Electrical and Electronics Commons^™

Study Of Design For Reliability Of Rf And Analog Circuits, Hongxia Tang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due to continued device dimensions scaling, CMOS transistors in the nanometer regime have resulted in major reliability and variability challenges. Reliability issues such as channel hot electron injection, gate dielectric breakdown, and negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) need to be accounted for in the design of robust RF circuits. In addition, process variations in the nanoscale CMOS transistors are another major concern in today‟s circuits design. An adaptive gate-source biasing scheme to improve the RF circuit reliability is presented in this work. The adaptive method automatically adjusts the gate-source voltage to compensate the reduction in drain current subjected to various …

Transient Safe Operating Area (Tsoa) For Esd Applications, Slavica Malobabic

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A methodology to obtain design guidelines for gate oxide input pin protection and high voltage output pin protection in Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) time frame is developed through measurements and Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD). A set of parameters based on transient measurements are used to define Transient Safe Operating Area (TSOA). The parameters are then used to assess effectiveness of protection devices for output and input pins. The methodology for input pins includes establishing ESD design targets under Charged Device Model (CDM) type stress in low voltage MOS inputs. The methodology for output pins includes defining ESD design targets under …

Analysis And Design Optimization Of Resonant Dc-Dc Converters, Xiang Fang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The development in power conversion technology is in constant demand of high power efficiency and high power density. The DC-DC power conversion is an indispensable stage for numerous power supplies and energy related applications. Particularly, in PV micro-inverters and front-end converter of power supplies, great challenges are imposed on the power performances of the DC-DC converter stage, which not only require high efficiency and density but also the capability to regulate a wide variation range of input voltage and load conditions. The resonant DC-DC converters are good candidates to meet these challenges with the advantages of achieving soft switching and …

Characterization, Morphology, Oxidation, And Recession Of Silicon Nanowires Grown By Electroless Process, Robert G. Mertens

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents heretofore undiscovered properties of Silicon Nanowires (SiNWs) grown by electroless process and presents mathematical solutions to the special problems of the oxidation and diffusion of dopants for SiNWs. Also presented here is a mathematical description of morphology of oxidized SiNWs. This dissertation is comprised of several discussions relating to SiNWs growth, oxidation, morphology and doping. In here is presented work derived from a long-term study of SiNWs. Several important aspects of SiNWs were investigated and the results published in journals and conference papers. The recession of SiNWs was heretofore unreported by other research groups. In our investigations, …

Bootstrapping Cognitive Radio Networks, Brent Horine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive radio networks promise more efficient spectrum utilization by leveraging degrees of freedom and distributing data collection. The actual realization of these promises is challenged by distributed control, and incomplete, uncertain and possibly conflicting knowledge bases. We consider two problems in bootstrapping, evolving, and managing cognitive radio networks. The first is Link Rendezvous, or how separate radio nodes initially find each other in a spectrum band with many degrees of freedom, and little shared knowledge. The second is how radio nodes can negotiate for spectrum access with incomplete information. To address the first problem, we present our Frequency Parallel Blind …

A New Quasi Resonant Dc-Link For Photovoltaic Micro-Inverters, Anna Grishina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

PV Inverters have the task of tracking the maximum power point (MPP), and regulating the solar energy generation to this optimal operation point. The second task is the conversion of direct current produced by the solar modules into alternating current compatible with the grid. A new inverter approach such as a single phase micro inverter is emerging aimed to overcome some of the challenges of centralized inverters. As a counterpart to the central inverter, a micro inverter is a small compact module attached directly to each solar panel. To provide for the constantly increasing demand for a small size, light …

