Wide-band residual phase-noise measurements on 40-GHz monolithic mode-locked lasers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsson, David; Hvam, Jørn Märcher

2005-01-01

We have performed wide-band residual phase-noise measurements on semiconductor 40-GHz mode-locked lasers by employing electrical waveguide components for the radio-frequency circuit. The intrinsic timing jitters of lasers with one, two, and three quantum wells (QW) are compared and our design......-QW laser. There is good agreement between the measured results and existing theory....

Wideband QAMC reflector's antenna for low profile applications

Science.gov (United States)

Grelier, M.; Jousset, M.; Mallégol, S.; Lepage, A. C.; Begaud, X.; LeMener, J. M.

2011-06-01

A wideband reflector's antenna based on quasi-artificial magnetic conductor is proposed. To validate the design, an Archimedean spiral has been backed to this new reflector. In comparison to classical solution using absorbent material, the prototype presents a very low thickness of λ/15 at the lowest operating frequency and an improved gain over a 2.4:1 bandwidth. The whole methodology to design this reflector can be applied to other wideband antennas.

Wideband CMOS receivers

CERN Document Server

Oliveira, Luis

2015-01-01

This book demonstrates how to design a wideband receiver operating in current mode, in which the noise and non-linearity are reduced, implemented in a low cost single chip, using standard CMOS technology.  The authors present a solution to remove the transimpedance amplifier (TIA) block and connect directly the mixer’s output to a passive second-order continuous-time Σ∆ analog to digital converter (ADC), which operates in current-mode. These techniques enable the reduction of area, power consumption, and cost in modern CMOS receivers.

Low SNR capacity for MIMO Rician and Rayleigh-product fading channels with single co-channel interferer and noise

KAUST Repository

Zhong, Caijun

2010-09-01

This paper studies the ergodic capacity of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems with a single co-channel interferer in the low signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) regime. Two MIMO models namely Rician and Rayleigh-product channels are investigated. Exact analytical expressions for the minimum energy per information bit, {Eb/N0min, and wideband slope, S0, are derived for both channels. Our results show that the minimum energy per information bit is the same for both channels while their wideband slopes differ significantly. Further, the impact of the numbers of transmit and receive antennas, the Rician K factor, the channel mean matrix and the interference-to-noise-ratio (INR) on the capacity, is addressed. Results indicate that interference degrades the capacity by increasing the required minimum energy per information bit and reducing the wideband slope. Simulation results validate our analytical results. © 2010 IEEE.

Low-complexity Wireless Monitoring of Respiratory Movements Using Ultra-wideband Impulse Response Estimation

KAUST Repository

Sana, Furrukh

2014-03-01

In this paper; we present a comprehensive scheme for wireless monitoring of the respiratory movements in humans. Our scheme overcomes the challenges low signal-to-noise ratio, background clutter and high sampling rates. It is based on the estimation of the ultra-wideband channel impulse response. We suggest techniques for dealing with background clutter in situations when it might be time variant. We also present a novel methodology for reducing the required sampling rate of the system significantly while achieving the accuracy offered by the Nyquist rate. Performance results from simulations conducted with pre-recorded respiratory signals demonstrate the robustness of our scheme for tackling the above challenges and providing a low-complexity solution for the monitoring of respiratory movements.

Optical fiber sensor for the detection of laser-generated ultrasound in arterial tissues

Science.gov (United States)

Beard, Paul C.; Mills, Timothy N.

1995-02-01

Theoretical and experimental aspects of an extrinsic Fabry-Perot optical fiber ultrasound sensor for use in a photoacoustic-guided laser angioplasty system are described. The sensor has been characterized using laser generated thermoelastic waves as a source of wideband ultrasound. A system sensitivity of 25 mV/MPa and an acoustic noise floor of 2 Pa/Hz1/2 are reported using a transparent polymer film as the sensing element. The system demonstrates the required bandwidth for sensing thermoelastic waves containing frequency components up to 20 MHz.

Speckle noise reduction in breast ultrasound images: SMU (srad median unsharp) approch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Njeh, I.; Sassi, O. B.; Ben Hamida, A.; Chtourou, K.

2011-01-01

Image denoising has become a very essential for better information extraction from the image and mainly from so noised ones, such as ultrasound images. In certain cases, for instance in ultrasound images, the noise can restrain information which is valuable for the general practitioner. Consequently medical images are very inconsistent, and it is crucial to operate case to case. This paper presents a novel algorithm SMU (Srad Median Unsharp) for noise suppression in ultrasound breast images in order to realize a computer aided diagnosis (CAD) for breast cancer.

Fiber-distributed Ultra-wideband noise radar with steerable power spectrum and colorless base station.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Jianyu; Wang, Hui; Fu, Jianbin; Wei, Li; Pan, Shilong; Wang, Lixian; Liu, Jianguo; Zhu, Ninghua

2014-03-10

A fiber-distributed Ultra-wideband (UWB) noise radar was achieved, which consists of a chaotic UWB noise source based on optoelectronic oscillator (OEO), a fiber-distributed transmission link, a colorless base station (BS), and a cross-correlation processing module. Due to a polarization modulation based microwave photonic filter and an electrical UWB pass-band filter embedded in the feedback loop of the OEO, the power spectrum of chaotic UWB signal could be shaped and notch-filtered to avoid the spectrum-overlay-induced interference to the narrow band signals. Meanwhile, the wavelength-reusing could be implemented in the BS by means of the distributed polarization modulation-to-intensity modulation conversion. The experimental comparison for range finding was carried out as the chaotic UWB signal was notch-filtered at 5.2 GHz and 7.8 GHz or not. Measured results indicate that space resolution with cm-level could be realized after 3-km fiber transmission thanks to the excellent self-correlation property of the UWB noise signal provided by the OEO. The performance deterioration of the radar raised by the energy loss of the notch-filtered noise signal was negligible.

Superconducting Quantum Arrays for Wideband Antennas and Low Noise Amplifiers

Science.gov (United States)

Mukhanov, O.; Prokopemko, G.; Romanofsky, Robert R.

2014-01-01

Superconducting Quantum Iinetference Filters (SQIF) consist of a two-dimensional array of niobium Josephson Junctions formed into N loops of incommensurate area. This structure forms a magnetic field (B) to voltage transducer with an impulse like response at B0. In principle, the signal-to-noise ratio scales as the square root of N and the noise can be made arbitrarily small (i.e. The SQIF chips are expected to exhibit quantum limited noise performance). A gain of about 20 dB was recently demonstrated at 10 GHz.

The Transimpedance Amplifier Noise Optimization for the Atmospheric Optical Link Receiver

OpenAIRE

A. Prokes

1996-01-01

This paper deals with design of wideband low-noise preamplifier of atmospheric optical link receiver. Sources of noise and the noise models for the PIN photodiode coupled to a transimpedance amplifier are described here. This paper presents the way of optimization the signal to noise ratio at the required frequency range.

The Transimpedance Amplifier Noise Optimization for the Atmospheric Optical Link Receiver

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Prokes

1996-12-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with design of wideband low-noise preamplifier of atmospheric optical link receiver. Sources of noise and the noise models for the PIN photodiode coupled to a transimpedance amplifier are described here. This paper presents the way of optimization the signal to noise ratio at the required frequency range.

Low noise buffer amplifiers and buffered phase comparators for precise time and frequency measurement and distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Eichinger, R. A.; Dachel, P.; Miller, W. H.; Ingold, J. S.

1982-01-01

Extremely low noise, high performance, wideband buffer amplifiers and buffered phase comparators were developed. These buffer amplifiers are designed to distribute reference frequencies from 30 KHz to 45 MHz from a hydrogen maser without degrading the hydrogen maser's performance. The buffered phase comparators are designed to intercompare the phase of state of the art hydrogen masers without adding any significant measurement system noise. These devices have a 27 femtosecond phase stability floor and are stable to better than one picosecond for long periods of time. Their temperature coefficient is less than one picosecond per degree C, and they have shown virtually no voltage coefficients.

M2 FILTER FOR SPECKLE NOISE SUPPRESSION IN BREAST ULTRASOUND IMAGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E.S. Samundeeswari

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Breast cancer, commonly found in women is a serious life threatening disease due to its invasive nature. Ultrasound (US imaging method plays an effective role in screening early detection and diagnosis of Breast cancer. Speckle noise generally affects medical ultrasound images and also causes a number of difficulties in identifying the Region of Interest. Suppressing speckle noise is a challenging task as it destroys fine edge details. No specific filter is designed yet to get a noise free BUS image that is contaminated by speckle noise. In this paper M2 filter, a novel hybrid of linear and nonlinear filter is proposed and compared to other spatial filters with 3×3 kernel size. The performance of the proposed M2 filter is measured by statistical quantity parameters like MSE, PSNR and SSI. The experimental analysis clearly shows that the proposed M2 filter outperforms better than other spatial filters by 2% high PSNR values with regards to speckle suppression.

Wideband CMOS low noise amplifier including an active balun

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blaakmeer, S.C.; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Leenaerts, D.M.W.; Nauta, Bram

2007-01-01

An inductorless LNA with active balun is proposed for multi-standard radio applications between 100MHz and 6GHz [1]. It exploits a combination of a common-gate (CG) stage and an common-source (CS) stage with replica biasing to maximize balanced operation, while simultaneously canceling the noise and

Low-noise sub-harmonic injection locked multiloop ring oscillator

Science.gov (United States)

Weilin, Xu; Di, Wu; Xueming, Wei; Baolin, Wei; Jihai, Duan; Fadi, Gui

2016-09-01

A three-stage differential voltage-controlled ring oscillator is presented for wide-tuning and low-phase noise requirement of clock and data recovery circuit in ultra wideband (UWB) wireless body area network. To improve the performance of phase noise of delay cell with coarse and fine frequency tuning, injection locked technology together with pseudo differential architecture are adopted. In addition, a multiloop is employed for frequency boosting. Two RVCOs, the standard RVCO without the IL block and the proposed IL RVCO, were fabricated in SMIC 0.18 μm 1P6M Salicide CMOS process. The proposed IL RVCO exhibits a measured phase noise of -112.37 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset from the center frequency of 1 GHz, while dissipating a current of 8 mA excluding the buffer from a 1.8-V supply voltage. It shows a 16.07 dB phase noise improvement at 1 MHz offset compared to the standard topology. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61264001), the Guangxi Natural Science Foundation (Nos. 2013GXNSFAA019333, 2015GXNSFAA139301, 2014GXNSFAA118386), the Graduate Education Innovation Program of GUET (No. GDYCSZ201457), the Project of Guangxi Education Department (No. LD14066B) and the High-Level-Innovation Team and Outstanding Scholar Project of Guangxi Higher Education Institutes.

Compact Wideband and Low-Profile Antenna Mountable on Large Metallic Surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Shuai; Pedersen, Gert F.

2017-01-01

This paper proposes a compact wideband and low-profile antenna mountable on large metallic surfaces. Six rows of coupled microstrip resonators with different lengths are printed on a Teflon block. The lengths of the microstrip resonators in different rows are gradually reduced along the end-fire...

Modelling of Substrate Noise and Mitigation Schemes for UWB Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shen, Ming; Mikkelsen, Jan H.; Larsen, Torben

2012-01-01

tuned elements in the signal paths. However, for UWB designs this is not a viable option and other means are therefore required. Moreover, owing to the ultra-wideband nature and low power spectral density of the signal, UWB mixed-signal integrated circuits are more sensitive to substrate noise compared...... with narrow-band circuits. This chapter presents a study on the modeling and mitigation of substrate noise in mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs), focusing on UWB system/circuit designs. Experimental impact evaluation of substrate noise on UWB circuits is presented. It shows how a wide-band circuit can......The last chapter of this first part of the book, chapter seven, is devoted to Modeling of Substrate Noise and Mitigation Schemes for Ultrawideband (UWB) systems, and is written by Ming Shen, Jan H. Mikkelsen, and Torben Larsen from Aalborg University, Denmark. In highly integrated mixed...

An ultra-sensitive and wideband magnetometer based on a superconducting quantum interference device

Science.gov (United States)

Storm, Jan-Hendrik; Hömmen, Peter; Drung, Dietmar; Körber, Rainer

2017-02-01

The magnetic field noise in superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) used for biomagnetic research such as magnetoencephalography or ultra-low-field nuclear magnetic resonance is usually limited by instrumental dewar noise. We constructed a wideband, ultra-low noise system with a 45 mm diameter superconducting pick-up coil inductively coupled to a current sensor SQUID. Thermal noise in the liquid helium dewar is minimized by using aluminized polyester fabric as superinsulation and aluminum oxide strips as heat shields. With a magnetometer pick-up coil in the center of the Berlin magnetically shielded room 2 (BMSR2), a noise level of around 150 aT Hz-1/2 is achieved in the white noise regime between about 20 kHz and the system bandwidth of about 2.5 MHz. At lower frequencies, the resolution is limited by magnetic field noise arising from the walls of the shielded room. Modeling the BMSR2 as a closed cube with continuous μ-metal walls, we can quantitatively reproduce its measured field noise.

A wideband high-linearity RF receiver front-end in CMOS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arkesteijn, V.J.; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Nauta, Bram

This paper presents a wideband high-linearity RF receiver-front-end, implemented in standard 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The design employs a noise-canceling LNA in combination with two passive mixers, followed by lowpass-filtering and amplification at IF. The achieved bandwidth is >2 GHz, with a noise

Multiplane wave imaging increases signal-to-noise ratio in ultrafast ultrasound imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiran, Elodie; Deffieux, Thomas; Correia, Mafalda; Maresca, David; Osmanski, Bruno-Felix; Pernot, Mathieu; Tanter, Mickael; Sieu, Lim-Anna; Bergel, Antoine; Cohen, Ivan

2015-01-01

Ultrafast imaging using plane or diverging waves has recently enabled new ultrasound imaging modes with improved sensitivity and very high frame rates. Some of these new imaging modalities include shear wave elastography, ultrafast Doppler, ultrafast contrast-enhanced imaging and functional ultrasound imaging. Even though ultrafast imaging already encounters clinical success, increasing even more its penetration depth and signal-to-noise ratio for dedicated applications would be valuable.Ultrafast imaging relies on the coherent compounding of backscattered echoes resulting from successive tilted plane waves emissions; this produces high-resolution ultrasound images with a trade-off between final frame rate, contrast and resolution. In this work, we introduce multiplane wave imaging, a new method that strongly improves ultrafast images signal-to-noise ratio by virtually increasing the emission signal amplitude without compromising the frame rate. This method relies on the successive transmissions of multiple plane waves with differently coded amplitudes and emission angles in a single transmit event. Data from each single plane wave of increased amplitude can then be obtained, by recombining the received data of successive events with the proper coefficients.The benefits of multiplane wave for B-mode, shear wave elastography and ultrafast Doppler imaging are experimentally demonstrated. Multiplane wave with 4 plane waves emissions yields a 5.8  ±  0.5 dB increase in signal-to-noise ratio and approximately 10 mm in penetration in a calibrated ultrasound phantom (0.7 d MHz −1 cm −1 ). In shear wave elastography, the same multiplane wave configuration yields a 2.07  ±  0.05 fold reduction of the particle velocity standard deviation and a two-fold reduction of the shear wave velocity maps standard deviation. In functional ultrasound imaging, the mapping of cerebral blood volume results in a 3 to 6 dB increase of the contrast-to-noise ratio in

Wideband laser locking to an atomic reference with modulation transfer spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Negnevitsky, V; Turner, L D

2013-02-11

We demonstrate that conventional modulated spectroscopy apparatus, used for laser frequency stabilization in many atomic physics laboratories, can be enhanced to provide a wideband lock delivering deep suppression of frequency noise across the acoustic range. Using an acousto-optic modulator driven with an agile oscillator, we show that wideband frequency modulation of the pump laser in modulation transfer spectroscopy produces the unique single lock-point spectrum previously demonstrated with electro-optic phase modulation. We achieve a laser lock with 100 kHz feedback bandwidth, limited by our laser control electronics. This bandwidth is sufficient to reduce frequency noise by 30 dB across the acoustic range and narrows the imputed linewidth by a factor of five.

A Wide-Band High-Gain Compact SIS Receiver Utilizing a 300-μW SiGe IF LNA

Science.gov (United States)

Montazeri, Shirin; Grimes, Paul K.; Tong, Cheuk-Yu Edward; Bardin, Joseph C.

2017-06-01

Low-power low-noise amplifiers integrated with superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) mixers are required to enable implementation of large-scale focal plane arrays. In this work, a 220-GHz SIS mixer has been integrated with a high-gain broad-band low-power IF amplifier into a compact receiver module. The low noise amplifier (LNA) was specifically designed to match to the SIS output impedance and contributes less than 7 K to the system noise temperature over the 4-8 GHz IF frequency range. A receiver noise temperature of 30-45 K was measured for a local oscillator frequency of 220 GHz over an IF spanning 4-8 GHz. The LNA power dissipation was only 300-μW. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the lowest power consumption reported for a high-gain wide-band LNA directly integrated with an SIS mixer.

Optically addressed ultra-wideband phased antenna array

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Jian

Demands for high data rate and multifunctional apertures from both civilian and military users have motivated development of ultra-wideband (UWB) electrically steered phased arrays. Meanwhile, the need for large contiguous frequency is pushing operation of radio systems into the millimeter-wave (mm-wave) range. Therefore, modern radio systems require UWB performance from VHF to mm-wave. However, traditional electronic systems suffer many challenges that make achieving these requirements difficult. Several examples includes: voltage controlled oscillators (VCO) cannot provide a tunable range of several octaves, distribution of wideband local oscillator signals undergo high loss and dispersion through RF transmission lines, and antennas have very limited bandwidth or bulky sizes. Recently, RF photonics technology has drawn considerable attention because of its advantages over traditional systems, with the capability of offering extreme power efficiency, information capacity, frequency agility, and spatial beam diversity. A hybrid RF photonic communication system utilizing optical links and an RF transducer at the antenna potentially provides ultra-wideband data transmission, i.e., over 100 GHz. A successful implementation of such an optically addressed phased array requires addressing several key challenges. Photonic generation of an RF source with over a seven-octave bandwidth has been demonstrated in the last few years. However, one challenge which still remains is how to convey phased optical signals to downconversion modules and antennas. Therefore, a feed network with phase sweeping capability and low excessive phase noise needs to be developed. Another key challenge is to develop an ultra-wideband array antenna. Modern frontends require antennas to be compact, planar, and low-profile in addition to possessing broad bandwidth, conforming to stringent space, weight, cost, and power constraints. To address these issues, I will study broadband and miniaturization

A Channelization-Based DOA Estimation Method for Wideband Signals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Guo

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a novel direction of arrival (DOA estimation method for wideband signals with sensor arrays. The proposed method splits the wideband array output into multiple frequency sub-channels and estimates the signal parameters using a digital channelization receiver. Based on the output sub-channels, a channelization-based incoherent signal subspace method (Channelization-ISM and a channelization-based test of orthogonality of projected subspaces method (Channelization-TOPS are proposed. Channelization-ISM applies narrowband signal subspace methods on each sub-channel independently. Then the arithmetic mean or geometric mean of the estimated DOAs from each sub-channel gives the final result. Channelization-TOPS measures the orthogonality between the signal and the noise subspaces of the output sub-channels to estimate DOAs. The proposed channelization-based method isolates signals in different bandwidths reasonably and improves the output SNR. It outperforms the conventional ISM and TOPS methods on estimation accuracy and dynamic range, especially in real environments. Besides, the parallel processing architecture makes it easy to implement on hardware. A wideband digital array radar (DAR using direct wideband radio frequency (RF digitization is presented. Experiments carried out in a microwave anechoic chamber with the wideband DAR are presented to demonstrate the performance. The results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

A Nonlinear Diffusion Equation-Based Model for Ultrasound Speckle Noise Removal

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zhenyu; Guo, Zhichang; Zhang, Dazhi; Wu, Boying

2018-04-01

Ultrasound images are contaminated by speckle noise, which brings difficulties in further image analysis and clinical diagnosis. In this paper, we address this problem in the view of nonlinear diffusion equation theories. We develop a nonlinear diffusion equation-based model by taking into account not only the gradient information of the image, but also the information of the gray levels of the image. By utilizing the region indicator as the variable exponent, we can adaptively control the diffusion type which alternates between the Perona-Malik diffusion and the Charbonnier diffusion according to the image gray levels. Furthermore, we analyze the proposed model with respect to the theoretical and numerical properties. Experiments show that the proposed method achieves much better speckle suppression and edge preservation when compared with the traditional despeckling methods, especially in the low gray level and low-contrast regions.

Amplifiers Exploiting Thermal Noise Canceling: A Review

OpenAIRE

Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Bruccoleri, Federico; Stroet, Peter; Nauta, Bram

2004-01-01

Wide-band LNAs suffer from a fundamental trade-off between noise figure NF and source impedance matching, which limits NF to values typically above 3dB. Recently, a feed-forward noise canceling technique has been proposed to break this trade-off. This paper reviews the principle of the technique and its key properties. Although the technique has been applied to wideband CMOS LNAs, it can just as well be implemented exploiting transconductance elements realized with oth...

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound: Nonunions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dijkman Bernadette

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Nonunions occur in 5-10% of fractures and are characterized by the failure to heal without further intervention. Low intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy has been developed as an alternative to surgery in the treatment of nonunions. We describe a systematic review on trials of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy for healing of nonunions. We searched the electronic databases Medline and the Cochrane library for articles on ultrasound and healing of nonunions published up to 2008. Trials selected for the review met the following criteria: treatment of at least one intervention group with low intensity pulsed ultrasound; inclusion of patients (humans with one or more nonunions (defined as "established" or as a failure to heal for a minimum of eight months after initial injury; and assessment of healing and time to healing, as determined radiographically. The following data were abstracted from the included studies: sample size, ultrasound treatment characteristics, nonunion location, healing rate, time to fracture healing, fracture age, and demographic information. We found 79 potentially eligible publications, of which 14 met our inclusion criteria. Of these, eight studies were used for data abstraction. Healing rates averaged 87%, (range 65.6%-100% among eight trials. Mean time to healing was 146.5 days, (range 56-219 days. There is evidence from trials that low-intensity pulsed ultrasound may be an effective treatment for healing of nonunions. More homogeneous and larger controlled series are needed to further investigate its efficacy.

DATA QUALITY EVALUATION AND APPLICATION POTENTIAL ANALYSIS OF TIANGONG-2 WIDE-BAND IMAGING SPECTROMETER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Qin

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Tiangong-2 is the first space laboratory in China, which launched in September 15, 2016. Wide-band Imaging Spectrometer is a medium resolution multispectral imager on Tiangong-2. In this paper, the authors introduced the indexes and parameters of Wideband Imaging Spectrometer, and made an objective evaluation about the data quality of Wide-band Imaging Spectrometer in radiation quality, image sharpness and information content, and compared the data quality evaluation results with that of Landsat-8. Although the data quality of Wide-band Imager Spectrometer has a certain disparity with Landsat-8 OLI data in terms of signal to noise ratio, clarity and entropy. Compared with OLI, Wide-band Imager Spectrometer has more bands, narrower bandwidth and wider swath, which make it a useful remote sensing data source in classification and identification of large and medium scale ground objects. In the future, Wide-band Imaging Spectrometer data will be widely applied in land cover classification, ecological environment assessment, marine and coastal zone monitoring, crop identification and classification, and other related areas.

Data Quality Evaluation and Application Potential Analysis of TIANGONG-2 Wide-Band Imaging Spectrometer

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, B.; Li, L.; Li, S.

2018-04-01

Tiangong-2 is the first space laboratory in China, which launched in September 15, 2016. Wide-band Imaging Spectrometer is a medium resolution multispectral imager on Tiangong-2. In this paper, the authors introduced the indexes and parameters of Wideband Imaging Spectrometer, and made an objective evaluation about the data quality of Wide-band Imaging Spectrometer in radiation quality, image sharpness and information content, and compared the data quality evaluation results with that of Landsat-8. Although the data quality of Wide-band Imager Spectrometer has a certain disparity with Landsat-8 OLI data in terms of signal to noise ratio, clarity and entropy. Compared with OLI, Wide-band Imager Spectrometer has more bands, narrower bandwidth and wider swath, which make it a useful remote sensing data source in classification and identification of large and medium scale ground objects. In the future, Wide-band Imaging Spectrometer data will be widely applied in land cover classification, ecological environment assessment, marine and coastal zone monitoring, crop identification and classification, and other related areas.

Thermal Noise Canceling in LNAs: A Review

OpenAIRE

Nauta, Bram; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Bruccoleri, Frederico

2004-01-01

Most wide-band amplifiers suffer from a fundamental trade-off between noise figure NF and source impedance matching, which limits NF to values typically above 3dB. Recently, a feed-forward noise canceling technique has been proposed to break this trade-off. This paper reviews the principle of the technique and its key properties. Although the technique has been applied to wideband CMOS LNAs, it can just as well be implemented exploiting transconductance elements realized with other types of t...

A Wideband and Compact Circularly-Polarized Rectenna for Low Power Application

OpenAIRE

Okba , Abderrahim; Takacs , Alexandru; Aubert , Hervé; Bellion , Anthony; Grenana , D

2017-01-01

International audience; This paper presents a wideband and compact circularly polarized rectenna composed by an Archimedean spiral antenna that covers the S and C frequency bands and a silicon Schottky diode. This rectenna (rectifier + antenna) is used for electromagnetic energy harvesting over a wide frequency band, in order to power autonomous wireless sensors used for satellite health monitoring. For low incident power densities (around 14 µW/cm²) the measured efficiency of at least 19% be...

Wideband CMOS receivers exploiting simultaneous output balancing and noise/distortion canceling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blaakmeer, S.C.; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Leenaerts, D.M.W.; Nauta, Bram

2008-01-01

Abstract— This paper deals with the problem of realizing wideband receiver front-ends in downscaled CMOSTechnologies, which are highly wanted for multi-standard radio receivers and cognitive radio applications. Instead of using many narrowband inductor based receivers, we prefer the use of one

TEDS Base Station Power Amplifier using Low-Noise Envelope Tracking Power Supply

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Høyerby, Mikkel Christian Wendelboe; Andersen, Michael A. E.

2009-01-01

This paper demonstrates a highly linear and efficient TETRA enhanced data service (TEDS) base-station RF power amplifier (RFPA). Based on the well-known combination of an envelope tracking (ET) power supply and a linear class-A/B RFPA, adequate adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) and wideband noise...... experimentally with a 9.6-dB peak-to-average 50-kHz 16 quadrature amplitude modulation TEDS carrier, the setup providing 44-dBm (25 W) average RF output power at 400 MHz with 44% dc-to-RF efficiency state-of-the-art ACPR of less than ${-}$67 dBc, switching noise artifacts around ${-}$ 85 dBc, and an overall rms...

W-Band InP Wideband MMIC LNA with 30K Noise Temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Weinreb, S.; Lai, R.; Erickson, N.; Gaier, T.; Wielgus, J.

2000-01-01

This paper describe a millimeter wave low noise amplifier with extraordinary low noise, low consumption, and wide frequency range. These results are achieved utilizing state-of-the-art InP HEMT transistors coupled with CPW circuit design. The paper describes the transistor models, modeled and measured on-wafer and in-module results at both 300K am 24K operating temperatures for many samples of the device.

Annoyance of low frequency noise and traffic noise

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, F.R.; Poulsen, Torben

2001-01-01

The annoyance of different low frequency noise sources was determined and compared to the annoyance from traffic noise. Twenty-two subjects participated in laboratory listening tests. The sounds were presented by loudspeakers in a listening room and the spectra of the low frequency noises were...

Design of low noise transimpedance amplifier for intravascular ultrasound

KAUST Repository

Reda, Dina

2009-11-01

In this paper, we study transimpedance amplifiers for capacitive sensing applications with a focus on Intravascular Ultra Sound (IVUS). We employ RF noise cancellation technique on capacitive feedback based transimpedance amplifiers. This technique eliminates the input-referred noise of TIAs completely and enhances the dynamic range of front-end electronics. Simulation results verify the proposed technique used in two different TIA topologies employing shunt-shunt feedback. ©2009 IEEE.

A Flexible Nested Sodium and Proton Coil Array with Wideband Matching for Knee Cartilage MRI at 3 Tesla

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Ryan; Lakshmanan, Karthik; Madelin, Guillaume; Alon, Leeor; Chang, Gregory; Sodickson, Daniel K.; Regatte, Ravinder R.; Wiggins, Graham C.

2015-01-01

Purpose We describe a 6×2 channel sodium/proton array for knee MRI at 3 Tesla. Multi-element coil arrays are desirable because of well-known signal-to-noise ratio advantages over volume and single-element coils. However, low coil-tissue coupling that is characteristic of coils operating at low frequency can make the potential gains from a phased array difficult to realize. Methods The issue of low coil-tissue coupling in the developed six channel sodium receive array was addressed by implementing 1) a mechanically flexible former to minimize coil-to-tissue distance and reduce the overall diameter of the array and 2) a wideband matching scheme that counteracts preamplifier noise degradation caused by coil coupling and a high quality factor. The sodium array was complemented with a nested proton array to enable standard MRI. Results The wideband matching scheme and tight-fitting mechanical design contributed to greater than 30% central SNR gain on the sodium module over a mono-nuclear sodium birdcage coil, while the performance of the proton module was sufficient for clinical imaging. Conclusion We expect the strategies presented in this work to be generally relevant in high density receive arrays, particularly in x-nuclei or small animal applications, or in those where the array is distant from the targeted tissue. PMID:26502310

Low noise constant current source for bias dependent noise measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talukdar, D.; Bose, Suvendu; Bardhan, K. K.; Chakraborty, R. K.

2011-01-01

A low noise constant current source used for measuring the 1/f noise in disordered systems in ohmic as well as nonohmic regime is described. The source can supply low noise constant current starting from as low as 1 μA to a few tens of milliampere with a high voltage compliance limit of around 20 V. The constant current source has several stages, which can work in a standalone manner or together to supply the desired value of load current. The noise contributed by the current source is very low in the entire current range. The fabrication of a low noise voltage preamplifier modified for bias dependent noise measurements and based on the existing design available in the MAT04 data sheet is also described.

Low frequency noise study.

Science.gov (United States)

2007-04-01

This report documents a study to investigate human response to the low-frequency : content of aviation noise, or low-frequency noise (LFN). The study comprised field : measurements and laboratory studies. The major findings were: : 1. Start-of-takeof...

Targeted disruption of the blood-brain barrier with focused ultrasound: association with cavitation activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDannold, N; Vykhodtseva, N; Hynynen, K

2006-01-01

Acoustic emission was monitored during focused ultrasound exposures in conjunction with an ultrasound contrast agent (Optison (registered) ) in order to determine if cavitation activity is associated with the induction of blood-brain barrier disruption (BBBD). Thirty-four locations were sonicated (frequency: 260 kHz) at targets 10 mm deep in rabbit brain (N = 9). The sonications were applied at peak pressure amplitudes ranging from 0.11 to 0.57 MPa (burst length: 10 ms; repetition frequency of 1 Hz; duration: 20 s). Acoustic emission was recorded with a focused passive cavitation detector. This emission was recorded at each location during sonications with and without Optison (registered) . Detectable wideband acoustic emission was observed only at 0.40 and 0.57 MPa. BBBD was observed in contrast MRI after sonication at 0.29-0.57 MPa. The appearance of small regions of extravasated erythrocytes appeared to be associated with this wideband emission signal. The results thus suggest that BBBD resulting from focused ultrasound pulses in the presence of Optison (registered) can occur without indicators for inertial cavitation in vivo, wideband emission and extravasation. If inertial cavitation is not responsible for the BBBD, other ultrasound/microbubble interactions are likely the source. A significant increase in the emission signal due to Optison (registered) at the second and third harmonics of the ultrasound driving frequency was found to correlate with BBBD and might be useful as an online method to indicate when the disruption occurs

Effects of Compound K-Distributed Sea Clutter on Angle Measurement of Wideband Monopulse Radar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong Zhu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The effects of compound K-distributed sea clutter on angle measurement of wideband monopulse radar are investigated in this paper. We apply the conditional probability density function (pdf of monopulse ratio (MR error to analyze these effects. Based on the angle measurement procedure of the wideband monopulse radar, this conditional pdf is first deduced in detail for the case of compound K-distributed sea clutter plus noise. Herein, the spatial correlation of the texture components for each channel clutter and the correlation of the texture components between the sum and difference channel clutters are considered, and two extreme situations for each of them are tackled. Referring to the measured sea clutter data, angle measurement performances in various K-distributed sea clutter plus noise circumstances are simulated, and the effects of compound K-distributed sea clutter on angle measurement are discussed.

Noise Tomography and Adaptive Illumination in Noise Radar

Science.gov (United States)

2015-10-01

transform of scatu , defined in (2.15), in y–direction can be written as 2 ( , , ) ( , ) 2 j dn n scat n y scat n y k EU k x d k e O k k j...and J. A. Henning , "Radar penetration imaging using ultra- wideband (UWB) random noise waveforms," IEE Proceedings-Radar Sonar and Navigation, vol

An Analog Correlator for Ultra-Wideband Receivers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tu Chunjiang

2005-01-01

Full Text Available We present a new analog circuit exhibiting high bandwidth and low distortion, specially designed for signal correlation in an ultra-wideband receiver front end. The ultra-wideband short impulse signals are correlated with a local pulse template by the correlator. A comparator then samples the output for signal detection. A typical Gilbert mixer core is adopted for multiplication of broadband signals up to . As a result of synchronization of the received signal and the local template, the output voltage level after integration and sampling can reach up to , which is sufficient for detection by the comparator. The circuit dissipates about from double voltage supplies of and using SiGe BiCMOS technology. Simulation results are presented to show the feasibility of this circuit design for use in ultra-wideband receivers.

An open-structure sound insulator against low-frequency and wide-band acoustic waves

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhe; Fan, Li; Zhang, Shu-yi; Zhang, Hui; Li, Xiao-juan; Ding, Jin

2015-10-01

To block sound, i.e., the vibration of air, most insulators are based on sealed structures and prevent the flow of the air. In this research, an acoustic metamaterial adopting side structures, loops, and labyrinths, arranged along a main tube, is presented. By combining the accurately designed side structures, an extremely wide forbidden band with a low cut-off frequency of 80 Hz is produced, which demonstrates a powerful low-frequency and wide-band sound insulation ability. Moreover, by virtue of the bypass arrangement, the metamaterial is based on an open structure, and thus air flow is allowed while acoustic waves can be insulated.

Micro-Doppler Ambiguity Resolution for Wideband Terahertz Radar Using Intra-Pulse Interference.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Qi; Qin, Yuliang; Deng, Bin; Wang, Hongqiang; You, Peng

2017-04-29

Micro-Doppler, induced by micro-motion of targets, is an important characteristic of target recognition once extracted via parameter estimation methods. However, micro-Doppler is usually too significant to result in ambiguity in the terahertz band because of its relatively high carrier frequency. Thus, a micro-Doppler ambiguity resolution method for wideband terahertz radar using intra-pulse interference is proposed in this paper. The micro-Doppler can be reduced several dozen times its true value to avoid ambiguity through intra-pulse interference processing. The effectiveness of this method is proved by experiments based on a 0.22 THz wideband radar system, and its high estimation precision and excellent noise immunity are verified by Monte Carlo simulation.

A low-phase-noise wide-band CMOS quadrature VCO for multi-standard RF front-ends

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fard, Ali; Andreani, Pietro

2005-01-01

structures. The QVCO is compared to a double cross-coupled LC-tank differential oscillator, both in theory and experiments, for evaluation of its phase noise, providing a good insight into its performance. The measured data displays up to 2 dBc/Hz lower phase noise in the 1/f2 region for the QVCO, when...

Thermal Noise Canceling in LNAs : A Review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nauta, Bram; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Bruccoleri, Frederico

2004-01-01

Most wide-band amplifiers suffer from a fundamental trade-off between noise figure NF and source impedance matching, which limits NF to values typically above 3dB. Recently, a feed-forward noise canceling technique has been proposed to break this trade-off. This paper reviews the principle of the

Amplifiers Exploiting Thermal Noise Canceling: A Review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Bruccoleri, F.; Stroet, P.M.; Stroet, Peter; Nauta, Bram

2004-01-01

Wide-band LNAs suffer from a fundamental trade-off between noise figure NF and source impedance matching, which limits NF to values typically above 3dB. Recently, a feed-forward noise canceling technique has been proposed to break this trade-off. This paper reviews the principle of the technique and

The low noise L1 trigger of the H1 lead/scintillating-fibre electromagnetic calorimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreau, F.

1998-01-01

The first level trigger performance of the H1 Spacal electromagnetic calorimeter is presented for the 1996 data taking. A newly developed wideband f ≤ 200 MHz preamplification is performed with a negligible noise contribution of 0.4 MeV. A nanosecond resolution calorimetric time-of flight rejects background events by a factor of ∝10 4 . Electron trigger efficiency greater than 99.9% at a threshold energy value of ∝500 MeV is currently achieved. (orig.)

Wideband Impulse Modulation and Receiver Algorithms for Multiuser Power Line Communications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea M. Tonello

2007-01-01

Full Text Available We consider a bit-interleaved coded wideband impulse-modulated system for power line communications. Impulse modulation is combined with direct-sequence code-division multiple access (DS-CDMA to obtain a form of orthogonal modulation and to multiplex the users. We focus on the receiver signal processing algorithms and derive a maximum likelihood frequency-domain detector that takes into account the presence of impulse noise as well as the intercode interference (ICI and the multiple-access interference (MAI that are generated by the frequency-selective power line channel. To reduce complexity, we propose several simplified frequency-domain receiver algorithms with different complexity and performance. We address the problem of the practical estimation of the channel frequency response as well as the estimation of the correlation of the ICI-MAI-plus-noise that is needed in the detection metric. To improve the estimators performance, a simple hard feedback from the channel decoder is also used. Simulation results show that the scheme provides robust performance as a result of spreading the symbol energy both in frequency (through the wideband pulse and in time (through the spreading code and the bit-interleaved convolutional code.

A wideband large dynamic range and high linearity RF front-end for U-band mobile DTV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Rongjiang; Liu Shengyou; Guo Guiliang; Cheng Xu; Yan Yuepeng

2013-01-01

A wideband large dynamic range and high linearity U-band RF front-end for mobile DTV is introduced, and includes a noise-cancelling low-noise amplifier (LNA), an RF programmable gain amplifier (RFPGA) and a current communicating passive mixer. The noise/distortion cancelling structure and RC post-distortion compensation are employed to improve the linearity of the LNA. An RFPGA with five stages provides large dynamic range and fine gain resolution. A simple resistor voltage network in the passive mixer decreases the gate bias voltage of the mixing transistor, and optimum linearity and symmetrical mixing is obtained at the same time. The RF front-end is implemented in a 0.25 μm CMOS process. Tests show that it achieves an IIP3 (third-order intercept point) of −17 dBm, a conversion gain of 39 dB, and a noise figure of 5.8 dB. The RFPGA achieves a dynamic range of −36.2 to 23.5 dB with a resolution of 0.32 dB. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Pulse Compression Techniques for Laser Generated Ultrasound

Science.gov (United States)

Anastasi, R. F.; Madaras, E. I.

1999-01-01

Laser generated ultrasound for nondestructive evaluation has an optical power density limit due to rapid high heating that causes material damage. This damage threshold limits the generated ultrasound amplitude, which impacts nondestructive evaluation inspection capability. To increase ultrasound signal levels and improve the ultrasound signal-to-noise ratio without exceeding laser power limitations, it is possible to use pulse compression techniques. The approach illustrated here uses a 150mW laser-diode modulated with a pseudo-random sequence and signal correlation. Results demonstrate the successful generation of ultrasonic bulk waves in aluminum and graphite-epoxy composite materials using a modulated low-power laser diode and illustrate ultrasound bandwidth control.

Wide-band low-noise distributed front-end for multi-gigabit CPFSK receivers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Anders Kongstad; Ebskamp, F; Pedersen, Rune Johan Skullerud

1994-01-01

In this paper a distributed optical front-end amplifier for a coherent optical CPFSK receiver is presented. The measured average input noise current density is 20 pA/√(Hz) in a 3-13 GHz bandwidth. This is the lowest value reported for a distributed optical front-end in this frequency range....... The front-end is tested in a system set-up at a bit rate of 2.5 Gbit/s and a receiver sensitivity of -41.5 dBm is achieved at a 10-9 bit error rate...

Novel Low Loss Wide-Band Multi-Port Integrated Circuit Technology for RF/Microwave Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Simons, Rainee N.; Goverdhanam, Kavita; Katehi, Linda P. B.; Burke, Thomas P. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

In this paper, novel low loss, wide-band coplanar stripline technology for radio frequency (RF)/microwave integrated circuits is demonstrated on high resistivity silicon wafer. In particular, the fabrication process for the deposition of spin-on-glass (SOG) as a dielectric layer, the etching of microvias for the vertical interconnects, the design methodology for the multiport circuits and their measured/simulated characteristics are graphically illustrated. The study shows that circuits with very low loss, large bandwidth, and compact size are feasible using this technology. This multilayer planar technology has potential to significantly enhance RF/microwave IC performance when combined with semi-conductor devices and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

Detection of a Surface-Breaking Crack by Using the Surface Wave of a Laser Ultrasound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Seung-Kyu; Baik, Sung-Hoon; Jung, Hyun-Kyu; Joo, Young-Sang; Cha, Hyung-Ki; Kang, Young-June

2006-01-01

A laser ultrasonic system is a non-contact inspection device with a high spatial resolution and a wide-band spectrum. Also it provides absolute measurements of the moving distance and can be applied to the hard-to access locations with curved or rough surfaces like a nuclear power plant. Several laser ultrasonic techniques are applied for the detection of micro cracks in a nuclear power plant. Also, laser ultrasonic techniques are used to measure the grain size of materials and to detect cracks in railroads and aircrafts. Though the laser ultrasonic inspection system is widely applicable, it is comparatively expensive and it provides a low signal-to-noise ratio when compared to the conventional piezoelectric transducers. Many studies have been carried out to improve the system performance. One of the widely used measurement devices of a ultrasound is the Confocal Fabry-Perot Interferometer(CFPI) with a dynamic stabilizer. The dynamic stabilizer improves the stability of the CFPI by adaptively maintaining the optimum working status at the measuring time of the CFPI. In this paper, we have investigated the detection methods of the depth of a surface-breaking crack by using the surface wave of a laser ultrasound. We have fabricated a laser ultrasonic inspection system on an optical table by using a pulse laser, a CFPI with a dynamic stabilizer and a computer. The computer acquires the laser ultrasound by using a high speed A/D converter with a sampling rate of 1000 MHz. The dynamic stabilizer stabilizes the CFPI by adaptively maintaining it at an optimum status when the laser ultrasound is generated. The computer processes the ultrasonic signal in real time to extract the depth information of a surface-breaking crack. We extracted the depth information from the peak-to-valley values in the time domain and also from the center frequencies of the spectrum in the frequency domain

Programmable, very low noise current source

Science.gov (United States)

Scandurra, G.; Cannatà, G.; Giusi, G.; Ciofi, C.

2014-12-01

We propose a new approach for the realization of very low noise programmable current sources mainly intended for application in the field of low frequency noise measurements. The design is based on a low noise Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) acting as a high impedance current source and programmability is obtained by resorting to a low noise, programmable floating voltage source that allows to set the sourced current at the desired value. The floating voltage source is obtained by exploiting the properties of a standard photovoltaic MOSFET driver. Proper filtering and a control network employing super-capacitors allow to reduce the low frequency output noise to that due to the low noise JFET down to frequencies as low as 100 mHz while allowing, at the same time, to set the desired current by means of a standard DA converter with an accuracy better than 1%. A prototype of the system capable of supplying currents from a few hundreds of μA up to a few mA demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach we propose. When delivering a DC current of about 2 mA, the power spectral density of the current fluctuations at the output is found to be less than 25 pA/√Hz at 100 mHz and less than 6 pA/√Hz for f > 1 Hz, resulting in an RMS noise in the bandwidth from 0.1 to 10 Hz of less than 14 pA.

Noise Budget and Interstellar Medium Mitigation Advances in the NANOGrav Pulsar Timing Array

Science.gov (United States)

Dolch, T.; NANOGrav Collaboration; Chatterjee, S.; Cordes, J. M.; Demorest, P. B.; Ellis, J. A.; Jones, M. L.; Lam, M. T.; Lazio, T. J. W.; Levin, L.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Palliyaguru, N. T.; Stinebring, D. R.

2018-02-01

Gravitational wave (GW) detection with pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) requires accurate noise characterization. The noise of our Galactic-scale GW detector has been systematically evaluated by the Noise Budget and Interstellar Medium Mitigation working groups within the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) collaboration. Intrinsically, individual radio millisecond pulsars (MSPs) used by NANOGrav can have some degree of achromatic red spin noise, as well as white noise due to pulse phase jitter. Along any given line-of-sight, the ionized interstellar medium contributes chromatic noise through dispersion measure (DM) variations, interstellar scintillation, and scattering. These effects contain both red and white components. In the future, with wideband receivers, the effects of frequency-dependent DM will become important. Having anticipated and measured these diverse sources of detector noise, the NANOGrav PTA remains well-poised to detect low-frequency GWs.

Design of a Thermoacoustic Sensor for Low Intensity Ultrasound Measurements Based on an Artificial Neural Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jida Xing

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In therapeutic ultrasound applications, accurate ultrasound output intensities are crucial because the physiological effects of therapeutic ultrasound are very sensitive to the intensity and duration of these applications. Although radiation force balance is a benchmark technique for measuring ultrasound intensity and power, it is costly, difficult to operate, and compromised by noise vibration. To overcome these limitations, the development of a low-cost, easy to operate, and vibration-resistant alternative device is necessary for rapid ultrasound intensity measurement. Therefore, we proposed and validated a novel two-layer thermoacoustic sensor using an artificial neural network technique to accurately measure low ultrasound intensities between 30 and 120 mW/cm2. The first layer of the sensor design is a cylindrical absorber made of plexiglass, followed by a second layer composed of polyurethane rubber with a high attenuation coefficient to absorb extra ultrasound energy. The sensor determined ultrasound intensities according to a temperature elevation induced by heat converted from incident acoustic energy. Compared with our previous one-layer sensor design, the new two-layer sensor enhanced the ultrasound absorption efficiency to provide more rapid and reliable measurements. Using a three-dimensional model in the K-wave toolbox, our simulation of the ultrasound propagation process demonstrated that the two-layer design is more efficient than the single layer design. We also integrated an artificial neural network algorithm to compensate for the large measurement offset. After obtaining multiple parameters of the sensor characteristics through calibration, the artificial neural network is built to correct temperature drifts and increase the reliability of our thermoacoustic measurements through iterative training about ten seconds. The performance of the artificial neural network method was validated through a series of experiments. Compared

Design of a Thermoacoustic Sensor for Low Intensity Ultrasound Measurements Based on an Artificial Neural Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Jida; Chen, Jie

2015-06-23

In therapeutic ultrasound applications, accurate ultrasound output intensities are crucial because the physiological effects of therapeutic ultrasound are very sensitive to the intensity and duration of these applications. Although radiation force balance is a benchmark technique for measuring ultrasound intensity and power, it is costly, difficult to operate, and compromised by noise vibration. To overcome these limitations, the development of a low-cost, easy to operate, and vibration-resistant alternative device is necessary for rapid ultrasound intensity measurement. Therefore, we proposed and validated a novel two-layer thermoacoustic sensor using an artificial neural network technique to accurately measure low ultrasound intensities between 30 and 120 mW/cm2. The first layer of the sensor design is a cylindrical absorber made of plexiglass, followed by a second layer composed of polyurethane rubber with a high attenuation coefficient to absorb extra ultrasound energy. The sensor determined ultrasound intensities according to a temperature elevation induced by heat converted from incident acoustic energy. Compared with our previous one-layer sensor design, the new two-layer sensor enhanced the ultrasound absorption efficiency to provide more rapid and reliable measurements. Using a three-dimensional model in the K-wave toolbox, our simulation of the ultrasound propagation process demonstrated that the two-layer design is more efficient than the single layer design. We also integrated an artificial neural network algorithm to compensate for the large measurement offset. After obtaining multiple parameters of the sensor characteristics through calibration, the artificial neural network is built to correct temperature drifts and increase the reliability of our thermoacoustic measurements through iterative training about ten seconds. The performance of the artificial neural network method was validated through a series of experiments. Compared to our previous

Low voltage excess noise and shot noise in YBCO bicrystal junctions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Constantinian, K.Y.; Ovsyannikov, G.A.; Borisenko, I.V.

2002-01-01

The spectral density of background noise emitted by symmetric bicrystal YBaCuO Josephson junctions on sapphire substrates have been measured by a low noise cooled HEMT amplifier for bias voltages up to V approximate to 50 mV. At relatively low voltages V noise rise has been...... registered. At large bias voltages V > 30 mV a clear dependence of noise power. exactly coinciding to the asymptote of the Schottky shot noise function, has been observed for the first time. Experimental results are discussed in terms of multiple Andreev reflections which may take place in d...

Performance of the THS4302 and the Class V Radiation-Tolerant THS4304-SP Silicon Germanium Wideband Amplifiers at Extreme Temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, Richard L.; Elbuluk, Malik; Hammoud, Ahmad; VanKeuls, Frederick W.

2009-01-01

This report discusses the performance of silicon germanium, wideband gain amplifiers under extreme temperatures. The investigated devices include Texas Instruments THS4304-SP and THS4302 amplifiers. Both chips are manufactured using the BiCom3 process based on silicon germanium technology along with silicon-on-insulator (SOI) buried oxide layers. The THS4304-SP device was chosen because it is a Class V radiation-tolerant (150 kRad, TID silicon), voltage-feedback operational amplifier designed for use in high-speed analog signal applications and is very desirable for NASA missions. It operates with a single 5 V power supply [1]. It comes in a 10-pin ceramic flatpack package, and it provides balanced inputs, low offset voltage and offset current, and high common mode rejection ratio. The fixed-gain THS4302 chip, which comes in a 16-pin leadless package, offers high bandwidth, high slew rate, low noise, and low distortion [2]. Such features have made the amplifier useful in a number of applications such as wideband signal processing, wireless transceivers, intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier, analog-to-digital converter (ADC) preamplifier, digital-to-analog converter (DAC) output buffer, measurement instrumentation, and medical and industrial imaging.

Fast optimization method of designing a wideband metasurface without using the Pancharatnam-Berry phase.

