Engineering Commons^™

Schottky-Barrier Solar Cells, Surface Patterning For Efficient Light Collection, Constantinos Manolis

Theses

Different geometrical surface configurations are considered here for a Au/n-Si semiconductor Schottky-barrier solar cell to improve their light collection efficiency.

Optical and electrical properties are theoretically analyzed for two given optical wavelengths of 0.9 and 0.5 micrometers respectively.

The configurations considered are: V-shaped, Star- shaped, M-shaped, asymmetric-V-shaped, and asymmetric-M-shaped. They all show a significant improvement in the short-circuit current over a flat cell model, while the open-circuit voltage remains practically unchanged.

Computer Controlled Oxygen Bioreactor, Dinesh Sachdeva

Theses

A computer controlled oxygen bioreactor has been designed to obtain more accurate values for oxygen bioreactor requirements and to optimize oxygen productivity with respect to oxygen concentration. This study solves a specific problem relating to oxygen concentration measurement and bioreactor control. The proposed reactor system is computer controlled to insure a desired oxygen concentration supply to an oxygen consuming reaction or organism. This thesis also explains and illustrates the bioreactor and its computer control system.

The computer controller incorporates oxygen sensing, oxygen measurement and temperature measurement, Electrical circuits have been designed and built for proper signal conditioning, data acquisition, data …

Statistical Multiplexing Of Video Sources For Packet Switching Networks, Krishna Kancherla

Theses

Communication networks are fast evolving towards truly integrated networks handling all types of traffic. They employ integrated switching technologies for voice. video and data. Statistical or asynchronous time division multiplexing of full motion video sources is an initial step towards packetized video networks. The main goal is to utilize the common communication channel efficiently, without loosing quality at the receiver. This work discusses the concept of using statistical multiplexing for packet video communications. The topology of a single internal packet network to support ISDN services has been adopted. Simulations have been carried out to demonstrate the statistical smoothing effect of …

Reduced Complexity Receivers For Trellis Coded Modulations Via Punctured Trellis Codes, Bonchul Koo

Theses

We introduce a new concept, called matched punctured trellis encoding, that simplifies the complexity of Maximum Likelihood Sequence Estimation (MLSE) receivers for combined trellis encoding and modulations with memory. Matched punctured trellis encoding is applied to tamed frequency modulation (TFM) which is a bandwidth efficient correlative - FM scheme. TFM finds applications in satellite, microwave radio, and mobile communications.

Our approach is based on puncturing a rate - 1/2 matched convolutional code to obtain a rate - 2/3 mismatched code. A matched code is one that produces trellis coded modulations of minimum complexity. Puncturing these codes to obtain mismatched codes …

Assessment Of Autonomic Regulation Of Heart Rate Variability, Shaw-Jyh Shin

Dissertations

Complex demodulation, accompanied by the techniques of interpolation, detrending and zero-phase-shift lowpass filtering were used to examine the effect of both divisions of the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic) on heart rate by analyzing the heart rate variability signal from dogs under two different classical conditionings: CS+ and CS-, which cause different dynamic pattern changes in the autonomic nervous system to regulate the heart rate.

Unlike power spectral analysis, complex demodulation gives results in the time domain and shows the variation of amplitude and phase over time at a given frequency. The variation of phase indicates the frequency deviation …

A Silicon Photodiode Array For Soft X-Ray Sensing, Chih-Te Hu

Theses

An array of 30 x 30 sensing cells including logic within each cell and a self-scan address circuit are described. A unique scintillation technique is used to increase the threshold sensitivity 60dB for X-ray photon sensing beyond that obtainable with conventional photodiode sensors. Simulations for the sensing cell and some additional logic elements are based on SPICE version 2G5 and HILO 3. Worst case analysis includes variations in threshold voltage V_TP and V_TN for the CMOS circuit components. The final CMOS chip dimension using MOSIS 1.2 micron rules is 10mm x 10mm base on the 80 …

Investigation Of Different Cmos Dram Sense Amplifier Configurations In Vlsi, Bihju Chiu

Theses

Sense amplifiers are particularly difficult circuits to design. In this work, only CMOS sense amplifiers are considered. There are typically two configurations of CMOS sense amplifiers: the cross-connected flip flop configuration and the current-mirror configuration. They are widely used nowadays with various modifications. These improved configurations are simulated and optimized with SPICE package, and their relative performances are also compared in this thesis.

On Conventional And Harmonic Load Flow Analysis, Ranjit B. Pradhan

Theses

In conventional power flow analysis, simultaneous linear equations numbering in thousands must be solved repeatedly and in many instances on-line. Luckily the matrix of coefficients of these equations is sparse with a few elements in each row. Therefore for a faster solution and to save computer memory, sparsity must be exploited and an optimal ordering of the equations must be sought. When considering harmonics, the number of the simultaneous equations to be solved is multiplied and therefore, considering sparsity and optimal ordering is doubly important.

