<p>Microdroplets find use in a variety of applications ranging from chemical synthesis to biological analysis. However, commercial use of microdroplets has been stymied in many applications, as current devices lack one or more of the critical features such as precise and dynamic control of the droplet size, high throughput and easy fabrication. This work involves design, fabrication and characterization of a microdroplet generating device that uses low cost fabrication, allows dynamic control of the droplet size and achieves parallelized droplet generation for high throughput.</p> <p>Dynamic droplet size control by DC electric field has been demonstrated with the device. By varying the potential from 300 V to 1000 V, the droplet size can change from 140 microns to around 40 microns . The transition of the droplet size just takes few seconds. Parallelized droplet generation has also been demonstrated. The standard deviation of the droplet size is lower than 4% for the three-capillary device and lower than 6% for the five-capillary device under different operating conditions. Highest throughput of 0.75 mL/hour is achieved on the five-capillary device. It has been show that this proposed device has a better performance than the existing PDMS based parallel droplet generating devices. A theoretical model of the droplet generating process has also been developed which is able to predict the droplet size at various potentials. The theoretical results are in good agreement with experimental ones.</p> / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) has become quite popular over the recent years. This thesis presents some design challenges while developing a WPT system and describes a system-level methodology for designing an end-to-end system. A critical analysis of contemporary research is performed in the form of a literature survey of both academic and commercial research to understand their benefits and demerits. Some theoretical notes are presented on coupled-mode theory and coupled filter theory and the problems concerning WPT analyzed using these models. The need for higher power transfer efficiency (PTE) and power delivered to load (PDL) is studied using these models. The case for using magnetic antennas over electric antennas when surrounded by lossy media (specifically for the case of human body tissues at various frequencies) is made using some theoretical models and simulation results. An Electrically Coupled Loop Antenna (ECLA) is introduced, studied and designed for two main WPT applications, viz. free space transmission and that of powering implanted devices. An equivalent circuit is proposed to better understand the coupling effects of the antennas on a circuit level and to study the effect of various environmental and structural factors on the coupling coefficient. Some prototypes were created and measured for the two use cases of free space and implanted applications. In order to complete the system design, a negative resistance-based oscillator is designed and fabricated, that incorporates the antennas as a load and oscillates at the required frequency. Some changes in load conditions and power handling are studied by the use of two circuits for free-space (high-power) and implanted (low-power) applications. Finally, the salient points of the thesis are re-iterated and some future work outlined in the concluding chapter. / Master of Science

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) receives an increasing amount of attention because it exhibits the strongest piezoelectric response of any commercially available polymer. These piezoelectric properties have proved useful as actuators and sensors. Current manufacturing processes limit PVDF to thin films and restricting their uses largely to sensors. Further applications utilizing the changes in mechanical properties of piezoelectric polymers are being realized. Evaluating to what extent the mechanical properties will change with applied electric field and finding new ways to manufacture PVDF will lead to new applications of piezoelectric polymers. In-situ mechanical testing of biased piezoelectric PVDF films successfully measured changes in loss and storage modulus. In-situ creep testing measured an increase in stiffness while in-situ dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) measured and overall decrease in loss and storage modulus. Differences in results between the two experiments are attributed to orientation of the polymer and piezoelectric forces acting on the equipment. DMA results are accepted as being the most accurate and measured changes of over 20% in elastic modulus. Results were believed to be greatly influence by attached electrodes and actuation forces. Cryogenic mechanical milling successfully converted a phase PVDF powder to b phase as measured with wide-angle x-ray diffraction. This is the first recorded instance of b phase powders forming from the a phase through ball milling. These b phase powders maintained their crystal structure during compression molding at 70&#176;C. / Master of Science

A broadside radiating, linearly polarized, electrically small Huygens source antenna system that has a large impedance bandwidth is reported. The bandwidth performance is facilitated by embedding non-Foster components into the near-field resonant parasitic elements of this metamaterial-inspired antenna. High-quality and stable radiation performance characteristics are achieved over the entire operational bandwidth. When the ideal non-Foster components are introduced, the simulated impedance bandwidth witnesses approximately a 17-fold enhancement over the passive case. Within this -10-dB bandwidth, its maximum realized gain, radiation efficiency, and front-to-back ratio (FTBR) are, respectively, 4.00 dB, 88%, and 26.95 dB. When the anticipated actual negative impedance convertor circuits are incorporated, the impedance bandwidth still sustains more than a 10-fold enhancement. The peak realized gain, radiation efficiency, and FTBR values are, respectively, 3.74 dB, 80%, and 28.01 dB, which are very comparable to the ideal values.