Science.gov (United States)

Sui, Sai; Ma, Hua; Lv, Yueguang; Wang, Jiafu; Li, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Jieqiu; Xu, Zhuo; Qu, Shaobo

2018-01-22

Arbitrary control of electromagnetic waves remains a significant challenge although it promises many important applications. Here, we proposed a fast optimization method of designing a wideband metasurface without using the Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) phase, of which the elements are non-absorptive and capable of predicting the wideband and smooth phase-shift. In our design method, the metasurface is composed of low-Q-factor resonant elements without using the PB phase, and is optimized by the genetic algorithm and nonlinear fitting method, having the advantages that the far field scattering patterns can be quickly synthesized by the hybrid array patterns. To validate the design method, a wideband low radar cross section metasurface is demonstrated, showing good feasibility and performance of wideband RCS reduction. This work reveals an opportunity arising from a metasurface in effective manipulation of microwave and flexible fast optimal design method.

Improving the signal-to-noise ratio in ultrasound-modulated optical tomography by a lock-in amplifier

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Lili; Wu, Jingping; Lin, Guimin; Hu, Liangjun; Li, Hui

2016-10-01

With high spatial resolution of ultrasonic location and high sensitivity of optical detection, ultrasound-modulated optical tomography (UOT) is a promising noninvasive biological tissue imaging technology. In biological tissue, the ultrasound-modulated light signals are very weak and are overwhelmed by the strong unmodulated light signals. It is a difficulty and key to efficiently pick out the weak modulated light from strong unmodulated light in UOT. Under the effect of an ultrasonic field, the scattering light intensity presents a periodic variation as the ultrasonic frequency changes. So the modulated light signals would be escape from the high unmodulated light signals, when the modulated light signals and the ultrasonic signal are processed cross correlation operation by a lock-in amplifier and without a chopper. Experimental results indicated that the signal-to-noise ratio of UOT is significantly improved by a lock-in amplifier, and the higher the repetition frequency of pulsed ultrasonic wave, the better the signal-to-noise ratio of UOT.

Ultrasound strain imaging using Barker code

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Hui; Tie, Juhong; Guo, Dequan

2017-01-01

Ultrasound strain imaging is showing promise as a new way of imaging soft tissue elasticity in order to help clinicians detect lesions or cancers in tissues. In this paper, Barker code is applied to strain imaging to improve its quality. Barker code as a coded excitation signal can be used to improve the echo signal-to-noise ratio (eSNR) in ultrasound imaging system. For the Baker code of length 13, the sidelobe level of the matched filter output is -22dB, which is unacceptable for ultrasound strain imaging, because high sidelobe level will cause high decorrelation noise. Instead of using the conventional matched filter, we use the Wiener filter to decode the Barker-coded echo signal to suppress the range sidelobes. We also compare the performance of Barker code and the conventional short pulse in simulation method. The simulation results demonstrate that the performance of the Wiener filter is much better than the matched filter, and Baker code achieves higher elastographic signal-to-noise ratio (SNRe) than the short pulse in low eSNR or great depth conditions due to the increased eSNR with it.

Nonlinearly stacked low noise turbofan stator

Science.gov (United States)

Schuster, William B. (Inventor); Nolcheff, Nick A. (Inventor); Gunaraj, John A. (Inventor); Kontos, Karen B. (Inventor); Weir, Donald S. (Inventor)

2009-01-01

A nonlinearly stacked low noise turbofan stator vane having a characteristic curve that is characterized by a nonlinear sweep and a nonlinear lean is provided. The stator is in an axial fan or compressor turbomachinery stage that is comprised of a collection of vanes whose highly three-dimensional shape is selected to reduce rotor-stator and rotor-strut interaction noise while maintaining the aerodynamic and mechanical performance of the vane. The nonlinearly stacked low noise turbofan stator vane reduces noise associated with the fan stage of turbomachinery to improve environmental compatibility.

Superconducting low-noise oscillator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riebman, L.

1992-01-01

This patent describes a cryogenic oscillator having low phase noise and low noise. It comprises resonant circuit means formed of superconducting material for generating a signal at a desired frequency; linear amplifier means electrically connected to the resonant circuit means at first and second locations thereon; limiter means electrically connected to the resonant circuit means at a third location thereon; and buffer amplifier means for applying the signal generated by the resonant circuit means to a load and electrically connected to the resonant circuit means at a fourth location thereon. This patent also describes a method of minimizing phase noise and 1/f noise in an oscillator circuit of the type having a resonant circuit driving a load and at least a linear amplifier connected to the resonant circuit defining a closed loop having a loop gain greater than unity, and having a limiter for stabilizing the oscillator. It comprises connecting between the resonant circuit and the load a buffer amplifier and connecting the linear amplifier and the buffer amplifier to the resonant circuit

Integrated low power ultrasound sensor interfaces

OpenAIRE

Gustafsson, Martin

2005-01-01

Imagine that the technical development can take the ultrasound measurement systems from the large piece of machinery today, to a coin size system tomorrow. The factor that has reduced the size of electronic systems over time is integration and integrated circuits. In this thesis circuit simulator models of complete ultrasound systems are used to design custom integrated circuits. These circuits are optimized for low power consumption and small size. The models that are used predict the acoust...

Low-frequency-noise complaints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Christian Sejer; Møller, Henrik; Persson-Waye, Kerstin

2008-01-01

From 203 cases of low-frequency complaints a random selection of twenty-one cases were investigated. The main aim of the investigation was to answer the question whether the annoyance is caused by an external physical sound or by a physically non-existing sound, i.e. low-frequency tinnitus. Noise...... of the complainants are annoyed by a physical sound (20-180 Hz), while others suffer from low-frequency tinnitus (perceived frequency 40-100 Hz). Physical sound at frequencies below 20 Hz (infrasound) is not responsible for the annoyance - or at all audible - in any of the investigated cases, and none...... of the complainants has extraordinary hearing sensitivity at low frequencies. For comparable cases of low-frequency noise complaints in general, it is anticipated that physical sound is responsible in a substantial part of the cases, while low-frequency tinnitus is responsible in another substantial part of the cases....

Subjective annoyance caused by indoor low-level and low frequency noise and control method

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

DI Guo-qing; ZHANG Bang-jun; SHANG Qi

2005-01-01

The influence of low-level noise has not been widely noticed. This paper discovered that low-level and low frequency noise(Aweighted equivalent level Leq ＜ 45 dB) causes higher probability of subjective annoyance. The fuzzy mathematic principle was applied to deal with the threshold level of subjective annoyance from noise in this study; there is preferable relationship between the indoor noise and noise annoyance at low frequency noise level. Study indicated at the same centered noise level, the change of annoyance probability is mainly caused by the change of the frequency spectrum characteristic of the indoor noise. Under low noise level environment, without change of the medium-low frequency noise, the slight increase of medium-high frequency noise level with the help of noise sheltering effect can significantly reduce the noise annoyance. This discovery brings a new resolution on how to improve the environmental quality of working or living places. A noise control model is given in this study according to the acoustic analysis.

Analysis of in-band interference in noise-based frequency offset modulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bilal, Ibrahim; Meijerink, Arjan; Bentum, Marinus Jan

2014-01-01

A noise-based frequency offset modulation (N-FOM) system is considered, employing a wideband noise carrier, transmit reference modulation and a self-correlation receiver. The performance of such a system in the presence of in-band interference is studied by modeling the interference as a Gaussian

Wideband excitation in nonlinear vibro-acoustic modulation for damage detection

Science.gov (United States)

Klepka, A.; Adamczyk, M.; Pieczonka, L.; Staszewski, W. J.

2016-04-01

The paper discusses the use of wideband excitation in nonlinear vibro-acoustic modulation technique (VAM) used for damage detection. In its original form, two mono-harmonic signals (low and high frequency) are used for excitation. The low frequency excitation is typically selected based on a modal analysis test and high frequency excitation is selected arbitrarily in the ultrasonic frequency range. This paper presents a different approach with use of wideband excitation signals. The proposed approach gives the possibility to simplify the testing procedure by omitting the modal test used to determine the value of low frequency excitation. Simultaneous use of wideband excitation for high frequency solves the ambiguity related to the selection of the frequency of acoustic wave. Broadband excitation signals require, however, more elaborate signal processing methods to determine the intensity of modulation for a given bandwidth. The paper discusses the proposed approach and the related signal processing procedure. Experimental validation of the proposed technique is performed on a laminated composite plate with a barely visible impact damage that was generated in an impact test. Piezoceramic actuators are used for vibration excitation and a scanning laser vibrometer is used for noncontact data acquisition.

Wide-band analog frequency modulation of optic signals using indirect techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzmartin, D. J.; Balboni, E. J.; Gels, R. G.

1991-01-01

The wideband frequency modulation (FM) of an optical carrier by a radio frequency (RF) or microwave signal can be accomplished independent of laser type when indirect modulation is employed. Indirect modulators exploit the integral relation of phase to frequency so that phase modulators can be used to impress frequency modulation on an optical carrier. The use of integrated optics phase modulators, which are highly linear, enables the generation of optical wideband FM signals with very low intermodulation distortion. This modulator can be used as part of an optical wideband FM link for RF and microwave signals. Experimental results from the test of an indirect frequency modulator for an optical carrier are discussed.

Random Sequence for Optimal Low-Power Laser Generated Ultrasound

Science.gov (United States)

Vangi, D.; Virga, A.; Gulino, M. S.

2017-08-01

Low-power laser generated ultrasounds are lately gaining importance in the research world, thanks to the possibility of investigating a mechanical component structural integrity through a non-contact and Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) procedure. The ultrasounds are, however, very low in amplitude, making it necessary to use pre-processing and post-processing operations on the signals to detect them. The cross-correlation technique is used in this work, meaning that a random signal must be used as laser input. For this purpose, a highly random and simple-to-create code called T sequence, capable of enhancing the ultrasound detectability, is introduced (not previously available at the state of the art). Several important parameters which characterize the T sequence can influence the process: the number of pulses Npulses , the pulse duration δ and the distance between pulses dpulses . A Finite Element FE model of a 3 mm steel disk has been initially developed to analytically study the longitudinal ultrasound generation mechanism and the obtainable outputs. Later, experimental tests have shown that the T sequence is highly flexible for ultrasound detection purposes, making it optimal to use high Npulses and δ but low dpulses . In the end, apart from describing all phenomena that arise in the low-power laser generation process, the results of this study are also important for setting up an effective NDT procedure using this technology.

Wideband Balun-LNA with Simultaneous Output Balancing, Noise-Canceling and Distortion-Canceling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blaakmeer, S.C.; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Leenaerts, D.M.W.; Nauta, Bram

2008-01-01

An inductorless low-noise amplifier (LNA) with active balun is proposed for multi-standard radio applications between 100 MHz and 6 GHz. It exploits a combination of a common-gate (CGH) stage and an admittance-scaled common-source (CS) stage with replica biasing to maximize balanced operation, while

Low-frequency noise from large wind turbines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Henrik; Pedersen, Christian Sejer

2011-01-01

As wind turbines get larger, worries have emerged that the turbine noise would move down in frequency and that the low-frequency noise would cause annoyance for the neighbors. The noise emission from 48 wind turbines with nominal electric power up to 3.6 MW is analyzed and discussed. The relative...... amount of low-frequency noise is higher for large turbines (2.3–3.6 MW) than for small turbines (≤ 2 MW), and the difference is statistically significant. The difference can also be expressed as a downward shift of the spectrum of approximately one-third of an octave. A further shift of similar size...... is suggested for future turbines in the 10-MW range. Due to the air absorption, the higher low-frequency content becomes even more pronounced, when sound pressure levels in relevant neighbor distances are considered. Even when A-weighted levels are considered, a substantial part of the noise is at low...

Wideband or Dual-Band Low-Profile Circular Patch Antenna with High Gain and Sidelobe Suppression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Squadrito, Paolo; Zhang, Shuai; Pedersen, Gert F.

2018-01-01

This paper presents a wideband or dual-band circular disk antenna with high gain and sidelobe suppression (SLS). The antenna has a single layer and single-fed configuration. The antenna can operate with the radiation field superposition of TM12 and TM14 modes at one frequency, which provides high...... gain and SLS. A circle of 10 shorting vias with non-identical diameters are loaded inside the antenna cavity in order to excite the field superposition of TM11 and TM13 modes at another frequency. By modifying the radius of the vias, the resonant frequency with the TM11 and TM13 superposition can...... be tuned closer to or further away from the one with the TM12 and TM14 superposition. In this way, a wideband or dual-band behavior can be obtained with high gain and SLS. The proposed antenna achieves the impedance bandwidth of 6.46% for the wideband case, which is over 6 times wider than the previous...

Low-frequency noise from large wind turbines.

Science.gov (United States)

Møller, Henrik; Pedersen, Christian Sejer

2011-06-01

As wind turbines get larger, worries have emerged that the turbine noise would move down in frequency and that the low-frequency noise would cause annoyance for the neighbors. The noise emission from 48 wind turbines with nominal electric power up to 3.6 MW is analyzed and discussed. The relative amount of low-frequency noise is higher for large turbines (2.3-3.6 MW) than for small turbines (≤ 2 MW), and the difference is statistically significant. The difference can also be expressed as a downward shift of the spectrum of approximately one-third of an octave. A further shift of similar size is suggested for future turbines in the 10-MW range. Due to the air absorption, the higher low-frequency content becomes even more pronounced, when sound pressure levels in relevant neighbor distances are considered. Even when A-weighted levels are considered, a substantial part of the noise is at low frequencies, and for several of the investigated large turbines, the one-third-octave band with the highest level is at or below 250 Hz. It is thus beyond any doubt that the low-frequency part of the spectrum plays an important role in the noise at the neighbors. © 2011 Acoustical Society of America

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound stimulation for mandibular condyle osteoarthritis lesions in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanaguchi Arita, A; Yonemitsu, I; Ikeda, Y; Miyazaki, M; Ono, T

2018-05-01

This study evaluated low-intensity pulsed ultrasound effects for temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis in adult rats. Osteoarthritis-like lesions were induced in 24 adult rats' temporomandibular joints with low-dose mono-iodoacetate injections. The rats were divided into four groups: control and mono-iodoacetate groups, injected with contrast media and mono-iodoacetate, respectively, at 12 weeks and observed until 20 weeks; and low-intensity pulsed ultrasound and mono-iodoacetate + low-intensity pulsed ultrasound groups, injected with contrast media and mono-iodoacetate, respectively, at 12 weeks with low-intensity pulsed ultrasound performed from 16 to 20 weeks. Condylar bone mineral density, bone mineral content and bone volume were evaluated weekly with microcomputed tomography. Histological and immunohistochemical staining for matrix metalloproteinases-13 was performed at 20 weeks. At 20 weeks, the mono-iodoacetate + low-intensity pulsed ultrasound group showed significantly higher bone mineral density, bone mineral content and bone volume than the mono-iodoacetate group; however, these values remained lower than those in the other two groups. On histological and immunohistochemical analysis, the chondrocytes were increased, and fewer matrix metalloproteinases-13 immunopositive cells were identified in the mono-iodoacetate + low-intensity pulsed ultrasound group than mono-iodoacetate group. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound for 2 weeks may have therapeutic potential for treating temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis lesions. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Lesion Contrast Enhancement in Medical Ultrasound Imaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stetson, Paul F.; Sommer, F.G.; Macovski, A.

1997-01-01

Methods for improving the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of low-contrast lesions in medical ultrasound imaging are described. Differences in the frequency spectra and amplitude distributions of the lesion and its surroundings can be used to increase the CNR of the lesion relative to the background...

2-GHz band man-made noise evaluation for cryogenic receiver front-end

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Narahashi, S; Satoh, K; Suzuki, Y [Research Laboratories, NTT DoCoMo, Inc., 3-5 Hikari-no-oka, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 239-8536 (Japan); Mimura, T [Intellectual Property Department, NTT DoCoMo, Inc., 2-11-1 Nagatacho, Chiyoda, Tokyo 100-6150 (Japan); Nojima, T [Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Nishi 9, Kita 14, Kita, Sapporo 060-0808 (Japan)], E-mail: narahashi@nttdocomo.co.jp

2008-02-01

This paper presents measured results of man-made noise in urban and suburban areas in the 2-GHz band with amplitude probability distribution (APD) in order to evaluate the impact of man-made noise on an experimental cryogenic receiver front-end (CRFE). The CRFE comprises a high-temperature superconducting filter, cryogenically-cooled low-noise amplifier, and highly reliable cryostat that is very compact. The CRFE is anticipated to be an effective way to achieve efficient frequency utilization and to improve the sensitivity of mobile base station receivers. It is important to measure the characteristics of the man-made noise in typical cellular base station antenna environments and confirm their impact on the CRFE reception with APD because if man-made noise has a stronger effect than thermal noise, the CRFE would fail to offer any improvement in sensitivity. The measured results suggest that the contribution of man-made noise in the 2-GHz band can be ignored as far as the wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) system is concerned.

A 0.1-1.4 GHz inductorless low-noise amplifier with 13 dBm IIP3 and 24 dBm IIP2 in 180 nm CMOS

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Benqing; Chen, Jun; Chen, Hongpeng; Wang, Xuebing

2018-01-01

An inductorless noise-canceling CMOS low-noise amplifier (LNA) with wideband linearization technique is proposed. The complementary configuration by stacked NMOS/PMOS is employed to compensate second-order nonlinearity of the circuit. The third-order distortion of the auxiliary stage is also mitigated by that of the weak inversion transistors in the main path. The bias and scaling size combined by digital control words are further tuned to obtain enhanced linearity over the desired band. Implemented in a 0.18 μm CMOS process, simulated results show that the proposed LNA provides a voltage gain of 16.1 dB and a NF of 2.8-3.4 dB from 0.1 GHz to 1.4 GHz. The IIP3 and IIP2 of 13-18.9 and 24-40 dBm are obtained, respectively. The circuit core consumes 19 mW from a 1.8 V supply.

Effect of low-frequency low-intensity ultrasound with microbubbles on prostate cancer hypoxia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Rui; Xu, Yanjun; Lu, Qijie; Zhang, Yang; Hu, Bing

2017-10-01

Angiogenesis plays an important role in tumor growth, invasiveness, and metastasis. It is well established that prostate cancer is exposed to fluctuating oxygen tensions and both acute and chronic hypoxia exist, and these conditions can upregulate angiogenesis-associated proteins such as hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha and vascular endothelial growth factor A. Low-frequency low-intensity ultrasound with microbubbles can induce obvious microvessel damage in tumors, cause cell necrosis or apoptosis. However, there is no information about whether the blocking blood effect of low-frequency low-intensity ultrasound with microbubbles has an influence on hypoxia environment of prostate cancer. Therefore, we investigated the impact of different low-frequency low-intensity ultrasound with microbubbles radiation times on prostate tumors, observed the change in the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha and vascular endothelial growth factor A protein levels, as well as cell proliferation, apoptosis, and tumor volume. The results indicated that as the radiation was repeated four times on each treatment day, the effects of interruption were durable, the cell proliferation was inhibited, and apoptosis was promoted, and the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha and vascular endothelial growth factor A expression levels were lower in the treatment group than in the control group. When the radiation was carried out once per treatment day, the hypoxia response was stimulated, the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha and vascular endothelial growth factor A expression levels were higher compared with the control group, and cell proliferation was promoted. In addition, the tumor volume increased obviously in the hypoxia-stimulated group, whereas tumors grew slowly in the hypoxia-suppressed group. The results of this work demonstrated that under the same conditions, different radiation times of low-frequency low-intensity ultrasound with microbubbles affect the hypoxia response differently, and the

High-Tc Superconducting Bolometer Noise Measurement Using Low Noise Transformers - Theory and Optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Aslam, Shahid; Jones, Hollis H.

2011-01-01

Care must always be taken when performing noise measurements on high-Tc superconducting materials to ensure that the results are not from the measurement system itself. One situation likely to occur is with low noise transformers. One of the least understood devices, it provides voltage gain for low impedance inputs (< 100 ), e.g., YBaCuO and GdBaCuO thin films, with comparatively lower noise levels than other devices for instance field effect and bipolar junction transistors. An essential point made in this paper is that because of the complex relationships between the transformer ports, input impedance variance alters the transformer s transfer function in particular, the low frequency cutoff shift. The transfer of external and intrinsic transformer noise to the output along with optimization and precautions are treated; all the while, we will cohesively connect the transfer function shift, the load impedance, and the actual noise at the transformer output.

Pulsed-low intensity ultrasound enhances extracellular matrix production by fibroblasts encapsulated in alginate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siti PM Bohari

2012-12-01

Full Text Available In this study, the effect of pulsed-low intensity ultrasound on cell proliferation, collagen production and glycosaminoglycan deposition by 3T3 fibroblasts encapsulated in alginate was evaluated. Hoechst 33258 assay for cell number, hydroxyproline assay for collagen content and dimethylamine blue assay for glycosaminoglycan content were performed on samples from cell cultures treated with pulsed-low intensity ultrasound and a control group. Pulsed-low intensity ultrasound shows no effect on cell proliferation, while collagen and glycosaminoglycan contents were consistently higher in the samples treated with pulsed-low intensity ultrasound, showing a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05 on day 10. Alcian blue staining showed that glycosaminoglycans were deposited around the cells in both groups. These results suggest that pulsed-low intensity ultrasound shows no effect on cell proliferation but has potential for inducing collagen and glycosaminoglycan production in cells cultured in alginate gels.

Low Energy 8 B Solar Neutrinos with the Wideband Intelligent Trigger at Super-Kamiokande

Science.gov (United States)

Elnimr, Muhammad; Super-Kamiokande Collaboration

2017-09-01

The water Cherenkov experiment Super-Kamiokande (SK) has accumulated a sample of ˜ 90k solar neutrino data in the past two decades. Currently, the detector measures recoil electrons from solar 8 B neutrino-electron scattering above a kinetic energy of ˜ 3.5 MeV, limited by the capacity of the software trigger, although electrons as low as 2.5 MeV can be reconstructed. The next frontier for the low energy program at Super-K is the current operation of the Wideband Intelligent Trigger (WIT) to push the trigger threshold to the event reconstruction limit of 2.5 MeV. This opens up the possibility to explore the lower energy edge of the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein (MSW) effect in the sun. In this work we will present the prelimiary analysis of the accumlated WIT data taken so far as well as future prospects.

Challenges and limitations in retrofitting facilities for low frequency noise

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wierzba, P. [ATCO Noise Management, Calgary, AB (Canada)

2007-07-01

The trend to revise and increase environmental regulations regarding low frequency noise emissions from oil and gas facilities was discussed. Noise related complaints can often be traced to low frequency noise, which is the unwanted sound with a frequency range falling within 31.5-Hz, 63-Hz, and 125-Hz octave bands. This paper also discussed the challenges and limitations of field retrofits of the facilities aimed at reducing low frequency noise. The main sources of low frequency noise associated with a compression facility are the radiator cooler, engine exhaust and the building envelope. Regulators are paying close attention not only to the overall noise exposure as measured by the A-weighted levels, but also to the quality of noise emitted by the particular frequency spectrum. The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board recently issued Noise Control Directive 38 and made it a requirement to perform low frequency noise impact assessment for permitting of all new energy facilities. Under Directive 38, the low frequency noise assessment is to be performed using the C-weighted scale as a measure in addition to the previously used A-weighted scale. Directive 38 recommends that in order to avoid low frequency noise problems the difference between the C-weighted and A-weighted levels at the residential locations should be lower than 20 dB. This implies that noise should be limited to 60 dBC for Category 1 residences of low dwelling density. Small upgrades and changes can be made to lower low frequency noise emissions. These may include upgrading building wall insulation, providing wall-to-skid isolation system, upgrading the fan blades, or reducing the rpm of the fans. It was concluded that these upgrades should be considered for facilities in close proximity to residential areas. 3 refs., 2 tabs., 7 figs.

Low-frequency excess flux noise in superconducting devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kempf, Sebastian; Ferring, Anna; Fleischmann, Andreas; Enss, Christian [Kirchhoff-Institute for Physics, Heidelberg University (Germany)

2016-07-01

Low-frequency noise is a rather universal phenomenon and appears in physical, chemical, biological or even economical systems. However, there is often very little known about the underlying processes leading to its occurrence. In particular, the origin of low-frequency excess flux noise in superconducting devices has been an unresolved puzzle for many decades. Its existence limits, for example, the coherence time of superconducting quantum bits or makes high-precision measurements of low-frequency signals using SQUIDs rather challenging. Recent experiments suggest that low-frequency excess flux noise in Josephson junction based devices might be caused by the random reversal of interacting spins in surface layer oxides and in the superconductor-substrate interface. Even if it turns out to be generally correct, the underlying physical processes, i.e. the origin of these spins, their physical nature as well as the interaction mechanisms, have not been resolved so far. In this contribution we discuss recent measurements of low-frequency SQUID noise which we performed to investigate the origin of low-frequency excess flux noise in superconducting devices. Within this context we give an overview of our measurement techniques and link our data with present theoretical models and literature data.

Wideband two-port beam splitter of a binary fused-silica phase grating.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bo; Zhou, Changhe; Feng, Jijun; Ru, Huayi; Zheng, Jiangjun

2008-08-01

The usual beam splitter of multilayer-coated film with a wideband spectrum is not easy to achieve. We describe the realization of a wideband transmission two-port beam splitter based on a binary fused-silica phase grating. To achieve high efficiency and equality in the diffracted 0th and -1st orders, the grating profile parameters are optimized using rigorous coupled-wave analysis at a wavelength of 1550 nm. Holographic recording and the inductively coupled plasma dry etching technique are used to fabricate the fused-silica beam splitter grating. The measured efficiency of (45% x 2) = 90% diffracted into the both orders can be obtained with the fabricated grating under Littrow mounting. The physical mechanism of such a wideband two-port beam splitter grating can be well explained by the modal method based on two-beam interference of the modes excited by the incident wave. With the high damage threshold, low coefficient of thermal expansion, and wideband high efficiency, the presented beam splitter etched in fused silica should be a useful optical element for a variety of practical applications.

Introduction to Ultra Wideband for Wireless Communications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nikookar, Homayoun; Prasad, Ramjee

wireless channels, interference, signal processing as well as applications and standardization activities are addressed. Introduction to Ultra Wideband for Wireless Communications provides easy-to-understand material to (graduate) students and researchers working in the field of commercial UWB wireless......Ultra Wideband (UWB) Technology is the cutting edge technology for wireless communications with a wide range of applications. In Introduction to Ultra Wideband for Wireless Communications UWB principles and technologies for wireless communications are explained clearly. Key issues such as UWB...... communications. Due to tutorial nature of the book it can also be adopted as a textbook on the subject in the Telecommunications Engineering curriculum. Problems at the end of each chapter extend the reader's understanding of the subject. Introduction to Ultra Wideband for Wireless Communications will aslo...

Qualitative criteria and thresholds for low noise asphalt mixture design

Science.gov (United States)

Vaitkus, A.; Andriejauskas, T.; Gražulytė, J.; Šernas, O.; Vorobjovas, V.; Kleizienė, R.

2018-05-01

Low noise asphalt pavements are cost efficient and cost effective alternative for road traffic noise mitigation comparing with noise barriers, façade insulation and other known noise mitigation measures. However, design of low noise asphalt mixtures strongly depends on climate and traffic peculiarities of different regions. Severe climate regions face problems related with short durability of low noise asphalt mixtures in terms of considerable negative impact of harsh climate conditions (frost-thaw, large temperature fluctuations, hydrological behaviour, etc.) and traffic (traffic loads, traffic volumes, studded tyres, etc.). Thus there is a need to find balance between mechanical and acoustical durability as well as to ensure adequate pavement skid resistance for road safety purposes. Paper presents analysis of the qualitative criteria and design parameters thresholds of low noise asphalt mixtures. Different asphalt mixture composition materials (grading, aggregate, binder, additives, etc.) and relevant asphalt layer properties (air void content, texture, evenness, degree of compaction, etc.) were investigated and assessed according their suitability for durable and effective low noise pavements. Paper concluded with the overview of requirements, qualitative criteria and thresholds for low noise asphalt mixture design for severe climate regions.

Low-frequency 1/f noise in graphene devices

Science.gov (United States)

Balandin, Alexander A.

2013-08-01

Low-frequency noise with a spectral density that depends inversely on frequency has been observed in a wide variety of systems including current fluctuations in resistors, intensity fluctuations in music and signals in human cognition. In electronics, the phenomenon, which is known as 1/f noise, flicker noise or excess noise, hampers the operation of numerous devices and circuits, and can be a significant impediment to the development of practical applications from new materials. Graphene offers unique opportunities for studying 1/f noise because of its two-dimensional structure and widely tunable two-dimensional carrier concentration. The creation of practical graphene-based devices will also depend on our ability to understand and control the low-frequency noise in this material system. Here, the characteristic features of 1/f noise in graphene and few-layer graphene are reviewed, and the implications of such noise for the development of graphene-based electronics including high-frequency devices and sensors are examined.

Low-frequency wideband vibration energy harvesting by using frequency up-conversion and quin-stable nonlinearity

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chen; Zhang, Qichang; Wang, Wei

2017-07-01

This work presents models and experiments of an impact-driven and frequency up-converted wideband piezoelectric-based vibration energy harvester with a quintuple-well potential induced by the combination effect of magnetic nonlinearity and mechanical piecewise-linearity. Analysis shows that the interwell motions during coupled vibration period enable to increase electrical power output in comparison to conventional frequency up-conversion technology. Besides, the quintuple-well potential with shallower potential wells could extend the harvester's operating bandwidth to lower frequencies. Experiments demonstrate our proposed approach can dramatically boost the measured power of the energy harvester as much as 35 times while its lower cut-off frequency is two times lower than that of a conventional counterpart. These results reveal our proposed approach shows promise for powering portable wireless smart devices from low-intensity, low-frequency vibration sources.

Maritime wideband communication networks video transmission scheduling

CERN Document Server

Yang, Tingting

2014-01-01

This Springer Brief covers emerging maritime wideband communication networks and how they facilitate applications such as maritime distress, urgency, safety and general communications. It provides valuable insight on the data transmission scheduling and protocol design for the maritime wideband network. This brief begins with an introduction to maritime wideband communication networks including the architecture, framework, operations and a comprehensive survey on current developments. The second part of the brief presents the resource allocation and scheduling for video packet transmission wit

Background noise of acoustic emission signals in sodium piping loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, Y.; Aoki, K.; Kuribayashi, K.; Kishi, T.; Sakakibara, Y.

1985-01-01

Background noise measurement in the frequency range of acoustic emission (AE) signals was made on the sodium piping loops of a 50 MW steam generator test facility in the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC). During the dynamic characteristics test of the steam generator over a wide range of operating conditions, the background noise generated on the pipe surface was measured using wideband AE sensor externally mounted with waveguide. Data were obtained for the effect of power loads of steam generator on both amplitude and frequency spectra of background noise signals. Source and nature of background noise were established

Low noise monolithic CMOS front end electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lutz, G.; Bergmann, H.; Holl, P.; Manfredi, P.F.

1987-01-01

Design considerations for low noise charge measurement and their application in CMOS electronics are described. The amplifier driver combination whose noise performance has been measured in detail as well as the analog multiplexing silicon strip detector readout electronics are designed with low power consumption and can be operated in pulsed mode so as to reduce heat dissipation even further in many applications. (orig.)

High Performance Wideband CMOS CCI and its Application in Inductance Simulator Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ARSLAN, E.

2012-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a new, differential pair based, low-voltage, high performance and wideband CMOS first generation current conveyor (CCI is proposed. The proposed CCI has high voltage swings on ports X and Y and very low equivalent impedance on port X due to super source follower configuration. It also has high voltage swings (close to supply voltages on input and output ports and wideband current and voltage transfer ratios. Furthermore, two novel grounded inductance simulator circuits are proposed as application examples. Using HSpice, it is shown that the simulation results of the proposed CCI and also of the presented inductance simulators are in very good agreement with the expected ones.

Low-frequency quantitative ultrasound imaging of cell death in vivo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadeghi-Naini, Ali; Falou, Omar; Czarnota, Gregory J.; Papanicolau, Naum; Tadayyon, Hadi; Lee, Justin; Zubovits, Judit; Sadeghian, Alireza; Karshafian, Raffi; Al-Mahrouki, Azza; Giles, Anoja; Kolios, Michael C.

2013-01-01

Purpose: Currently, no clinical imaging modality is used routinely to assess tumor response to cancer therapies within hours to days of the delivery of treatment. Here, the authors demonstrate the efficacy of ultrasound at a clinically relevant frequency to quantitatively detect changes in tumors in response to cancer therapies using preclinical mouse models.Methods: Conventional low-frequency and corresponding high-frequency ultrasound (ranging from 4 to 28 MHz) were used along with quantitative spectroscopic and signal envelope statistical analyses on data obtained from xenograft tumors treated with chemotherapy, x-ray radiation, as well as a novel vascular targeting microbubble therapy.Results: Ultrasound-based spectroscopic biomarkers indicated significant changes in cell-death associated parameters in responsive tumors. Specifically changes in the midband fit, spectral slope, and 0-MHz intercept biomarkers were investigated for different types of treatment and demonstrated cell-death related changes. The midband fit and 0-MHz intercept biomarker derived from low-frequency data demonstrated increases ranging approximately from 0 to 6 dBr and 0 to 8 dBr, respectively, depending on treatments administrated. These data paralleled results observed for high-frequency ultrasound data. Statistical analysis of ultrasound signal envelope was performed as an alternative method to obtain histogram-based biomarkers and provided confirmatory results. Histological analysis of tumor specimens indicated up to 61% cell death present in the tumors depending on treatments administered, consistent with quantitative ultrasound findings indicating cell death. Ultrasound-based spectroscopic biomarkers demonstrated a good correlation with histological morphological findings indicative of cell death (r 2 = 0.71, 0.82; p < 0.001).Conclusions: In summary, the results provide preclinical evidence, for the first time, that quantitative ultrasound used at a clinically relevant frequency, in

Low-frequency quantitative ultrasound imaging of cell death in vivo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sadeghi-Naini, Ali; Falou, Omar; Czarnota, Gregory J. [Imaging Research – Physical Science, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5 (Canada); Department of Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5 (Canada); Department of Medical Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5 (Canada); Department of Radiation Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5 (Canada); Papanicolau, Naum; Tadayyon, Hadi [Imaging Research – Physical Science, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada and Department of Medical Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5 (Canada); Lee, Justin [Department of Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada and Department of Radiation Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5 (Canada); Zubovits, Judit [Department of Pathology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5 (Canada); Sadeghian, Alireza [Department of Computer Science, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3 (Canada); Karshafian, Raffi [Department of Physics, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3 (Canada); Al-Mahrouki, Azza; Giles, Anoja [Imaging Research – Physical Science, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada and Department of Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5 (Canada); Kolios, Michael C. [Department of Medical Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M4N 3M5, Canada and Department of Physics, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3 (Canada)

2013-08-15

Purpose: Currently, no clinical imaging modality is used routinely to assess tumor response to cancer therapies within hours to days of the delivery of treatment. Here, the authors demonstrate the efficacy of ultrasound at a clinically relevant frequency to quantitatively detect changes in tumors in response to cancer therapies using preclinical mouse models.Methods: Conventional low-frequency and corresponding high-frequency ultrasound (ranging from 4 to 28 MHz) were used along with quantitative spectroscopic and signal envelope statistical analyses on data obtained from xenograft tumors treated with chemotherapy, x-ray radiation, as well as a novel vascular targeting microbubble therapy.Results: Ultrasound-based spectroscopic biomarkers indicated significant changes in cell-death associated parameters in responsive tumors. Specifically changes in the midband fit, spectral slope, and 0-MHz intercept biomarkers were investigated for different types of treatment and demonstrated cell-death related changes. The midband fit and 0-MHz intercept biomarker derived from low-frequency data demonstrated increases ranging approximately from 0 to 6 dBr and 0 to 8 dBr, respectively, depending on treatments administrated. These data paralleled results observed for high-frequency ultrasound data. Statistical analysis of ultrasound signal envelope was performed as an alternative method to obtain histogram-based biomarkers and provided confirmatory results. Histological analysis of tumor specimens indicated up to 61% cell death present in the tumors depending on treatments administered, consistent with quantitative ultrasound findings indicating cell death. Ultrasound-based spectroscopic biomarkers demonstrated a good correlation with histological morphological findings indicative of cell death (r{sup 2}= 0.71, 0.82; p < 0.001).Conclusions: In summary, the results provide preclinical evidence, for the first time, that quantitative ultrasound used at a clinically relevant frequency

Transistor design considerations for low-noise preamplifiers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fair, R.B.

1976-01-01

A review is presented of design considerations for GaAs Schottky-barrier FETs and other types of transistors in low-noise amplifiers for capacitive sources which are used in nuclear radiation detectors and high speed fiber-optic communication systems. Ultimate limits on performance are evaluated in terms of the g/sub m//C/sub i/ ratio and the gate leakage current to minimize the noise sources. Si bipolar transistors and the future prospects of GaAs, Si and InAs MISFETs are discussed, and performance is compared to FETs currently being used in low-noise preamplifiers

Low dose CT simulation using experimental noise model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakanishi, Satori; Zamyatin, Alexander A. [Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, Tochigi, Otawarashi (Japan); Silver, Michael D. [Toshiba Medical Research Institute, Vernon Hills, IL (United States)

2011-07-01

We suggest a method to obtain system noise model experimentally without relying on assumptions on statistical distribution of the noise; also, knowledge of DAS gain and electronic noise level are not required. Evaluation with ultra-low dose CT data (5 mAs) shows good match between simulated and real data noise. (orig.)

Manipulating neuronal activity with low frequency transcranial ultrasound

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Michele Elizabeth

neurons impose temporal constraints on their response to stimulation. If ultrasound-mediated responses are, in fact, ion channel mediated responses, ultrasound-induced responses should exhibit time-dependence characteristics similar to those of optogenetically-triggered responses. Minimal stimulus duration thresholds and the temporal limits of paired pulse facilitation for ultrasound stimulation were identical to those of optogenetic stimulation. Collectively, these experiments demonstrate an electrophysiological basis for low-frequency transcranial ultrasound stimulation of cerebral cortical neuronal activity.

Assessment of a Low-Cost Ultrasound Pericardiocentesis Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Campo dell'Orto

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. The use of ultrasound during resuscitation is emphasized in the latest European resuscitation council guidelines of 2013 to identify treatable conditions such as pericardial tamponade. The recommended standard treatment of tamponade in various guidelines is pericardiocentesis. As ultrasound guidance lowers the complication rates and increases the patient’s safety, pericardiocentesis should be performed under ultrasound guidance. Acute care physicians actually need to train emergency pericardiocentesis. Methods. We describe in detail a pericardiocentesis ultrasound model, using materials at a cost of about 60 euros. During training courses of focused echocardiography n=67, participants tested the phantom and completed a 16-item questionnaire, assessing the model using a visual analogue scale (VAS. Results. Eleven of fourteen questions were answered with a mean VAS score higher than 60% and thus regarded as showing the strengths of the model. Unrealistically outer appearance and heart shape were rated as weakness of the model. A total mean VAS score of all questions of 63% showed that participants gained confidence for further interventions. Conclusions. Our low-cost pericardiocentesis model, which can be easily constructed, may serve as an effective training tool of ultrasound-guided pericardiocentesis for acute and critical care physicians.

Assessment of a Low-Cost Ultrasound Pericardiocentesis Model

Science.gov (United States)

Campo dell'Orto, Marco; Hempel, Dorothea; Starzetz, Agnieszka; Seibel, Armin; Hannemann, Ulf; Walcher, Felix; Breitkreutz, Raoul

2013-01-01

Introduction. The use of ultrasound during resuscitation is emphasized in the latest European resuscitation council guidelines of 2013 to identify treatable conditions such as pericardial tamponade. The recommended standard treatment of tamponade in various guidelines is pericardiocentesis. As ultrasound guidance lowers the complication rates and increases the patient's safety, pericardiocentesis should be performed under ultrasound guidance. Acute care physicians actually need to train emergency pericardiocentesis. Methods. We describe in detail a pericardiocentesis ultrasound model, using materials at a cost of about 60 euros. During training courses of focused echocardiography n = 67, participants tested the phantom and completed a 16-item questionnaire, assessing the model using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Results. Eleven of fourteen questions were answered with a mean VAS score higher than 60% and thus regarded as showing the strengths of the model. Unrealistically outer appearance and heart shape were rated as weakness of the model. A total mean VAS score of all questions of 63% showed that participants gained confidence for further interventions. Conclusions. Our low-cost pericardiocentesis model, which can be easily constructed, may serve as an effective training tool of ultrasound-guided pericardiocentesis for acute and critical care physicians. PMID:24288616

A REVIEW OF LOW-INTENSITY ULTRASOUND FOR CANCER THERAPY

Science.gov (United States)

WOOD, ANDREW K. W.; SEHGAL, CHANDRA M.

2015-01-01

The literature describing the use of low-intensity ultrasound in four major areas of cancer therapy was reviewed - sonodynamic therapy, ultrasound mediated chemotherapy, ultrasound mediated gene delivery and antivascular ultrasound therapy. Each technique consistently resulted in the death of cancer cells and the bioeffects of ultrasound were primarily attributed to thermal actions and inertial cavitation. In each therapeutic modality, theranostic contrast agents composed of microbubbles played a role in both therapy and vascular imaging. The development of these agents is important as it establishes a therapeutic-diagnostic platform which can monitor the success of anti-cancer therapy. Little attention, however, has been given to either the direct assessment of the underlying mechanisms of the observed bioeffects or to the viability of these therapies in naturally occurring cancers in larger mammals; if such investigations provided encouraging data there could be a prompt application of a therapy technique in treating cancer patients. PMID:25728459

Fast flux test facility noise data management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thie, J.A.

1988-01-01

An extensive collection of spectra from an automated data collection system at the Fast Flux Facility has features from neutron data extracted and managed by database software. Inquiry techniques, including screening, applied to database results show the influences of control rods on wideband noise and, more generally, abilities to detect diverse types of off-normal noise. Uncovering a temporary 0.1-Hz resonance shift gave additional diagnostic information on a 13-Hz mechanical motion characterized by the interference of two resonances. The latter phenomenon is discussed generically for possible application to other reactor types. (author)

The Analysis of Low Noise Protection Barriers Influence on Tram Traffic Noise Levels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahac Maja

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The paper describes the analysis of tram traffic noise situation in residential areas in the vicinity of Drzic Avenue, one of the major routes between the northern and southern part of the Croatian capital city Zagreb, and the effect of low barriers placed by the tracks on tram noise mitigation. In order to evaluate the effect of planned protection measure, noise models were produced and verified with short-term field measurements. Calculations were conducted by means of noise prediction software, using European interim noise prediction method and 3D model of analyzed area. Finally, the results of noise calculations for existing tram traffic situation and planned measure of protection are presented on noise maps.

Apparatus And Method For Wireless Monitoring Using Ultra-wideband Frequencies

KAUST Repository

Sana, Furrukh

2015-04-23

A system for and a method of wirelessly monitoring one or more patients can include transmitting ultra-wideband pulses toward the one or more patients, receiving ultra-wideband signals, and sampling the ultra-wideband signals. Sampling the ultra-wideband pulses can be performed with a sample rate that is less than the Nyquist rate. Impulse response can be estimated and/or recovered by exploiting sparsity of the impulse response.

EUDP Project: Low Noise Airfoil - Final Report

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This document summarizes the scientific results achieved during the EUDP-funded project `Low-Noise Airfoil'. The goals of this project are, on one side to develop a measurement technique that permits the evaluation of trailing edge noise in a classical aerodynamic wind tunnel, and on the other side...... to develop and implement a design procedure to manufacture airfoil profiles with low noise emission. The project involved two experimental campaigns: one in the LM Wind Power wind tunnel, a classical aerodynamic wind tunnel, in Lunderskov (DK), the second one in the Virginia Tech Stability Wind Tunnel....... In particular, the so-called TNO trailing edge noise model could be significantly improved by introducing turbulence anisotropy in its formulation, as well as the influence of the boundary layer mean pressure gradient. This two characteristics are inherent to airfoil flows but were neglected in the original...

Model-based ultrasound temperature visualization during and following HIFU exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Guoliang; Smith, Penny Probert; Noble, J Alison

2010-02-01

This paper describes the application of signal processing techniques to improve the robustness of ultrasound feedback for displaying changes in temperature distribution in treatment using high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), especially at the low signal-to-noise ratios that might be expected in in vivo abdominal treatment. Temperature estimation is based on the local displacements in ultrasound images taken during HIFU treatment, and a method to improve robustness to outliers is introduced. The main contribution of the paper is in the application of a Kalman filter, a statistical signal processing technique, which uses a simple analytical temperature model of heat dispersion to improve the temperature estimation from the ultrasound measurements during and after HIFU exposure. To reduce the sensitivity of the method to previous assumptions on the material homogeneity and signal-to-noise ratio, an adaptive form is introduced. The method is illustrated using data from HIFU exposure of ex vivo bovine liver. A particular advantage of the stability it introduces is that the temperature can be visualized not only in the intervals between HIFU exposure but also, for some configurations, during the exposure itself. 2010 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Inkjet printing of novel wideband and high gain antennas on low-cost paper substrate

KAUST Repository

Cook, Benjamin Stassen

2012-09-01

A complete characterization of the inkjet printing process using metallic nanoparticle inks on a paper substrate for microwave frequencies up to 12.5 GHz as well as its application to low-cost, high gain and wideband antenna design are demonstrated in this work. Laser and heat sintering of metallic nanoparticles are compared on paper substrate for the first time which demonstrate immense cost and time benefits of laser sintering. The antennas fabricated using the characterized process include a Vivaldi for the UWB band which exhibits a significantly higher gain of up to 8 dBi as compared to the currently published inkjet printed antennas, and a novel slow-wave log periodic dipole array which employs a new miniaturization technique to show 20% width reduction. © 1963-2012 IEEE.

Noise Reduction Effect of Multiple-Sampling-Based Signal-Readout Circuits for Ultra-Low Noise CMOS Image Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shoji Kawahito

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the noise reduction effect of multiple-sampling-based signal readout circuits for implementing ultra-low-noise image sensors. The correlated multiple sampling (CMS technique has recently become an important technology for high-gain column readout circuits in low-noise CMOS image sensors (CISs. This paper reveals how the column CMS circuits, together with a pixel having a high-conversion-gain charge detector and low-noise transistor, realizes deep sub-electron read noise levels based on the analysis of noise components in the signal readout chain from a pixel to the column analog-to-digital converter (ADC. The noise measurement results of experimental CISs are compared with the noise analysis and the effect of noise reduction to the sampling number is discussed at the deep sub-electron level. Images taken with three CMS gains of two, 16, and 128 show distinct advantage of image contrast for the gain of 128 (noise(median: 0.29 e−rms when compared with the CMS gain of two (2.4 e−rms, or 16 (1.1 e−rms.

Non-destructive evaluation of fiber-reinforced composites with a fast 2D fiber-optic laser-ultrasound scanner

Science.gov (United States)

Pelivanov, Ivan; Buma, Takashi; Xia, Jinjun; Wei, Chen-Wei; Shtokolov, Alex; O'Donnell, Matthew

2015-03-01

Laser ultrasonic (LU) inspection represents an attractive, non-contact method to evaluate composite materials. Current non-contact systems, however, have relatively low sensitivity compared to contact piezoelectric detection. They are also difficult to adjust, very expensive, and strongly influenced by environmental noise. Here, we demonstrate that most of these drawbacks can be eliminated by combining a new generation of compact, inexpensive fiber lasers with new developments in fiber telecommunication optics and an optimally designed balanced probe scheme. In particular, a new type of a balanced fiber-optic Sagnac interferometer is presented as part of an all-optical LU pump-probe system for high speed non-destructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E) of aircraft composites. The performance of the LU system is demonstrated on a composite sample typically used in the aircraft industry. Wide-band ultrasound probe signals are generated directly at the sample surface with a pulsed diode-pumped laser delivering nanosecond laser pulses at a 1 kHz repetition rate with a pulse energy of 2 mJ. A balanced fiber-optic Sagnac interferometer is employed to detect pressure signals in a 1-10 MHz frequency range at the same point (an 8 μm focal spot) on the composite surface. A fast (up to 100 mm/s) 2D translation system is employed to move the sample during scanning and produce a complete B-scan consisting of one thousand A-scans in less than a second. The sensitivity of this system, in terms of the noise equivalent pressure, is found to be only 10 dB above the Nyquist thermal noise limit. To our knowledge, this is the best reported sensitivity for a non-contact ultrasonic detector of this dimension.

A programmable ultra-low noise X-band exciter.

Science.gov (United States)

MacMullen, A; Hoover, L R; Justice, R D; Callahan, B S

2001-07-01

A programmable ultra-low noise X-band exciter has been developed using commercial off-the-shelf components. Its phase noise is more than 10 dB below the best available microwave synthesizers. It covers a 7% frequency band with 0.1-Hz resolution. The X-band output at +23 dBm is a combination of signals from an X-band sapphire-loaded cavity oscillator (SLCO), a low noise UHF frequency synthesizer, and special-purpose frequency translation and up-conversion circuitry.

Obtaining and Estimating Low Noise Floors in Vibration Sensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brincker, Rune; Larsen, Jesper Abildgaard

2007-01-01

For some applications like seismic applications and measuring ambient vibrations in structures, it is essential that the noise floors of the sensors and other system components are low and known to the user. Some of the most important noise sources are reviewed and it is discussed how the sensor...... can be designed in order to obtain a low noise floor. Techniques to estimate the noise floors for sensors are reviewed and are demonstrated on a commercial commonly used sensor for vibration testing. It is illustrated how the noise floor can be calculated using the coherence between simultaneous...

Twenty-two cases of low-frequency noise complaints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Christian Sejer; Møller, Henrik; Persson-Waye, Kerstin

2006-01-01

In Denmark and in other industrialized countries there are cases where people complain about annoying low-frequency or infrasonic noise in their homes. Besides noise annoyance people often report other adverse effects such as insomnia, headache, lack of concentration etc. In many cases the noise...

