Characterization of Serial Links at 5.5Gbps on FR4 Backplanes

Nowdays the fast and increased demand for bandwidth in the telecommunication world translates into the design of complex boards exchanging data at high bit rate in reduced design cycle. Sometimes it is impossible to spent time in setting pre-layout simulations, because they are not compatible with the design time schedule. In this scenario it is better to design the boards using experience and then make simulations in conjunction with measurements, using customized numerical tools which don\u27t need complex models

Statistical Approach to the EMI Modeling of Large ASICs by a Single Noise-Current Source

Large and complex ASICs are source of propagating noise inside the powerbus planes. A lumped noise source model is proposed and validated by means of a statistics based method

Modeling of the IC\u27s Switching Currents on the Power Bus of a High Speed Digital Board

When the performances of the electronic technology increase (higher frequencies, more power, lover power supply, faster transistors, reduced chip dimensions), designing electronic equipment becomes more challenging for the electronic engineers. Signal and power integrity on board become of paramount importance. One of the main causes of board malfunctions and electromagnetic radiation is the simultaneous switching noise (SSN) due to the integrated circuits soldered on the board. The paper proposes two simple procedures to model the SSN, so to evaluate its effects in any point of the board

A Software System in Support of Quality of Degree Programmes

We present a software system aimed at providing support to the management of processes for the self evaluation of the quality of degree programmes. The system was developed for quality management at the University of Salerno, Italy. Its main functionalities include: monitoring of the process status, scheduling of meetings, document management, support for working groups. With the help of some screenshots, the main features will be described in the context of scenarios that commonly arise in the management of processes of self-assessment of quality

Validation of Circuit Extraction Procedure by Means of Frequency and Time Domain Measurement

Aim of this paper is the validation in both frequency and time domain of the procedure to extract fully H-Spice compatible equivalent circuits of structures on printed circuit boards. The procedure is initiated by standard measurement of scattering parameters between 40MHz to 20GH. After the extraction of the equivalent circuit, the computed scattering parameters are compared with those measured. The same equivalent circuit is also used for transient analysis in order to compare TDR measurement and eye-pattern to a pseudo-random bit sequence with those coming from the simulations

Participatory Patterns in an International Air Quality Monitoring Initiative

The issue of sustainability is at the top of the political and societal agenda, being considered of extreme importance and urgency. Human individual action impacts the environment both locally (e.g., local air/water quality, noise disturbance) and globally (e.g., climate change, resource use). Urban environments represent a crucial example, with an increasing realization that the most effective way of producing a change is involving the citizens themselves in monitoring campaigns (a citizen science bottom-up approach). This is possible by developing novel technologies and IT infrastructures enabling large citizen participation. Here, in the wider framework of one of the first such projects, we show results from an international competition where citizens were involved in mobile air pollution monitoring using low cost sensing devices, combined with a web-based game to monitor perceived levels of pollution. Measures of shift in perceptions over the course of the campaign are provided, together with insights into participatory patterns emerging from this study. Interesting effects related to inertia and to direct involvement in measurement activities rather than indirect information exposure are also highlighted, indicating that direct involvement can enhance learning and environmental awareness. In the future, this could result in better adoption of policies towards decreasing pollution.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, 1 supplementary fil

Participatory Patterns in an International Air Quality Monitoring Initiative

The issue of sustainability is at the top of the political and societal agenda, being considered of extreme importance and urgency. Human individual action impacts the environment both locally (e.g., local air/water quality, noise disturbance) and globally (e.g., climate change, resource use). Urban environments represent a crucial example, with an increasing realization that the most effective way of producing a change is involving the citizens themselves in monitoring campaigns (a citizen science bottom-up approach). This is possible by developing novel technologies and IT infrastructures enabling large citizen participation. Here, in the wider framework of one of the first such projects, we show results from an international competition where citizens were involved in mobile air pollution monitoring using low cost sensing devices, combined with a web-based game to monitor perceived levels of pollution. Measures of shift in perceptions over the course of the campaign are provided, together with insights into participatory patterns emerging from this study. Interesting effects related to inertia and to direct involvement in measurement activities rather than indirect information exposure are also highlighted, indicating that direct involvement can enhance learning and environmental awareness. In the future, this could result in better adoption of policies towards decreasing pollution

Eye Pattern Evaluation in High-Speed Digital Systems Analysis by using MTL Modeling

A method for simulating the eye pattern of high-speed digital signals propagated on printed circuit boards using multiconductor transmission-line modeling is proposed in this paper. The approach takes into account the frequency-dependent properties of the dielectric materials of the board and of the conductors. The validation is performed by comparing the modeling with measurements taken from the literature, and directly performed on test boards specially design for this study

Estimation error.

<p>Difference between estimated and real dB value vs the number of measurements a user has performed.</p

Perception evaluation versus the measured noise level.

<p>The red lines display the average evaluation over the first five measurements of all users; the green lines correspond to the average evaluation over the set of all measures taken by users starting from the 50th one.</p