are orthographic projections of the object and that the camera scaling factors are known. Point positions and camera errors are found simultaneously. Reconstructions of test objects and embryos show that meaningful reconstructions are possible only when camera positioning and alignment errors are accommodated since these errors can be substantial. Reconstructions of early-stage axolotl embryos were made from sets of 33 images. In a typical reconstruction, 781 points, each visible in at least three different views, were used to form 1511 triangles to represent the embryo surface. The resulting reconstruction had a mean radius of error of 0.27 pixels (1.1 μm). Mathematical properties of the reconstruction algorithm are identified and discussed     

Motion Perception Using Analog VLSI

Motion perception is arguably a fundamental mechanism used by natural species to accomplish a number of tasks, such as navigating freely in an unknown environment. Traditional motion perception methods tend to be computationally intensive, requiring powerful computers and large memories. However, by copying biological mechanisms, such as elementary motion discrimination at the early stages of the visual processing paths, it should be possible to build small and efficient motion perception systems. This paper describes the manner in which a simple motion perception model based on the insect visual system has been implemented using mixed analog/digital VLSI. The device has been fabricated in a 2 micron double metal, double polysilicon process, and comprises 61 photo-detectors, and associated analog and digital circuitry. While not entirely successful in that component mismatches hamper the detection of dark-to-bright changes in contrast, the results clearly show the feasibility of using such a device in autonomous control systems.     

Small-signal modeling and control of the quasi-square-wave boostconverter

Sampled-data techniques are used to examine the dynamic characteristics and closed-loop performance of the quasi-square-wave boost converter. Direct duty-ratio control and current-mode control are considered. With direct duty-ratio control, the system poles remain well damped under all load conditions, and there is no zero in the control-to-output transfer function. Good closed-loop performance is therefore achieved. Under current-mode control, the requirement for a stabilizing ramp is seen to depend on load conditions, and the achievable voltage control-loop bandwidth is smaller than that using direct duty-ratio control; however, there is a significant reduction in the magnitude of the DC source to output-voltage frequency response