Technology, design and reliability issues in GaAs power devices

The paper gives an overview of.the most important issues concerning technology, design, characterization, modelling and reliability of GaAs power devices with the purpose of highlighting the most critical factors which determine their performances

GaAs power devices for radio-link and space applications

This paper describes the development status of GaAs power devices in Alcatel Telecom for radiolinks and space applications. In particular it will describe 30 W C-band low distortion high power Mesfet for high capacity digital Radiolinks and 10 W C-band power modules developed for phase array radar space applications in the frame of ENVISAT 1 project. Recent development of power modules for K-band radio applications will also be presented

An experimentally based systematic approach for yield and reliability evaluation in GaAs MMICs

After a critical examination of the state, of the art yield and reliability-evaluation tools, the results are reported of a systematic experimental analysis for the MMIC yield evaluation. The possibility is then proved of determining efficient MMIC reliability evaluation rules. Finally, the main features and the results until now obtained will be reported for an ex­perimental reliability program aimed at giving the Telettra designers the relevant data base

High performance GaAs monolithic transimpedance amplifiers for multigigabit per second fiber optic links

A new design approach for MMIC transimpedance amplifiers is described, which allows substantial improvements as noise, gain and stability over the previously reported circuit solutions. An accordingly designed MMIC transimpedance ampli­fier we constructed and tested is described

Design and optimization for industrial production of a 4-8 GHz monolithic amplifier for high-capacity radio links

A MMIC development philosophy for industrial production purpose is first described. The design is then reported for a laboratory prototype of a two stage 4-8 GHz MMIC amplifier to be used in high capacity radio links. Then, the paper describes the overall job (involving a number of design and testing cycles, back end simulations and measured data critical analyses) which was done to make the circuit up to a standard industrial production

High-resolution cry analysis in preterm newborn infants

Infant monitoring is a common procedure in clinical practice in neonatal critical care units. A number of vital functions are monitored, such as heart beat, breathing, blood flow, etc. Specifically, preterm and/or low-birth-weight infants often present respiratory problems that require monitoring. These may range from insufficient ventilation to apnoea. One of the most common events that may affect the respiratory flow is crying, a physiological action made by the infant to communicate and draw attention, but, for a preterm infant, this action requires great effort, which may cause distress and even may have an adverse impact on blood oxygenation. Acoustic analysis of newborn infant cry is thus of importance, since it is related to other basic neuro-physiological parameters. Being easy to perform, cheap and completely non-invasive, it can be successfully applied in many circumstances. The newborn infant cry is characterised by very high fundamental frequency (F0) and resonance frequency (RFs) values, with abrupt changes and voiced/unvoiced features of very short duration in a single utterance. To deal with such signals, a new user-friendly software tool has been developed, that allows robust tracking of main acoustic parameters on very short and time-varying signal frames. The software developed provides the user with a high-resolution picture of the cry signal characteristics

Intrapartum GBS screening and antibiotic prophylaxis: a European consensus conference

Group B streptococcus (GBS) remains worldwide a leading cause of severe neonatal disease. Since the end of the 1990s, various strategies for prevention of the early onset neonatal disease have been implemented and have evolved. When a universal antenatal GBS screening-based strategy is used to identify women who are given an intrapartum antimicrobial prophylaxis, a substantial reduction of incidence up to 80% has been reported in the USA as in other countries including European countries. However recommendations are still a matter of debate due to challenges and controversies on how best to identify candidates for prophylaxis and to drawbacks of intrapartum administration of antibiotics. In Europe, some countries recommend either antenatal GBS screening or risk-based strategies, or any combination, and others do not have national or any other kind of guidelines for prevention of GBS perinatal disease. Furthermore, accurate population-based data of incidence of GBS neonatal disease are not available in some countries and hamper good effectiveness evaluation of prevention strategies. To facilitate a consensus towards European guidelines for the management of pregnant women in labor and during pregnancy for the prevention of GBS perinatal disease, a conference was organized in 2013 with a group of experts in neonatology, gynecology- obstetrics and clinical microbiology coming from European representative countries. The group reviewed available data, identified areas where results were suboptimal, where revised procedures and new technologies could improve current practices for prevention of perinatal GBS disease. The key decision issued after the conference is to recommend intrapartum antimicrobial prophylaxis based on a universal intrapartum GBS screening strategy using a rapid real time testing