Electrical and Computer Engineering Commons^™

Local Needs Implementation For All Programs, James G. Harris, Madeleine M. Johnson, Norm Rogers, Jay Waddell

Electrical Engineering

SYNTHESIS is one of four ex1sting NSF Engineering Education Coalitions (there are apparently plans to add two others this year to bring the total number to six). SYNTHESIS consists of eight universities: Cal Poly, Cornell. Hampton, Iowa State, Southern, Stanford, Tuskgekee, and UC-Berkeley. It has been supported by NSF for over three years, being one of the first two-the other being ECSEL. The other two existing coalitions are GATEVI/AY and SUCCEED. One 9f the main goals of the 'SYNTHESIS coalition is the development of the National Engineering Education Dehvery System (NEEDS). After giving a brief overv1ew of the NEEDS, we …

National Engineering Education Delivery System (Needs), Alice M. Agogino, Sheri Sheppard, Kate Mink, James G. Harris, Lawrence Genalo, Jaya Krishnagopalan, Dave Martin, John Saylor

Electrical Engineering

The Synthesis Coalition, supported by the National Science Foundation and industrial partners, is comprised of the following eight educational institutions: California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, Comell, Hampton, Iowa State, Southern, Stanford, and Tuskegee Universities, and the University of California at Berkeley (1].

The National Engineering Education Delivery System (NEEDS) is an entirely new courseware development and distribution system which will provide Widespread, rapid, electronic access to an almost arbitrarily large number of diverse instructional modules (2-4). Curricular material in the NEEDS database are organized by a diverse range of indices. Links across disciplines are provided in the …

Reduced Bandwidth For Remote Vehicle Operations, Timothy E. Noell, Fred W. Depiero

Electrical Engineering

Oak Ridge National Laboratory staff have developed a video compression system for low-bandwidth remote operations. The objective is to provide real-time video at data rates comparable to available tactical radio links, typically 16 to 64 thousand bits per second (kbps), while maintaining sufficient quality to achieve mission objectives. The system supports both continuous lossy transmission of black and white (gray scale) video for remote driving and progressive lossless transmission of black and white images for remote automatic target acquisition. The average data rate of the resulting bit stream is 64 kbps. This system has been demonstrated to provide video of …

Light-Emitting Diodes From Partially Conjugated Poly(P-Phenylene Vinylene), C. Zhang, David Braun, A. J. Heeger

Electrical Engineering

We report the effect of conversion conditions on the device characteristics of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) light-emitting diodes. Both electroluminescence and photoluminescence intensities decrease with increasing degree of conversion. Partial conjugation enhances the electroluminescence intensity and gives an efficiency (with Ca as electron-injecting contact) as high as 0.75% photons per electron, about two orders of magnitude more efficient than from similar devices prepared from fully converted PPV. The results of constant current stress measurements suggest that the partially conjugated PPV diode is relatively stable at room temperature.

Analysis Of Laser Pulse Chirping In Mode-Locked Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers, Wenbin Jiang, Dennis J. Derickson, John E. Bowers

Electrical Engineering

Mode-locked vertical cavity lasers have a large cross-sectional area and consequently a large saturation energy and large peak powers. The authors analyze excess optical bandwidth generation in these lasers and find that self-phase modulation due to optical pumping and gain saturation is the dominant factor in inducing laser pulse chirping. The large magnitude of the chirp makes intracavity prism-pair compensation difficult. Adjustment of the cavity length has a major impact on the pulse chirping, as observed experimentally. Proper adjustment can result in a large linear frequency chirp which can be compensated using external pulse compression techniques

Semiconducting Polymer-Buckminsterfullerene Heterojunctions: Diodes, Photodiodes, And Photovoltaic Cells, N. S. Sariciftci, David Braun, C. Zhang, V. I. Srdanov, A. J. Heeger, G. Stucky, F. Wudl

Electrical Engineering

The characterization of rectifying heterojunctions (diodes) fabricated from a semiconducting polymer, a soluble derivative of poly(phenylene-vinylene), and buckminsterfullerene, C₆₀, are reported. Rectification ratios in the current versus voltage characteristics exceed 10⁴. When illuminated, the devices exhibit a large photoresponse as a result of photoinduced electron transfer across the heterojunction interface from the semiconducting polymer (donor) onto C₆₀ (acceptor). The photodiode and photovoltaic responses are characterized. Photoinduced electron transfer across the donor-accepted rectifying heterojunction offers potential for photodetector and for solar cell applications.

