Piezoelectric transformer for integrated MOSFET and IGBT gate driver

In this paper, a new complementary gate driver for power metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors and insulated gate bipolar transistors is presented based on the use of a piezoelectric transformer (PT). This type of transformer has a high integration capability. Its design is based on a multilayer structure working in the second thickness resonance mode. A new design method has been used based on an analytical Mason model in order to optimize the efficiency, the available power at the transformer secondary ends, and the total volume. This design method takes into account mechanical losses and heating of the piezoelectric material; it can be extended to predict the characteristics of the PT: gain, transmitted power, efficiency, and heating of piezoelectric materials according to load resistance. A prototype of a PT rated for an inverter-leg gate driver was fabricated and tested experimentally. All calculated characteristics have been confirmed by measurements. Satisfactory results have been obtained in driving a 10-A/300-V/10-kHz chopper. Moreover, a study has been carried out about the propagation of common mode currents between the top-switch and the bottom-switch of the inverter leg throughout the driver in order to avoid cross-talking failures.     

Electroluminescent Polymers and Carbon Nanotubes for Flat Panel Displays

polymeric light-emitting diodes(LEDs) with sufficient brightness. efficiencies, low driving voltages, and various interesting features have been reported. The relatively short device lifetime, however, still remains as a major problem to be solved before any commercial applications will be realized. In this regard,carbon nanotubes have recently been proposed as more robust electron field emitters for flat panel displays. We have synthesised large arrays of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes, from which micropatterns of the aligned nanotubes suitable for flat panel displays were fabricated on various substrates. In this paper, we summarise our work on the synthesis and microfabrication of electroluminescent polymers and carbon nanotubes for flat panel displays with reference to other complementary work as appropriate.     

Robust control of uncertain context-sensitive probabilistic Boolean networks

Uncertainty is an intrinsic phenomenon in control of gene regulatory networks (GRNs). The presence of uncertainty is related to impreciseness of GRN models due to: (1) Errors caused by imperfection of measurement devices and (2) Models' inability to fully capture a complex structure of the GRN. Consequently, there is a discrepancy between actual behaviour of the GRN and what is predicted by its mathematical model. This can result in false control signals, which can drive a cell to an undesirable state. To address the problem of control under uncertainties, a risk-sensitive control paradigm is proposed. Robustness is accomplished by minimisation of the mean exponential cost as opposed to, for instance, minimisation of the mean square cost by risk-neutral controllers. The authors derive an optimal risk-sensitive controller when a GRN is modelled by a context-sensitive probabilistic Boolean network (CSPBN). By using a relation between the relative entropy and free-energy, a relative stability of the cost achieved by the risk-sensitive controller is demonstrated when the distribution of the CSPBN attractors is perturbed, as opposed to the cost of the risk-neutral controller that exhibits increase. The use of the relation between the relative entropy and free-energy to analyse the influence of a particular attractor on the robustness of the controller is studied. The efficiency of the risk-sensitive controller is tested for the CSPBN obtained from the study of malignant melanoma.     

Scrambling for nonequiprobable signalling

A scrambling method for nonequiprobable signalling is proposed. This method uses a lossless compression decoder to produce symbols with unequal probabilities. The relative symbol frequencies and correlation characteristics are calculated and the noisy channel error performance is discussed. In one application of this nonequiprobable signalling procedure it is shown that 0.68 dB of a possible 1.53 dB gain is easily obtained for signal constellation shaping applications     

LDPC-based iterative joint source-channel decoding for JPEG2000.

A framework is proposed for iterative joint source-channel decoding of JPEG2000 codestreams. At the encoder, JPEG2000 is used to perform source coding with certain error-resilience (ER) modes, and LDPC codes are used to perform channel coding. During decoding, the source decoder uses the ER modes to identify corrupt sections of the codestream and provides this information to the channel decoder. Decoding is carried out jointly in an iterative fashion. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method requires fewer iterations and improves overall system performance.     