Millimeter-wave silicon-based ultra-wideband automotive radar transceivers

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Vipul

Since the invention of the integrated circuit, the semiconductor industry has revolutionized the world in ways no one had ever anticipated. With the advent of silicon technologies, consumer electronics became light-weight and affordable and paved the way for an Information-Communication-Entertainment age. While silicon almost completely replaced compound semiconductors from these markets, it has been unable to compete in areas with more stringent requirements due to technology limitations. One of these areas is automotive radar sensors, which will enable next-generation collision-warning systems in automobiles. A low-cost implementation is absolutely essential for widespread use of these systems, which leads us to the subject of this dissertation---silicon-based solutions for automotive radars. This dissertation presents architectures and design techniques for mm-wave automotive radar transceivers. Several fully-integrated transceivers and receivers operating at 22-29 GHz and 77-81 GHz are demonstrated in both CMOS and SiGe BiCMOS technologies. Excellent performance is achieved indicating the suitability of silicon technologies for automotive radar sensors. The first CMOS 22-29-GHz pulse-radar receiver front-end for ultra-wideband radars is presented. The chip includes a low noise amplifier, I/Q mixers, quadrature voltage-controlled oscillators, pulse formers and variable-gain amplifiers. Fabricated in 0.18-mum CMOS, the receiver achieves a conversion gain of 35-38.1 dB and a noise figure of 5.5-7.4 dB. Integration of multi-mode multi-band transceivers on a single chip will enable next-generation low-cost automotive radar sensors. Two highly-integrated silicon ICs are designed in a 0.18-mum BiCMOS technology. These designs are also the first reported demonstrations of mm-wave circuits with high-speed digital circuits on the same chip. The first mm-wave dual-band frequency synthesizer and transceiver, operating in the 24-GHz and 77-GHz bands, are demonstrated. All

Prediction of buried mine-like target radar signatures using wideband electromagnetic modeling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Warrick, A.L.; Azevedo, S.G.; Mast, J.E.

1998-04-06

Current ground penetrating radars (GPR) have been tested for land mine detection, but they have generally been costly and have poor performance. Comprehensive modeling and experimentation must be done to predict the electromagnetic (EM) signatures of mines to access the effect of clutter on the EM signature of the mine, and to understand the merit and limitations of using radar for various mine detection scenarios. This modeling can provide a basis for advanced radar design and detection techniques leading to superior performance. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has developed a radar technology that when combined with comprehensive modeling and detection methodologies could be the basis of an advanced mine detection system. Micropower Impulse Radar (MIR) technology exhibits a combination of properties, including wideband operation, extremely low power consumption, extremely small size and low cost, array configurability, and noise encoded pulse generation. LLNL is in the process of developing an optimal processing algorithm to use with the MIR sensor. In this paper, we use classical numerical models to obtain the signature of mine-like targets and examine the effect of surface roughness on the reconstructed signals. These results are then qualitatively compared to experimental data.

Ultra-Wideband Transceivers for Cochlear Implants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reisenzahn Alexander

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Ultra-wideband (UWB radio offers low power consumption, low power spectral density, high immunity against interference, and other benefits, not only for consumer electronics, but also for medical devices. A cochlear implant (CI is an electronic hearing apparatus, requiring a wireless link through human tissue. In this paper we propose an UWB link for a data rate of Mbps and a propagation distance up to 500 mm. Transmitters with step recovery diode and transistor pulse generators are proposed. Two types of antennas and their filter characteristics in the UWB spectrum will be discussed. An ultra-low-power back tunnel diode receiver prototype is described and compared with conventional detector receivers.

Cross correlation measurement of low frequency conductivity noise

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Aditya Kumar; Nigudkar, Himanshu; Chakraborti, Himadri; Udupa, Aditi; Gupta, Kantimay Das

2018-04-01

In order to study the low frequency noise(1/f noise)an experimental technique based on cross correlation of two channels is presented. In this method the device under test (DUT)is connected to the two independently powered preamplifiers in parallel. The amplified signals from the two preamplifiers are fed to two channels of a digitizer. Subsequent data processing largelyeliminates the uncorrelated noise of the two channels. This method is tested for various commercial carbon/metal film resistors by measuring equilibrium thermal noise (4kBTR). The method is then modified to study the non-equilibrium low frequency noise of heterostructure samples using fiveprobe configuration. Five contact probes allow two parts of the sample to become two arms of a balanced bridge. This configuration helps in suppressing the effect of power supply fluctuations, bath temperature fluctuations and contact resistances.

35 Gb/s Ultra-wideband Technology for Advanced Communications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Puerta Ramírez, Rafael; Vegas Olmos, Juan José; Tafur Monroy, Idelfonso

be applied, evolving from classic spectral inefficient pulsebased systems to more advanced and flexible modulation schemes. Ultra-wideband technology is suitable for low-power high-speed wireless communication systems over short distances, and is an appealing alternative for next generation networks ranging......The fast development of electronics and portable devices, intended mainly for multimedia applications, is increasing exponentially the data traffic demands per user. To cope with these new data demands in limited bandwidth systems, new technologies must be explored and new transmission schemes must...... from high-speed wireless personal area networks, to the internet of things applications. Its popularity stems from the fact that they can be used as an overlay to existing systems, without interference, operating in parallel to existing wireless systems, which perceive ultra-wideband emissions...

Quantum and Private Capacities of Low-Noise Channels

Science.gov (United States)

Leditzky, Felix; Leung, Debbie; Smith, Graeme

2018-04-01

We determine both the quantum and the private capacities of low-noise quantum channels to leading orders in the channel's distance to the perfect channel. It has been an open problem for more than 20 yr to determine the capacities of some of these low-noise channels such as the depolarizing channel. We also show that both capacities are equal to the single-letter coherent information of the channel, again to leading orders. We thus find that, in the low-noise regime, superadditivity and degenerate codes have a negligible benefit for the quantum capacity, and shielding does not improve the private capacity beyond the quantum capacity, in stark contrast to the situation when noisier channels are considered.

Nonlinearity-tailored fiber laser technology for low-noise, ultra-wideband tunable femtosecond light generation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Xiaomin; Lægsgaard, Jesper; Iegorov, Roman

2017-01-01

supercontinuum, taking advantage of a simpler fiber technology: a fixed-wavelength pump laser pulse is converted into a spectrally very broadband output, from which the required resulting wavelength is then optically filtered. Unfortunately, this process is associated with an inherently poor noise figure, which...... often precludes many realistic applications of such supercontinuum sources. Here, we show that by adding only one passive optical element—a tapered photonic crystal fiber—to a fixed-wavelength femtosecond laser, one can in a very simple manner resonantly convert the laser emission wavelength......The emission wavelength of a laser is physically predetermined by the gain medium used.Consequently,arbitrary wavelength generation is a fundamental challenge in the science of light. Present solutions include optical parametric generation, requiring complex optical setups and spectrally sliced...

Low Cost/Low Noise Variable Pitch Ducted Fan, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ACI proposes a design for a Propulsor (Low Cost/Low Noise Variable Pitch Ducted Fan) that has wide application in all sectors of Aviation. Propulsor hardware of this...

Ultra-Wideband Geo-Regioning: A Novel Clustering and Localization Technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Armin Wittneben

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Ultra-wideband (UWB technology enables a high temporal resolution of the propagation channel. Consequently, a channel impulse response between transmitter and receiver can be interpreted as signature for their relative positions. If the position of the receiver is known, the channel impulse response indicates the position of the transmitter and vice versa. This work introduces UWB geo-regioning as a clustering and localization method based on channel impulse response fingerprinting, develops a theoretical framework for performance analysis, and evaluates this approach by means of performance results based on measured channel impulse responses. Complexity issues are discussed and performance dependencies on signal-to-noise ratio, a priori knowledge, observation window, and system bandwidth are investigated.

A Tunable Low Noise Active Bandpass Filter Using a Noise Canceling Technique

OpenAIRE

Soltani, N.

2016-01-01

A monolithic tunable low noise active bandpass filter is presented in this study. Biasing voltages can control the center frequency and quality factor. By keeping the gain constant, the center frequency shift is 300 MHz. The quality factor can range from 90 to 290 at the center frequency. By using a noise cancelling circuit, noise is kept lower than 2.8 dB. The proposed filter is designed using MMIC technology with a center frequency of 2.4 GHz and a power consumption of 180 mW. ED02AH techno...

A capacitor cross-coupled common-gate low-noise amplifier

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhuo, W.; Li, X.; Shekhar, S.; Embabi, S.H.K.; Pineda de Gyvez, J.; Allstot, D.J.; Sanchez-Sinencio, E.

2005-01-01

The conventional common-gate low-noise amplifier (CGLNA) exhibits a relatively high noise figure (NF) at low operating frequencies relative to the MOSFET fT, which has limited its adoption notwithstanding its superior linearity, input matching, and stability compared to the inductively degenerated

Ultra Low Noise Poroelastic Road Surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jerzy A. Ejsmont

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Noise is one of the most important environmental problems related to road traffic. During the last decades, the noise emitted by the engines and powertrains of vehicles was greatly reduced and tires became a clearly dominant noise source. The article describes the concept of low noise poroelastic road surfaces that are composed of mineral and rubber aggregate bound by polyurethane resin. Those surfaces have a porous structure and are much more flexible than standard asphalt or cement concrete pavements due to high content of rubber aggregate and elastic binder. Measurements performed in several European countries indicate that such surfaces decrease tire/road noise between 7 dB and 12 dB with respect to reference surfaces such as dense asphalt concrete or stone matrix asphalt. Furthermore, poroelastic road surfaces ascertain the rolling resistance of car tires, which is comparable to classic pavements. One of the unforeseen properties of the poroelastic road surfaces is their ability to decrease the risks related to car fires with fuel spills. The article presents the road and laboratory results of noise, rolling resistance, and fire tests performed on a few types of poroelastic road surfaces.

Continuously tunable S and C+L bands ultra wideband erbium-doped fiber ring laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Q; Yu, Q X

2009-01-01

This paper presents an ultra wideband tunable silica-based erbium doped fiber ring laser (EDFRL) that can be continuously tuned in S and C+L bands from 1475 to 1619 nm. It is the first time that a fiber ring laser's tuning range reaches 144 nm using a standard silica-based C-band erbium-doped fiber as gain media. In the laser configuration two isolators are used in the fiber loop for suppressing the ASE in C-band and elevating the lasing gain in S-band. As a result the available lasing wavelength is extended toward the shorter wavelength of the gain bandwidth. The optimized erbium-doped fiber length, output coupling ratio and pumping laser power have been obtained through experimental study. This ring fiber laser has simple configuration, low threshold, flat laser spectral distribution and high signal-to-ASE-noise ratio. The laser will have many potential applications in fiber sensor wavelength interrogation, high-resolution spectroscopy and fiber optic communications

Measurement of low-frequency noise in rooms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Steffen; Møller, Henrik; Persson-Waye, Kerstin

2006-01-01

Measurement of low-frequency noise in rooms is problematic due to standing wave patterns. The spatial variation in the sound pressure level can typically be as much as 20-30 dB. For assessment of annoyance from low-frequency noise in dwellings, it is important to measure a level close...... rooms. The sound pressure level was measured 1) in three-dimensional corners and 2) according to current Swedish and Danish measurement methods. Furthermore, the entire sound pressure distributions were measured by scanning. The Swedish and Danish measurement methods include a corner measurement...... to the highest level present in a room, rather than a room average level. In order to ensure representative noise measurements, different positions were investigated based on theoretical considerations and observations from numerical room simulations. In addition measurements were performed in three different...

S – C – L triple wavelength superluminescent source based on an ultra-wideband SOA and FBGs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahmad, H; Zulkifli, M Z; Hassan, N A; Muhammad, F D; Harun, S W [Photonics Research Center (Department of Physics), University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

2013-10-31

We propose and demonstrate a wide-band semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) based triple-wavelength superluminescent source with the output in the S-, C- and L-band regions. The proposed systems uses an ultra-wideband SOA with an amplification range from 1440 to 1620 nm as the linear gain medium. Three fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs) with centre wavelengths of 1500, 1540 and 1580 nm are used to generate the lasing wavelengths in the S-, Cand L-bands respectively, while a variable optical attenuator is used to finely balance the optical powers of the lasing wavelengths. The ultra-wideband SOA generates an amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) spectrum with a peak power of -33 dBm at the highest SOA drive current, and also demonstrates a down-shift in the centre wavelength of the generated spectrum due to the spatial distribution of the carrier densities. The S-band wavelength is the dominant wavelength at high drive currents, with an output power of -6 dBm as compared to the C- and L-bands, which only have powers of -11 and -10 dBm, respectively. All wavelengths have a high average signal-to-noise ratio more than 60 dB at the highest drive current of 390 mA, and the system also shows a high degree of stability, with power fluctuations of less than 3 dB within 70 min. The proposed system can find many applications where a wide-band and stable laser source is crucial, such as in communications and sensing. (control of laser radiation parameters)

S – C – L triple wavelength superluminescent source based on an ultra-wideband SOA and FBGs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, H; Zulkifli, M Z; Hassan, N A; Muhammad, F D; Harun, S W

2013-01-01

We propose and demonstrate a wide-band semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) based triple-wavelength superluminescent source with the output in the S-, C- and L-band regions. The proposed systems uses an ultra-wideband SOA with an amplification range from 1440 to 1620 nm as the linear gain medium. Three fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs) with centre wavelengths of 1500, 1540 and 1580 nm are used to generate the lasing wavelengths in the S-, Cand L-bands respectively, while a variable optical attenuator is used to finely balance the optical powers of the lasing wavelengths. The ultra-wideband SOA generates an amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) spectrum with a peak power of -33 dBm at the highest SOA drive current, and also demonstrates a down-shift in the centre wavelength of the generated spectrum due to the spatial distribution of the carrier densities. The S-band wavelength is the dominant wavelength at high drive currents, with an output power of -6 dBm as compared to the C- and L-bands, which only have powers of -11 and -10 dBm, respectively. All wavelengths have a high average signal-to-noise ratio more than 60 dB at the highest drive current of 390 mA, and the system also shows a high degree of stability, with power fluctuations of less than 3 dB within 70 min. The proposed system can find many applications where a wide-band and stable laser source is crucial, such as in communications and sensing. (control of laser radiation parameters)

Low noise InP-based MMIC receivers for W-band

Science.gov (United States)

Leonard, Regis F.

1991-01-01

A program to develop a monolithic W-band low noise amplifier (a critical element in any W-band communications, sensors, or radar application) is described. Goals of the program include a completely monolithic low noise amplifier, less than a 3.5 dB noise figure, and a monolithic mixer suitable for integration with the LNA.

A Stochastic Approach to Noise Modeling for Barometric Altimeters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angelo Maria Sabatini

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The question whether barometric altimeters can be applied to accurately track human motions is still debated, since their measurement performance are rather poor due to either coarse resolution or drifting behavior problems. As a step toward accurate short-time tracking of changes in height (up to few minutes, we develop a stochastic model that attempts to capture some statistical properties of the barometric altimeter noise. The barometric altimeter noise is decomposed in three components with different physical origin and properties: a deterministic time-varying mean, mainly correlated with global environment changes, and a first-order Gauss-Markov (GM random process, mainly accounting for short-term, local environment changes, the effects of which are prominent, respectively, for long-time and short-time motion tracking; an uncorrelated random process, mainly due to wideband electronic noise, including quantization noise. Autoregressive-moving average (ARMA system identification techniques are used to capture the correlation structure of the piecewise stationary GM component, and to estimate its standard deviation, together with the standard deviation of the uncorrelated component. M-point moving average filters used alone or in combination with whitening filters learnt from ARMA model parameters are further tested in few dynamic motion experiments and discussed for their capability of short-time tracking small-amplitude, low-frequency motions.

Characterization and Impact of Low Frequency Wind Turbine Noise Emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Finch, James

Wind turbine noise is a complex issue that requires due diligence to minimize any potential impact on quality of life. This study enhances existing knowledge of wind turbine noise through focused analyses of downwind sound propagation, directionality, and the low frequency component of the noise. Measurements were conducted at four wind speeds according to a design of experiments at incremental distances and angles. Wind turbine noise is shown to be highly directional, while downwind sound propagation is spherical with limited ground absorption. The noise is found to have a significant low frequency component that is largely independent of wind speed over the 20-250 Hz range. The generated low frequency noise is shown to be audible above 40 Hz at the MOE setback distance of 550 m. Infrasound levels exhibit higher dependency on wind speed, but remain below audible levels up to 15 m/s.

External Peltier Cooler For Low-Noise Amplifier

Science.gov (United States)

Soper, Terry A.

1990-01-01

Inexpensive Peltier-effect cooling module made of few commercially available parts used to reduce thermal noise in microwave amplifier. Retrofitted to almost any microwave low-noise amplifier or receiver preamplifier used in communication, telemetry, or radar. Includes copper or aluminum cold plate held tightly against unit to be cooled by strap-type worm-gear clamps.

A Tunable Low Noise Active Bandpass Filter Using a Noise Canceling Technique

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Soltani

2016-12-01

Full Text Available A monolithic tunable low noise active bandpass filter is presented in this study. Biasing voltages can control the center frequency and quality factor. By keeping the gain constant, the center frequency shift is 300 MHz. The quality factor can range from 90 to 290 at the center frequency. By using a noise cancelling circuit, noise is kept lower than 2.8 dB. The proposed filter is designed using MMIC technology with a center frequency of 2.4 GHz and a power consumption of 180 mW. ED02AH technology is used to simulate the circuit elements.

Evaluation of strip-line pick-up system for the SPS wideband transverse feedback system

CERN Document Server

Kotzian, G; Steinhagen, R J; Valuch, D; Wehrle, U

2017-01-01

The proposed SPS Wideband Transverse Feedback sys- tem requires a wide-band pick-up system to be able to de- tect intra-bunch motion within the SPS proton bunches, captured and accelerated in a 200 MHz bucket. We present the electro-magnetic design of transverse beam position pick-up options optimised for installation in the SPS and evaluate their performance reach with respect to direct time domain sampling of the intra-bunch motion. The analy- sis also discusses the achieved subsystem responses of the associated cabling with new low dispersion smooth wall coaxial cables, wide-band generation of intensity and posi- tion signals by means of 180 degree RF hybrids as well as passive techniques to electronically suppress the beam off- set signal, needed to optimise the dynamic range and posi- tion resolution of the planned digital intra-bunch feedback system.

Segmentation of breast ultrasound images based on active contours using neutrosophic theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Lotfollahi, Mahsa; Gity, Masoumeh; Ye, Jing Yong; Mahlooji Far, A

2018-04-01

Ultrasound imaging is an effective approach for diagnosing breast cancer, but it is highly operator-dependent. Recent advances in computer-aided diagnosis have suggested that it can assist physicians in diagnosis. Definition of the region of interest before computer analysis is still needed. Since manual outlining of the tumor contour is tedious and time-consuming for a physician, developing an automatic segmentation method is important for clinical application. The present paper represents a novel method to segment breast ultrasound images. It utilizes a combination of region-based active contour and neutrosophic theory to overcome the natural properties of ultrasound images including speckle noise and tissue-related textures. First, due to inherent speckle noise and low contrast of these images, we have utilized a non-local means filter and fuzzy logic method for denoising and image enhancement, respectively. This paper presents an improved weighted region-scalable active contour to segment breast ultrasound images using a new feature derived from neutrosophic theory. This method has been applied to 36 breast ultrasound images. It generates true-positive and false-positive results, and similarity of 95%, 6%, and 90%, respectively. The purposed method indicates clear advantages over other conventional methods of active contour segmentation, i.e., region-scalable fitting energy and weighted region-scalable fitting energy.

Acoustic noises of the BOR-60 reactor steam generators when simulating leaks with argon and steam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sokolov, V.M.; Golushko, V.V.; Afanas'ev, V.A.; Grebenkin, Yu.P.; Muralev, A.B.

1985-01-01

Background acoustic noises of stea generators in different operational regimes and noises of argon and steam small leads (about 0.1 g/s) are studied to determine the possibility of designing the acoustic system for leak detection in sodium-water steamgenerators. Investigations are carried out at the 30 MW micromodule steam generator being in operation at the BOR-60 reactor as well as at the 20 MW tank type steam generator. Immersed ransduceres made of lithium niobate 6 mm in-diameter and waveguide transducers made of a stainless steel in the form of rods 10 mm in-diameter and 500 mm long are used as acoustic monitors. It is shown that the leak noise is more wide-band than the background noise of the steam generator and both high and low frequencies appear in the spectrum. The use of monitors of different types results in similar conslusions inrelation to the character of background noises and leak signals (spectral density, signal to-noise ratio) in the ase of similar bandroidths of the transduceres. A conclusion is made that the change of operational regimes leads to changes of background noise level, which can be close to the reaction of

Wideband Piezomagnetoelastic Vibration Energy Harvesting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lei, Anders; Thomsen, Erik Vilain

2014-01-01

This work presents a small-scale wideband piezomagnetoelastic vibration energy harvester (VEH) aimed for operation at frequencies of a few hundred Hz. The VEH consists of a tape-casted PZT cantilever with thin sheets of iron foil attached on each side of the free tip. The wideband operation...... is achieved by placing the cantilever in a magnetic field induced by either one or two magnets located oppositely of the cantilever. The attraction force created by the magnetic field and iron foils introduces a mechanical force in opposite direction of the cantilevers restoring force causing a spring...

Rejection of crosstalk and noise by a quasi balanced CFPI for remote ultrasound detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reitinger, B; Berer, T; Hornhuber, C; Burgholzer, P, E-mail: bernhard.reitinger@recendt.at [Research Center for Non Destructive Testing GmbH (Recendt), Hafenstrasse 47-51, 4020 Linz (Austria)

2011-01-01

In this paper we show the benefits of a quasi balanced fringe hopping CFPI (confocal Fabry-Perot interferometer) with broadband CMRR (common mode rejection ratio) for remote ultrasound detection. Ultrasonic information in general lies in the phase modulation of laser light which in this case is demodulated by using the CFPI at a certain working point on a fringe. By hopping from the positive to the negative slope on the same fringe the detected ultrasonic signals are inverted. In contrary interference signals like crosstalk from the generation, ghosts, or noise correlated to pulse laser excitation are not influenced and hence get rejected by subtracting the signals from both slopes. Hence, a minimum of two measurements is needed for common mode rejection. The fringe hopping from the positive to the negative slope is done by changing the distance of the CFPI mirrors with a precise piezoelectric-stack and a fast high resolution digital controller. As only one photo-detector with a transimpedance-amplifier is needed a high CMRR can be accomplished which is not affected by the symmetry of the fringe but only by pulse to pulse energy fluctuations of the generation laser. We show that with fringe hopping and averaging the signal to noise ratio increases much faster than with averaging without fringe hopping. This is due to the correlation of the quasi-noise with the generation cycle.

Simulation and training of ultrasound supported anaesthesia: a low-cost approach

Science.gov (United States)

Schaaf, T.; Lamontain, M.; Hilpert, J.; Schilling, F.; Tolxdorff, T.

2010-03-01

The use of ultrasound imaging technology during techniques of peripheral nerve blockade offers several clinical benefits. Here we report on a new method to educate residents in ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia. The daily challenge for the anesthesiologists is the 3D angle-depending handling of the stimulation needle and the ultrasound probe while watching the 2D ultrasound image on the monitor. Purpose: Our approach describes how a computer-aided simulation and training set for ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia could be built based on wireless low-cost devices and an interactive simulation of a 2D ultrasound image. For training purposes the injection needle and the ultrasound probe are replaced by wireless Bluetooth-connected 3D tracking devices, which are embedded in WII-mote controllers (Nintendo-Brand). In correlation to the tracked 3D positions of the needle and transducer models the visibility and position of the needle should be simulated in the 2D generated ultrasound image. Conclusion: In future, this tracking and visualization software module could be integrated in a more complex training set, where complex injection paths could be trained based on a 3D segmented model and the training results could be part of a curricular e-learning module.

NASA's Pursuit of Low-Noise Propulsion for Low-Boom Commercial Supersonic Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Bridges, James; Brown, Clifford A.; Seidel, Jonathan A.

2018-01-01

Since 2006, when the Fundamental Aeronautics Program was instituted within NASA's Aeronautics Mission Directorate, there has been a Project looking at the technical barriers to commercial supersonic flight. Among the barriers is the noise produced by aircraft during landing and takeoff. Over the years that followed, research was carried out at NASA aeronautics research centers, often in collaboration with academia and industry, addressing the problem. In 2013, a high-level milestone was established, described as a Technical Challenge, with the objective of demonstrating the feasibility of a low-boom supersonic airliner that could meet current airport noise regulations. The Technical Challenge was formally called "Low Noise Propulsion for Low Boom Aircraft", and was completed in late 2016. This paper reports the technical findings from this Technical Challenge, reaching back almost 10 years to review the technologies and tools that were developed along the way. It also discusses the final aircraft configuration and propulsion systems required for a supersonic civilian aircraft to meet noise regulations using the technologies available today. Finally, the paper documents the model-scale tests that validated the acoustic performance of the study aircraft.

Effects on Performance and Work Quality due to Low Frequency Ventilation Noise

Science.gov (United States)

Persson Waye, K.; Rylander, R.; Benton, S.; Leventhall, H. G.

1997-08-01

A pilot study was carried out to assess method evaluating effects of low frequency noise on performance. Of special interest was to study objective and subjective effects over time. Two ventilation noises were used, one of a predominantly mid frequency character and the other of a predominantly low frequency character. Both had an NC value of 35. For the study, 50 students were recruited and 30 selected on the basis of subjective reports of pressure on the eardrum after exposure to a low frequency noise. Of these, 14 randomly selected subjects aged 21 and 34 took part. The subjects performed three computerized cognitive tests in the mid frequency or the low frequency noise condition alternatively. Tests I and II were performed together with a secondary task.Questionnaires were used to evaluate subjective symptoms, effects on mood and estimated interference with the test results due to temperature, light and noise. The results showed that the subjective estimations of noise interference with performance were higher for the low frequency noise (psocial orientation (pstudied. The results further indicate that the NC curves do not fully assess the negative effects of low frequency noise on work performance.

Highly Stable Wideband Microwave Extraction by Synchronizing Widely Tunable Optoelectronic Oscillator with Optical Frequency Comb

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, D.; Xie, X. P.; Zhang, Y. L.; Wu, J. T.; Chen, Z. Y.; Zhao, J. Y.

2013-12-01

Optical frequency combs (OFCs), based on mode-locked lasers (MLLs), have attracted considerable attention in many fields over recent years. Among the applications of OFCs, one of the most challenging works is the extraction of a highly stable microwave with low phase noise. Many synchronisation schemes have been exploited to synchronise an electronic oscillator with the pulse train from a MLL, helping to extract an ultra-stable microwave. Here, we demonstrate novel wideband microwave extraction from a stable OFC by synchronising a single widely tunable optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) with an OFC at different harmonic frequencies, using an optical phase detection technique. The tunable range of the proposed microwave extraction extends from 2 GHz to 4 GHz, and in a long-term synchronisation experiment over 12 hours, the proposed synchronisation scheme provided a rms timing drift of 18 fs and frequency instabilities at 1.2 × 10-15/1 s and 2.2 × 10-18/10000 s.

An improved method based on wavelet coefficient correlation to filter noise in Doppler ultrasound blood flow signals

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Renzhi; Zu, Yunxiao; Shao, Lin

2018-04-01

The blood echo signal maintained through Medical ultrasound Doppler devices would always include vascular wall pulsation signal .The traditional method to de-noise wall signal is using high-pass filter, which will also remove the lowfrequency part of the blood flow signal. Some scholars put forward a method based on region selective reduction, which at first estimates of the wall pulsation signals and then removes the wall signal from the mixed signal. Apparently, this method uses the correlation between wavelet coefficients to distinguish blood signal from wall signal, but in fact it is a kind of wavelet threshold de-noising method, whose effect is not so much ideal. In order to maintain a better effect, this paper proposes an improved method based on wavelet coefficient correlation to separate blood signal and wall signal, and simulates the algorithm by computer to verify its validity.

The Majorana Low-noise Low-background Front-end Electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Abgrall, N.; Aguayo, E.; Avignone, F. T.; Barabash, A. S.; Bertrand, F. E.; Boswell, M.; Brudanin, V.; Busch, M.; Byram, D.; Caldwell, A. S.; Chan, Y.-D.; Christofferson, C. D.; Combs, D. C.; Cuesta, C.; Detwiler, J. A.; Doe, P. J.; Efremenko, Yu.; Egorov, V.; Ejiri, H.; Elliott, S. R.; Fast, J. E.; Finnerty, P.; Fraenkle, F. M.; Galindo-Uribarri, A.; Giovanetti, G. K.; Goett, J.; Green, M. P.; Gruszko, J.; Guiseppe, V. E.; Gusev, K.; Hallin, A. L.; Hazama, R.; Hegai, A.; Henning, R.; Hoppe, E. W.; Howard, S.; Howe, M. A.; Keeter, K. J.; Kidd, M. F.; Kochetov, O.; Konovalov, S. I.; Kouzes, R. T.; LaFerriere, B. D.; Leon, J.; Leviner, L. E.; Loach, J. C.; MacMullin, J.; MacMullin, S.; Martin, R. D.; Meijer, S.; Mertens, S.; Nomachi, M.; Orrell, J. L.; O'Shaughnessy, C.; Overman, N. R.; Phillips, D. G.; Poon, A. W. P.; Pushkin, K.; Radford, D. C.; Rager, J.; Rielage, K.; Robertson, R. G. H.; Romero-Romero, E.; Ronquest, M. C.; Schubert, A. G.; Shanks, B.; Shima, T.; Shirchenko, M.; Snavely, K. J.; Snyder, N.; Suriano, A. M.; Thompson, J.; Timkin, V.; Tornow, W.; Trimble, J. E.; Varner, R. L.; Vasilyev, S.; Vetter, K.; Vorren, K.; White, B. R.; Wilkerson, J. F.; Wiseman, C.; Xu, W.; Yakushev, E.; Young, A. R.; Yu, C.-H.; Yumatov, V.

The MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR will search for the neutrinoless double beta decay (ββ(0ν)) of the isotope 76Ge with a mixed array of enriched and natural germanium detectors. In view of the next generation of tonne-scale germanium-based ββ(0ν)-decay searches, a major goal of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR is to demonstrate a path forward to achieving a background rate at or below 1 cnt/(ROI-t-y) in the 4 keV region of interest (ROI) around the 2039-keV Q-value of the 76Ge ββ(0ν)-decay. Such a requirement on the background level significantly constrains the design of the readout electronics, which is further driven by noise and energy resolution performances. We present here the low-noise low- background front-end electronics developed for the low-capacitance p-type point contact (P-PC) germanium detectors of the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR. This resistive-feedback front-end, specifically designed to have low mass, is fabricated on a radioassayed fused-silica substrate where the feedback resistor consists of a sputtered thin film of high purity amorphous germanium and the feedback capacitor is based on the capacitance between gold conductive traces.

Weak wide-band signal detection method based on small-scale periodic state of Duffing oscillator

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Jian; Yan, Xiao-peng; Li, Ping; Hao, Xin-hong

2018-03-01

The conventional Duffing oscillator weak signal detection method, which is based on a strong reference signal, has inherent deficiencies. To address these issues, the characteristics of the Duffing oscillatorʼs phase trajectory in a small-scale periodic state are analyzed by introducing the theory of stopping oscillation system. Based on this approach, a novel Duffing oscillator weak wide-band signal detection method is proposed. In this novel method, the reference signal is discarded, and the to-be-detected signal is directly used as a driving force. By calculating the cosine function of a phase space angle, a single Duffing oscillator can be used for weak wide-band signal detection instead of an array of uncoupled Duffing oscillators. Simulation results indicate that, compared with the conventional Duffing oscillator detection method, this approach performs better in frequency detection intervals, and reduces the signal-to-noise ratio detection threshold, while improving the real-time performance of the system. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61673066).

Low-noise audio amplifiers and preamplifier for use with intrinsic thermocouples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langner, G.C.; Sachs, R.D.; Stewart, F.L.

1979-03-01

Two simple, low-noise audio amplifiers and one low-noise preamplifier for use with intrinsic thermocouples were designed, built, and tested. The amplifiers and the preamplifier have different front end designs. One amplifier uses ultralow-noise operational amplifiers; the other amplifier uses a hybrid component. The preamplifier uses ultralow-noise discrete components. The amplifiers' equivalent noise inputs, at maximum gain, are 4.09 nV and 50 nV; the preamplifier's input is 4.05 μV. Their bandwidths are 15 600 Hz, 550 Hz, and 174 kHz, respectively. the amplifiers' equivalent noise inputs were measured from approx. 0 to 100 Hz, whereas the preamplifier's equivalent noise input was measured from approx. 0 to 174 kHz

An ultra low noise AC beam transformer for deceleration and diagnostics of low intensity beams

CERN Document Server

González, C

1999-01-01

The design of a broad band ultra-low noise ferrite loaded AC beam transformer is presented. It is designed for use in the CERN Antiproton Decelerator (AD), where beams of a few 107 charges must be decelerated from 3.5 GeV/c to 100 MeV/c. It is used in the RF beam-phase loop, and for intensity and bunch shape measurements during deceleration. When the beam is debunched for cooling on magnetic flat tops, the pick-up is used for measurements of intensity and momentum distribution by means of longitudinal Schottky scans. When used as Schottky pick-up, the signal to noise ratio should be better by about 40 dB than the existing stripline based longitudinal Schottky pick-up. The integrated design of pick-up and associated low-noise amplifier is presented. The achieved noise performance of a few from 1 to 3 MHz is obtained by attaching a low-noise, high-impedance silicon JFET (junction field effect transistor) amplifier to a high-Q resonant ferrite loaded cavity, and then eliminating the resonant response by low-nois...

Generalized Wideband Cyclic MUSIC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang-Meng Liu

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The method of Spectral Correlation-Signal Subspace Fitting (SC-SSF fails to separate wideband cyclostationary signals with coherent second-order cyclic statistics (SOCS. Averaged Cyclic MUSIC (ACM method made up for the drawback to some degree via temporally averaging the cyclic cross-correlation of the array output. This paper interprets ACM from another perspective and proposes a new DOA estimation method by generalizing ACM for wideband cyclostationary signals. The proposed method successfully makes up for the aforementioned drawback of SC-SSF and obtains a more satisfying performance than ACM. It is also demonstrated that ACM is a simplified form of the proposed method when only a single spectral frequency is exploited, and the integration of the frequencies within the signal bandwidth helps the new method to outperform ACM.

An Ultra-Wideband Millimeter-Wave Phased Array

Science.gov (United States)

Novak, Markus H.; Miranda, Felix A.; Volakis, John L.

2016-01-01

Wideband millimeter-wave arrays are of increasing importance due to their growing use in high data rate systems, including 5G communication networks. In this paper, we present a new class of ultra-wideband millimeter wave arrays that operate from nearly 20 GHz to 90 GHz. The array is based on tightly coupled dipoles. Feeding designs and fabrication challenges are presented, and a method for suppressing feed resonances is provided.

Varying ultrasound power level to distinguish surgical instruments and tissue.

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Hongliang; Anuraj, Banani; Dupont, Pierre E

2018-03-01

We investigate a new framework of surgical instrument detection based on power-varying ultrasound images with simple and efficient pixel-wise intensity processing. Without using complicated feature extraction methods, we identified the instrument with an estimated optimal power level and by comparing pixel values of varying transducer power level images. The proposed framework exploits the physics of ultrasound imaging system by varying the transducer power level to effectively distinguish metallic surgical instruments from tissue. This power-varying image-guidance is motivated from our observations that ultrasound imaging at different power levels exhibit different contrast enhancement capabilities between tissue and instruments in ultrasound-guided robotic beating-heart surgery. Using lower transducer power levels (ranging from 40 to 75% of the rated lowest ultrasound power levels of the two tested ultrasound scanners) can effectively suppress the strong imaging artifacts from metallic instruments and thus, can be utilized together with the images from normal transducer power levels to enhance the separability between instrument and tissue, improving intraoperative instrument tracking accuracy from the acquired noisy ultrasound volumetric images. We performed experiments in phantoms and ex vivo hearts in water tank environments. The proposed multi-level power-varying ultrasound imaging approach can identify robotic instruments of high acoustic impedance from low-signal-to-noise-ratio ultrasound images by power adjustments.

Measuring low-frequency noise indoors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Steffen; Møller, Henrik; Persson-Waye, Kerstin

2008-01-01

that is exceeded in 10% of the volume of a room (L10) is proposed as a rational and objective target for a measurement method. In Sweden and Denmark rules exist for measuring low-frequency noise indoors. The performance of these procedures was investigated in three rooms. The results from the Swedish method were...

A Low Noise Electronic Circuit

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Annema, Anne J.; Leenaerts, Dominicus M.W.; de Vreede, Petrus W.H.

2002-01-01

An electronic circuit, which can be used as a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), comprises two complementary Field Effect Transistors (M1, M2; M5, M6), each having a gate, a source and a drain. The gates are connected together as a common input terminal, and the drains are connected together as a

Design of a Compact Wideband Antenna Array for Microwave Imaging Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Puskely

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In the paper, wideband antenna arrays aimed at microwave imaging applications and SAR applications operating at Ka band were designed. The antenna array feeding network is realized by a low-loss SIW technology. Moreover, we have replaced the large feed network comprised of various T and Y junctions by a simple broadband network of compact size to more reduce losses in the substrate integrated waveguide and also save space on the PCB. The designed power 8-way divider is complemented by a wideband substrate integrated waveguide to a grounded coplanar waveguide transition and directly connected to the antenna elements. The measured results of antenna array are consistent with our simulation. Obtained results of the developed array demonstrated improvement compared to previously developed binary feed networks with microstrip or SIW splitters.

Design Considerations for Autocalibrations of Wide-Band ΔΣ Fractional-N PLL Synthesizers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaewook Shin

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Autocalibration of VCO frequency and loop gain is an essential process in PLL frequency synthesizers. In a wide tuning-range fractional-N PLL frequency synthesizer, high-speed and high-precision automatic calibration is especially important for shortening the lock time and improving the phase noise. This paper reviews the design issues of the PLL auto-calibration and discusses on the limitations of the previous techniques. A very simple and efficient auto-calibration method based on a high-speed frequency-to-digital converter (FDC is proposed and verified through simulations. The proposed method is highly suited for a very wide-band ΔΣ fractional-N PLL.

Texture Based Quality Analysis of Simulated Synthetic Ultrasound Images Using Local Binary Patterns †

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prerna Singh

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Speckle noise reduction is an important area of research in the field of ultrasound image processing. Several algorithms for speckle noise characterization and analysis have been recently proposed in the area. Synthetic ultrasound images can play a key role in noise evaluation methods as they can be used to generate a variety of speckle noise models under different interpolation and sampling schemes, and can also provide valuable ground truth data for estimating the accuracy of the chosen methods. However, not much work has been done in the area of modeling synthetic ultrasound images, and in simulating speckle noise generation to get images that are as close as possible to real ultrasound images. An important aspect of simulated synthetic ultrasound images is the requirement for extensive quality assessment for ensuring that they have the texture characteristics and gray-tone features of real images. This paper presents texture feature analysis of synthetic ultrasound images using local binary patterns (LBP and demonstrates the usefulness of a set of LBP features for image quality assessment. Experimental results presented in the paper clearly show how these features could provide an accurate quality metric that correlates very well with subjective evaluations performed by clinical experts.

Low-Frequency Ultrasound Therapy in Combination Treatment of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

YE.E. LAVRINENKO

2013-04-01

Results. The beginning of therapeutic effect was observed after 2 procedures of the ultrasound exposure. The maximum effect is appeared after 8–10 treatment sessions. The positive dynamics of complex treatment is improving the general state of health, a disappearance of asthenization, and a decrease in the symptoms of cardiovascular disorders, achieving faster compensation of carbohydrate metabolism. The course of treatment contributed to the hyperglycemia reduction in patients with newly detected type 2 DM. After ultrasound treatment, the authors noted a positive dynamics of clinical symptoms: an improvement of the general health status, a decrease in fatigue, an improvement of psycho-emotional indices, disappearance of pain in the right upper quadrant, and a decrease in liver size in all the patients under study. Conclusions. The use of low-frequency ultrasound therapy on cutaneous projection of the liver in patients with type 2 DM promotes the normalization both fasting and postprandial glycemia. The effect of low-frequency ultrasound on cutaneous projection of the liver is significantly decreasing parameters that characterize the pancreatic insulin synthesizing function (immunoreactive insulin, C-peptide in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 DM and a BMI > 25 kg/m2. Low-frequency ultrasound reduces the glucagon secretion and thereby positively affects the hepatic gluconeogenesis. Ultrasound therapy can be used in the complex treatment of patients with newly diagnosed type 2 DM.

Apoptosis induced by low-intensity ultrasound in vitro: Alteration of protein profile and potential molecular mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Yi; Wan, Mingxi

2017-03-01

To analyze the potential mechanism related to the apoptosis induced by low intensity focused ultrasound, comparative proteomic method was introduced in the study. After ultrasound irradiation (3.0 W/cm2, 1 minute, 6 hours incubation post-irradiation), the human SMMC-7721 hepatocarcinoma cells were stained by trypan blue to detect the morphologic changes, and then the percentage of early apoptosis were tested by the flow cytometry with double staining of FITC-labelled Annexin V/Propidium iodide. Two-dimensional SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to get the protein profile and some proteins differently expressed after ultrasound irradiation were identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. It's proved early apoptosis of cells were induced by low intentisy focused ultrasound. After ultrasound irradiation, the expressing characteristics of several proteins changed, in which protein p53 and heat shock proteins are associated with apoptosis initiation. It is suggested that the low-intensity ultrasound-induced apoptotic cancer therapy has the potential application via understanding its relevant molecular signaling and key proteins. Moreover, the comparative proteomic method is proved to be useful to supply information about the protein expression to analyze the metabolic processes related to bio-effects of biomedical ultrasound.

Despeckle filtering for ultrasound imaging and video II selected applications

CERN Document Server

Loizou, Christos P

2015-01-01

In ultrasound imaging and video visual perception is hindered by speckle multiplicative noise that degrades the quality. Noise reduction is therefore essential for improving the visual observation quality or as a pre-processing step for further automated analysis, such as image/video segmentation, texture analysis and encoding in ultrasound imaging and video. The goal of the first book (book 1 of 2 books) was to introduce the problem of speckle in ultrasound image and video as well as the theoretical background, algorithmic steps, and the MatlabTM for the following group of despeckle filters:

The Safety of Using High Frequency, Low Intensity Ultrasound to Enhance Thrombolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soltani, Azita

2006-01-01

The EKOS Ultrasound Infusion Systems (EKOS Corporation, Bothell, WA) use high frequency, low intensity ultrasound to accelerate thrombolysis by enhancing clot permeability and lytic drug penetration into thrombus. These systems are designed to provide efficacious catheter-directed treatment for the management of stroke, peripheral arterial occlusion and deep vein thrombosis. The in vitro and in vivo results of investigating the stability of therapeutic and diagnostic compounds used in combination with EKOS devices, the potential for adverse biological effects and the clot fragmentation confirmed the safety of EKOS ultrasound infusion systems in thrombolysis treatment

Generative Adversarial Networks for Noise Reduction in Low-Dose CT.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolterink, Jelmer M; Leiner, Tim; Viergever, Max A; Isgum, Ivana

2017-12-01

Noise is inherent to low-dose CT acquisition. We propose to train a convolutional neural network (CNN) jointly with an adversarial CNN to estimate routine-dose CT images from low-dose CT images and hence reduce noise. A generator CNN was trained to transform low-dose CT images into routine-dose CT images using voxelwise loss minimization. An adversarial discriminator CNN was simultaneously trained to distinguish the output of the generator from routine-dose CT images. The performance of this discriminator was used as an adversarial loss for the generator. Experiments were performed using CT images of an anthropomorphic phantom containing calcium inserts, as well as patient non-contrast-enhanced cardiac CT images. The phantom and patients were scanned at 20% and 100% routine clinical dose. Three training strategies were compared: the first used only voxelwise loss, the second combined voxelwise loss and adversarial loss, and the third used only adversarial loss. The results showed that training with only voxelwise loss resulted in the highest peak signal-to-noise ratio with respect to reference routine-dose images. However, CNNs trained with adversarial loss captured image statistics of routine-dose images better. Noise reduction improved quantification of low-density calcified inserts in phantom CT images and allowed coronary calcium scoring in low-dose patient CT images with high noise levels. Testing took less than 10 s per CT volume. CNN-based low-dose CT noise reduction in the image domain is feasible. Training with an adversarial network improves the CNNs ability to generate images with an appearance similar to that of reference routine-dose CT images.

Low-sampling-rate ultra-wideband channel estimation using equivalent-time sampling

KAUST Repository

Ballal, Tarig

2014-09-01

In this paper, a low-sampling-rate scheme for ultra-wideband channel estimation is proposed. The scheme exploits multiple observations generated by transmitting multiple pulses. In the proposed scheme, P pulses are transmitted to produce channel impulse response estimates at a desired sampling rate, while the ADC samples at a rate that is P times slower. To avoid loss of fidelity, the number of sampling periods (based on the desired rate) in the inter-pulse interval is restricted to be co-prime with P. This condition is affected when clock drift is present and the transmitted pulse locations change. To handle this case, and to achieve an overall good channel estimation performance, without using prior information, we derive an improved estimator based on the bounded data uncertainty (BDU) model. It is shown that this estimator is related to the Bayesian linear minimum mean squared error (LMMSE) estimator. Channel estimation performance of the proposed sub-sampling scheme combined with the new estimator is assessed in simulation. The results show that high reduction in sampling rate can be achieved. The proposed estimator outperforms the least squares estimator in almost all cases, while in the high SNR regime it also outperforms the LMMSE estimator. In addition to channel estimation, a synchronization method is also proposed that utilizes the same pulse sequence used for channel estimation. © 2014 IEEE.

Ultra wideband antennas design, methodologies, and performance

CERN Document Server

Galvan-Tejada, Giselle M; Jardón Aguilar, Hildeberto

2015-01-01

Ultra Wideband Antennas: Design, Methodologies, and Performance presents the current state of the art of ultra wideband (UWB) antennas, from theory specific for these radiators to guidelines for the design of omnidirectional and directional UWB antennas. Offering a comprehensive overview of the latest UWB antenna research and development, this book:Discusses the developed theory for UWB antennas in frequency and time domainsDelivers a brief exposition of numerical methods for electromagnetics oriented to antennasDescribes solid-planar equivalen

The normalized interaural correlation : accounting for NoSp thresholds obtained with Gaussian and 'low-noise' masking noise

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bernstein, L.R.; Par, van de S.L.J.D.E.; Trahiotis, C.T.

1999-01-01

Recently, [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 103, 2578–2589 (1998)] and [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 103, 2573–2577 (1998)] independently reported that greater masking of interaurally phase-reversed (Sp) tones was produced by diotic low-noise noise than by diotic Gaussian noise. Based on quantitative analyses, Eddins and

Low-Noise Operation of All-Fiber Femtosecond Cherenkov Laser

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Xiaomin; Villanueva Ibáñez, Guillermo Eduardo; Lægsgaard, Jesper

2013-01-01

We investigate the noise properties of a femtosecond all-fiber Cherenkov radiation source with emission wavelength around 600 nm, based on an Yb-fiber laser and a highly-nonlinear photonic crystal fiber. A relative intensity noise as low as - 103 dBc/Hz, corresponding to 2.48 % pulse-to-pulse...... fluctuation in energy, was observed at the Cherenkov radiation output power of 4.3 mW, or 150 pJ pulse energy. This pulse-to-pulse fluctuation is at least 10.6 dB lower compared to spectrally-sliced supercontinuum sources traditionally used for ultrafast fiberbased generation at visible wavelengths. Low noise...... makes allfiber Cherenkov sources promising for biophotonics applications such as multi-photon microscopy, where minimum pulse-to-pulse energy fluctuation is required. We present the dependency of the noise figure on both the Cherenkov radiation output power and its spectrum....

Trans-Stent B-Mode Ultrasound and Passive Cavitation Imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Haworth, Kevin J; Raymond, Jason L; Radhakrishnan, Kirthi; Moody, Melanie R; Huang, Shao-Ling; Peng, Tao; Shekhar, Himanshu; Klegerman, Melvin E; Kim, Hyunggun; McPherson, David D; Holland, Christy K

2016-02-01

Angioplasty and stenting of a stenosed artery enable acute restoration of blood flow. However, restenosis or a lack of re-endothelization can subsequently occur depending on the stent type. Cavitation-mediated drug delivery is a potential therapy for these conditions, but requires that particular types of cavitation be induced by ultrasound insonation. Because of the heterogeneity of tissue and stochastic nature of cavitation, feedback mechanisms are needed to determine whether the sustained bubble activity is induced. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of passive cavitation imaging through a metal stent in a flow phantom and an animal model. In this study, an endovascular stent was deployed in a flow phantom and in porcine femoral arteries. Fluorophore-labeled echogenic liposomes, a theragnostic ultrasound contrast agent, were injected proximal to the stent. Cavitation images were obtained by passively recording and beamforming the acoustic emissions from echogenic liposomes insonified with a low-frequency (500 kHz) transducer. In vitro experiments revealed that the signal-to-noise ratio for detecting stable cavitation activity through the stent was greater than 8 dB. The stent did not significantly reduce the signal-to-noise ratio. Trans-stent cavitation activity was also detected in vivo via passive cavitation imaging when echogenic liposomes were insonified by the 500-kHz transducer. When stable cavitation was detected, delivery of the fluorophore into the arterial wall was observed. Increased echogenicity within the stent was also observed when echogenic liposomes were administered. Thus, both B-mode ultrasound imaging and cavitation imaging are feasible in the presence of an endovascular stent in vivo. Demonstration of this capability supports future studies to monitor restenosis with contrast-enhanced ultrasound and pursue image-guided ultrasound-mediated drug delivery to inhibit restenosis. Copyright © 2016 World Federation for

A high and low noise model for strong motion accelerometers

Science.gov (United States)

Clinton, J. F.; Cauzzi, C.; Olivieri, M.

2010-12-01

We present reference noise models for high-quality strong motion accelerometer installations. We use continuous accelerometer data acquired by the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) since 2006 and other international high-quality accelerometer network data to derive very broadband (50Hz-100s) high and low noise models. The proposed noise models are compared to the Peterson (1993) low and high noise models designed for broadband seismometers; the datalogger self-noise; background noise levels at existing Swiss strong motion stations; and typical earthquake signals recorded in Switzerland and worldwide. The standard strong motion station operated by the SED consists of a Kinemetrics Episensor (2g clip level; flat acceleration response from 200 Hz to DC; insulated sensor / datalogger systems placed in vault quality sites. At all frequencies, there is at least one order of magnitude between the ALNM and the AHNM; at high frequencies (> 1Hz) this extends to 2 orders of magnitude. This study provides remarkable confirmation of the capability of modern strong motion accelerometers to record low-amplitude ground motions with seismic observation quality. In particular, an accelerometric station operating at the ALNM is capable of recording the full spectrum of near source earthquakes, out to 100 km, down to M2. Of particular interest for the SED, this study provides acceptable noise limits for candidate sites for the on-going Strong Motion Network modernisation.

