On the convergence of the inverses of Toeplitz matrices and its applications

Many issues in signal processing involve the inverses of Toeplitz matrices. One widely used technique is to replace Toeplitz matrices with their associated circulant matrices, based on the well-known fact that Toeplitz matrices asymptotically converge to their associated circulant matrices in the weak sense. This often leads to considerable simplification. However, it is well known that such a weak convergence cannot be strengthened into strong convergence. It is this fact that severely limits the usefulness of the close relation between Toeplitz matrices and circulant matrices. Observing that communication receiver design often needs to seek optimality in regard to a data sequence transmitted within finite duration, we define the finite-term strong convergence regarding two families of matrices. We present a condition under which the inverses of a Toeplitz matrix converges in the strong sense to a circulant matrix for finite-term quadratic forms. This builds a critical link in the application of the convergence theorems for the inverses of Toeplitz matrices since the weak convergence generally finds its usefulness in issues associated with minimum mean squared error and the finite-term strong convergence is useful in issues associated with the maximum-likelihood or maximum a posteriori principles.     

Scaling properties of fracture surfaces on glass strengthened by ionic exchange

In this work the results of the statistical topometric analysis of fracture surfaces of soda-lime-silica glass with and without ionic exchange treatment are reported. In this case, the mechanism of substitution is K⁺-Na⁺. atomic force microscopy (AFM) was employed to record the topometric data from the fracture surface. The roughness exponent (ζ) and the correlation length (ξ) were calculated by the variable bandwidth method. The analysis for both glasses (subjected and non-subjected to ionic exchange) for ζ shows a value ∼0.8, this value agrees well with that reported in the literature for rapid crack propagation in a variety of materials. The correlation length shows different values for each condition. These results, along with those of microhardness indentations suggest that the self-affine correlation length is influenced by the complex interactions of the stress field of microcracks with that resulting from the collective behavior of the point defects introduced by the strengthening mechanism of ionic exchange.     

Extracting Light from Polymer Light‐Emitting Diodes Using Stamped Bragg Gratings

In this paper, we describe a method for increasing the external efficiency of polymer light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) by coupling out waveguided light with Bragg gratings. We numerically model the waveguide modes in a typical LED structure and demonstrate how optimizing layer thicknesses and reducing waveguide absorption can enhance the grating outcoupling. The gratings were created by a soft‐lithography technique that minimizes changes to the conventional LED structure. Using one‐dimensional and two‐dimensional gratings, we were able to increase the forward‐directed emission by 47 % and 70 %, respectively, and the external quantum efficiency by 15 % and 25 %.     

Planar lightwave integrated circuits with embedded actives for board and substrate level optical signal distribution

This paper explores design options for planar optical interconnections integrated onto boards, discusses fabrication options for both beam turning and embedded interconnections to optoelectronic devices, describes integration processes for creating embedded planar optical interconnections, and discusses measurement results for a number of integration schemes that have been demonstrated by the authors. In the area of optical interconnections with beams coupled to and from the board, the topics covered include integrated metal-coated polymer mirrors and volume holographic gratings for optical beam turning perpendicular to the board. Optical interconnections that utilize active thin film (approximately 1-5 /spl mu/m thick) optoelectronic components embedded in the board are also discussed, using both Si and high temperature FR-4 substrates. Both direct and evanescent coupling of optical signals into and out of the waveguide are discussed using embedded optical lasers and photodetectors.     

Reliability studies of MOCVD TiSiN and EnCoRe Ta(N)/Ta

Passivated single damascene copper SiO₂ damascene lines were evaluated in combination with TiSiN and Ta(N)/Ta diffusion barriers. Leakage current, breakdown and time-dependent dielectric breakdown properties were investigated on a wafer level basis for temperatures ranging between room temperature and 150 °C. It is found that the leakage performance of the wafers with a TiSiN barrier is better at room temperature, but at 150 °C the performance levels out with Ta(N)/Ta. Time-dependent dielectric breakdown measurements at 150 °C show that the lifetime of the interconnect is higher with the selected Ta(N)/Ta barrier than for TiSiN.     

Platinum Binuclear Complexes as Phosphorescent Dopants for Monochromatic and White Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes

Efficient blue‐, green‐, and red‐light‐emitting organic diodes are fabricated using binuclear platinum complexes as phosphorescent dopants. The series of complexes used here have pyrazolate bridging ligands and the general formula C^∧NPt(μ‐pz)₂PtC^∧N (where C^∧N = 2‐(4′,6′‐difluorophenyl)pyridinato‐N,C^2′, pz = pyrazole ( 1 ), 3‐methyl‐5‐tert‐butylpyrazole ( 2 ), and 3,5‐bis(tert‐butyl)pyrazole ( 3 )). The Pt–Pt distance in the complexes, which decreases in the order 1 > 2 > 3 , solely determines the electroluminescence color of the organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs). Blue OLEDs fabricated using 8 % 1 doped into a 3,5‐bis(N‐carbazolyl)benzene (mCP) host have a quantum efficiency of 4.3 % at 120 Cd m^–2, a brightness of 3900 Cd m^–2 at 12 V, and Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.11, 0.24). Green and red OLEDs fabricated with 2 and 3 , respectively, also give high quantum efficiencies (～ 6.7 %), with CIE coordinates of (0.31, 0.63) and (0.59, 0.46), respectively. The current‐density–voltage characteristics of devices made using dopants 2 and 3 indicate that hole trapping is enhanced by short Pt–Pt distances (< 3.1 Å). Blue electrophosphorescence is achieved by taking advantage of the binuclear molecular geometry in order to suppress dopant intermolecular interactions. No evidence of low‐energy emission from aggregate states is observed in OLEDs made with 50 % 1 doped into mCP. OLEDs made using 100 % 1 as an emissive layer display red luminescence, which is believed to originate from distorted complexes with compressed Pt–Pt separations located in defect sites within the neat film. White OLEDs are fabricated using 1 and 3 in three different device architectures, either with one or two dopants in dual emissive layers or both dopants in a single emissive layer. All the white OLEDs have high quantum efficiency (～ 5 %) and brightness (～ 600 Cd m^–2 at 10 V).     