A pattern-reconfigurable, low-profile, efficient, electrically small, near-field resonant parasitic (NFRP), Huygens source antenna is presented. The design incorporates both electric and magnetic NFRP elements. The electric ones are made reconfigurable by the inclusion of a set of p-i-n diodes. By arranging these electric and magnetic NFRP elements properly, a set of three Huygens sources are attained, each covering a 120 degrees sector. Pattern reconfigurability is obtained by switching the diodes on or off; it encompasses the entire 360 degrees azimuth range. A prototype was fabricated and tested. The numerical and experimental studies are in good agreement. The experimental results indicate that in each of its instantaneous states at f(0) = 1.564 GHz, the antenna provides uniform peak realized gains, front-toback ratios, and radiation efficiencies, respectively, as high as 3.55 dBi, 17.5 dB, and 84.9%, even though it is electrically small: ka = 0.92, and low profile: 0.05 lambda(0).

Current cochlear implant systems use fast pulsatile stimulation to deliver the temporal modulations of speech and to, potentially, improve the neural representation of such modulations by restoring the independence of neural firing. The realization of these benefits may vary with other pulse rate-dependent temporal interactions that occur at the neural membrane, e.g., per(i)stimulatory adaptation and its post-stimulatory or forward masking effects. This study attempted to characterize adaptation and recovery of the electrically evoked compound action potential (ECAP) using probe pulses delivered within and following brief (100 ms) high-rate masker (1800 pps) pulse trains at various current levels in adults and children. With this stimulus paradigm, the ECAP amplitude typically achieved a steady state during the course of pulse train stimulation. The ECAP amplitude at steady state was, on average, a similar proportion (50-70%) of the amplitude at onset for various stimulus levels and in both age groups. However, long-term adaptation effects, evidenced by the decrease in onset ECAP amplitude, were greater in adults particularly at lower levels in the ECAP dynamic range. Instances of alternation in ECAP amplitude were seen at stimulus levels that were higher in the ECAP dynamic range. The forward masking effects of pulse train stimulation were quantified by the ECAP amplitude in response to a subsequent probe pulse normalized by the response to the same pulse presented alone. Pulse train forward masking increased with the level of the masker pulse train and decreased with the level of the probe stimulus. The recovery of the ECAP for probes that were lower in level than the masker pulse train was incomplete at 600 ms after masker offset, consistent with long-term cumulative effects observed in the response to the probe alone. Masker pulse trains that are lower in level than the probe pulse produced proportionally small decrements in the ECAP amplitude with complete recovery within 250 ms of pulse train offset particularly in adults. ECAP recovery of a probe preceded by a masker pulse train of equal level followed a monotonic or non-monotonic pattern consistent with a hypothesis of both adaptation and facilitation occurring with pulse train stimulation. The various patterns of recovery may attest to the occurrence of more than a single process in the same subset of nerve fibers or in different fibers. We hypothesize that the variations in the recovery patterns may be attributable to individual differences in the status of the auditory nerve and possibly, the variations in temporal interactions across the spatial domain at different stimulus levels. Finally, the probe-evoked ECAP amplitude at steady state in children and briefly, e.g., 20 ms, after pulse train offset in both age groups could be predicted by the ECAP amplitude in response to the same probe pulse when preceded at a brief interval (1.2 or 2 ms) by a single masker pulse of the same level as the masker pulse train. Further investigation may reveal if the observed differences in neural responsiveness to pulsatile stimulation, among individuals account for differences in psychophysical measures, including speech perception and whether there may be an "optimal" neural output that could be evoked by an individually "optimized" signal.