Low noise signal-to-noise ratio enhancing readout circuit for current-mediated active pixel sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ottaviani, Tony; Karim, Karim S.; Nathan, Arokia; Rowlands, John A.

2006-01-01

Diagnostic digital fluoroscopic applications continuously expose patients to low doses of x-ray radiation, posing a challenge to both the digital imaging pixel and readout electronics when amplifying small signal x-ray inputs. Traditional switch-based amorphous silicon imaging solutions, for instance, have produced poor signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) at low exposure levels owing to noise sources from the pixel readout circuitry. Current-mediated amorphous silicon pixels are an improvement over conventional pixel amplifiers with an enhanced SNR across the same low-exposure range, but whose output also becomes nonlinear with increasing dosage. A low-noise SNR enhancing readout circuit has been developed that enhances the charge gain of the current-mediated active pixel sensor (C-APS). The solution takes advantage of the current-mediated approach, primarily integrating the signal input at the desired frequency necessary for large-area imaging, while adding minimal noise to the signal readout. Experimental data indicates that the readout circuit can detect pixel outputs over a large bandwidth suitable for real-time digital diagnostic x-ray fluoroscopy. Results from hardware testing indicate that the minimum achievable C-APS output current that can be discerned at the digital fluoroscopic output from the enhanced SNR readout circuit is 0.341 nA. The results serve to highlight the applicability of amorphous silicon current-mediated pixel amplifiers for large-area flat panel x-ray imagers

Design and analysis of high gain and low noise figure CMOS low noise amplifier for Q-band nano-sensor application

Science.gov (United States)

Suganthi, K.; Malarvizhi, S.

2018-03-01

A high gain, low power, low Noise figure (NF) and wide band of milli-meter Wave (mmW) circuits design at 50 GHz are used for Radio Frequency (RF) front end. The fundamental necessity of a receiver front-end includes perfect output and input impedance matching and port-to-port isolation with high gain and low noise over the entire band of interest. In this paper, a design of Cascade-Cascode CMOS LNA circuit at 50 GHz for Q-band application is proposed. The design of Low noise amplifier at 50 GHz using Agilent ADS tool with microstrip lines which provides simplicity in fabrication and less chip area. The low off-leakage current Ioff can be maintained with high K-dielectrics CMOS structure. Nano-scale electronics can be achieved with increased robustness. The design has overall gain of 11.091 dB and noise figure of 2.673 dB for the Q-band of 48.3 GHz to 51.3 GHz. Impedance matching is done by T matching network and the obtained input and output reflection coefficients are S11 = <-10 dB and S22 = <-10 dB. Compared to Silicon (Si) material, Wide Band Gap semiconductor materials used attains higher junction temperatures which is well matched to ceramics used in packaging technology, the protection and reliability also can be achieved with the electronic packaging. The reverse transmission coefficient S21 is less than -21 dB has shown that LNA has better isolation between input and output, Stability factor greater than 1 and Power is also optimized in this design. Layout is designed, power gain of 4.6 dB is achieved and area is optimized which is nearly equal to 502 740 μm2. The observed results show that the proposed Cascade-Cascode LNA design can find its suitability in future milli-meter Wave Radar application.

8th conference on Ultra-Wideband Short-Pulse Electromagnetics

CERN Document Server

Tyo, J. Scott; Baum, Carl E; Ultra-Wideband Short-Pulse Electromagnetics 8; UWBSP8

2007-01-01

The purpose of the Ultra-Wideband Short-Pulse Electromagnetics Conference series is to focus on advanced technologies for the generation, radiation and detection of ultra-wideband short pulse signals, taking into account their propagation and scattering from and coupling to targets of interest. This Conference series reports on developments in supporting mathematical and numerical methods and presents current and potential future applications of the technology. Ultra-Wideband Short-Pulse Electromagnetics 8 is based on the American Electromagnetics 2006 conference held from June 3-7 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Topical areas covered in this volume include pulse radiation and measurement, scattering theory, target detection and identification, antennas, signal processing, and communications.

Note: A temperature-stable low-noise transimpedance amplifier for microcurrent measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Kai; Shi, Xueyou; Zhao, Kai; Guo, Lixin; Zhang, Hanlu

2017-02-01

Temperature stability and noise characteristics often run contradictory in microcurrent (e.g., pA-scale) measurement instruments because low-noise performance requires high-value resistors with relatively poor temperature coefficients. A low-noise transimpedance amplifier with high-temperature stability, which involves an active compensation mechanism to overcome the temperature drift mainly caused by high-value resistors, is presented. The implementation uses a specially designed R-2R compensating network to provide programmable current gain with extra-fine trimming resolution. The temperature drifts of all components (e.g., feedback resistors, operational amplifiers, and the R-2R network itself) are compensated simultaneously. Therefore, both low-temperature drift and ultra-low-noise performance can be achieved. With a current gain of 1011 V/A, the internal current noise density was about 0.4 fA/√Hz, and the average temperature coefficient was 4.3 ppm/K at 0-50 °C. The amplifier module maintains accuracy across a wide temperature range without additional thermal stabilization, and its compact size makes it especially suitable for high-precision, low-current measurement in outdoor environments for applications such as electrochemical emission supervision, air pollution particles analysis, radiation monitoring, and bioelectricity.

Low-complexity Wireless Monitoring of Respiratory Movements Using Ultra-wideband Impulse Response Estimation

KAUST Repository

Sana, Furrukh; Ballal, Tarig; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.; Hoteit, Ibrahim

2014-01-01

In this paper; we present a comprehensive scheme for wireless monitoring of the respiratory movements in humans. Our scheme overcomes the challenges low signal-to-noise ratio, background clutter and high sampling rates. It is based on the estimation

A wideband (3 to 5 GHz) wide-scan connected array of dipoles with low cross polarization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cavallo, D.; Neto, A.; Gerini, G.

2012-01-01

A wideband, wide-scan prototype phased array of connected dipoles has been manufactured and tested from 3 to 5 GHz. The array comprises 7 × 7 elements, each fed by a loop-shaped transformer to avoid common-mode resonances. Such resonances typically affect this type of arrays, with consequent

Low noise SQUIDS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waal, V.J. de.

1983-01-01

The design, fabrication and limitations of very sensitive SQUID magnetometers are described. The SQUID magnetometer is based on the Josephson effect. A very low-noise niobium SQUID is described. It is fabricated with ultra-small niobium junctions with an overlapping area smaller than 1 μm 2 . The photolithographic technique developed for its fabrication, is described. Also an integrated system with a SQUID and a first-order gradiometer on a single substrate is presented. Calculations of the resolution of a dc SQUID containing ideal Josephson junctions according to the RSJ model are presented including a parasitic capacitance. The usefulness of the fabricated SQUIDS as well as some remarks on their performance is considered. (Auth.)

Using low-frequency ultrasound to improve the optical clearing of porcine skin

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Huiqing; Guo, Zhouyi; Wei, Huajiang; Zhang, Zude; Zeng, Changchun; Zhai, Juan; He, Yonghong

2008-12-01

The glycerol used as an enhancer for tissue optical clearing technique has been researched. However, using it and a physical way of ultrasound enhance optical clearing of tissue reported a few. We researched that the ultrasound whether can improve the optical clearing of dealt with 80% glycerol tissue. The fresh porcine skins divided into four groups. The first group was not dealt with by ultrasound and 80% glycerol, the second group was dealt with by only ultrasound, the third group was dealt with by 80% glycerol and no by ultrasound, and the fourth group was dealt with by both 80% glycerol and ultrasound. And we measured changes in optical scattering of the porcine skins under treatment with OCT. From the OCT images show that the fourth group changed very faster than the other's during the 0~15 min. And it can be clearly seen that there is a significant improvement in the light penetration depth and imaging contrast in a shorter time. It is possible that the low-frequency ultrasound can make disordering of the stratum corneum lipids of the porcine skin (because the cavitation has happened), and improve the speed of 80% glycerol through the stratum corneum of skin. These results proved that using 80% glycerol with the ultrasound can better improve the optical clearing of tissue.

A low-cost, ultra-fast and ultra-low noise preamplifier for silicon avalanche photodiodes

Science.gov (United States)

Gasmi, Khaled

2018-02-01

An ultra-fast and ultra-low noise preamplifier for amplifying the fast and weak electrical signals generated by silicon avalanche photodiodes has been designed and developed. It is characterized by its simplicity, compactness, reliability and low cost of construction. A very wide bandwidth of 300 MHz, a very good linearity from 1 kHz to 280 MHz, an ultra-low noise level at the input of only 1.7 nV Hz-1/2 and a very good stability are its key features. The compact size (70 mm  ×  90 mm) and light weight (45 g), as well as its excellent characteristics, make this preamplifier very competitive compared to any commercial preamplifier. The preamplifier, which is a main part of the detection system of a homemade laser remote sensing system, has been successfully tested. In addition, it is versatile and can be used in any optical detection system requiring high speed and very low noise electronics.

Low-sampling-rate ultra-wideband channel estimation using a bounded-data-uncertainty approach

KAUST Repository

Ballal, Tarig

2014-01-01

This paper proposes a low-sampling-rate scheme for ultra-wideband channel estimation. In the proposed scheme, P pulses are transmitted to produce P observations. These observations are exploited to produce channel impulse response estimates at a desired sampling rate, while the ADC operates at a rate that is P times less. To avoid loss of fidelity, the interpulse interval, given in units of sampling periods of the desired rate, is restricted to be co-prime with P. This condition is affected when clock drift is present and the transmitted pulse locations change. To handle this situation and to achieve good performance without using prior information, we derive an improved estimator based on the bounded data uncertainty (BDU) model. This estimator is shown to be related to the Bayesian linear minimum mean squared error (LMMSE) estimator. The performance of the proposed sub-sampling scheme was tested in conjunction with the new estimator. It is shown that high reduction in sampling rate can be achieved. The proposed estimator outperforms the least squares estimator in most cases; while in the high SNR regime, it also outperforms the LMMSE estimator. © 2014 IEEE.

Low-noise Collision Operators for Particle-in-cell Simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewandowski, J.L.V.

2005-01-01

A new method to implement low-noise collision operators in particle-in-cell simulations is presented. The method is based on the fact that relevant collision operators can be included naturally in the Lagrangian formulation that exemplifies the particle-in-cell simulation method. Numerical simulations show that the momentum and energy conservation properties of the simulated plasma associated with the low-noise collision operator are improved as compared with standard collision algorithms based on random numbers

Cross Linked Metal Particles for Low Noise Bolometer Materials

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-12

Our results indicate that the CLMPs can simultaneously have a high temperature coefficient of resistivity and a low noise, and therefore have a...indicate that the CLMPs can simultaneously have a high temperature co- efficient of resistivity and a low noise, and therefore have a great potential...current as a function of the inverse of applied bias for CLMP films at different temperatures. It is seen that the I-V curves are highly nonlinear as 7 0

Cognitive Radio Low-Energy Signal Analysis Sensor Integrated Circuits (CLASIC): A Broadband Mixed-Signal Iterative Down Conversion Spectrum Analyzer for Signal Recognition Applications

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-01

49 Figure 53: Schematic diagram of the Transimpedance Amplifier (TIA). ........................................................... 49 Figure 54...47 the harmonic rejection mixer and the transimpedance amplifier (TIA) for the path delivering output 2 (channel 2 or 6). Low-Noise... Amplifiers To meet the high bandwidth requirement (3-dB bandwidth greater than 600MHz) of the transimpedance amplifier (TIA), a single stage wideband gm

Estimating Angle of Arrival (AOA for Wideband Signal by Sensor Delay Line (SDL and Tapped Delay Line (TDL Processors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bassim Sayed Mohammed

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Angle of arrival (AOA estimation for wideband signal becomes more necessary for modern communication systems like Global System for Mobile (GSM, satellite, military applications and spread spectrum (frequency hopping and direct sequence. Most of the researchers are focusing on how to cancel the effects of signal bandwidth on AOA estimation performance by using a transversal filter (tap delay line (TDL. Most of the researchers were using two elements array antenna to study these effects. In this research, a general case of proposed (M array elements is used. A transversal filter (TDL in phase adaptive array antenna system is used to calculate the optimum number of taps required to compensate these effect. The proposed system uses a phase adaptive array antenna in conjunction with LMS algorithm to work an angle of arrival (AOA estimator for wideband signals rather than interference canceller. An alternative solution to compensate for the effect of signal bandwidth is proposed by using sensor delay line (SDL instead of fixed delay unit since it has variable time sampling in the time domain and not fixed time delay, depending on the angle of arrival of received signals. The proposed system has the ability to estimate two parameters for received signals simultaneously (the output Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR and AOA, unlike others systems which estimate AOA only. The comparison of the simulation results with Multiple Signal Classification (MUSIC technique showed that the proposed system gives good results for estimating AOA and the output SNR for wideband signals. (SDL processor shows better performance result than (TDL processor. MUSIC technique with both (SDL and (TDL processors shows unacceptable results for estimating (AOA for the wideband signal.

Development of a low-noise, two-dimensional amplifier array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kishishita, Tetsuichi; Ikeda, Hirokazu; Sakumura, Takuto; Tamura, Ken-ichi; Takahashi, Tadayuki

2009-01-01

This paper describes the recent development of a low-noise, two-dimensional analog front-end ASIC for hybrid pixel imaging detectors. Based on the Open-IP LSI project, the ASIC is designed to meet a low-noise requirement of better than 100e - (rms) with self-triggering capability. The ASIC is intended for the readout of pixel sensors utilizing silicon (Si) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) as detector materials for spectroscopic imaging observations in the X-ray and gamma-ray regions. The readout chip consists of a 4x4 matrix of identical 270μmx270μm pixel cells and was implemented with TSMC 0.35-μm CMOS technology. Each pixel cell contains a charge-sensitive amplifier, pole-zero cancellation circuit, shaper, comparator, and peak hold circuit. Preliminary testing of the ASIC achieved an 88e - (rms) equivalent noise charge and a 25e - /pF noise slope with power consumption of 150μW per pixel.

Wideband feeds for the upgraded GMRT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bandari, Hanumanth Rao; Sankarasubramanian, G; Kumar, A Praveen

2013-01-01

This paper describes the existing feeds in use at the GMRT Observatory and details the ongoing development of next generation wideband feeds for the upgraded GMRT. The existing feeds include: feed with folded thick dipoles (for 150 MHz), dipole-disc feed (for 325 MHz), dual-band coaxial feed (for 233 MHZ and 610 MHz), and corrugated horn feed (for 1400–1450 MHz). The new broadband feeds covered in this paper are: cone-dipole feeds for 250–500 and 500–1000 MHz, wideband horn feed for 550–900 MHz, and dual ring feed for 130–260 MHz. Design techniques and performance results for these are described.

Multipurpose exciter with low phase noise

Science.gov (United States)

Conroy, B.; Le, D.

1989-01-01

Results of an effort to develop a lower-cost exciter with high stability, low phase noise, and controllable phase and frequency for use in Deep Space Network and Goldstone Solar System Radar applications are discussed. Included is a discussion of the basic concept, test results, plans, and concerns.

LNA A 1.9 GHZ low noise amplifier

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Julián Moreno-Rubio

2006-12-01

Full Text Available This paper shows the design, the simulation, and the layout from a low noise amplifier (LNA, designed with and approximate band from 25 to 80 MHz. The design results of the matching neworks are shown, its noise figure, its available and transduced gain according to its non lineal model (TOM, the DC network, crash inductors and matching capacitors with the large impedance transmission lines.

Ultra-Low Noise Germanium Neutrino Detection system (ULGeN).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cabrera-Palmer, Belkis [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Barton, Paul [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2017-07-01

Monitoring nuclear power plant operation by measuring the antineutrino flux has become an active research field for safeguards and non-proliferation. We describe various efforts to demonstrate the feasibility of reactor monitoring based on the detection of the Coherent Neutrino Nucleus Scattering (CNNS) process with High Purity Germanium (HPGe) technology. CNNS detection for reactor antineutrino energies requires lowering the electronic noise in low-capacitance kg-scale HPGe detectors below 100 eV as well as stringent reduction in other particle backgrounds. Existing state- of-the-art detectors are limited to an electronic noise of 95 eV-FWHM. In this work, we employed an ultra-low capacitance point-contact detector with a commercial integrated circuit preamplifier- on-a-chip in an ultra-low vibration mechanically cooled cryostat to achieve an electronic noise of 39 eV-FWHM at 43 K. We also present the results of a background measurement campaign at the Spallation Neutron Source to select the area with sufficient low background to allow a successful first-time measurement of the CNNS process.

Ultra-Low Noise Germanium Neutrino Detection system (ULGeN)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabrera-Palmer, Belkis; Barton, Paul

2017-01-01

Monitoring nuclear power plant operation by measuring the antineutrino flux has become an active research field for safeguards and non-proliferation. We describe various efforts to demonstrate the feasibility of reactor monitoring based on the detection of the Coherent Neutrino Nucleus Scattering (CNNS) process with High Purity Germanium (HPGe) technology. CNNS detection for reactor antineutrino energies requires lowering the electronic noise in low-capacitance kg-scale HPGe detectors below 100 eV as well as stringent reduction in other particle backgrounds. Existing state- of-the-art detectors are limited to an electronic noise of 95 eV-FWHM. In this work, we employed an ultra-low capacitance point-contact detector with a commercial integrated circuit preamplifier- on-a-chip in an ultra-low vibration mechanically cooled cryostat to achieve an electronic noise of 39 eV-FWHM at 43 K. We also present the results of a background measurement campaign at the Spallation Neutron Source to select the area with sufficient low background to allow a successful first-time measurement of the CNNS process.

Input Stage for Low-Voltage, Low-Noise Preamplifiers Based on a Floating-Gate MOS Transistor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Igor, Mucha

1997-01-01

A novel input stage for low-voltage, low-noise preamplifiers for integrated capacitive sensors is presented. The input stage of the preamplifier employs floating-gate MOS transistors which are capable of storing the operation point of the input stage over several years without any severe degradat......A novel input stage for low-voltage, low-noise preamplifiers for integrated capacitive sensors is presented. The input stage of the preamplifier employs floating-gate MOS transistors which are capable of storing the operation point of the input stage over several years without any severe...... degradation of the performance of the circuit and without the need for a repeating programming. In this way the noise originating from any resistance previously used for the definition of the operating point is avoided completely and, moreover, by avoiding the input high-pass filter both the saturation...

Quantitative Ultrasound Assessment of Cartilage Degeneration in Ovariectomized Rats with Low Estrogen Levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qing; Liu, Zhiwei; Wang, Yinong; Pan, Qingya; Feng, Qianjin; Huang, Qinghua; Chen, Wufan

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess quantitatively the site-specific degeneration of articular cartilage in ovariectomized rats with low estrogen levels using a high-frequency ultrasound system. Fourteen female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups (n = 7 per group): a sham group in which only the peri-ovarian fatty tissue was exteriorized and an ovariectomized group that underwent bilateral ovariectomy to create a menopause model with low estrogen levels. All animals were sacrificed at the end of the third week after ovariectomy. Hindlimbs were harvested. The articular cartilage from five anatomic sites (i.e., femoral caput [FC], medial femoral condyle [MFC], lateral femoral condyle [LFC], medial tibial plateau [MTP] and lateral tibial plateau [LTP]) was examined with ultrasound. Four parameters were extracted from the ultrasound radiofrequency data: reflection coefficient of the cartilage surface (RC1), reflection coefficient of the cartilage-bone interface (RC2), ultrasound roughness index (URI) and thickness of the cartilage tissue. The results indicated significant (p reduction induces morphologic and acoustic alterations in the articular cartilage of the hip and knee joints in ovariectomized rats. Copyright © 2016 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Low-frequency noise in planar Hall effect bridge sensors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Persson, Anders; Bejhedb, R.S.; Bejhed, R.S.

2011-01-01

The low-frequency characteristics of planar Hall effect bridge sensors are investigated as function of the sensor bias current and the applied magnetic field. The noise spectra reveal a Johnson-like spectrum at high frequencies, and a 1/f-like excess noise spectrum at lower frequencies, with a kn...

MLESAC Based Localization of Needle Insertion Using 2D Ultrasound Images

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Fei; Gao, Dedong; Wang, Shan; Zhanwen, A.

2018-04-01

In the 2D ultrasound image of ultrasound-guided percutaneous needle insertions, it is difficult to determine the positions of needle axis and tip because of the existence of artifacts and other noises. In this work the speckle is regarded as the noise of an ultrasound image, and a novel algorithm is presented to detect the needle in a 2D ultrasound image. Firstly, the wavelet soft thresholding technique based on BayesShrink rule is used to denoise the speckle of ultrasound image. Secondly, we add Otsu’s thresholding method and morphologic operations to pre-process the ultrasound image. Finally, the localization of the needle is identified and positioned in the 2D ultrasound image based on the maximum likelihood estimation sample consensus (MLESAC) algorithm. The experimental results show that it is valid for estimating the position of needle axis and tip in the ultrasound images with the proposed algorithm. The research work is hopeful to be used in the path planning and robot-assisted needle insertion procedures.

Low-cost feedstock conversion to biodiesel via ultrasound technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Babajide, O.; Petrik, L.; Amigun, B.; Ameer, F. [Environmental and Nano Science Research Group, Department of Chemistry, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, Cape Town 7535 (South Africa); Amigun, B. [Sustainable Energy Futures, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Stellenbosch (South Africa)

2010-10-15

Biodiesel has attracted increasing interest and has proved to be a good substitute for fossil-based fuels due to its environmental advantages and availability from renewable resources such as refined and waste vegetable oils. Several studies have shown that biodiesel is a better fuel than the fossil-derived diesel in terms of engine performance, emissions reduction, lubricity and environmental benefits. The increasing popularity of biodiesel has generated great demand for its commercial production methods, which in turn calls for the development of technically and economically sound process technologies. This paper explores the applicability of ultrasound in the optimization of low-cost feedstock - in this case waste cooking oil - in the transesterification conversion to biodiesel. It was found that the conversion efficiency of the waste oil using ultrasound was higher than with the mechanical stirring method. The optimized variables of 6:1 methanol/oil ratio at a reaction temperature of 30 {sup o}C, a reaction time of 30 min and 0.75% KOH (wt/wt) catalyst concentration were obtained for the transesterification of the waste oil via the use of ultrasound. (authors)

Low-Cost Feedstock Conversion to Biodiesel via Ultrasound Technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Babajide, Omotola [Environmental and Nano Science Research Group, Dept. of Chemistry, Univ. of the Western Cape, Bellville, Cape Town (South Africa); Petrik, Leslie [Environmental and Nano Science Research Group, Dept. of Chemistry, Univ. of the Western Cape, Bellville, Cape Town (South Africa); Amigun, Bamikole [Environmental and Nano Science Research Group, Dept. of Chemistry, Univ. of the Western Cape, Bellville, Cape Town (South Africa) and Sustainable Energy Futures, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Stellenbosch (South Africa); Ameer, Faraouk [Environmental and Nano Science Research Group, Dept. of Chemistry, Univ. of the Western Cape, Bellville, Cape Town (South Africa)

2010-09-15

Biodiesel has attracted increasing interest and has proved to be a good substitute for fossil-based fuels due to its environmental advantages and availability from renewable resources such as refined and waste vegetable oils. Several studies have shown that biodiesel is a better fuel than the fossil-derived diesel in terms of engine performance, emissions reduction, lubricity and environmental benefits. The increasing popularity of biodiesel has generated great demand for its commercial production methods, which in turn calls for the development of technically and economically sound process technologies. This paper explores the applicability of ultrasound in the optimization of low-cost feedstock – in this case waste cooking oil – in the transesterification conversion to biodiesel. It was found that the conversion efficiency of the waste oil using ultrasound was higher than with the mechanical stirring method. The optimized variables of 6:1 methanol/oil ratio at a reaction temperature of 30 deg C and a reaction time of 30 min and 0.75% KOH (wt/wt) catalyst concentration was obtained for the transesterification of the waste oil via the use of ultrasound.

Low noise Nb-SIS mixers at far above the gap frequency

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gao, [No Value; vandeStadt, H; Jegers, JBM; Kovtonyuk, S; Hulshoff, W; Whyborn, ND; Klapwijk, TM; deGraauw, T; Liao, FJ; Liu, JY

1996-01-01

There are great interests in developing Nb SIS mixers because of the extremely low noise temperatures and because of the need of low local oscillator (LO) power. Several groups have demonstrated experimentally that Nb SIS mixers with integrated tuning elements can perform near the quantum noise

An investigation of twenty-one cases of low-frequency noise complaints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Christian Sejer; Møller, Henrik; Persson-Waye, Kerstin

2007-01-01

Twenty-one cases of low-frequency noise complaints were thoroughly investigated with the aim of answering the question whether it is real physical sound or low-frequency tinnitus that causes the annoyance. Noise recordings were made in the homes of the complainants taking the spatial variation...

Simple programmable voltage reference for low frequency noise measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanov, V. E.; Chye, En Un

2018-05-01

The paper presents a circuit design of a low-noise voltage reference based on an electric double-layer capacitor, a microcontroller and a general purpose DAC. A large capacitance value (1F and more) makes it possible to create low-pass filter with a large time constant, effectively reducing low-frequency noise beyond its bandwidth. Choosing the optimum value of the resistor in the RC filter, one can achieve the best ratio between the transient time, the deviation of the output voltage from the set point and the minimum noise cut-off frequency. As experiments have shown, the spectral density of the voltage at a frequency of 1 kHz does not exceed 1.2 nV/√Hz the maximum deviation of the output voltage from the predetermined does not exceed 1.4 % and depends on the holding time of the previous value. Subsequently, this error is reduced to a constant value and can be compensated.

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound affects human articular chondrocytes in vitro

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Korstjens, C.M.; van der Rijt, R.H.H.; Albers, G.H.; Semeins, C.M.; Klein-Nulend, J.

2008-01-01

We investigated whether low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) stimulates chondrocyte proliferation and matrix production in explants of human articular cartilage obtained from donors suffering from unicompartimental osteoarthritis of the knee, as well as in isolated human chondrocytes in vitro.

Low dimensional magnetism and nanograined materials - magnetometry, magnetooptics and laser-ultrasound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krenn, H.; Paltauf, G.; Rumpf, K.; Granitzer, P.; Kozhushko, V.; Nadeem, K.; Hofmayer, M.

2008-01-01

Full text: The working group 'Magnetometry and Photonics' headed by H. Krenn has directed its research focus on magnetic phenomena and properties of nanoscaled materials which are random or self assembled (principal investigators: K. Rumpf and P. Granitzer). Another activity is concerned with optoacoustics investigating the propagation and damping of ultrasound waves in non-magnetic (severely deformed) as well as bulk-nanostructured magnetic materials (principal investigators: G. Paltauf and V. Kozhusko). The gap between self assembled (1-dim) and randomly dense (bulk 3-dim) nanomagnets is bridged by preparation of ferrite-(0-dim) nanoparticles (PhD: K. Nadeem) dispersed in a SiO 2 or polymer matrix. As a template for magnetic nanowires and nanodots porous silicon is prepared by electrochemical methods. Remarkable magnetic effects beyond conventional spin-magnetism are experimentally observed by SQUID-magnetometry at high magnetic fields (7 T) and by spectroscopic magnetooptics from the infrared to VIS. The main purposes and aims of this hybrid system are experimental efforts to detect the spin injection and electronic transport from a ferromagnetic metal into silicon, and the possible development of direction dependent magnetic-field-sensors due to the strong magnetic anisotropy of the nanocomposite at high magnetic fields (> 2 T). By co-precipitation and sol-gel methods (Ni,Co)Fe 2 O 4 superparamagnetic ferrite nanoparticles (d < 20 nm) are produced. Both systems have a potential for drug delivery using magnetic carriers, but also for magnetic targeting of tumors where the former Si-based system is promising because of the biodegradability and biocompatibility of porous silicon. On the other hand steel samples offer nanoscopic grain refinement under severe plastic deformation and highly deformed magnetic materials show a softening of the magnetization, reflected in modified Barkhausen noise spectrum and ultrasound (magnetoacoustic) phenomena. Electric tunability

A Baseband Ultra-Low Noise SiGe:C BiCMOS 0.25 µm Amplifier And Its Application For An On-Chip Phase-Noise Measurement Circuit

OpenAIRE

Godet , Sylvain; Tournier , Éric; Llopis , Olivier; Cathelin , Andreia; Juyon , Julien

2009-01-01

4 pages; International audience; The design and realization of an ultra-low noise operational amplifier is presented. Its applications are integrated low-frequency noise measurements in electronic devices and on-chip phase-noise measurement circuit. This paper discusses the SiGe:C BiCMOS 0.25 µm design improvements used for low noise applications. The proposed three-stage operational amplifier uses parallel bipolar transistor connection as input differential pair for low noise behavior. This ...

Low-Frequency Noise Reduction by Earmuffs with Flax Fibre-Reinforced Polypropylene Ear Cups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linus Yinn Leng Ang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Soldiers and supporting engineers are frequently exposed to high low-frequency (<500 Hz cabin noise in military vehicles. Despite the use of commercial hearing protection devices, the risk of auditory damage is still imminent because the devices may not be optimally customised for such applications. This study considers flax fibre-reinforced polypropylene (Flax-PP as an alternative to the material selection for the ear cups of commercial earmuffs, which are typically made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS. Different weaving configurations (woven and nonwoven and various noise environments (pink noise, cabin booming noise, and firing noise were considered to investigate the feasibility of the proposed composite earmuffs for low-frequency noise reduction. The remaining assembly components of the earmuff were kept consistent with those of a commercial earmuff, which served as a benchmark for results comparison. In contrast to the commercial earmuff, the composite earmuffs were shown to be better in mitigating low-frequency noise by up to 16.6 dB, while compromising midfrequency acoustical performance. Consequently, the proposed composite earmuffs may be an alternative for low-frequency noise reduction in vehicle cabins, at airports, and at construction sites involving heavy machineries.

Extension of the ITU Channel Models for Wideband (OFDM) Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Troels Bundgaard; Frederiksen, Frank

2005-01-01

for the evaluation of wideband system concepts with frequency dependent characteristics, e.g. frequency domain link adaptation and packet scheduling, both of which are likely to be part of future wideband systems such as based on OFDM. With the suggested procedure the frequency correlation can be kept approximately...

CT colonography at low tube potential: using iterative reconstruction to decrease noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, K.J.; Heisler, M.A.; Mahesh, M.; Baird, G.L.; Mayo-Smith, W.W.

2015-01-01

Aim: To determine the level of iterative reconstruction required to reduce increased image noise associated with low tube potential computed tomography (CT). Materials and methods: Fifty patients underwent CT colonography with a supine scan at 120 kVp and a prone scan at 100 kVp with other scan parameters unchanged. Both scans were reconstructed with filtered back projection (FBP) and increasing levels of adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASiR) at 30%, 60%, and 90%. Mean noise, soft tissue and tagged fluid attenuation, contrast, and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were collected from reconstructions at both 120 and 100 kVp and compared using a generalised linear mixed model. Results: Decreasing tube potential from 120 to 100 kVp significantly increased image noise by 30–34% and tagged fluid attenuation by 120 HU at all ASiR levels (p<0.0001, all measures). Increasing ASiR from 0% (FBP) to 30%, 60%, and 90% resulted in significant decreases in noise and increases in CNR at both tube potentials (p<0.001, all comparisons). Compared to 120 kVp FBP, ASiR greater than 30% at 100 kVp yielded similar or lower image noise. Conclusions: Iterative reconstruction adequately compensates for increased image noise associated with low tube potential imaging while improving CNR. An ASiR level of approximately 50% at 100 kVp yields similar noise to 120 kVp without ASiR. -- Highlights: •Peak kilovoltage (kVp) can be reduced to decrease radiation dose and increase contrast attenuation at a cost of increased image noise. •Utilizing iterative reconstruction can decrease image noise and increase contrast to noise ratio (CNR) independent of kVp. •Iterative reconstruction adequately compensates for increased image noise associated with low dose low kVp imaging while improving CNR. •An ASiR level of approximately 50% at 100 kVp yields similar noise to 120 kVp without ASiR

A Small-Area Self-Biased Wideband CMOS Balun LNA with Noise Cancelling and Gain Enhancement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bruun, Erik; Andreani, Pietro; Custódio, J. R.

2010-01-01

In this paper we present a low-power and small-area balun LNA. The proposed inverter-based topology uses selfbiasing and noise cancelling, yielding a very robust LNA with a low NF. Comparing this circuit with a conventional inverterbased circuit, we obtain a ∼3 dB enhancement in voltage gain......, with improved robustness against PVT variations. Simulations results in a 130 nm CMOS technology show a 17.7dB voltage gain, nearly flat over a wide bandwidth (200MHz-1GHz), and an NF of approximately 4dB. The total power consumption is below 7.5 mW, with a very small die area of 0.007 mm2. All data...

Fabrication and Characterisation of Low-noise Monolithic Mode-locked Lasers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsson, David

2007-01-01

This thesis deals with the fabrication and characterisation of monolithic semiconductor mode-locked lasers for use in optical communication systems. Other foreseeable applications may be as sources in microwave photonics and optical sampling. The thesis also deals with the design and fabrication...... of intracavity monolithically integrated filters. The common dnominator among the diffrent parts of the thesis is how to achieve and measure the lowest possible noise. Achieving low noise has been pinpointed as one of the most important and difficult challenges for semiconductor mode-locked lasers. The main...... result of this thesis are a fabrication process of a monolithic and deeply etched distributed Bragg reflector and a characterisation system for measurement of quantum limitid timing noise at high repetition rates. The Bragg reflector is a key component in achieving transform limited pulses with low noise...

Precise Characterization and Multiobjective Optimization of Low Noise Amplifiers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Dobes

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Although practically all function blocks of the satellite navigation receivers are realized using the CMOS digital integrated circuits, it is appropriate to create a separate low noise antenna preamplifier based on a low noise pHEMT. Such an RF front end can be strongly optimized to attain a suitable tradeoff between the noise figure and transducer power gain. Further, as all the four principal navigation systems (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and COMPASS work in similar frequency bands (roughly from 1.1 to 1.7 GHz, it is reasonable to create the low noise preamplifier for all of them. In the paper, a sophisticated method of the amplifier design is suggested based on multiobjective optimization. A substantial improvement of a standard optimization method is also outlined to satisfy a uniform coverage of Pareto front. Moreover, for enhancing efficiency of many times repeated solutions of large linear systems during the optimization, a new modification of the Markowitz criterion is suggested compatible with fast modes of the LU factorization. Extraordinary attention was also given to the accuracy of modeling. First, an extraction of pHEMT model parameters was performed including its noise part, and several models were compared. The extraction was carried out by an original identification procedure based on a combination of metaheuristic and direct methods. Second, the equations of the passive elements (including transmission lines and T-splitters were carefully defined using frequency dispersion of their parameters as Q, ESR, etc. Third, an optimal selection of the operating point and essential passive elements was performed using the improved optimization method. Finally, the s-parameters and noise figure of the amplifier were measured, and stability and third-order intermodulation products were also checked.

Designing charge-sensitive preamplifiers based on low-noise analog integrated circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agakhanyan, T.M.

1998-01-01

The methodology for designing charge-sensitive preamplifiers on the low-noise analog integral circuits, including all the stages: the mathematical synthesis with optimization of the intermediate function; the scheme-technical synthesis with parametric optimization of the scheme and analysis of draft projects with the parameter verification is presented. The designing is conducted on the basis of requirements for signal parameters and noise indices of the preamplifier. The system of automated designing of the charge-sensitive preamplifiers on the low-noise analog integral circuits is developed [ru

LOW-NOISE PAVEMENT AS A WAY OF LIMITATION OF TRAFFIC NOISE LEVEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Władysław Gardziejczyk

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Road surface can significantlyreduce the trafficnoise level. Depending on the characteristic of the upper surface layers the differences between the maximum rolling noise levels from passing vehicles to reach values about 10 dB (A. A special group is low-noise pavements characterized by the presence of voids above 15%. Application the porous asphalt layers or asphalt mixture type BBTM affects a significantreduction the width of land surrounded the roads where permissible equivalent sound level is exceeded. Such solutions in some cases can replace acoustic barriers. Road pavements with a higher content of voids require proper maintenance because their acoustic performances are reduced during operation.

Ultrasound Instrumentation for Beam Diagnostics and Accelerating Structures Control

CERN Document Server

Moiseev, V I

2005-01-01

Sensitive elements and electronics for ultrasound measurements at conducting walls of beam pipes and accelerating structures are described. Noise protected instrumentation provides ultrasound spectra analysis in a wide frequency range up to 5 MHz.In circular accelerators, ultrasound fields in conducting walls of beam pipe represent the space-time characteristics of circulating beams. In accelerating structures, real high power operation modes of structure can be studied by outer ultrasound monitors. The experimental results at KSRS accelerators are discussed.

Temperature characterization of deep and shallow defect centers of low noise silicon JFETs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnaboldi, Claudio; Fascilla, Andrea; Lund, M.W.; Pessina, Gianluigi

2004-01-01

We have selected different low noise JFET processes that have shown outstanding dynamic and noise performance at both room temperature and low temperatures. We have studied JFETs made with a process optimized for cryogenic operation, testing several devices of varying capacitance. For most of them, we have been able to detect the presence of shallow individual traps at low temperature which create low frequency (LF) Generation-Recombination (G-R) noise. For one device type no evidence of traps has been observed at the optimum temperature of operation (around 100 K). It had a very small residual LF noise. This device has been cooled down to 14 K. From below 100 K down to 14 K the noise was observed to increase due to G-R noise originating from donor atoms (dopants) inside the channel. A very simple theoretical interpretation confirms the nature of G-R noise from these very shallow trapping centers. We also studied devices from a process optimized for room temperature operation and found noise corresponding to the presence of a single deep level trap. Even for this circumstance the theory was experimentally confirmed. The measurement approach we used allowed us to achieve a very high accuracy in the modeling of the measured G-R noise. The ratio of the density of the atoms responsible for G-R noise above the doping concentration, N T /N d , has been verified with a sensitivity around 10 -7

Low-sampling-rate ultra-wideband digital receiver using equivalent-time sampling

KAUST Repository

Ballal, Tarig

2014-09-01

In this paper, we propose an all-digital scheme for ultra-wideband symbol detection. In the proposed scheme, the received symbols are sampled many times below the Nyquist rate. It is shown that when the number of symbol repetitions, P, is co-prime with the symbol duration given in Nyquist samples, the receiver can sample the received data P times below the Nyquist rate, without loss of fidelity. The proposed scheme is applied to perform channel estimation and binary pulse position modulation (BPPM) detection. Results are presented for two receivers operating at two different sampling rates that are 10 and 20 times below the Nyquist rate. The feasibility of the proposed scheme is demonstrated in different scenarios, with reasonable bit error rates obtained in most of the cases.

Low-sampling-rate ultra-wideband digital receiver using equivalent-time sampling

KAUST Repository

Ballal, Tarig; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.

2014-01-01

In this paper, we propose an all-digital scheme for ultra-wideband symbol detection. In the proposed scheme, the received symbols are sampled many times below the Nyquist rate. It is shown that when the number of symbol repetitions, P, is co-prime with the symbol duration given in Nyquist samples, the receiver can sample the received data P times below the Nyquist rate, without loss of fidelity. The proposed scheme is applied to perform channel estimation and binary pulse position modulation (BPPM) detection. Results are presented for two receivers operating at two different sampling rates that are 10 and 20 times below the Nyquist rate. The feasibility of the proposed scheme is demonstrated in different scenarios, with reasonable bit error rates obtained in most of the cases.

A Low Noise Amplifier for Neural Spike Recording Interfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesus Ruiz-Amaya

2015-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA for neural spike recording applications. The proposed topology, based on a capacitive feedback network using a two-stage OTA, efficiently solves the triple trade-off between power, area and noise. Additionally, this work introduces a novel transistor-level synthesis methodology for LNAs tailored for the minimization of their noise efficiency factor under area and noise constraints. The proposed LNA has been implemented in a 130 nm CMOS technology and occupies 0.053 mm-sq. Experimental results show that the LNA offers a noise efficiency factor of 2.16 and an input referred noise of 3.8 μVrms for 1.2 V power supply. It provides a gain of 46 dB over a nominal bandwidth of 192 Hz–7.4 kHz and consumes 1.92 μW. The performance of the proposed LNA has been validated through in vivo experiments with animal models.

Ultra-wideband WDM VCSEL arrays by lateral heterogeneous integration

Science.gov (United States)

Geske, Jon

Advancements in heterogeneous integration are a driving factor in the development of evermore sophisticated and functional electronic and photonic devices. Such advancements will merge the optical and electronic capabilities of different material systems onto a common integrated device platform. This thesis presents a new lateral heterogeneous integration technology called nonplanar wafer bonding. The technique is capable of integrating multiple dissimilar semiconductor device structures on the surface of a substrate in a single wafer bond step, leaving different integrated device structures adjacent to each other on the wafer surface. Material characterization and numerical simulations confirm that the material quality is not compromised during the process. Nonplanar wafer bonding is used to fabricate ultra-wideband wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays. The optically-pumped VCSEL arrays span 140 nm from 1470 to 1610 nm, a record wavelength span for devices operating in this wavelength range. The array uses eight wavelength channels to span the 140 nm with all channels separated by precisely 20 nm. All channels in the array operate single mode to at least 65°C with output power uniformity of +/- 1 dB. The ultra-wideband WDM VCSEL arrays are a significant first step toward the development of a single-chip source for optical networks based on coarse WDM (CWDM), a low-cost alternative to traditional dense WDM. The CWDM VCSEL arrays make use of fully-oxidized distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) to provide the wideband reflectivity required for optical feedback and lasing across 140 rim. In addition, a novel optically-pumped active region design is presented. It is demonstrated, with an analytical model and experimental results, that the new active-region design significantly improves the carrier uniformity in the quantum wells and results in a 50% lasing threshold reduction and a 20°C improvement in the peak

Low Delay Noise Reduction and Dereverberation for Hearing Aids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heinrich W. Löllmann

2009-01-01

Full Text Available A new system for single-channel speech enhancement is proposed which achieves a joint suppression of late reverberant speech and background noise with a low signal delay and low computational complexity. It is based on a generalized spectral subtraction rule which depends on the variances of the late reverberant speech and background noise. The calculation of the spectral variances of the late reverberant speech requires an estimate of the reverberation time (RT which is accomplished by a maximum likelihood (ML approach. The enhancement with this blind RT estimation achieves almost the same speech quality as by using the actual RT. In comparison to commonly used post-filters in hearing aids which only perform a noise reduction, a significantly better objective and subjective speech quality is achieved. The proposed system performs time-domain filtering with coefficients adapted in the non-uniform (Bark-scaled frequency-domain. This allows to achieve a high speech quality with low signal delay which is important for speech enhancement in hearing aids or related applications such as hands-free communication systems.

Inactivation of Enterobacter aerogenes in reconstituted skim milk by high- and low-frequency ultrasound.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Shengpu; Hemar, Yacine; Lewis, Gillian D; Ashokkumar, Muthupandian

2014-11-01

The inactivation of Enterobacter aerogenes in skim milk using low-frequency (20kHz) and high-frequency (850kHz) ultrasonication was investigated. It was found that low-frequency acoustic cavitation resulted in lethal damage to E. aerogenes. The bacteria were more sensitive to ultrasound in water than in reconstituted skim milk having different protein concentrations. However, high-frequency ultrasound was not able to inactivate E. aerogenes in milk even when powers as high as 50W for 60min were used. This study also showed that high-frequency ultrasonication had no influence on the viscosity and particle size of skim milk, whereas low-frequency ultrasonication resulted in the decrease in viscosity and particle size of milk. The decrease in particle size is believed to be due to the breakup of the fat globules, and possibly to the cleavage of the κ-casein present at the surface of the casein micelles. Whey proteins were also found to be slightly affected by low-frequency ultrasound, with the amounts of α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin slightly decreasing. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Efficient scatter model for simulation of ultrasound images from computed tomography data

Science.gov (United States)

D'Amato, J. P.; Lo Vercio, L.; Rubi, P.; Fernandez Vera, E.; Barbuzza, R.; Del Fresno, M.; Larrabide, I.

2015-12-01

Background and motivation: Real-time ultrasound simulation refers to the process of computationally creating fully synthetic ultrasound images instantly. Due to the high value of specialized low cost training for healthcare professionals, there is a growing interest in the use of this technology and the development of high fidelity systems that simulate the acquisitions of echographic images. The objective is to create an efficient and reproducible simulator that can run either on notebooks or desktops using low cost devices. Materials and methods: We present an interactive ultrasound simulator based on CT data. This simulator is based on ray-casting and provides real-time interaction capabilities. The simulation of scattering that is coherent with the transducer position in real time is also introduced. Such noise is produced using a simplified model of multiplicative noise and convolution with point spread functions (PSF) tailored for this purpose. Results: The computational efficiency of scattering maps generation was revised with an improved performance. This allowed a more efficient simulation of coherent scattering in the synthetic echographic images while providing highly realistic result. We describe some quality and performance metrics to validate these results, where a performance of up to 55fps was achieved. Conclusion: The proposed technique for real-time scattering modeling provides realistic yet computationally efficient scatter distributions. The error between the original image and the simulated scattering image was compared for the proposed method and the state-of-the-art, showing negligible differences in its distribution.

Low-Cost Feedstock Conversion to Biodiesel via Ultrasound Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farouk Ameer

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Biodiesel has attracted increasing interest and has proved to be a good substitute for fossil-based fuels due to its environmental advantages and availability from renewable resources such as refined and waste vegetable oils. Several studies have shown that biodiesel is a better fuel than the fossil-derived diesel in terms of engine performance, emissions reduction, lubricity and environmental benefits. The increasing popularity of biodiesel has generated great demand for its commercial production methods, which in turn calls for the development of technically and economically sound process technologies. This paper explores the applicability of ultrasound in the optimization of low-cost feedstock – in this case waste cooking oil – in the transesterification conversion to biodiesel. It was found that the conversion efficiency of the waste oil using ultrasound was higher than with the mechanical stirring method. The optimized variables of 6:1 methanol/oil ratio at a reaction temperature of 30 °C and a reaction time of 30 min and 0.75% KOH (wt/wt catalyst concentration was obtained for the transesterification of the waste oil via the use of ultrasound.

Annoyance of Low Frequency Noise (LFN) in the laboratory assessed by LFN-sufferers and non-sufferers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poulsen, Torben

2003-01-01

In a series of listening tests, test subjects listened to eight different environmental low frequency noises to evaluate their loudness and annoyance. The noises were continuous noise with and without tones, intermittent noise, music, traffic noise and low frequency noises with an impulsive...

Methodological developments of low field MRI: Elasto-graphy, MRI-ultrasound interaction and dynamic nuclear polarization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madelin, Guillaume

2005-01-01

This thesis deals with two aspects of low field (0.2 T) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): the research of new contrasts due to the interaction between Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and acoustics (elasto-graphy, spin-phonon interaction) and enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio by Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP). Magnetic Resonance Elasto-graphy (MRE) allows to assess some viscoelastic properties of tissues by visualization of the propagation of low frequency acoustic strain waves. A review on MRE is given, as well as a study on local measurement of the acoustic absorption coefficient. The next part is dedicated to MRI-ultrasound interaction. First, the ultrasonic transducer was calibrated for power and acoustic field using the comparison of two methods: the radiation force method (balance method) and laser interferometry. Then, we tried to modify the T1 contrast of tissues by spin-phonon interaction due to the application of ultrasound at the resonance frequency at 0.2 T, which is about 8.25 MHz. No modification of T1 contrast has been obtained, but the acoustic streaming phenomenon has been observed in liquids. MRI visualization of this streaming could make possible to calibrate transducers as well as to assess some mechanical properties of viscous fluids. The goal of the last part was to set up DNP experiments at 0.2 T in order to enhance the NMR signal. This double resonance method is based on the polarization transfer of unpaired electrons of free radicals to the surrounding protons of water. This transfer occurs by cross relaxation during the saturation of an electronic transition using Electronic Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR). Two EPR cavities operating at 5.43 GHz have been tested on oxo-TEMPO free radicals (nitroxide). An enhancement of the NMR signal by a factor 30 was obtained during these preliminary experiments. (author)

Design of low noise class D amplifiers using an integrated filter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Haishi; Zhang Bo

2012-01-01

This paper investigates the noise sources in a single-ended class D amplifier (SECDA) and suggests corresponding ways to lower the noise. The total output noise could be expressed as a function of the gain and noises from different sources. According to the function, the bias voltage (V B ) is a primary noise source, especially for a SECDA with a large gain. A low noise SECDA is obtained by integrating a filter into the SECDA to lower the noise of the V B . The filter utilizes an active resister and an 80 pF capacitance to get a 3 Hz pole. A noise test and fast Fourier transform analysis show that the noise performance of this SECDA is the same as that of a SECDA with an external filter. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Low-frequency noise properties in Pt-indium gallium zinc oxide Schottky diodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Jiawei; Zhang, Linqing; Ma, Xiaochen; Wilson, Joshua [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Jin, Jidong [Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GJ (United Kingdom); Du, Lulu; Xin, Qian [School of Physics, Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China); Song, Aimin, E-mail: A.Song@manchester.ac.uk [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); School of Physics, Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China)

2015-08-31

The low-frequency noise properties of Pt-indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) Schottky diodes at different forward biases are investigated. The IGZO layer and Pt contact were deposited by RF sputtering at room temperature. The diode showed an ideality factor of 1.2 and a barrier height of 0.94 eV. The current noise spectral density exhibited 1/f behavior at low frequencies. The analysis of the current dependency of the noise spectral density revealed that for the as-deposited diode, the noise followed Luo's mobility and diffusivity fluctuation model in the thermionic-emission-limited region and Hooge's empirical theory in the series-resistance-limited region. A low Hooge's constant of 1.4 × 10{sup −9} was found in the space-charge region. In the series-resistance-limited region, the Hooge's constant was 2.2 × 10{sup −5}. After annealing, the diode showed degradation in the electrical performance. The interface-trap-induced noise dominated the noise spectrum. By using the random walk model, the interface-trap density was obtained to be 3.6 × 10{sup 15 }eV{sup −1 }cm{sup −2}. This work provides a quantitative approach to analyze the properties of Pt-IGZO interfacial layers. These low noise properties are a prerequisite to the use of IGZO Schottky diodes in switch elements in memory devices, photosensors, and mixer diodes.