Nanosecond Transient Electroluminescene From Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes, David Braun, D. Moses, C. Zhang, A. J. Heeger

Electrical Engineering

The transient electroluminescence from polymer light-emitting diodes is reported. When the devices are mounted on a microstrip transmission line, the temporal response is limited by the electrode geometry, with rise and fall times below 50 ns. With low duty-cycle pulses (0.5%) the electroluminescence intensity remains proportional to the current at values up to 10 A/cm², two orders of magnitude greater than possible under direct current operation. Since the spectral blue-shift observed at high current levels (with power dissipation above 1 W/cm²) indicates significant sample heating, still higher levels should be possible with proper thermal management.

Stabilization Of Passively Mode-Locked Semiconductor Laser Repetition Frequency, Roger Helkey, Dennis J. Derickson, Alan Mar, John Wasserbauer, Robert L. Thornton

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Nsf Sponsored Innovation In Engineering And Cornputer Science, Jacob Abel, Patricia Daniels, James G. Harris, Harry Hedges

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Model For The Infrastructure Of Engineering Education, James G. Harris, Karen Frair, Win Aung, Susan T. Hill

Electrical Engineering

There are many ways to describe and model physical systems. The infrastructure of engineering education in the United States is an example of such a system, and it is the intent of this report to describe and model this infratructure. The means for doing this starts with the graduation statistics for the year 1989 given by the Computer Aided Science Policy Analysis & Research Database System (CASPAR) developed for the National Science Foundation by Quantum Research Corporation [1], and uses a simple categorization for the institutions that contribute to those statistics. This categorization sorts the post -secondary institutions in the …

Short Pulse Generation Using Multisegment Mode-Locked Semiconductor Lasers, Dennis J. Derickson, R. J. Helkey, A. Mar, Judy R. Karin, J. G. Wasserbauer, J. E. Bowers

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Waste-Surface Mapping Of The Fernald K-65 Silos Using A Structured Light Measurement System, B. L. Burks, Fred W. Depiero, M. A. Dinkins, J. C. Rowe, C. B. Selleck, D. L. Jacoboski

Electrical Engineering

During FY 1991, a remotely operated surface-mapping measurement system was developed by the Robotics & Process Systems Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for use in the K-65 waste-storage silos at Fernald, Ohio. The mapping system used three infrared line-generating laser diodes as illumination sources and three high-resolution, low-lux, calibrated, black-and-white, chargecoupled- device video cameras as receivers. These components were combined to form structured light source range and direction sensors with six different possible emitter-receiver pairs. A technology demonstration and predeployment tests were performed at Fernald during July and August 1991, using the empty Silo 4 into which was placed …

Repetition Frequency Stabilisation Of Passively Mode-Locked Semiconductor Lasers, R. J. Helkey, Dennis J. Derickson, A. Mar, J. G. Wasserbauer, J. E. Bowers, R. L. Thornton

Electrical Engineering

The repetition frequency of an external cavity mode-locked GaAs semiconductor diode laser has been stabilized by voltage controlled electrical feedback. The phase noise has been reduced by 40dB at 1 kHz offset from the carrier and timing jitter reduced from more than 30ps to 4ps. This technique can be used to stabilize millimetre-wave mode-locked lasers.

Mode-Locking Of High-Power Resonant-Optical-Waveguide Diode Laser Arrays, Alan Mar, Dennis J. Derickson, Roger Helkey, John Bowers, Dan Botez

Electrical Engineering

We report the first mode-locked operation of a resonant optical waveguide (ROW semiconductor laser array. Pulsewidths as short as 23 ps and peak powers of over 1W are generated in a single-lobed beam.

Remote Driving With Reduced Bandwidth Communication, Fred W. Depiero, Timothy E. Noell, Timothy F. Gee

Electrical Engineering

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a real-time video transmission system for low-bandwidth remote operations. The system supports both continuous transmission of video for remote driving and progressive transmission of still images. Inherent in the system design is a spatiotemporal limitation to the effects of channel errors. The average data rate of the system is 64,000 bits/s, a compression of approximately 1000:1 for the black and white National Television Standard Code video. The image quality of the transmissions is maintained at a level that supports teleoperation of a high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle at speeds up to 15 mph on a …

