Manufactured products, such as furniture, laminate flooring, and large signs, are very labour intensive, time-consuming, and costly to produce as they require multiple coating and cutting operations on a series of independent machines, which can each introduce manufacturing errors between the tools and the work piece. By combining the processes of printing and milling, printing integrated manufacturing has the potential to eliminate some of these steps, significantly reduce errors, and preserve resources. Inkjet printing is an ideal method for both image transfer and coating operations due to its non-contact method of directly depositing various types of fluid onto a substrate. With improved positioning accuracy and droplet miniaturisation, inkjet printing could even be used for future applications like the mass-production of MEMS devices, which are traditionally fabricated with a highly complex process involving photolithography. This thesis presents the integration of a Xaar 126 inkjet printing system with an existing industrial flatbed CNC router to develop a combined printing and cutting system. This integration required modification to the overall system through mechanical, electrical, and software means to the existing 3-axis CNC milling system. A secondary z-axis was installed onto the router gantry for positioning of the printheads relative to the substrate, which required development of a separate homing routine to consistently position the printheads to a specified location. Based on the identified frequency response of the machine, a loop-shaping controller was designed for improved y-axis positioning, which is one of the main contributions to droplet placement accuracy. This resulted in a continuous motion tracking accuracy within ±20.2 µm at 250 mm/sec along a print pass (measured by 1.22 nm resolution linear encoder), which is significantly better than the industrial benchmark of ±100 µm. Extensive image processing and calibration methods were utilised on various substrate preparations of paper, wood, and coatings, to demonstrate the capability of the printing system and quantify the quality of print resolution. Calibration results tested on high-gloss Hewlett-Packard paper showed that the swath angle could be aligned within ±1°. Also, bidirectional printing could be used to reduce print time by at least 15% in multi-colour printing with comparable droplet placement accuracy to unidirectional printing. The inkjet system was successfully used to print custom designs on paper and, to a certain extent, on medium density fibreboard at a feed rate of 250 mm/sec. It was difficult to achieve satisfactory image results on wood, as the wood or paint grain was visible through the ink. Thus, without a white pre-coat, the printed image would appear significantly darker than the original image, even after adjusting the image in a graphics editor. For better quality results, it is recommended that greyscale printheads be implemented for greater resolution and a UV system should be investigated for more versatility in printing on different substrates such as glass, metals, plastics, and ceramics.

In this thesis, a concept for a modular assembly direct drive permanent magnetgenerator is presented. The maximum forces that act on the different parts of thegenerator during normal operation have been calculated and used in solid mechanicsimulations in SolidWorks. The result is a rough first draft of a generator designwhere the stator has been divided into five modules and the rotor into six modules.This division is done in order to avoid symmetries in the generator that could lead toproblems with self-oscillation.The modulization of the stator brings about certain difficulties, both for the magneticcircuit and for the winding scheme. Different solutions for optimization of themagnetic circuit are analyzed from both a physical and a construction technicalperspective. A winding scheme is produced and the winding process tested in awinding dummy produced according to the conceptual generator design.

Ultrasound (US) volume data is noisy, so traditional methods for direct volume rendering (DVR) are less appropriate. Improved methods or new techniques are required. There are furthermore a high performance requirement and limited pre-processing to be considered in order for it to be used interactively, since the volume data might be time-varying. There exist numerous techniques for improving visual perception of volume rendering, and while some perform well and produce a visually enhanced result, many are designed and compared for use with medical data that has a high signal-to-noise ratio. This master thesis describe and compare recent methods for DVR illumination, in the form of ambient occlusion or direct/indirect lighting from an external light source. New designs and modifications are introduced for efficiently and effectively enhancing the visual quality of DVR with US data. Furthermore, this thesis addresses the issue of how clipping is performed during rendering and for the different illumination techniques, which is commonly used in ultrasound visualization. This diploma work was conducted at Siemens Corporate Research in Princeton, NJ where the partially open source framework XIP is developed. The framework was extended further to include modern methods for DVR illumination that are described in detail within this thesis. Finally, presented results show that several methods can be used to visually enhance the visualization within highly interactive frame-rates.

In this thesis work, a design of RF down-conversion mixer for WLAN standard, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth is presented. The target technology is 0.35um CMOS process. Several mixer topologies are analyzed and simulated at the schematic level using the Cadence Spectre-RF software. The active double balanced mixer is chosen for the ultimate implementation. For this mixer simulation results from schematic level to layout level are presented and discussed in detail. To build an RF front-end, the complete mixer is integrated with an available LNA block. The performance of the front-end is evaluated as well. The obtained simulation results satisfy the specification for Wi-Fi standard. Since the RF front-end is designed for testability, the fault simulation is incorporated as well. So the performance of the front end is also evaluated for so called “spot defects”, typical of CMOS technology. They are modeled using resistive shorts or opens in the circuit.