In this thesis a software package for optimizing computation time and memory requirements through exploitation …

System Performance Criteria In Cdma Networks Using Gold Codes, Yong H. Kim

Theses

First, we have presented the autocorrelation and crosscorrelation properties for periodic and aperiodic binary sequences. The generation of binary sequences using shift registers with feedback was reviewed. We have also included correlation properties for the Gold codes.

Next, we discussed Gold code generation for the balanced and unbalanced Gold codes.

Thirdly, we investigated the number of simultaneous users in a CDMA system using Gold codes for the worst case and the average case of mutual interference.

Finally, we simulated the probability of interference exceeding a threshold value, and the average crosscorrelation value caused by interference in a CDMA network which …

An Investigation Of Electrical And Optical Properties Of Reactively Sputtered Silicon Nitride And Amorphous Hydrogenated Silicon Thin Films, Tae Hoon Kim

Theses

Thin films of silicon nitride and amorphous hydrogenated silicon were prepared by radio frequency reactive sputter deposition and their properties optimized for their use as low temperature passivation coatings for optoelectronic devices. The effect of various sputter deposition parameters on the conduction and optical properties were studied. Infrared spectrophotometry and ellipsometry were used to determined the optical properties of the films whereas the electrical properties were determined from current-voltage measurements of MIS capacitors.

Typical parameters of a sputter deposition run for the best Si₃N₄ films were: base pressure, 1-2x10^-6 torr; sputtering pressure, 5 mtorr; nitrogen partial …

Design Of A Fiber Optic Oxygen Sensor Based On Immobilized Hemoglobin, Mendu Govind Raj

Theses

The fiber optic Oxygen sensor consists of a thin layer of immobilized deoxyhemoglobin at the common end of a bifurcated fiber. Immobilization is done using the alginate gel procedure. The immobilized reagent is separated from the standard oxygen sample by the gel with or without semi-permeable membrane, and the entire configuration is enclosed in an oxygen free sample cell. Light from a tungsten-halogen lamp, filtered through a 405nm filter is passed through one arm of a bifurcated fiber to the sample cell. The reflected intensity (a highly polished aluminum foil or a plate is placed at the bottom of the …

Modeling And Simulation Of Robot Arms With Flexible Links, John G. Danis

Theses

The design of lightweight robot arms introduces a degree of flexiblity in the individual links which renders the arm difficult to control. Solution of the control problem requires accurate and detailed mathematical models of the arm dynamics. A comprehensive survey of the current literature in this area has shown that although many such models exist, there is a great diversity in their structure, function, and applicability. The different objectives and techniques of model development which lead to this diversity are examined and summarized in this thesis. Bases for classification of the mathematical models and techniques of development are established, and …

A Modified Extended Kalman Filter As A Parameter Estimator For Linear Discrete-Time Systems, Bruno Johannes Schnekenburger

Theses

This thesis presents the derivation and implementation of a modified Extended Kalman Filter used for Joint state and parameter estimation of linear discrete-time systems operating in a, stochastic Gaussian environment. A novel derivation for the discrete-time Extended Kalman Filter is also presented. In order to eliminate the main deficiencies of the Extended Kalman Filter, which are divergence and biasedness of its estimates, the filter algorithm has been modified. The primary modifications are due to Ljung, who stated global convergence properties for the modified Extended Kalman Filter, when used as a parameter estimator for linear systems.

Implementation of this filter is …

Time Series Analysis Of Respiration Component In Heart Rate Variability, Anuradha Ramaswamy Iyengar

Theses

Time series signal processing techniques (Fourier based) were applied to analyze the relationship between heart rate and respiration. This analysis takes advantage of the different timing charecteristics of the autonomic nervous system inputs to analyze their influence on the heart rate.

Data from three experiments were analyzed. The first set of data was from helicopter pilots of the US Army. They injected atropine into themselves on certain days. The effect of atropine on the heart rate spectrum and the relationship between heart rate and respiration was studied. It was found that atropine abolishes the respiration peak in the heart rate …

Properties Of Sputtered A-Ge And A-Ge : H Thin Films, Hanjin Cho

Theses

The effect of the amorphous and glassy structure of amorphous germanium films on their electrical characteristics was investigated experimentally. The films were deposited onto silicon substrates using a modified MRC 8800 triode sputtering system. The Poole-Frenkel and Schottky mechanisms are discussed in detail and the shortcomings of the accepted picture of the former in amorphous materials are dealt with. It was concluded on the basis available evidence that the current flow in amorphous germanium favors the Poole-Frenkel mechanism at high fields.

