Electrical and Electronics Commons^™

Dc/Dc Converter For A Solar Module, Stella Uribe, Richie Zaragoza, Olivia Grace Tran, Phillip Tyler Rich

Electrical Engineering

This project focuses on the design and validation of a general-purpose DC/DC power converter intended for use with photovoltaic (PV) solar modules operating under variable environmental and loading conditions. Solar panels exhibit significant variation in output voltage, current, and available power due to changes in irradiance, temperature, and operating point, making direct connection to downstream loads impractical. The proposed system addresses this challenge by providing a single, user-adjustable regulated DC output capable of both stepping up and stepping down the solar module voltage. The converter is designed to interface with solar modules rated between 50 W and 400 W, with …

Hybrid Solar - Coal Thermal Energy System For Industrial Process Heat At Sayona Drinks Limited In Tanzania, Santos Kihwele, Elisha D. Bitesigirwe

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Over the past two decades, global efforts to mitigate pollution from conventional energy sources have intensified, with coal remaining a major contributor to carbon emissions. While fossil fuels cannot be eliminated from thermal generation in manufacturing industries, particularly in middle‑income countries such as Tanzania, they continue to dominate as the primary energy source. Industries including food and beverage, paper, textile, paints, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals require substantial thermal energy for heating and drying, and typically rely on coal and natural gas.This study introduces a unique application of a parabolic trough solar thermal system with integrated thermal energy storage, specifically tailored to …

Analysis And Design Of A 2-Bit Millimeter-Wave Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface And Investigation Of Fss-Assisted Angular Stability, Max Spalek

Master's Theses

Millimeter-Wave (mm-wave) technology utilizes high frequency spectrum and can deliver multi-gigabit speeds, ultra-low latency, and massive bandwidth capacity. However, this technology is rather new and many technical challenges remain. On the other hand, Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) have emerged as promising structures for controllable electromagnetic wavefront manipulation in wireless communication systems. This thesis presents the design of a 2-bit RIS unit-cell element operating throughout the 30–34 GHz mm-wave band, where the structure was progressively refined from an initial resonating geometry toward a grounded reflective RIS configuration. The proposed structure utilizes PIN-diode switching states to produce four discrete reflected phase states …

Condition Monitoring Of Induction Motor Using Motor Current Signature Analysis, Francis Ikechukwu Obianke, Joseph Okhaifoh, Benjamin Akinloye

Al-Bahir

Induction machines serve as the cornerstone and driving force of modern manufacturing and production systems. This research aims to monitor and analyse the operating performance of induction motors using motor current signature analysis (MCSA). MCSA is employed to process the current signal of a motor into a frequency spectrum, known as the current signature by applying the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm. The underlying principle is that vibration generated in a motor is closely related to the changes of the magnetic field density, and the induced voltage varies with the stator current.

A simulation model replicating the behaviour of an …

Sustainabake, Kevin Kunta Swanson Ii

Electrical Engineering

This senior project outlines the development of an oven that utilizes renewable energy to operate safely and effectively. It aims to test building an oven using mostly basic hardware students acquired during their time at Cal Poly and provide a starting point for those interested in creating a solar-powered oven. As our society continues to innovate and increasingly relies on electricity, it is important to place more emphasis on how we can make our lives sustainable to take care of our environment without introducing excessive pollutants. Food preparation is a daily activity that typically involves significant energy consumption, making this …

Nanomagnet Based Reservoir Computing And Quantum Control, Fahim F. Chowdhury

Theses and Dissertations

Conventional CMOS scaling has driven remarkable advances in computing but faces increasing physical and energy constraints, motivating alternative computing paradigms that integrate memory and computation while improving energy efficiency. Nanoscale magnetic systems offer a promising platform for such approaches because their intrinsic nonlinear dynamics and localized magnetic fields can support both classical and quantum information processing. This thesis investigates nanomagnetic systems for physical reservoir computing and, with primary emphasis, for localized quantum control of spin qubits.