Integrated Optical Transmitters And Receivers Using Multi-Segment Laser Processes, J. G. Wasserbauer, Dennis J. Derickson, K. Giboney, R. J. Helkey, J. R. Karin, A. Mar, J. E. Bowers

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Electroluminescence And Electrical Transport In Poly(3-Octylthiophene) Diodes, David Braun, G. Gustafsson, D. Mcbranch, A. J. Heeger

Electrical Engineering

We report visible light emission from diodes made from poly(3-octylthiophene). Use of a soluble derivative of polythiophene allows fabrication of the light emitting diodes by casting the polymer film from solution with no subsequent processing or heat treatment required. The devices emit dim red-orange light with relatively low external quantum efficiencies, below 2.5×10⁻⁵ photons per electron at room temperature. Electrical characterization reveals diode behavior with rectification ratios greater than 10². The temperature dependence indicates that tunneling phenomena dominate the charge injection.

Microwave And Millimeter Wave Signal Generation Using Mode-Locked Semiconductor Lasers With Intra-Waveguide Saturable Absorbers, Dennis J. Derickson, R. J. Helkey, A. Mar, J. G. Wasserbauer, Y. G. Wey, J. E. Bowers

Electrical Engineering

Microwave and millimeter wave signals can be generated using mode-locked semiconductor lasers with intra-waveguide saturable absorbers. Monolithic and external cavity devices optimized for electrical and optical signal generation are discussed along with measurements of amplitude noise, phase noise, output power, and repetition rate tunability.

Suppression Of Multiple Pulse Formation In External-Cavity Mode-Locked Semiconductor Lasers Using Intrawaveguide Saturable Absorbers, Dennis J. Derickson, R. J. Helkey, A. Mar, Judy R. Karin, J. E. Bowers, R. L. Thornton

Electrical Engineering

Imperfect antireflection coatings in external-cavity mode-locked semiconductor lasers can cause multiple output pulse generation. The incorporation of an intrawaveguide saturable absorber segment into the laser suppresses this problem. Single pulse outputs of less than 2.8 ps and 0.7 pJ of energy are obtained using such devices with both quantum well and bulk active regions

Comparison Of Timing Jitter In External And Monolithic Cavity Mode-Locked Semiconductor Lasers, Dennis J. Derickson, P. A. Morton, J. E. Bowers, R. L. Thornton

Electrical Engineering

A comprehensive timing jitter comparison is made for mode-locked semiconductor lasers using active, passive, and hybrid mode-locking techniques in both external and monolithic cavity configurations. Active mode locking gives the lowest residual rms timing jitter of 65 fs (150 Hz-50 MHz), followed by the hybrid and passive mode-locking techniques. It is found that monolithic cavity devices with all active waveguides have higher timing jitter levels than the comparable external cavity case.

Improved Efficiency In Semiconducting Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes, David Braun, A. J. Heeger, H. Kromer

Electrical Engineering

We report visible light emission from metal-polymer diodes made from semiconducting polymers, with indium-tin oxide as the “ohmic” contact, and a variety of metals as the barrier metal. Our results, which confirm the discovery by the Cambridge group [Nature347, 539 (1990)], demonstrate that light-emitting diodes can be fabricated by casting the polymer film on indium-tin oxide from solution with no subsequent polymer processing or heat treatment required. Electrical characterization reveals diode behavior with rectification ratios greater than 105 at sufficiently high voltages. Use of an electrode material with low work function leads to more than an order of magnitude improvement …

Efficient Single-Heterojunction Al0.27Ga0.73As/Gaas P-I-N Photodiodes With 22-Ghz Bandwidths, C. Johnson, S. Sloan, D. M. Braun, J. L. Russell, M. Zurakowski, M. Lightner, F. Kellert, G. Patterson, R. Koo, Dennis J. Derickson, J. E. Bowers

Electrical Engineering

A report is presented on the design, fabrication, testing, and modeling of single-heterojunction Al_0.27Ga_0.73As/Ga p-i-n photodiodes for use as components in optical receivers. The photodiodes are grown by molecular beam epitaxy and fabricated as 1100-μm² mesa structures. At 5-V reverse bias and 850 nm, 100 fF of capacitance, 90 pA of leakage current, 73% external quantum efficiency, <2% reflectivity, and 22-GHz bandwidths are typically measured.

