Accelerating method of moments based package-board 3D parasitic extraction using FPGA

In this article, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)-based hardware accelerator for 3D electromagnetic extraction, using Method of Moments (MoM) is presented. As the number of nets or ports in a system increases, leading to a corresponding increase in the number of right-hand-side (RHS) vectors, the computational cost for multiple matrix-vector products presents a time bottleneck in a linear-complexity fast solver framework. In this work, an FPGA-based hardware implementation is proposed toward a two-level parallelization scheme: (i) matrix level parallelization for single RHS and (ii) pipelining for multiple-RHS. The method is applied to accelerate electrostatic parasitic capacitance extraction of multiple nets in a Ball Grid Array (BGA) package. The acceleration is shown to be linearly scalable with FPGA resources and speed-ups over 10x against equivalent software implementation on a 2.4GHz Intel Core i5 processor is achieved using a Virtex-6 XC6VLX240T FPGA on Xilinx's ML605 board with the implemented design operating at 200MHz clock frequency. (c) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:776-783, 2016

Cumulative Impulse Strength for Epoch Extraction

Algorithms for extracting epochs or glottal closure instants (GCIs) from voiced speech typically fall into two categories: i) ones which operate on linear prediction residual (LPR) and ii) those which operate directly on the speech signal. While the former class of algorithms (such as YAGA and DPI) tend to be more accurate, the latter ones (such as ZFR and SEDREAMS) tend to be more noise-robust. In this letter, a temporal measure termed the cumulative impulse strength is proposed for locating the impulses in a quasi-periodic impulse-sequence embedded in noise. Subsequently, it is applied for detecting the GCIs from the inverted integrated LPR using a recursive algorithm. Experiments on two large corpora of speech with simultaneous electroglottographic recordings demonstrate that the proposed method is more robust to additive noise than the state-of-the-art algorithms, despite operating on the LPR.

Liquid crystal based continuous phase retarder: From optically neutral to a quarter waveplate in 200 microseconds

Liquid crystal variable phase retarders have been incorporated into prototype devices for optical communications system applications, both as endless polarization controllers 1,2,3, and as holographic beam steerers 4. Nematic liquid crystals allow continuous control of the degree of retardation induced at relatively slow switching speeds, while ferroelectric liquid crystal based devices allow fast (sub millisecond) switching, but only between two bistable states. The flexoelectro-optic effect 5,6 in short-pitch chiral nematic liquid crystals allows both fast switching of the optic axis and continuous, electric field dependent control of the degree of rotation of the optic axis. A novel geometry for the flexoelectro-optic effect is presented here, in which the helical axis of the chiral nematic is perpendicular to the cell walls (grandjean texture) and the electric field is applied in the plane of the cell. This facilitates deflection of the optic axis of the uniaxial negatively birefringent material from lying along the direction of propagation to having some component in the polarization plane of the light. The device is therefore optically neutral at zero field for telecommunications wavelengths (1550nm), and allows a continuously variable degree of phase excursion to be induced, up to 2π/3 radians achieved so far in a 40μm thick cell. The retardation has been shown both to appear, on application of the field, and disappear on removal, at speeds of 100-500 μs. The direction of deflection of the optic axis is also dependent on the direction of the field, allowing the possibility, in a converging electrode "cartwheel cell", of endless rotation of the liquid crystal waveplate at a higher rate than achievable through dielectric coupling to plain nematic materials.

Material parameter extraction in THz-TDS using a converging beam transfer function

We demonstrate a parameter extraction algorithm based on a theoretical transfer function, which takes into account a converging THz beam. Using this, we successfully extract material parameters from data obtained for a quartz sample with a THz time domain spectrometer. © 2010 IEEE.

Computer generated hologram with geometric occlusion using GPU-accelerated depth buffer rasterization for three-dimensional display

We present a method of rapidly producing computer-generated holograms that exhibit geometric occlusion in the reconstructed image. Conceptually, a bundle of rays is shot from every hologram sample into the object volume.We use z buffering to find the nearest intersecting object point for every ray and add its complex field contribution to the corresponding hologram sample. Each hologram sample belongs to an independent operation, allowing us to exploit the parallel computing capability of modern programmable graphics processing units (GPUs). Unlike algorithms that use points or planar segments as the basis for constructing the hologram, our algorithm's complexity is dependent on fixed system parameters, such as the number of ray-casting operations, and can therefore handle complicated models more efficiently. The finite number of hologram pixels is, in effect, a windowing function, and from analyzing the Wigner distribution function of windowed free-space transfer function we find an upper limit on the cone angle of the ray bundle. Experimentally, we found that an angular sampling distance of 0:01' for a 2:66' cone angle produces acceptable reconstruction quality. © 2009 Optical Society of America.