Intelligent process analytics for CRM

Many organisations use decision models in their processes such as tables or trees to provide decision support to their operational divisions. For example, in fault management, customer contact centre operators usually use a decision model in the form of prescribed interviews. Based on the answers given by customers, the operator navigates through the decision model to reach an assessment of the problem. In order to achieve customer satisfaction and operational excellence, it is very important to constantly monitor the performance of a decision model not only on an overall level, but also on the level of individual decisions. In this paper we present a configurable business process analytics tool, known as the intelligent Universal Service Management System, that constantly monitors decision data and is capable of optimising the decisions based on high-level business objectives. We explain the various features of the software and show how it can be used to optimise decision processes. We also show how we can easily provide a customised version to monitor the performance of provision processes.     

Learning in multiple model adaptive control switch

Including a learning mechanism in SMMAC (switched, multiple-model adaptive control) avoids the need for a priori knowledge of the model set of the plant to control and leads to a significant performance improvement with respect to the sole inclusion of an adaptive control channel in combination with switched fixed local controllers.     

Holographic sensors for the determination of ionic strength

Holographic sensors for monitoring ionic strength have been fabricated from charged sulphonate and quaternary ammonium monomers, incorporated into thin, polymeric hydrogel films which were transformed into volume holograms. The diffraction wavelength or reflected colour of the holograms was used to characterise their swelling or de-swelling behaviour as a function of ionic strength in various media. The effects of co-monomer structure, buffer composition, ion composition, pH and temperature were evaluated, whilst the reversibility and reproducibility of the sensor was also assessed. An acrylamide-based hologram containing equal molar amounts of negatively and positively charged monomers was shown to be able to quantify ionic strength independent of the identity of the ionic species present in the test solution. The sensor was fully reversible, free of hysteresis and exhibited little response to pH between 3 and 9 and temperature within the range 20-45 °C. The system was successfully used to quantify the ionic strength of milk solutions, which contain a complex mixture of ions and biological components.     

1/f noise in large-area Hg<Subscript>1−x</Subscript>Cd<Subscript>x</Subscript>Te photodiodes

The 1/f noise in photovoltaic (PV) molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown Hg_1−xCd_xTe double-layer planar heterostructure (DLPH) large-area detectors is a critical noise component with the potential to limit sensitivity of the cross-track infrared sounder (CrIS) instrument. Therefore, an understanding of the origins and mechanisms of noise currents in these PV detectors is of great importance. Excess low-frequency noise has been measured on a number of 1000-μm-diameter active-area detectors of varying “quality” (i.e., having a wide range of I-V characteristics at 78 K). The 1/f noise was measured as a function of cut-off wavelength under illuminated conditions. For short-wave infrared (SWIR) detectors at 98 K, minimal 1/f noise was measured when the total current was dominated by diffusion with white noise spectral density in the mid-10⁻¹⁵A/Hz^1/2 range. For SWIR detectors dominated by other than diffusion current, the ratio, α, of the noise current in unit bandwidth i_n(f = 1 Hz, V_d = −60 mV, and Δf = 1 Hz) to dark current I_d(V_d = −60 mV) was α_SW-d = i_n/I_d ∼ 1 × 10⁻³. The SWIR detectors measured at 0 mV under illuminated conditions had median α_SW-P = i_n/I_ph ∼ 7 × 10⁻⁶. For mid-wave infrared (MWIR) detectors, α_MW-d = i_n/I_d ∼ 2 × 10⁻⁴, due to tunneling current contributions to the 1/f noise. Measurements on forty-nine 1000-μm-diameter MWIR detectors under illuminated conditions at 98 K and −60 mV bias resulted in α_MW-P = i_n/I_ph = 4.16 ± 1.69 × 10⁻⁶. A significant point to note is that the photo-induced noise spectra are nearly identical at 0 mV and 100 mV reverse bias, with a noise-current-to-photocurrent ratio, α_MW-P, in the mid 10⁻⁶ range. For long-wave infrared (LWIR) detectors measured at 78 K, the ratio, α_LW-d = i_n/I_d ∼ 6 × 10⁻⁶, for the best performers. The majority of the LWIR detectors exhibited α_LW-d on the order of 2 × 10⁻⁵. The photo-induced 1/f noise had α_LW-P = i_n/I_ph ∼ 5 × 10⁻⁶. The value of the noise-current-to-dark-current ratio, α appears to increase with increasing bandgap. It is not clear if this is due to different current mechanisms impacting 1/f noise performance. Measurements on detectors of different bandgaps are needed at temperatures where diffusion current is the dominant current. Excess low-frequency noise measurements made as a function of detector reverse bias indicate 1/f noise may result primarily from the dominant current mechanism at each particular bias. The 1/f noise was not a direct function of the applied bias.