Spatial correlation and irradiance statistics in a multiple-beam terrestrial free-space optical communication link

By means of numerical simulations we analyze the statistical properties of the power fluctuations induced by the incoherent superposition of multiple transmitted laser beams in a terrestrial free-space optical communication link. The measured signals arising from different transmitted optical beams are found to be statistically correlated. This channel correlation increases with receiver aperture and propagation distance. We find a simple scaling rule for the spatial correlation coefficient in terms of the propagation distance and we are able to predict the scintillation reduction in previously reported experiments with good accuracy. We propose an approximation to the probability density function of the received power of a spatially correlated multiple-beam system in terms of the parameters of the single-channel gamma-gamma function. A bit-error-rate evaluation is also presented to demonstrate the improvement of a multibeam system over its single-beam counterpart.     

Non-covalent/non-specific functionalization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes with a hyperbranched polyethylene and characterization of their dispersion in a polyolefin matrix

This communication reports the non-covalent, non-specific surface functionalization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with a hyperbranched polyethylene (HBPE). The adsorption characteristics of the HBPE macromolecule on the MWCNTs were studied through an adsorption isotherm. Partial coverage of the nanotubes, estimated to be up to 25%, can be accomplished using this functionalization approach. The treated MWCNTs exhibited significantly improved dispersion within an ethylene–octene copolymer matrix, compared to the untreated fillers.     

Gasfluss‐Sputtern von Katalysatorschichten für Polymer‐Elektrolytmembran‐Brennstoffzellen

Gas flow sputtering (GFS) at increased pressures results in the formation of nanoscale particles of the sputtered material. This process has been evaluated regarding its applicability for synthesizing Pt catalysts for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Catalyst layers of varying Pt‐loadings were deposited directly onto carbon fiber paper (gas diffusion layers, GDLs). Immediately after deposition, the catalytic activity of the resulting particulate deposits was tested by H₂‐oxidation at predefined ratios of H₂/O₂. The Pt deposits were subsequently evaluated regarding their applicability in a PEMFC environment.     

Turbulence-induced channel crosstalk in an orbital angular momentum-multiplexed free-space optical link

A multichannel free-space optical (FSO) communication system based on orbital angular momentum (OAM)-carrying beams is studied. We numerically analyze the effects of atmospheric turbulence on the system and find that turbulence induces attenuation and crosstalk among channels. Based on a model in which the constituent channels are binary symmetric and crosstalk is a Gaussian noise source, we find optimal sets of OAM states at each turbulence condition studied and determine the aggregate capacity of the multichannel system at those conditions. OAM-multiplexed FSO systems that operate in the weak turbulence regime are found to offer good performance. We verify that the aggregate capacity decreases as the turbulence increases. A per-channel bit-error rate evaluation is presented to show the uneven effects of crosstalk on the constituent channels.     

Comparison of real-world emissions from two-wheelers and passenger cars

Passenger cars are the primary means of transportation in Europe. Over the past decade, a great deal of attention has therefore been paid to reducing their emissions. This has resulted in notable technical progress, leading to unprecedentedly low exhaust emissions. In the meantime, emissions from motorcycles have been ignored due to their subordinate role in traffic. Even though the motorcycle fleet is small in comparison with the car fleet, and logs lower yearly mileage per vehicle, their contribution to traffic emissions has become disproportionately high. Exhaust emissions of CO, HC, NOx, and CO2 from 8 powered two-wheelers were measured and compared to previous measurements from 17 gasoline-powered passenger cars performed at EMPA with the aim of ascertaining their relevance. Using exhaust emission ratios from both vehicle types, comparisons based on mean unit, mean yearly, and fleet emissions are considered. Present-day aftertreatment technologies for motorcycles are not as efficient as those for cars. A comparison of mean unit emissions shows that motorcycles exceed cars in NOx emissions. All comparisons reveal a significant HC ratio, to the detriment of two-wheelers. Overall, the relevance of emissions from powered two-wheelers is not negligible when compared with modern gasoline-powered passenger cars.