Wireless Power Transfer For Space Applications: System Design And Electromagnetic Compatibility Compliance Of Radiated Emissions, Ramos Gabriel Vazquez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation evaluates the possibility of wireless power transfer (WPT) systems for space applications, with an emphasis in launch vehicles (rockets). After performing literature review for WPT systems, it was identified that magnetic resonance provides the more suited set of characteristics for this application. Advanced analysis, simulation and testing were performed to magnetic resonance WPT systems to acquire system performance insight. This was accomplished by evaluating/varying coupling configuration, load effects and magnetic element physical characteristics (i.e. wire material, loop radius, etc.). It was identified by analysis, circuit simulation and testing that the best coupling configuration for this application was series-series …

Design And Production Aspects Of An Electroluminescent Segment Display, Veronica Kopp, Chris Nixon

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study was to get a better understanding of the different ways printed circuits could be constructed and then implemented into creative, visual designs for printed electroluminescent displays. A variety of circuit design variables, such as area and length, were tested that will help create solutions for printed electronics.

This study tested different variables of circuit design, such as length of silver traces and the size of the image area, to help optimize ways to build a printed circuit. Then, findings were implemented into a segmented graphic display in order to analyze innovative ways to utilize multiple …

A Novel Qos-Aware Mpeg-4 Video Delivery Algorithm Over The Lossy Ieee 802.11 Wlans To Improve The Video Quality, Tanmoy Debnath

Doctoral

Video traffic is bursty in nature and has different network requirements compared to other types of traffic (e.g. voice, data) in terms of bandwidth, delay, jitter, and loss etc. So it becomes important to manage video traffic on a WLAN carefully to achieve acceptable levels of Quality of Service (QoS). The unique contribution of this work is that it presents experimental and simulation studies of the performance of real video content streamed over WLAN networks. Under various test scenarios the performance of the WLAN network in terms of delay, loss, throughput etc. is analysed in the presence of background traffic. …

Engineering Evaluation Of Multi-Beam Satellite Antenna Boresight Pointing Using Land/Water Crossings, Catherine Susan May

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Microwave Radiometer (MWR) on the Aquarius/SAC-D mission measures microwave radiation from earth and intervening atmosphere in terms of brightness temperature (Tb). It takes measurements in a push-broom fashion at K (23.8GHz) and Ka (36.5 GHz) band frequencies using two separate antenna systems, each producing eight antenna beams. Pre-launch knowledge of the alignment of these beams with respect to the space-craft is used to geolocate the antenna footprints on ground. As a part of MWR’s on-orbit engineering check-out, the verification of MWR’s pointing accuracy is discussed here. The technique used to assess MWR’s pointing involved comparing the radiometer image of …

Theoretical And Experimental Analysis Of Mems Ohmic Switch Design And Control For Reliability Improvement, Cuong Do

Theses

MEMS devices are micromechanical components fabricated using semiconductor fabrication technologies. With advanced functionalities and miniaturization, MEMS devices are being employed in a wide variety of applications, especially in mobile networks. The MEMS ohmic switch is one of the most promising MEMS devices and has the same principle of a mechanical moving switch to manipulate an electrical signal. Due to the existence of mechanical movement, and its compactness, reliability issues have been observed as the main barrier to commercialisation.

This thesis addresses the key issue of reliability in the rapidly expanding area of MEMS. In particular, MEMS ohmic switches are considered. …

A Service Provisioning Architecture For Next Generation Wireless Sensor Networks - The Wsn Cloud, Muhammad Sohaib Aslam

Theses

The relentless demand for pervasive computing in our everyday lives has led to and will continue to drive the roll out of large scale embedded systems in the form of Wireless Sensor Networks or WSNs in our environment. This in turn drives the need for reusable, flexible and manageable WSN infrastructures. To simplify system operation and maintenance as well as to reduce costs, WSNs must become an infrastructure that is capable of providing services to multiple end users concurrently rather than having to roll out individual infrastructures for specific purposes as is typical nowadays. This thesis presents the concept of …

Wireless Sensor Networks: Empowering Reliable, Realtime & Resource Efficient Communication For Cyber-Physical Applications, Jasvinder Singh

