Abstract: This paper introduces a new method, single-trial phase locking statistics (S-PLS) to estimate phase locking in single trials of brain signals between two electrodes. The possibility of studying single trials removes an important limitation in the study of long-range synchrony in brain signals. S-PLS is closely related to our previous method, phase locking statistics (PLS) that estimates phase locking over a set of trials. The S-PLS method is described in detail and applied to human surface recordings during the task of face-recognition. We compare these results with those provided by PLS and show that they are qualitatively very similar, although S-PLS provides better discrimination of synchronic episodes.

Abstract: A miniature phased array antenna system is described which employs a substrate having a high dielectric constant. A plurality of antenna elements is located on a surface of the substrate, and a superstrate having a high dielectric constant covers the antenna elements. The dielectric constant, thickness, and shape of the superstrate enable it to act as a dielectric lens for controlling the phase relationship of a signal received by the antenna elements. The design of the superstrate dielectric lens permits a reduction in the physical spacing between the antenna elements while maintaining spatial diversity in phase between signals arriving from different directions. Thus, the antenna array may be significantly smaller than previously proposed phased array antennas while maintaining a similar phase relationship to that achieved using previously proposed phased array antennas. Electronic circuitry coupled to each of the plurality of antenna elements applies complex weights to received signals prior to a summation thereof in order to reconstruct a desired signal and to deconstruct an undesired signal. SAW filters employed in the electronic circuitry are temperature controlled to maintain group-delay and phase-offset stability.

Abstract: Imaging systems that construct an image from phase information in received signals include synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and optical Doppler tomography (ODT) systems. A fundamental problem in the image formation is phase ambiguity, i.e., it is impossible to distinguish between phases that differ by 2/spl pi/. Phase unwrapping in two dimensions essentially consists of detecting the pixel locations of the phase discontinuities, finding an ordering among the pixel locations for unwrapping the phase, and adding offsets of multiples of 2/spl pi/. In this paper, we propose a new method for detecting phase discontinuities. The method is based on a supervised feedforward multilayer perceptron neural network. We train and test the neural network on simulated phase images formed in an ODT system. For the ODT phase images, the new method detects the correct unwrapping locations where some conventional methods fail. The key contribution of the paper is a one-pass pixel-parallel low-complexity method for detecting phase discontinuities.

Abstract: The phases of the circularly polarized harmonics with alternating helicity generated by a bichromatic laser field whose two components are circularly polarized in the same plane but rotate in opposite directions are investigated. Only one trajectory contributes to harmonic generation in the plateau region. The dependence of the harmonic phase on the laser field intensity is weak (with the slope $\ensuremath{\sim}{0.2U}_{p}/\ensuremath{\omega}).$ Adjacent harmonics having the same helicity are relatively closely phase locked. As a result, a train of three attosecond pulses per optical cycle of the driving field is generated, each having a width of 80 as. Depending upon whether the two helicity components can be separated the polarization of the pulses is close to circular or close to linear with three different orientations per optical cycle.

Abstract: We consider spontaneous emission in a four-level atomic system driven by three fields. It is shown that by controlling the phase and the amplitude of the driving fields a wide variety of spectral behavior can be obtained, ranging from a very narrow single spectral line to up to six spectral of varying widths.

Abstract: A simple and highly sensitive phase-demodulation technique is proposed, and its use for a fiber Bragg grating strain sensor is experimentally demonstrated. Sampling a phase-modulated Mach–Zehnder output with controlled time delay produced two quadrature data streams that have relative quadrature phase difference (90°). The Bragg wavelength-dependent phase information is extracted by application of digital arctangent function and phase unwrapping to the quadrature signals. By use of this technique with a reference grating, strain sensing at as much as a 30-kHz sampling rate was obtained with strain resolution of 3.5 microstrains and 6 nanostrains/ Hzin quasi-static and dynamic strain measurements, respectively.

Abstract: Phase measurements of the transmission coefficient are important when used for the dielectric characterization of materials. They are required for industrial material monitoring applications, where the phase is correlated with parameters such as moisture content and density, which need to be continuously determined, However, when the thickness of the material under test is greater than the wavelength in the material, a phase problem is encountered. Two methods are proposed to solve this problem. The first is based on the selection of the appropriate material thickness; the second requires the use of measurements at two frequencies. Advantages and limitations of both methods are discussed, and numerical validations are given for particulate materials.