The design of wideband metamaterial absorber at E band based on defect

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, L. S.; Xia, D. Y.; Ding, X. Y.; Wang, Y.

2018-01-01

A kind of wideband metamaterial absorber at E band is designed in this paper; it is composed of round metal cells with defect, dielectric substrate and metal film. The electromagnetic parameters of unit cell are calculated by using the finite element method. The results show that the wideband metamaterial absorber presents nearly perfect absorption above 90% with absorption ranging from 65.38GHz to 67.86GHz; the reason of wideband absorption is the overlap of different absorption frequency which is caused by electromagnetic resonance; the size parameters and position of defect has important effect on its absorption property. It has many advantages, such as simply, easy to preparation and so on. It has potential application on aerospace measurement and control, remote data communication, LTE wideband mobile communication and other fields.

Low SNR capacity for MIMO Rician and Rayleigh-product fading channels with single co-channel interferer and noise

KAUST Repository

Zhong, Caijun; Jin, Shi; Wong, Kaikit; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Ratnarajah, Tharm

2010-01-01

. Exact analytical expressions for the minimum energy per information bit, {Eb/N0min, and wideband slope, S0, are derived for both channels. Our results show that the minimum energy per information bit is the same for both channels while their wideband

Ultra-low noise miniaturized neural amplifier with hardware averaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Dweiri, Yazan M; Eggers, Thomas; McCallum, Grant; Durand, Dominique M

2015-08-01

Peripheral nerves carry neural signals that could be used to control hybrid bionic systems. Cuff electrodes provide a robust and stable interface but the recorded signal amplitude is small (concept of hardware averaging to nerve recordings obtained with cuff electrodes. An optimization procedure is developed to minimize noise and power simultaneously. The novel design was based on existing neural amplifiers (Intan Technologies, LLC) and is validated with signals obtained from the FINE in chronic dog experiments. We showed that hardware averaging leads to a reduction in the total recording noise by a factor of 1/√N or less depending on the source resistance. Chronic recording of physiological activity with FINE using the presented design showed significant improvement on the recorded baseline noise with at least two parallel operation transconductance amplifiers leading to a 46.1% reduction at N = 8. The functionality of these recordings was quantified by the SNR improvement and shown to be significant for N = 3 or more. The present design was shown to be capable of generating hardware averaging on noise improvement for neural recording with cuff electrodes, and can accommodate the presence of high source impedances that are associated with the miniaturized contacts and the high channel count in electrode arrays. This technique can be adopted for other applications where miniaturized and implantable multichannel acquisition systems with ultra-low noise and low power are required.

Low-cost Volumetric Ultrasound by Augmentation of 2D Systems: Design and Prototype.

Science.gov (United States)

Herickhoff, Carl D; Morgan, Matthew R; Broder, Joshua S; Dahl, Jeremy J

2018-01-01

Conventional two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound imaging is a powerful diagnostic tool in the hands of an experienced user, yet 2D ultrasound remains clinically underutilized and inherently incomplete, with output being very operator dependent. Volumetric ultrasound systems can more fully capture a three-dimensional (3D) region of interest, but current 3D systems require specialized transducers, are prohibitively expensive for many clinical departments, and do not register image orientation with respect to the patient; these systems are designed to provide improved workflow rather than operator independence. This work investigates whether it is possible to add volumetric 3D imaging capability to existing 2D ultrasound systems at minimal cost, providing a practical means of reducing operator dependence in ultrasound. In this paper, we present a low-cost method to make 2D ultrasound systems capable of quality volumetric image acquisition: we present the general system design and image acquisition method, including the use of a probe-mounted orientation sensor, a simple probe fixture prototype, and an offline volume reconstruction technique. We demonstrate initial results of the method, implemented using a Verasonics Vantage research scanner.

Low frequency noise peak near magnon emission energy in magnetic tunnel junctions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Liang; Xiang, Li; Guo, Huiqiang; Wei, Jian, E-mail: weijian6791@pku.edu.cn [International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China and Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing (China); Li, D. L.; Yuan, Z. H.; Feng, J. F., E-mail: jiafengfeng@iphy.ac.cn; Han, X. F. [Beijing National Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China); Coey, J. M. D. [CRANN and School of Physics, Trinity College, Dublin 2 (Ireland)

2014-12-15

We report on the low frequency (LF) noise measurements in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) below 4 K and at low bias, where the transport is strongly affected by scattering with magnons emitted by hot tunnelling electrons, as thermal activation of magnons from the environment is suppressed. For both CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB and CoFeB/AlO{sub x}/CoFeB MTJs, enhanced LF noise is observed at bias voltage around magnon emission energy, forming a peak in the bias dependence of noise power spectra density, independent of magnetic configurations. The noise peak is much higher and broader for unannealed AlO{sub x}-based MTJ, and besides Lorentzian shape noise spectra in the frequency domain, random telegraph noise (RTN) is visible in the time traces. During repeated measurements the noise peak reduces and the RTN becomes difficult to resolve, suggesting defects being annealed. The Lorentzian shape noise spectra can be fitted with bias-dependent activation of RTN, with the attempt frequency in the MHz range, consistent with magnon dynamics. These findings suggest magnon-assisted activation of defects as the origin of the enhanced LF noise.

Low frequency noise peak near magnon emission energy in magnetic tunnel junctions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liang Liu

2014-12-01

Full Text Available We report on the low frequency (LF noise measurements in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs below 4 K and at low bias, where the transport is strongly affected by scattering with magnons emitted by hot tunnelling electrons, as thermal activation of magnons from the environment is suppressed. For both CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB and CoFeB/AlOx/CoFeB MTJs, enhanced LF noise is observed at bias voltage around magnon emission energy, forming a peak in the bias dependence of noise power spectra density, independent of magnetic configurations. The noise peak is much higher and broader for unannealed AlOx-based MTJ, and besides Lorentzian shape noise spectra in the frequency domain, random telegraph noise (RTN is visible in the time traces. During repeated measurements the noise peak reduces and the RTN becomes difficult to resolve, suggesting defects being annealed. The Lorentzian shape noise spectra can be fitted with bias-dependent activation of RTN, with the attempt frequency in the MHz range, consistent with magnon dynamics. These findings suggest magnon-assisted activation of defects as the origin of the enhanced LF noise.

Super wideband characteristics of monopolar patch antenna

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xi Chen

2013-12-01

Full Text Available A simple method of acquiring super wideband characteristics for monopolar patch antenna is proposed. Through adopting a modified cone as feeding and radiating structure, the monopolar patch antenna can reach the impedance bandwidth of more than 1:23.4 for voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR ≤ 2. In the whole operating band, the antenna has the like-monopole omnidirectional radiation patterns and the peak gains of 3.8–8.7 dB. Meanwhile, the height of the antenna is just 0.074λ(c, and the diameter of the radiated body is 0.205λ(c, which is smaller than other ultra-wideband omnidirectional antenna.

Design of a High Linearity Four-Quadrant Analog Multiplier in Wideband Frequency Range

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Abdul kareem Mokif Obais

2017-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a voltage mode four quadrant analog multiplier in the wideband frequency rangeis designed using a wideband operational amplifier (OPAMP and squaring circuits. The wideband OPAMP is designed using 10 identical NMOS transistorsand operated with supply voltages of ±12V. Two NMOS transistors and two wideband OPAMP are utilized in the design of the proposed squaring circuit. All the NMOS transistors are based on 0.35µm NMOStechnology. The multiplier has input and output voltage ranges of ±10 V, high range of linearity from -10 V to +10 V, and cutoff frequency of about 5 GHz. The proposed multiplier is designed on PSpice in Orcad 16.6

Closely Mounted Compact Wideband Diversity Antenna for Mobile Phone Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bunggil Yu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Here a compact wideband diversity antenna covering the PCS/UMTS/WiMAX bands with high isolation and low enveloped correlation coefficient (ECC is proposed. To widen the bandwidth, the proposed antenna uses a structure with a gap-coupled feed and an inductively shorted line that has capacitive compensation between the radiator and the ground plane. Also, a suspended line with a parasitic element is used to enhance the isolation between the two antennas.

Enhanced ground bounce noise reduction in a low-leakage CMOS multiplier

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Bipin Kumar; Akashe, Shyam; Sharma, Sanjay

2015-09-01

In this paper, various parameters are used to reduce leakage power, leakage current and noise margin of circuits to enhance their performance. A multiplier is proposed with low-leakage current and low ground bounce noise for the microprocessor, digital signal processors (DSP) and graphics engines. The ground bounce noise problem appears when a conventional power-gating circuit transits from sleep-to-active mode. This paper discusses a reduction in leakage current in the stacking power-gating technique by three modes - sleep, active and sleep-to-active. The simulation results are performed on a 4 × 4 carry-save multiplier for leakage current, active power, leakage power and ground bounce noise, and comparison made for different nanoscales. Ground bounce noise is limited to 90%. The leakage current of the circuit is decimated up to 80% and the active power is reduced to 31%. We performed simulations using cadence virtuoso 180 and 45 nm at room temperature at various supply voltages.

Timed arrays wideband and time varying antenna arrays

CERN Document Server

Haupt, Randy L

2015-01-01

Introduces timed arrays and design approaches to meet the new high performance standards The author concentrates on any aspect of an antenna array that must be viewed from a time perspective. The first chapters briefly introduce antenna arrays and explain the difference between phased and timed arrays. Since timed arrays are designed for realistic time-varying signals and scenarios, the book also reviews wideband signals, baseband and passband RF signals, polarization and signal bandwidth. Other topics covered include time domain, mutual coupling, wideband elements, and dispersion. The auth

A new metamaterial-based wideband rectangular invisibility cloak

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, S. S.; Hasan, M. M.; Faruque, M. R. I.

2018-02-01

A new metamaterial-based wideband electromagnetic rectangular cloak is being introduced in this study. The metamaterial unit cell shows sharp transmittances in the C- and X-bands and displays wideband negative effective permittivity region there. The metamaterial unit cell was then applied in designing a rectangular-shaped electromagnetic cloak. The scattering reduction technique was adopted for the cloaking operation. The cloak operates in the certain portion of C-and X-bands that covers more than 4 GHz bandwidth region. The experimental results were provided as well for the metamaterial and the cloak.

Ultrasound speckle reduction based on fractional order differentiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Dangguo; Zhou, Ting; Liu, Fan; Yi, Sanli; Xiang, Yan; Ma, Lei; Xiong, Xin; He, Jianfeng

2017-07-01

Ultrasound images show a granular pattern of noise known as speckle that diminishes their quality and results in difficulties in diagnosis. To preserve edges and features, this paper proposes a fractional differentiation-based image operator to reduce speckle in ultrasound. An image de-noising model based on fractional partial differential equations with balance relation between k (gradient modulus threshold that controls the conduction) and v (the order of fractional differentiation) was constructed by the effective combination of fractional calculus theory and a partial differential equation, and the numerical algorithm of it was achieved using a fractional differential mask operator. The proposed algorithm has better speckle reduction and structure preservation than the three existing methods [P-M model, the speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion (SRAD) technique, and the detail preserving anisotropic diffusion (DPAD) technique]. And it is significantly faster than bilateral filtering (BF) in producing virtually the same experimental results. Ultrasound phantom testing and in vivo imaging show that the proposed method can improve the quality of an ultrasound image in terms of tissue SNR, CNR, and FOM values.

The assessment and evaluation of low-frequency noise near the region of infrasound

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stanislav Ziaran

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The main aim of this paper is to present recent knowledge about the assessment and evaluation of low-frequency sounds (noise and infrasound, close to the threshold of hearing, and identify their potential effect on human health and annoyance. Low-frequency noise generated by air flowing over a moving car with an open window was chosen as a typical scenario which can be subjectively assessed by people traveling by automobile. The principle of noise generated within the interior of the car and its effects on the comfort of the driver and passengers are analyzed at different velocities. An open window of a car at high velocity behaves as a source of specifically strong tonal low-frequency noise which is generally perceived as annoying. The interior noise generated by an open window of a passenger car was measured under different conditions: Driving on a highway and driving on a typical roadway. First, an octave-band analysis was used to assess the noise level and its impact on the driver′s comfort. Second, a fast Fourier transform (FFT analysis and one-third octave-band analysis were used for the detection of tonal low-frequency noise. Comparison between two different car makers was also done. Finally, the paper suggests some possibilities for scientifically assessing and evaluating low-frequency sounds in general, and some recommendations are introduced for scientific discussion, since sounds with strong low-frequency content (but not only strong engender greater annoyance than is predicted by an A-weighted sound pressure level.

Design and evaluation of modelocked semiconductor lasers for low noise and high stability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yvind, Kresten; Larsson, David; Christiansen, Lotte Jin

2005-01-01

We present work on design of monolithic mode-locked semiconductor lasers with focus on the gain medium. The use of highly inverted quantum wells in a low-loss waveguide enables both low quantum noise, low-chirped pulses and a large stability region. Broadband noise measurements are performed...

Super fast physical-random number generation using laser diode frequency noises

Science.gov (United States)

Ushiki, Tetsuro; Doi, Kohei; Maehara, Shinya; Sato, Takashi; Ohkawa, Masashi; Ohdaira, Yasuo

2011-02-01

Random numbers can be classified as either pseudo- or physical-random in character. Pseudo-random numbers' periodicity renders them inappropriate for use in cryptographic applications, but naturally-generated physical-random numbers have no calculable periodicity, thereby making them ideally-suited to the task. The laser diode naturally produces a wideband "noise" signal that is believed to have tremendous capacity and great promise, for the rapid generation of physical-random numbers for use in cryptographic applications. We measured a laser diode's output, at a fast photo detector and generated physical-random numbers from frequency noises. We then identified and evaluated the binary-number-line's statistical properties. The result shows that physical-random number generation, at speeds as high as 40Gbps, is obtainable, using the laser diode's frequency noise characteristic.

Ultrasound-based guidance of intensity-modulated radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fung, Albert Y.C.; Ayyangar, Komanduri M.; Djajaputra, David; Nehru, Ramasamy M.; Enke, Charles A.

2006-01-01

In ultrasound-guided intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) of prostate cancer, ultrasound imaging ascertains the anatomical position of patients during x-ray therapy delivery. The ultrasound transducers are made of piezoelectric ceramics. The same crystal is used for both ultrasound production and reception. Three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound devices capture and correlate series of 2-dimensional (2D) B-mode images. The transducers are often arranged in a convex array for focusing. Lower frequency reaches greater depth, but results in low resolution. For clear image, some gel is usually applied between the probe and the skin contact surface. For prostate positioning, axial and sagittal scans are performed, and the volume contours from computed tomography (CT) planning are superimposed on the ultrasound images obtained before radiation delivery at the linear accelerator. The planning volumes are then overlaid on the ultrasound images and adjusted until they match. The computer automatically deduces the offset necessary to move the patient so that the treatment area is in the correct location. The couch is translated as needed. The currently available commercial equipment can attain a positional accuracy of 1-2 mm. Commercial manufacturer designs differ in the detection of probe coordinates relative to the isocenter. Some use a position-sensing robotic arm, while others have infrared light-emitting diodes or pattern-recognition software with charge-couple-device cameras. Commissioning includes testing of image quality and positional accuracy. Ultrasound is mainly used in prostate positioning. Data for 7825 daily fractions of 234 prostate patients indicated average 3D inter-fractional displacement of about 7.8 mm. There was no perceivable trend of shift over time. Scatter plots showed slight prevalence toward superior-posterior directions. Uncertainties of ultrasound guidance included tissue inhomogeneities, speckle noise, probe pressure, and inter

A wideband absorber for television studios

Science.gov (United States)

Baird, M. D. M.

The acoustic treatment in BBC television has taken various forms to date, all of which have been relatively expensive, some of which provide inadequate absorption. An investigation has been conducted into the possibilities of producing a new type of wideband absorber which would be more economic, also taking installation time into account, than earlier designs. This Report describes the absorption coefficient measurements made on various combinations of materials, from which a wideband sound absorber has been developed. The absorber works efficiently between 50 Hz and 10 kHz, is simple and easy to construct using readily available materials, and is fire resistant. The design lends itself, if necessary, to on-site fine tuning, and savings in the region of 50 percent can be achieved in terms of cost and space with respect to previous designs.

The Low-Noise Potential of Distributed Propulsion on a Catamaran Aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Posey, Joe W.; Tinetti, A. F.; Dunn, M. H.

2006-01-01

The noise shielding potential of an inboard-wing catamaran aircraft when coupled with distributed propulsion is examined. Here, only low-frequency jet noise from mid-wing-mounted engines is considered. Because low frequencies are the most difficult to shield, these calculations put a lower bound on the potential shielding benefit. In this proof-of-concept study, simple physical models are used to describe the 3-D scattering of jet noise by conceptualized catamaran aircraft. The Fast Scattering Code is used to predict noise levels on and about the aircraft. Shielding results are presented for several catamaran type geometries and simple noise source configurations representative of distributed propulsion radiation. Computational analyses are presented that demonstrate the shielding benefits of distributed propulsion and of increasing the width of the inboard wing. Also, sample calculations using the FSC are presented that demonstrate additional noise reduction on the aircraft fuselage by the use of acoustic liners on the inboard wing trailing edge. A full conceptual aircraft design would have to be analyzed over a complete mission to more accurately quantify community noise levels and aircraft performance, but the present shielding calculations show that a large acoustic benefit could be achieved by combining distributed propulsion and liner technology with a twin-fuselage planform.

Ultra-wideband horn antenna with abrupt radiator

Science.gov (United States)

McEwan, Thomas E.

1998-01-01

An ultra-wideband horn antenna transmits and receives impulse waveforms for short-range radars and impulse time-of flight systems. The antenna reduces or eliminates various sources of close-in radar clutter, including pulse dispersion and ringing, sidelobe clutter, and feedline coupling into the antenna. Dispersion is minimized with an abrupt launch point radiator element; sidelobe and feedline coupling are minimized by recessing the radiator into a metallic horn. Low frequency cut-off associated with a horn is extended by configuring the radiator drive impedance to approach a short circuit at low frequencies. A tapered feed plate connects at one end to a feedline, and at the other end to a launcher plate which is mounted to an inside wall of the horn. The launcher plate and feed plate join at an abrupt edge which forms the single launch point of the antenna.

A no-tune no-match wideband probe for nuclear quadrupole resonance spectroscopy in the VHF range

Science.gov (United States)

Scharfetter, Hermann; Petrovic, Andreas; Eggenhofer, Heidi; Stollberger, Rudolf

2014-12-01

Nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) spectroscopy is a method for the characterization of chemical compounds containing so-called quadrupolar nuclei. Similar to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), the sample under investigation is irradiated with strong radiofrequency (RF) pulses, which stimulate the emission of weak RF signals from the quadrupolar nuclei. The signals are then amplified and Fourier transformed so as to obtain a spectrum. In principle, narrowband NQR spectra can be measured with NMR spectrometers. However, pure NQR signals require the absence of a static magnetic field and several special applications require the characterization of a substance over a large bandwidth, e.g. 50-100% of the central frequency, which is hardly possible with standard NMR equipment. Dedicated zero-field NQR equipment is not widespread and current concepts employ resonating probes which are tuned and matched over a wide range by using mechanical capacitors driven by stepper motors. While providing the highest signal to noise ratio (SNR) such probes are slow in operation and can only be operated from dedicated NMR consoles. We developed a low-cost NQR wideband probe without tuning and matching for applications in the very high frequency (VHF) range below 300 MHz. The probe coil was realized as part of a reactive network which approximates an exponential transmission line. The input reflection coefficient of the two developed prototype probe coils is ≤ 20 dB between 90-145 MHz and 74.5-99.5 MHz, respectively. Two wideband NQR spectra of published test substances were acquired with an SNR of better than 20 dB after sufficient averaging. The measured signals and the SNR correspond very well to the theoretically expected values and demonstrate the feasibility of the method. Because there is no need for tuning and matching, our probes can be operated easily from any available NMR console.

Low frequency noise reduction using stiff light composite panels

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

DENG Yongchang; LIN Weizheng

2003-01-01

The experiment presented in this paper is to investigate and analyze the noise reduction at low frequency using stiff light composite panels. Since these composite panels are made of lightweight and stiff materials, this actuation strategy will enable the creation of composite panels for duct noise control without using traditional heavy structural mass. The results suggest that the mass-spring resonance absorption in the case of a comparatively stiff thick panel with a thin flexible plate is more efficient with minimum weight, when subjected to low-frequency (<500 Hz). The efficiency of the panel absorber depends on the mass of the thin flexible plate and the stiffness of the panel.

Low-frequency flux noise in YBCO dc SQUIDs cooled in static magnetic fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sager, M.P.; Bindslev Hansen, J.; Petersen, P.R.E.; Holst, T.; Shen, Y.Q.

1999-01-01

The low-frequency flux noise in bicrystal and step-edge YBa 2 Cu 3 O x dc SQUIDs has been investigated. The width, w, of the superconducting strips forming the SQUID frame was varied from 4 to 42 μm. The SQUIDs were cooled in static magnetic fields up to 150 μT. Two types of low-frequency noise dominated, namely 1/f-like noise and random telegraph noise giving a Lorentzian frequency spectrum. The 1/f noise performance of the w = 4, 6 and 7 μm SQUIDs was almost identical, while the SQUIDs with w = 22 and 42 μm showed an order of magnitude higher noise level. Our analysis of the data suggests an exponential increase of the 1/f noise versus the cooling field, exhibiting a characteristic magnetic field around 40 μT. (author)

SiGe HBT linear-in-dB high dynamic range RF envelope detectors and wideband high linearity amplifiers

OpenAIRE

Pan, Hsuan-yu

2010-01-01

This research work aims on exploiting SiGe HBT technologies in high dynamic range wideband RF linear-in- dB envelope detectors and linear amplifiers. First, an improved all-npn broadband highly linear SiGe HBT differential amplifier is presented based on a variation of Caprio's Quad. A broadband linear amplifier with 46dBm OIP₃ at 20MHz, 34dBm OIP₃ at 1GHz, 6dB noise figure and 10.3dBm P₁dB is demonstrated. Second, an improved exact dynamic model of a fast-settling linear-in-dB Automatic Gain...

Effect of high power low frequency ultrasound processing on the stability of lycopene.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Valéria S; Rodrigues, Sueli; Fernandes, Fabiano A N

2015-11-01

The stability of lycopene was evaluated after application of high power low frequency ultrasound. The study was carried out on a solution containing pure lycopene to evaluate the direct effect of ultrasound on lycopene and on tomato purée to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of ultrasound application within a food matrix. Power densities ranging from 55 to 5000 W/L and temperatures ranging from 23°C (ambient) to 60°C were evaluated. The experiments on pure lycopene showed that the application of ultrasound did not have any direct effect over lycopene. However, the retention of lycopene in tomato puree has decreased indicating an indirect effect on lycopene stability caused by high concentration of hydrogen peroxide and the activation of peroxidase enzymes leading to the reduction of ascorbic acid and its regenerative action towards lycopene. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Low-power low-noise mixed-mode VLSI ASIC for infinite dynamic range imaging applications

Science.gov (United States)

Turchetta, Renato; Hu, Y.; Zinzius, Y.; Colledani, C.; Loge, A.

1998-11-01

Solid state solutions for imaging are mainly represented by CCDs and, more recently, by CMOS imagers. Both devices are based on the integration of the total charge generated by the impinging radiation, with no processing of the single photon information. The dynamic range of these devices is intrinsically limited by the finite value of noise. Here we present the design of an architecture which allows efficient, in-pixel, noise reduction to a practically zero level, thus allowing infinite dynamic range imaging. A detailed calculation of the dynamic range is worked out, showing that noise is efficiently suppressed. This architecture is based on the concept of single-photon counting. In each pixel, we integrate both the front-end, low-noise, low-power analog part and the digital part. The former consists of a charge preamplifier, an active filter for optimal noise bandwidth reduction, a buffer and a threshold comparator, and the latter is simply a counter, which can be programmed to act as a normal shift register for the readout of the counters' contents. Two different ASIC's based on this concept have been designed for different applications. The first one has been optimized for silicon edge-on microstrips detectors, used in a digital mammography R and D project. It is a 32-channel circuit, with a 16-bit binary static counter.It has been optimized for a relatively large detector capacitance of 5 pF. Noise has been measured to be equal to 100 + 7*Cd (pF) electron rms with the digital part, showing no degradation of the noise performances with respect to the design values. The power consumption is 3.8mW/channel for a peaking time of about 1 microsecond(s) . The second circuit is a prototype for pixel imaging. The total active area is about (250 micrometers )**2. The main differences of the electronic architecture with respect to the first prototype are: i) different optimization of the analog front-end part for low-capacitance detectors, ii) in- pixel 4-bit comparator

Measurements of Low Frequency Noise of Infrared Photo-Detectors with Transimpedance Detection System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ciura Łukasz

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the method and results of low-frequency noise measurements of modern mid-wavelength infrared photodetectors. A type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice based detector with nBn barrier architecture is compared with a high operating temperature (HOT heterojunction HgCdTe detector. All experiments were made in the range 1 Hz - 10 kHz at various temperatures by using a transimpedance detection system, which is examined in detail. The power spectral density of the nBn’s dark current noise includes Lorentzians with different time constants while the HgCdTe photodiode has more uniform 1/f - shaped spectra. For small bias, the low-frequency noise power spectra of both devices were found to scale linearly with bias voltage squared and were connected with the fluctuations of the leakage resistance. Leakage resistance noise defines the lower noise limit of a photodetector. Other dark current components give raise to the increase of low-frequency noise above this limit. For the same voltage biasing devices, the absolute noise power densities at 1 Hz in nBn are 1 to 2 orders of magnitude lower than in a MCT HgCdTe detector. In spite of this, low-frequency performance of the HgCdTe detector at ~ 230K is still better than that of InAs/GaSb superlattice nBn detector.

Low-Arousal Speech Noise Improves Performance in N-Back Task: An ERP Study

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Dandan; Jin, Yi; Luo, Yuejia

2013-01-01

The relationship between noise and human performance is a crucial topic in ergonomic research. However, the brain dynamics of the emotional arousal effects of background noises are still unclear. The current study employed meaningless speech noises in the n-back working memory task to explore the changes of event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by the noises with low arousal level vs. high arousal level. We found that the memory performance in low arousal condition were improved compared with the silent and the high arousal conditions; participants responded more quickly and had larger P2 and P3 amplitudes in low arousal condition while the performance and ERP components showed no significant difference between high arousal and silent conditions. These findings suggested that the emotional arousal dimension of background noises had a significant influence on human working memory performance, and that this effect was independent of the acoustic characteristics of noises (e.g., intensity) and the meaning of speech materials. The current findings improve our understanding of background noise effects on human performance and lay the ground for the investigation of patients with attention deficits. PMID:24204607

Low-arousal speech noise improves performance in N-back task: an ERP study.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Longzhu; Liu, Yunzhe; Zhang, Dandan; Jin, Yi; Luo, Yuejia

2013-01-01

The relationship between noise and human performance is a crucial topic in ergonomic research. However, the brain dynamics of the emotional arousal effects of background noises are still unclear. The current study employed meaningless speech noises in the n-back working memory task to explore the changes of event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by the noises with low arousal level vs. high arousal level. We found that the memory performance in low arousal condition were improved compared with the silent and the high arousal conditions; participants responded more quickly and had larger P2 and P3 amplitudes in low arousal condition while the performance and ERP components showed no significant difference between high arousal and silent conditions. These findings suggested that the emotional arousal dimension of background noises had a significant influence on human working memory performance, and that this effect was independent of the acoustic characteristics of noises (e.g., intensity) and the meaning of speech materials. The current findings improve our understanding of background noise effects on human performance and lay the ground for the investigation of patients with attention deficits.

Low-arousal speech noise improves performance in N-back task: an ERP study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Longzhu Han

Full Text Available The relationship between noise and human performance is a crucial topic in ergonomic research. However, the brain dynamics of the emotional arousal effects of background noises are still unclear. The current study employed meaningless speech noises in the n-back working memory task to explore the changes of event-related potentials (ERPs elicited by the noises with low arousal level vs. high arousal level. We found that the memory performance in low arousal condition were improved compared with the silent and the high arousal conditions; participants responded more quickly and had larger P2 and P3 amplitudes in low arousal condition while the performance and ERP components showed no significant difference between high arousal and silent conditions. These findings suggested that the emotional arousal dimension of background noises had a significant influence on human working memory performance, and that this effect was independent of the acoustic characteristics of noises (e.g., intensity and the meaning of speech materials. The current findings improve our understanding of background noise effects on human performance and lay the ground for the investigation of patients with attention deficits.

Metasurface base on uneven layered fractal elements for ultra-wideband RCS reduction

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Jianxun; Cui, Yueyang; Li, Zengrui; Yang, Yaoqing Lamar; Che, Yongxing; Yin, Hongcheng

2018-03-01

A novel metasurface based on uneven layered fractal elements is designed and fabricated for ultra-wideband radar cross section (RCS) reduction in this paper. The proposed metasurface consists of two fractal subwavelength elements with different layer thickness. The reflection phase difference of 180° (±37°) between two unit cells covers an ultra-wide frequency range. Ultra-wideband RCS reduction results from the phase cancellation between two local waves produced by these two unit cells. The diffuse scattering of electromagnetic (EM) waves is caused by the randomized phase distribution, leading to a low monostatic and bistatic RCS simultaneously. This metasurface can achieve -10dB RCS reduction in an ultra-wide frequency range from 6.6 to 23.9 GHz with a ratio bandwidth (fH/fL) of 3.62:1 under normal incidences for both x- and y-polarized waves. Both the simulation and the measurement results are consistent to verify this excellent RCS reduction performance of the proposed metasurface.

An analysis of low frequency noise from large wind turbines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Christian Sejer; Møller, Henrik

2010-01-01

As wind turbines get larger, worries have emerged, that the noise emitted by the turbines would move down in frequency, and that the contents of low-frequency noise would be enough to cause significant annoyance for the neighbors. The sound emission from 48 wind turbines with nominal electric power......-third-octave-band spectra shows that the relative noise emission is higher in the 63-250 Hz frequency range from turbines above 2 MW than from smaller turbines. The observations confirm a downward shift of the spectrum....

On low-frequency errors of uniformly modulated filtered white-noise models for ground motions

Science.gov (United States)

Safak, Erdal; Boore, David M.

1988-01-01

Low-frequency errors of a commonly used non-stationary stochastic model (uniformly modulated filtered white-noise model) for earthquake ground motions are investigated. It is shown both analytically and by numerical simulation that uniformly modulated filter white-noise-type models systematically overestimate the spectral response for periods longer than the effective duration of the earthquake, because of the built-in low-frequency errors in the model. The errors, which are significant for low-magnitude short-duration earthquakes, can be eliminated by using the filtered shot-noise-type models (i. e. white noise, modulated by the envelope first, and then filtered).

Detecting low-dimensional chaos by the “noise titration” technique: Possible problems and remedies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Jianbo; Hu Jing; Mao Xiang; Tung Wenwen

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Distinguishing low-dimensional chaos from noise is an important issue. ► Noise titration technique is one of the main approaches on the issue. ► Problems of noise titration technique are systematically discussed. ► Solutions to the problems of noise titration technique are provided. - Abstract: Distinguishing low-dimensional chaos from noise is an important issue in time series analysis. Among the many methods proposed for this purpose is the noise titration technique, which quantifies the amount of noise that needs to be added to the signal to fully destroy its nonlinearity. Two groups of researchers recently have questioned the validity of the technique. In this paper, we report a broad range of situations where the noise titration technique fails, and offer solutions to fix the problems identified.

Theoretical analysis and simulation of a code division multiple access system (cdma for secure signal transmission in wideband channels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stevan M. Berber

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Chaotic spreading sequences can increase secrecy and resistance to interception in signal transmission. Chaos-based CDMA systems have been well investigated in the case of flat fading and noise presence in the channel. However, these systems operating in wideband channels, characterized by the frequency selective fading and white Gaussian noise, have not been investigated to the level of understanding their practical applications. This paper presents a detailed mathematical model of a CDMA system based on chaotic spreading sequences. In a theoretical analysis, all signals are represented in the discrete time domain. Using the theory of discrete time stochastic processes, the probability of error expressions are derived in a closed form for a multi-user chaos based CDMA system. For the sake of comparison, the expressions for the probability of error are derived separately for narrowband and wideband channels. The application of the system interleaving technique is investigated in particular, which showed that this technique can substantially improve probability of error in the system.  The system is simulated and the findings of the simulation confirmed theoretically expected results. Possible improvements in the probability of bit error due to multipath channel nature, with and without interleavers, are quantified depending on the random delay and the number of users in the system. In the analyzed system, a simplified version of the wideband channel model, proposed for modern wideband wireless networks, is used. Introduction Over the past years, the demand for wireless communications has increased substantially due to advancements in mobile communication systems and networks. Following these increasing demands, modern communication systems require the ability to handle a large number of users to process and transmit wideband signals through complex frequency selective channels. One of the techniques for transmission of multi-user signals is the

Large-area, low-noise, high-speed, photodiode-based fluorescence detectors with fast overdrive recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bickman, S.; DeMille, D.

2005-01-01

Two large-area, low-noise, high-speed fluorescence detectors have been built. One detector consists of a photodiode with an area of 28 mmx28 mm and a low-noise transimpedance amplifier. This detector has a input light-equivalent spectral noise density of less than 3 pW/√(Hz), can recover from a large scattered light pulse within 10 μs, and has a bandwidth of at least 900 kHz. The second detector consists of a 16-mm-diam avalanche photodiode and a low-noise transimpedance amplifier. This detector has an input light-equivalent spectral noise density of 0.08 pW/√(Hz), also can recover from a large scattered light pulse within 10 μs, and has a bandwidth of 1 MHz

Effects of Low Intensity Continuous Ultrasound (LICU on Mouse Pancreatic Tumor Explants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Despina Bazou

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the effects of low intensity continuous ultrasound (LICU on the inflammatory response of mouse pancreatic tumor explants. While there are many reports focusing on the application of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS on cell cultures and tissues, the effects of continuous oscillations on biological tissues have never been investigated. Here we present an exploratory study of the effects induced by LICU on mouse pancreatic tumor explants. We show that LICU causes significant upregulation of IFN-γ, IL-1β, and TNF-α on tumor explants. No detectable effects were observed on tumor vasculature or collagen I deposition, while thermal and mechanical effects were not apparent. Tumor explants responded as a single unit to acoustic waves, with spatial pressure variations smaller than their size.

Quasi-periodic oscillations and noise in low-mass X-ray binaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van der Klis, M.

1989-01-01

The phenomenology of quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) and noise in low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) is discussed. Signal analysis aspects of QPO and noise are addressed along with the relationship between LMXBs and millisecond radio pulsars. The history and prehistory of QPOs and noise in LMXBs are examined. Universal noise components and normal and flaring branch QPOs in Z sources are described and the phenomenology of Z sources is discussed. Bright LMXBs known as atoll sources are considered, as are nonpersistently bright LMXBs accreting pulsars and black hole candidates. 162 refs

Ultra-Wideband, Short Pulse Electromagnetics 9

CERN Document Server

Rachidi, Farhad; Kaelin, Armin; Sabath, Frank; UWB SP 9

2010-01-01

Ultra-wideband (UWB), short-pulse (SP) electromagnetics are now being used for an increasingly wide variety of applications, including collision avoidance radar, concealed object detection, and communications. Notable progress in UWB and SP technologies has been achieved by investigations of their theoretical bases and improvements in solid-state manufacturing, computers, and digitizers. UWB radar systems are also being used for mine clearing, oil pipeline inspections, archeology, geology, and electronic effects testing. Ultra-wideband Short-Pulse Electromagnetics 9 presents selected papers of deep technical content and high scientific quality from the UWB-SP9 Conference, which was held from July 21-25, 2008, in Lausanne, Switzerland. The wide-ranging coverage includes contributions on electromagnetic theory, time-domain computational techniques, modeling, antennas, pulsed-power, UWB interactions, radar systems, UWB communications, and broadband systems and components. This book serves as a state-of-the-art r...

Low-Noise CMOS Circuits for On-Chip Signal Processing in Focal-Plane Arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Pain, Bedabrata

The performance of focal-plane arrays can be significantly enhanced through the use of on-chip signal processing. Novel, in-pixel, on-focal-plane, analog signal-processing circuits for high-performance imaging are presented in this thesis. The presence of a high background-radiation is a major impediment for infrared focal-plane array design. An in-pixel, background-suppression scheme, using dynamic analog current memory circuit, is described. The scheme also suppresses spatial noise that results from response non-uniformities of photo-detectors, leading to background limited infrared detector readout performance. Two new, low-power, compact, current memory circuits, optimized for operation at ultra-low current levels required in infrared-detection, are presented. The first one is a self-cascading current memory that increases the output impedance, and the second one is a novel, switch feed-through reducing current memory, implemented using error-current feedback. This circuit can operate with a residual absolute -error of less than 0.1%. The storage-time of the memory is long enough to also find applications in neural network circuits. In addition, a voltage-mode, accurate, low-offset, low-power, high-uniformity, random-access sample-and-hold cell, implemented using a CCD with feedback, is also presented for use in background-suppression and neural network applications. A new, low noise, ultra-low level signal readout technique, implemented by individually counting photo-electrons within the detection pixel, is presented. The output of each unit-cell is a digital word corresponding to the intensity of the photon flux, and the readout is noise free. This technique requires the use of unit-cell amplifiers that feature ultra-high-gain, low-power, self-biasing capability and noise in sub-electron levels. Both single-input and differential-input implementations of such amplifiers are investigated. A noise analysis technique is presented for analyzing sampled

A low-power and low-phase-noise LC digitally controlled oscillator featuring a novel capacitor bank

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tian Huanhuan; Li Zhiqiang; Chen Pufeng; Wu Rufei; Zhang Haiying, E-mail: thuan8@126.com [Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029 (China)

2010-12-15

A monolithic low-power and low-phase-noise digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) based on a symmetric spiral inductor with center-tap and novel capacitor bank was implemented in a 0.18 {mu}m CMOS process with six metal layers. A third new way to change capacitance is proposed and implemented in this work. Results show that the phase noise at 1 MHz offset frequency is below -122.5 dBc/Hz while drawing a current of only 4.8 mA from a 1.8 V supply. Also, the DCO can work at low supply voltage conditions with a 1.6 V power supply and 4.1 mA supply current for the DCO's core circuit, achieving a phase-noise of -21.5 dBc/Hz at offset of 1 MHz. It demonstrates that the supply pushing of DCO is less than 10 MHz/V. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

The value of routine mid-trimester ultrasound in low-risk pregnancies at primary care level

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B van Dyk

2008-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the effect of routine second-trimester ultrasound scanning on obstetric management and pregnancy outcomes. This was an open cluster, randomised, controlled trial. Clusters of women with low-risk pregnancies presenting in the second trimester were randomised to receive an ultrasound scan followed by usual antenatal care, or to an unscanned control group undergoing conventional antenatal care only. Out of the 962 women randomised, follow-up was successful for 804 (83.6%, with 416 allocated to the ultrasound scan group and 388 controls. There were no significant differences between the ultrasound scan group and the control group in terms of prenatal hospitalisation, mode of delivery, miscarriage, perinatal mortality rate and low birthweight rate. Ultrasound dating was associated with a lower rate of induction of labour for post-term pregnancy (1.4% vs. 3.6%; P=0.049. However, ultrasound scanning in low-risk pregnancies was not associated with improvements in pregnancy outcome. Opsomming Hierdie studie het die effek van roetine mid-trimester ultraklankskandering op swangerskapsorg en –uitkomste ondersoek. Dit was ’n oop tros, lukrake, beheerde proef. Groepe vroue met laerisikoswanger- skap in die midtrimester is lukraak toegewys vir ’n ultraklank-skandering, gevolg deur voorgeskrewe voorgeboor-tesorg, of vir ’n kontrolegroep wat voorgeboortesorg volgens nasionaal voorgeskrewe protokol sonder skandering ontvang het. Van die 962 vroue wat aan die steekproef deelgeneem het kon data vir 804 (83.6% suksesvol opgevolg word, met 416 in die ultraklankgroep en 388 in die kontrolegroep. Geen beduidende verskille is tussen die twee groepe gevind ten opsigte van voorgeboorte-hospitalisasie, geboortemetode, miskraamstatistiek, perinatale komplikasies of laegeboortegewig nie. Ultraklankdatering van swangerskappe is met minder kraaminduksie (1.4% teen 3.6%; P=0.049 vir natrimesterswangerskap geassosieer. Roetine ultraklankskandering

A Novel Manufacturing Process for Compact, Low-Weight and Flexible Ultra-Wideband Cavity Backed Textile Antennas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dries Van Baelen

2018-01-01

Full Text Available A novel manufacturing procedure for the fabrication of ultra-wideband cavity-backed substrate integrated waveguide antennas on textile substrates is proposed. The antenna cavity is constructed using a single laser-cut electrotextile patch, which is folded around the substrate. Electrotextile slabs protruding from the laser-cut patch are then vertically folded and glued to form the antenna cavity instead of rigid metal tubelets to implement the vertical cavity walls. This approach drastically improves mechanical flexibility, decreases the antenna weight to slightly more than 1 g and significantly reduces alignment errors. As a proof of concept, a cavity-backed substrate integrated waveguide antenna is designed and realized for ultra-wideband operation in the [5.15–5.85] GHz band. Antenna performance is validated in free space as well as in two on body measurement scenarios. Furthermore, the antenna’s figures of merit are characterized when the prototype is bent at different curvature radii, as commonly encountered during deployment on the human body. Also the effect of humidity content on antenna performance is studied. In all scenarios, the realized antenna covers the entire operating frequency band, meanwhile retaining a stable radiation pattern with a broadside gain above 5 dBi, and a radiation efficiency of at least 70%.

Advanced Low-Noise Research Fan Stage Design

Science.gov (United States)

Neubert, Robert; Bock, Larry; Malmborg, Eric; Owen-Peer, William

1997-01-01

This report describes the design of the Advanced Low-Noise Research Fan stage. The fan is a variable pitch design, which is designed at the cruise pitch condition. Relative to the cruise setting, the blade is closed at takeoff and opened for reverse thrust operation. The fan stage is a split flow design with fan exit guide vanes (FEGVs) and core stators. The fan stage design is combined with a nacelle and engine core duct to form a powered fan/nacelle subscale model. This model is intended for use in combined aerodynamic, acoustic, and structural testing in a wind tunnel. The fan has an outer diameter of 22 in. and a hub-to-tip of 0.426 in., which allows the use of existing NASA fan and cowl force balance and rig drive systems. The design parameters were selected to permit valid acoustic and aerodynamic comparisons with the Pratt & Whitney (P&W) 17- and 22-in. rigs previously tested under NASA contract. The fan stage design is described in detail. The results of the design axisymmetric and Navier-Stokes aerodynamic analysis are presented at the critical design conditions. The structural analysis of the fan rotor and attachment is included. The blade and attachment are predicted to have adequate low-cycle fatigue life and an acceptable operating range without resonant stress or flutter. The stage was acoustically designed with airfoil counts in the FEGV and core stator to minimize noise. A fan/FEGV tone analysis developed separately under NASA contract was used to determine the optimum airfoil counts. The fan stage was matched to the existing nacelle, designed under the previous P&W low-noise contract, to form a fan/nacelle model for wind tunnel testing. It is an axisymmetric nacelle for convenience in testing and analysis. Previous testing confirmed that the nacelle performed as required at various aircraft operating conditions.

Wideband, Low-Profile, Dual-Polarized Slot Antenna with an AMC Surface for Wireless Communications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Hu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A wideband dual-polarized slot antenna loaded with artificial magnetic conductor (AMC is proposed for WLAN/WIMAX and LTE applications. The slot antenna mainly consists of two pairs of arrow-shaped slots along the diagonals of the square patch. Stepped microstrip feedlines are placed orthogonally to excite the horizontal and vertical polarizations of the antenna. To realize unidirectional radiation and low profile, an AMC surface composed of 7 × 7 unit cells is designed underneath a distance of 0.09λ0 (λ0 being the wavelength in free space at 2.25 GHz from the slot antenna. Both the dual-polarized slot antenna and the AMC surface are fabricated and measured. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed antenna achieves for both polarizations a wide impedance bandwidth (return loss 10 dB of 36.7%, operating from 1.96 to 2.84 GHz. The isolation between the two input ports keeps higher than 29 dB whereas the cross-polarization levels basically maintain lower than −30 dB across the entire frequency band. High front-to-back ratios better than 22 dB and a stable gain higher than 8 dBi are obtained over the whole band.

EUDP project 'Low noise airfoil' - Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bertagnolio, F. (ed.)

2012-06-15

This document summarizes the scientific results achieved during the EUDP-funded project 'Low-Noise Airfoil'. The goals of this project are, on one side to develop a measurement technique that permits the evaluation of trailing edge noise in a classical aerodynamic wind tunnel, and on the other side to develop and implement a design procedure to manufacture airfoil profiles with low noise emission. The project involved two experimental campaigns: one in the LM Wind Power wind tunnel, a classical aerodynamic wind tunnel, in Lunderskov (Denmark), the second one in the Virginia Tech Stability Wind Tunnel at the Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Department of Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA, USA), also a classical aerodynamic wind tunnel but equipped with an anechoic chamber that allow to perform acoustic measurements. On the theoretical side, the above experiments yield a series of model validations and improvements. In particular, the so-called TNO trailing edge noise model could be significantly improved by introducing turbulence anisotropy in its formulation, as well as the influence of the boundary layer mean pressure gradient. This two characteristics are inherent to airfoil flows but were neglected in the original approach. In addition, the experimental results are confronted to detailed Large Eddy Simulations of the airfoil flow giving more insight into the flow turbulence characteristics. The methodology which consists in measuring surface pressure spectra directly on the airfoil surface using flush-mounted microphones in order to evaluate far-field noise emission using additional theoretical results has been validated. This technique presents the advantage that it can easily be used in a classical aerodynamic wind tunnel and does not require the use of an anechoic facility. It was developed as a substitute to the original plan that consisted in measuring acoustic waves using hot-wire velocimetry. This last technique proved ineffective in the LM Wind

Investigation and optimization of low-frequency noise performance in readout electronics of dc superconducting quantum interference device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Jing; Zhang, Yi; Krause, Hans-Joachim; Lee, Yong-Ho

2014-01-01

We investigated and optimized the low-frequency noise characteristics of a preamplifier used for readout of direct current superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). When the SQUID output was detected directly using a room-temperature low-voltage-noise preamplifier, the low-frequency noise of a SQUID system was found to be dominated by the input current noise of the preamplifiers in case of a large dynamic resistance of the SQUID. To reduce the current noise of the preamplifier in the low-frequency range, we investigated the dependence of total preamplifier noise on the collector current and source resistance. When the collector current was decreased from 8.4 mA to 3 mA in the preamplifier made of 3 parallel SSM2220 transistor pairs, the low-frequency total voltage noise of the preamplifier (at 0.1 Hz) decreased by about 3 times for a source resistance of 30 Ω whereas the white noise level remained nearly unchanged. Since the relative contribution of preamplifier's input voltage and current noise is different depending on the dynamic resistance or flux-to-voltage transfer of the SQUID, the results showed that the total noise of a SQUID system at low-frequency range can be improved significantly by optimizing the preamplifier circuit parameters, mainly the collector current in case of low-noise bipolar transistor pairs

Investigation and optimization of low-frequency noise performance in readout electronics of dc superconducting quantum interference device

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Jing; Zhang, Yi; Lee, Yong-Ho; Krause, Hans-Joachim

2014-05-01

We investigated and optimized the low-frequency noise characteristics of a preamplifier used for readout of direct current superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). When the SQUID output was detected directly using a room-temperature low-voltage-noise preamplifier, the low-frequency noise of a SQUID system was found to be dominated by the input current noise of the preamplifiers in case of a large dynamic resistance of the SQUID. To reduce the current noise of the preamplifier in the low-frequency range, we investigated the dependence of total preamplifier noise on the collector current and source resistance. When the collector current was decreased from 8.4 mA to 3 mA in the preamplifier made of 3 parallel SSM2220 transistor pairs, the low-frequency total voltage noise of the preamplifier (at 0.1 Hz) decreased by about 3 times for a source resistance of 30 Ω whereas the white noise level remained nearly unchanged. Since the relative contribution of preamplifier's input voltage and current noise is different depending on the dynamic resistance or flux-to-voltage transfer of the SQUID, the results showed that the total noise of a SQUID system at low-frequency range can be improved significantly by optimizing the preamplifier circuit parameters, mainly the collector current in case of low-noise bipolar transistor pairs.

A PTV method based on ultrasound imaging and feature tracking in a low-concentration sediment-laden flow

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Zhimin; Hu, Wenbin; Zhao, Xiaohong; Tao, Weiliang

2018-02-01

This study aims to provide a particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) method based on ultrasound imaging and feature-tracking in a low-concentration sediment-laden flow. A phased array probe is used to generate a 2D ultrasound image at different times. Then, the feature points are extracted to be tracked instead of the centroids of the particle image. In order to better identify the corresponding feature point, each feature is described by an oriented angle and its location. Then, a statistical interpolation procedure is used to yield the displacement vector on the desired grid point. Finally a correction procedure is adopted because the ultrasound image is sequentially acquired line by line through the field of view. A simple test experiment was carried out to evaluate the performance. The ultrasound PTV system was applied to a sediment-laden flow with a low concentration of 1‰, and the speed was up to 10 cm s-1. In comparison to optical particle image velocimetry (PIV), ultrasound imaging does not have a limitation in optical access. The feature-tracking method does not have a binarisation and segmentation procedure, which can result in overlapping particles or a serious loss of particle data. The feature-tracking algorithm improves the peak locking effect and measurement accuracy. Thus, the ultrasound PTV algorithm is a feasible alternative and is significantly more robust against gradients than the correlation-based PIV algorithms in a low-concentration sediment-laden fluid.

Time-stretch microscopy based on time-wavelength sequence reconstruction from wideband incoherent source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Chi; Xu, Yiqing; Wei, Xiaoming; Tsia, Kevin K.; Wong, Kenneth K. Y.