The first part explores dipole-coupled nanomagnet arrays as physical reservoirs. Micromagnetic simulations demonstrate nonlinear dynamical behavior with high short-term memory and parity-check capacity, enabling …

“Bridging The Gap To Midwave Infrared Event-Based Sensors: Design, Sensitivity, And Radiation-Hardness Characterization Of A Single-Pixel Iii-V Event-Based Infrared Sensor For Space Applications, Zinah M. Alsaad

Electrical and Computer Engineering ETDs

Event-based sensing presents a revolutionary paradigm shift for next-generation space surveillance systems, where power consumption is an ever-worsening constraint as temporal resolution demands increase. In addition to reduced power consumption, low latency, and wide dynamic range, the event-based sensor fundamentally only produces data when there is a change in illumination from which events are generated; no data is produced if the scene remains static. With their event-based datastream being inherently focused on the dynamic information of the scene, they are particularly well-suited to machine vision and autonomous sensing applications. While these sensors have many compelling advantages, there are presently no …

Design And Performance Analysis Of A Frequency-Reconfigurable Rectangular Patch Antenna With Dual-Slot Defected Ground Structure For Gsm Band, Sara Abdelbaset, Ashraf Khalaf, Amr Hussien, Ahmed A. Kabeel

Journal of Engineering Research

In this paper, an innovative frequency-tunable rectangular patch antenna is presented, featuring interlaced circular and U-shaped narrow slots, combined with a rectangular-shaped defected ground structure (DGS). This design is specifically developed to produce radiation patterns similar to those of traditional dipole antennas. The integration of the rectangular DGS with three RF varactor diodes, along with two equivalent microstrip conductors, enables a tunable operating frequency band that ranges from 1.08 GHz to 1.7 GHz, achieving a total bandwidth of 0.62 GHz. The DC biasing network connected to the three RF varactor diodes is utilized to finely tune and adjust the resonance …

Low Energy Ion Irradiation Effects In Electronic Devices And Materials, David C. Mccall

All Dissertations

The physics and engineering of ion-solid interactions are governed by the ion beam characteristics (flux, charge, energy) and target(s) in question. Here I present work on two projects related to the extraction of a high flux of low charge state Argon ions from a commercial plasma source and the irradiation of an engineered target, a transistor, with high charge state Argon ions.

An end-Hall ion source that produces a a high current plasma of ions and electrons in a rough vacuum environment is characterized. Using a Langmuir probe and multiple pressure measurements, the ion and electron content of the source …

Self-Poled P(Vdf-Trfe) Based Composites For Energy Harvesting And Wearable Sensor Applications, Lavanya Muthusamy

All Dissertations

The growing demand for flexible, low-power, and self-powered wearable electronic systems has accelerated research interest in polymer-based sensors and energy harvesting technologies. Among piezoelectric polymer materials, Poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoro ethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)], over the years, has garnered significant attention due to its unique piezoelectric properties, high dielectric constant, mechanical flexibility, thermal stability, chemical resistance, biocompatibility and compatibility with scalable fabrication processes. Despite its advantages, conventional P(VDF-TrFE)-based devices often require external poling and face limitations in integration with low-cost, flexible substrates. To overcome these limitations, this research study explores the nanofiller approach, along with facile fabrication processes, and structural design strategies aimed at …

Development And Experimental Validation Of A Non-Invasive Blood Group Detection System, Nurath K. Nurudini

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

An individual's blood group consists of red blood cell antigens whose composition is determined by protein presence, antigen structure, and gene series. Persons aged above six months have significant anti-A and/or anti-B in their serum. During transplantation and transfusion, ABO blood group identification is the most essential factor. The conventional method involves drawing blood samples from patients, and the blood group is determined based on the antigen-antibody reaction. This method consists of adding chemical reagents. However, this requires time of operation, and throughput analysis is high, and the process is also challenging to interpret. Accurate and rapid identification of blood …

Measurement Of Moisture Levels In Oils And Lubricants Using A Novel Moisture Sensor, Aaron Swartz, Ronak Ali

Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Research

It is very challenging to measure moisture levels in oils. There is not a good method to measure it. Using the novel moisture sensor invented by Dr. Zhi David Chen, we tried various methods to measure the moisture levels in oils. The initial trials are to immerse the sensor chip into the oils to see any sensor reading changes with the change of moisture levels in oils. It was observed that the sensor reading was unstable even after immersion into the oil for two weeks. The idea for immersion of the sensor chip into the oils failed due to the …

Piezoelectric Actuator Driver System, Daniel Hoefer

Electrical Engineering

This work presents the design, fabrication, and testing of a high-voltage piezoelectric actuator driver system purposed for integration into defense and aerospace precision motion control applications, particularly those in laser optics. The core challenge addressed was the mismatch between the standardized 28V DC power bus used in military systems and the significantly higher voltage requirements of piezoelectric actuators. Existing commercial drivers were evaluated and found unsuitable for field deployment due to inadequate ruggedness, excessive complexity, or power limitations. Consequently, a modular system architecture was designed featuring four independent driver channels, each using a high-voltage, high-current linear amplifier topology to scale …

Investigation Of The Electrical Capacitance Tomography System For Determining The Spatial Distribution Of Moisture In Grain Storage, Shamte J. Kawambwa

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Excessive moisture content (MC) in stored grains promotes the growth of fungi and molds, which affects the quality of the grains. Effective grain monitoring methods are essential for detecting and managing grain spoilage. Electromagnetic imaging (EMI) techniques provide a promising alternative to traditional techniques by visualizing the spatial distribution of moisture within grains rather than merely average MC values offered by traditional techniques. However, existing EMI approaches often use hard-field waves, which are expensive and fragile. This study introduces an Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) system that employs soft-field waves to monitor the moisture content of the grains. The system was …

A 0.18 Μm Cmos 40 Ghz Miniaturized Coupled-Line Coupler With Enhanced Directivity, Elsayed Ibrahim Elsaidy, Amr H. Hussein Prof.Dr., Mustafa M. Abd Elnaby Prof. Dr., Anwer S. Abd El-Hameed Dr.

Journal of Engineering Research

No abstract provided.

Efficient Operation Of Direct Coupled Solar Home Pv System: A Case Of Solar Home Pv System Installed In Dodoma, Tanzania, Sarah P. Ayeng'o

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Direct coupled Photovoltaic (PV) system is a common topology among most of the off-grid communities in the world. This topology has less components hence resulting in low investment costs. However, it suffers much losses when battery operating voltage is far from maximum power point voltage of PV modules. This scenario can be attributed by different factors such as; variation in solar radiation, load profile and temperature. Efficient operation of these systems is required in order to reduce losses. Usually in direct coupled system, PV modules are connected in parallel with batteries through a charge controller hence making PV output to …

Photonic Crystal Devices For Chip Scale Sensing Systems, Yudong Chen

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

This thesis investigates the design and integration of photonic crystal (PC) structures for compact, high-performance optical platforms, with a focus on applications in gas sensing, on-chip lasers, and flat optics. Chapter 1 introduces the fundamental principles of PC design and simulation, highlighting their potential to replace bulky components in micro-gas chromatography (µGC) systems through miniaturization and integration. Chapter 2 explores PC-based nanobeam lasers, including the Lambda-Scale Embedded Active-Region Photonic Crystal (LEAP) laser, which demonstrates strong optical confinement and energy-efficient operation, with energy consumption as low as 8 fJ/bit. These laser designs are evaluated for their suitability in low-power, high-speed on-chip …

Surface Morphology And Moisture Adsorption/Desorption Characteristics Of Hybrid-Dielectric Moisture Sensors, Ronak Ali

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

Relative humidity sensors are used for high-humidity measurement. Moisture sensors, or dew point sensors are used for low-humidity measurement (< 1 ppm_v). The dissertation contains two parts of studies. In the first part, the effect of surface morphology on the response speed of moisture sensors is studied. Moisture sensors using α-Al₂O₃ films as porous dielectric materials deposited by anodic spark deposition are studied. In this part of the study, a variety of small pores have been studied to investigate the response speed of moisture sensors. Three different surface morphologies have been studied using scanning electron microscopy. One …