Abstract: We present a detailed description and a first theoretical study of an improved concept for high-frequency self-pulsations (SPs) in multisection (MS)-DFB lasers with an integrated phase tuning section. The DFB wavelengths of the two DFB sections are spectrally detuned by nearly the stopband width using two gratings with different grating periods. If both DFB sections are operated at lasing conditions and an appropriate phase is chosen, we obtain beating-type SP with a frequency given by the spectral distance of two lasing modes. Good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained with respect to the role of the detuning, the role of the phase section, as well as the synchronization to external injected signals. The modeling shows a strong nonlinear coupling of the two involved modes via the carrier densities. This effect is important for the mutual coherence and for the observed locking of the beating oscillations to external signals. From the results of the calculations, we draw the conclusion that even higher SP frequencies can be obtained based on the new concept.

Abstract: A downhole NMR measurement apparatus for use in a borehole includes at least one magnet, at least one RF transmission coil, at least one gradient coil and circuitry. The magnet(s) establish a magnetic field in a region of a formation that at least partially surrounds the measurement apparatus. The RF transmission coils(s) transmit RF pulses pursuant to an NMR pulse sequence into the region to, in combination with the magnetic field, induce the generation of spin echo signals from a resonance volume within the region. The gradient coil(s) establish a pulsed gradient field in the resonance volume, and the circuitry is coupled to the gradient coil(s) to control the generation of the pulsed gradient field to phase encode the spin echo signals for purposes of high resolution imaging of the formation.

Abstract: X-ray computed tomography (CT) offers distinct advantages to study fundamental physical processes of water movement and contaminant transport in porous media Tomography provides nondestructive and noninvasive cross-sectional or three- dimensional representations of porous media and has the potential to measure phase distribution and species concentration at the pore scale Sources of error are discussed for the application of industrial microfocus CT to quantitative studies of flow and transport Specifically, effective resolution and measurement uncertainties due to photon randomness are considered for a miscible displacement experiment A calibration method for the measurement of solute concentration is proposed that accounts for the effect of beam hardening, which is characteristic for polychromatic industrial X-ray sources The results of an X-ray microfocus CT experiment are presented, emphasizing the need to correct for beam hardening and describing the inherent spatial variability of solute breakthrough through a glass-bead porous medium with an effective spatial resolution of approximately 85 mm

Abstract: The concept of slope discrepancy developed in the mid-1980’s to assess measurement noise in a wave-front sensor system is shown to have additional contributions that are due to fitting error and branch points. This understanding is facilitated by the development of a new formulation that employs Fourier techniques to decompose the measured gradient field (i.e., wave-front sensor measurements) into two components, one that is expressed as the gradient of a scalar potential and the other that is expressed as the curl of a vector potential. A key feature of the theory presented here is the fact that both components of the phase (one corresponding to each component of the gradient field) are easily reconstructable from the measured gradients. In addition, the scalar and vector potentials are both easily expressible in terms of the measured gradient field. The work concludes with a wave optics simulation example that illustrates the ease with which both components of the phase can be obtained. The results obtained illustrate that branch point effects are not significant until the Rytov number is greater than 0.2. In addition, the branch point contribution to the phase not only is reconstructed from the gradient data but is used to illustrate the significant performance improvement that results when this contribution is included in the correction applied by an adaptive optics system.

Abstract: A control circuit for causing a phase lock loop (PLL) frequency synthesizer to achieve a fast phase lock time while also providing improved loop performance during normal phase locked operation. The phase locking time of the PLL is minimized by initially configuring the PLL to operate in a fractional mode with high frequency signals presented to the inputs of the loop phase detector, thereby producing a fast phase lock time. Once the PLL has achieved phase lock, its operation mode is transitioned to either an integer mode or an open loop mode without loss of phase lock, thus causing lower frequency signals or no signals, respectively, to be presented to the inputs of the loop phase detector and thereby significantly reducing spurious signal tones.

Abstract: A diffractive Alvarez lens is demonstrated that consists of two separate phase plates, each having complementary 16-level surface-relief profiles that contain cubic phase delays. Translation of these two components in the plane of the phase plates is shown to produce a variable astigmatic focus. Both spherical and cylindrical phase profiles are demonstrated with good accuracy, and the discrete surface-relief features are shown to cause less than λ/10 wave-front aberration in the transmitted wave front over a 40 mm×80 mm region.