2014-01-01

Time-stretch microscopy has emerged as an ultrafast optical imaging concept offering the unprecedented combination of the imaging speed and sensitivity. However, dedicated wideband and coherence optical pulse source with high shot-to-shot stability has been mandated for time-wavelength mapping—the enabling process for ultrahigh speed wavelength-encoded image retrieval. From the practical point of view, exploiting methods to relax the stringent requirements (e.g., temporal stability and coherence) for the source of time-stretch microscopy is thus of great value. In this paper, we demonstrated time-stretch microscopy by reconstructing the time-wavelength mapping sequence from a wideband incoherent source. Utilizing the time-lens focusing mechanism mediated by a narrow-band pulse source, this approach allows generation of a wideband incoherent source, with the spectral efficiency enhanced by a factor of 18. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, time-stretch imaging with the scan rate as high as MHz and diffraction-limited resolution is achieved based on the wideband incoherent source. We note that the concept of time-wavelength sequence reconstruction from wideband incoherent source can also be generalized to any high-speed optical real-time measurements, where wavelength is acted as the information carrier

Demonstration of a switchable damping system to allow low-noise operation of high-Q low-mass suspension systems

Science.gov (United States)

Hennig, Jan-Simon; Barr, Bryan W.; Bell, Angus S.; Cunningham, William; Danilishin, Stefan L.; Dupej, Peter; Gräf, Christian; Hough, James; Huttner, Sabina H.; Jones, Russell; Leavey, Sean S.; Pascucci, Daniela; Sinclair, Martin; Sorazu, Borja; Spencer, Andrew; Steinlechner, Sebastian; Strain, Kenneth A.; Wright, Jennifer; Zhang, Teng; Hild, Stefan

2017-12-01

Low-mass suspension systems with high-Q pendulum stages are used to enable quantum radiation pressure noise limited experiments. Utilizing multiple pendulum stages with vertical blade springs and materials with high-quality factors provides attenuation of seismic and thermal noise; however, damping of these high-Q pendulum systems in multiple degrees of freedom is essential for practical implementation. Viscous damping such as eddy-current damping can be employed, but it introduces displacement noise from force noise due to thermal fluctuations in the damping system. In this paper we demonstrate a passive damping system with adjustable damping strength as a solution for this problem that can be used for low-mass suspension systems without adding additional displacement noise in science mode. We show a reduction of the damping factor by a factor of 8 on a test suspension and provide a general optimization for this system.

Controls on Magmatic and Hydrothermal Processes at Yellowstone Supervolcano: The Wideband Magnetotelluric Component of an Integrated MT/Seismic Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, A.; Bennington, N. L.; Bowles-martinez, E.; Imamura, N.; Cronin, R. A.; Miller, D. J.; Hart, L.; Gurrola, R. M.; Neal, B. A.; Scholz, K.; Fry, B.; Carbonari, R.

2017-12-01

Previous seismic and magnetotelluric (MT) studies beneath Yellowstone (YS) have provided insight into the origin and migration of magmatic fluids within the volcanic system. However, important questions remain concerning the generation of magmatism at YS, the migration and storage of these magmatic fluids, as well as their relationships to hydrothermal expressions. Analysis of regional-scale EarthScope MT data collected previously suggests a relative absence of continuity in crustal partial melt accumulations directly beneath YS. This is in contrast to some seismic interpretations, although such long-period MT data have limited resolving power in the upper-to-mid crustal section. A wideband MT experiment was designed as a component of an integrated MT/seismic project to examine: the origin and location of magmatic fluids at upper mantle/lower crustal depths, the preferred path of migration for these magmatic fluids into the mid- to upper-crust, the resulting distribution of the magma reservoir, the composition of the magma reservoir, and implications for future volcanism at YS. A high-resolution wideband MT survey was carried out in the YS region in the summer of 2017, with more than forty-five wideband stations installed within and immediately surrounding the YS National Park boundary. These data provided nearly six decades of bandwidth ( 10-3 Hz -to- 103 Hz). Extraordinary permitting restrictions prevented us from using conventional installation methods at many of our sites, and an innovative "no-dig" subaerial method of wideband MT was developed and used successfully. Using these new data along with existing MT datasets, we are inverting for the 3D resistivity structure at upper crustal through upper mantle scales at YS. Complementary to this MT work, a joint inversion for the 3D crustal velocity structure is being carried out using both ambient noise and earthquake travel time data. Taken together, these data should better constrain the crustal velocity

Low power laser generated ultrasound: Signal processing for time domain data acquisition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cleary, A; Thursby, G; McKee, C; Armstrong, I; Culshaw, B; Veres, I; Pierce, S G

2011-01-01

The use of low power modulated laser diode systems has previously been established as a suitable method for non-destructive laser generation of ultrasound. Using a quasi-continuous optical excitation amplified by an erbium-doped fibre amplifier (EDFA) allows flexible generation of ultrasonic waves, offering control of further parameters such as the frequency content or signal shape. In addition, pseudo-random binary sequences (PRBS) can be used to improve the detected impulse response. Here we compare two sequences, the m-sequence and the Golay code, and discuss the advantages and practical limits of their application with laser diode based optical excitation of ultrasound.

Ultra-wideband radar sensors and networks

Science.gov (United States)

Leach, Jr., Richard R; Nekoogar, Faranak; Haugen, Peter C

2013-08-06

Ultra wideband radar motion sensors strategically placed in an area of interest communicate with a wireless ad hoc network to provide remote area surveillance. Swept range impulse radar and a heart and respiration monitor combined with the motion sensor further improves discrimination.

Spectrally-Precoded OFDM for 5G Wideband Operation in Fragmented sub-6GHz Spectrum

OpenAIRE

Pitaval, Renaud-Alexandre; Popović, Branislav M.; Mohamad, Medhat; Nilsson, Rickard; van de Beek, Jaap

2016-01-01

We consider spectrally-precoded OFDM waveforms for 5G wideband transmission in sub-6GHz band. In this densely packed spectrum, a low out-of-band (OOB) waveform is a critical 5G component to achieve the promised high spectral efficiency. By precoding data symbols before OFDM modulation, it is possible to achieve extremely low out-of-band emission with very sharp spectrum transition enabling an efficient and flexible usage of frequency resources. Spectrally-precoded OFDM shows promising results...

Substrate Effects in Wideband SiGe HBT Mixer Circuits

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansen, Tom Keinicke; Vidkjær, Jens; Krozer, Viktor

2005-01-01

are also applied to predict short distance substrate coupling effects. Simulation results using extracted equivalent circuit models and substrate coupling networks are compared with experimental results obtained on a wideband mixer circuit implemented in a 0.35 μm, 60 GHz ft SiGe HBT BiCMOS process.......In this paper, the influence from substrate effects on the performance of wideband SiGe HBT mixer circuits is investigated. Equivalent circuit models including substrate networks are extracted from on-wafer test structures and compared with electromagnetic simulations. Electromagnetic simulations...

Ultrasound imaging with a micromotor; Micromotor ni yoru choonpa imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oshiro, O.; Salimuzzaman, M.; Matani, A.; Chihara, K. [Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara (Japan); Asao, M. [Osaka National Hospital, Osaka (Japan)

1998-03-01

This paper describes a new ultrasound intravascular imaging system. In this system, an ultrasound probe consists of a micromotor, an ultrasound reflecting mirror attached with the micromotor and an ultrasound transducer. Ultrasound is scanned radially by a micromotor instead of a rotation transmitting wire and the rotation of the micromotor is performed and controlled by an external magnetic field. This ultrasound imaging system with a micromotor was applied to observe the inside of blood vessels through in vitro experiments. The preliminary results suggest that this system has the sufficient ability to define the blood vessel morphology and that the simple image processing enhances signal-to-noise ratio of the reconstructed image. 12 refs., 5 figs.

Compact super-wideband optical antenna

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wen C.; Forber, Richard; Bui, Kenneth

2009-05-01

We present progress on advanced optical antennas, which are compact, small size-weight-power units capable to receive super wideband radiated RF signals from 30 MHz to over 3 GHz. Based on electro-optical modulation of fiber-coupled guided wave light, these dielectric E-field sensors exhibit dipole-like azimuthal omni directionality, and combine small size (channels, and high EO sensing materials. The antenna system photonic link consists of a 1550 nm PM fiber-pigtailed laser, a specialized optical modulator antenna in channel waveguide format, a wideband photoreceiver, and optical phase stabilizing components. The optical modulator antenna design employs a dielectric (no electrode) Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) arranged so that sensing RF bandwidth is not limited by optical transit time effects, and MZI phase drift is bias stabilized. For a prototype optical antenna system that is < 100 in3, < 10 W, < 5 lbs, we present test data on sensitivity (< 20 mV/m-Hz1/2), RF bandwidth, and antenna directionality, and show good agreement with theoretical predictions.

Mutual Coupling Reduction for UWB MIMO Antennas with a Wideband Neutralization Line

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Shuai; Pedersen, Gert F.

2016-01-01

A wideband neutralization line is proposed to reduce the mutual coupling of a compact ultrawideband (UWB) MIMO antenna. With the introduced decoupling method, the designed UWB MIMO antenna covers the band of 3.1-5 GHz with an isolation of higher than 22 dB. The proposed wideband neutralization line...

Accurate step-FMCW ultrasound ranging and comparison with pulse-echo signaling methods

Science.gov (United States)

Natarajan, Shyam; Singh, Rahul S.; Lee, Michael; Cox, Brian P.; Culjat, Martin O.; Grundfest, Warren S.; Lee, Hua

2010-03-01

This paper presents a method setup for high-frequency ultrasound ranging based on stepped frequency-modulated continuous waves (FMCW), potentially capable of producing a higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) compared to traditional pulse-echo signaling. In current ultrasound systems, the use of higher frequencies (10-20 MHz) to enhance resolution lowers signal quality due to frequency-dependent attenuation. The proposed ultrasound signaling format, step-FMCW, is well-known in the radar community, and features lower peak power, wider dynamic range, lower noise figure and simpler electronics in comparison to pulse-echo systems. In pulse-echo ultrasound ranging, distances are calculated using the transmit times between a pulse and its subsequent echoes. In step-FMCW ultrasonic ranging, the phase and magnitude differences at stepped frequencies are used to sample the frequency domain. Thus, by taking the inverse Fourier transform, a comprehensive range profile is recovered that has increased immunity to noise over conventional ranging methods. Step-FMCW and pulse-echo waveforms were created using custom-built hardware consisting of an arbitrary waveform generator and dual-channel super heterodyne receiver, providing high SNR and in turn, accuracy in detection.

Infrasound and low frequency noise from wind turbines: exposure and health effects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bolin, Karl [Marcus Wallenberg Laboratory, Department of Aeronautical and Vehicle Engineering, Kungliga Tekniska Hoegskolan (Sweden); Bluhm, Goesta; Nilsson, Mats E [Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet (Sweden); Eriksson, Gabriella, E-mail: kbolin@kth.se [Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute and Linkoeping University (Sweden)

2011-07-15

Wind turbines emit low frequency noise (LFN) and large turbines generally generate more LFN than small turbines. The dominant source of LFN is the interaction between incoming turbulence and the blades. Measurements suggest that indoor levels of LFN in dwellings typically are within recommended guideline values, provided that the outdoor level does not exceed corresponding guidelines for facade exposure. Three cross-sectional questionnaire studies show that annoyance from wind turbine noise is related to the immission level, but several explanations other than low frequency noise are probable. A statistically significant association between noise levels and self-reported sleep disturbance was found in two of the three studies. It has been suggested that LFN from wind turbines causes other, and more serious, health problems, but empirical support for these claims is lacking.

Clinically low-risk prostate cancer: evaluation with transrectal doppler ultrasound and functional magnetic resonance imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Inês Novis

2011-01-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: To evaluate transrectal ultrasound, amplitude Doppler ultrasound, conventional T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, spectroscopy and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in localizing and locally staging low-risk prostate cancer. INTRODUCTION: Prostate cancer has been diagnosed at earlier stages and the most accepted classification for low-risk prostate cancer is based on clinical stage T1c or T2a, Gleason score <6, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA <10 ng/ml. METHODS: From 2005 to 2006, magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 42 patients, and transrectal ultrasound in 26 of these patients. Seven patients were excluded from the study. Mean patient age was 64.94 years and mean serum PSA was 6.05 ng/ml. The examinations were analyzed for tumor identification and location in prostate sextants, detection of extracapsular extension, and seminal vesicle invasion, using surgical pathology findings as the gold standard. RESULTS: Sixteen patients (45.7% had pathologically proven organ-confined disease, 11 (31.4% had positive surgical margin, 8 (28.9% had extracapsular extension, and 3 (8.6% presented with extracapsular extension and seminal vesicle invasion. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV, negative predictive value (NPV and accuracy values for localizing low-risk prostate cancer were 53.1%, 48.3%, 63.4%, 37.8% and 51.3% for transrectal ultrasound; 70.4%, 36.2%, 65.1%, 42.0% and 57.7% for amplitude Doppler ultrasound; 71.5%, 58.9%, 76.6%, 52.4% and 67.1% for magnetic resonance imaging; 70.4%, 58.7%, 78.4%, 48.2% and 66.7% for magnetic resonance spectroscopy; 67.2%, 65.7%, 79.3%, 50.6% and 66.7% for dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy values for detecting extracapsular extension were 33.3%, 92%, 14.3%, 97.2% and 89.7% for transrectal ultrasound and 50.0%, 77.6%, 13.7%, 95.6% and 75.7% for magnetic resonance imaging

Speckle Reduction on Ultrasound Liver Images Based on a Sparse Representation over a Learned Dictionary

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Yaseen Jabarulla

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Ultrasound images are corrupted with multiplicative noise known as speckle, which reduces the effectiveness of image processing and hampers interpretation. This paper proposes a multiplicative speckle suppression technique for ultrasound liver images, based on a new signal reconstruction model known as sparse representation (SR over dictionary learning. In the proposed technique, the non-uniform multiplicative signal is first converted into additive noise using an enhanced homomorphic filter. This is followed by pixel-based total variation (TV regularization and patch-based SR over a dictionary trained using K-singular value decomposition (KSVD. Finally, the split Bregman algorithm is used to solve the optimization problem and estimate the de-speckled image. The simulations performed on both synthetic and clinical ultrasound images for speckle reduction, the proposed technique achieved peak signal-to-noise ratios of 35.537 dB for the dictionary trained on noisy image patches and 35.033 dB for the dictionary trained using a set of reference ultrasound image patches. Further, the evaluation results show that the proposed method performs better than other state-of-the-art denoising algorithms in terms of both peak signal-to-noise ratio and subjective visual quality assessment.

Methods For an Acceptable Traffic Noise Level Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zlatko Sviben

2004-07-01

Full Text Available Road noise disturbance on rough roads by means of loudnesssensor caused by wideband signal components with a significantimpact of tonal effects on smooth roads and in specificactions in driving lead to the annoyance of drivers. A systemicapproach has been applied for the sound quality estimation ofphysical properties of various noise sources and structuralvibroacoustic car properties and its components as an integratedparameter in car design for the purpose of the developmentand vehicle noise reduction. Simulation of the most importantcharacteristics of listening impressions was performedby modem systems of signal analysis together with the presentationof loudness, sharpness, and roughness as essential quantities.Optimization of the noise control measuring regarding vehiclesound was obtained by means of a simulation system withthe capability of the real time original sound filtering. Structuralanalysis was performed as an acoustic modal analysis on therear part and the car interior with the quantitative analysis ofsport and luxury car sounds. The possibility of active noise controlwas studied and examples are given for an application ofpsychoacoustic tools for car sound quality design. Sound qualitywas obtained by an observation of certain aspects, which areempirically or theoretically connected with the design. An experimentalsound synthesis with psychometrical measuring wasapplied. The sound quality of car interior is presented takinginto consideration the criteria of objectivity, reliability and validity.

Monocrystalline fibres for low thermal noise suspension in advanced gravitational wave detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amico, P; Bosi, L; Gammaitoni, L; Losurdo, G; Marchesoni, F; Mazzoni, M; Parisi, D; Punturo, M; Stanga, R; Toncelli, A; Tonelli, M; Travasso, F; Vetrano, F; Vocca, H

2004-01-01

Thermal noise in mirror suspension will be the most severe fundamental limit to the low-frequency sensitivity of future interferometric gravitational wave detectors. We propose a new type of materials to realize low thermal noise suspension in such detectors. Monocrystalline suspension fibres are good candidates both for cryogenic and for ambient temperature interferometers. Material characteristics and a production facility are described in this paper

Monocrystalline fibres for low thermal noise suspension in advanced gravitational wave detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amico, P [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia, Virgo Project, I-06100 Perugia (Italy); Bosi, L [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia, Virgo Project, I-06100 Perugia (Italy); Gammaitoni, L [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia, Virgo Project, I-06100 Perugia (Italy); Losurdo, G [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze/Urbino, Florence (Italy); Marchesoni, F [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia, Virgo Project, I-06100 Perugia (Italy); Mazzoni, M [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze/Urbino, Florence (Italy); Parisi, D [NEST-Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Pisa, Pisa (Italy); Punturo, M [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia, Virgo Project, I-06100 Perugia (Italy); Stanga, R [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze/Urbino, Florence (Italy); Toncelli, A [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa (Italy); Tonelli, M [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, Pisa (Italy); Travasso, F [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia, Virgo Project, I-06100 Perugia (Italy); Vetrano, F [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze/Urbino, Florence (Italy); Vocca, H [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia, Virgo Project, I-06100 Perugia (Italy)

2004-03-07

Thermal noise in mirror suspension will be the most severe fundamental limit to the low-frequency sensitivity of future interferometric gravitational wave detectors. We propose a new type of materials to realize low thermal noise suspension in such detectors. Monocrystalline suspension fibres are good candidates both for cryogenic and for ambient temperature interferometers. Material characteristics and a production facility are described in this paper.

Novel low-power ultrasound digital preprocessing architecture for wireless display.

Science.gov (United States)

Levesque, Philippe; Sawan, Mohamad

2010-03-01

A complete hardware-based ultrasound preprocessing unit (PPU) is presented as an alternative to available power-hungry devices. Intended to expand the ultrasonic applications, the proposed unit allows replacement of the cable of the ultrasonic probe by a wireless link to transfer data from the probe to a remote monitor. The digital back-end architecture of this PPU is fully pipelined, which permits sampling of ultrasonic signals at a frequency equal to the field-programmable gate array-based system clock, up to 100 MHz. Experimental results show that the proposed processing unit has an excellent performance, an equivalent 53.15 Dhrystone 2.1 MIPS/ MHz (DMIPS/MHz), compared with other software-based architectures that allow a maximum of 1.6 DMIPS/MHz. In addition, an adaptive subsampling method is proposed to operate the pixel compressor, which allows real-time image zooming and, by removing high-frequency noise, the lateral and axial resolutions are enhanced by 25% and 33%, respectively. Realtime images, acquired from a reference phantom, validated the feasibility of the proposed architecture. For a display rate of 15 frames per second, and a 5-MHz single-element piezoelectric transducer, the proposed digital PPU requires a dynamic power of only 242 mW, which represents around 20% of the best-available software-based system. Furthermore, composed by the ultrasound processor and the image interpolation unit, the digital processing core of the PPU presents good power-performance ratios of 26 DMIPS/mW and 43.9 DMIPS/mW at a 20-MHz and 100-MHz sample frequency, respectively.

Noise characteristics of resistors buried in low-temperature co-fired ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolek, A; Ptak, P; Dziedzic, A

2003-01-01

The comparison of noise properties of conventional thick film resistors prepared on alumina substrates and resistors embedded in low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCCs) is presented. Both types of resistors were prepared from commercially available resistive inks. Noise measurements of LTCC resistors below 1 kHz show Gaussian 1/f noise. This is concluded from the calculations of the second spectra as well as from studying the volume dependence of noise intensity. It has occurred that noise index of LTCC resistors on average is not worse than that of conventional resistors. A detailed study of co-fired surface resistors and co-fired buried resistors show that burying a resistor within LTCC substrate usually leads to (significant) enhancement of resistance but not of noise intensity. We interpret this behaviour as another argument in favour of tunnelling as the dominant conduction mechanism in LTCC resistors

Wideband amplifier design

CERN Document Server

Hollister, Allen L

2007-01-01

In this book, the theory needed to understand wideband amplifier design using the simplest models possible will be developed. This theory will be used to develop algebraic equations that describe particular circuits used in high frequency design so that the reader develops a ""gut level"" understanding of the process and circuit. SPICE and Genesys simulations will be performed to show the accuracy of the algebraic models. By looking at differences between the algebraic equations and the simulations, new algebraic models will be developed that include parameters originally left out of the model

Detection of low-contrast images in film-grain noise.

Science.gov (United States)

Naderi, F; Sawchuk, A A

1978-09-15

When low contrast photographic images are digitized by a very small aperture, extreme film-grain noise almost completely obliterates the image information. Using a large aperture to average out the noise destroys the fine details of the image. In these situations conventional statistical restoration techniques have little effect, and well chosen heuristic algorithms have yielded better results. In this paper we analyze the noisecheating algorithm of Zweig et al. [J. Opt. Soc. Am. 65, 1347 (1975)] and show that it can be justified by classical maximum-likelihood detection theory. A more general algorithm applicable to a broader class of images is then developed by considering the signal-dependent nature of film-grain noise. Finally, a Bayesian detection algorithm with improved performance is presented.

An Ultra-wideband and Polarization-independent Metasurface for RCS Reduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Pei; Zhao, Yongjiu; Jia, Shengli; Shi, Wenwen; Wang, Hongli

2016-02-11

In this paper, an ultra-wideband and polarization-independent metasurface for radar cross section (RCS) reduction is proposed. The unit cell of the metasurface operates in a linear cross-polarization scheme in a broad band. The phase and amplitude of cross-polarized reflection can be separately controlled by its geometry and rotation angle. Based on the diffuse reflection theory, a 3-bit coding metasurface is designed to reduce the RCS in an ultra-wide band. The wideband property of the metasurface benefits from the wideband cross polarization conversion and flexible phase modulation. In addition, the polarization-independent feature of the metasurface is achieved by tailoring the rotation angle of each element. Both the simulated and measured results demonstrate that the proposed metasurface can reduce the RCS significantly in an ultra-wide frequency band for both normal and oblique incidences, which makes it promising in the applications such as electromagnetic cloaking.

Static and low frequency noise characterization of ultra-thin body InAs MOSFETs

Science.gov (United States)

Karatsori, T. A.; Pastorek, M.; Theodorou, C. G.; Fadjie, A.; Wichmann, N.; Desplanque, L.; Wallart, X.; Bollaert, S.; Dimitriadis, C. A.; Ghibaudo, G.

2018-05-01

A complete static and low frequency noise characterization of ultra-thin body InAs MOSFETs is presented. Characterization techniques, such as the well-known Y-function method established for Si MOSFETs, are applied in order to extract the electrical parameters and study the behavior of these research grade devices. Additionally, the Lambert-W function parameter extraction methodology valid from weak to strong inversion is also used in order to verify its applicability in these experimental level devices. Moreover, a low-frequency noise characterization of the UTB InAs MOSFETs is presented, revealing carrier trapping/detrapping in slow oxide traps and remote Coulomb scattering as origin of 1/f noise, which allowed for the extraction of the oxide trap areal density. Finally, Lorentzian-like noise is also observed in the sub-micron area devices and attributed to both Random Telegraph Noise from oxide individual traps and g-r noise from the semiconductor interface.

A Shearlet-based algorithm for quantum noise removal in low-dose CT images

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Aguan; Jiang, Huiqin; Ma, Ling; Liu, Yumin; Yang, Xiaopeng

2016-03-01

Low-dose CT (LDCT) scanning is a potential way to reduce the radiation exposure of X-ray in the population. It is necessary to improve the quality of low-dose CT images. In this paper, we propose an effective algorithm for quantum noise removal in LDCT images using shearlet transform. Because the quantum noise can be simulated by Poisson process, we first transform the quantum noise by using anscombe variance stabilizing transform (VST), producing an approximately Gaussian noise with unitary variance. Second, the non-noise shearlet coefficients are obtained by adaptive hard-threshold processing in shearlet domain. Third, we reconstruct the de-noised image using the inverse shearlet transform. Finally, an anscombe inverse transform is applied to the de-noised image, which can produce the improved image. The main contribution is to combine the anscombe VST with the shearlet transform. By this way, edge coefficients and noise coefficients can be separated from high frequency sub-bands effectively. A number of experiments are performed over some LDCT images by using the proposed method. Both quantitative and visual results show that the proposed method can effectively reduce the quantum noise while enhancing the subtle details. It has certain value in clinical application.

On the Comparative Performance Analysis of Turbo-Coded Non-Ideal Sigle-Carrier and Multi-Carrier Waveforms over Wideband Vogler-Hoffmeyer HF Channels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Genc

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to compare the turbo-coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM and turbo-coded Single Carrier Frequency Domain Equalization (SC-FDE systems under the effects of Carrier Frequency Offset (CFO, Symbol Timing Offset (STO and phase noise in wide-band Vogler-Hoffmeyer HF channel model. In mobile communication systems multi-path propagation occurs. Therefore channel estimation and equalization is additionally necessary. Furthermore a non-ideal local oscillator generally is misaligned with the operating frequency at the receiver. This causes carrier frequency offset. Hence in coded SC-FDE and coded OFDM systems; a very efficient, low complex frequency domain channel estimation and equalization is implemented in this paper. Also Cyclic Prefix (CP based synchronization synchronizes the clock and carrier frequency offset.The simulations show that non-ideal turbo-coded OFDM has better performance with greater diversity than non-ideal turbo-coded SC-FDE system in HF channel.

Thresholding of auditory cortical representation by background noise

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Feixue; Bai, Lin; Tao, Huizhong W.; Zhang, Li I.; Xiao, Zhongju

2014-01-01

It is generally thought that background noise can mask auditory information. However, how the noise specifically transforms neuronal auditory processing in a level-dependent manner remains to be carefully determined. Here, with in vivo loose-patch cell-attached recordings in layer 4 of the rat primary auditory cortex (A1), we systematically examined how continuous wideband noise of different levels affected receptive field properties of individual neurons. We found that the background noise, when above a certain critical/effective level, resulted in an elevation of intensity threshold for tone-evoked responses. This increase of threshold was linearly dependent on the noise intensity above the critical level. As such, the tonal receptive field (TRF) of individual neurons was translated upward as an entirety toward high intensities along the intensity domain. This resulted in preserved preferred characteristic frequency (CF) and the overall shape of TRF, but reduced frequency responding range and an enhanced frequency selectivity for the same stimulus intensity. Such translational effects on intensity threshold were observed in both excitatory and fast-spiking inhibitory neurons, as well as in both monotonic and nonmonotonic (intensity-tuned) A1 neurons. Our results suggest that in a noise background, fundamental auditory representations are modulated through a background level-dependent linear shifting along intensity domain, which is equivalent to reducing stimulus intensity. PMID:25426029

Thresholding of auditory cortical representation by background noise.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Feixue; Bai, Lin; Tao, Huizhong W; Zhang, Li I; Xiao, Zhongju

2014-01-01

It is generally thought that background noise can mask auditory information. However, how the noise specifically transforms neuronal auditory processing in a level-dependent manner remains to be carefully determined. Here, with in vivo loose-patch cell-attached recordings in layer 4 of the rat primary auditory cortex (A1), we systematically examined how continuous wideband noise of different levels affected receptive field properties of individual neurons. We found that the background noise, when above a certain critical/effective level, resulted in an elevation of intensity threshold for tone-evoked responses. This increase of threshold was linearly dependent on the noise intensity above the critical level. As such, the tonal receptive field (TRF) of individual neurons was translated upward as an entirety toward high intensities along the intensity domain. This resulted in preserved preferred characteristic frequency (CF) and the overall shape of TRF, but reduced frequency responding range and an enhanced frequency selectivity for the same stimulus intensity. Such translational effects on intensity threshold were observed in both excitatory and fast-spiking inhibitory neurons, as well as in both monotonic and nonmonotonic (intensity-tuned) A1 neurons. Our results suggest that in a noise background, fundamental auditory representations are modulated through a background level-dependent linear shifting along intensity domain, which is equivalent to reducing stimulus intensity.

Poisson–Gaussian Noise Analysis and Estimation for Low-Dose X-ray Images in the NSCT Domain

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sangyoon; Lee, Min Seok; Kang, Moon Gi

2018-01-01

The noise distribution of images obtained by X-ray sensors in low-dosage situations can be analyzed using the Poisson and Gaussian mixture model. Multiscale conversion is one of the most popular noise reduction methods used in recent years. Estimation of the noise distribution of each subband in the multiscale domain is the most important factor in performing noise reduction, with non-subsampled contourlet transform (NSCT) representing an effective method for scale and direction decomposition. In this study, we use artificially generated noise to analyze and estimate the Poisson–Gaussian noise of low-dose X-ray images in the NSCT domain. The noise distribution of the subband coefficients is analyzed using the noiseless low-band coefficients and the variance of the noisy subband coefficients. The noise-after-transform also follows a Poisson–Gaussian distribution, and the relationship between the noise parameters of the subband and the full-band image is identified. We then analyze noise of actual images to validate the theoretical analysis. Comparison of the proposed noise estimation method with an existing noise reduction method confirms that the proposed method outperforms traditional methods. PMID:29596335

Poisson-Gaussian Noise Analysis and Estimation for Low-Dose X-ray Images in the NSCT Domain.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sangyoon; Lee, Min Seok; Kang, Moon Gi

2018-03-29

The noise distribution of images obtained by X-ray sensors in low-dosage situations can be analyzed using the Poisson and Gaussian mixture model. Multiscale conversion is one of the most popular noise reduction methods used in recent years. Estimation of the noise distribution of each subband in the multiscale domain is the most important factor in performing noise reduction, with non-subsampled contourlet transform (NSCT) representing an effective method for scale and direction decomposition. In this study, we use artificially generated noise to analyze and estimate the Poisson-Gaussian noise of low-dose X-ray images in the NSCT domain. The noise distribution of the subband coefficients is analyzed using the noiseless low-band coefficients and the variance of the noisy subband coefficients. The noise-after-transform also follows a Poisson-Gaussian distribution, and the relationship between the noise parameters of the subband and the full-band image is identified. We then analyze noise of actual images to validate the theoretical analysis. Comparison of the proposed noise estimation method with an existing noise reduction method confirms that the proposed method outperforms traditional methods.

Conduction noise absorption by ITO thin films attached to microstrip line utilizing Ohmic loss

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sun-Hong; Kim, Sung-Soo

2010-01-01

For the aim of wide-band noise absorbers with a special design for low frequency performance, this study proposes conductive indium-tin oxide (ITO) thin films as the absorbent materials in microstrip line. ITO thin films were deposited on the polyimide film substrates by rf magnetron cosputtering of In 2 O 3 and Sn targets. The deposited ITO films show a typical value of electrical resistivity (∼10 -4 Ω m) and sheet resistance can be controlled in the range of 20-230 Ω by variation in film thickness. Microstrip line with characteristic impedance of 50 Ω was used for determining their noise absorbing properties. It is found that there is an optimum sheet resistance of ITO films for the maximum power absorption. Reflection parameter (S 11 ) is increased with decrease in sheet resistance due to impedance mismatch. On the while, transmission parameter (S 21 ) is decreased with decrease in sheet resistance due to larger Ohmic loss of the ITO films. Experimental results and computational prediction show that the optimum sheet resistance is about 100 Ω. For this film, greater power absorption is predicted in the lower frequency region than ferrite thin films of high magnetic loss, which indicates that Ohmic loss is the predominant loss parameter for power absorption in the low frequency range.

Ultrasound-guided facet block to low back pain: a case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Ellen Q. Santiago

2014-07-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Osteoarthrosis is a common cause of low back pain. The diagnosis is clinical and can be confirmed by imaging studies. Pain treatment and confirmation of diagnosis are made by intra-articular injection of corticosteroid and by local anesthetic use, due to clinical improvement. A direct monitoring of the procedure can be done under fluoroscopy, a classic technique, or else by an ultrasound-guided procedure. CASE REPORT: Female patient, 88 years old, 1.68 m and 72 kg, with facet osteoarthrosis at L2-L3, L3-L4 and L4-L5 for two years. On physical examination, she exhibited pain on lateralization and spinal extension. We opted in favor of an ultrasound-guided facet joint block. A midline spinal longitudinal scan was obtained, with identification of the desired joint space at L3-L4. A 25 G needle was inserted into the skin by the echographic off-plane ultrasound technique. 1 mL of contrast was administered, with confirmation by fluoroscopy. After aspiration of the contrast, 1 mL of solution containing 0.25% bupivacaine hydrochloride and 10 mg of methylprednisolone acetate was injected. Injections into L3-L4, L2-L3 and L1-L2 to the right were applied. CONCLUSIONS: The visualization of the facet joint by ultrasound involves minimal risk, besides reduction of radiation. This option is suitable for a large part of the population. However, fluoroscopy and computed tomography remain as monitoring techniques indicated for patients with specific characteristics, such as obesity, severe degenerative diseases and anatomical malformations, in which the ultrasound technique is still in need of further study.

Low intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) for bone healing: A clinical practice guideline

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R.W. Poolman (Rudolf); Agoritsas, T. (Thomas); Siemieniuk, R.A.C. (Reed A C); I. Harris (Ian); I.B. Schipper (Inger); Mollon, B. (Brent); Smith, M. (Maureen); Albin, A. (Alexandra); Nador, S. (Sally); Sasges, W. (Will); S. Schandelmaier; Lytvyn, L. (Lyubov); T. Kuijpers (Ton); Van Beers, L.W.A.H. (Loes W A H); M.H.J. Verhofstad (Michiel); P.O. Vandvik (Per)

2017-01-01

textabstractDoes low intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) accelerate recovery in adults and children who have experienced bone fractures or osteotomy (cutting of a bone)? An expert panel rapidly produced these recommendations based on a linked systematic review triggered by a large multi-centre

Waveform correlation and coherence of short-period seismic noise within Gauribidanur array with implications for event detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhadauria, Y.S.; Arora, S.K.

1995-01-01

In continuation with our effort to model the short-period micro seismic noise at the seismic array at Gauribidanur (GBA), we have examined in detail time-correlation and spectral coherence of the noise field within the array space. This has implications of maximum possible improvement in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) relevant to event detection. The basis of this study is about a hundred representative wide-band noise samples collected from GBA throughout the year 1992. Both time-structured correlation as well as coherence of the noise waveforms are found to be practically independent of the inter element distances within the array, and they exhibit strong temporal and spectral stability. It turns out that the noise is largely incoherent at frequencies ranging upwards from 2 Hz; the coherency coefficient tends to increase in the lower frequency range attaining a maximum of 0.6 close to 0.5 Hz. While the maximum absolute cross-correlation also diminishes with increasing frequency, the zero-lag cross-correlation is found to be insensitive to frequency filtering regardless of the pass band. An extremely small value of -0.01 of the zero-lag correlation and a comparatively higher year-round average estimate at 0.15 of the maximum absolute time-lagged correlation yields an SNR improvement varying between a probable high of 4.1 and a low of 2.3 for the full 20-element array. 19 refs., 6 figs

Continuous exposure to low-frequency noise and carbon disulfide: Combined effects on hearing.

Science.gov (United States)

Venet, Thomas; Carreres-Pons, Maria; Chalansonnet, Monique; Thomas, Aurélie; Merlen, Lise; Nunge, Hervé; Bonfanti, Elodie; Cosnier, Frédéric; Llorens, Jordi; Campo, Pierre

2017-09-01

Carbon disulfide (CS 2 ) is used in industry; it has been shown to have neurotoxic effects, causing central and distal axonopathies.However, it is not considered cochleotoxic as it does not affect hair cells in the organ of Corti, and the only auditory effects reported in the literature were confined to the low-frequency region. No reports on the effects of combined exposure to low-frequency noise and CS 2 have been published to date. This article focuses on the effects on rat hearing of combined exposure to noise with increasing concentrations of CS 2 (0, 63,250, and 500ppm, 6h per day, 5 days per week, for 4 weeks). The noise used was a low-frequency noise ranging from 0.5 to 2kHz at an intensity of 106dB SPL. Auditory function was tested using distortion product oto-acoustic emissions, which mainly reflects the cochlear performances. Exposure to noise alone caused an auditory deficit in a frequency area ranging from 3.6 to 6 kHz. The damaged area was approximately one octave (6kHz) above the highest frequency of the exposure noise (2.8kHz); it was a little wider than expected based on the noise spectrum.Consequently, since maximum hearing sensitivity is located around 8kHz in rats, low-frequency noise exposure can affect the cochlear regions detecting mid-range frequencies. Co-exposure to CS 2 (250-ppm and over) and noise increased the extent of the damaged frequency window since a significant auditory deficit was measured at 9.6kHz in these conditions.Moreover, the significance at 9.6kHz increased with the solvent concentrations. Histological data showed that neither hair cells nor ganglion cells were damaged by CS 2 . This discrepancy between functional and histological data is discussed. Like most aromatic solvents, carbon disulfide should be considered as a key parameter in hearing conservation régulations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Muon Signals at a Low Signal-to-Noise Ratio Environment

CERN Document Server

Zakareishvili, Tamar; The ATLAS collaboration

2017-01-01

Calorimeters provide high-resolution energy measurements for particle detection. Muon signals are important for evaluating electronics performance, since they produce a signal that is close to electronic noise values. This work provides a noise RMS analysis for the Demonstrator drawer of the 2016 Tile Calorimeter (TileCal) Test Beam in order to help reconstruct events in a low signal-to-noise environment. Muon signals were then found for a beam penetrating through all three layers of the drawer. The Demonstrator drawer is an electronic candidate for TileCal, part of the ATLAS experiment for the Large Hadron Collider that operates at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

An acoustic vector based approach to locate low frequency noise sources in 3D

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bree, H.-E. de; Ostendorf, C.; Basten, T.

2009-01-01

Although low frequency noise is an issue of huge societal importance, traditional acoustic testing methods have limitations in finding the low frequency source. It is hard to determine the direction of the noise using traditional microphones. Three dimensional sound probes capturing the particle

Detection of moving humans in UHF wideband SAR

Science.gov (United States)

Sjögren, Thomas K.; Ulander, Lars M. H.; Frölind, Per-Olov; Gustavsson, Anders; Stenström, Gunnar; Jonsson, Tommy

2014-06-01

In this paper, experimental results for UHF wideband SAR imaging of humans on an open field and inside a forest is presented. The results show ability to detect the humans and suggest possible ways to improve the results. In the experiment, single channel wideband SAR mode of the UHF UWB system LORA developed by Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI). The wideband SAR mode used in the experiment was from 220 to 450 MHz, thus with a fractional bandwidth of 0.68. Three humans walking and one stationary were available in the scene with one of the walking humans in the forest. The signature of the human in the forest appeared on the field, due to azimuth shift from the positive range speed component. One human on the field and the one in the forest had approximately the same speed and walking direction. The signatures in the SAR image were compared as a function of integration time based on focusing using the average relative speed of these given by GPS logs. A signal processing gain was obtained for the human in forest until approximately 15 s and 35 s for the human on the field. This difference is likely explained by uneven terrain and trees in the way, causing a non-straight walking path.

Wideband perfect coherent absorber based on white-light cavity

Science.gov (United States)

Kotlicki, Omer; Scheuer, Jacob

2015-03-01

Coherent Perfect Absorbers (CPAs) are optical cavities which can be described as time-reversed lasers where light waves that enter the cavity, coherently interfere and react with the intra-cavity losses to yield perfect absorption. In contrast to lasers, which benefit from high coherency and narrow spectral linewidths, for absorbers these properties are often undesirable as absorption at a single frequency is highly susceptible to spectral noise and inappropriate for most practical applications. Recently, a new class of cavities, characterized by a spectrally wide resonance has been proposed. Such resonators, often referred to as White Light Cavities (WLCs), include an intra-cavity superluminal phase element, designed to provide a phase response with a slope that is opposite in sign and equal in magnitude to that of light propagation through the empty cavity. Consequently, the resonance phase condition in WLCs is satisfied over a band of frequencies providing a spectrally wide resonance. WLCs have drawn much attention due to their attractiveness for various applications such as ultra-sensitive sensors and optical buffering components. Nevertheless, WLCs exhibit inherent losses that are often undesirable. Here we introduce a simple wideband CPA device that is based on the WLC concept along with a complete analytical analysis. We present analytical and FDTD simulations of a practical, highly compact (12µm), Silicon based WLC-CPA that exhibits a flat and wide absorption profile (40nm) and demonstrate its usefulness as an optical pulse terminator (>35db isolation) and an all optical modulator that span the entire C-Band and exhibit high immunity to spectral noise.

Non-Contact Laser Based Ultrasound Evaluation of Canned Foods

Science.gov (United States)

Shelton, David

2005-03-01

Laser-Based Ultrasound detection was used to measure the velocity of compression waves transmitted through canned foods. Condensed broth, canned pasta, and non-condensed soup were evaluated in these experiments. Homodyne adaptive optics resulted in measurements that were more accurate than the traditional heterodyne method, as well as yielding a 10 dB gain in signal to noise. A-Scans measured the velocity of ultrasound sent through the center of the can and were able to distinguish the quantity of food stuff in its path, as well as distinguish between meat and potato. B-Scans investigated the heterogeneity of the sample’s contents. The evaluation of canned foods was completely non-contact and would be suitable for continuous monitoring in production. These results were verified by conducting the same experiments with a contact piezo transducer. Although the contact method yields a higher signal to noise ratio than the non-contact method, Laser-Based Ultrasound was able to detect surface waves the contact transducer could not.

Ultra-wideband balanced schottky envelope detector for data communication with high bitrate to carrier frequency ratio

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Granja, Angel Blanco; Cimoli, Bruno; Rodriguez, Sebastian

2017-01-01

This paper reports on an ultra-wideband (UWB) Schottky diode based balanced envelope detector for the L-, S-, C- and X- bands. The proposed circuit consists of a balun that splits the input signal into two 180° out of phase signals, a balanced detector, that demodulates the two signals, a low pass...

Development of a rating procedure for low frequency noise : Results of measurements near runways

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buikema, E.; Vercammen, M.; Ploeg, F. van der; Granneman, J.; Vos, J.

2010-01-01

Recent issues concerning low frequency aircraft noise around airports (groundnoise) and a legal verdict about the application of low frequency noise criteria in the Netherlands have been the motivation to start a research commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the

Low-noise, transformer-coupled resonant photodetector for squeezed state generation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chaoyong; Shi, Shaoping; Zheng, Yaohui

2017-10-01

In an actual setup of squeezed state generation, the stability of a squeezing factor is mainly limited by the performance of the servo-control system, which is mainly influenced by the shot noise and gain of a photodetector. We present a unique transformer-coupled LC resonant amplifier as a photodetector circuit to reduce the electronic noise and increase the gain of the photodetector. As a result, we obtain a low-noise, high gain photodetector with the gain of more than 1.8×10 5 V/A, and the input current noise of less than 4.7 pA/Hz. By adjusting the parameters of the transformer, the quality factor Q of the resonant circuit is close to 100 in the frequency range of more than 100 MHz, which meets the requirement for weak power detection in the application of squeezed state generation.

Wideband Electrostatic Vibration Energy Harvester (e-VEH) Having a Low Start-Up Voltage Employing a High-Voltage Integrated Interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dudka, A; Galayko, D; Basset, P; Cottone, F; Blokhina, E

2013-01-01

This paper reports on an electrostatic Vibration Energy Harvester (e-VEH) system, for which the energy conversion process is initiated with a low bias voltage and is compatible with wideband stochastic external vibrations. The system employs the auto-synchronous conditioning circuit topology with the use of a novel dedicated integrated low-power high-voltage switch that is needed to connect the charge pump and flyback – two main parts of the used conditioning circuit. The proposed switch is designed and implemented in AMS035HV CMOS technology. Thanks to the proposed switch device, which is driven with a low-voltage ground-referenced logic, the e-VEH system may operate within a large voltage range, from a pre-charge low voltage up to several tens volts. With such a high-voltage e-VEH operation, it is possible to obtain a strong mechanical coupling and a high rate of vibration energy conversion. The used transducer/resonator device is fabricated with a batch-processed MEMS technology. When excited with stochastic vibrations having an acceleration level of 0.8 g rms distributed in the band 110–170 Hz, up to 0.75 μW of net electrical power has been harvested with our system. This work presents an important milestone in the challenge of designing a fully integrated smart conditioning interface for the capacitive e-VEHs

Effects of Important Parameters Variations on Computing Eigenspace-Based Minimum Variance Weights for Ultrasound Tissue Harmonic Imaging

OpenAIRE

Heidari, Mehdi Haji; Mozaffarzadeh, Moein; Manwar, Rayyan; Nasiriavanaki, Mohammadreza

2018-01-01

In recent years, the minimum variance (MV) beamforming has been widely studied due to its high resolution and contrast in B-mode Ultrasound imaging (USI). However, the performance of the MV beamformer is degraded at the presence of noise, as a result of the inaccurate covariance matrix estimation which leads to a low quality image. Second harmonic imaging (SHI) provides many advantages over the conventional pulse-echo USI, such as enhanced axial and lateral resolutions. However, the low signa...

Low frequency noise from large wind turbines - updated 2011; Lavfrekvent stoej fra store vindmoeller - opdateret 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moeller, H.; Sejer Pedersen, C.; Pedersen, Steffen

2011-07-01

The study analyzed measurements of noise from 65 wind turbines, 25 large turbines (2.3 to 3.6 MW) and 40 small ones (up to 2 MW). The large mills (2.3 to 3.6 MW) emit relatively more low frequency noise than the small ones (up to 2 MW). The difference is statistically significant for the frequency range 63-250 Hz, regardless of whether calculations are performed on all the large mills or only on new wind turbines. There are no significant differences between prototype turbines and the new mills. Because of wind noise in the measurements of the small mills, it is not possible to determine whether the difference between small and large turbines continues further down in frequency. Looking at the A-weighted sound pressure in relevant neighbor distances, the lower frequencies constitute an essential part of the noise from the large mills, and there is no doubt that the low frequency noise is both audible and annoying. When the total A-weighted sound pressure level is the same, there will on average be about 3 dB more low frequency noise from large turbines than from small ones. At large distances the noise character becomes yet more low frequency because atmospheric absorption reduces the high frequencies more than the low frequencies. Depending on the sound insulation the low frequency noise can also be annoying indoors. If the total A-weighted sound pressure level outdoors is 44 dB, the low frequency noise can be heard indoors in all the houses and for all the large turbines. The sound pressure level will in many cases exceed the indoor limit for evening night at 20 dB. (ln)

Bioeffects of low-energy continuous ultrasound on isolated sarcoma 180 cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaobing; Liu, Quanhong; Wang, Zhezhi; Wang, Pan; Hao, Qiao; Li, Chendi

2009-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism underlying bioeffects of low-intensity continuous ultrasound on isolated sarcoma 180 (S180) cells and cellular responses to these effects. After sonication, several structural and functional parameters were examined to elucidate ultrasound-induced cell damage. Instant disruption of the cell membrane might be caused by acoustic cavitation, producing mechanical and chemical effects that acted simultaneously on S180 cells; this could be reflected by immediate (morphological) changes such as membrane permeability, membrane fluidity, lipid peroxidation and the generation of hydroxyl radicals in culture medium. Our results of the delayed effects also indicated S180 cells were sensitive to ultrasound-induced apoptosis, and the rate of apoptosis rose gradually with a prolonged incubation time. The presence of apoptotic cells was identified by a distinct morphological form characterized by membrane blebbing, cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation. Moreover, delayed cytotoxicity was accompanied by an increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and a decrease in the mitochondrial membrane potential, and the two events presented obviously a negative correlation. ROS secondarily generated from damaged mitochondria may play a role in the induction of apoptosis. Copyright 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Biological effects of low frequency high intensity ultrasound application on ex vivo human adipose tissue.

Science.gov (United States)

Palumbo, P; Cinque, B; Miconi, G; La Torre, C; Zoccali, G; Vrentzos, N; Vitale, A R; Leocata, P; Lombardi, D; Lorenzo, C; D'Angelo, B; Macchiarelli, G; Cimini, A; Cifone, M G; Giuliani, M

2011-01-01

In the present work the effects of a new low frequency, high intensity ultrasound technology on human adipose tissue ex vivo were studied. In particular, we investigated the effects of both external and surgical ultrasound-irradiation (10 min) by evaluating, other than sample weight loss and fat release, also histological architecture alteration as well apoptosis induction. The influence of saline buffer tissue-infiltration on the effects of ultrasound irradiation was also examined. The results suggest that, in our experimental conditions, both transcutaneous and surgical ultrasound exposure caused a significant weight loss and fat release. This effect was more relevant when the ultrasound intensity was set at 100 % (~2.5 W/cm², for external device; ~19-21 W/cm2, for surgical device) compared to 70 % (~1.8 W/cm² for external device; ~13-14 W/cm2 for surgical device). Of note, the effectiveness of ultrasound was much higher when the tissue samples were previously infiltrated with saline buffer, in accordance with the knowledge that ultrasonic waves in aqueous solution better propagate with a consequently more efficient cavitation process. Moreover, the overall effects of ultrasound irradiation did not appear immediately after treatment but persisted over time, being significantly more relevant at 18 h from the end of ultrasound irradiation. Evaluation of histological characteristics of ultrasound-irradiated samples showed a clear alteration of adipose tissue architecture as well a prominent destruction of collagen fibers which were dependent on ultrasound intensity and most relevant in saline buffer-infiltrated samples. The structural changes of collagen bundles present between the lobules of fat cells were confirmed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which clearly demonstrated how ultrasound exposure induced a drastic reduction in the compactness of the adipose connective tissue and an irregular arrangement of the fibers with a consequent alteration in

Automated system for noise-measurements on low-ohmic samples and magnetic sensors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jonker, R.J.W.; Briaire, J.; Vandamme, L.K.J.

1999-01-01

An automated system for electronic noise measurements on metal films is presented. This new system, controlled by a personal computer which utilizes National Instruments' LabVIEW software, is designed to measure low frequency noise as a function of an externally imposed magnetic field and as a

The new Wide-band Solar Neutrino Trigger for Super-Kamiokande

Science.gov (United States)

Carminati, Giada

Super-Kamiokande observes low energy electrons induced by the elastic scattering of 8B solar neutrinos. The transition region between vacuum and matter oscillations, with neutrino energy near 3 MeV, is still partially unexplored by any detector. Super-Kamiokande can study this intermediate regime adding a new software trigger. The Wide-band Intelligent Trigger (WIT) has been developed to simultaneously trigger and reconstruct very low energy electrons (above 2.49 kinetic MeV) with an e_ciency close to 100%. The WIT system, comprising 256-Hyperthreaded CPU cores and one 10-Gigabit Ethernet network switch, has been recently installed and integrated in the online DAQ system of SK and the complete system is currently in an advanced status of online data testing.

