A quaternary partial-response class-IV transceiver for 125 Mbit/sdata transmission over unshielded twisted-pair cables: principles ofoperation and VLSI realization

The paper describes an experimental transceiver for full-duplex transmission at a rate of 125 Mbit/s over unshielded twisted-pair cables of ordinary voice-grade quality, intended for use in a fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) network. Quaternary partial-response class-IV (QPRIV) overall-channel signaling with near-end crosstalk (NEXT) cancellation and maximum-likelihood sequence detection is employed. The spectral shape of the QPRIV signals facilitates equalization and achieving compliance with EMC regulations. Since in an FDDI system each transmitter can be clocked independently, the receiver must cope with phase drift between NEXT signals to be cancelled and signals received from the remote transmitter. With the chosen transceiver architecture, digital-to-analog conversion of transmit signals, analog-to-digital conversion of receive signals, and adaptive NEXT cancellation are performed synchronously with the transmitter clock. The rate change from transmit timing to controlled receive timing is accomplished by an adaptive equalizer in conjunction with an elastic buffer and occasional coefficient shifts. The equalizer is adjusted rapidly enough to allow for a maximal phase drift of ±100 ppm. The implementation of all digital signal-processing functions in a single 0.5 μm CMOS VLSI prototype chip is discussed. The employed standard-cell design resulted in a power consumption of 6 W. Significantly lower power consumption can be achieved by custom design of highly repetitive processing elements     

艾哈迈德·阿德南·萨伊贡艺术中心,伊兹密尔,土耳其

<正>一座建筑的性能应当如何来衡量?除了通过统治当代建筑舆论的美学、技术以及经济价值来进行描述之外,我们还能够如何来阐释一座建筑,尤其是一座致力于庇护那些渴望展现自己的艺术家的建筑?有人会问成功的表演是如何实现的,表演者是如何进行伪装的、又是如何展现自己的?根据海德格尔的理论,当我们看不到钉子的时候,铁锤的表现才是成功的;钉子本身的出现通常表明出现了问题。     

Conducting fluorine doped tin dioxide (FTO) coatings by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis for heating applications

Fluorine doped tin dioxide (FTO) coatings were deposited on AISI 304 stainless steel (SS) substrates using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) technique. Four different candidate insulating intermediate layers of TiO₂, MgO, Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ were selected and coated on AISI 304 SS using USP and investigated in order to overcome dielectric breakdown of FTO layer due to conductive nature of stainless steel substrate under the applied voltage. After the optimization of the process parameters for the depositions, only TiO₂ layer was successfully deposited while other oxides did not form continuous films on AISI-304 SS surface despite the efforts. SEM analysis, supported by back-scatter imaging, revealed thickness values of the layers for FTO and TiO₂, individually. Heating performances of the samples with varying sheet resistance values were examined under different applied voltages. Heating experiments showed that 300 °C can be reached with 10 V of applied voltage without occurrence of an electrical breakdown of FTO coating having 160 nm thickness with TiO₂ intermediate layer of 660 nm. 28.6% efficiency for the conversion of electrical energy into heat was calculated for FTO coating while bare stainless steel showed only 7.3% efficiency. Later, the heating experiments were repetitively conducted and the samples were tested under high relative humid environment to determine their resistance against moist conditions.     

The synthesis of PHA‐g‐(PTHF‐b‐PMMA) multiblock/graft copolymers by combination of cationic and radical polymerization

A new and promising method for the diversification of microbial polyesters based on chemical modifications is introduced. Poly(3‐hydroxy alkanoate)‐g‐(poly(tetrahydrofuran)‐b‐poly(methyl methacrylate)) (PHA‐g‐(PTHF‐b‐PMMA)) multigraft copolymers were synthesized by the combination of cationic and free radical polymerization. PHA‐g‐PTHF graft copolymer was obtained by the cationic polymerization of THF initiated by the carbonium cations generated from the chlorinated PHAs, poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), and poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBHx) in the presence of AgSbF₆. Therefore, PHA‐g‐PTHF graft copolymers with hydroxyl ends were produced. In the presence of Ce⁺⁴ salt, these hydroxyl ends of the graft copolymer can initiate the redox polymerization of MMA to obtain PHA‐g‐(PTHF‐b‐PMMA) multigraft copolymer. Polymers obtained were purified by fractional precipitation. In this manner, their γ‐values (volume ratio of nonsolvent to the solvent) were also determined. Their molecular weights were determined by GPC technique. The structures were elucidated using ¹H‐NMR and FTIR spectroscopy. Thermal analyses of the products were carried out using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Hydrogen absorption in magnesium based crystalline thin films

