Engineering Commons^™

Using Open-Ended Design Projects In An Open Lab To Teach Lifelong Learning Skills In An Ic Design Course, David Parent

Faculty Publications

The ABET criterion, recognition for and the ability to engage in life-long learning, is one of the most important, given that we as engineering educators can not teach every concept that students will encounter over the span of a 20-40 year career as an engineer. We believe that one method to teach and verify this critical skill in the area of Integrated Circuit (IC) design, is to have the students learn IC CAD tools by following well crafted tutorials and then complete open-ended IC design projects in an open lab. The project is supposed to be a full custom design …

Synchroscalar: A Multiple Clock Domain, Power-Aware, Tile-Based Embedded Processor, John Y. Oliver, Ravishankar Rao, Paul Sultana, Jedidiah Crandall, Erik Czernikowski, Leslie W. Jones, Iv, Diana Franklin, Venkatesh Akella, Frederic T. Chong

Electrical Engineering

We present Synchroscalar, a tile-based architecture for embedded processing that is designed to provide the flexibility of DSPs while approaching the power efficiency of ASICs. We achieve this goal by providing high parallelism and voltage scaling while minimizing control and communication costs. Specifically, Synchroscalar uses columns of processor tiles organized into statically-assigned frequency-voltage domains to minimize power consumption. Furthermore, while columns use SIMD control to minimize overhead, data-dependent computations can be supported by extremely flexible statically-scheduled communication between columns. We provide a detailed evaluation of Synchroscalar including SPICE simulation, wire and device models, synthesis of key components, cycle-level simulation, and …

Selecting Metal Alloy Electric Contact Materials For Mems Switches, Ronald A. Coutu Jr., Paul E. Kladitis, Kevin D. Leedy, Robert L. Crane

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper presents a method for selecting metal alloys as the electric contact materials for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) metal contact switches. This procedure consists of reviewing macro-switch lessons learned, utilizing equilibrium binary alloy phase diagrams, obtaining thin film material properties and, based on a suitable model, predicting contact resistance performance. After determining a candidate alloy material, MEMS switches were designed, fabricated and tested to validate the alloy selection methodology. Minimum average contact resistance values of 1.17 and 1.87 Ω were measured for micro-switches with gold (Au) and gold–platinum (Au–(6.3%)Pt) alloy electric contacts, respectively. In addition, 'hot-switched' life cycle test results …

Lump Circuit Modeling And Matching Consideration On Acoustical Transmitters For Underwater Application, Yeong-Chin Chen, Sean Wu, Cheng-Che Tsai

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In underwater environment the acoustical wave can transmit a long ranges away from the transmitter than the electromagnetic wave does. So far, the piezoelectric ceramic is still the best candidate as acoustical telemetry transmitters in underwater applications. The impedance matching on the interface between electro-acoustical transducer and electrical transmitter has been the most important subject to confirm the high transmitting efficiency. In this research, a lumped equivalent circuit of electro-acoustic transducer is proposed. Then, the network theorem is implemented to design a high power transformer for impedance matching, and to improve the electro-acoustic efficiency of the transducer. In the developing …

Optimization Of A Quantum Cascade Laser Operating In The Terahertz Frequency Range Using A Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithm, Traci A. Keller

Theses and Dissertations

A quantum cascade (QC) laser is a specific type of semiconductor laser that operates through principles of quantum mechanics. In less than a decade QC lasers are already able to outperform previously designed double heterostructure semiconductor lasers. Because there is a genuine lack of compact and coherent devices which can operate in the far-infrared region the motivation exists for designing a terahertz QC laser. A device operating at this frequency is expected to be more efficient and cost effective than currently existing devices. It has potential applications in the fields of spectroscopy, astronomy, medicine and free-space communication as well as …

Morpheus: Motif Oriented Representations To Purge Hostile Events From Unlabeled Sequences, Guarav Tandon, Debasis Mitra, Philip K. Chan