An aim of this work is a research of a deposition process of indium tin oxide by plasma assisted methods. The thesis deals with plasma diagnostics, e.g. Langmuir probe diagnostics and optical emission spectroscopy, as well as describes experiments of film deposition including their diagnostics, e.g. absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry and atomic force microscopy.

abstract: There is a pervasive need in the defense industry for conformal, low-profile, efficient and broadband (HF-UHF) antennas. Broadband capabilities enable shared aperture multi-function radiators, while conformal antenna profiles minimize physical damage in army applications, reduce drag and weight penalties in airborne applications and reduce the visual and RF signatures of the communication node. This dissertation is concerned with a new class of antennas called Magneto-Dielectric wire antennas (MDWA) that provide an ideal solution to this ever-present and growing need. Magneto-dielectric structures (&mu;r>1;&epsilon;r>1) can partially guide electromagnetic waves and radiate them by leaking off the structure or by scattering from any discontinuities, much like a metal antenna of the same shape. They are attractive alternatives to conventional whip and blade antennas because they can be placed conformal to a metallic ground plane without any performance penalty. A two pronged approach is taken to analyze MDWAs. In the first, antenna circuit models are derived for the prototypical dipole and loop elements that include the effects of realistic dispersive magneto-dielectric materials of construction. A material selection law results, showing that: (a) The maximum attainable efficiency is determined by a single magnetic material parameter that we term the hesitivity: Closely related to Snoek's product, it measures the maximum magnetic conductivity of the material. (b) The maximum bandwidth is obtained by placing the highest amount of &mu;" loss in the frequency range of operation. As a result, high radiation efficiency antennas can be obtained not only from the conventional low loss (low &mu;") materials but also with highly lossy materials (tan(&delta;m)>>1). The second approach used to analyze MDWAs is through solving the Green function problem of the infinite magneto-dielectric cylinder fed by a current loop. This solution sheds light on the leaky and guided waves supported by the magneto-dielectric structure and leads to useful design rules connecting the permeability of the material to the cross sectional area of the antenna in relation to the desired frequency of operation. The Green function problem of the permeable prolate spheroidal antenna is also solved as a good approximation to a finite cylinder. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Electrical Engineering 2013

Les dimensions d’une antenne sont inversement proportionnelles à leurs fréquences de fonctionnement. De plus, la miniaturisation d’une antenne entraîne la dégradation de ses performances électriques et de rayonnement. Par conséquent, il est important pour le concepteur de trouver un bon compromis entre le taux de miniaturisation et les performances souhaitées. L’objet de cette thèse est de proposer une antenne miniature possédant les meilleures caractéristiques possibles dans la bande UHF de la RFID (860MHz – 960MHz), facile à réaliser et à moindre coût d’industrialisation. Les travaux de cette thèse ont montré qu’un couplage magnétique d’une cellule de métamatériaux avec une demi-boucle permet d’obtenir des structures antennaires intéressantes de par leurs dimensions de l’ordre de λ0/10, leur efficacité et leur fonctionnement en multibande. Différentes techniques sont appliquées pour améliorer les performances des antennes développées à savoir le gain, la directivité et la polarisation circulaire et/ou elliptique. / Antenna dimensions are inversely proportional to their operating frequencies. Besides, the antenna miniaturization degrades its electrical and radiation performances. Therefore it is important for the antenna designer to find a good compromise between the miniaturization rate and the desired performances. The purpose of this thesis is to obtain a miniature antenna which has good characteristics in the UHF band of RFID (860MHz - 960MHz), easy to implement and with low industrialization cost. The works described in this thesis showed that a magnetic coupling of a metamaterial cell with a half loop provides interesting antennas in terms of dimensions of about λ0/10, efficiency and multiband behavior. Different techniques are applied to improve the performances of realized antennas as gain, directivity and circular and/or elliptical polarization.

Understanding the fundamental physics in light absorption and perfect light absorption is vital for device applications in detector, sensor, solar energy harvesting and imaging. In this research study, a large area fabrication of Al-doped ZnO/Al2O3/graphene/Al2O3/gold/silicon device was enabled by a spin-processable hydrophilic mono-layer graphene oxide. In contrast to the optical properties of noble metals, which cannot be tuned or changed, the permittivity of transparent metal oxides, such as Al-doped ZnO and indium tin oxide, are tunable. Their optical properties can be adjusted via doping or tuned electrically through carrier accumulation and depletion, providing great advantages for designing tunable photonic devices or realizing perfect absorption. A significant shift of Raman frequency up to 360 cm-1 was observed from graphene in the fabricated device reported in this work. The absorption from the device was tunable with a negative voltage applied on the Al-doped ZnO side. The generated absorption change was sustainable when the voltage was off and erasable when a positive voltage was applied. The reflection change was explained by the Fermi level change in graphene. The sustainability of tuned optical property in graphene can lead to a design of device with less power consumption.