2.3–21 GHz broadband and high linearity distributed low noise amplifier

This paper focuses on the design of a 2.3–21 GHz Distributed Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) with low noise figure (NF), high gain (S₂₁), and high linearity (IIP3) for broadband applications. This distributed amplifier (DA) includes S/C/X/Ku/K-band, which makes it very suitable for heterodyne receivers. The proposed DA uses a 0.18 μm GaAs pHEMT process (OMMIC ED02AH) in cascade architecture with lines adaptation and equalization of phase velocity techniques, to absorb their parasitic capacitances into the gate and drain transmission lines in order to achieve wide bandwidth and to enhance gain and linearity. The proposed broadband DA achieved an excellent gain in the flatness of 13.5 ± 0.2 dB, a low noise figure of 3.44 ± 1.12 dB, and a small group delay variation of ±19.721 ps over the range of 2.3–21 GHz. The input and output reflection coefficients S₁₁ and S₂₂ are less than −10 dB. The input compression point (P_1dB) and input third-order intercept point (IIP3) are −1.5 dBm and 11.5 dBm, respectively at 13 GHz. The dissipated power is 282 mW and the core layout size is 2.2 × 0.8 mm².     

Optimal design of Raman fibre amplifier based on terminal value optimization strategy and shuffled frog leaping algorithm

This paper introduces an evolutionary algorithm, Shuffled Frog Leaping Algorithm (SFLA), to solve the optimization problem in designing the multi-pumped Raman Fibre Amplifier (RFA). SFLA is a powerful optimizer tool because of its efficient mathematical expressions and global search capability. We utilize SFLA to determine the optimal pump wavelengths and pump powers by minimizing the gain ripple of RFA. To accelerate calculations, a terminal value optimization strategy (TVOS) is incorporated into the evolution of SFLA. This proposed strategy takes the terminal power values of pumps as the decision variables in optimization. Then, the optimal original power values of the pumps are obtained by solving the Power Coupled Equations once, without using the traditional method of repetitive guesses.The combination of SFLA and TVOS enhances the efficiency of optimization and accelerates calculation, while satisfying the design requirements of RFA.The simulation results show that nearly 65% of computational time has been saved compared with the traditional average power analysis. The 4-pumped C+L band of backward multi-pumped RFA with the average net gain of 0 dB, 1 dB and 2 dB are designed individually, where the gain ripple is less than 0.64 dB. The combination of SFLA and TVOS enhance the optimization efficiency and improve the performance of RFA with good gain profile.     

Computer‐aided design methodology for linearity enhancement of multiwatt GaN HEMT amplifiers using multiple parallel devices

This article presents a design methodology for linearizing GaN HEMT amplifiers based on splitting a large FET into multiple parallel FETs with same total gate periphery and by biasing them individually. By varying the biases, the magnitude and the phase of the IMD3 components at the output of FET changes. A detailed simulation methodology using commercial microwave CAD software is presented. Simulation results show that by biasing one device in Class AB and other(s) in deep Class AB mode, IMD3 components of parallel FETs can be made out of phase to each other leading to cancellation and improvement in linearity. Three prototype circuits were simulated using (a) a single 5 mm FET (1 × 5 mm), (b) two parallel 2.5 mm FETs (2 × 2.5 mm), and (c) four parallel 1.25 mm FETs (4 × 1.25 mm), for a total gate periphery of 5 mm, over the frequency range of 0.8 to 1.0 GHz. IMD3 improvement up to 20 dBc was achieved with the 4 × 1.25 mm circuit when the FET biases were optimized. Measurement results show improvement in linearity up to 20 dBc for 4 × 1.25 mm circuit. The proposed method improves linearity without a substantial penalty on the power consumption and is straightforward to implement.     

Optimal approximation of asymmetric type fractional-order bandpass Butterworth filter using decomposition technique

In this letter, the optimal rational approximation of fractional-order bandpass Butterworth filter (FOBBF) is presented. The transfer function of the FOBBF is decomposed into a multiplication of first-order and second-order terms. As a result, the design stability conditions can be easily satisfied using only the variable boundary constraints. The proposed technique generalizes the symmetric fractional-order roll-off characteristic as only a special case of the asymmetric one. Several examples are presented to validate the modeling efficacy.     

Thermally driven failure of Nd:YVO4 amplifier crystals

We report on an unusual failure pattern resulting from thermally driven fracture of laser amplifier single crystals. The pattern led to some confusion with regard to the point of initiation due to the coalescence of hackle lines to a region within the fracture surface, rather than the more common divergence of hackle away from the origin. The pattern leads to new fracture terms: Hackle node - the coalescence of hackle marks to a point of prior compression. The feature is produced as a thermally-generated, centrally-located compressive region transforms to tension thereby drawing crack propagation and hackle to the compressive region, forming an internal terminus. Hackle terminus – a hackle node formed by final crack propagation within the component. As part of the analysis, the fracture toughness and slow crack growth constants of neodymium doped, yttrium ortho-vanadate (Nd:YVO₄) were measured. Nd:YVO₄ exhibits slow crack growth and is very brittle with a fracture toughness of only 0.48 MPa√m.     