Abstract: Two ROSAT high resolution images separated by nearly five years have been used to determine the expansion of the X-ray remnant of Tycho's supernova (SN1572). The current expansion rate averaged over the entire remnant is $0.124\pm0.011$ % per yr, which, when combined with the known age of the remnant, determines the mean expansion parameter $m$, defined as $R\propto t^m$, to be $0.54\pm0.05$. There are significant radial and azimuthal variations of the X-ray expansion rate. The radial expansion in particular shows highly significant evidence for the more rapid expansion of the forward blast wave as compared to the reverse-shocked ejecta, an effect that has not been seen previously. The expansion parameter varies from $m=0.71\pm0.06$ at the outermost edge of Tycho's supernova remnant (SNR) to a value of $m=0.34\pm0.10$ on the inside edge of the bright rim of emission. These values are consistent with the rates expected for a remnant with constant density ejecta evolving into a uniform interstellar medium during the ejecta-dominated phase of evolution. Based on the size, age, and X-ray expansion rates, I obtain values for the explosion energy and ambient density of $E\approx 4-5\times 10^{50} \rm ergs$ and $n_0 \approx 0.35-0.45 \rm cm^{-3}$. As is also the case for Cas A and Kepler's SNR, the X-ray expansion rate of Tycho's SNR appears to be significantly higher than the radio expansion rate. In the case of Tycho's SNR, however, the difference between radio and X-ray expansion rates is clearly associated with the motion of the forward shock.

Abstract: A computationally efficient algorithm for phase-shifting interferometry with imprecise phase shifts is developed. It permits the use of an uncalibrated phase shifter and is also insensitive to spatial intensity variations. The measurement has both spatial and temporal aspects. Comparisons are made between pixels within the same interferogram, and these comparisons are extended across a set of interferograms by a maximum–minimum procedure. A test experiment is performed and confirms the theoretical results. An additional advantage of the algorithm is that an error measure can be developed. This error measure is used to implement an error correction scheme.

Abstract: An adaptation of the work by Huber and Muller on partial transmit sequences (PTSs) for the reduction of the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is described The new variation combines cyclic shifts of the inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) sub-block output with PTSs The performance of the new scheme is slightly better than that of a PTS scheme for the same number of comparisons and avoids the need for complex multipliers when the number of phase rotations is greater than 4

Abstract: A high-speed optical sampling system for electrical signals has been developed using a gain-switched diode laser and a dual-output Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The optical phase shift between the branches of the interferometer is highly linear in the applied electrical signal. The phase shift is encoded in the two outputs of the interferometer and is recovered through digital signal processing. Analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion with 78-dB spur-free dynamic range is demonstrated. Our phase-encoded sampling technique allows high-resolution (12-bit) conversion with high linearity at practical laser power levels.

Abstract: There is provided a control method capable of stably rotating a synchronous motor synchronously with an output frequency even when a phase error between a real rotary axis and a control rotary axis is large. In a phase error operating unit, from the magnitude of the motor current, the magnitude of the motor voltage, the phase difference between the motor current and the motor voltage, and the motor constants, the phase difference between the motor current and the real rotary axis is determined as the first phase difference, and the phase difference between the motor current and the virtual rotary axis is determined as the second phase difference. The difference between the first and second phase differences is defined as the phase error, and the estimation position is so modified as to make the phase error zero.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for creating an amplifier input waveform based on received phase and amplitude information from an input signal. The apparatus includes a first switch receiving phase information from a primary waveform and a second switch in communication with the first switch and the input. The second switch receives amplitude information from the primary waveform and receives the phase information from the first switch and uses the amplitude information to modulate the phase information. A secondary waveform is thus created for input to the amplifier load matching network. In this way, an amplitude modulated waveform is amplified at high efficiency, enabling application of either all or part of the phase and/or amplitude modulation at the input of the amplifier.

Abstract: Techniques are provided for extending the use of phase shift techniques to implementation of masks used for complex layouts in the layers of integrated circuits, beyond selected critical dimension features such as transistor gates to which such structures have been limited in the past. The method includes identifying features for which phase shifting can be applied, automatically mapping the phase shifting regions for implementation of such features, resolving phase conflicts which might occur according to a given design rule, and application of sub-resolution assist features within phase shift regions and optical proximity correction features to phase shift regions. Both opaque field phase shift masks and complementary binary masks defining interconnect structures and other types of structures that are not defined using phase shifting, necessary for completion of the layout of the layer are produced.

Abstract: We introduce a theoretical basis of polarization mode dispersion (PMD) equalizers based on the operator representation of PMD using Taylor's expansion. The two types of configuration of PMD equalizers are derived as the inverse of diagonalization operators and delay time difference compensation. One is a type using physical rotation of quarter wave phase plates. The other is a type using variable phase shifters suitable for PLC integration. Waveform comparison algorithm was simulated to show the existence of multiple equivalent optimum points due to the symmetry and periodicity of optical circuits. The second order PMD equalization is discussed briefly on the case of cascading the first and the second PMD equalizing circuits with two different polarization state converters.

Abstract: A new range/relative-speed sensor for automobiles is shown. Based on the six-port phase/frequency discriminator, it determines distance and Doppler frequency by means of the phase difference between transmitted and received signals. It presents several advantages compared with conventional FM/CW sensors. Low cost and compact size can also be achieved. The principle of operation, the developed prototype, and test results are described.