A study is carried out for hydrogenation of Mg based thin films produced via thermal evaporation. Films produced were pure Mg, Mg capped with Au–Pd, Mg–Cu co-deposited and Mg–Cu multilayered. The films under the experimental conditions employed were crystalline with columnar grains with some degree of preferred orientation. In multi-component systems, the films in the as-deposited state were made of individual elements, but upon hydrogenation at temperatures greater than 473 K, the elements react with each other yielding the intermetallic phases. The study showed that, of the systems studied in this work, Mg–Cu multilayer yielded the most favorable result as useful storage system, for Mg portion of the film can be converted totally into _MgH2${\mathrm{MgH}}_2$, this occurring at temperatures not greater than 473 K. The study implies that if the as-deposited structure were to be used and preserved as hydrogen storage medium, there is a narrow temperature window for hydrogenation.     

Electrochemical synthesis and characterization of polycarbazole

Electroinitiated polymerization of carbazole was achieved in acetonitrile by direct electron transfer via constant potential electrolysis based on anodic peak potentials. The anodic peak potential of carbazole was determined by cyclic voltammetry to be + 1.4V. It has been observed that polymer yield increased with some factors, such as time, monomer concentration, and polymerization potential. Conducting polycarbazole material obtained on a platinum anode electrode was characterized by FT‐IR, TGA, and conductance measurements. The conductivities of samples were measured to be about 10^?3–10^?4 S/cm by the four‐probe method. Temperature‐dependence of electrical resistance values of polycarbazole between 30°–125°C suggest that it can be used as a thermal sensor. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 96: 894–898, 2005     

100BASE-T2: a new standard for 100 Mb/s Ethernet transmission overvoice-grade cables

100BASE-T2 is a new physical-layer specification for IEEE 802.3 LANs operating at 100 Mb/s (“Fast Ethernet”). It enables users of the prevailing 10BASE-T Ethernet LAN technology to upgrade their networks from 10 to 100 Mb/s performance while retaining an existing voice-grade cabling infrastructure. 100BASE-T2 transceivers will operate over two pairs in unshielded twisted-pair cables corresponding to EIA/TIA category 3 (UTP-3), as minimally required for 10BASE-T. In a four-pair UTP-3 cable, simultaneous operation of two 100BASE-T2 links, or one 100BASE-T2 and one 10BASE-T link, is permitted. Since voice-grade cables exhibit more signal attenuation and significantly higher crosstalk coupling between adjacent pairs than data-grade cables, sophisticated digital signal processing techniques are needed to achieve reliable duplex 100 Mb/s transmission over two pairs. The 100BASE-T2 standard defines dual-duplex baseband transmission at a modulation rate of 25 Mbaud. During each modulation interval, a four-bit data nibble or Ethernet-specific control information is encoded into a pair of quinary signals. These signals are transmitted simultaneously on the two wire pairs in both signaling directions. In the receivers, adaptive digital filters are required for echo and NEXT cancellation, equalization, and interference suppression     

Filtered multitone modulation for very high-speed digitalsubscriber lines

A filter-bank modulation technique called filtered multitone (FMT) and its application to data transmission for very high-speed digital subscriber line technology are described. The proposed scheme leads to significantly lower spectral overlapping between adjacent subchannels than for known multicarrier techniques such as discrete multitone (DMT) or discrete wavelet multitone. FMT modulation mitigates interference due to echo and near-end crosstalk signals, and increases the system throughput and reach. Signal equalization in an FMT receiver is accomplished in the form of per-subchannel symbol-spaced or fractionally spaced linear or decision-feedback equalization. The problem of channel coding for this type of modulation is also addressed, and an approach that allows combined removal of intersymbol-interference via precoding and trellis coding is described. Furthermore, practical design aspects regarding filter-bank realization, initial transceiver training, adaptive equalization, and timing recovery are discussed. Finally, simulation results of the performance achieved by FMT modulation for very high-speed digital subscriber line systems, where upstream and downstream signals are separated by frequency-division duplexing, are presented and compared with DMT modulation     

Thermal properties of socks made from reclaimed fibre

In this study, thermal properties of the socks made from the blend of reclaimed cotton fibre and virgin polyester fibre are investigated in comparison with those of similar socks made from virgin cotton fibre, together with the influence of incorporated elastane. Statistical results reveal that elastane addition and fibre type significantly affect all of the thermal properties of the socks. Elastane addition leads to increase in the thermal conductivity, thermal resistance and thermal absorptivity values and decrease in the water vapour permeability values. The reclaimed fibre socks exhibit lower thermal conductivity and thermal absorptivity and higher thermal resistance than the cotton socks. The water vapour permeability results of the reclaimed fibre socks with no elastane are higher than those of the cotton socks with no elastane. The difference between the water vapour permeability of the reclaimed socks with elastane and the cotton socks with elastane is found to be statistically insignificant.