Amorphous hydrogenated germanium films which were deposited by bias sputtering were characterized by measuring the infrared absorption. The films …

An Investigation Of Electrical And Optical Properties Of Sputtered Amorphous Silicon Nitride And Germanium Thin Films, Rajendra S. Khandelwal

Theses

Low temperature preparation of thin amorphous Silicon Nitride and Germanium Films by direct RF sputter deposition was investigated. Influence of various sputtering parameters on film properties was studied. Infrared transmission spectrophotometry was used to evaluate optical properties of the films whereas electrical characteristics of the films were determined from current-voltage measurements of MIS structures. For Silicon Nitride films it was observed that the stoichiometry, as indicated by the IR transmission, dielectric constant and current density versus square root of electric field measurements, was a strong function of the sputtering gas composition and particularly the Ar/N ratio in the sputtering gas. …

The Acquisition Of Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum Communication Systems, Anthony Donald Demeri

Theses

This Paper surveys different techniques of acquiring Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum Systems.

It classifies different systems, indicates the strongpoints and weakness of each, along with some applications.

One method, The Single Dwell Serial PN Acquisition System is then focused on in detail. The detail includes analysis of standard version, derivation of the mean time to acquire, the variance, the probability of detection and the probability of a false alarm.

In the last section of the paper the analytical results of the Single Dwell Serial PN Acquisition System shall be confirmed by computer simulation.

Measurements Of Basic Semiconductor Properties, Abdolreza Ariantaj

Theses

Mobility, resistivity, and total impurity concentration of several purchased p-type silicon samples with known resistivities were measured by Hall effect, experiments utilizing the Van Der Pauw method. The silicon samples will serve as Hall effect standards for future measurements on other semiconductor materials, particularly gallium nitride ion cluster beam (ICB) deposited thin films. The samples which were Freshly etched with hydrofluoric acid had measurement values of 455 cm ² / V.sec, 45.9 Ω cm, and 2.6 X 10¹⁴ cm³ for mobility, resistivity, and total impurity concentration, respectively. The mobility values were within 9.9 per cent, of the published values …

Reliability Studies On Solid Tantalum Electrolytic Capacitors By Means Of Accelerated Life Tests, Venkata R. Golthi

Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to understand the failure mechanisms in Solid Tantalum Capacitors encapsulated in plastic, and to suggest the precautionary measures that prevent the occurrence of these failures.

The reliability of Solid Tantalum Capacitors encapsulated in plastic is of considerable interest because in some applications where the mechanical accelerations or shocks are considerable the "better" "hermitically" sealed type are not able to sustain themselves. Poor adherence between the dielectric film and the base metal Tantalum under the conditions of sudden mechanical shocks, causes problems.

Our study was carried out in two different directions, theoretical and experimental. The …

Investigation Of Pre-Detection Signal Processing Of Pseudonoise Communication Signals In The Presence Of Additive White Gaussian Noise And Cw And Bursty Interference, Israel Mayk

Dissertations

By comparison to conventional communication systems, spread-spectrum systems are known to be less affected by interference because of their large dimensionality in signal space. Nevertheless, significant performance degradation is experienced when large interference exists in a few or even one signal coordinates. In this case, interference reduction techniques are also known to provide additional processing gain. A novel class of pseudonoise (PN) invariant algorithms is derived to reduce the impact of interference and restore much of the structure of PN signals received in the presence of interference and noise. A PN signal received by a pre-detection signal process (PDSP) implementing …

The Effect Of A Higher Order Pole On The Optimum Design Of Minimum Threshold Phase Locked Detectors, Bernard Zivotofsky

Dissertations

The phase lockedloop is widely used as an FM demodulator known as a phaselocked detector (PLD). It is particularly useful in the detection of weak signals because lower threshold is possible with a PLD than with a conventional limiter discriminator. An enhanced version PLD known as an extended range phaselocked detector (ERPLD) is capable of further threshold reduction. The most popular PLD is a second order type I system employing a loop filter having one real pole and one real zero.

One implementation of an ERPLD calls for the addition of a differentiator to the standard loop filter which replaces …

Digitally Implemented Klapper-Kratt Fm Detector Using The Intel-292o Digital Signal Processor, Chang-Hwan Park

Theses

This thesis describes and analyses a digitally implemented FM detector, which is a new member of the family of FM detectors introduced by Drs. Klapper and Kratt.

The properties of the new detector are low delay, excellent sensitivity, extreme linearity, and compatibility of components with integrated circuit technology.

A working model is implemented by adapting FIR digital s signal processing methods, and is realized using the Single-Chip Digital Signal Processor Intel-2920 which is comprised of micro-processor, scratch-pad data RAMs, program store EPROMs, A/D and D/A conversion circuitry, and I/O circuitry.