The standard practice of spectroscopic data reduction is generally to fit data to level energy expansions in terms of the vibrational and rotational quantum numbers. However, the utility of such expressions is limited because they extrapolate poorly and they need very large sets of parameters, many of which have no independent physical significance. One method of addressing these problems is to fit the spectroscopic data directly to analytical potential energy functions incorporating the natural physical behaviour of the molecule in question. Although there have been a number of successful applications of this approach, there are still certain problems associated with the types of potential forms being used. This thesis will explore some of these problems and determine how effective the potential forms being used are for a number of specific cases.

Manufactured products, such as furniture, laminate flooring, and large signs, are very labour intensive, time-consuming, and costly to produce as they require multiple coating and cutting operations on a series of independent machines, which can each introduce manufacturing errors between the tools and the work piece. By combining the processes of printing and milling, printing integrated manufacturing has the potential to eliminate some of these steps, significantly reduce errors, and preserve resources. Inkjet printing is an ideal method for both image transfer and coating operations due to its non-contact method of directly depositing various types of fluid onto a substrate. With improved positioning accuracy and droplet miniaturisation, inkjet printing could even be used for future applications like the mass-production of MEMS devices, which are traditionally fabricated with a highly complex process involving photolithography. This thesis presents the integration of a Xaar 126 inkjet printing system with an existing industrial flatbed CNC router to develop a combined printing and cutting system. This integration required modification to the overall system through mechanical, electrical, and software means to the existing 3-axis CNC milling system. A secondary z-axis was installed onto the router gantry for positioning of the printheads relative to the substrate, which required development of a separate homing routine to consistently position the printheads to a specified location. Based on the identified frequency response of the machine, a loop-shaping controller was designed for improved y-axis positioning, which is one of the main contributions to droplet placement accuracy. This resulted in a continuous motion tracking accuracy within ±20.2 µm at 250 mm/sec along a print pass (measured by 1.22 nm resolution linear encoder), which is significantly better than the industrial benchmark of ±100 µm. Extensive image processing and calibration methods were utilised on various substrate preparations of paper, wood, and coatings, to demonstrate the capability of the printing system and quantify the quality of print resolution. Calibration results tested on high-gloss Hewlett-Packard paper showed that the swath angle could be aligned within ±1°. Also, bidirectional printing could be used to reduce print time by at least 15% in multi-colour printing with comparable droplet placement accuracy to unidirectional printing. The inkjet system was successfully used to print custom designs on paper and, to a certain extent, on medium density fibreboard at a feed rate of 250 mm/sec. It was difficult to achieve satisfactory image results on wood, as the wood or paint grain was visible through the ink. Thus, without a white pre-coat, the printed image would appear significantly darker than the original image, even after adjusting the image in a graphics editor. For better quality results, it is recommended that greyscale printheads be implemented for greater resolution and a UV system should be investigated for more versatility in printing on different substrates such as glass, metals, plastics, and ceramics.

With the industry striving for smaller devices, new technologies are developed to further miniaturize electronics devices. To this end, realization of 3D/non-planar interconnects, which aim at miniaturizing the interconnects formed between components on the same device, has attracted many researchers. This thesis focuses on a feasibility analysis for developing non-planar interconnects on various flexible substrates using laser assisted maskless microdeposition (LAMM), which is a pressure-less process. There are two types of flexible substrates that are used: double-sided copper substrates separated by a layer of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as well as a polyethylene terephthalate flexible substrate with surface-mounted resistors. For both substrates, multiple types of experiments were conducted to discover procedures which result in the highest rate of success for forming conductive interconnects. Optimal process parameters and deposition techniques were determined after multiple experiments. After experiments were completed, the resultant substrates were subject to various characterization methodologies including optical and scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and profilometery. The results of these methodologies are documented in this thesis. After many types of experiments involving substrate manipulation of the double-sided copper substrates, it was shown that the silver nano-particles were more likely to form a conductive interconnect when a polished slant was fabricated on the substrate. Many deposition patterns were used for the flexible substrates with surface-mounted resistors. Of these patterns, the two patterns, the ‘zigzag’ and ‘dot solder’ patterns, proved to have a much higher success rate for creating conductive interconnects compared to the other patterns. During this study, the results of the experiments using the LAMM process show that this technology has great potential for creating non-planar interconnects on flexible substrates. The experiments however suggest that the process is very sensitive to the material composition and process parameters. As such, with a small change in parameters, the 3D interconnects can fail to be produced. It was also observed that the possibility of silver interconnect fractures is higher where dissimilar materials with different thermal expansion rates are used for the underlying substrates.

