The absence of appropriate media to cultivate photons efficiently at the micro or nano scale has hindered taking the full advantage of processing information with light. The proposal of such a medium for light, known as photonic crystals (PCs)--multi-dimensional artificially periodic dielectric media--brings the possibility of a revolution in communications and sensing much closer. In such media, one can manipulate light at a scale on the order of the wavelength or even shorter. Applications of PCs other than in communication include bio-sensing because of the peculiar properties of PCs such as the capability of enhance field-matter interaction and control over the group velocity. As a result, PC waveguide (PCW) structures are of interest and it is expected that PC sensors offer the feasibility of multi-analyte and compact sensing schemes as well as the ability of the detection of small absolute analyte quantities (nanoliters) and low-concentration samples (picomoles), which may be advantages over conventional approaches such as fiber optic and slab waveguide sensors. Depending on the nature of the analyte, either dispersive or absorptive sensing schemes may be implemented. Light propagation is controlled fully only with 3D PCs. One of the problems arising due to reducing the dimension to 2D is that PCs become strongly polarization sensitive. In many cases, one wants to implement polarization insensitive devices such that the PC provides a full band gap for all polarizations. To address this problem, a novel type of PC called annular PC is proposed and analyzed. The capability of tuning the TE and TM polarizations independently within the same structure provides great flexibility to produce polarization-independent or polarization-dependent devices as desired. PCW bends are expected to be the essential building blocks of photonic integrated circuits. Sharp corners having small radii of curvature can be obtained. To enhance the low-loss and narrow-band transmission through these bends, PC heterostructures waveguide concept is introduced. We show that in PCWs formed by joining different types of PCs in a single structure, light can flow around extremely sharp bends in ways that are not possible using conventional PCWs based on a single type of PC.

Digital systems have derived performance benefits due to the scaling down of CMOS microprocessor feature sizes towards packing billions of transistors on a chip, or gigascale integration (GSI). This has placed immense bandwidth demands on chip-to-chip and chip-to-board interconnects. The present-day electrical interconnect may limit bandwidth as transmission rates grow. As such, optical interconnects have been proposed as a potential solution. A critical requirement for enabling chip-to-chip and chip-to-board optical interconnection is out-of-plane coupling for directing light between a chip and the board. Any solution for this problem must be compatible with conventional packaging and assembly requirements. This research addresses the prospects for integrating waveguides with mirrors and polymer pillar optical I/O interconnects to provide such a compatible, out-of-plane, chip-to-board packaging solution through the design, analysis, fabrication, and testing of its constituent parts and their ultimate integration.

A fast and efficient method for the design of multi-layered circuit analog absorbing structures is developed. The method is based on optimization of specular reflection coefficient of a multi-layered absorbing structure comprising of lossy FSS layers by using Genetic Algorithm and circuit equivalent models of FSS layers. With the introduced method, two illustrative absorbing structures are designed with -15 dB reflectivity for normal incidence case in the frequency bands of 10-31 GHz and 5-46 GHz, respectively. To the author&rsquo / s knowledge, designed absorbers are superior in terms of frequency bandwidth to similar studies conducted so far in the literature. For broadband scattering characterization of periodic structures, numerical codes are developed. The introduced method is improved with the employment of developed FDTD codes to the proposed method. By taking the limitations regarding production facilities into consideration, a five-layered circuit analog absorber is designed and manufactured. It is shown that the manufactured structure is capable of 15 dB reflectivity minimization in a frequency band of 3.2-12 GHz for normal incidence case with an overall thickness of 14.2 mm.

As the current electronic trend is toward integrating multiple functions in a single electronic device, there is a clear need for increasing integration density which is becoming more emphasized than in the past. To meet the industrial need and realize the new system-integration law [1], three-dimensional (3-D) integration is becoming necessary. 3-D integration of multiple functional IC chip/package modules requires co-simulation of the chip and the package to evaluate the performance of the system accurately. Due to large scale differences in the physical dimensions of chip-package structures, the chip-package co-simulation in time-domain using the conventional FDTD scheme is challenging because of Courant-Friedrich-Levy (CFL) condition that limits the time step. Laguerre-FDTD has been proposed to overcome the limitations on the time step. To enhance performance and applicability, SLeEC methodology [2] has been proposed based on the Laguerre-FDTD method. However, the SLeEC method still has limitations to solve practical 3-D integration problems. This dissertation proposes further improvements of the Laguerre-FDTD and SLeEC method to address practical problems in 3-D interconnects and 3-D integration. A method that increases the accuracy in the conversion of the solutions from Laguerre-domain to time-domain is demonstrated. A methodology that enables the Laguerre-FDTD simulation for any length of time, which was challenging in prior work, is proposed. Therefore, the analysis of the low-frequency response can be performed from the time-domain simulation for a long time period. An efficient method to analyze frequency-domain response using time-domain simulations is introduced. Finally, to model practical structures, it is crucial to model dispersive materials. A Laguerre-FDTD formulation for frequency-dependent dispersive materials is derived in this dissertation and has been implemented.

