Electrical and Computer Engineering Commons^™

Microcontroller Design: Control Electronics For Rantec's 28vdc Input 3-U Power Supply, Leo Hernandez

Electrical Engineering

The Control Electronics is a real-time data acquisition and control system based on Atmel’s AVR microcontroller. The Control Electronics will be embedded into Rantec’s 3U power supply to monitor and report power supply data [1]. The power supply data monitored includes power supply output voltages, input voltage, DC bus voltage, and temperature.

The microcontroller continuously monitors DC voltages through seven I²C compatible analog-to-digital converters via a custom Two-Wire interface. An analog temperature sensor measures power supply data and feeds it as an analog voltage to the microcontroller’s built-in analog to digital interface. The microcontroller stores the acquired power …

Analysis Of A Miniature Radio Frequency Ion Thruster With An Inductively Coupled Plasma Source, Peter Paul Bumbarger

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The performance of a 2 cm miniature ion thruster was analyzed. A thruster of this size was predicted to produce a thrust of 200 μN. The plasma density was measured against rf input power and propellant flow rate for three configurations: the ICP source by itself; the ICP source with discharge chamber; and finally, the ICP source, the discharge chamber, and the permanent magnet cusp system. Once the optimum case was determined, electrostatic grids were added and thrust measurements were taken with a set of segmented ion collector plates.

The miniature rf ion thruster obtained a thrust of 22.35 μN …

Reducing Computational Workload Of Electromagnetic Scattered Fields From Electrically Large Quadratic Surface At High Frequency, Yu Mao Wu, Weng Cho Chew, Li (Lijun) Jun Jiang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We use the numerical steepest descent path (NSDP) method to calculate the highly oscillatory physical optics (PO) scattered fields on electrically large quadratic surfaces. The resultant phase behaviors of PO integrands are elliptic and hyperbolic on parabolic and saddle quadratic patches, respectively. The proposed method relies on deforming the integration path of the PO integral into the NSDPs on the complex plane. Numerical results of the PO scattered fields on these smooth conducting quadratic surfaces illustrate that the proposed NSDP method gains high accuracy while the workload is frequency independent. © 2013 IEEE.

Study Of Low-Rate Ook And Bpsk Transmission With Pn Sequence In Shallow Water Acoustic Communication, Jinxing Hao, Jintao Wang, Yahong Rosa Zheng

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This work shows some results of synchronization and channel estimation in simple underwater acoustic communication systems using On-off keying and binary phase-shift keying.

Optimization Of The Transition From Connector To Pcb Board, Shuai Jin, Jiangfan Zhang, Jun Fan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A transition from vertically launched coaxial connector to routed trace on board is simulated and optimized to achieve very small reflections for precise TRL calibration. The mismatch of the discontinuities in the transition was reduced by controlling the via-impedance, introducing capacitive via-pads and applying diving boards. Each segment was optimized first, and then the whole cascaded structure was simulated to achieve the optimized smooth signal transition. © 2013 IEEE.

Microfluidics Guided By Redox-Magnetohydrodynamics (Mhd) For Lab-On-A-Chip Applications, Vishal Sahore

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Unique microfluidic control actuated by simply turning off and on microfabricated electrodes in a small-volume system was investigated for lab-on-a-chip applications. This was accomplished using a relatively new pumping technique of redox-magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), which as shown in this dissertation generated the important microfluidic features of flat flow profile and fluid circulation. MHD is driven by the body force, FB = j × B, which is the magnetic part of the Lorentz force equation, and its direction is given by the right hand rule. The ionic current density, j, was generated in an equimolar solution of potassium ferri/ferro cyanide by applying …

Monodentate, Bidentate And Photocrosslinkable Thiol Ligands For Improving Aqueous Biocompatible Quantum Dots, Hiroko Takeuchi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water-soluble Quantum Dots (QDs) are highly sensitive fluorescent probes that are often used to study biological species. One of the most common ways to render QDs water-soluble for such applications is to apply hydrophilic thiolated ligands to the QD surface. However, these ligands are labile and can be easily exchanged on the QD surface, which can severely limit their application. As one way to overcome this limitation while maintaining a small colloidal size of QDs, we developed a method to stabilize hydrophilic thiolated ligands on the surface of QDs through the formation of a crosslinked shell using a photocrosslinking approach. …