Lifecycle Carbon Footprint And Sustainability Evaluation Of Dram-Based Processing In Memory Computing Architectures, Samrat Pravin Patel

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

The use of computing technologies has significantly enhanced several aspects of our day-to-day lives. But it has still revealed significant environmental concerns, primarily related to greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. Initially, the primary environmental problems associated with computing were energy consumption during device operation. However, with the rapid advancement of technology and increasing computational demands, attention has shifted towards the embodied carbon footprint. This term refers to the total greenhouse gas emissions throughout a product’s lifecycle from the extraction of raw materials to end-of-life processing. It has become increasingly significant in the context of manufacturing integrated circuits (ICs), such …

Gratings In Optical Waveguides And Lasers, Weida Zhang

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Gratings play a crucial role in Distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) lasers, influencing their performance and characteristics. The focus of this work is aimed at the design of DBR lasers that significantly impact the laser's spectral and temporal behavior, making it a key component in optimizing DBR laser functionality.

The SMU developed grating software, compared with commercially available photonics software, has improved accuracy and much smaller computation times. The improved accuracy and reduced computation times compared with commercial photonics software occur because commercial software is typically based on numerical methods such as finite-difference time-domain (FDTD), eigenmode expansion and beam propagation methods …

Dual Base Sige Is-Hbt For Use In Biosensing Applications, Liam Stephen Hayes

Master's Theses

The proposed research is for a novel SiGe-based Ion-Sensitive Dual Hetero-junction Bipolar Transistor (IS-HBT) to be used in both trans-dermal biological sensing as well as Lab-on-Chip (LOC) applications. The end goals for the device designed are two: For one, the research done for this work will be used to substantiate the claims made by Zafar et al. [1] that an HBT-style structure is better suited for biosensing application rather than a conventional Field Effect Transistor (FET) based geometries. Secondly, it provides the final element to be integrated along with a selectivity membrane, as well as with a reverse-iontophoresis system to …

Electromagnetic Theory And Applications, 2nd Edition, Nicholas Madamopoulos, George Kliros

Open Educational Resources

This book intends to provide both the fundamentals of Electromagnetics but also some practical applications of the concepts covered. Having taught electromagnetics for several years, the authors feel that many times the field of electromagnetics comes as “old” and often times students do not appreciate the concepts and their importance in everyday applications. The authors intend to accompany the EM concepts with life applications. Hence, students may see the direct impact of the knowledge they acquire through the study of the field of electromagnetics and better appreciate the field.

Degradation Study Of Single Crystal Barium Titanate Capacitors Under Harsh Environment, Menglin Wang

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Capacitors are critical for voltage source converter functionality. DC-link capacitors are known to have reliability issues. Resistance degradation at high temperatures is one of the primary failure modes in capacitors. The overall goal of this program is to improve the understanding of high voltage breakdown and resistance degradation in high dielectric constant inorganic ceramic capacitors, using single crystal BaTiO₃ as a model system to understand the impact and control of oxygen vacancy migration to maximize the long-term reliability of high voltage inorganic multi-layer ceramic capacitors, which allows higher frequency operation, reducing the size and cost of passive components in …

Physical Effects On The Worst-Case Delay Analysis And Signal Integrity Of Buses And Spirals, Mahmoud Mahany

Theses and Dissertations

Physical effects have a significant impact on the IC design which will be investigated in this thesis. Moving toward advanced technology nodes, magnetic effects become more dominant than capacitive effects. As the dimensions of the devices go down and the interconnect manipulates the circuit behavior more and more. Cross talking and voltage drops are affecting the design heavily, however - going to the full electromagnetic point of view - current return path (CRP) adds significant parasitics to the performance of the chip. Neglecting the CRP gives wrong intuition and simulation of the designs, especially that the environment and surroundings can …