Disertacijoje sprendžiama lėtinimo sistemų kraštinių ir galinių laidininkų įtakos modelių tikslumui įvertinimo problema. Pagrindiniai tyrimo objektai – daugialaidžių ir meandrinių mikrojuostelinių linijų matematiniai modeliai, skaitiniai analizės metodai. Darbo tikslas – sukūrus modelius, grįstus baigtinių skirtumų laiko srities metodu, ištirti galinių ir kraštinių laidininkų netolygumų įtaką meandrinių mikrojuostelinių vėlinimo linijų laiko ir dažninėms charakteristikoms, pasiūlyti meandrinių vėlinimo linijų konstrukcijų tobulinimo priemones. Darbe sprendžiami uždaviniai: matematinių pavienės, susietųjų ir daugialaidžių mikrojuostelinių linijų modelių sudarymas ir savybių tyrimas, taikant baigtinių skirtumų bei baigtinių skirtumų laiko srities analizės metodus; daugialaidžių mikrojuostelinių linijų sintezės ir meandrinių mikrojuostelinių vėlinimo linijų analizės algoritmų bei jų elektrinių charakteristikų skaičiavimo metodikų sudarymas. Disertaciją sudaro įvadas, keturi skyriai, bendrosios išvados, naudotos literatūros ir autoriaus publikacijų disertacijos tema sąrašai. Įvadiniame skyriuje formuluojama tiriamoji problema, aptariamas darbo aktualumas, aprašomas tyrimų objektas, formuluojamas darbo tikslas bei uždaviniai, aprašoma tyrimų metodika, darbo mokslinis naujumas, rezultatų praktinė reikšmė, ginamieji teiginiai. Įvado pabaigoje pristatomi pranešimai konferencijose disertacijos tema bei pateikiama disertacijos struktūra. Pirmajame skyriuje pateikiama literatūros... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / There are investigated accuracy issues of edges and ends evaluation problems of meander slow-wave systems in the dissertation. Objects of research – mathematical models of multiconductor and meander microstrip delay lines, numerical analysis methods. Aim of the work – after creating mathematical models, based on finite difference time domain method, explore ends and edges discontinuity effects on meander microstrip delay lines time and frequency characteristics, propose structural improvement measures of meander delay line. The dissertation approaches major tasks such as: mathematical individual, coupled, multiconductor microstrip lines models composition for performance and their properties investigation using finite difference and finite difference time domain methods of analysis; synthesis algorithm of multiconductor microstrip lines and analysis algorithm of meander microstrip delay line and methodology of their electrical characteristics calculation creation. The thesis consists of four parts including introduction, 4 chapters, conclusions, references. The introduction reveals investigated problem, importance of the thesis and object of research. It also describes the purpose and tasks of the dissertation, research methodology, scientific novelty and the practical significance of results examined in the thesis and defended statements. The introduction ends in presenting the author’s publications on the subject of the defended dissertation, offering the material of made... [to full text]

