Propagation of ultra-wide-band electromagnetic pulses throughdispersive media

We develop an efficient method for the analysis of ultra-wide-band (UWB) electromagnetic pulses (e.g., double-exponential pulse) propagating through a waveguide or cold plasma (i.e., the ionosphere). First we show that the inverse Fourier-transform representations for the electric and magnetic fields satisfy second order, nonhomogeneous, ordinary, differential equations. These differential equations are solved analytically, thereby yielding closed-form expressions involving incomplete Lipschitz-Hankel integrals (ILHIs). The ILHIs are computed using efficient convergent and asymptotic series expansions. We demonstrate the usefulness of the ILHI expressions by comparing them with the fast Fourier-transform technique (FFT). Because of the long tails associated with UWB pulses, a large number of sample points are required in the FFT, to avoid aliasing errors. In contrast, the ILHI expressions provide accurate and efficient numerical results, regardless of the number of points computed. An asymptotic series representation for the ILHIs is also employed, to obtain a relatively simple, late-time approximation for the transient fields. This approximate late-time expression is shown to accurately model the waveform over a large portion of its time history     

An analytical model for alloyed ohmic contacts using a trilayer transmission line model

This paper describes a Transmission Line Model approach to the modeling and analysis of alloyed planar ohmic contacts. It briefly reviews the standard Transmission Line Model (TLM) commonly used to characterize a planar ohmic contact. It is shown that in the case of a typical Au-Ge-Ni alloyed ohmic contact, a more realistic model based on the TLM should take into account the presence of the alloyed layer at the metal-semiconductor interface. In this paper, such a model is described. It is based on three layers and the two interfaces between them, thus forming a Tri-Layer Transmission Line Model (TLTLM). Analytical expressions are derived for the contact resistance Re and the contact end resistance Rc of this structure, together with a current division factor, S. Values for the contact parameters of this TLTLM model are inferred from experimentally reported values of Re and Re for two types of contact. Using the analytical outcomes of the TLTLM, it is shown that the experimental results obtained using a standard TLM can have considerable discrepancies.<>     

Improving the quality of shortwave broadcast reception indoors byusing an anti-fading probe antenna

When shortwave (SW) broadcasts are received on self-contained receivers indoors, there generally is a reduction in signal strength and an increase in the speed and depth of fading in comparison with reception in open spaces outdoors. Even when the received signal level is adequate, the quality of reception indoors is degraded. This comes about because the fields indoors are a superposition of components of radiated signal from the distant transmitter plus other components representing energy reradiated or scattered by nearby conductors such as house wiring or plumbing. Since many of the near-field components originate very close to the receiver, it is possible to reduce their effect by deriving the receiver input from two or more probes-i.e., pickup devices specially designed to respond to fields in their immediate vicinity without disturbing those fields. To achieve the desired probe action, advantage can be taken of the high input impedance of portable, battery-powered receivers designed for use with small telescoping whip antennas. Spacing of multiple probes in the order of a few tens of centimeters suffices to give an output significantly smoother and of higher quality than that obtainable with the receiver's whip antenna by itself. The high signal levels of many SW broadcasts make it practical to use small, inefficient antennas. This article describes an Anti-Fading Probe Antenna (APA), which produces a worthwhile improvement in reception quality indoors. It is simple to build, requires no adjustment, and may even improve received signal quality in some outdoor situations     

Influence of impact-ionization-induced base current reversal onbipolar transistor parameters

In this paper we describe a set of measurements representing a complete characterization of impact-ionization effects in bipolar transistors. We demonstrate that impact-ionization significantly influences the dependence of base resistance on current and voltages applied to the device. A dc method for the simultaneous extraction of all parasitic resistances in bipolar transistors is presented. The method can separate the influence of current-crowding on the base resistance from that of base width and conductivity modulation; the collector parasitic resistance is measured in the active region. Starting from the parameters extracted by means of these techniques, a complete and accurate circuit-model of impact-ionization effects can be defined     

Mine operating accurate stability control with optical fibersensing and Bragg grating technology: the European BRITE/EURAM STABILOSproject

Recent developments of stability control in mines, essentially based on Ge-doped fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) are reported including results about the different aspects of the system: accurate characterizations of FBG, sensor network topology and multiplexing method, user interface design and sensor packaging     

Nonlinear dynamics of femtosecond optical solitary wave propagationat the zero dispersion point

A perturbed nonlinear Schrodinger equation, describing nonlinear pulse propagation of femtosecond duration in optical fibers at the zero dispersion point, is considered. This equation is reduced to an ordinary differential equation, which is treated by means of Hamiltonian dynamics techniques. Conditions for solitary wave formation, as well as the solutions themselves, namely, a bright soliton, a rarefaction soliton, and a pair of dark solitons, are derived analytically. The shifts of the solitary wave velocity, the angular frequency, and the wavenumber, as well as the peak power required to launch a bright soliton are also obtained. The connection among the point initial conditions of the pulse and the type of solitary wave that can be excited is finally presented     

Silicon bipolar chipset for SONET/SDH 10 Gb/s fiber-opticcommunication links

High-speed multiplexers, demultiplexers, frequency dividers, mixers, and amplifiers are key electronic components in high-speed fiber-optic communications systems such as SONET/SDH. In this paper, we present several important digital and analog integrated circuits (IC) which have been developed for use in SONET/SDH 10 Gb/s optical communication links. The circuits have been fabricated in MOSAIC 5E, an advanced silicon bipolar technology (f_T=26 GHz). The resulting chipset which amounts to a total of 10 IC's consists of multiplexers, demultiplexers, a regenerative frequency divider (2:1), a dual output limiting amplifier, and two different types of mixers for clock extraction. Specifically, the design and performance of these IC's and a hybrid clock recovery module are discussed. The high performance and potential low cost of this research chipset show that advanced silicon bipolar circuit technology can play an important role in future multigigabit fiber-optic communication systems     

The effects of plasma etching induced gate oxide degradation onMOSFET's 1/f noise

The effects of the plasma etching process induced gate oxide damages on device's low frequency noise behavior are investigated on MOSFET's fabricated with different field plate perimeter to gate area ratio antennas. Abnormal 1/f noise spectrum with a shoulder centered in the frequency range of 100 and to 1 kHz was frequently observed in small geometry devices, and it is attributable to a nonuniform distribution of oxide traps induced by plasma etching process     

Theory for passive mode-locking in semiconductor laser structuresincluding the effects of self-phase modulation, dispersion, and pulsecollisions

We present a theory for passive mode-locking in semiconductor laser structures using a semiconductor laser amplifier and absorber. The mode-locking system is described in terms of the different elements in the semiconductor laser structure. We derive mode-locking conditions and show how other mode-locking parameters, like pulse width and pulse energy, are determined by the mode-locking system. System parameters, like bandwidth, dispersion, and self-phase modulation are shown to play an important role in mode-locking conditions and results. We also discuss the effects of pulse collisions and positions of the mode-locking elements inside the cavity on mode-locking stability and show that these effects can be easily included in the presented model. Finally, we give a number of design rules and recommendations for fabricating passively mode-locked lasers     

Comment on new differential flip-flops from Yuan and Svensson

A family of differential latches has recently been proposed by Yuan and Svensson [1996]. The author shows that the proposed flip-flops using the dynamic slave latch suffer from a poor logic-level zero in the presence of glitches on the data inputs