Impact of technology scaling and process variations on RF CMOS devices

Inspired by the huge improvement in the RF properties of CMOS devices, RF designers are invading the wireless market with all-CMOS RF transceivers and system-on-chip implementations. In this work, the impact of technology scaling on the RF properties of CMOS; frequency properties, noise performance, linearity, stability, and non-quasi static effects is investigated to provide RF designers with an insight to the capabilities of future CMOS technologies. Moreover, the RF frequency performance of CMOS is investigated under the influence of process variations for different CMOS generations. Using the BSIM4 model, it is found that future CMOS technologies have high prospects in the RF industry and will continue challenging other technologies in the RF domain to be the dominant technology for RF transceivers and system-on-chip implementations.     

Low-power multi-threshold MCML: Analysis, design, and variability

The increasing demand on low-power applications is adding pressure on circuit designers to come out with new circuit styles that can decrease power dissipation while making use of the performance improvement of the new CMOS technologies. Multi-threshold MOS current mode logic (MTMCML) appears to be a solution to this problem by making use of the high-performance of MOS current mode circuits while minimizing power dissipation with the help of multi-threshold CMOS technologies. In this work, analytical formulations, based on the BSIM3v3 model, are proposed for MTMCML performance measures with an error within 10% compared to HSPICE. The formulation helps designers to efficiently design MTMCML circuits without undergoing the time-consuming HSPICE simulations. Furthermore, it provides design guidelines and aids for designers to fully understand the different tradeoffs in MTMCML design. In addition, the analysis is extended to study the impact of technology scaling and parameter variations on MTMCML. It is shown that the worst case variation in the minimum supply voltage of MTMCML is 1.16%, thus suggesting maximal power saving.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the oxidation of nitrilotris(methylenephosphonato)chromium(III) by periodate

The kinetics of oxidation of nitrilotris(methylenephosphonato)chromium(III), Cr^IIINTMP, by periodate to yield Cr^VI have been studied spectrophotometrically over the 5.80–6.85 pH range at 22–33 °C. The reaction rate, which is first-order with respect to [Cr^IIINTMP] and [IO^– ₄] and inversely dependent on [H⁺], obeys the rate law:-d[Cr^IIINTMP/dt=kKK_h[IO^- ₄] [Cr^III]_T/K_h+ [H⁺] +KK_h[IO^- ₄] The values of the intramolecular electron transfer, k, and the formation constant of the intermediate complex, K, were determined at various temperatures. The hydrolysis constant for Cr^IIINTMP, K _h , was determined spectrophotometrically and is in agreement with the value estimated from the kinetic data. The activation parameters were calculated from the temperature dependence of the specific rate constants. A mechanism is proposed in which the hydroxo complex, [CrHNTMP(OH)]^3–, is the reactive species. The results support a mechanism where intramolecular electron transfer is the rate-determining step.     

Cellular reuse patterns quality and efficiency comparison

Capacity enhancement and interference performance are among the most important issues in the 2nd and 3rd generation cellular networks planning. The main objective of the planning process is to reach a tradeoff between the quality and the capacity of the network. In this paper, we study and compare the CIR and spectral efficiency of different cellular reuse patterns. We also establish the exact analytical PDF expression of CIR assuming one interferer in the serving cell, we then generalize this expression to many interferer tiers. Shadowing effect is also carefully considered in the CIR distribution extension. Moreover, numerical computations are performed to estimate spectral efficiency values for the different patterns studied. Some simulations are also developed to give the comparison a concrete and a practical aspect. A reuse partitioning (RP) capacity scheme is used to serve as the basis of the study. In particular, RP sub‐cells' sizes and number of partitions are optimized in order to maximize the traffic capacity parameterized by spectral and trunking efficiency while involving the financial cost. The efficiency/cost comparison is among the main novel issues contributed by the paper. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes in spectral features with varying mole fractions of anisaldehyde in binary mixtures

Raman and IR spectra of neat anisaldehyde (4‐methoxybenzaldehyde (4MeOBz)) and its binary mixtures (in polar and nonpolar solvents) with varying mole fraction of 4MeOBz were investigated. The concentration dependence of the wavenumber position and line width (full width at half maximum, FWHM) was analyzed to study the interaction of the solute vibrational modes with the microscopic solvent environment. The wavenumbers of Raman modes of 4MeOBz, namely, the carbonyl stretching, aldehydic δ (C H) and ring‐breathing modes, showed a linear variation in the peak position for varying concentrations of 4MeOBz in the different solvents. The dependence of Raman line width with concentration of 4MeOBz of these modes was also taken into account. The solute–solvent interaction is stronger in 2‐propanol and acetonitrile because of the formation of hydrogen bonds between them, whereas in benzene the interaction is too weak to affect the Raman modes. The modes, ν (CO) in 2‐propanol and aldehydic δ (C H) in acetonitrile, gave a Gaussian‐type line width variation, which was explained by the concentration fluctuation model, and the linear variation of the line widths was also interpreted by solute–solvent interactions. IR spectra were taken for these binary mixtures, which also give further support to these data. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

RadiaLE: A framework for designing and assessing link quality estimators in wireless sensor networks

Stringent cost and energy constraints impose the use of low-cost and low-power radio transceivers in large-scale wireless sensor networks (WSNs). This fact, together with the harsh characteristics of the physical environment, requires a rigorous WSN design. Mechanisms for WSN deployment and topology control, MAC and routing, resource and mobility management, greatly depend on reliable link quality estimators (LQEs). This paper describes the RadiaLE framework, which enables the experimental assessment, design and optimization of LQEs. RadiaLE comprises (i) the hardware components of the WSN testbed and (ii) a software tool for setting-up and controlling the experiments, automating link measurements gathering through packets-statistics collection, and analyzing the collected data, allowing for LQEs evaluation. We also propose a methodology that allows (i) to properly set different types of links and different types of traffic, (ii) to collect rich link measurements, and (iii) to validate LQEs using a holistic and unified approach. To demonstrate the validity and usefulness of RadiaLE, we present two case studies: the characterization of low-power links and a comparison between six representative LQEs. We also extend the second study for evaluating the accuracy of the TOSSIM 2 channel model.