The performance of the working model shows very good linearity …

Digital Fm-Demodulation Using Digital Signal Processing Techniques, Peter Wagner

Theses

This thesis presents the results of research in the area of digital demodulation of FM signals. The first part of the thesis describes the performance of digital Hilbert-transformers and Differentiators that are optimized in a determined bandwidth. These digital filters are used to build a digital Klapper-Kratt detector. According to this procedure, the coefficients of the digital Klapper-Kratt detectors up to the filter length N=25 are calculated and the resulting discriminator ripple computed and evaluated. One suggested algorithm gives the opportunity to balance the detector at a certain center-frequency. The major part of this thesis describes a new approach towards …

Determining Process Latitude With Electrically Measurable Test Structures, Jonathan Littlehale

Theses

Collection of linewidth data is an important part of photoresist characterization. Linewidth data are usually collected by optical measurements or scanning electron microscopy. Both of these techniques are tedious and time-consuming. In this work, electrically measurable test structures are used to collect linewidth data. These structures use a measured sheet resistance, a known length of conducting material, and the measured resistance of the structure to determine the linewidth. The benefits of using these structures include completely automated data collection and the ability to collect statistically significant amounts of data. This allows the use of existing statistical analysis software to analyze …

The Detection Of Partial Discharges In Transformer Oil, Gerald J. Fitzpatrick

Theses

The level, meaning the number and the intensity Of partial discharges that occur in transformer oil per time period of applied pulse when a high voltage is applied can be used as a measure of the quality and remaining life of the oil. The level of partial discharges at a given applied voltage can be correlated with the degree of contamination of the oil by impurities such as water and conductive particles and can be used as an indicator of the proximity of the oil to breakdown. There are several approaches to the detection of partial discharges, e.g., acoustic measurements, …

Reliability Studies On Solid Tantalum Electrolytic Capacitors, Hamed Nassar

Theses

The primary objective of this thesis is to determine and analyze the failure mechanisms of solid tantalum capacitors, pinpoint the causes, and suggest the precautionary measures that prevent the occurrence of these failures. To achieve this goal, the study went in two directions, theoretical and experimental. The theoretical part-is a comprehensive review of the work -done on tantalum capacitors since 1960 up to date.

The experimental part of the study is a life test (1000 hours) of solid tantalum capacitors under humidity and high temperature. To avoid the misconception that could happen by investigating a particular manufacturer's product, units from …

Decentralized Optimal Control With Application To Dynamic Routing In Computer Communication Networks, Ning Wang

Dissertations

This research considers the dynamic routing problem of computer communication networks in the framework of decentralized control theory. The routing dynamics are modeled in terms of a state equation with multiple controllers. Routing, or control of message flow, is formulated as an optimal control problem with multiple decision makers. Each decision maker may have access to different set of information and work cooperatively to optimize a common system performance index.

Necessary and sufficient conditions for optimality are derived for a system with a deterministic and a stochastic traffic patterns under a linear information structure and a quadratic performance index. The …

Optimization Of A New Linear Fm Detector Using Digital Signal Processing Techniques, Edward J.A. Kratt

Dissertations

This dissertation describes and synthesizes a new member of the family of FM detectors introduced earlier by Klapper and Kratt. A salient property of these detectors is low delay with excellent sensitivity. The emphasis in the new detector is on the ease of digital implementation. In addition, the new detector is also extremely linear. In congruence with the other Klapper-Kratt detectors, it makes use of zero group delay elements, balance at RF, quasi-synchronous detection and carrier cancellation. The Performance of the detector is mathematically analyzed under the conditions of a modulated input wave, sinewave [sic] interference, and noise. The results …

Application Of Fuzzy Theory To Pattern Recognition, David Usechak

Dissertations

Piecewise curve approximation is used to describe boundaries of objects in pictures and waveforms. The method consists of linear and quadratic piecewise polynomial approximations in which the error must not exceed a predetermined cost threshold. A fuzzy Bayes model is used to determine if a breakpoint exists within an interval I_n or between intervals I_n and I_n+1 and to determine whether these intervals can be merged for data compaction reasons. In order to achieve these objectives a new fast algorithm has been proposed which gives good curve/object fitting. This algorithm uses a technique for generating generalized inverse …

Gallium Nitride Film Deposition By Ionized Cluster Beam Epitaxy, Ghulum Bakiri

Theses

An experimental Ionized Cluster Beam System similar in design to the one developed at Kyoto University in Japan was. designed and constructed in the Microelectronics Laboratory at NJIT. This involved making the working drawings, having the parts machined and then assembling the system in a vacuum system together with the necessary variable power supplies, meters, controls, gas inlets, cooling water connections, etc.

Eleven deposition runs were then attempted to grow gallium nitride utilizing the system constructed. In a typical deposition run, gallium was vaporized from a boron nitride crucible at 1000° C and allowed to expand through a 0.5 mm …