Theses

Since their inception, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have been successfully employed as low-rate data gathering networks in numerous monitoring applications. Recently, a new domain of WSNs applications, known as Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) has started attracting significant attention world-wide. In these applications, monitoring only the state of the physical system (process or environment) is not sufficient, the system must respond to the sensed events/data within certain time constraints by performing actions upon the physical entity. It is expected that in approaching years, WSNs will be integrated in a myriad of CPS applications, for example high confidence medical systems, assisted living, traffic …

A Distributed Model Predictive Control For Multi-Agent Multi-Rate Systems, Samira Roshany-Yamchi

Theses

In this thesis, a new method is proposed to control multi-agent multi-rate systems with linear dynamics that are coupled via inputs and states. These systems are multi-rate in the sense that either output measurements or input updates are not available at certain sampling. Such systems can arise when the number of sensors is less than the number of variables to be controlled or when measurements of outputs cannot be completed simultaneously because of applicational limitations. The multi-rate nature gives rise to lack of information which will cause uncertainty in the system's performance.

The proposal is to control such systems with …

"Lead-Free Solders Are Currently Used In The Electronic Components Industry…", Timothy Mead

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Deep Levels In N-Type And Semi-Insulating 4h-Sic Epitaxial Layers By Thermally Stimulated Current Spectroscopy, P. G. Muzykov, Ramesh Madhu Krishna, K. C. Mandal

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Conversion Of A Micro, Glow-Ignition, Two-Stroke Engine From Nitromethane-Methanol Blend Fuel To Military Jet Propellant (Jp-8), Andrew L. Wiegand

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The goal of the thesis "Conversion of a Micro, Glow-Ignition, Two-Stroke Engine from Nitromethane-Methanol Blend Fuel to Military Jet Propellant (JP-8)" was to demonstrate the ability to operate a small engine on JP-8 and was completed in two phases. The first phase included choosing, developing a test stand for, and baseline testing a nitromethane-methanol-fueled engine. The chosen engine was an 11.5 cc, glow-ignition, two-stroke engine designed for remote-controlled helicopters. A micro engine test stand was developed to load and motor the engine. Instrumentation specific to the low flow rates and high speeds of the micro engine was developed and used …

X-Ray Radiation Enabled Cancer Detection And Treatment With Nanoparticles, Mainul Hossain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite significant improvements in medical sciences over the last decade, cancer still continues to be a major cause of death in humans throughout the world. Parallel to the efforts of understanding the intricacies of cancer biology, researchers are continuously striving to develop effective cancer detection and treatment strategies. Use of nanotechnology in the modern era opens up a wide range of possibilities for diagnostics, therapies and preventive measures for cancer management. Although, existing strategies of cancer detection and treatment, using nanoparticles, have been proven successful in case of cancer imaging and targeted drug deliveries, they are often limited by poor …

Numerical Modeling Of Cds/Znxcd1-Xte Solar Cell, Farhana Anwar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Device modeling and simulation studies of CdS/ZnxCd1-xTe thin film solar cell have been carried out. A variety of graded band gap structures are examined. Incorporation of back electron reflector layer to improve open circuit voltage and carrier collection of CdTe solar cell was investigated. Device physics and performance determining parameters for different band gap profiles were analyzed. Based on simulation results, an optimal graded band gap structure for CdS/ZnxCd1-xTe solar cell is proposed. Performance of optimally graded band gap cell is superior to that of uniform bandgap cell.

Multi-Physics Modeling Of Induction-Based Additive Manufacturing Of Metals, Danny W. Muse

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The shift towards 3D printing of functional products has provided a glimpse of the future in terms of manufacturing technologies and the creation of volumetrically complex structures made possible only through these technologies. 3D printing has emerged from the culmination of several technologies covering multiple industries and a myriad of materials. Unlike subtractive technologies such as mills, lathes and CNC machines, where material is removed from a bulk slab or billet to produce a desired part, 3D printing uses an additive layered approach to deposit material based on cross sections of the desired part. Both approaches produce parts based on …