KEYWORDS: Sensors, Resistance, NOx, Principal component analysis, Carbon nanotubes, Data acquisition, Chemical analysis, Carbon monoxide, Gas sensors, Linear filtering
Thin films of functionalized single-wall carbon nanotubes were deposited on silicon chips by drop-coating and inkjet printing. These sensors were subjected to 1-100 ppm NOx, CO, H2S and H2O vapor in synthetic air. We have found that besides the expected changes in the electrical resistance of the film, there are also characterteristic differences in the noise pattern of the resistance vs. time function. This phenomenon is called fluctuation enhanced sensing and it can be used to increase the amount of information gathered from a carbon nanotube sensor device. The main advantage of fluctuation enhanced sensing is the improved selectivity of the sensor even if changes in electical resistance are rather low. Combined with differentiation based on modifying the adsorption characterstics of the nanotubes (e.g. by covalent functionalization), fluctuation enhanced sensing appears to be a very useful method for bringing cheap and reliable carbon nanotube based chemical sensors to the market.
Very recently, it has been shown that Gaussian thermal noise and its artificial versions (Johnson-like noises) can be
utilized as an information carrier with peculiar properties therefore it may be proper to call this topic Thermal Noise
Informatics. Zero Power (Stealth) Communication, Thermal Noise Driven Computing, and Totally Secure Classical
Communication are relevant examples. In this paper, while we will briefly describe the first and the second subjects, we
shall focus on the third subject, the secure classical communication via wire. This way of secure telecommunication
utilizes the properties of Johnson(-like) noise and those of a simple Kirchhoff's loop. The communicator is
unconditionally secure at the conceptual (circuit theoretical) level and this property is (so far) unique in communication
systems based on classical physics. The communicator is superior to quantum alternatives in all known aspects, except
the need of using a wire. In the idealized system, the eavesdropper can extract zero bit of information without getting
uncovered. The scheme is naturally protected against the man-in-the-middle attack. The communication can take place
also via currently used power lines or phone (wire) lines and it is not only a point-to-point communication like quantum
channels but network-ready. We report that a pair of Kirchhoff-Loop-Johnson(-like)-Noise communicators, which is
able to work over variable ranges, was designed and built. Tests have been carried out on a model-line with ranges
beyond the ranges of any known direct quantum communication channel and they indicate unrivalled signal fidelity and
security performance. This simple device has single-wire secure key generation/sharing rates of 0.1, 1, 10, and 100
bit/second for copper wires with diameters/ranges of 21 mm / 2000 km, 7 mm / 200 km, 2.3 mm / 20 km, and 0.7 mm /
2 km, respectively and it performs with 0.02% raw-bit error rate (99.98 % fidelity). The raw-bit security of this practical
system significantly outperforms raw-bit quantum security. Current injection breaking tests show zero bit
eavesdropping ability without setting on the alarm signal, therefore no multiple measurements are needed to build an
error statistics to detect the eavesdropping as in quantum communication. Wire resistance based breaking tests of
Bergou-Scheuer-Yariv type give an upper limit of eavesdropped raw bit ratio is 0.19 % and this limit is inversely
proportional to the sixth power of cable diameter. Hao's breaking method yields zero (below measurement resolution)
eavesdropping information.
KEYWORDS: Pulsed laser operation, Control systems, Error control coding, Stochastic processes, Signal detection, Laser systems engineering, Laser stabilization, Detection and tracking algorithms, Microcontrollers, Target detection
We present a laser delay control system based on adaptive averaging which utilises the jitter noise of the laser
to stabilise the delay more precisely. The system contains delay lines to measure and control the laser delay and
a microcontroller that runs our control algorithm. The algorithm regulates the laser delay on the basis of the
average of detected delay values, wherein the steps with which the delay is varied and the averaging length are
chosen adaptively, depending on the distance from the target delay. Our complementary numerical simulations
show that the jitter of the laser may play a beneficial role here: the error of the delay has a distinct minimum
at a non-zero noise level. In a way similar to the dithering principle applied in analogue-to-digital conversion,
averaging the noise-modulated detection instances yields a precision in setting the delay that is well beyond the
resolution provided by detection time windows, and is close to the theoretical limit determined by the step size
of the delay line we applied.