Design, Fabrication And Characterization Of Plasmonic Fishnet Structures For The Enhancement Of Absorption In Thin Film Solar Cells, Sayan Seal

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Incorporating plasmonic structures into the back spacer layer of thin film solar cells (TFSCs) is an efficient way to improve their performance. The fishnet structure; which is a tunable, plasmonic light scatterer is used to enhance light absorption. Unlike other plasmonic particles that have been previously suggested, the fishnet is an electrically connected wire mesh and does not result in electric field localization, hence it results in greater absorption in the intrinsic Si layer. Unlike other designs, the fishnet structure is placed in the back spacer layer of the TFSC, so it does not block any incident light. There is …

Development And Evaluation Of Chitosan Particle Based Antigen Delivery Systems For Enhanced Antigen Specific Immune Response, Bhanuprasanth Koppolu

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Particle-based vaccine delivery systems are under exploration to enhance antigen-specific immunity against safe but poorly immunogenic polypeptide antigens. Chitosan is a promising biomaterial for antigen encapsulation and delivery due to its ability to form nano- and microparticles in mild aqueous conditions thus preserving the antigenicity of loaded polypeptides. The objective of this work is to develop a chitosan particle based antigen delivery system for enhanced vaccine response. Chitosan particle sizes, which ranged from 300 nm to 3 ìm, were influenced by chitosan concentration, chitosan molecular weight and addition rate of precipitant salt. The composition of precipitant salt played a significant …

Smart Rocks And Wireless Communication System For Real-Time Monitoring And Mitigation Of Bridge Scour -- A Proof-Of-Concept Study, Genda Chen, David Pommerenke, Y. Rosa Zheng, Andriy V. Radchenko, Yan Tang, Brandon P. Schafer, Ying Huang, Z. L. Yang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study aims to integrate commercial measurement and communication components into a scour monitoring system with magnets or electronics embedded in smart rocks, and evaluate and improve its performance in laboratory and field conditions for the movement of smart rocks. Properly-designed smart rocks were found to be automatically rolled into the very bottom of a scour hole and can give critical information about the maximum scour depth and effectiveness of rip-rap mitigation strategies. Four types of smart rock technologies were investigated in this proof-of-concept phase of study, including passive with embedded magnets, active with magneto-inductive communication, active with controllable magnet …

Zinc Oxide Nanorod Based Ultraviolet Detectors With Wheatstone Bridge Design, Arun Vasudevan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research work, for the first time, investigated metal semiconductor-metal (MSM) zine oxide (ZnO) nanorod based ultra-violet (UV) detectors having a Wheatstone bridge design with a high

responsivity at room temperature and above, as well as a responsivity that was largely independent of the change in ambient conditions. The ZnO nanorods which acted as the sensing element of the detector were grown by a chemical growth technique. Studies were conducted to determine the effects on ZnO nanorod properties by varying the concentration of the chemicals used for the rod growth. These studies showed how the rod diameter and the deposition …

A Solar-Powered And Multi-Tiered Mesh Node For A Portable In Situ Emergency Response System, Adam Matthews

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The aftermath of a natural disaster is typically characterized by lack of a reliable medium for dissemination of information to survivors. Current state-of-the-art emergency response systems rely on satellite radio-enabled devices, but survivors, unlike first responders, do not have access to such devices. To mitigate this problem, we present PERPETUU a solar-powered portable GIS microserver. The microserver node can be deployed in a disaster scene, and can serve maps to survivors viewable on browsers of off-the-shelf mobile systems. A key innovation in the design of the PERPETUU node is a multi-tiered hardware architecture-the system combines a low-power micro-controller, a medium-power …

Water Fat Separation With Multiple-Acquisition Balanced Steady-State Free Precession Mri, Michael A. Mendoza

