The effect of bandwidth allocation policies on delay inunidirectional bus networks

We consider the problem of allocating bandwidth fairly to each node in a shared, unidirectional bus network. We focus on the p_i persistent protocol, since these are open loop policies designed to operate well in high speed networks, which have a very large bandwidth-delay product and feedback in the upstream direction is not available in a timely manner. First, we introduce an improvement to the basic p_i persistent protocol, in which we replace random coin tosses with a deterministic counting algorithm, and thereby reduce the delays for all nodes for any given choice of {p_i}. We then describe an exact method for calculating average packet delays and queue lengths in both the p_i persistent and our new deterministic n out of m protocols, based on the regenerative approach of Georgiades et al. (1987). These delay results, together with simulation measurements, show that both of these protocols still waste some bandwidth. After presenting a lower bounding argument to show that some wasted bandwidth is inevitable in all such distributed access control schemes, assuming a passive bus without feedback in the upstream direction, we show that changing the bus to unidirectional point-to-point links between (very simple) active interfaces at each node allows us to construct distributed access schemes that require no upstream feedback and are both work conserving and fair. To illustrate how this can be done, we introduce the p_i preemptive protocol, in which each node randomly inserts its own packets into the traffic arriving from upstream. We derive a simple and effective heuristic for calculating the preemption probability for each node, and use simulation to show how well it equalizes the delays at each node     

Adopting a policy of reuse

In many firms' experience, reusing elements of proven systems designs and software is best done through a companywide program. Reuse means savings in design, testing, manufacturing and support. The author gives the basic information a company needs to get started. The author discusses the context for reuse, planning and strategy involved in a reuse program     

THE USE OF THERMOELASTICITY TO EVALUATE STRESS REDISTRIBUTION AND NOTCH SENSITIVITY IN CERAMIC MATRIX COMPOSITES

Thermoelastic stress analysis was used to document the effect of composite damage on the stress distribution in three ceramic matrix composites. Composite damage was found to significantly alter the thermoelastic response of each material, with the greatest effect noted in SiC/CAS. Thermoelastic imaging of these materials affords a more complete picture of how the various damage mechanisms affect the stress distribution. In particular, a stress concentration factor computed from thermoelastic images, serves as an indicator of stress redistribution. The stress concentration factors were computed by comparing notch root to far field temperatures, and monitored after the introduction of various amounts of damage. In each material, the stress concentration factor diminished as the damaging load approached the ultimate stress. Reduction in the stress concentration is associated with local changes in modulus, mechanistically arising from combinations of fiber, matrix and interface fracture. Stress redistribution occurs as a consequence of modulus changes, leading to lower notch sensitivity in each of the tested composites.     

Image coding by multistep, adaptive flux interpolation

The authors describe and discuss the new technique, multistep adaptive flux interpolation (MAFI), and its application to image data for coding. When applied to an image, MAFI produces an output which is also in an image form, but which has a more uniform feature density and a greatly reduced size. MAFI warps the input image by removing those rows and columns which contain a majority of redundant pixels. The side information required for reconstruction is minimal, and the image can be further compressed using conventional coders, making the compression ratio even higher. Because of its warped nature, the MAFI output's statistics are also more consistent with the properties assumed by block-based discrete cosine transform (DCT) methods     

The star chromatic number of a graph

We study a generalization of the notion of the chromatic number of a graph in which the colors assigned to adjacent vertices are required to be, in a certain sense, far apart. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Addressing substrate coupling in mixed-mode ICs: simulation andpower distribution synthesis

This paper describes new techniques for the simulation and power distribution synthesis of mixed analog/digital integrated circuits considering the parasitic coupling of noise through the common substrate. By spatially discretizing a simplified form of Maxwell's equations, a three-dimensional linear mesh model of the substrate is developed. For simulation, a macromodel of the fine substrate mesh is formulated and a modified version of SPICE3 is used to simulate the electrical circuit coupled with the macromodel. For synthesis, a coarse substrate mesh, and interconnect models are used to couple linear macromodels of circuit functional blocks. Asymptotic Waveform Evaluation (AWE) is used to evaluate the electrical behavior of the network at every iteration in the synthesis process. Macromodel simulations are significantly faster than device level simulations and compare accurately to measured results. Synthesis results demonstrate the critical need to constrain substrate noise and simultaneously optimize power bus geometry and pad assignment to meet performance targets     

Shape transition from InAs quantum dash to quantum dot on InP(3 1 1)A

We report on the shape transition from InAs quantum dashes to quantum dots (QDs) on lattice-matched GaInAsP on InP(3 1 1)A substrates. InAs quantum dashes develop during chemical-beam epitaxy of 3.2 monolayers InAs, which transform into round InAs QDs by introducing a growth interruption without arsenic flux after InAs deposition. The shape transition is solely attributed to surface properties, i.e., increase of the surface energy and symmetry under arsenic deficient conditions. The round QD shape is maintained during subsequent GaInAsP overgrowth because the reversed shape transition from dot to dash is kinetically hindered by the decreased ad-atom diffusion under arsenic flux.     

Profile dependence and measurement of absolute Raman scattering cross-section in optical fibres

A simple measurement method for the absolute Raman scattering cross-section of an optical fibre is presented. This method does not require a high power pump laser and it measures the fibre directly. It is also shown that the calculation of the cross-section depends on the fibre structure, such as its refractive index profile and the differential attenuation between the pump wavelength and Raman wavelength.<>