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are free-living, soil-borne bacteria that colonize the rhizosphere and, when applied to crops, enhance the growth of plants. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria may enhance plant growth either by direct or indirect mechanisms. The direct mechanisms of action include nitrogen fixation,production of phytohormones and lowering of ethylene concentrations. The objective of this study was to determine whether Pseudomonas putida strain 6-8 isolated from the rhizosphere of legume crops grown in Saskatchewan fields was able to promote the growth of canola cv. Smart and lentil cv. Milestone plants by direct mechanisms. Initial studies determined the effect of strain 6-8 and other known phytohormoneproducing PGPR strains on the growth of canola and lentil plants both in gnotobiotic and growth chamber conditions. Variations in the results were observed, as there were significant differences among trials. Strain 6-8 enhanced the growth of canola cv. Smart in growth pouches but not in pots in growth chamber studies. In the case of lentil cv.Milestone, strain 6-8 had no significant effect in growth pouches, but it significantly increased root dry weight, shoot dry weight and root surface area in pots in growth chamber studies. A similar effect was observed with wild-type strains GR12-2 and G20- 18. Strain GR12-2 was consistent in promoting the growth of lentil cv. Milestone both in growth pouches and in pots in growth chambers when compared to other strains and the control. The ability of the PGPR strains to produce auxin and cytokinin phytohomones in pure culture and in the canola rhizosphere was tested using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All the PGPR strains produced indole compounds and the concentration of the indoles produced increased with increasing concentrations of the precursor tryptophan. There were no significant differences among PGPR strains in production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) when assayed using ELISA. The concentrations of IAA secreted by PGPR strains were extremely low (0.19 µg/ml 9.80 µg/ml). Strain 6-8 produced the cytokinins, isopentenyl adenosine (IPA), zeatin riboside (ZR) and dihydroxyzeatin riboside (DHZR) in pure culture. Indole-3-acetic acid was detected in supernatants obtained from canola growth pouches inoculated with PGPR strains, but there were no significant differences in the concentrations of IAA secreted among PGPR strains. Significantly higher concentrations of IPA and ZR were observed in the rhizosphere of canola inoculated with strain 6-8 than in the non-inoculated control. Strain 6-8 produced siderophores, solubilized inorganic phosphate and used 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), the precursor of ethylene, as sole nitrogen source. These traits are considered to be alternative mechanisms for direct plant growth promotion. A qualitative and quantitative study of root colonization by strain 6-8 was conducted by tagging the strain with green fluorescent protein in conjunction with confocal laser scanning microscopy and by conventional plating. The populations of strain 6-8 were higher on canola roots than on lentil roots by conventional plating. Similar results were also observed in confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) studies after 5, 7 and 9 days for canola and 3, 6 and 9 days for lentil. Pseudomonas putida strain 6-8 produced cytokinins and also possessed other direct growth promoting characteristics. The ability of strain 6-8 to promote the growth of canola cv. Smart in growth pouches and lentil cv. Milestone in growth chamber studies may be related to these direct growth promoting characteristics. Strain 6-8 may have potential for development as a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterial inoculant.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have great potential in many applications due to their unique structure and properties. However, there are still many unsolved problems hampering their real applications. This thesis focuses on three important issues limiting their applications, namely: (1) direct growth of CNTs without additional catalyst, (2) secondary growth of carbon nanotubes on primary CNT bed without using extra catalyst, (3) and CNT alignment mechanisms during the growth.<p> The CNTs used in this thesis were prepared by hot filament chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor and characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy. Field electron emission (FEE) properties of the CNTs were also tested.<p> Oxidation-reduction method was adopted in direct growth of CNTs on Inconel 600 plates and proved effective. The effect of oxidation temperature on the growth of CNTs was studied. It was found that the oxidation temperature had an influence on CNT height uniformity and FEE properties: the higher the treatment temperature, the more uniform the resultant CNTs, and the better the FEE properties of the resultant CNTs. The contribution of different oxides formed at different temperatures were investigated to explain the effect of oxidation temperature on the CNT height uniformity.<p> Secondary CNTs were grown on primary ones by simply changing the carbon concentration. No additional catalyst was used during the whole deposition process. It was found that synthesizing primary CNTs at extremely low carbon concentration is key factor for the secondary growth without additional catalyst. The CNT sample grown with secondary nanotubes exhibited improved field emission properties.<p> The effect of bias voltage on growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes was investigated. The CNTs grown at -500V shows the best alignment. At the early growth stage, simultaneous growth of randomly oriented and aligned carbon nanotubes was observed. This was consistent with the alignment mechanism involving stress that imposed on catalyst particles on tube tips. Through the observation of CNT growth on the scratched substrates, catalyst particle size was found as another determining factor in the alignment of CNTs. Big catalyst particles promoted aligned growth of CNTs.

Many Chinese car companies have attempted to invest in and purchase famous Swedish companies, which attracted a lot of attention of the media, particularly in Sweden and America. The investment is a complex transaction when companies from two countries are involved and are much different. This difference is the starting point for this study. This thesis aims to analyze the image of China in Swedish and American media. The study suggests that the representation of China in three newspapers is deeply rooted in ideology. Theories on media representation are applied and used in a qualitative analysis in order to present how the image of China is constructed. Through analyzing the twenty-five selected samples to explore how the media understood the Saab event and how they understood Chinese financial power. The main theoretical concept of the thesis is ideology, which is used to analyze the potential meanings of the Swedish and American notions of China. The findings show that both positive and negative images of China were portrayed by Swedish and American media. Furthermore, Chinese political leaders played an important role in the economic activity were also a central theme.