Theses and Dissertations

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important medical imaging technique for visualizing soft tissue structures in the body. It has the advantages of being noninvasive and, unlike x-ray, does not rely on ionizing radiation for imaging. In traditional hydrogen-based MRI, the strongest measured signals are generated from the hydrogen nuclei contained in water and fat molecules.Reliable and uniform water fat separation can be used to improve medical diagnosis. In many applications the water component is the primary signal of interest, while the fat component represents a signal which can obscure the underlying pathology or other features of interest. In other …

Interface Design And Synthesis For Structural Hybrid Microarchitectural Simulators, Zhuo Ruan

Theses and Dissertations

Computer architects have discovered the potential of using FPGAs to accelerate software microarchitectural simulators. One type of FPGA-accelerated microarchitectural simulator, namedthe hybrid structural microarchitectural simulator, is very promising. This is because a hybrid structural microarchitectural simulator combines structural software and hardware, and this particular organization provides both modeling flexibility and fast simulation speed. The performance of a hybrid simulator is significantly affected by how the interface between software and hardware is constructed. The work of this thesis creates an infrastructure, named Simulator Partitioning Research Infrastructure (SPRI), to implement the synthesis of hybrid structural microarchitectural simulators which includes simulator partitioning, simulator-to-hardware …

Novel Crack Sensor For Tsv-Based 3d Integrated Circuits: Design And Deployment Perspectives, Chun Zhang, Moongon Jung, Sung Kyu Lim, Yiyu Shi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The CTE mismatch-induced stress in 3D ICs may initiate cracks from the interface between a TSV and its dielectric liner and propagates them on the silicon substrate surface. If a crack grows beyond the keep-out-zone (KOZ) of a TSV, it will jeopardize the reliability of the devices along its propagation path. While such threat can be eliminated by a sufficiently large KOZ, significant area overhead will be incurred. Given the low probability of crack occurrence, we argue that a much more economical approach is to keep KOZ small and filter out bad chips with cracks growing beyond the KOZ during …

Solutions To Finite Horizon Cost Problems Using Actor-Critic Reinforcement Learning, Ivo Grondman, Hao Xu, Sarangapani Jagannathan, Robert Babuska

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Actor-critic reinforcement learning algorithms have shown to be a successful tool in learning the optimal control for a range of (repetitive) tasks on systems with (partially) unknown dynamics, which may or may not be nonlinear. Most of the reinforcement learning literature published up to this point only deals with modeling the task at hand as a Markov decision process with an infinite horizon cost function. In practice, however, it is sometimes desired to have a solution for the case where the cost function is defined over a finite horizon, which means that the optimal control problem will be time-varying and …

Study Of Cross Polarization Of Tapered Slot Antenna For Emc Measurements, Fenghan Lin, Jun Fan, Yihong Qi, Yongchang Jiao

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Development of wireless technologies pushes for more accurate and more consistent EMC measurements. Antenna cross polarization is found to be a main contributor to the measurement errors. In this paper, full-wave analysis of E-field distribution of various slot lines is presented, which reveals that the bilateral tapered slot antenna has the widest impedance bandwidth and the lowest cross-polarization level simultaneously. The conclusions obtained in this paper will be used to develop an innovative wideband (from 700 MHz to 20 GHz) bilateral tapered slot antenna used for wireless EMC testing. © 2013 IEEE.

Zero-Sum Two-Player Game Theoretic Formulation Of Affine Nonlinear Discrete-Time Systems Using Neural Networks, Shahab Mehraeen, Travis Dierks, S. Jagannathan, Mariesa L. Crow

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, the nearly optimal solution for discrete-time (DT) affine nonlinear control systems in the presence of partially unknown internal system dynamics and disturbances is considered. The approach is based on successive approximate solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs (HJI) equation, which appears in optimal control. Successive approximation approach for updating control and disturbance inputs for DT nonlinear affine systems are proposed. Moreover, sufficient conditions for the convergence of the approximate HJI solution to the saddle point are derived, and an iterative approach to approximate the HJI equation using a neural network (NN) is presented. Then, the requirement of full knowledge …