An Optimization Tool For A Standalone Photovoltaic System, Johanes Kasilima

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Stand-alone photovoltaic systems (SAPV) are often used in remote areas where access to grid electricity is limited. This system depends on solar energy. However, Photovoltaic (PV) systems need a greater initial investment than conventional sources of energy, and their effectiveness is reliant on a number of environmental conditions such as the unpredictable solar radiation. One step in reducing the investment cost of a PV system is determining the optimal size of solar PV components that minimize costs. This paper presents a Particle Swarm based optimization tool for sizing Stand-alone PV systems. The optimization tool selects the optimal Levelized Cost of …

Study Of Indium-Silicon Co-Doped Gallium Oxide For Effective N-Type Doping, Muhammad Hassan Tahir, Nifat Jahan, Md Ghulam Zakir

Faculty Publications

We present the research efforts to achieve effective n-type doping in gallium oxide (Ga2O3), an ultrawide bandgap semiconductor, grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The application of semiconductors for power electronics requires wide and ultrawide bandgap materials that can be doped to create higher electron (n-type) or hole (p-type) densities. Ga2O3, with a bandgap of 4.9 eV, is an emerging and promising material. The bandgap of Ga2O3 is much higher than other wide bandgap material that have been adopted by or in the process of adoption by the industry for power electronics. However, the doping of Ga2O3 has some …

Gallium Oxide Based Avalanche Photo Detector, Muhammad Hassan Tahir Mr, Nifat Jahan, Md Ghulam Zakir

Faculty Publications

Gallium oxide (Ga₂O₃), an ultrawide bandgap semiconductor with a bandgap of 4.6 eV and a high critical electric field of 10.3 MV/cm, offers strong potential for high-performance avalanche photodetectors (APDs). This project explores the design and characterization of a Ga₂O₃-based APD featuring doped and undoped epitaxial layers optimized for high electric field generation and low thermal conductivity, enabling stable operation in high-temperature environments. Simulation results show a uniform electric field of 1 MV/cm under a 100 V applied bias, while material characterization confirms excellent surface smoothness with a mean roughness of ~1.1 nm and an electron mobility of 21.7 cm²/V·s …

Semiconductor Photonic Crystal Surface Emitting Lasers For High Power, High Brightness And High Speed Applications, Chhabindra Gautam

Electrical Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Photonic Crystal Surface Emitting Laser (PCSEL) is the promising third generation semiconductor laser technology as it addresses the challenges of the conventional semiconductor lasers (EEL/VCSEL) by providing single mode high power output with good beam quality (thus high brightness). The large area in plane coupling resulting from the multiple Bragg’s diffraction conditions in the periodic 2D photonic crystal cavities in the lasing cladding region leads to single mode operation over very large area. By model design engineering, such in plane lasing cavity can leak the light out of the plane, which result in surface emission. The ability to scale the …

Cleaning And Characterization Of Chemical Vapor Deposited Graphene For Nanoelectronic Device Development, Sakib Ishraq

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Nanoelectronic devices based on graphene are a promising technology that combines the sensitivity and specificity of ion and element recognition with the accuracy and precision of electronics. The detection principle is based on the interaction of the target molecules with the nanodevice surface, which generates a measurable electrical signal. In the current study, graphene and its derivatives, synthesis and fabrication of high quality, good uniformity, and low defects graphene have been investigated as they are critical for high-performance and highly sensitive devices. Among many synthesis methods, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), have been used that needs to be transferred from the …

Reinventing Integrated Photonic Devices And Circuits For High Performance Communication And Computing Applications, Venkata Sai Praneeth Karempudi

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

The long-standing technological pillars for computing systems evolution, namely Moore's law and Von Neumann architecture, are breaking down under the pressure of meeting the capacity and energy efficiency demands of computing and communication architectures that are designed to process modern data-centric applications related to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data, and Internet-of-Things (IoT). In response, both industry and academia have turned to 'more-than-Moore' technologies for realizing hardware architectures for communication and computing. Fortunately, Silicon Photonics (SiPh) has emerged as one highly promising ‘more-than-Moore’ technology. Recent progress has enabled SiPh-based interconnects to outperform traditional electrical interconnects, offering advantages like high bandwidth density, …