Effect of direction on loudness for wideband and reverberant sounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sivonen, Ville Pekka; Ellermeier, Wolfgang

2006-01-01

The effect of incidence angle on loudness was investigated for wideband and reverberant sounds. In an adaptive procedure, five listeners matched the loudness of a sound coming from five incidence angles in the horizontal plane to that of the same sound with frontal incidence. The stimuli were...... presented to the listeners via individual binaural synthesis. The results confirm that loudness depends on sound incidence angle, as it does for narrow-band, anechoic sounds. The directional effects, however, were attenuated with the wideband and reverberant stimuli used in the present investigation....

Wideband analysis of railway catenary line radiation and new applications of its unintentional emitted signals

Science.gov (United States)

Heddebaut, Marc; Deniau, Virginie; Rioult, Jean

2018-06-01

Generally, in railway networks, dissipated energy—and its consequences in terms of noise, ballast attrition, electromagnetic interference, etc—is considered a nuisance generated by this means of transport. Therefore, most studies are carried out with the aim of reducing it. This paper takes the opposite view and considers the particular case of the irreducible electromagnetic interference generated along an electrified line, in order to propose new applications beneficial to railway operations. At a selected representative location, wideband (ranging from 10 kHz to 1 GHz) electromagnetic field measurements are performed successively during, and not during, high speed train passages. We deduce two potential applications of these unintentional signals. At low frequency, the first proposal considers energy harvesting using the received electromagnetic interference as the source. This received energy can be converted and used to DC feed low consumption sensors to be installed along the railway infrastructure. These sensors participate in monitoring infrastructure health and in making it more resilient to internal and external stresses. At higher frequencies, for the second proposal, radiation from the catenary line and train pantograph is specifically examined at a carefully selected sub-band. The results are also studied following a time–frequency analysis, to introduce a new nondestructive inspection method of the sliding contact between the catenary line and the train pantograph. Ultimately, this technique could offer a new means of monitoring the health of both the catenary line and the pantograph.

A low power 3-5 GHz CMOS UWB receiver front-end

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Weinan; Huang Yumei; Hong Zhiliang

2009-01-01

A novel low power RF receiver front-end for 3-5 GHz UWB is presented. Designed in the 0.13 μm CMOS process, the direct conversion receiver features a wideband balun-coupled noise cancelling transconductance input stage, followed by quadrature passive mixers and transimpedance loading amplifiers. Measurement results show that the receiver achieves an input return loss below -8.5 dB across the 3.1-4.7 GHz frequency range, maximum voltage conversion gain of 27 dB, minimum noise figure of 4 dB, IIP3 of -11.5 dBm, and IIP2 of 33 dBm. Working under 1.2 V supply voltage, the receiver consumes total current of 18 mA including 10 mA by on-chip quadrature LO signal generation and buffer circuits. The chip area with pads is 1.1 x 1.5 mm 2 .

Ultra-wideband RCS reduction using novel configured chessboard metasurface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhuang Ya-Qiang; Wang Guang-Ming; Xu He-Xiu

2017-01-01

A novel artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) metasurface is proposed with ultra-wideband 180° phase difference for radar cross section (RCS) reduction. It is composed of two dual-resonant AMC cells, which enable a broadband phase difference of 180°±30° from 7.9 GHz to 19.2 GHz to be achieved. A novel strategy is devised by dividing each rectangular grid in a chessboard configuration into four triangular grids, leading to a further reduction of peak bistatic RCS. Both full-wave simulation and measurement results show that the proposed metasurface presents a good RCS reduction property over an ultra-wideband frequency range. (paper)

Low-frequency noise behavior of polysilicon emitter bipolar junction transistors: a review

Science.gov (United States)

Deen, M. Jamal; Pascal, Fabien

2003-05-01

For many analog integrated circuit applications, the polysilicon emitter bipolar junction transistor (PE-BJT) is still the preferred choice because of its higher operational frequency and lower noise performance characteristics compared to MOS transistors of similar active areas and at similar biasing currents. In this paper, we begin by motivating the reader with reasons why bipolar transistors are still of great interest for analog integrated circuits. This motivation includes a comparison between BJT and the MOSFET using a simple small-signal equivalent circuit to derive important parameters that can be used to compare these two technologies. An extensive review of the popular theories used to explain low frequency noise results is presented. However, in almost all instances, these theories have not been fully tested. The effects of different processing technologies and conditions on the noise performance of PE-BJTs is reviewed and a summary of some of the key technological steps and device parameters and their effects on noise is discussed. The effects of temperature and emitter geometries scaling is reviewed. It is shown that dispersion of the low frequency noise in ultra-small geometries is a serious issue since the rate of increase of the noise dispersion is faster than the noise itself as the emitter geometry is scaled to smaller values. Finally, some ideas for future research on PE-BJTs, some of which are also applicable to SiGe heteorjunction bipolar transistors and MOSFETs, are presented after the conclusions.

Ultra-low noise TES bolometer arrays for SAFARI instrument on SPICA

Science.gov (United States)

Khosropanah, P.; Suzuki, T.; Ridder, M. L.; Hijmering, R. A.; Akamatsu, H.; Gottardi, L.; van der Kuur, J.; Gao, J. R.; Jackson, B. D.

2016-07-01

SRON is developing ultra-low noise Transition Edge Sensors (TESs) based on a superconducting Ti/Au bilayer on a suspended SiN island with SiN legs for the SAFARI instrument aboard the SPICA mission. We successfully fabricated TESs with very narrow (0.5-0.7 μm) and thin (0.25 μm) SiN legs on different sizes of SiN islands using deep reactiveion etching process. The pixel size is 840x840 μm2 and there are variety of designs with and without optical absorbers. For TESs without absorbers, we measured electrical NEPs as low as <1x10-19 W/√Hz with response time of 0.3 ms and reached the phonon noise limit. Using TESs with absorbers, we quantified the darkness of our setup and confirmed a photon noise level of 2x10-19 W/√Hz.

Low-pressure pulsed focused ultrasound with microbubbles promotes an anticancer immunological response.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Hao-Li; Hsieh, Han-Yi; Lu, Li-An; Kang, Chiao-Wen; Wu, Ming-Fang; Lin, Chun-Yen

2012-11-11

High-intensity focused-ultrasound (HIFU) has been successfully employed for thermal ablation of tumors in clinical settings. Continuous- or pulsed-mode HIFU may also induce a host antitumor immune response, mainly through expansion of antigen-presenting cells in response to increased cellular debris and through increased macrophage activation/infiltration. Here we demonstrated that another form of focused ultrasound delivery, using low-pressure, pulsed-mode exposure in the presence of microbubbles (MBs), may also trigger an antitumor immunological response and inhibit tumor growth. A total of 280 tumor-bearing animals were subjected to sonographically-guided FUS. Implanted tumors were exposed to low-pressure FUS (0.6 to 1.4 MPa) with MBs to increase the permeability of tumor microvasculature. Tumor progression was suppressed by both 0.6 and 1.4-MPa MB-enhanced FUS exposures. We observed a transient increase in infiltration of non-T regulatory (non-Treg) tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and continual infiltration of CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL). The ratio of CD8+/Treg increased significantly and tumor growth was inhibited. Our findings suggest that low-pressure FUS exposure with MBs may constitute a useful tool for triggering an anticancer immune response, for potential cancer immunotherapy.

A study of twenty-one cases of low-frequency noise complaints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Christian Sejer; Møller, Henrik; Persson-Waye, Kerstin

2008-01-01

-frequency tinnitus. Noise recordings were made in the homes of the complainants, and the complainants were exposed to these in blind test listening experiments. Furthermore, the low-frequency hearing function of the complainants was investigated, and characteristics of the annoying sound was matched. The results...... showed that some of the complainants are annoyed by a physical sound (20-180 Hz), while others suffer from low-frequency tinnitus (perceived frequency 40-100 Hz). Physical sound at frequencies below 20 Hz (infrasound) is not responsible for the annoyance - or at all audible - in any of the investigated...... cases, and none of the complainants has extraordinary hearing sensitivity at low frequencies. For comparable cases of low-frequency noise complaints in general, it is anticipated that physical sound is responsible in a substantial part of the cases, while lowfrequency tinnitus is responsible in another...

Nonlinear propagation model for ultrasound hydrophones calibration in the frequency range up to 100 MHz.

Science.gov (United States)

Radulescu, E G; Wójcik, J; Lewin, P A; Nowicki, A

2003-06-01

To facilitate the implementation and verification of the new ultrasound hydrophone calibration techniques described in the companion paper (somewhere in this issue) a nonlinear propagation model was developed. A brief outline of the theoretical considerations is presented and the model's advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The results of simulations yielding spatial and temporal acoustic pressure amplitude are also presented and compared with those obtained using KZK and Field II models. Excellent agreement between all models is evidenced. The applicability of the model in discrete wideband calibration of hydrophones is documented in the companion paper somewhere in this volume.

Ultra-wideband MMICs for remote sensing applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansen, Tom Keinicke; Vidkjær, Jens; Krozer, Viktor

2003-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the current activity at the Technical University of Denmark in the field of ultra-wideband monolitic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) for next-generation high-resolution synthetic aperature radar (SAR) systems. The transfer function requirements for MMIC co...

A New Time-Hopping Multiple Access Communication System Simulator: Application to Ultra-Wideband

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José M. Páez-Borrallo

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Time-hopping ultra-wideband technology presents some very attractive features for future indoor wireless systems in terms of achievable transmission rate and multiple access capabilities. This paper develops an algorithm to design time-hopping system simulators specially suitable for ultra-wideband, which takes advantage of some of the specific characteristics of this kind of systems. The algorithm allows an improvement of both the time capabilities and the achievable sampling rate and can be used to research into the influence of different parameters on the performance of the system. An additional result is the validation of a new general performance formula for time-hopping ultra-wideband systems with multipath channels.

A 7-13 GHz low-noise tuned optical front-end amplifier for heterodyne transmission system application

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ebskamp, Frank; Schiellerup, Gert; Høgdal, Morten

1991-01-01

The authors present a 7-13 GHz low-noise bandpass tuned optical front-end amplifier, showing 46±1 dBΩ transimpedance, and a noise spectral density of about 12 pA/√Hz. This is the first time such a flat response and such low noise were obtained simultaneously at these frequencies, without any...

Critical Low-Noise Technologies Being Developed for Engine Noise Reduction Systems Subproject

Science.gov (United States)

Grady, Joseph E.; Civinskas, Kestutis C.

2004-01-01

NASA's previous Advanced Subsonic Technology (AST) Noise Reduction Program delivered the initial technologies for meeting a 10-year goal of a 10-dB reduction in total aircraft system noise. Technology Readiness Levels achieved for the engine-noise-reduction technologies ranged from 4 (rig scale) to 6 (engine demonstration). The current Quiet Aircraft Technology (QAT) project is building on those AST accomplishments to achieve the additional noise reduction needed to meet the Aerospace Technology Enterprise's 10-year goal, again validated through a combination of laboratory rig and engine demonstration tests. In order to meet the Aerospace Technology Enterprise goal for future aircraft of a 50- reduction in the perceived noise level, reductions of 4 dB are needed in both fan and jet noise. The primary objectives of the Engine Noise Reduction Systems (ENRS) subproject are, therefore, to develop technologies to reduce both fan and jet noise by 4 dB, to demonstrate these technologies in engine tests, and to develop and experimentally validate Computational Aero Acoustics (CAA) computer codes that will improve our ability to predict engine noise.

Evaluation of Low-Noise, Improved-Bearing-Contact Spiral Bevel Gears

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Lewicki, Davide

2003-01-01

.... Experimental tests were performed on the OH-58D helicopter main-rotor transmission in the NASA Glenn 500-hp Helicopter Transmission Test Stand Low-noise, improved-bearing- contact spiral-bevel gears...

Active noise cancellation of low frequency noise propagating in a duct

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farhad Forouharmajd

2012-01-01

Conclusions: With regard to the wide range of frequencies of different noise sources, having optimized circumstances in the duct, microphone location on the duct body or even the distance of the speakers may be important in signal processing, noise sampling and anti noise production.

Low frequency noise in p-InAsSbP/n-InAs infrared photodiodes

Science.gov (United States)

Dyakonova, N.; Karandashev, S. A.; Levinshtein, M. E.; Matveev, B. A.; Remennyi, M. A.

2018-06-01

We report the first experimental study of low-frequency noise in p-InAsSbP/n-InAs infrared photodiodes. For forward bias, experiments have been carried out at 300 and 77 K, in the photovoltaic regime the measurements have been done at 300 K. At room temperature the current noise spectral density, SI , exhibits the ∼1/f frequency dependence. For low currents, I ≤ I 0 ∼ 4 × 10‑5 A, S I is proportional to I 2, at higher currents this dependence changes to S I ∼ I. At 77 K the noise spectral density is significantly higher than at 300 K, and Lorentzian contributions to noise are observed. The current dependences of spectral noise density can be approximately described as S I ∼ I 1.5 and show particularities suggesting the contribution of defects.

The use of 5-fluorouracil-loaded nanobubbles combined with low-frequency ultrasound to treat hepatocellular carcinoma in nude mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qiaoya; Li, Hongyang; He, Chengjun; Jing, Zhouhong; Liu, Changan; Xie, Juan; Ma, Wenwen; Deng, Huisheng

2017-11-21

This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-loaded nanobubbles irradiated with low-intensity, low-frequency ultrasound in nude mice with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A transplanted tumor model of HCC in nude mice was established in 40 mice, which were then randomly divided equally into four groups: group A (saline), group B (5-FU-loaded nanobubbles), group C (5-FU-loaded nanobubbles with non-low-frequency ultrasound), and group D (5-FU-loaded nanobubbles with low-frequency ultrasound). The tumor size in each mouse was observed via ultrasound before and after the treatments. Inhibition of the tumor growth in each group was compared, and survival curves were generated. Tumor tissues were removed to determine the apoptotic index using the TUNEL method and quantitative analysis. Tumor tissues with CD34-positive microvessels were observed by immunohistochemistry, and the tumor microvessel densities were calculated. The growth rate of the tumor volumes in group D was significantly slower than that in the other groups, while the tumor inhibition rates and apoptotic index in group D were significantly higher than those of the other groups. The number of microvessels staining positive for CD34 was decreased in group D. Therefore, group D presented the most significant inhibitory effects. Therefore, 5-FU-loaded nanobubbles subjected to irradiation with low-frequency ultrasound could further improve drug targeting and effectively inhibit the growth of transplanted tumors, which is expected to become an ideal drug carrier and targeted drug delivery system for the treatment of HCC in the future.

Ultra-Wideband Optical Modulation Spectrometer (OMS) Development: Study of the Optical Setup of a Wide-Band Optical Modulation Spectrometer

Science.gov (United States)

Tolls, Volker; Stringfellow, Guy (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The purpose of this study is to advance the design of the optical setup for a wide-band Optical Modulation Spectrometer (OMS) for use with astronomical heterodyne receiver systems. This report describes the progress of this investigation achieved from March until December 2001.

Low-frequency noise characterization of single CuO nanowire gas sensor devices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steinhauer, S.; Köck, A.; Gspan, C.; Grogger, W.; Vandamme, L.K.J.; Pogany, D.

2015-01-01

Low-frequency noise properties of single CuO nanowire devices were investigated under gas sensor operation conditions in dry and humid synthetic air at 350¿°C. A 1/f noise spectrum was found with the normalized power spectral density of current fluctuations typically a factor of 2 higher for humid

Neurologic Outcomes After Low-Volume, Ultrasound-Guided Interscalene Block and Ambulatory Shoulder Surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajpal, Gaurav; Winger, Daniel G; Cortazzo, Megan; Kentor, Michael L; Orebaugh, Steven L

2016-01-01

Postoperative neurologic symptoms after interscalene block and shoulder surgery have been reported to be relatively frequent. Reports of such symptoms after ultrasound-guided block have been variable. We evaluated 300 patients for neurologic symptoms after low-volume, ultrasound-guided interscalene block and arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Patients underwent ultrasound-guided interscalene block with 16 to 20 mL of 0.5% bupivacaine or a mix of 0.2% bupivacaine/1.2% mepivacaine solution, followed by propofol/ketamine sedation for ambulatory arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Patients were called at 10 days for evaluation of neurologic symptoms, and those with persistent symptoms were called again at 30 days, at which point neurologic evaluation was initiated. Details of patient demographics and block characteristics were collected to assess any association with persistent neurologic symptoms. Six of 300 patients reported symptoms at 10 days (2%), with one of these patients having persistent symptoms at 30 days (0.3%). This was significantly lower than rates of neurologic symptoms reported in preultrasound investigations with focused neurologic follow-up and similar to other studies performed in the ultrasound era. There was a modest correlation between the number of needle redirections during the block procedure and the presence of postoperative neurologic symptoms. Ultrasound guidance of interscalene block with 16- to 20-mL volumes of local anesthetic solution results in a lower frequency of postoperative neurologic symptoms at 10 and 30 days as compared with investigations in the preultrasound period.

Tunable Balun Low-Noise Amplifier in 65nm CMOS Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Sturm

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The presented paper includes the design and implementation of a 65 nm CMOS low-noise amplifier (LNA based on inductive source degeneration. The amplifier is realized with an active balun enabling a single-ended input which is an important requirement for low-cost system on chip implementations. The LNA has a tunable bandpass characteristics from 4.7 GHz up to 5.6 GHz and a continuously tunable gain from 22 dB down to 0 dB, which enables the required flexibility for multi-standard, multi-band receiver architectures. The gain and band tuning is realized with an optimized tunable active resistor in parallel to a tunable L-C tank amplifier load. The amplifier achieves an IIP3 linearity of -8dBm and a noise figure of 2.7 dB at the highest gain and frequency setting with a low power consumption of 10 mW. The high flexibility of the proposed LNA structure together with the overall good performance makes it well suited for future multi-standard low-cost receiver front-ends.

Drug Release from Phase-Changeable Nanodroplets Triggered by Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Yang; Chen, Yuli; Yu, Tao; Guo, Yuan; Liu, Fengqiu; Yao, Yuanzhi; Li, Pan; Wang, Dong; Wang, Zhigang; Chen, Yu; Ran, Haitao

2018-01-01

Background: As one of the most effective triggers with high tissue-penetrating capability and non-invasive feature, ultrasound shows great potential for controlling the drug release and enhancing the chemotherapeutic efficacy. In this study, we report, for the first time, construction of a phase-changeable drug-delivery nanosystem with programmable low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) that could trigger drug-release and significantly enhance anticancer drug delivery. Methods: Liquid-gas phase-changeable perfluorocarbon (perfluoropentane) and an anticancer drug (doxorubicin) were simultaneously encapsulated in two kinds of nanodroplets. By triggering LIFU, the nanodroplets could be converted into microbubbles locally in tumor tissues for acoustic imaging and the loaded anticancer drug (doxorubicin) was released after the microbubble collapse. Based on the acoustic property of shell materials, such as shell stiffness, two types of nanodroplets (lipid-based nanodroplets and PLGA-based nanodroplets) were activated by different acoustic pressure levels. Ultrasound irradiation duration and power of LIFU were tested and selected to monitor and control the drug release from nanodroplets. Various ultrasound energies were introduced to induce the phase transition and microbubble collapse of nanodroplets in vitro (3 W/3 min for lipid nanodroplets; 8 W/3 min for PLGA nanodroplets). Results: We detected three steps in the drug-releasing profiles exhibiting the programmable patterns. Importantly, the intratumoral accumulation and distribution of the drug with LIFU exposure were significantly enhanced, and tumor proliferation was substantially inhibited. Co-delivery of two drug-loaded nanodroplets could overcome the physical barriers of tumor tissues during chemotherapy. Conclusion: Our study provides a new strategy for the efficient ultrasound-triggered chemotherapy by nanocarriers with programmable LIFU capable of achieving the on-demand drug release. PMID:29507623

Band-gap tunable dielectric elastomer filter for low frequency noise

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Kun; Wang, Mian; Lu, Tongqing; Zhang, Jinhua; Wang, Tiejun

2016-05-01

In the last decades, diverse materials and technologies for sound insulation have been widely applied in engineering. However, suppressing the noise radiation at low frequency still remains a challenge. In this work, a novel membrane-type smart filter, consisting of a pre-stretched dielectric elastomer membrane with two compliant electrodes coated on the both sides, is presented to control the low frequency noise. Since the stiffness of membrane dominates its acoustic properties, sound transmission band-gap of the membrane filter can be tuned by adjusting the voltage applied to the membrane. The impedance tube experiments have been carried out to measure the sound transmission loss (STL) of the filters with different electrodes, membrane thickness and pre-stretch conditions. The experimental results show that the center frequency of sound transmission band-gap mainly depends on the stress in the dielectric elastomer, and a large band-gap shift (more than 60 Hz) can be achieved by tuning the voltage applied to the 85 mm diameter VHB4910 specimen with pre-stretch {λ }0=3. Based on the experimental results and the assumption that applied electric field is independent of the membrane behavior, 3D finite element analysis has also been conducted to calculate the membrane stress variation. The sound filter proposed herein may provide a promising facility to control low frequency noise source with tonal characteristics.

Resolution and robustness to noise of the sensitivity-based method for microwave imaging with data acquired on cylindrical surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yifan; Tu, Sheng; Amineh, Reza K; Nikolova, Natalia K

2012-01-01

The spatial resolution limit of a Jacobian-based microwave imaging algorithm and its robustness to noise are evaluated. The focus here is on tomographic systems where the wideband data are acquired with a vertically scanned circular sensor array and at each scanning step a 2D image is reconstructed in the plane of the sensor array. The theoretical resolution is obtained as one-half of the maximum-frequency wavelength with far-zone data and about two-thirds of the array radius with near-zone data. Validation examples are given using analytical electromagnetic models. The algorithm is shown to be robust to noise when the response data are corrupted by Gaussian white noise. (paper)

Enhancement of bone shadow region using local phase-based ultrasound transmission maps.

Science.gov (United States)

Hacihaliloglu, Ilker

2017-06-01

Ultrasound is increasingly being employed in different orthopedic procedures as an imaging modality for real-time guidance. Nevertheless, low signal-to-noise-ratio and different imaging artifacts continue to hamper the success of ultrasound-based procedures. Bone shadow region is an important feature indicating the presence of bone/tissue interface in the acquired ultrasound data. Enhancement and automatic detection of this region could improve the sensitivity of ultrasound for imaging bone and result in improved guidance for various orthopedic procedures. In this work, a method is introduced for the enhancement of bone shadow regions from B-mode ultrasound data. The method is based on the combination of three different image phase features: local phase tensor, local weighted mean phase angle, and local phase energy. The combined local phase image features are used as an input to an [Formula: see text] norm-based contextual regularization method which emphasizes uncertainty in the shadow regions. The enhanced bone shadow images are automatically segmented and compared against expert segmentation. Qualitative and quantitative validation was performed on 100 in vivo US scans obtained from five subjects by scanning femur and vertebrae bones. Validation against expert segmentation achieved a mean dice similarity coefficient of 0.88. The encouraging results obtained in this initial study suggest that the proposed method is promising enough for further evaluation. The calculated bone shadow maps could be incorporated into different ultrasound bone segmentation and registration approaches as an additional feature.

Wideband aperture array using RF channelizers and massively parallel digital 2D IIR filterbank

Science.gov (United States)

Sengupta, Arindam; Madanayake, Arjuna; Gómez-García, Roberto; Engeberg, Erik D.

2014-05-01

Wideband receive-mode beamforming applications in wireless location, electronically-scanned antennas for radar, RF sensing, microwave imaging and wireless communications require digital aperture arrays that offer a relatively constant far-field beam over several octaves of bandwidth. Several beamforming schemes including the well-known true time-delay and the phased array beamformers have been realized using either finite impulse response (FIR) or fast Fourier transform (FFT) digital filter-sum based techniques. These beamforming algorithms offer the desired selectivity at the cost of a high computational complexity and frequency-dependant far-field array patterns. A novel approach to receiver beamforming is the use of massively parallel 2-D infinite impulse response (IIR) fan filterbanks for the synthesis of relatively frequency independent RF beams at an order of magnitude lower multiplier complexity compared to FFT or FIR filter based conventional algorithms. The 2-D IIR filterbanks demand fast digital processing that can support several octaves of RF bandwidth, fast analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for RF-to-bits type direct conversion of wideband antenna element signals. Fast digital implementation platforms that can realize high-precision recursive filter structures necessary for real-time beamforming, at RF radio bandwidths, are also desired. We propose a novel technique that combines a passive RF channelizer, multichannel ADC technology, and single-phase massively parallel 2-D IIR digital fan filterbanks, realized at low complexity using FPGA and/or ASIC technology. There exists native support for a larger bandwidth than the maximum clock frequency of the digital implementation technology. We also strive to achieve More-than-Moore throughput by processing a wideband RF signal having content with N-fold (B = N Fclk/2) bandwidth compared to the maximum clock frequency Fclk Hz of the digital VLSI platform under consideration. Such increase in bandwidth is

Effect of drain current on appearance probability and amplitude of random telegraph noise in low-noise CMOS image sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Ichino, Shinya; Mawaki, Takezo; Teramoto, Akinobu; Kuroda, Rihito; Park, Hyeonwoo; Wakashima, Shunichi; Goto, Tetsuya; Suwa, Tomoyuki; Sugawa, Shigetoshi

2018-04-01

Random telegraph noise (RTN), which occurs in in-pixel source follower (SF) transistors, has become one of the most critical problems in high-sensitivity CMOS image sensors (CIS) because it is a limiting factor of dark random noise. In this paper, the behaviors of RTN toward changes in SF drain current conditions were analyzed using a low-noise array test circuit measurement system with a floor noise of 35 µV rms. In addition to statistical analysis by measuring a large number of transistors (18048 transistors), we also analyzed the behaviors of RTN parameters such as amplitude and time constants in the individual transistors. It is demonstrated that the appearance probability of RTN becomes small under a small drain current condition, although large-amplitude RTN tends to appear in a very small number of cells.

Investigation and reduction of excess low-frequency noise in rf superconducting quantum interference devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueck, M.; Heiden, C.; Clarke, J.

1994-01-01

A detailed study has been made of the low-frequency excess noise of rf superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), fabricated from thin niobium films and operated at 4.2 K, with rf bias frequencies of 0.15, 1.7, and 3 GHz. When the SQUIDs were operated in an open-loop configuration in the absence of low-frequency flux modulation, the demodulated rf voltage exhibited a substantial level 1/f noise, which was essentially independent of the rf bias frequency. As the rf bias frequency was increased, the crossover frequency at which the 1/f noise power was equal to the white noise power moved to higher frequencies, because of the reduction in white noise. On the other hand, when the SQUID was flux modulated at 50 kHz and operated in a flux locked loop, no 1/f noise was observed at frequencies above 0.5 Hz. A detailed description of how the combination of rf bias and flux modulation removes 1/f noise due to critical current fluctuations is given. Thus, the results demonstrate that the 1/f noise observed in these SQUIDs is generated by critical current fluctuations, rather than by the hopping of flux vortices in the niobium films

Wideband Acoustic Immittance: Normative Study and Test-Retest Reliability of Tympanometric Measurements in Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Xiao-Ming

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to present normative data of tympanometric measurements of wideband acoustic immittance and to characterize wideband tympanograms. Method: Data were collected in 84 young adults with strictly defined normal hearing and middle ear status. Energy absorbance (EA) was measured using clicks for 1/12-octave…

Low-Gain, Low-Noise Integrated Neuronal Amplifier for Implantable Artifact-Reduction Recording System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdelhamid Benazzouz

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Brain neuroprostheses for neuromodulation are being designed to monitor the neural activity of the brain in the vicinity of the region being stimulated using a single macro-electrode. Using a single macro-electrode, recent neuromodulation studies show that recording systems with a low gain neuronal amplifier and successive amplifier stages can reduce or reject stimulation artifacts. These systems were made with off-the-shelf components that are not amendable for future implant design. A low-gain, low-noise integrated neuronal amplifier (NA with the capability of recording local field potentials (LFP and spike activity is presented. In vitro and in vivo characterizations of the tissue/electrode interface, with equivalent impedance as an electrical model for recording in the LFP band using macro-electrodes for rodents, contribute to the NA design constraints. The NA occupies 0.15 mm2 and dissipates 6.73 µW, and was fabricated using a 0.35 µm CMOS process. Test-bench validation indicates that the NA provides a mid-band gain of 20 dB and achieves a low input-referred noise of 4 µVRMS. Ability of the NA to perform spike recording in test-bench experiments is presented. Additionally, an awake and freely moving rodent setup was used to illustrate the integrated NA ability to record LFPs, paving the pathway for future implantable systems for neuromodulation.

W-band InP based HEMT MMIC low noise amplifiers

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, K. Y.; Tang, Y. L.; Wang, H.; Gaier, T.; Gough, R. G.; Sinclair, M.

2002-01-01

This paper presents the designs and measurement results of a three-stage and a four-stage W-band monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC) including a three-stage and a four-stage low noise amplifiers.

Wideband propagation measurements at 30.3 GHz through a pecan orchard in Texas

Science.gov (United States)

Papazian, Peter B.; Jones, David L.; Espeland, Richard H.

1992-09-01

Wideband propagation measurements were made in a pecan orchard in Texas during April and August of 1990 to examine the propagation characteristics of millimeter-wave signals through vegetation. Measurements were made on tree obstructed paths with and without leaves. The study presents narrowband attenuation data at 9.6 and 28.8 GHz as well as wideband impulse response measurements at 30.3 GHz. The wideband probe (Violette et al., 1983), provides amplitude and delay of reflected and scattered signals and bit-error rate. This is accomplished using a 500 MBit/sec pseudo-random code to BPSK modulate a 28.8 GHz carrier. The channel impulse response is then extracted by cross correlating the received pseudo-random sequence with a locally generated replica.

A low noise charge sensitive amplifier for use in vacuum photo diode readout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stephenson, R.

1982-08-01

The amplifier described consists of a charge sensitive pre-amplifier optimised for low noise with low values of input shunt capacitance, and a shaping amplifier providing both differentiation and integration. Amplifier gain is adjustable up to a maximum of approximately 100 μV/electron with a rise time of 2 μS to the peak of the output voltage, and with an open circuit input noise level of 150 electrons RMS. (author)

Op-amp based low noise amplifier for magnetic particle spectroscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malhotra Ankit

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Magnetic particle spectrometry (MPS is a novel technique used to measure the magnetization response of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs. Therefore, it is one of the most important tools for the characterization of the SPIONs for imaging modalities such as magnetic particle imaging (MPI and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI. In MPS, change in the particle magnetization induces a voltage in a dedicated receive coil. The amplitude of the signal can be very low (ranging from a few nV to 100 μV depending upon the concentration of the nanoparticles. Hence, the received signal needs to be amplified with a low noise amplifier (LNA. LNA’s paramount task is to amplify the received signal while keeping the noise induced by its own circuitry minimum. In the current research, we purpose modeling, design, and development of a prototyped LNA for MPS. The designed prototype LNA is based on the parallelization technique of Op-amps. The prototyped LNA consists of 16 Op-amps in parallel and is manufactured on a printed circuit board (PCB, with a size of 110.38 mm × 59.46 mm and 234 components. The input noise of the amplifier is approx. 546 pV/√Hz with a noise figure (NF of approx. 1.4 dB with a receive coil termination. Furthermore, a comparison between the prototyped LNA and a commercially available amplifier is shown.

Ultra wideband wireless body area networks

CERN Document Server

Thotahewa, Kasun Maduranga Silva; Yuce, Mehmet Rasit

2014-01-01

This book explores the design of ultra wideband (UWB) technology for wireless body-area networks (WBAN).  The authors describe a novel implementation of WBAN sensor nodes that use UWB for data transmission and narrow band for data reception, enabling low power sensor nodes, with high data rate capability.  The discussion also includes power efficient, medium access control (MAC) protocol design for UWB based WBAN applications and the authors present a MAC protocol in which a guaranteed delivery mechanism is utilized to transfer data with high priority.  Readers will also benefit from this book’s feasibility analysis of the UWB technology for human implant applications through the study of electromagnetic and thermal power absorption of human tissue that is exposed to UWB signals.   • Describes hardware platform development for IR-UWB based WBAN communication; • Discusses power efficient medium access control (MAC) protocol design for IR-UWB based WBAN applications; • Includes feasibility analy...

Paper-based inkjet-printed ultra-wideband fractal antennas

KAUST Repository

Maza, Armando Rodriguez; Cook, Benjamin Stassen; Jabbour, Ghassan E.; Shamim, Atif

2012-01-01

For the first time, paper-based inkjet-printed ultra-wideband (UWB) fractal antennas are presented. Two new designs, a miniaturised UWB monopole, which utilises a fractal matching network and is the smallest reported inkjet-printed UWB printed

DEEP WIDEBAND SINGLE POINTINGS AND MOSAICS IN RADIO INTERFEROMETRY: HOW ACCURATELY DO WE RECONSTRUCT INTENSITIES AND SPECTRAL INDICES OF FAINT SOURCES?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rau, U.; Bhatnagar, S.; Owen, F. N., E-mail: rurvashi@nrao.edu [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, NM-87801 (United States)

2016-11-01

Many deep wideband wide-field radio interferometric surveys are being designed to accurately measure intensities, spectral indices, and polarization properties of faint source populations. In this paper, we compare various wideband imaging methods to evaluate the accuracy to which intensities and spectral indices of sources close to the confusion limit can be reconstructed. We simulated a wideband single-pointing (C-array, L-Band (1–2 GHz)) and 46-pointing mosaic (D-array, C-Band (4–8 GHz)) JVLA observation using a realistic brightness distribution ranging from 1 μ Jy to 100 mJy and time-, frequency-, polarization-, and direction-dependent instrumental effects. The main results from these comparisons are (a) errors in the reconstructed intensities and spectral indices are larger for weaker sources even in the absence of simulated noise, (b) errors are systematically lower for joint reconstruction methods (such as Multi-Term Multi-Frequency-Synthesis (MT-MFS)) along with A-Projection for accurate primary beam correction, and (c) use of MT-MFS for image reconstruction eliminates Clean-bias (which is present otherwise). Auxiliary tests include solutions for deficiencies of data partitioning methods (e.g., the use of masks to remove clean bias and hybrid methods to remove sidelobes from sources left un-deconvolved), the effect of sources not at pixel centers, and the consequences of various other numerical approximations within software implementations. This paper also demonstrates the level of detail at which such simulations must be done in order to reflect reality, enable one to systematically identify specific reasons for every trend that is observed, and to estimate scientifically defensible imaging performance metrics and the associated computational complexity of the algorithms/analysis procedures.

Noise Source Visualization Using a Digital Voice Recorder and Low-Cost Sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Yong Thung

2018-04-03

Accurate sound visualization of noise sources is required for optimal noise control. Typically, noise measurement systems require microphones, an analog-digital converter, cables, a data acquisition system, etc., which may not be affordable for potential users. Also, many such systems are not highly portable and may not be convenient for travel. Handheld personal electronic devices such as smartphones and digital voice recorders with relatively lower costs and higher performance have become widely available recently. Even though such devices are highly portable, directly implementing them for noise measurement may lead to erroneous results since such equipment was originally designed for voice recording. In this study, external microphones were connected to a digital voice recorder to conduct measurements and the input received was processed for noise visualization. In this way, a low cost, compact sound visualization system was designed and introduced to visualize two actual noise sources for verification with different characteristics: an enclosed loud speaker and a small air compressor. Reasonable accuracy of noise visualization for these two sources was shown over a relatively wide frequency range. This very affordable and compact sound visualization system can be used for many actual noise visualization applications in addition to educational purposes.

Measurement of the Low Frequency Noise of MOSFETs under Large Signal RF Excitation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Wel, A.P.; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Nauta, Bram

2002-01-01

A measurement technique [1] is presented that allows measurement of MOSFET low frequency (LF) noise under large signal RF (Radio Frequency) excitation. Measurements indicate that MOSFETS exhibit a reduction in LF noise when they are cycled from inversion to accummulation and that this reduction does

Speech Denoising in White Noise Based on Signal Subspace Low-rank Plus Sparse Decomposition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

yuan Shuai

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a new subspace speech enhancement method using low-rank and sparse decomposition is presented. In the proposed method, we firstly structure the corrupted data as a Toeplitz matrix and estimate its effective rank for the underlying human speech signal. Then the low-rank and sparse decomposition is performed with the guidance of speech rank value to remove the noise. Extensive experiments have been carried out in white Gaussian noise condition, and experimental results show the proposed method performs better than conventional speech enhancement methods, in terms of yielding less residual noise and lower speech distortion.

Nanoscale MOS devices: device parameter fluctuations and low-frequency noise (Invited Paper)

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Hei; Iwai, Hiroshi; Liou, J. J.

2005-05-01

It is well-known in conventional MOS transistors that the low-frequency noise or flicker noise is mainly contributed by the trapping-detrapping events in the gate oxide and the mobility fluctuation in the surface channel. In nanoscale MOS transistors, the number of trapping-detrapping events becomes less important because of the large direct tunneling current through the ultrathin gate dielectric which reduces the probability of trapping-detrapping and the level of leakage current fluctuation. Other noise sources become more significant in nanoscale devices. The source and drain resistance noises have greater impact on the drain current noise. Significant contribution of the parasitic bipolar transistor noise in ultra-short channel and channel mobility fluctuation to the channel noise are observed. The channel mobility fluctuation in nanoscale devices could be due to the local composition fluctuation of the gate dielectric material which gives rise to the permittivity fluctuation along the channel and results in gigantic channel potential fluctuation. On the other hand, the statistical variations of the device parameters across the wafer would cause the noise measurements less accurate which will be a challenge for the applicability of analytical flicker noise model as a process or device evaluation tool for nanoscale devices. Some measures for circumventing these difficulties are proposed.

Subjective evaluation of noise from neighbours with focus on low frequencies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Frank Rysgaard

1999-01-01

There is a growing tendency to use lightweight constructions in the building industry. One unwanted side effect of this tendency is poor sound insulation at low frequencies. The purpose of this investigation has been to examine the subjective effects of the resulting increase of low frequency noise...

Ultra low-noise differential ac-coupled photodetector for sensitive pulse detection applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Windpassinger, Patrick J; Boisen, Axel; Kjærgaard, Niels; Polzik, Eugene S; Müller, Jörg Helge; Kubasik, Marcin; Koschorreck, Marco

2009-01-01

We report on the performance of ultra low-noise differential photodetectors especially designed for probing of atomic ensembles with weak light pulses. The working principle of the detectors is described together with the analysis procedures employed to extract the photon shot noise of light pulses with ∼1 μs duration. As opposed to frequency response peaked detectors, our approach allows for broadband quantum noise measurements. The equivalent noise charge (ENC) for two different hardware approaches is evaluated to 280 and 340 electrons per pulse, respectively, which corresponds to a dark noise equivalent photon number of n 3dB = 0.8 × 10 5 and n 3dB = 1.2 × 10 5 in the two approaches. Finally, we discuss the possibility of removing classical correlations in the output signal caused by detector imperfection by using double-correlated sampling methods

A single-to-differential low-noise amplifier with low differential output imbalance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan Lian; Ma Chengyan; He Xiaofeng; Ye Tianchun; Huang Wei; Jin Yuhua

2012-01-01

This paper presents a single-ended input differential output low-noise amplifier intended for GPS applications. We propose a method to reduce the gain/amplitude and phase imbalance of a differential output exploiting the inductive coupling of a transformer or center-tapped differential inductor. A detailed analysis of the theory of imbalance reduction, as well as a discussion on the principle of choosing the dimensions of a transformer, are given. An LNA has been implemented using TSMC 0.18 μm technology with ESD-protected. Measurement on board shows a voltage gain of 24.6 dB at 1.575 GHz and a noise figure of 3.2 dB. The gain imbalance is below 0.2 dB and phase imbalance is less than 2 degrees. The LNA consumes 5.2 mA from a 1.8 V supply. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Age effects in the human middle ear: Wideband acoustical measures

Science.gov (United States)

Feeney, M. Patrick; Sanford, Chris A.

2004-12-01

Studies that have examined age effects in the human middle ear using either admittance measures at 220 or 660 Hz or multifrequency tympanometry from 200 to 2000 Hz have had conflicting results. Several studies have suggested an increase in admittance with age, while several others have suggested a decrease in admittance with age. A third group of studies found no significant age effect. This study examined 226 Hz tympanometry and wideband energy reflectance and impedance at ambient pressure in a group of 40 young adults and a group of 30 adults with age >=60 years. The groups did not differ in admittance measures of the middle ear at 226 Hz. However, significant age effects were found in wideband energy reflectance and impedance. In particular, in older adults there was a comparative decrease in reflectance from 800 to 2000 Hz but an increase near 4000 Hz. The results suggest a decrease in middle-ear stiffness with age. The findings of this study hold relevance for understanding the aging process in the auditory system, for the establishment of normative data for wideband energy reflectance, for the possibility of a conductive component to presbycusis, and for the interpretation of otoacoustic emission measurements. .

Quality Improvement of Liver Ultrasound Images Using Fuzzy Techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Bayani, Azadeh; Langarizadeh, Mostafa; Radmard, Amir Reza; Nejad, Ahmadreza Farzaneh

2016-12-01

Liver ultrasound images are so common and are applied so often to diagnose diffuse liver diseases like fatty liver. However, the low quality of such images makes it difficult to analyze them and diagnose diseases. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to improve the contrast and quality of liver ultrasound images. In this study, a number of image contrast enhancement algorithms which are based on fuzzy logic were applied to liver ultrasound images - in which the view of kidney is observable - using Matlab2013b to improve the image contrast and quality which has a fuzzy definition; just like image contrast improvement algorithms using a fuzzy intensification operator, contrast improvement algorithms applying fuzzy image histogram hyperbolization, and contrast improvement algorithms by fuzzy IF-THEN rules. With the measurement of Mean Squared Error and Peak Signal to Noise Ratio obtained from different images, fuzzy methods provided better results, and their implementation - compared with histogram equalization method - led both to the improvement of contrast and visual quality of images and to the improvement of liver segmentation algorithms results in images. Comparison of the four algorithms revealed the power of fuzzy logic in improving image contrast compared with traditional image processing algorithms. Moreover, contrast improvement algorithm based on a fuzzy intensification operator was selected as the strongest algorithm considering the measured indicators. This method can also be used in future studies on other ultrasound images for quality improvement and other image processing and analysis applications.

Efficient Wideband Spectrum Sensing with Maximal Spectral Efficiency for LEO Mobile Satellite Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feilong Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The usable satellite spectrum is becoming scarce due to static spectrum allocation policies. Cognitive radio approaches have already demonstrated their potential towards spectral efficiency for providing more spectrum access opportunities to secondary user (SU with sufficient protection to licensed primary user (PU. Hence, recent scientific literature has been focused on the tradeoff between spectrum reuse and PU protection within narrowband spectrum sensing (SS in terrestrial wireless sensing networks. However, those narrowband SS techniques investigated in the context of terrestrial CR may not be applicable for detecting wideband satellite signals. In this paper, we mainly investigate the problem of joint designing sensing time and hard fusion scheme to maximize SU spectral efficiency in the scenario of low earth orbit (LEO mobile satellite services based on wideband spectrum sensing. Compressed detection model is established to prove that there indeed exists one optimal sensing time achieving maximal spectral efficiency. Moreover, we propose novel wideband cooperative spectrum sensing (CSS framework where each SU reporting duration can be utilized for its following SU sensing. The sensing performance benefits from the novel CSS framework because the equivalent sensing time is extended by making full use of reporting slot. Furthermore, in respect of time-varying channel, the spatiotemporal CSS (ST-CSS is presented to attain space and time diversity gain simultaneously under hard decision fusion rule. Computer simulations show that the optimal sensing settings algorithm of joint optimization of sensing time, hard fusion rule and scheduling strategy achieves significant improvement in spectral efficiency. Additionally, the novel ST-CSS scheme performs much higher spectral efficiency than that of general CSS framework.

Health-based audible noise guidelines account for infrasound and low-frequency noise produced by wind turbines.

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Robert G; Ashtiani, Payam; Ollson, Christopher A; Whitfield Aslund, Melissa; McCallum, Lindsay C; Leventhall, Geoff; Knopper, Loren D

2015-01-01

Setbacks for wind turbines have been established in many jurisdictions to address potential health concerns associated with audible noise. However, in recent years, it has been suggested that infrasound (IS) and low-frequency noise (LFN) could be responsible for the onset of adverse health effects self-reported by some individuals living in proximity to wind turbines, even when audible noise limits are met. The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether current audible noise-based guidelines for wind turbines account for the protection of human health, given the levels of IS and LFN typically produced by wind turbines. New field measurements of indoor IS and outdoor LFN at locations between 400 and 900 m from the nearest turbine, which were previously underrepresented in the scientific literature, are reported and put into context with existing published works. Our analysis showed that indoor IS levels were below auditory threshold levels while LFN levels at distances >500 m were similar to background LFN levels. A clear contribution to LFN due to wind turbine operation (i.e., measured with turbines on in comparison to with turbines off) was noted at a distance of 480 m. However, this corresponded to an increase in overall audible sound measures as reported in dB(A), supporting the hypothesis that controlling audible sound produced by normally operating wind turbines will also control for LFN. Overall, the available data from this and other studies suggest that health-based audible noise wind turbine siting guidelines provide an effective means to evaluate, monitor, and protect potential receptors from audible noise as well as IS and LFN.

Health-Based Audible Noise Guidelines Account for Infrasound and Low-Frequency Noise Produced by Wind Turbines

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Robert G.; Ashtiani, Payam; Ollson, Christopher A.; Whitfield Aslund, Melissa; McCallum, Lindsay C.; Leventhall, Geoff; Knopper, Loren D.

2015-01-01

Setbacks for wind turbines have been established in many jurisdictions to address potential health concerns associated with audible noise. However, in recent years, it has been suggested that infrasound (IS) and low-frequency noise (LFN) could be responsible for the onset of adverse health effects self-reported by some individuals living in proximity to wind turbines, even when audible noise limits are met. The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether current audible noise-based guidelines for wind turbines account for the protection of human health, given the levels of IS and LFN typically produced by wind turbines. New field measurements of indoor IS and outdoor LFN at locations between 400 and 900 m from the nearest turbine, which were previously underrepresented in the scientific literature, are reported and put into context with existing published works. Our analysis showed that indoor IS levels were below auditory threshold levels while LFN levels at distances >500 m were similar to background LFN levels. A clear contribution to LFN due to wind turbine operation (i.e., measured with turbines on in comparison to with turbines off) was noted at a distance of 480 m. However, this corresponded to an increase in overall audible sound measures as reported in dB(A), supporting the hypothesis that controlling audible sound produced by normally operating wind turbines will also control for LFN. Overall, the available data from this and other studies suggest that health-based audible noise wind turbine siting guidelines provide an effective means to evaluate, monitor, and protect potential receptors from audible noise as well as IS and LFN. PMID:25759808

Fast and Automatic Ultrasound Simulation from CT Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weijian Cong

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Ultrasound is currently widely used in clinical diagnosis because of its fast and safe imaging principles. As the anatomical structures present in an ultrasound image are not as clear as CT or MRI. Physicians usually need advance clinical knowledge and experience to distinguish diseased tissues. Fast simulation of ultrasound provides a cost-effective way for the training and correlation of ultrasound and the anatomic structures. In this paper, a novel method is proposed for fast simulation of ultrasound from a CT image. A multiscale method is developed to enhance tubular structures so as to simulate the blood flow. The acoustic response of common tissues is generated by weighted integration of adjacent regions on the ultrasound propagation path in the CT image, from which parameters, including attenuation, reflection, scattering, and noise, are estimated simultaneously. The thin-plate spline interpolation method is employed to transform the simulation image between polar and rectangular coordinate systems. The Kaiser window function is utilized to produce integration and radial blurring effects of multiple transducer elements. Experimental results show that the developed method is very fast and effective, allowing realistic ultrasound to be fast generated. Given that the developed method is fully automatic, it can be utilized for ultrasound guided navigation in clinical practice and for training purpose.

Low-noise magnetic observatory variometer with race-track sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janošek, M; Petrucha, V; Vlk, M

2016-01-01

We present a low-noise, high-stability observatory magnetometer with race-track sensors, as developed by the Czech Technical University in Prague for National Observatory of Athens. As opposed to the standard instruments, we used our novel race-track fluxgate sensors with planar oval core which were cut by state-of-the art pico-second UV-laser. The noise performance of the complete electronics and sensor chain is below 6 pT/√Hz @ 1 Hz. The electronics uses 24-bit 200-Hz A/D converter with simultaneous sampling and all digital processing is done in FPGA. The variometer with the sensors mounted on a MACOR cube has been successfully calibrated by scalar method. (paper)

47 CFR 15.250 - Operation of wideband systems within the band 5925-7250 MHz.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... of wideband systems within the band 5925-7250 MHz. (a) The −10 dB bandwidth of a device operating... 47 Telecommunication 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Operation of wideband systems within the band... variations in temperature and supply voltage. (b) The −10 dB bandwidth of the fundamental emission shall be...

Low frequency noise as a control test for spacial solar panels

Science.gov (United States)

Orsal, B.; Alabedra, R.; Ruas, R.

1986-07-01

The present study of low frequency noise in a forward-biased dark solar cell, in order to develop an NDE test method for solar panels, notes that a single cell with a given defect is thus detectable under dark conditions. The test subject was a space solar panel consisting of five cells in parallel and five in series; these cells are of the n(+)-p monocrystalline Si junction type. It is demonstrated that the noise associated with the defective cell is 10-15 times higher than that of a good cell. Replacement of a good cell by a defective one leads to a 30-percent increase in the noise level of the panel as a whole.

Design and validation of the high performance and low noise CQU-DTU-LN1 airfoils

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cheng, Jiangtao; Zhu, Wei Jun; Fischer, Andreas

2014-01-01

with the blade element momentum theory, the viscous-inviscid XFOIL code and an airfoil self-noise prediction model, an optimization algorithm has been developed for designing the high performance and low noise CQU-DTU-LN1 series of airfoils with targets of maximum power coefficient and low noise emission...... emission between the CQU-DTU-LN118 airfoil and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) 64618 airfoil, which is used in modern wind turbine blades, are carried out. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd....