Two-Stage List Sphere Decoding For Under-Determined Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Systems, Chen Qian, Jingxian Wu, Yahong Rosa Zheng, Zhaocheng Wang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A two-stage list sphere decoding (LSD) algorithm is proposed for under-determined multiple-input multiple-output (UD-MIMO) systems that employ N transmit antennas and Msystem; while Group 2 contains layers M+1 to N that contribute to the rank deficiency of the channel Gram matrix. Tree search algorithms are used for both groups, but with different search radii. A new method is proposed to adaptively adjust the tree search radius of Group 2 based on the statistical properties of the received signals. The employment of the adaptive tree search can significantly reduce the computation complexity. We also propose a modified channel Gram matrix to …

Distributed Generation And Storage Optimal Control With State Estimation, F. Meng, D. Haughton, B. Chowdhury, Mariesa Crow, G. T. Heydt

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The increasing demand coupled with expanding installation of distributed resources call for the development of smart technologies to control and optimize distribution system operations. In this paper, a distributed generation and storage optimization algorithm is proposed using pricing signals as distribution locational marginal pricing (DLMP). This signal is used to optimize the day-ahead operation planning of distributed generation and energy storage. A distribution level state estimation algorithm is also designed. The main conclusion is that the proposed optimal control and state estimation will improve the energy efficiency and economic benefits in a digitally controlled distribution power system. © 2013 IEEE.

Capacitance Calculation For Via Structures Using An Integral Equation Method Based On Partial Capacitance, Hanfeng Wang, Siming Pan, Jingook Kim, Albert E. Ruehli, Jun Fan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, a new integral equation formulation for via structures is developed for the capacitance extraction between vias and planes. The formulation is initially developed for axially symmetric geometries and then extended to axially asymmetric geometries by changing the circular ring cells to arc cells. The extended method can be used to calculate the shared-antipad via structure, which is widely used in high-speed differential signal interconnects. In addition, the image theory is used to handle inhomogeneous media, and a new technique is given to reduce computational costs for via-to-plane structures based on properties of the capacitance-matrix elements. The proposed …

Finite Horizon Stochastic Optimal Control Of Uncertain Linear Networked Control System, Hao Xu, S. Jagannathan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this paper, finite horizon stochastic optimal control issue has been studied for linear networked control system (LNCS) in the presence of network imperfections such as network-induced delays and packet losses by using adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) approach. Due to an uncertainty in system dynamics resulting from network imperfections, the stochastic optimal control design uses a novel adaptive estimator (AE) to solve the optimal regulation of uncertain LNCS in a forward-in-time manner in contrast with backward-in-time Riccati equation-based optimal control with known system dynamics. Tuning law for unknown parameters of AE has been derived. Lyapunov theory is used to show …

Modeling Of Crosstalk Between Two Nonparallel Striplines On Adjacent Layers, Songping Wu, Jun Fan

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Crosstalk between two nonparallel strip lines on adjacent layers is investigated. An equivalent per unit length model for nonparallel lines is developed based on multiconductor transmission line theories and the Nelder-Mead optimization algorithm. The physical meaning of the equivalent model is explained for different test geometries. Empirical formulas, as functions of various geometric parameters, are derived based on multivariable curve fitting for a set of defined trace geometries. The validity of the empirical model is confirmed through comparison with different test examples. © 2013 IEEE.