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Most of the prevalent anomaly detection systems use some training data to build models. These models are then utilized to capture any deviations resulting from possible intrusions. The efficacy of such systems is highly dependent upon a training data set free of attacks. "Clean" or labeled training data is hard to obtain. This paper addresses the very practical issue of refinement of unlabeled data to obtain a clean data set which can then train an online anomaly detection system. Our system, called MORPHEUS, represents a system call sequence using the spatial positions of motifs (subsequences) within the sequence. We also …

One-Tap Wideband I/Q Compensation For Zero-If Filters, Peter Kiss, Vladimir I. Prodanov

Electrical Engineering

The I/Q imbalance is one of the performance bottlenecks in transceivers with stringent requirements imposed by applications such as 802.11a. The mismatch between the frequency responses of two analog low-pass filters, used, e.g., for channel selection in zero-IF receivers, makes this I/Q imbalance frequency dependent. Usually, frequency-dependent I/Q mismatch is estimated and corrected by adaptive techniques, which are complex to implement and may converge slowly due to noise. In this work, a simple, delay-based I/Q compensation scheme is proposed based on an extensive statistical analysis. Its digital implementation uses only two coefficients, which are tuned by a one-step two-tone error …

Logic Synthesis For Layout Regularity Using Decision Diagrams, Malgorzata Chrzanowska-Jeske, Alan Mishchenko, Jinsong Zhang, Marek Perkowski

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper presents a methodology for logic synthesis of Boolean functions in the form of regular structures that can be mapped into standard cells or programmable devices. Regularity offers an elegant solution to hard problems arising in layout and test generation, at no extra cost or at the cost of increasing the number of gates, which does not always translate into the increase of circuit area. Previous attempts to synthesize logic into regular structures using decision diagrams suffered from an increase in the number of logic levels due to multiple repetitions of control variables. This paper proposes new techniques, which …

Correlation And Covariance Of Satellite Scatterometer Measurements, David G. Long, Peter K. Yoho

Faculty Publications

Capable scatterometer designs have been developed that seek improved resolution through the use of higher pulse sampling rates. The high sampling rates bring the traditional scatterometry assumption of measurement independence into question. This paper uses fundamental scattering theory to derive general expressions for correlation and covariance between scatterometer measurements and provides practical analysis using current and future instruments as examples. The paper derives expressions for the measurement variance parameter Kp when measurement correlation due to Rayleigh fading effects is present and relates Kp to the statistics of multiple pulse measurements. A function of the transmit signal modulation and receive processing, …

Response To Comments On “Passivity-Based Control Of Saturated Induction Motors”, Levent U. Gökdere, Marwan A. Simaan, Charles W. Brice

Faculty Publications

Contrary to the claims made in the comments to our paper, the passivity-based controller developed for induction motors has already been tested on the same demanding trajectories used for the input–output linearization controller. The experimental results show that the passivitybased controller provides closer tracking of the same mechanical trajectory, when compared with the input–output linearization controller.

Issues With Low-Input-Voltage Boost Converter Design, Jonathan W. Kimball, Theresa L. Flowers, Patrick L. Chapman

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper addresses boost converter circuits that are built for very low input voltages, i.e. less than 1 V. Such circuits can be useful for single-cell solar and fuel cell power supplies. Important issues are physical size, high conversion ratio, efficiency, and startup. Several experimental studies show the impact of these issues. A startup technique is proposed that works for arbitrarily low input voltages.

Pulse Regulation Control Technique For Bifred Converter, Mehdi Ferdowsi, Ali Emadi, Mark Telefus, Curtis Davis

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Pulse Regulation control scheme is presented and applied to BIFRED converter operating in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). In contrast to the conventional control techniques, the principal idea of Pulse Regulation is to regulate the output voltage using a series of high and low power pulses generated by the current of the input inductor. In this paper, analysis of BIFRED converter operating in DCM is presented. The basic idea of Pulse Regulation as well as the estimation of the output voltage ripple is introduced. Experimental results on a prototype converter are also demonstrated.