High-Frequency Electrooptic Fabry-Perot Modulators, R. J. Simes, R. H. Yan, C. C. Barron, Dennis J. Derickson, D. G. Lishan, Judy R. Karin, L. A. Coldren, M. Rodwell, S. Elliott, B. Hughes

Electrical Engineering

Electrooptic modulators built from GaAs/Al_xGa_1-xAs Fabry-Perot cavities operating up to 6.5 GHz are reported. The measured frequency response agrees well with the one predicted using an equivalent circuit model derived from high-speed electrical measurements. The parasitic capacitances have been reduced to approximately 30 fF by fabricating the devices on semi-insulating GaAs substrates and integrating them with on-wafer bound pads which have dimensions compatible with microwave coplanar probes.

Visible Light Emission From Semiconducting Polymer Diodes, David Braun, A. J. Heeger

Electrical Engineering

We report visible light emission from Shottky diodes made from semiconducting polymers, confirming the discovery by the Cambridge group [Nature 347, 539 (1990)]. Our results demonstrate that light-emitting diodes can be fabricated by casting the polymer film from solution with no subsequent processing or heat treatment required. Electrical characterization reveals diode behavior with rectification ratios greater than 104. We propose that tunneling of electrons from the recitifying metal contact into the gap states of the positive polaron majority carriers dominates current flow and provides the mechanism for light emission.

Relative And Absolute Timing Jitter In Actively Mode-Locked Semiconductor Lasers, Dennis J. Derickson, A. Mar, J. E. Bowers

Electrical Engineering

No abstract provided.

Architecture For A Human-Robot Symbiotic System, Fred W. Depiero, Wayne W. Manges, Reid L. Kress, Mike R. Kedl, William R. Hamel

Electrical Engineering

This paper describes a human-robot symbiont that is under development at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. An overview of the symbiotic system is described that motivates the architecture that has been developed. The architecture is a hierarchical structure that consists of several expert systems which reside above a robot control interface. This interface allows the manipulator to be operated in both a teleoperated and autonomous mode. All these processes coexist with the lowest level of the hierarchy, which is a numerically intensive control algorithm. The architecture is implemented on five processors in a coarsely parallel system.

An Indirect Sensing Technique For Closed-Loop Diesel Fuel Quantity Control, Carl A. Maccarley, Walter D. Clark, Keay T. Nakae

Electrical Engineering

Despite significant advances in electronic control technology applied to diesel engines, commercially available injection systems for automotive diesel engines remain limited by the open-loop mapping of the injection pump. An initial calibration is relied upon to translate a fuel delivery command to an actual fuel quantity. In practice, however, these two variables may be substantially different due to the effects of mechanical wear, repair, and the wide range of operating conditions. Possible ramifications of this discrepancy are excessive exhaust smoke due to overfueling, increased fuel consumption, degraded driveability, and poor idle characteristics. The major obstacle to closing the fuel control …

Self-Mode-Locking Of A Semiconductor Laser Using Positive Feedback, Dennis J. Derickson, R. J. Helkey, A. Mar, P. A. Morton, J. E. Bowers

Electrical Engineering

A new mode-locking technique, self-mode-locking, is described which uses the detected optical pulses from the mode-locked laser as the active driving source. This technique forms narrow-width mode-locked optical pulses at low repetition rates without the use of a microwave synthesizer

Use Of Technology For Undergraduate Engineering Education, B. A. Black, J. S. Demetry, J. G. Harris, J. R. Jones

Electrical Engineering

California Polytechnic State University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute have formed a consortium to develop an alternative learning environment centered around a workstation comprised of a personal computer interfaced to a video disk and laboratory instrumentation. The first phase in their collective effort has involved the development of four instructional modules in the fundamentals of electrical engineering. The results of the first phase efforts are presented. They demonstrate how four different universities can work together to agree on standards, and to prepare instructional material that can be shared. The second phase will …

A 100-Khz - 22 Ghz Instrumentation Photoreceiver, Dennis J. Derickson, C. M. Miller, R. L. Van Tuyl

Electrical Engineering

A photoreceiver consisting of a high-speed p-i-n photodetector and a 100-kHz to 22-GHz distributed amplifier is described. Photoreceiver calibration is accomplished by optical heterodyne techniques. The photoreceiver is used with a microwave spectrum analyzer to produce a fully amplitude-calibrated 22-GHz-bandwidth lightwave signal analyzer system for displaying intensity-modulated light with -65-dB (optical) sensitivity at 1300-nm and 1550-nm wavelengths.