基于深度神经网络的表面划痕识别方法

为实现亮度不均的复杂纹理背景下表面划痕的鲁棒、精确、实时识别，提出一种基于深度神经网络的表面划痕识别方法。用于表面划痕识别的深度神经网络由风格迁移网络和聚焦卷积神经网络（CNN）构成，其中风格迁移网络针对亮度不均的复杂背景下的表面划痕进行预处理，风格迁移网络包括前馈转换网络和损失网络，首先通过损失网络提取亮度均匀模板的风格特征和检测图像的知觉特征，对前馈转换网络进行离线训练，获取网络最优参数值，最终使风格迁移网络生成亮度均匀且风格一致的图像，然后，利用所提出的基于聚焦结构的聚焦卷积神经网络对生成图像中的划痕特征进行提取并识别。以光照变化的金属表面为例，进行划痕识别实验，实验结果表明：与需要人工设计特征的传统图像处理方法及传统深度卷积神经网络相比，划痕漏报率低至8.54%，并且收敛速度更快，收敛曲线更加平滑，在不同的深度模型下均可取得较好的检测效果，准确率提升2%左右。风格迁移网络能够保留完整划痕特征的同时有效解决亮度不均的问题，从而提高划痕识别精度；同时聚焦卷积神经网络能够实现对划痕的鲁棒、精确、实时识别，大幅度降低划痕漏报率和误报率。     

应用于车载激光雷达的宽带AGC跨阻放大器

针对车载激光雷达接收端脉冲信号脉宽窄、动态范围大等特点,提出了一种新型宽带、宽动态范围和高增益的自动增益控制(AGC)跨阻放大器。采用改进型调节型共源共栅结构作为输入级,拓展了带宽。使用改进型吉尔伯特单元作为可变增益放大器,进一步提高了带宽和增益。增加了AGC环路,提高了输入动态范围。基于标准 0.18 μm CMOS工艺进行设计与仿真,整体版图尺寸为760 μm×650 μm。仿真结果表明,该电路的-3 dB带宽为1.06 GHz,跨阻增益为80.79 dBΩ,输入动态范围为60 dB(1 μA~1 mA),功耗为47.6 mW,满足车载激光雷达接收机的要求。     

Extrinsic parameter's adjustment and potential implications in Plasmodium falciparum malaria diagnosis

Malaria is a major public health concern, affecting over 3.2 billion people in 91 countries. The advent of digital microscopy and Machine learning with the aim of automating Plasmodium falciparum diagnosis extensively depends on the extracted image features. The color of the cells, plasma, and stained artifacts influence the topological, geometrical, and statistical parameters being used to extract image features. During microscopic image acquisition, custom adjustments to the condenser and color temperature controls often have an influence on the extracted statistical features. But, our human visual system sub-consciously adjusts the color and retains the originality in a different lighting environment. Despite the use of appropriate image preprocessing, findings from the literature indicate that statistical feature variations exist, allowing the risk of P. falciparum misinterpretation. In order to eliminate this pervasive variation, the current work focuses on preprocessing the extracted statistical features rather than the prepossessing of the source image. It begins with the augmentation of series images for a microscopic field by inducing illumination variations during the microscopic image acquisition stage. A set of such image series is analyzed using a Nonlinear Regression Model to generalize the relationship between microscopic images acquired with variable ambient brightness and a specific feature. The projection point of the centroid feature onto the brightness parameter is identified in the model and it is denoted as the optimum brightness factor (OBF). Using the model, the feature correction factor (CF) is calculated from the rate of change of feature values over the interval OBF, and the brightness of the test image is processed. The present work has investigated OBF for selected image textural features, namely Contrast, Homogeneity, Entropy, Energy, and Correlation individually from its co-occurrence matrices. For performance analysis, the best state-of-the-art method uses selected texture as a subset feature to evaluate the effectiveness of P. falciparum malaria classification. Then, the impact of proposed feature processing is evaluated on 274 blood smear images with and without Feature Correction (FC). As a result, the “p” value is less than .05, which leads to the result that it is highly significant and the classification accuracy and F-score of P. falciparum malaria are increased.     

Sizing of multi-stage Op Amps by combining design equations with the gm/ID method

Analog integrated circuit design has as integral parts both analytical reasoning and numerical validation in the process from topology construction to sizing. Given a circuit topology, different circuit sizing results can be obtained from different processes of sizing inference. Sizing methods by simulation-based numerical searching have been a continuously studied subject. However, almost all approaches in this category require an overwhelming number of circuit simulations to arrive at an optimized sizing result. On the other hand, many published manual sizing methods by using the conventional device equations also require repeated SPICE simulations to correct the equation-based sizing results. This paper proposes a systematic gm/ID-based initial sizing method specifically customized for designing multiple-stage operational amplifiers (Op Amps). A main feature of the proposal is to use circuit-level design equations as constraints on the gm/ID table lookup method to substantially reduce the uncertainty in the sizing calculations. As a result, a significant amount of SPICE based correction work can be reduced to complete an initial sizing. The proposed sizing procedure includes a few regular sizing rules customized to the configuration of multi-stage Op Amps. We validate the proposed sizing method by application to several multi-stage Op Amp examples with a capacitive load or Miller compensation. Simulations have justified that the produced initial sizing results can achieve most of the prespecified design targets.     

On the bright side: The influence of brightness on overall taste intensity perception

Ambient light luminance (i.e., brightness or dimness) is a frequently used tool by managers to enhance the overall ambience in their restaurants. The current research explores how a change in a restaurant’s ambient brightness influences the overall taste intensity perception of the food that is being served there. We conducted a between-group experiment in a field setting (i.e., a fine-dining restaurant), where we manipulated the illuminance level of the ambient light (dim vs. bright). Guests were served a dish—tailored to our research question—and asked to evaluate its overall taste intensity. The results demonstrate that guests exposed to the bright ambient light perceived the overall taste of the dish as more intense as opposed to guests exposed to the dim ambient light. The results thus show that modifying the ambient illuminance level in a restaurant does not only affect the overall ambience but also changes the overall taste experience of the food being served. This finding is not only theoretically relevant for research on multisensory integration, but it also provides tools for taste modulation, and—as such—for strategies to decrease salt and sugar consumption among diners.