Liquid-crystal devices with in-plane switching electrodes (IPS-LCD) are superior to twisted nematic ones in their wider range of viewing angle, but show serious color shift with viewing angle. The color shift is a phenomenon governed by the three-dimensional orientation of liquid-crystal molecules. In order to evaluate such effects numerically, light wave propagation in the IPS-LCD is studied using a two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method, where all six components of electromagnetic field are analysed and the three-dimensional properties of liquid-crystal materials are taken into account through the dielectric tensor. The computational space termination is provided by a combination of the uniaxial perfectly matched layer and periodic boundary conditions. It is found for the first time numerically that the color shift effects strongly depend on the asymmetrical profile of liquid-crystal orientation, which is originated from the small pretilt angle.

Our goal is to realize an extra-large stereoscopic display in the open air for use by the general public. We have developed a stereoscopic large display by use of a full-color LED panel. Although the developed display enables viewers to view the stereoscopic images without any special glasses, it is necessary for the viewers to move to stand within the viewing areas. Movements of the viewers are considered to depend on arrangements of viewing areas. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the movements of viewers who watch different designs of stereoscopic LED displays with a parallax barrier, including conventional designs to provide multiple perspective images and designs to eliminate pseudoscopic viewing areas, and evaluate the performance of different viewing areas based on the obtained paths of the viewers. We have developed a real-time measurement system of a viewer's position by use of a camera on the ceiling. We have recorded the viewing movements caused by the shift of viewing areas. It was found that the viewers moved to stand on orthoscopic viewing positions. The movements of viewers who move to find a viewing area have been recorded with different designs of stereoscopic LED displays that provide different viewing areas. We have calculated the lateral moving time of the viewers'movements. It is shown that the elimination of pseudoscopic viewing areas reduces the lateral moving time. Thus, the real-time measurement system of a viewer's position has been utilized for evaluation of performance of the different designs of stereoscopic LED displays.

The operation of a polarization mode dispersion (PMD) compensator using a polarizer and a Faraday rotator-based polarization controller (FRPC) is analyzed in detail, and the compensation performance is experimentally evaluated in 40 Gbit/s operation. The evaluation results show that a wide range of differential group delay over a bit period can almost be completely compensated using the PMD compensator. The characteristics of electrical spectrum-based signal monitoring methods are investigated in detail, and the results shows advantages of a low frequency band monitoring method that produces about double the wider dynamic range than a fundamental repetition frequency monitoring method. The automated PMD compensator using a polarizer and a FRPC driven by the low frequency band monitoring method is experimentally investigated using a terrestrial 40 Gbit/s wavelength division multiplexing system involving 350-km installed single-mode fibers. The PMD compensator produces highly stable signal performance in the field environment for a long term and reduces the standard deviation of the Q-factor distribution.

A bandpass filter (BPF) with shielded inverted microstrip lines (SIMSL), previously demonstrated by the author, has shown the nontrivial asymmetry of filter responses in spite of adopting a conventional filter synthesis procedure. This paper will reveal the mechanism of the asymmetry and propose prescriptions for recovering the defect, in addition to observing the wave propagation property of SIMSL. Firstly, the behavior of phase constants or effective dielectric constants for various modes propagating on single SIMSL are indicated in terms of the line configuration, and the dispersion characteristics of the quasi-TEM mode are interpreted from the point of mode coupling between the pure TEM mode and dielectric slab modes. Then it is shown that the asymmetry is dependent only on the transmission characteristics of SIMSL parallel-coupled lines involved in the filter circuits. Theoretical considerations reveal that the asymmetry is due to the fact that SIMSL has quite different phase constants for the even- and odd-mode. On the basis of these results, the optimized BPF is designed and it is experimentally demonstrated that the symmetry of its responses is notably recovered. Furthermore, this optimization is still quite efficient for achieving high attenuation properties at its harmonics.

Intensity-noise characteristics of stable multi-mode Fabry-Perot semiconductor lasers are analyzed experimentally and theoretically. Mode-partition noise caused by optical filtering and propagation through optical fibers is investigated by evaluating the relative intensity noise and signal-to-noise ratio. The experimental results indicate that the simplified two-mode analysis provides a good approximation. Suppression of the mode-partition noise by nonlinear gain is experimentally confirmed.