Autonomous Control Of A Scale Model Of A Trailer-Truck Using An Obstacle-Avoidance Path-Planning Hierarchy, Robert S. Woodley, Levent Acar

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A scale model of a tractor-trailer truck was developed as a testbed for control algorithms. The truck operates in autonomous or semi-autonomous modes. An on-board Pentium computer with a PC104 bus performs the computations and data collection. Various sensors and a wireless transceiver are on-board the truck. Our research focus has been in the autonomous control of vehicles using intelligent systems. For this document we have employed a multi-resolutional hierarchy to plan a path for the tractor-trailer truck. The hierarchy starts with a simple path then warps it around obstacles. The modular construction of the hierarchy allows more intelligent agents …

Interferometric And Holographic Imaging Of Surface-Breaking Cracks, James Lawrence Blackshire, Bradley D. Duncan

Electro-Optics and Photonics Faculty Publications

Two advanced nondestructive evaluation systems are developed for imaging surface-breaking cracks in aerospace materials. The systems use scanning heterodyne interferometry and frequency-translated holography principles to image ultrasonic displacement fields on material surfaces with high resolution and sensitivity. Surface-breaking cracks are detected and characterized by visualizing near-field ultrasonic scattering processes, which in turn results in local intensification of ultrasonic displacement fields in the immediate vicinity of a crack. The local intensification permits cracks to be easily distinguished from background levels, and creates unique displacement field images that follow the contours and morphology of the cracks with microscopic precision. The interferometric and …

Simulation Of Hot Electron And Quantum Effects In Algan/Gan Heterostructure Field Effect Transistors, N. Braga, R. Mickevicius, R. Gaska, H. Xu, M. S. Shur, M. Asif Khan, Grigory Simin, J. Yang

Faculty Publications

We report on simulations of electrical characteristics of AlGaN/(InGaN)/GaN heterostructurefield effect transistors with quantum and hot electroneffects taken into account. Polarization charges lead to quantum confinement of electrons in the channel and to the formation of two-dimensional electron gas. The electron quantization leads to the spread of the electronwave function into the barrier and bulk but does not have significant impact on dc electrical characteristics.Hot electrons play an important part in the charge transport by spilling over into the bulk GaN where they are captured by traps. This leads to negative differential conductivity, which is also observed experimentally. The simulation …

Synchronous Motor Phase Control By Vector Addition Of Induced Winding Voltages, Daniel J. Simon, Dennis L. Feucht

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

We propose a simple low-cost approach to the winding-sensed control of three-phase synchronous permanent-magnet motors. Our approach results from a straightforward but elegant application of vector-based motor theory. The method therefore does not depend on the differential equations that describe the motor dynamics, and it does not depend on the particular motor parameters. The single method we derive applies to both wye- and delta-configured motors. We vectorially sum the voltage waveforms at the motor terminals in a certain way and use their zero crossings to produce a correctly phased six-step switch sequence. We discuss the implementation for both wye- and …

Time Series Classification Using Gaussian Mixture Models Of Reconstructed Phase Spaces, Richard J. Povinelli, Michael T. Johnson, Andrew C. Lindgren, Jinjin Ye

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

A new signal classification approach is presented that is based upon modeling the dynamics of a system as they are captured in a reconstructed phase space. The modeling is done using full covariance Gaussian mixture models of time domain signatures, in contrast with current and previous work in signal classification that is typically focused on either linear systems analysis using frequency content or simple nonlinear machine learning models such as artificial neural networks. The proposed approach has strong theoretical foundations based on dynamical systems and topological theorems, resulting in a signal reconstruction, which is asymptotically guaranteed to be a complete …

Investigation Into The Current Statistical Distribution For Oxide Breakdown Versus The Oxide Thickness Used In Integrated Circuit Manufacture, Eoin James O Driscoll

Theses

A critical aspect of integrated circuit manufacturing is the reliability of the components, in particular the gate oxide of transistors and capacitors. Accelerated stress tests are used for reliability predictions of gate oxides. There are two statistical distributions, which can be applied to stress test failure data, namely the Lognormal or the Weibull distributions. The failure data can fit each distribution equally well. However the use of either distribution will give vastly different lifetime predictions and their correct use is crucial for accurate lifetime prediction. A statistical based test, developed with Monte Carlo data, which is designed to decide if …

Target Recognition Using Late-Time Returns From Ultra-Wideband, Short-Pulse Radar, Kenneth J. Pascoe