The interaction of light and matter at nanoscale is the subject of study of this dissertation. Particularly, the coupling of light to surface plasmons and their applications in the fields of spectroscopy and sensing is the focus of this work. In terms of spectroscopy, the simple reason of using light to study the chemical structures of different materials is the fact that the energy of light lies in the range of vibrational and electronic transitions of matter. Further, the ability to squeeze light to subwavelength dimensions opens up new possibilities of designing nano-optical devices. In this work we explore surface plasmons for two major applications: (i) Directivity enhanced Raman spectroscopy and (ii) Chemical/biological sensing. Here a new enhancement phenomenon has been demonstrated experimentally in regards to Raman spectroscopy. Typically, Raman enhancement is considered in terms of local fields only. Here we show the use of directive nanoantennas to provide additional enhancement of two orders of magnitude. The nanoantenna design is optimal in the sense that almost all of the scattered light is coupled into the numerical aperture of the collecting lens. It is shown that the additional enhancement from directivity pushes the sensitivity to single molecule regime. Further, the out of plane radiation and simplicity of the design makes it an ideal candidate for use with typical commercial microscope setups. Extra ordinary transmission through nanohole arrays in metallic films is studied for refractive index sensing. Bulk resolution of 6×10-7 is demonstrated by optimizing array dimensions, wavelength of operation, noise reduction and consideration of sensitivity of the detecting CCD camera. Self-assembled nanostructures are investigated for spectroscopic applications. Time dependent studies of nanorods assembled in end-to-end and side-by-side configurations are conducted. The end-to-end configuration results in higher local field enhancements whereas; the side-by-side configuration shows a reduction in local fields because of the cancellation of radial field components between the neighbouring nanorods. It should be noted that higher fields are desirable for Raman spectroscopy. Grating structures have been analysed using reduced coupled mode theory. In most cases, only three lowest order modes prove to be sufficient for accurate description of the system response. Here we present design guidelines for broadband operation and optimization of high quality factor resonators. Finally the complex reflection coefficient from arbitrary terminated nanorods has been investigated. Phase of reflection plays an important role in the determination of resonance wavelength of nanoantennas. It is shown that the localized surface plasmon resonance of nanoparticles can be considered in terms of propagating surface plasmons along a nanorod of similar geometry where the length of the nanorod approaches zero accompanied with π degrees of phase of reflection. The contributions made in this work can prove useful in the fields of analytical chemistry and biomedical sensing. The directive nanoantenna can find applications in a number of areas such as light emitting devices, photovoltaics, single photon sources and high resolution microscopy. Our work related to EOT based sensing is already approaching the resolution of commercially available refractive index sensors with the added advantage of multiplexed detection. / Graduate

Power distribution networks (PDNs) are conducting structures employed in semiconductor systems with the aim of providing circuits with reliable and constant operating voltage. This network has non-neglible electrical parasitics. Consequently, when digital circuits inside the chip switch, the supply voltage delivered to them does not remain ideal and exhibits spatial and temporal voltage fluctuations. These fluctuations in the supply voltage, known as the power-supply noise (PSN), can affect the functionality and the performance of modern microprocessors. The design of this PDN in the chip is an important part in ensuring power integrity. Modeling and simulation of the PSN in on-chip PDNs is important to reduce the cost of processors. These PDNs have irregular geometries, which affect the PSN. As a result, they have to be modeled. The problem sizes encountered in this simulation are usually large (on the order of millions), necessitating computationally efficient simulation approaches. Existing approaches for this simulation do not guarantee at least one of the following three required properties: computationally efficiency, accuracy, and numerically robustness. Therefore, there is a need to develop accurate, numerically robust, and efficient algorithms for this simulation. For many interconnects (e.g., transmission lines, board connectors, package PDNs), only their frequency responses and SPICE circuits (e.g., nonlinear switching drivers, equivalent circuits of interconnects) terminating them are known. These frequency responses are usually available only up to a certain maximum frequency. Simulating the electrical behavior of these systems is important for the reliable design of microprocessors and for their faster time-to-market. Because terminations can be nonlinear, a transient simulation is required. There is a need for a transient simulation of band-limited frequency-domain data characterizing a multiport passive system with SPICE circuits. The number of ports can be large (greater than or equal to 100 ports). In this simulation, unlike in traditional circuit simulators, normal properties like stability and causality of transient results are not automatically met and have to be ensured. Existing techniques for this simulation do not guarantee at least one of the following three required properties: computationally efficiency for a large number of ports, causality, and accuracy. Therefore, there is a need to develop accurate and efficient time-domain techniques for this simulation that also ensure causality. The objectives of this Ph.D. research are twofold: 1) To develop accurate, numerically robust, and computationally efficient time-domain algorithms to compute PSN in on-chip PDNs with irregular geometries. 2) To develop accurate and computationally efficient time-domain algorithms for the causal cosimulation of band-limited frequency-domain data with SPICE circuits.

