The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on October 7, 2009) Thesis advisor: Dr. Jae Wan Kwon, Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-79). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1966. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

M.Ing. / During mineral exploration a whole lot of different exploration techniques can be applied. In this thesis the instrumentation used for electromagnetic surveying, which is only one of the prospecting techniques, is inspected. In particular the thesis will be about the transmitter of the single transmitter wide band receiver airborne electromagnetic prospecting system. A new power electronic topology is proposed in order to improve this transmitter. Before this is done a reference is first established. This is done in the form of the exponential transition inverter, which is the inverter that is currently applied as transmitter in South-Africa. Another reason for looking at this circuit topology is because it is the simplest way to realize the transmitter. During the analysis of this inverter topology all the proporties of the transmitter as a whole is also investigated. The main component of the transmitter, namely the transmitter coil is also discussed. This is followed by a summary of the properties of the exponential transition inverter in which the main shortcomings of this transmitter is discussed. The greatest of which is surely that pliable frequency spectra cannot be obtained. Subsequently resonance is viewed as a solution to the shortcomings. The main contribution of this is that the pliability of the frequency spectrum can be increased, because the capasitor in this circuit can easily be changed. It is however shown that a purely resonant circuit on it's own, also is not the solution. This leads to the improved inverter topology for the transmitter, namely the Kwasi resonant inverter. It is shown in detail that the Kwasi resonant inverter is a much beter option as transmitter then the exponential transient inverter. Since this circuit also has a capacitor in it, it is shown that pliable frequency spectra can be obtained. It is futher shown how the pliability of the frequency spectrum can be improved even more by deviating from conventional methods of switch control. Mathematical analysis, as well as an experimental setup, of the different inverter topologies, are used to illustrate all of the above mentioned. As a conclusion the only drawback of the Kwasi resonant inverter, namely high voltage peaks, is addressed. A solution to this problem is proposed in the form of two different voltage clamps. The best one of the two is identified and also implemented.

Eddy current sensing has been successfully used in various applications from testing heat exchange tubes for nuclear power plants to assessing dielectric thickness on printed circuit boards. However, in civil infrastructures cosmetic or cementitious surface material often keeps the probe or reader coil from accessing conductive medium inside the structure, resulting in reduced coupling as the distance increases between the DUT (device under test) and probe. Thus, the direct application of existing eddy current sensing technique is not very useful to detect flaws in civil infrastructures. To address this weak coupling problem, a simple scheme is proposed in which a resonant passive repeater tag is placed between the reader coil and the conducting test target. The feasibility of detecting defects like cracks or fractures in conductive medium using a passive resonant tag and measuring the impedance as a method of interrogation is shown. The electromagnetic waves are transmitted into and detected from a resonant tag and the conductive medium underneath the tag without direct physical contact using a reader coil above the resonant repeater tag. Experimental data taken from simple setups to demonstrate the advantage of the proposed scheme are presented. In addition, the theoretical background, such as the self and mutual inductance, and image theory, are discussed extensively. It is also shown that the theories can be applicable to build the equivalent circuit with the proper calibration process. The analyses have been carried out to characterize the responses resulting from the various experiments. Furthermore, new measurands, the effective normalized inductance and resistance, were devised and employed to reanalyze the same experimental data. An effort to construct equivalent circuit model of the system has been made to correctly predict the response without the actual experiment. To improve the process of building the equivalent circuit, the total 4 types of tags and 6 types of DUT are built and tested. The analysis is also given for the constructed equivalent circuit model.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007. / Committee Chair: Ayazi, Farrokh; Committee Member: Allen, Mark; Committee Member: Brand, Oliver; Committee Member: Degertekin, Levent; Committee Member: Papapolymerou, John. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1967. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliography.

Thesis (M.Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-101). Also available in electronic version.

D.Ing. / In the field of power electronics, the relentless demand for higher efficiencies, lower costs and ever-decreasing volume and profile have driven the development of many innovative technologies. Planarization and hybridization have become a substantial part of present system integration methodology. With the subsequent size reduction, the effects of layout and component parasitics are becoming vital issues in the development of innovative structures. The component ‘parasitics’ can be considered dimensional effects of the component structure that are not considered during the design process. The concept of electromagnetic integration is aimed at the utilization and modification of these dimensional effects. This leads to an integrated structure that fulfills multiple electromagnetic functions with the potential for improved power density, efficiency and reliability. In this dissertation, a family of electromagnetically integrated passives is presented. The related electromagnetic modeling and design approach of these complex electromagnetic structures is presented through a case study of L-L-C-T structures. The development of a sufficiently accurate, yet simplified electromagnetic model for design purposes is presented for the case study. With the electromagnetic model as basis, a comprehensive electromagnetic loss model is created. The electromagnetic design and loss models are combined into a design evaluation program. The graphical output of this design evaluation program allows for rapid selection of improved designs based on external cost criteria. This led to numerous insights into the relationships between the design variables. Through modification of the program, some fundamental limits of the integration approach are addressed. A case study design for a 1MHz, 500W dc-dc converter was considered to evaluate the design program. To assess the accuracy of the electromagnetic modeling, three L-L-C-T prototypes are constructed and experimentally tested. The construction process presented improved power density by 80% over previous processes. The electromagnetic component parameters for three prototypes were within 10% of the required design values, while the electromagnetic loss model estimations were within measurement error. The design evaluation program was enlisted in the design of two of these prototypes. This resulted in a 100% further improvement in power density (480W/in3 or 29.3W/cm3) compared to the original prototype without a loss in efficiency.

M.Ing. / The aim of this study was to investigate integrated power electronics, and more specifically, the design and manufacture of integrated power electronic components. After evaluating and optimising the flame spray process as a manufacturing technology for integrated power electronics, it was decided to integrate the partial series resonant converter (PSRC) as a case study. Both an integrated and discrete PSRC was built after a thorough investigation of the design of parasitic inductances as resonant components. Finally, the integrated PSRC was evaluated by comparing it to the conventionally manufactured discrete PSRC. The evaluation results showed that the integrated PSRC compared favourably with the discrete PSRC, and also takes up a smaller packaging volume, mainly because of the planar shape of the integrated magnetic cores and windings. However, if efficiency is used as a measuring rod, it is clear that the technology of integrated power electronics cannot yet compete against the conventional technology of discrete power electronics, mainly because of materials as well as manufacturing problems. As soon as the manufacturing technologies and materials used for integrated power electronics become competitive with respect to conventional manufacturing technologies and materials used for discrete power electronics, integrated power electronics will become economically viable.