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research is to develop algorithms that recognize targets by exploiting properties in the late-time resonance induced by ultra-wide band radar signals. A new variant of the Matrix Pencil Method algorithm is developed that identifies complex resonant frequencies present in the scattered signal. Kalman filters are developed to represent the dynamics of the signals scattered from several target types. The Multiple Model Adaptive Estimation algorithm uses the Kalman filters to recognize targets. The target recognition algorithm is shown to be successful in the presence of noise. The performance of the new algorithms is compared to that of …

Comparative Study On The Use Of Coherent Radar-Derived Electric Fields Vs. Statistical Electric Fields For The Initialization Of A High-Latitude Ionospheric Model, Christopher M. Hogue

Theses and Dissertations

The structure and time development of the magnetosphere-ionosphere system have significant impacts on the Air Force and its mission. Specifically, an accurate knowledge of ionospheric plasma densities is important for the operation of many Air Force systems. This research analyzes plasma density structure development through comparing two distinct electric field models. The two models compared here are a commonly used statistical model created by Heppner and Maynard 1987, and a more recently developed model using real-time coherent radar measurements from the SuperDARN radar network. Ionospheric simulations were run using Utah State University s Time-Dependent Ionospheric Model (TDIM) with the two …

Estimating Equatorial F-Region Daytime Vertical E X B Drift Velocities From Ground-Based Magnetometer Measurements In The Philippine Longitude Sector, Shauna M. Kinkela

Theses and Dissertations

Ionospheric disturbances can severely impact Department of Defense (DoD) systems, such as radar. satellite. and navigation technologies. Forecasting disturbances and describing the Earth's ionosphere, in turn, relies upon innovative computer-based models that gather input parameters from ground and space-borne observations and empirical models for ionospheric drivers. Equatorial E x B drift velocities are significant input parameters that go into many ionospheric models, because they help describe vertical plasma motions near the magnetic equator. Previous work by Anderson, et al 2002 has demonstrated the ability to derive Peruvian longitude sector, daytime vertical E x B drifts from ground-based magnetometer data. The …

Implementing Institute Of Electrical And Electronics Engineers (Ieee) 802.11 Standard Medium Access Control Protocol For Wireless Local Area Networks (Lans) On A Laboratory Hardware Prototype, Joshua D. Green

Theses and Dissertations

Wireless Local Area Networks (LANs) are extremely convenient, flexible, and easy to deploy. All LANs in which multiple hosts must access the same medium use a Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol to coordinate channel access. The MAC is part of the Data Link Layer of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model. One MAC protocol in extensive use today is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard. Since IEEE 802.11 devices are so prevalent in today s world, many researcher are exploring modifications and enhancements to the protocol. There are several well developed analytical and simulation models …

Utilizing Near-Field Measurements To Characterize Far-Field Radar Signatures, John R. Watkins

Theses and Dissertations

The increased need for stealth aircraft requires an on-site Far-Field (FF) Radar Cross-Section (RCS) measurement process. Conducting these measurements in on-site Near-Field (NF) monostatic facilities results in significant savings for manufacturers and acquisition programs. However, NF measurements are not directly extended to a FF RCS. Therefore, a large target Near-Field to Far-Field Transformation (NFFFT) is needed for RCS measurements. One approach requires an Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) process to create accurate scattering maps. The focus of this work is the development of accurate NF scattering maps generated by a monostatic ISAR process. As a first look, the process is …

Small Local Dynamic Fuzzy Logical Models For Large-Scale Power Systems, Jianjun Guo, Levent Acar, Badrul H. Chowdhury, Mariesa Crow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In the power system stability problems the primary actors in the mathematical system model are the differential equations defining the dynamic state variables of generation and load. These differential equations are coupled together by load flow equations. Mathematically the load flow equations are nonlinear algebraic equations. These differential equations and nonlinear algebraic equations form the mathematical Differential Algebraic Equations (DAE) model for the power system. The fuzzy set theory is commonly used in analysis of dynamical nonlinear systems. In this paper, we build a set of local dynamical fuzzy logic models for the differential equations, thus transforming the differential equations …