A cryogenic Whispering Gallery sapphire resonator oscillator has been investigated using a 4 K pulse-tube cryocooler. The turnover temperature of the chosen mode in the sapphire crystal was 9.17 K with an unloaded Q-factor of 7108. The prototype sapphire-loaded cavity oscillator was designed to oscillate at 9.195 GHz. A fractional frequency stability of 210-13 was measured at integration times of 10 s.

Superluminal group velocity in dispersive media has long been controversial. A partial source of confusion seems to be the absence of high precision numerical results concerning the waveform of the transmitted signal. This paper gives the precise waveforms of a causal half-sine-modulated pulse and a triangle-modulated pulse propagating in the Lorentz medium. Thus, the effects of analyticity of signal are clarified, which the analysis using Gaussian pulse cannot. Further, to deepen understanding of the mechanism of superluminal group velocity, we give a network theoretic consideration.

We demonstrate the wide-band (> 25-nm) long-distance (> 1000-km) chromatic dispersion compensation by midway spectral inversion (MSI) using a periodically-polled LiNbO3 device. In order to achieve a flat zero net dispersion, the fourth order dispersion of the single-mode fibers is canceled by MSI, while the third order dispersion is compensated for by the negative slope dispersion compensation fiber (NS-DCF). The second order dispersion is canceled out by both. The long distance propagation is realized by a double recirculation-loop system. A very flat zero dispersion is measured for the first time for over 1000-km single-mode fiber propagation with MSI dispersion compensation.

We have developed the tunable dispersion compensator based on two twin linearly chirped fiber Bragg gratings with various temperature gradients. Controlling the temperature gradient over one of the twin fiber Bragg gratings by Peltier elements, the dispersion and the dispersion slope were changed independently and continuously. The dispersion and dispersion slope compensator has a large bandwidth of 8 nm and low group-delay ripple of < 4 ps in its chirped fiber Bragg gratings. We experimentally demonstrated a precise controllability of the dispersion and the dispersion slope using linear and parabolic temperature gradient. The dispersion and the dispersion slope changes were achieved continuously with -0.67 ps/nm/ and -0.14 ps/nm2/. The transmission characteristics of the dispersion slope compensation were examined using ultra short pulses in the fiber link. When the total dispersion was zero, the distorted pulse was restored back and the tail was significantly suppressed. 160 Gbit/s signals were also demonstrated over 140 km within 1 dB power penalty by using the dispersion slope compensator.

There has recently been considerable interest in research on wearable non-grounded force display. However, there have been no developments for the communication of nonverbal information (ex. tennis and golf swing). We propose a small and lightweight wearable force display to present motion timing and direction. The display outputs a torque using rotational moment and mechanical brakes. We explain the principle of this device, and describe an actual measurement of the torque and torque sensitivity experiments.

In this paper, a new method for displaying a surface deformation is proposed to provide sufficient realism in virtual environment. The approach selected in this paper is based on the fuzzy model and it is sufficient that only one additional rule be added to the fuzzy model to display a surface deformation. Furthermore, designers can easily determine which parameters should be used and how much they should be changed in order to alter shapes as required. The proposed method, thus, is a simple, but effective technique that can also be applied to real time operation and makes it possible to act on several surface points simultaneously. The results of the computer simulation are also given to demonstrate the validity of the proposed algorithm.

We compared two edge-blending methods for multi-projection displays, elliptic and rectangular blending, by simulating three common situations: (1) an inaccurately estimated calibration parameter, (2) a worn projector lamp, and (3) a shifted viewpoint. We used a two-level-of-detail display including a high-gain rear-projection screen in the simulation to demonstrate an extreme case. The comparisons showed how strongly inaccurate elements affect a composite besides affecting the appearance itself. A subjective assessment was also carried out to obtain the evaluations of actual users. The simulation results showed that in many cases elliptic blending is more effective than rectangular blending.

We describe the first highly nonlinear dispersion-flattened polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber designed for nonlinear optics applications in the 1.55 µm region. The nonlinear coefficient of the fiber is 19 (W-1km-1), which is ten times that of dispersion shifted fiber. The chromatic dispersion and dispersion slope of the fiber at 1.55 µm are -0.23 ps/km/nm and 0.01 ps/km/nm2, respectively. We demonstrate the generation of a supercontinuum using the photonic crystal fiber. A symmetrical supercontinuum over 40 nm is obtained by injecting 1562 nm, 2.2 ps, and 40 GHz optical pulses into the 200 m-long photonic crystal fiber.