Direct parameter extraction in capacitively transduced micromechanical resonators using the anti-resonance

This paper presents a method for the fast and direct extraction of model parameters for capacitive MEMS resonators from their measured transmission response such as quality factor, resonant frequency, and motional resistance. We show that these parameters may be extracted without having to first de-embed the resonator motional current from the feedthrough. The series and parallel resonances from the measured electrical transmission are used to determine the MEMS resonator circuit parameters. The theoretical basis for the method is elucidated by using both the Nyquist and susceptance frequency response plots, and applicable in the limit where CF > CmQ; commonly the case when characterizing MEMS resonators at RF. The method is then applied to the measured electrical transmission for capacitively transduced MEMS resonators, and compared against parameters obtained using a Lorentzian fit to the measured response. Close agreement between the two methods is reported herein. © 2010 IEEE.

Direct parameter extraction in feedthrough-embedded capacitive MEMS resonators

This paper presents a method for fast and accurate determination of parameters relevant to the characterization of capacitive MEMS resonators like quality factor (Q), resonant frequency (fn), and equivalent circuit parameters such as the motional capacitance (Cm). In the presence of a parasitic feedthrough capacitor (CF) appearing across the input and output ports, the transmission characteristic is marked by two resonances: series (S) and parallel (P). Close approximations of these circuit parameters are obtained without having to first de-embed the resonator motional current typically buried in feedthrough by using the series and parallel resonances. While previous methods with the same objective are well known, we show that these are limited to the condition where CF ≪ CmQ. In contrast, this work focuses on moderate capacitive feedthrough levels where CF > CmQ, which are more common in MEMS resonators. The method is applied to data obtained from the measured electrical transmission of fabricated SOI MEMS resonators. Parameter values deduced via direct extraction are then compared against those obtained by a full extraction procedure where de-embedding is first performed and followed by a Lorentzian fit to the data based on the classical transfer function associated with a generic LRC series resonant circuit. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sapientia, 1996, Vol. LI, nº 200 (número completo)

Contenido: Del acto de ser a la acción moral / Gustavo Eloy Ponferrada – La dignidad humana desde una perspectiva metafísica / Abelardo Lobato – Ser y no ser en el sofista de Platón / Raúl Echauri – Feminismo y tercer milenio / María Fernanda Balmaseda Cinquina -- ¿La filosofía como amor del saber o saber efectivo? / Bernard Schumacher – Karl Popper y su crítica al verificacionismo de Freud / Horacio M. Sánchez Parodi – Moral virtue and contemplation : a note on the unity of the moral life / David M. Gallagher – El titular de la autoridad política en Santo Tomás y Rousseau / Avelino Manuel Quintas – La dignidad del hombre y la dignidad de la persona / Eudaldo Forment – Ensayo de síntesis acerca de la distinción especulativo-práctico y su estructuración metodológica / Carlos Ignacio Massini Correas – Conocimiento del alma después de la muerte : presentación de la doctrina de Santo Tomás de Aquino expuesta en las Quaestiones disputatae de veritate Q. 19 A. 1 / Luis Rodrigo Ewart -- Sufrimiento y humildad ontológica : Kant y Schopenhauer / Francisco Torralba Roselló – Significación contemporánea de las nociones de experiencia y derecho natural según Santo Tomás de Aquino / Jorge Martínez Barrera – Contemplación filosófica y contemplación mística en San Buenaventura / Ignacio E. M. Andereggen – Sul duplice fine del matrimonio secondo la doctrina tomista / Horst Seidl – La concepción del espacio en la física de Santo Tomás de Aquino / Mario Enrique Sacchi – Notas y comentarios -- Bibliografía

Efecto de diferentes láminas de riego por goteo y la aplicación fraccionada de 200 kg.ha-1 de nitrógeno, sobre el cultivo de maíz (Zea mays L.) en su rendimiento de chilote a una densidad de 125.000 ptas.ha-1