Degrees Of Freedom Of The Single Antenna Gaussian Wiretap Channel With A Helper Irrespective Of The Number Of Antennas At The Eavesdropper, Mohamed Nafea, Aylin Yener

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A Gaussian wiretap channel with a helper, i.e., a cooperative jammer, is considered and its secure degrees of freedom (s.d.o.f.) is computed. Previous work showed that the s.d.o.f. is upper bounded by 1 over 2 in this model when all parties are equipped with one antenna each. In this paper, the more challenging scenario where the eavesdropper has multiple antennas is tackled. Relying on structured signaling and cooperative jamming, specifically, by real interference alignment, it is shown that s.d.o.f. of 1 over 2 is achievable irrespective of the number of antennas the eavesdropper may have as long as the cooperative …

Adjust Decision-Making Targets Based On Psychological Thresholds, Jian Liu, Shun Xiang Wu, Si Feng Liu, Qiao Wang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper study the impact of psychological thresholds (PTs) on the decision maker's (DM's) decision target when making decision. A new approach of decision making is proposed in this paper. First, we construct criterion expected functions according to three different types of criteria: profit type, cost-type and intermediate-type, respectively. Then, we calculate the local degree of satisfaction (LDS) of each object when PTs exists, in order to adjust the initial decision target to make up new decision table. Later, by weighting the criteria reaching the DM's degree of satisfaction (DS) along with information aggregation algorithm, we obtain the overall satisfaction …

Face Recognition In The Wild., Mostafa A. Farag

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research in face recognition deals with problems related to Age, Pose, Illumination and Expression (A-PIE), and seeks approaches that are invariant to these factors. Video images add a temporal aspect to the image acquisition process. Another degree of complexity, above and beyond A-PIE recognition, occurs when multiple pieces of information are known about people, which may be distorted, partially occluded, or disguised, and when the imaging conditions are totally unorthodox! A-PIE recognition in these circumstances becomes really “wild” and therefore, Face Recognition in the Wild has emerged as a field of research in the past few years. Its main purpose …

Efficient Routing For Wireless Mesh Networks Using A Backup Path, Amir Esmailpour, Nidal Nasser, Jehad Al Dallal

Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Faculty Publications

Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) has a proven record in providing viable solutions for some of the fundamental issues in wireless networks such as capacity and range limitations. WMN infrastructure includes clusters of Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks (MANETs) connected through a fixed backbone of mesh routers. The mesh network can be constrained severely due to various reasons, which could result in performance degradation such as a drop in throughput or long delays. Solutions to this problem often focus on multipath or multichannel extensions to the existing ad- hoc routing protocols. In this paper, we propose a novel solution by introducing an alternative …

Exploiting Contextual Information For Prosodic Event Detection Using Auto-Context, Junhong Zhao, Wei-Qiang Zhang, Hua Yang, Michael T. Johnson, Jia Liu, Shanhong Xia

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Prosody and prosodic boundaries carry significant information regarding linguistics and paralinguistics and are important aspects of speech. In the field of prosodic event detection, many local acoustic features have been investigated; however, contextual information has not yet been thoroughly exploited. The most difficult aspect of this lies in learning the long-distance contextual dependencies effectively and efficiently. To address this problem, we introduce the use of an algorithm called auto-context. In this algorithm, a classifier is first trained based on a set of local acoustic features, after which the generated probabilities are used along with the local features as contextual information …

Finding The Maximum And Minimum Magnitude Responses (Gains) Of Third-Order Filters Without Calculus, Kenneth V. Cartwright, Patrick Russell, Edit J. Kaminsky

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications

The maximum and minimum gains (with respect to frequency) of third-order low-pass and high-pass filters are derived without using calculus. Our method uses the little known fact that extrema of cubic functions can easily be found by purely algebraic means. PSpice simulations are provided that verify the theoretical results.

Finding The Minimum Input Impedance Of A Second-Order Unity-Gain Sallen-Key Low-Pass Filter Without Calculus, Kenneth V. Cartwright, Edit J. Kaminsky

Electrical Engineering Faculty Publications

We derive an expression for the input complex impedance of a Sallen-Key second-order low-pass filter of unity gain as a function of the natural frequency , o  quality factor Q and the ratio of the resistors of the filter. From this expression, it is shown that the filter behaves like a single capacitor for low frequencies and as a single resistor at high frequencies. Furthermore, the minimum input impedance magnitude is found without using calculus. We discovered that the minimum input impedance magnitude is inversely proportional to Q and can be substantially less than its highfrequency value. Approximations to …