We propose a simple method for the chromatic dispersion measurement of optical fibers by using bi-directional modulation of a Mach-Zehnder electro-optical modulator embodied in a fiber loop mirror. The detected output of the bi-directionally modulated light, with time difference, creates fading in the RF domain. Dispersion is found by measuring the period of fading at different wavelengths.

A new bipolar scan waveform is proposed to increase the light emission duty factor by achieving the fast address in AC plasma display panel (AC-PDP). The new bipolar scan waveform consists of two-step scan pulse, which can separate the address discharge mode into two different discharge modes: a space charge generation mode and a wall charge accumulation mode. By adopting the new bipolar scan waveform, the light emission duty factor is increased considerably under the single scan ADS driving scheme due to the reduction of address time per single subfield.

With the progress of the electronics industry and radio communication technology, humans enjoy greater freedom in communicating. On the other hand, certain problems, such as electromagnetic interference (EMI), have arisen due to the increased use of electromagnetic (EM) waves. EM wave absorbers are used for constructing an anechoic chamber to test and measure EMI and electromagnetic susceptibility (EMS). Prior to 1998, international standards for anechoic chambers required that EM wave absorbers should absorb more 20 dB in the bandwidth from 30 MHz to 1,000 MHz. Since November 1998, however, the Comit International Special des Perturbations Radioelectrigne (CISPR) has required that the frequency bandwidth be extended from 1 GHz to 18 GHz for EMI measurement by the CISPR11. In this work, wide-band EM wave absorbers were designed by a theoretical model using the equivalent material constants method (EMCM). We designed a cross-shaped absorber which has a bandwidth from 30 MHz to above 2 GHz under the tolerance limit of -20 dB in reflection, the results of which were compared with the results analyzed using the finite-difference time-domain method (FDTD). The tapered cross-shaped absorber was also designed, which has a bandwidth from 30 MHz to 26 GHz under the same tolerance limit.

Whispering-Gallery mode resonator method has been presented for complex permittivity evaluation of low loss dielectric materials in millimeter wave region. As a problem, it has been found that the evaluation error slightly dependens on the frequency for a sample. It comes from approximated analysis which is used in the procedure. In this paper, a mode-matching method is applied to this evaluation technique to have improvement of the measrued results. It is confirmed experimentally that reliability of the presented method is improved for the millimeter wave permittivity measurement.

It is very difficult to simultaneously achieve power and cost reductions in address-driver circuits of a plasma-display panel (PDP) unit in which an energy-recovery scheme utilizing the resonance of a series-connected inductor and electrode parasitic capacitors is used. This is because an increase in parasitic capacitance and high-speed circuit operation become necessary as the display panel becomes larger in size and higher in resolution. In particular, low-power operation of address-driver ICs is key to avoiding the installation of heat sinks on the ICs. We propose herein new power-dispersion methods that can greatly reduce the power dissipation of address-driver ICs even when large parasitic capacitance is driven at high speed. The proposed methods enable a reduction in the power dissipation of address-driver ICs without deteriorating the operational speed by dispersing their powers into external resistors, and by supplying power to address-driver ICs in two voltage steps during both rising and falling time intervals when the address changes. Our results indicate that the power dissipation of address-driver ICs and the total cost of the address drive unit of a plasma-display panel can be reduced to 29% and 53%, respectively, compared with those of the ICs and the unit that are driven by the conventional address-driving method.

The millimeter wave bandpass filter using the Whispering-Gallery mode (WG mode) dielectric disk resonators is presented in this paper. A 4 stage maximally flat bandpass filter is constructed with the PTFE disk resonators. For the filter design, the coupling coefficients of this mode in the coupled disk resonators are calculated by an approximated separation of variables method. Furthermore, the external Q values of the disk resonator excited by a dielectric waveguide are investigated experimentally. Designed center frequency is 60 GHz and 3 dB band width is 150 MHz. Furthermore, as an attempt to improve the spurious characteristics, another filter structure which consists of some kinds of dielectric disk is tested. As a result, some spurious responses are reduced considerably.

A frequency-tuning method in the microwave region, which maintains a high unloaded Q-factor, was demonstrated using a double-sapphire-loaded cavity which operates on the Whispering Gallery mode, WGH9,1,0. Two adjacent nominally identical sapphire cylinders were positioned in a copper cavity and tuned by changing their relative coupling. A frequency tuning range of 85 MHz and a maximum unloaded Q-factor of 1.3 105 was experimentally measured at room temperature. This is only 13% less than the single resonator Q-factor, which is a small compromise to pay for the increased tuning capacity.