KEYWORDS: Signal to noise ratio, Interference (communication), Stochastic processes, Digital signal processing, Signal processing, Information theory, Systems modeling, Signal analyzers, Digital filtering, Detection theory
We consider two bistable systems, the double-well potential and the Schmitt-trigger, and examine whether the stochastic resonance occurring in these systems may produce output signals less noisy than the input. We apply cross-spectrum and cross-correlation based generalised measures to quantify noise content in the input and output, which enables us to use aperiodic or random sequences as input signals. We show that input-output signal improvement occurs even for these types of input.
We studied two non-dynamical stochastic resonators, the level-crossing detector (LCD) and the Schmitt trigger, driven by a periodic pulse train plus 1/fκ-type coloured noises, and we have examined the dependence of the SNR gain maxima on the spectral exponent κ of the random excitation. We have found, in accordance with what previous studies predict for the output SNR in non-dynamical systems, that the correlation only degrades the SNR gain: greater noise amplitudes are required for the gain to peak if we increase the spectral exponent. We have observed that the two different kinds of SNR gains we used, the narrow-band and the wide-band gain, describe the behaviour of these systems rather differently: while the maximum of the wide-band gain decreases monotonically with the spectral exponent κ, the narrow-band gain is optimal at a certain κ. We have also surveyed how the value of the optimal κ depends on the frequency conditions.
KEYWORDS: Digital signal processing, Digital filtering, Signal processing, Interference (communication), Optical filters, Numerical simulations, Human-machine interfaces, Clocks, Analog filtering, Control systems
1/f noise is present in several natural and artificial systems, and even though it was discovered several years ago, it is still not completely understood. Due to the lack of an universal model, the main methods of investigating a system where 1/f noise is present are numerical simulations and real measurements. The second method can lead to more adequate results, since it is free from numerical artifacts. In the case of real measurements, we need reliable, wide-band noise generators. Many ways of generating noise are known; most of them have several limitations on the frequency bandwidth or on spectral properties. We wanted to create a device which is easy to use, which can generate any kind of 1/fα noise and whose bandwidth is wide enough to make our investigations. We used a DSP (ADSP2181) to numerically generate the desired noise, and a D/A converter to convert it to an analogue signal. The noise generation algorithm was based on the known method of filtering a Gaussian white noise with a series of first-order digital filters. We enhanced this method to get a better spectral shape and to compensate for the side effects of the digital-to-analogue conversion.
In the last few years, several papers have been published that reported high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gains in systems showing stochastic resonance. In the present work, we consider a level-crossing detector driven by a periodic pulse train plus Gaussian band-limited white noise, and provide analytical formulae for the dependence of the SNR gain on the relevant parameters of the input (the amplitude and the cut-off frequency of noise, the duty cycle of the deterministic signal and the distance between the threshold and the amplitude of the signal). Our results are valid in the input parameter range wherein high gains are expected, that is, wherein the probabilities of missing and, especially, extra output peaks are very low. We also include numerical simulation results that support the theory, along with illustrations of cases which are outside the validity of our theory.
KEYWORDS: Numerical simulations, Ion channels, Switching, Time metrology, Solids, Stochastic processes, Statistical analysis, Interference (communication), Digital filtering, Nose
It has been recently shown that the amplitude truncation of Gaussian 1/f noise does not change the shape of the power spectral density under rather general conditions, including the case when a Heaviside transformation results in a dichotomous noise. This invariance of 1/f noise seems to be an important addition to the knowledge about this kind of noise and may be promising in understanding dichotomous 1/f noise, noise-driven switching and stepping. Probably the most important application is the explanation of ion channel currents in biomembranes. In this work we have extended our investigations, especially concerning the level crossing properties of 1/f noises. We determined the level crossing time statistics for 1/fα noises (0<α<2) and found an empirical formula for the level-crossing time distribution. The correlation properties of successive level crossing intervals are also explored by measurements and numerical simulations and it is shown that the case α=1 is unique in the range from 0 to 2. These time structure related additions to the knowledge about 1/f noise further emphasize the uniqueness of this kind of noise. These results may help to understand 1/f noises better and are strongly relevant to 1/f noise driven switching, dichotomous noises such as the case of ion channel current fluctuations.
The analysis of electronic noise has the potential to predict forthcoming catastrophic failure of electronic devices and integrated circuits. This has a particularly important potential in submicron and nanoelectronics.
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