En la unidad experimental de la Universidad Nacional Agraria (U.N.A.) ubicada en el km 121⁄2 Carretera Norte. Se estableció el ensayo en época seca comprendido en el período durante los meses de (Marzo-Mayo) de 2012, que consistió en el estudio del Efecto de diferentes láminas de riego por goteo (al: 4.5;a2:3.6;a3: 2.5litros/m/día) y la aplicación fraccionada del nitrógeno (b1: 100 % a los 21 ddg;b2: 50 % a los 21 ddg y 50 % a los 42 ddg;b3: 100 % a los 42 ddg), sobre el cultivo del maíz (zea maysL.) en su rendimiento de chilote, con una variedad mejorada de Maíz NB-S a una densidad de 125,000 plantas. El ensayo se trabajó con un diseño bifactorial 3x3, utilizando un arreglo de parcelas divididas, en bloques completos al azar, con cuatro repeticiones y nueve tratamientos. Se trabajó con dos factores: A (Láminas riego /goteo) y B (Momentos de aplicación de la dosis a razón de 200 kg.ha-1 de N) recolectando los datos en la etapa de campo alos 14,35, 48 ddg y la cosecha a los 60 ddg. Las variables cuantitativas evaluadas en el estudio durante el crecimiento del cultivo fueron las características de: Altura de planta (cm),Diámetro del tallo (cm), Número de hojas por planta y para la Cosecha del chilote a los 60 ddg. Se midieron las variables: A altura de la primera y segunda inserción del chilote en (cm), Peso del chilote con brácteas y sin brácteas (gr), Longitud del chilote con brácteas y sin brácteas (cm), Diámetro del chilote con brácteas y sin brácteas(cm), Rendimiento del chilote (kg. ha-1) . Los datos recolectados se sometieron a un análisis estadístico y procesamiento de datos con el software InfoStat versión 2008, a consideración de la separación de medias por rangos múltiples de Duncan (α=0.05). Se realizaron los análisis económicos cumpliendo la metodología empleada por el CIMMYT (1988) de viabilidad y rentabilidad. El mejor en estudio de los nueve tratamientos evaluados, la interacciona 1 b2 (4.5 lt de agua/m/día; 200 kg. ha-1 de N aplicado (Urea) el 50 % de la dosis a los 21 ddg y 50 % a los 42 ddg.) indujo al mayor rendimiento de chilote con una producción de 2,229.16 kg. ha-1, con un total de costos variables de 4,458.00 C$.ha-1 y un beneficio neto de 14,266.94 córdobas por hectáreas y una tasa de retorno marginal de 1927,59%.

Numerical Study on Flow Field and Temperature Distribution in Growth Process of 200 mm Czochralski Silicon Crystals

The melt flow and temperature distribution in a 200 mm silicon Czochralski furnace with a cusp magnetic field was modeled and simulated by using a finite-volume based FLUTRAPP ( Fluid Flow and Transport Phenomena Program) code. The melt flow in the crucible was focused, which is a result of the competition of buoyancy, the centrifugal forces caused by the rotations of the crucible and crystal, the thermocapillary force on the free surfaces and the Lorentz force induced by the cusp magnetic field. The zonal method for radiative heat transfer was used in the growth chamber, which was confined by the crystal surface, melt surface, crucible, heat shield, and pull chamber. It was found that the cusp magnetic field could strength the dominant counter-rotating swirling flow cell in the crucible and reduce the flow oscillation and the pulling-rate fluctuation. The fluctuation of dopant and oxygen concentration in the growing crystal could thus be smoothed.

Stress intensity factors calculation in anti-plane fracture problem by orthogonal integral extraction method based on femol

For an anti-plane problem, the differential operator is self-adjoint and the corresponding eigenfunctions belong to the Hilbert space. The orthogonal property between eigenfunctions (or between the derivatives of eigenfunctions) of anti-plane problem is exploited. We developed for the first time two sets of radius-independent orthogonal integrals for extraction of stress intensity factors (SIFs), so any order SIF can be extracted based on a certain known solution of displacement (an analytic result or a numerical result). Many numerical examples based on the finite element method of lines (FEMOL) show that the present method is very powerful and efficient.