Using adaptive algorithms, the design of nanoscale dielectric structures for photonic applications is explored. Widths of dielectric layers in a linear array are adjusted to match target responses of optical transmission as a function of energy. Two complementary approaches are discussed. The first approach uses adaptive local random updates and progressively adjusts individual dielectric layer...

This document describes the hardware and the software of a Front-End Electronics Test Station developed to test and characterize the Front-End ASIC for the LHCb Muon chambers. This ASIC, an 8-channel amplifier, shaper and discriminator with baseline restoration, processes read-out signals generated by Multi-Wire Proportional and GEM chambers located in a high radiation environment. It is almost...

This paper introduces an extensible simulation tool for the study of speed scaling designs for a single server with variable service rates. This simulator facilitates detailed performance analysis of scheduling and speed scaling policies under different background settings. Our component-based design separates the system configuration, like the power consumption model and the incoming workload,...

Space applications’ users have been relying for the past decades on custom developed software tools capable of addressing short term necessities during critical Spacecraft control periods. Advances in computing power and storage solutions have made possible the development of innovative decision support systems. These systems are capable of providing high quality integrated data to both near re...

The increasing density of integrated circuits has made it possible to design computers which are small and lightweight enough to be mobile. Mobile computers have constraints that their desktop predecessors do not, especially in the domains of size, weight, and power. The power consumed by a mobile computer is a key constraint, because the power determines the battery capacity required, which is...

From micro-assembly to biological observation, the optical microscope remains one of the most important tools for observing below the threshold of the naked human eye. However, in its conventional form, it suffers from a trade-off between resolution and field of view. This paper presents a new optical microscope design that combines a high speed steering mirror, a custom designed scanner lens, ...

A modeled Polynesian society is used to explain why, in Polynesia, growing stratification did not result in a devaluation of women's status, as most theorists would predict. The computer model used to explore this problem--called TongaSim--is a C++ program that attempts to emulate the basic social dynamics of Tonga, a Western Polynesian society. The program is capable of simulating the operatio...

(ABSTRACT) MnZn ferrites are widely used in power electronics applications where the switching frequency is in the range of several tens of kilohertz to a megahertz. In this range of frequencies the combination of relatively high permeability and relatively low conductivity found in MnZn ferrite helps to minimize the size of magnetic devices while maintaining high efficiency. The continuing imp...

We have configured a widefield fast imaging system that allows imaging at 1000 frames per second (512x512 pixels). The system was extended with custom processing tools including a time correlation method to facilitate the analysis of static subcellular compartments (e.g. neuronal varicosities) with enhanced contrast, as well as a dynamic intensity processing (DIP) algorithm that aids in data si...

Most of today’s high-level synthesis tools offer a fixed set of interfaces to communicate with the outer world. A direct integration of custom IP in the datapath would often be more beneficial than an integration using such communication interfaces. If a certain interface protocol is not offered by the tool, either translation blocks (wrappers) are needed or the code should be written at a lowe...