Low frequency noise and air vibration generated by a simple cycle gas turbine installation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giesbrecht, C.; Hertil, S. [ATCO Noise Management, Calgary, AB (Canada)

2005-07-01

Low-frequency noise refers to infrasound whose frequency is lower than the minimum human audible frequency of about 20 Hz. Recently, there have been serious complaints on noise pollution in the frequency range of 1-100 Hz. This presentation outlined ASHRAE noise criteria regions and discussed human perceptions to vibration. It also presented methods that ATCO used for measuring noise at a simple gas turbine installation, inside the site at the administration buildings, at the paths of vibration and noise propagation, and at noise sensitive receptors. A 70 dBC at the closes noise-sensitive receptor was used as a noise limit to minimize annoyance. In addition, 96 dBC was measured at 400 feet. It was noted that reducing the C-weighted sound level depends on reducing the stack noise emissions in the 16 and 31.5 band levels. ATCO evaluated silencer designs and recommended reactive silencers to achieve a 10 dB reduction in noise emitted by the 3 exhaust stacks. 6 figs.

Aliasing-free wideband beamforming using sparse signal representation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tang, Z.; Blacquière, G.; Leus, G.

2011-01-01

Sparse signal representation (SSR) is considered to be an appealing alternative to classical beamforming for direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation. For wideband signals, the SSR-based approach constructs steering matrices, referred to as dictionaries in this paper, corresponding to different

A low noise preamplifier with optoelectronic overload protection for radioactivity measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sephton, J.P.; Williams, J.M.; Johansson, L.C.; Philips, H.C.

2012-01-01

Pulses from detectors used for radioactivity measurement can vary in size by several orders of magnitude. Large pulses will lead to saturation at the preamplifier output and extension of the pulse length. As a consequence, the dead time of the system increases and pulses may be lost. Electronic design techniques employed to protect against overloading tend to increase the amplifier noise level. However, an optoelectronic method of overload protection has been devised which has only a negligible effect on noise. An infrared light emitting diode interfaced to the output of the preamplifier is linked by fibre optic cable to an ultra-low leakage photodiode at the input. The conduction of the photodiode increases with the amplitude of the preamplifier output signal. Excess current is thereby prevented from entering the preamplifier and causing saturation. The preamplifier has been tested on 4π beta–gamma and gas counting systems and found to give good protection against overloading. - Highlights: ► A preamplifier for radioactivity measurements has been developed. ► Low noise. ► Current sensitive. ► Optoelectronic overload protection.

Digital Path Approach Despeckle Filter for Ultrasound Imaging and Video

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marek Szczepański

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We propose a novel filtering technique capable of reducing the multiplicative noise in ultrasound images that is an extension of the denoising algorithms based on the concept of digital paths. In this approach, the filter weights are calculated taking into account the similarity between pixel intensities that belongs to the local neighborhood of the processed pixel, which is called a path. The output of the filter is estimated as the weighted average of pixels connected by the paths. The way of creating paths is pivotal and determines the effectiveness and computational complexity of the proposed filtering design. Such procedure can be effective for different types of noise but fail in the presence of multiplicative noise. To increase the filtering efficiency for this type of disturbances, we introduce some improvements of the basic concept and new classes of similarity functions and finally extend our techniques to a spatiotemporal domain. The experimental results prove that the proposed algorithm provides the comparable results with the state-of-the-art techniques for multiplicative noise removal in ultrasound images and it can be applied for real-time image enhancement of video streams.

Fast random-number generation using a diode laser's frequency noise characteristic

Science.gov (United States)

Takamori, Hiroki; Doi, Kohei; Maehara, Shinya; Kawakami, Kohei; Sato, Takashi; Ohkawa, Masashi; Ohdaira, Yasuo

2012-02-01

Random numbers can be classified as either pseudo- or physical-random, in character. Pseudo-random numbers are generated by definite periodicity, so, their usefulness in cryptographic applications is somewhat limited. On the other hand, naturally-generated physical-random numbers have no calculable periodicity, thereby making them ideal for the task. Diode lasers' considerable wideband noise gives them tremendous capacity for generating physical-random numbers, at a high rate of speed. We measured a diode laser's output with a fast photo detector, and evaluated the binary-numbers from the diode laser's frequency noise characteristics. We then identified and evaluated the binary-number-line's statistical properties. We also investigate the possibility that much faster physical-random number parallel-generation is possible, using separate outputs of different optical-path length and character, which we refer to as "coherence collapse".

Decoherence of coupled Josephson charge qubits due to partially correlated low-frequency noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Yong; Zhou, Zheng-Wei; Cai, Jian-Ming; Guo, Guang-Can

2007-01-01

Josephson charge qubits are promising candidates for scalable quantum computing. However, their performances are strongly degraded by decoherence due to low-frequency background noise, typically with a 1/f spectrum. In this paper, we investigate the decoherence process of two Cooper pair boxes (CPBs) coupled via a capacitor. Going beyond the common and uncorrelated noise models and the Bloch-Redfield formalism of previous works, we study the coupled system's quadratic dephasing under the condition of partially correlated noise sources. Based on reported experiments and generally accepted noise mechanisms, we introduce a reasonable assumption for the noise correlation, with which the calculation of multiqubit decoherence can be simplified to a problem on the single-qubit level. For the conventional Gaussian 1/f noise case, our results demonstrate that the quadratic dephasing rates are not very sensitive to the spatial correlation of the noises. Furthermore, we discuss the feasibility and efficiency of dynamical decoupling in the coupled CPBs

Double-Stage Delay Multiply and Sum Beamforming Algorithm Applied to Ultrasound Medical Imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Mozaffarzadeh, Moein; Sadeghi, Masume; Mahloojifar, Ali; Orooji, Mahdi

2018-03-01

In ultrasound (US) imaging, delay and sum (DAS) is the most common beamformer, but it leads to low-quality images. Delay multiply and sum (DMAS) was introduced to address this problem. However, the reconstructed images using DMAS still suffer from the level of side lobes and low noise suppression. Here, a novel beamforming algorithm is introduced based on expansion of the DMAS formula. We found that there is a DAS algebra inside the expansion, and we proposed use of the DMAS instead of the DAS algebra. The introduced method, namely double-stage DMAS (DS-DMAS), is evaluated numerically and experimentally. The quantitative results indicate that DS-DMAS results in an approximately 25% lower level of side lobes compared with DMAS. Moreover, the introduced method leads to 23%, 22% and 43% improvement in signal-to-noise ratio, full width at half-maximum and contrast ratio, respectively, compared with the DMAS beamformer. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Design and analysis of an energy-efficient O-QPSK coherent IR-UWB transceiver with a 0.52° RMS phase-noise fractional synthesizer

Science.gov (United States)

Ying, Yutong; Lin, Fujiang; Bai, Xuefei

2018-03-01

This paper explores an energy-efficient pulsed ultra-wideband (UWB) radio-frequency (RF) front-end chip fabricated in 0.18-μm CMOS technology, including a transmitter, receiver, and fractional synthesizer. The transmitter adopts a digital offset quadrature phase-shift keying (O-QPSK) modulator and passive direct-phase multiplexing technology, which are energy- and hardware-efficient, to enhance the data rate for a given spectrum. A passive mixer and a capacitor cross-coupled (CCC) source-follower driving amplifier (DA) are also designed for the transmitter to further reduce the low power consumption. For the receiver, a power-aware low-noise amplifier (LNA) and a quadrature mixer are applied. The LNA adopts a CCC boost common-gate amplifier as the input stage, and its current is reused for the second stage to save power. The mixer uses a shared amplification stage for the following passive IQ mixer. Phase noise suppression of the phase-locked loop (PLL) is achieved by utilizing an even-harmonics-nulled series-coupled quadrature oscillator (QVCO) and an in-band noise-aware charge pump (CP) design. The transceiver achieves a measured data rate of 0.8 Gbps with power consumption of 16 mW and 31.5 mW for the transmitter and the receiver, respectively. The optimized integrated phase noise of the PLL is 0.52° at 4.025 GHz. Project supported by the National Science and Technology Major Project of China (No. 2011ZX03004-002-01).

Neuromuscular ultrasound imaging in low back pain patients with radiculopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, Lydia R; Brown, Stephen H M

2016-02-01

Patients suffering from chronic low back pain with associated radiculopathy (LBP-R), or sciatica, experience neuromuscular symptoms in the lower back and leg; however, research to date has focussed solely on the lower back. To expand neuromuscular research of LBP-R patients into the lower limb, using ultrasound imaging. Case control study comparing LBP-R patients to matched healthy controls. LBP-R patients with disc bulge or herniation (L3/L4 to L5/S1) resulting in unilateral radiculopathy (n = 17) and healthy matched controls (n = 17) were recruited. High-resolution ultrasound imaging was used to investigate sciatic nerve structure, as well as the quality (relative magnitude of fat/fibrosis infiltration) and contraction (muscle thickening) of associated musculature in the lower back (paraspinals) and lower limb (biceps femoris, gastrocnemius, soleus). LBP-R patients had swollen sciatic nerves (increased cross sectional area), but this was not associated with evidence of reduced lower limb muscle quality. As compared to controls, LBP-R patients demonstrated less soleus muscle thickening during submaximal contraction; however, there were no impairments in the hamstring or lower back musculature. Ultrasound imaging was an effective method to detect sciatic nerve swelling in mild to moderately affected LBP-R patients. Nerve swelling was not associated with poorer muscle quality, nor consistently impaired muscle contraction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Noise Source Visualization Using a Digital Voice Recorder and Low-Cost Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong Thung Cho

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Accurate sound visualization of noise sources is required for optimal noise control. Typically, noise measurement systems require microphones, an analog-digital converter, cables, a data acquisition system, etc., which may not be affordable for potential users. Also, many such systems are not highly portable and may not be convenient for travel. Handheld personal electronic devices such as smartphones and digital voice recorders with relatively lower costs and higher performance have become widely available recently. Even though such devices are highly portable, directly implementing them for noise measurement may lead to erroneous results since such equipment was originally designed for voice recording. In this study, external microphones were connected to a digital voice recorder to conduct measurements and the input received was processed for noise visualization. In this way, a low cost, compact sound visualization system was designed and introduced to visualize two actual noise sources for verification with different characteristics: an enclosed loud speaker and a small air compressor. Reasonable accuracy of noise visualization for these two sources was shown over a relatively wide frequency range. This very affordable and compact sound visualization system can be used for many actual noise visualization applications in addition to educational purposes.

Design study of a low-power, low-noise front-end for multianode silicon drift detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caponetto, L.; Presti, D. Lo; Randazzo, N.; Russo, G.V.; Leonora, E.; Lo Nigro, L.; Petta, C.; Reito, S.; Sipala, V.

2005-01-01

The read-out for Silicon Drift Detectors in the form of a VLSI chip is presented, with a view to applications in High Energy Physics and space experiments. It is characterised by extremely low power dissipation, small noise and size

Performance of a fast low noise front-end preamplifier for the MAGIC imaging Cherenkov telescope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanch, O.; Blanchot, G.; Bosman, M.

1999-01-01

The observation of high energy cosmic gamma rays with an energy threshold of 15 GeV using the proposed MAGIC ground based air imaging Cherenkov telescope requires the development of new low noise fast preamplifiers for the camera photosensors. The speed and noise performance of a transimpedance preamplifier that resolves the multi photoelectron peaks from a hybrid photomultiplier with a peaking time below 7 ns is presented. The new front-end circuit is designed with RF low noise bipolar transistors and provides fast output pulses that allow for fast trigger settings

Theoretical analysis of quantum dot amplifiers with high saturation power and low noise figure

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berg, Tommy Winther; Mørk, Jesper

2002-01-01

Semiconductor quantum dot amplifiers are predicted to exhibit superior characteristics such as high gain, and output power and low noise. The analysis provides criteria and design guidelines for the realization of high quality amplifiers.......Semiconductor quantum dot amplifiers are predicted to exhibit superior characteristics such as high gain, and output power and low noise. The analysis provides criteria and design guidelines for the realization of high quality amplifiers....

Study on the treatment of low-level radioactive wastewater by ultrasound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

You Zhi; He Bin; Zhang Quanhu; Du Qianwei

2010-01-01

By simulating the trajectory of one single suspended radioactive particle subjected to ultrasonic standing wave, the principle of the treatment of low-level radioactive wastewater by ultrasound was analyzed. The result show that under the action of ultrasonic standing wave, the particle will move toward the pressure node plane and the time of particle reached the plane became shorter when the radium of particle and the frequency and power of ultrasound was enlarged. The mathematic equation represent the change of the number of the suspended particles was built and the decontamination efficiency was calculated. The result shows that under the condition of T=80 min, f=50 kHz and P=71.09 w, the radioactive concentration of wastewater could be reduced from 400 Bq/L to 9.295 Bq/L and the decontamination efficiency was 97.68%. The decontamination efficiency could not be obviously improved by further increasing the treating time. (authors)

A multiscale filter for noise reduction of low-dose cone beam projections.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Weiguang; Farr, Jonathan B

2015-08-21

The Poisson or compound Poisson process governs the randomness of photon fluence in cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging systems. The probability density function depends on the mean (noiseless) of the fluence at a certain detector. This dependence indicates the natural requirement of multiscale filters to smooth noise while preserving structures of the imaged object on the low-dose cone beam projection. In this work, we used a Gaussian filter, exp(-x2/2σ(2)(f)) as the multiscale filter to de-noise the low-dose cone beam projections. We analytically obtained the expression of σ(f), which represents the scale of the filter, by minimizing local noise-to-signal ratio. We analytically derived the variance of residual noise from the Poisson or compound Poisson processes after Gaussian filtering. From the derived analytical form of the variance of residual noise, optimal σ(2)(f)) is proved to be proportional to the noiseless fluence and modulated by local structure strength expressed as the linear fitting error of the structure. A strategy was used to obtain the reliable linear fitting error: smoothing the projection along the longitudinal direction to calculate the linear fitting error along the lateral direction and vice versa. The performance of our multiscale filter was examined on low-dose cone beam projections of a Catphan phantom and a head-and-neck patient. After performing the filter on the Catphan phantom projections scanned with pulse time 4 ms, the number of visible line pairs was similar to that scanned with 16 ms, and the contrast-to-noise ratio of the inserts was higher than that scanned with 16 ms about 64% in average. For the simulated head-and-neck patient projections with pulse time 4 ms, the visibility of soft tissue structures in the patient was comparable to that scanned with 20 ms. The image processing took less than 0.5 s per projection with 1024   ×   768 pixels.

Deconvolution of in vivo ultrasound images

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

1990-01-01

In an ultrasound image, the influence of the pulse and attenuation should be removed from the picture in order to display a more consistent and uniform image. The author describes an algorithm to remove the influence of the attenuated pulse on the image. The algorithm takes into account the varying...... pulse, noise in the acquired signal, and the changing reflectivity in the tissue. Both one- and two-dimensional processing can be implemented. The algorithm relies on prior knowledge of the pulse and of the covariance of the noise and the reflections. Algorithms to estimate these factors are given...

DOD Use of Commercial Wideband Satellite Communications Systems: How Much is Needed, and How Do We Get It?

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hutchens, Robert

2001-01-01

..., A key enabler to this end is sufficient wideband satellite communications connectivity DoD's organic wideband satellite communications capabilities are inadequate, so commercial services must be used...

Conformal and Spectrally Agile Ultra Wideband Phased Array Antenna for Communication and Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Novak, M.; Alwan, Elias; Miranda, Felix; Volakis, John

2015-01-01

There is a continuing need for reducing size and weight of satellite systems, and is also strong interest to increase the functional role of small- and nano-satellites (for instance SmallSats and CubeSats). To this end, a family of arrays is presented, demonstrating ultra-wideband operation across the numerous satellite communications and sensing frequencies up to the Ku-, Ka-, and Millimeter-Wave bands. An example design is demonstrated to operate from 3.5-18.5 GHz with VSWR2 at broadside, and validated through fabrication of an 8 x 8 prototype. This design is optimized for low cost, using Printed Circuit Board (PCB) fabrication. With the same fabrication technology, scaling is shown to be feasible up to a 9-49 GHz band. Further designs are discussed, which extend this wideband operation beyond the Ka-band, for instance from 20-80 GHz. Finally we will discuss recent efforts in the direct integration of such arrays with digital beamforming back-ends. It will be shown that using a novel on-site coding architecture, orders of magnitude reduction in hardware size, power, and cost is accomplished in this transceiver.

A Novel Ropes-DrivenWideband Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvester

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinhui Zhang

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a novel piezoelectric vibration energy harvester (PVEH in which a high-frequency generating beam (HFGB is driven by an array of low-frequency driving beams (LFDBs using ropes. Two mechanisms based on frequency upconversion and multimodal harvesting work together to broaden the frequency bandwidth of the proposed vibration energy harvester (VEH. The experimental results show that the output power of generating beam (GB remains unchanged with the increasing number of driving beams (DBs, compared with the traditional arrays of beams vibration energy harvester (AB-VEH, and the output power and bandwidth behavior can be adjusted by parameters such as acceleration, rope margin, and stiffness of LFDBs, which shows the potential to achieve unlimited wideband vibration energy-harvesting for a variable environment.

Low-frequency noise suppression of a fiber laser based on a round-trip EDFA power stabilizer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pan, Z Q; Zhou, J; Yang, F; Ye, Q; Cai, H W; Qu, R H; Fang, Z J

2013-01-01

We have designed a power stabilizer based on a round-trip erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) structure to suppress the low-frequency relative intensity noise (RIN) for a narrow linewidth fiber laser. The noise suppressor is analyzed theoretically and its feasibility is verified experimentally. For a short-cavity single-frequency fiber laser with this device, about 20 dB low-frequency RIN improvement is achieved (down to −120 dB Hz −1 at 10 Hz). The corresponding frequency noise is also reduced by a factor of 1.6. The proposed method is an effective solution to achieve a low-frequency low RIN laser source for highly coherent detection applications. (paper)

CT urography in the urinary bladder: To compare excretory phase images using a low noise index and a high noise index with adaptive noise reduction filter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeyama, Nobuyuki; Hayashi, Takaki; Ohgiya, Yoshimitsu

2011-01-01

Background: Although CT urography (CTU) is widely used for the evaluation of the entire urinary tract, the most important drawback is the radiation exposure. Purpose: To evaluate the effect of a noise reduction filter (NRF) using a phantom and to quantitatively and qualitatively compare excretory phase (EP) images using a low noise index (NI) with those using a high NI and postprocessing NRF (pNRF). Material and Methods: Each NI value was defined for a slice thickness of 5 mm, and reconstructed images with a slice thickness of 1.25 mm were assessed. Sixty patients who were at high risk of developing bladder tumors (BT) were divided into two groups according to whether their EP images were obtained using an NI of 9.88 (29 patients; group A) or an NI of 20 and pNRF (31 patients; group B). The CT dose index volume (CTDI vol ) and the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the bladder with respect to the anterior pelvic fat were compared in both groups. Qualitative assessment of the urinary bladder for image noise, sharpness, streak artifacts, homogeneity, and the conspicuity of polypoid or sessile-shaped BTs with a short-axis diameter greater than 10 mm was performed using a 3-point scale. Results: The phantom study showed noise reduction of approximately 40% and 76% dose reduction between group A and group B. CTDI vol demonstrated a 73% reduction in group B (4.6 ± 1.1 mGy) compared with group A (16.9 ± 3.4 mGy). The CNR value was not significantly different (P = 0.60) between group A (16.1 ± 5.1) and group B (16.6 ± 7.6). Although group A was superior (P < 0.01) to group B with regard to image noise, other qualitative analyses did not show significant differences. Conclusion: EP images using a high NI and pNRF were quantitatively and qualitatively comparable to those using a low NI, except with regard to image noise

Low noise electronics for experiments at LHC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manfredi, P.F.

1984-01-01

The need of reducing the collection times of solid state detectors will lead to thin layers, 150 to 200 μm thickness. Consequently, the charge made available by minimum ionizing particles will be rather small, between 1.2 x 10 4 and 1.6 x 10 4 electrons for unity muliplicity. Front-end electronics with adequately low noise must be designed to detect such small amounts of charge and the problem looks to be harder if the short times available to process the signals are accounted for. (orig.)

A Bayesian Retrieval of Greenland Ice Sheet Internal Temperature from Ultra-wideband Software-defined Microwave Radiometer (UWBRAD) Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Y.; Durand, M. T.; Jezek, K. C.; Yardim, C.; Bringer, A.; Aksoy, M.; Johnson, J. T.

2017-12-01

The ultra-wideband software-defined microwave radiometer (UWBRAD) is designed to provide ice sheet internal temperature product via measuring low frequency microwave emission. Twelve channels ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 GHz are covered by the instrument. A Greenland air-borne demonstration was demonstrated in September 2016, provided first demonstration of Ultra-wideband radiometer observations of geophysical scenes, including ice sheets. Another flight is planned for September 2017 for acquiring measurements in central ice sheet. A Bayesian framework is designed to retrieve the ice sheet internal temperature from simulated UWBRAD brightness temperature (Tb) measurements over Greenland flight path with limited prior information of the ground. A 1-D heat-flow model, the Robin Model, was used to model the ice sheet internal temperature profile with ground information. Synthetic UWBRAD Tb observations was generated via the partially coherent radiation transfer model, which utilizes the Robin model temperature profile and an exponential fit of ice density from Borehole measurement as input, and corrupted with noise. The effective surface temperature, geothermal heat flux, the variance of upper layer ice density, and the variance of fine scale density variation at deeper ice sheet were treated as unknown variables within the retrieval framework. Each parameter is defined with its possible range and set to be uniformly distributed. The Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach is applied to make the unknown parameters randomly walk in the parameter space. We investigate whether the variables can be improved over priors using the MCMC approach and contribute to the temperature retrieval theoretically. UWBRAD measurements near camp century from 2016 was also treated with the MCMC to examine the framework with scattering effect. The fine scale density fluctuation is an important parameter. It is the most sensitive yet highly unknown parameter in the estimation framework

Spoof surface plasmon polaritons based notch filter for ultra-wideband microwave waveguide

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xiao, Binggang; Li, Sheng-Hua; Xiao, Sanshui

2016-01-01

Spoof surface plasmon polaritons based notch filter for ultra-wideband microwave waveguide is proposed. Owing to subwavelength confinement, such a filter has advantage in the structure size without sacrificing the performance. The spoof SPP based notch is introduced to suppress the WLAN and satel......Spoof surface plasmon polaritons based notch filter for ultra-wideband microwave waveguide is proposed. Owing to subwavelength confinement, such a filter has advantage in the structure size without sacrificing the performance. The spoof SPP based notch is introduced to suppress the WLAN...

Design of CMOS Tunable Image-Rejection Low-Noise Amplifier with Active Inductor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ler Chun Lee

2008-01-01

Full Text Available A fully integrated CMOS tunable image-rejection low-noise amplifier (IRLNA has been designed using Silterra's industry standard 0.18 μm RF CMOS process. The notch filter is designed using an active inductor. Measurement results show that the notch filter designed using active inductor contributes additional 1.19 dB to the noise figure of the low-noise amplifier (LNA. A better result is possible if the active inductor is optimized. Since active inductors require less die area, the die area occupied by the IRLNA is not significantly different from a conventional LNA, which was designed for comparison. The proposed IRLNA exhibits S21 of 11.8 dB, S11 of −17.8 dB, S22 of −10.7 dB, and input 1 dB compression point of −12 dBm at 3 GHz

Thermal Studies on the SPS Wideband Transverse Feedback Kicker

CERN Document Server

Roggen, Toon; Hofle, Wolfgang; Montesinos, Eric; CERN. Geneva. ATS Department

2016-01-01

As part of the SPS wideband transverse feedback system in the framework of the LHC Injector Upgrade (LIU) project, a wideband kicker design is being proposed. Vertical beam instabilities due to intensity dependent effects (electron cloud instability (ECI) and transverse mode coupling instability (TMCI)) are potentially suppressed by using a feedback system driving such a kicker system. One of the options for a kicker is a one meter long slotted-coaxial kicker, providing a substantial vertical kick strength (10ˉ5 –10ˉ4 eV.s/m) over a bandwidth ranging from nearly DC to 1 GHz. The necessary kick strength requires a total power of 4 kW. This note describes thermal studies that assisted in the material choice of the feedthroughs of the slotted-coaxial kicker and guided the design choices.

7th conference on ultra-wideband, short-pulse electromagnetics

CERN Document Server

Schenk, Uwe; Nitsch, Daniel; Sabath, Frank; Ultra-Wideband, Short-Pulse Electromagnetics 7; UWBSP7

2007-01-01

Ultra-wideband (UWB), short-pulse (SP) electromagnetics are now being used for an increasingly wide variety of applications, including collision avoidance radar, concealed object detection, and communications. Notable progress in UWB and SP technologies has been achieved by investigations of their theoretical bases and improvements in solid-state manufacturing, computers, and digitizers. UWB radar systems are also being used for mine clearing, oil pipeline inspections, archeology, geology, and electronic effects testing. Ultra-Wideband Short-Pulse Electromagnetics 7 presents selected papers of deep technical content and high scientific quality from the UWB-SP7 Conference, including wide-ranging contributions on electromagnetic theory, scattering, UWB antennas, UWB systems, ground penetrating radar (GPR), UWB communications, pulsed-power generation, time-domain computational electromagnetics, UWB compatibility, target detection and discrimination, propagation through dispersive media, and wavelet and multi-res...

A Low-Noise Transimpedance Amplifier for BLM-Based Ion Channel Recording

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Crescentini

2016-05-01

Full Text Available High-throughput screening (HTS using ion channel recording is a powerful drug discovery technique in pharmacology. Ion channel recording with planar bilayer lipid membranes (BLM is scalable and has very high sensitivity. A HTS system based on BLM ion channel recording faces three main challenges: (i design of scalable microfluidic devices; (ii design of compact ultra-low-noise transimpedance amplifiers able to detect currents in the pA range with bandwidth >10 kHz; (iii design of compact, robust and scalable systems that integrate these two elements. This paper presents a low-noise transimpedance amplifier with integrated A/D conversion realized in CMOS 0.35 μm technology. The CMOS amplifier acquires currents in the range ±200 pA and ±20 nA, with 100 kHz bandwidth while dissipating 41 mW. An integrated digital offset compensation loop balances any voltage offsets from Ag/AgCl electrodes. The measured open-input input-referred noise current is as low as 4 fA/√Hz at ±200 pA range. The current amplifier is embedded in an integrated platform, together with a microfluidic device, for current recording from ion channels. Gramicidin-A, α-haemolysin and KcsA potassium channels have been used to prove both the platform and the current-to-digital converter.

A Low-Noise Transimpedance Amplifier for BLM-Based Ion Channel Recording.

Science.gov (United States)

Crescentini, Marco; Bennati, Marco; Saha, Shimul Chandra; Ivica, Josip; de Planque, Maurits; Morgan, Hywel; Tartagni, Marco

2016-05-19

High-throughput screening (HTS) using ion channel recording is a powerful drug discovery technique in pharmacology. Ion channel recording with planar bilayer lipid membranes (BLM) is scalable and has very high sensitivity. A HTS system based on BLM ion channel recording faces three main challenges: (i) design of scalable microfluidic devices; (ii) design of compact ultra-low-noise transimpedance amplifiers able to detect currents in the pA range with bandwidth >10 kHz; (iii) design of compact, robust and scalable systems that integrate these two elements. This paper presents a low-noise transimpedance amplifier with integrated A/D conversion realized in CMOS 0.35 μm technology. The CMOS amplifier acquires currents in the range ±200 pA and ±20 nA, with 100 kHz bandwidth while dissipating 41 mW. An integrated digital offset compensation loop balances any voltage offsets from Ag/AgCl electrodes. The measured open-input input-referred noise current is as low as 4 fA/√Hz at ±200 pA range. The current amplifier is embedded in an integrated platform, together with a microfluidic device, for current recording from ion channels. Gramicidin-A, α-haemolysin and KcsA potassium channels have been used to prove both the platform and the current-to-digital converter.

Wideband Low Side Lobe Aperture Coupled Patch Phased Array Antennas

Science.gov (United States)

Poduval, Dhruva

Low profile printed antenna arrays with wide bandwidth, high gain, and low Side Lobe Level (SLL) are in great demand for current and future commercial and military communication systems and radar. Aperture coupled patch antennas have been proposed to obtain wide impedance bandwidths in the past. Aperture coupling is preferred particularly for phased arrays because of their advantage of integration to other active devices and circuits, e.g. phase shifters, power amplifiers, low noise amplifiers, mixers etc. However, when designing such arrays, the interplay between array performance characteristics, such as gain, side lobe level, back lobe level, mutual coupling etc. must be understood and optimized under multiple design constraints, e.g. substrate material properties and thicknesses, element to element spacing, and feed lines and their orientation and arrangements with respect to the antenna elements. The focus of this thesis is to investigate, design, and develop an aperture coupled patch array with wide operating bandwidth (30%), high gain (17.5 dBi), low side lobe level (20 dB), and high Forward to Backward (F/B) ratio (21.8 dB). The target frequency range is 2.4 to 3 GHz given its wide application in WLAN, LTE (Long Term Evolution) and other communication systems. Notwithstanding that the design concept can very well be adapted at other frequencies. Specifically, a 16 element, 4 by 4 planar microstrip patch array is designed using HFSS and experimentally developed and tested. Starting from mutual coupling minimization a corporate feeding scheme is designed to achieve the needed performance. To reduce the SLL the corporate feeding network is redesigned to obtain a specific amplitude taper. Studies are conducted to determine the optimum location for a metallic reflector under the feed line to improve the F/B. An experimental prototype of the antenna was built and tested validating and demonstrating the performance levels expected from simulation predictions

High-Resolution Ultrasound-Switchable Fluorescence Imaging in Centimeter-Deep Tissue Phantoms with High Signal-To-Noise Ratio and High Sensitivity via Novel Contrast Agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Bingbing; Bandi, Venugopal; Wei, Ming-Yuan; Pei, Yanbo; D'Souza, Francis; Nguyen, Kytai T; Hong, Yi; Yuan, Baohong

2016-01-01

For many years, investigators have sought after high-resolution fluorescence imaging in centimeter-deep tissue because many interesting in vivo phenomena-such as the presence of immune system cells, tumor angiogenesis, and metastasis-may be located deep in tissue. Previously, we developed a new imaging technique to achieve high spatial resolution in sub-centimeter deep tissue phantoms named continuous-wave ultrasound-switchable fluorescence (CW-USF). The principle is to use a focused ultrasound wave to externally and locally switch on and off the fluorophore emission from a small volume (close to ultrasound focal volume). By making improvements in three aspects of this technique: excellent near-infrared USF contrast agents, a sensitive frequency-domain USF imaging system, and an effective signal processing algorithm, for the first time this study has achieved high spatial resolution (~ 900 μm) in 3-centimeter-deep tissue phantoms with high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and high sensitivity (3.4 picomoles of fluorophore in a volume of 68 nanoliters can be detected). We have achieved these results in both tissue-mimic phantoms and porcine muscle tissues. We have also demonstrated multi-color USF to image and distinguish two fluorophores with different wavelengths, which might be very useful for simultaneously imaging of multiple targets and observing their interactions in the future. This work has opened the door for future studies of high-resolution centimeter-deep tissue fluorescence imaging.

A wideband optical monitor for a planetary-rotation coating-system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campanelli, M.B.; Smith, D.J.

1998-01-01

A substrate-specific, through-planet, wideband optical coating monitor is being developed to increase production yield and the understanding of physical vapor deposition (PVD) coatings fabricated in the Optical Manufacturing Laboratory at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics. In-situ wideband optical monitoring of planetary rotation systems allows direct monitoring of large, expensive substrates with complex layering schemes. The optical monitor discussed here is under development for coating several large (e.g., 80.7 x 41.7 x 9.0 cm) polarizers for the National Ignition Facility. Wideband optical monitoring of the production substrates is used in concert with an array of crystal monitors for process control, film parameter evaluation, and error detection with associated design reoptimization. The geometry of a planetary rotation system, which produces good uniformity across large substrates, makes optical monitoring more difficult. Triggering and timing techniques for data acquisition become key to the process because the optical coating is available only intermittently for monitoring. Failure to properly consider the effects of the system dynamics during data retrieval and processing may result in significant decreases in the spectral data's reliability. Improved data accuracy allows better determination of film thicknesses, indices, and inhomogeneities and enables in-situ error detection for design reoptimization

Wideband aural acoustic absorbance predicts conductive hearing loss in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Keefe, Douglas H; Sanford, Chris A; Ellison, John C; Fitzpatrick, Denis F; Gorga, Michael P

2012-12-01

This study tested the hypothesis that wideband aural absorbance predicts conductive hearing loss (CHL) in children medically classified as having otitis media with effusion. Absorbance was measured in the ear canal over frequencies from 0.25 to 8 kHz at ambient pressure or as a swept tympanogram. CHL was defined using criterion air-bone gaps of 20, 25, and 30 dB at octaves from 0.25 to 4 kHz. A likelihood-ratio predictor of CHL was constructed across frequency for ambient absorbance, and across frequency and pressure for absorbance tympanometry. Performance was evaluated at individual frequencies and for any frequency at which a CHL was present. Absorbance and conventional 0.226-kHz tympanograms were measured in children of age three to eight years with CHL and with normal hearing. Absorbance was smaller at frequencies above 0.7 kHz in the CHL group than the control group. Based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, wideband absorbance in ambient and tympanometric tests were significantly better predictors of CHL than tympanometric width, the best 0.226-kHz predictor. Accuracies of ambient and tympanometric wideband absorbance did not differ. Absorbance accurately predicted CHL in children and was more accurate than conventional 0.226-kHz tympanometry.

Instrumentation for low noise nanopore-based ionic current recording under laser illumination

Science.gov (United States)

Roelen, Zachary; Bustamante, José A.; Carlsen, Autumn; Baker-Murray, Aidan; Tabard-Cossa, Vincent

2018-01-01

We describe a nanopore-based optofluidic instrument capable of performing low-noise ionic current recordings of individual biomolecules under laser illumination. In such systems, simultaneous optical measurements generally introduce significant parasitic noise in the electrical signal, which can severely reduce the instrument sensitivity, critically hindering the monitoring of single-molecule events in the ionic current traces. Here, we present design rules and describe simple adjustments to the experimental setup to mitigate the different noise sources encountered when integrating optical components to an electrical nanopore system. In particular, we address the contributions to the electrical noise spectra from illuminating the nanopore during ionic current recording and mitigate those effects through control of the illumination source and the use of a PDMS layer on the SiNx membrane. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our noise minimization strategies by showing the detection of DNA translocation events during membrane illumination with a signal-to-noise ratio of ˜10 at 10 kHz bandwidth. The instrumental guidelines for noise minimization that we report are applicable to a wide range of nanopore-based optofluidic systems and offer the possibility of enhancing the quality of synchronous optical and electrical signals obtained during single-molecule nanopore-based analysis.

Design of low power common-gate low noise amplifier for 2.4 GHz wireless sensor network applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Meng; Li Zhiqun

2012-01-01

This paper presents a differential low power low noise amplifier designed for the wireless sensor network (WSN) in a TSMC 0.18 μm RF CMOS process. A two-stage cross-coupling cascaded common-gate (CG) topology has been designed as the amplifier. The first stage is a capacitive cross-coupling topology. It can reduce the power and noise simultaneously. The second stage is a positive feedback cross-coupling topology, used to set up a negative resistance to enhance the equivalent Q factor of the inductor at the load to improve the gain of the LNA. A differential inductor has been designed as the load to achieve reasonable gain. This inductor has been simulated by the means of momentum electromagnetic simulation in ADS. A 'π' circuit model has been built as the inductor model by iteration in ADS. The inductor has been fabricated separately to verify the model. The LNA has been fabricated and measured. The LNA works well centered at 2.44 GHz. The measured gain S 21 is variable with high gain at 16.8 dB and low gain at 1 dB. The NF (noise figure) at high gain mode is 3.6 dB, the input referenced 1 dB compression point (IP1dB) is about −8 dBm and the IIP3 is 2 dBm at low gain mode. The LNA consumes about 1.2 mA current from 1.8 V power supply.

Wideband Dual-Polarization Patch Antenna Array With Parallel Strip Line Balun Feeding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Jin; Lin, Xianqi; Nie, Liying

2016-01-01

A wideband dual-polarization patch antenna array is proposed in this letter. The array is fed by a parallel strip line balun, which is adopted to generate 180° phase shift in a wide frequency range. In addition, this balun has simple structure, very small phase shift error, and good ports isolati...... is higher than 30 dB. The simulation and measurement turns out to be similar. This antenna array can be used in TD-LTE base stations, and the design methods are also useful to other wideband microstrip antennas....

Novel low-temperature processing of low noise SDDs with on-detector electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sonsky, J.; Koornneef, R.; Huizenga, J.; Hollander, R.W.; Nanver, L.K.; Scholtes, T.; Roozeboom, F.; Eijk, C.W.E. van

2004-01-01

We have developed a fabrication process (SMART700 deg. process) for monolithic integration of p-channel JFETs and silicon detectors. Processing steps of the SMART700 deg. do not exceed 700 deg. C. The integrated p-JFET has a minimum gate length of 1 μm. A relatively large width can be chosen to achieve a reasonable transconductance, while the JFET capacitance still matches the small capacitance of a detector. The feedback capacitor was also realized on-chip as a double-metal capacitor. In this paper we describe DC and noise characteristics of a silicon drift detector (SDD) with a p-JFET (W/L=100/1) and a feedback capacitor integrated in the read-out anode (smart-SDD). The device has a transconductance of 1-3 mS, a top gate capacitance of ∼140 fF and a low leakage current ( 2 at room temperature). The smart-SDD with an active area of 3.8 mm 2 has reached an energy resolution of ∼50 rms electrons at a temperature of 213 K. This relatively poor energy resolution is due to generation-recombination noise caused by defects produced by a deep n-implantation. Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) and excimer laser annealing (ELA) techniques are experimented to remove the implantation damage. The noise of p-JFETs annealed with RTA and ELA is also presented

Pulsed-ultrasound tagging of light in living tissues

Science.gov (United States)

Lev, Aner; Rubanov, E.; Pomerantz, Ami; Sfez, Bruno G.

2004-07-01

Ultrasound can be used in order to locally modulate, or tag, light in a turbid medium. This tagging process is made possible due to the extreme sensitivity of laser speckle distribution to minute changes within the medium. This hybrid technique presents several advantages compared to all-optical tomographic techniques, in that the image resolution is fixed by the ultrasound focus diameter. To our best knowledge, only in vitro experiments have been performed, either on tissue-like phantoms or meat. However a strong difference exists between these sample and living tissues. In living tissues, different kind of liquids flow through the capillaries, strongly reducing the sspeckle autocorrelation time. We have performed experiments on both mice and humans, showing that the autocorrelation time is much shorter than what was previously thought. We show however that it is possible to obtain signal with acceptable signal to noise ratio down to a few cm depth. We will also discuss the origin and characteristics of the speckle noise.

Effects of large pressure amplitude low frequency noise in the parotid gland perivasculo-ductal connective tissue.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Pedro; Brito, José; Mendes, João; da Fonseca, Jorge; Águas, Artur; Martins dos Santos, José

2013-01-01

In tissues and organs exposed to large pressure amplitude low frequency noise fibrosis occurs in the absence of inflammatory signs, which is thought to be a protective response. In the parotid gland the perivasculo-ductal connective tissue surrounds arteries, veins and the ductal tree. Perivasculo-ductal connective tissue is believed to function as a mechanical stabilizer of the glandular tissue. In order to quantify the proliferation of perivasculo-ductal connective tissue in large pressure amplitude low frequency noise-exposed rats we used sixty Wistar rats which were equally divided into 6 groups. One group kept in silence, and the remaining five exposed to continuous large pressure amplitude low frequency noise: g1-168h (1 week); g2-504h (3 weeks); g3-840h (5 weeks); g4-1512h (9 weeks); and g5-2184h (13 weeks). After exposure, parotid glands were removed and the perivasculo-ductal connective tissue area was measured in all groups. We applied ANOVA statistical analysis, using SPSS 13.0. The global trend is an increase in the average perivasculo-ductal connective tissue areas, that develops linearly and significantly with large pressure amplitude low frequency noise exposure time (p connective tissue. Hence, these results show that in response to large pressure amplitude low frequency noise exposure, rat parotid glands increase their perivasculo-ductal connective tissue.

Programmable Low-Power Low-Noise Capacitance to Voltage Converter for MEMS Accelerometers.

Science.gov (United States)

Royo, Guillermo; Sánchez-Azqueta, Carlos; Gimeno, Cecilia; Aldea, Concepción; Celma, Santiago

2016-12-30

In this work, we present a capacitance-to-voltage converter (CVC) for capacitive accelerometers based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Based on a fully-differential transimpedance amplifier (TIA), it features a 34-dB transimpedance gain control and over one decade programmable bandwidth, from 75 kHz to 1.2 MHz. The TIA is aimed for low-cost low-power capacitive sensor applications. It has been designed in a standard 0.18-μm CMOS technology and its power consumption is only 54 μW. At the maximum transimpedance configuration, the TIA shows an equivalent input noise of 42 fA/ Hz at 50 kHz, which corresponds to 100 μg/ Hz .

Programmable Low-Power Low-Noise Capacitance to Voltage Converter for MEMS Accelerometers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guillermo Royo

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In this work, we present a capacitance-to-voltage converter (CVC for capacitive accelerometers based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS. Based on a fully-differential transimpedance amplifier (TIA, it features a 34-dB transimpedance gain control and over one decade programmable bandwidth, from 75 kHz to 1.2 MHz. The TIA is aimed for low-cost low-power capacitive sensor applications. It has been designed in a standard 0.18-μm CMOS technology and its power consumption is only 54 μW. At the maximum transimpedance configuration, the TIA shows an equivalent input noise of 42 fA/ Hz at 50 kHz, which corresponds to 100 μg/ Hz .

Comparison of the effect of low-power laser with therapeutic ultrasound on the treatment of rotator cuff tendonitis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

asghar Akbari

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Akbari A1 1. Assistant Professor, Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences Abstract Background: Shoulder pain is the third most prevalent cause of musculoskeletal disorder after low back and cervical pains. Most of the shoulder symptoms are attributed to the rotator cuff. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of low-power laser therapy with ultrasound therapy on the patients with rotator cuff tendonitis. Materials and methods: This clinical trial was performed in Zahedan university of medical sciences in 2006. Thirty patients with rotator cuff tendonitis were randomly assigned to either a low-power laser therapy group (15 patients or an ultrasound therapy group (15 patients. Strength (kg of shoulder abductor, and internal and external rotator muscles, as well as range (degree of shoulder abduction, and internal and external rotation were measured before and after intervention using hand-held dynamometer and goniometer respectively. The pain was evaluated using the visual analogue scale. In the laser group, a low-level Ga-As laser was applied with a 100 mw point probe (average power, wave length of 905 nm, pulse duration of 200 ns, 6 J/cm2 dosage, 5 KHz frequency, and lasting 3 minutes. The ultrasound treatment was applied with a power of 1 W/cm2, a frequency of 1 MHz, pulse mode of 1:4, and lasting 10 minutes on each occasion. The treatment was carried out 3 times weekly for 10 days. The data were analyzed using independent sample t-test and paired t-test. Results: The pain in the laser group was significantly decreased from 6.06±1.6 to 5±1.3 in abduction, from 5.3±1.5 to 4.7±1.3 in internal rotation, and from 5.06±1.4 to 4.3±1.44 in external rotation (p0.05. A significant improvement after treatment was observed in the laser group in measures of shoulder abductor, internal rotator and external rotator muscles strength compared to those of the ultrasound therapy group (p<0

Wide-band cable systems at SLAC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Struven, W.

1983-01-01

SLAC's first cable TV system was installed in 1979 to remotely monitor a narrow pulse which was generated in the west end of the klystron gallery. When Stanford Linear Collider (SLC) experimental work started at the west end of the accelerator, the original 1979 cable was upgraded to a bidirectional system so that 2 MBaud point-to-point data and several video and 9600 baud channels could be transmitted. The implementation of the SLC requires a complete upgrading of the accelerator control system. The system is based on a distributed processing configuration using a PDP11/780 VAX in the Main Control Center (MCC) and Intel single-board computers in a multibus configuration along the accelerator. The high-speed data linking is supplied by a 1 MBaud Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) Network. The same cable is used to provide video, low-speed data, voice and high-speed point-to-point data services. The transmission system will utilize a wideband midsplit cable facility to collect and distribute signals to all parts of the network

Spots of Seismic Danger Extracted by Properties of Low-Frequency Seismic Noise

Science.gov (United States)

Lyubushin, Alexey

2013-04-01

A new method of seismic danger estimate is presented which is based on using properties of low-frequency seismic noise from broadband networks. Two statistics of noise waveforms are considered: multi-fractal singularity spectrum support width D and minimum normalized entropy En of squared orthogonal wavelet coefficients. The maps of D and En are plotted in the moving time window. Let us call the regions extracted by low values of D and high values of En as "spots of seismic danger" - SSD. Mean values of D and En are strongly anti-correlated - that is why statistics D and En extract the same SSD. Nevertheless their mutual considering is expedient because these parameters are based on different approaches. The physical mechanism which underlies the method is consolidation of small blocks of the Earth's crust into the large one before the strong earthquake. This effect has a consequence that seismic noise does not include spikes which are connected with mutual movements of small blocks. The absence of irregular spikes in the noise follows the decreasing of D and increasing of entropy En. The stability in space and size of the SSD provides estimates of the place and energy of the probable future earthquake. The increasing or decreasing of SSD size and minimum or maximum values of D and En within SSD allows estimate the trend of seismic danger. The method is illustrating by the analysis of seismic noise from broadband seismic network F-net in Japan [1-5]. Statistically significant decreasing of D allowed a hypothesis about approaching Japan to a future seismic catastrophe to be formulated at the middle of 2008. The peculiarities of correlation coefficient estimate within 1 year time window between median values of D and generalized Hurst exponent allowed to make a decision that starting from July of 2010 Japan come to the state of waiting strong earthquake [3]. The method extracted a huge SSD near Japan which includes the region of future Tohoku mega-earthquake and the

Analysis and reduction of thermal magnetic noise in liquid-He dewar for sensitive low-field nuclear magnetic resonance measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, S. M.; Yu, K. K.; Lee, Y. H.; Kang, C. S.; Kim, K.; Lee, S. J.

2013-01-01

For sensitive measurements of micro-Tesla nuclear magnetic resonance (μT-NMR) signal, a low-noise superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) system is needed. We have fabricated a liquid He dewar for an SQUID having a large diameter for the pickup coil. The initial test of the SQUID system showed much higher low-frequency magnetic noise caused by the thermal magnetic noise of the aluminum plates used for the vapor-cooled thermal shield material. The frequency dependence of the noise spectrum showed that the noise increases with the decrease of frequency. This behavior could be explained from a two-layer model; one generating the thermal noise and the other one shielding the thermal noise by eddy-current shielding. And the eddy-current shielding effect is strongly dependent on the frequency through the skin-depth. To minimize the loop size for the fluctuating thermal noise current, we changed the thermal shield material into insulated thin Cu mesh. The magnetic noise of the SQUID system became flat down to 0.1 Hz with a white noise of 0.3 fT√ Hz, including the other noise contributions such as SQUID electronics and magnetically shielded room, etc, which is acceptable for low-noise μT-NMR experiments.

The effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound on tendon-bone healing in a transosseous-equivalent sheep rotator cuff model.

Science.gov (United States)

Lovric, Vedran; Ledger, Michael; Goldberg, Jerome; Harper, Wade; Bertollo, Nicky; Pelletier, Matthew H; Oliver, Rema A; Yu, Yan; Walsh, William R

2013-02-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects Low-intensity Pulsed Ultrasound has on initial tendon-bone healing in a clinically relevant extra-articular transosseous-equivalent ovine rotator cuff model. Eight skeletally mature wethers, randomly allocated to either control group (n = 4) or treatment group (n = 4), underwent rotator cuff surgery following injury to the infraspinatus tendon. All animals were killed 28 days post surgery to allow examination of early effects of Low-intensity Pulsed Ultrasound treatment. General improvement in histological appearance of tendon-bone integration was noted in the treatment group. Newly formed woven bone with increased osteoblast activity along the bone surface was evident. A continuum was observed between the tendon and bone in an interdigitated fashion with Sharpey's fibres noted in the treatment group. Low-intensity Pulsed Ultrasound treatment also increased bone mineral density at the tendon-bone interface (p < 0.01), while immunohistochemistry results revealed an increase in the protein expression patterns of VEGF (p = 0.038), RUNX2 (p = 0.02) and Smad4 (p = 0.05). The results of this study indicate that Low-intensity Pulsed Ultrasound may aid in the initial phase of tendon-bone healing process in patients who have undergone rotator cuff repair. This treatment may also be beneficial following other types of reconstructive surgeries involving the tendon-bone interface.

Persistence of microbial contamination on transvaginal ultrasound probes despite low-level disinfection procedure.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatima M'Zali

Full Text Available AIM OF THE STUDY: In many countries, Low Level Disinfection (LLD of covered transvaginal ultrasound probes is recommended between patients' examinations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial efficacy of LLD under routine conditions on a range of microorganisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Samples were taken over a six month period in a private French Radiology Center. 300 specimens derived from endovaginal ultrasound probes were analyzed after disinfection of the probe with wipes impregnated with a quaternary ammonium compound and chlorhexidine. Human papillomavirus (HPV was sought in the first set of s100 samples, Chlamydia trachomatis and mycoplasmas were searched in the second set of 100 samples, bacteria and fungi in the third 100 set samples. HPV, C. trachomatis and mycoplasmas were detected by PCR amplification. PCR positive samples were subjected to a nuclease treatment before an additional PCR assay to assess the likely viable microorganisms. Bacteria and fungi were investigated by conventional methods. RESULTS: A substantial persistence of microorganisms was observed on the disinfected probes: HPV DNA was found on 13% of the samples and 7% in nuclease-resistant form. C. trachomatis DNA was detected on 20% of the probes by primary PCR but only 2% after nuclease treatment, while mycoplasma DNA was amplified in 8% and 4%, respectively. Commensal and/or environmental bacterial flora was present on 86% of the probes, occasionally in mixed culture, and at various levels (10->3000 CFU/probe; Staphylococcus aureus was cultured from 4% of the probes (10-560 CFU/probe. No fungi were isolated. CONCLUSION: Our findings raise concerns about the efficacy of impregnated towels as a sole mean for disinfection of ultrasound probes. Although the ultrasound probes are used with disposable covers, our results highlight the potential risk of cross contamination between patients during ultrasound examination and emphasize the need for reviewing