In this research, a new technique for modeling periodic structures in the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is developed, and the technique is applied to the study of structural color in insects. Various recent supplements to the FDTD method, such as a nearly-perfect plane-wave injector and convolutional perfectly matched layer boundary condition, are used. A method for implementing the FDTD method on a parallel, distributed-memory computer cluster is given. To model a periodic structure, a single periodic cell is terminated by periodic boundary conditions (PBCs). A new technique for incorporating PBCs into the FDTD method is presented. The simplest version of the technique is limited to two-dimensional, singly-periodic geometries. The accuracy is demonstrated by comparing to independent results calculated with a frequency-domain, mode-matching method. The periodic FDTD method is then extended to the more general case of three-dimensional, doubly-periodic problems. This extension requires additional steps and imposes new limitations. The computational cost and limitations of the method are presented. Certain species of butterflies exhibit structural color, which is caused by quasi-periodic structures on the scales covering the wings. Numerical experiments are performed to develop a technique for modeling quasi-periodic structures using the periodic FDTD method. The observed structural color of butterflies is then calculated from the electromagnetic data using colorimetric theory. Three types of butterflies are considered. The first type are from the Morpho genus. These are typically a brilliant, almost metallic, blue color. The second type is the Troides magellanus, which exhibits an interplay of structural and pigmentary color, but the structural color is only visible near grazing incidence. The final type is the Ancyluris meliboeus, which exhibits iridescence on the ventral side. For all cases, the effects of changing the dimensions of various structural elements are considered. Finally, some earlier work on the design of TEM horn antennas is presented. The TEM horn is a simple and popular antenna, but only limited design information is available in the literature. A parametric study was performed, and the results are given. A complete derivation of the characteristic impedance of the basic antenna is also presented.

One of the most significant goals in coal mining technology research is the automation of underground coal mining machinery. A current challenge with automating underground coal mining machinery is measuring and maintaining a coal mining horizon. The coal mining horizon is the horizontal path the machinery follows through the undulating coal seam during the mining operation. A typical mining practice is to leave a thin remnant of coal unmined in order to maintain geological stability of the cutting face. If the remnant layer is too thick, resources are wasted as the unmined coal is permanently unrecoverable. If the remnant layer is too thin, the product is diluted by mining into the overburden and there is an increased risk of premature roof fall which increases danger. The main challenge therefore is to develop a robust sensing method to estimate the thickness of thin remant coal layers. This dissertation addresses this challenge by presenting a pattern recognition methodology to estimate thin remnant coal layer thickness using ground penetrating radar (GPR). The approach is based upon a novel feature vector, derived from the bispectrum, that is used to characterise the early-time segment of 1D GPR data. The early-time segment is dominated by clutter inherent in GPR systems such as antenna crosstalk, ringdown and ground-bounce. It is common practice to either time-gate the signal, disregard the clutter by rendering the early-time segment unusable, or configure the GPR equipment to minimise the clutter effects which in turn reduces probing range. Disregarding the early-time signal essentially imposes a lower thickness limit on traditional GPR layer thickness estimators. The challenges of estimating thin layer thickness is primarily due to these inherent clutter components. Traditional processing strategies attempt to minimise the clutter using pre-processing techniques such as the subtraction of a calibration signal. The proposed method, however, treats the clutter as a deterministic but unknown signal with additive noise. Hence the proposed approach utilises the energy from the clutter and monitors change in media from subtle changes in the signal shape. Two complementary processing methods important to horizon sensing have been also proposed. These methods, near-surface interface detection and antenna height estimation, may be used as pre-validation tools to increase the robustness of the thickness estimation technique. The proposed methods have been tested with synthetic data and validated with real data obtained using a low power 1.4 GHz GPR system and a testbed with known conditions. With the given test system, it is shown that the proposed thin layer thickness estimator and near-surface interface detector outperform the traditional matched filter based processing methods for layers less than 5 cm in thickness. It is also shown that the proposed antenna height estimator outperforms the traditional height estimator for heights less than 7 cm. These new methods provide a means for reliably extending layer thickness estimation to the thin layer case where traditional approaches are known to fail.

This thesis introduces a topology optimization approach to design, from scratch, efficient microwave devices, such as antennas and waveguide transitions. The design of these devices is formulated as a general optimization problem that aims to build the whole layout of the device in order to extremize a chosen objective function. The objective function quantifies some required performance and is evaluated using numerical solutions to the 3D~Maxwell's equations by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The design variables are the local conductivity at each Yee~edge in a given design domain, and a gradient-based optimization method is used to solve the optimization problem. In all design problems, objective function gradients are computed based on solutions to adjoint-field problems, which are also FDTD discretization of Maxwell's equations but solved with different source excitations. For any number of design variables, the computation of the objective function gradient requires one solution to the original field problem and one solution to the associated adjoint-field problem. The optimization problem is solved iteratively using the globally convergent Method of Moving Asymptotes (GCMMA). By the proposed approach, various design problems, including tens of thousands of design variables, are formulated and solved in a few hundred iterations. Examples of solved design problems are the design of wideband antennas, dual-band microstrip antennas, wideband directive antennas, and wideband coaxial-to-waveguide transitions. The fact that the proposed approach allows a fine-grained control over the whole layout of such devices results in novel devices with favourable performance. The optimization results are successfully verified with a commercial software package. Moreover, some devices are fabricated and their performance is successfully validated by experiments.