Testing Layered Interconnection Networks, Bin Liu, Fabrizio Lombardi, Nohpill Park, Minsu Choi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We present an approach for fault detection in layered interconnection networks (LINs). An LIN is a generalized multistage interconnection network commonly used in reconfigurable systems; the nets (links) are arranged in sets (referred to as layers) of different size. Switching elements (made of simple switches such as transmission-gate-like devices) are arranged in a cascade to connect pairs of layers. The switching elements of an LIN have the same number of switches, but the switching patterns may not be uniform. A comprehensive fault model for the nets and switches is assumed at physical and behavioral levels. Testing requires configuring the LIN …

Fault Localization In Reversible Circuits Is Easier Than For Classical Circuits, Kavitha Ramasamy, Radhika Tagare, Edward Perkins, Marek Perkowski

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

There is recently an interest in test generation for reversible circuits, but nothing has been published about fault localization in such circuits. This paper deals with fault localization for binary reversible (permutative) circuits. We concentrate on functional test based fault localization, to detect and locate “stuck-at” faults in a reversible circuit by creating an adaptive tree. A striking property of reversible circuits is that they exhibit “symmetric” adaptive trees. This helps considerably by being able to generate only half of the tree, and the other half is created as the mirror image of the first half. Because each test covers …

Image Analysis Techniques For The Automated Evaluation Of Subaxial Subluxation In Cervical Spine X-Ray Images, R. Joe Stanley, Santosh Seetharaman, L. Rodney Long, Sameer K. Antani, George R. Thoma, Edward Downey

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting synovial joints of the body, especially the hands and feet, spine, knees and hips. For many patients, the cervical spine is associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Subluxation is the abnormal movement of one of the bones that comprise a joint. In this research, image analysis techniques have been investigated for the recognition of cervical spine x-ray images with one or more instances of subaxial subluxation. Receiver operating characteristic curve results are presented, showing potential for subaxial subluxation discrimination on an image-by-image basis.

Ascertaining The Importance Of Neurons To Develop Better Brain-Machine Interfaces, Justin C. Sanchez, Jose M. Carmena, Mikhail A. Lebedev, Miguel A.L. Nicolelis, John G. Harris, Jose C. Principe

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In the design of brain-machine interface (BMI) algorithms, the activity of hundreds of chronically recorded neurons is used to reconstruct a variety of kinematic variables. A significant problem introduced with the use of neural ensemble inputs for model building is the explosion in the number of free parameters. Large models not only affect model generalization but also put a computational burden on computing an optimal solution especially when the goal is to implement the BMI in low-power, portable hardware. In this paper, three methods are presented to quantitatively rate the importance of neurons in neural to motor mapping, using single …

Performance Evaluation Of Communication Systems With Transmit Diversity, Chunjun Gao

Dissertations

Transmit diversity is a key technique to combat fading with multiple transmit antennae for next-generation wireless communication systems. Space-time block code (STBC) is a main component of this technique. This dissertation consists of four parts: the first three discuss performance evaluation of STBCs in various circumstances, the fourth outlines a novel differential scheme with full transmit diversity.

In the first part, closed-form expressions for the bit error rate (BER) are derived for STBC based on Alamouti's scheme and utilizing M-ary phase shift keying (MPSK) modulation. The analysis is carried out for a slow, flat Rayleigh fading channel with coherent detection …

Multi-Rate Access Schemes And Successive Interference Cancellation For Wireless Multimedia Mc-Cdma Communications, Mizhou Tan

Dissertations

To catch up with the fast changes of the information challenges, providing multimedia services has become a very important requirement for future wireless communications. A proper system, capable of supporting multi-rate transmissions as well as handling high quality of service (QoS) requirements in hostile wireless communication environments, should be sought. Multi-carrier CDMA (MC-CDMA), a combination of multi-carrier modulation (MCM) and direct-sequence CDMA (DS-CDMA), appears to be one of the most elegant solutions. In this dissertation, four multi-rate access schemes, termed uncoded fixed spreading length (UFSL), coded fixed spreading length (CFSL), multi-code fixed spreading length (MFSL) and variable spreading length (VSL), …