Analyses of recent observations of the sole classical Cepheid in the Kepler field, V1154 Cygni, found random changes of about 30 min in the pulsation period. These period changes challenge standard theories of pulsation and evolution because the period change is non-secular, and explaining this period jitter is necessary for understanding stellar evolution and the role of Cepheids as precise standard candles. We suggest that convection and convective hot spots can explain the observed period jitter. Convective hot spots alter the timing of flux maximum and minimum in the Cepheid light curve, hence change the measured pulsation period. We present a model of random hot spots that generate a localized flux excess that perturbs the Cepheid light curve and consequently the pulsation period, which is consistent with the observed jitter. This result demonstrates how important understanding convection is for modeling Cepheid stellar structure and evolution, how convection determines the red edge of the instability strip, and just how sensitive Cepheid light curves are to atmospheric physics.

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Most modern clock and data recovery circuits (CDR) are based on analog blocks that need to be redesigned whenever the technology process is to be changed. On the other hand, CDR based blind oversampling architecture (BO-CDR) can be completely designed in a digital process which makes its migration very simple. The main disadvantages of the BO-CDR that are usually mentioned in a literature are complexity of its digital circuitry and finite phase resolution resulting in larger jitter sensitivity and higher error rate. This thesis will show that those problems can be solved by designing a new algorithm of BO-CDR and subsequent optimization. For this task an FPGA was selected as simulation and verification platform. This enables to change parameters of the optimized circuit in real time while measuring on real links (unlike a simulation using inaccurate link models). The output of this optimization is a new BO-CDR algorithm with heavily reduced complexity and very low error rate. A new FPGA-based method of jitter measurement was developed (primary for CDR analysis), which enables a quick link characterization without using probing or additional equipment. The new method requires only a minimum usage of FPGA resources. Finally, new measurement equipment was developed to measure bit error distribution on FSO links to be able to develop a suitable error correction scheme based on ARQ protocol.

Die vorliegende Doktorarbeit beschäftigt sich mit der experimentellen Studie zweier miteinander verbundener Phänomene: Dem intrinsischen Timing-Jitter in einem supraleitendenden Nanodraht-Einzelphotonen-Detektor (SNSPD) und der Relaxation der Elektronenenergie in supraleitenden Filmen. Supraleitende Nanodrähte auf einem dielektrischen Substrat als mikroskopische Grundbausteine jeglicher SNSPDs stellen sowohl für theoretische als auch für experimentelle Studien komplexe Objekte dar. Die Komplexität ergibt sich aus der Tatsache, dass SNSPDs in der Praxis stark ungeordnete und ultradünne supraleitende Filme verwenden, die eine akustische Fehlanpassung zu dem zugrundeliegenden Substrat aufweisen und einen Nichtgleichgewichts-Zustand implizieren. Die Arbeit untersucht die Komplexität des am weitesten in der SNSPD Technologie verbreiteten Materials, Niobnitrid (NbN), indem verschiedene experimentelle Methoden angewandt werden. Als eine mögliche Anwendung der SNSPD-Technologie wird ein Prototyp eines dispersiven Raman-Spektrometers mit Einzelphotonen-Sensitivität demonstriert. / This Ph.D. thesis is based on the experimental study of two mutually interconnected phenomena: intrinsic timing jitter in superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) and relaxation of the electron energy in superconducting films. Microscopically, a building element of any SNSPD device, a superconducting nanowire on top of a dielectric substrate, represents a complex object for both experimental and theoretical studies. The complexity arises because, in practice, the SNSPD utilizes strongly disordered and ultrathin superconducting films, which acoustically mismatch with the underlying substrate, and implies a non-equilibrium state. This thesis addresses the complexity of the most conventional superconducting material used in SNSPD technology, niobium nitride (NbN), by applying several distinct experimental techniques. As an emerging application of the SNSPD technology, we demonstrate a prototype of the dispersive Raman spectrometer with single-photon sensitivity.

Examensarbetet har utförts på uppdrag av företaget Seavus som såg ett behov avatt minska kabelanvändning i kontoret. Enhetsanvändning kan effektiviseras medhjälp av en central styrenhet, en så kallad smart hubb.Ett problem är att välja mellan Bluetooth och Wi-Fi för kommunikation mellan an-vändaren och den smarta hubben. Valet kan bero på flera faktorer som exempelvis,bandbredd (datahastighet), jitter (fördröjningsvariation) och paketförluster, vilkaär viktiga parametrar för att bedöma kvaliteten på kommunikationen.Plattformen Raspberry Pi tillsammans med kompatibel programvara användes föratt utföra prestandatester mellan Bluetooth och Wi-Fi i olika miljöer.Resultatet visade att Wi-Fi lämpar sig bäst för kommunikation med hög datahas-tighet och lågt jitter men där relativt hög grad av paketförlust är acceptabelt. Blue-tooth lämpar sig bäst för kommunikation med låg datahastighet, med högt jitteroch där det är viktigt att ha så låg paketförlust som möjligt. / This thesis has been carried out on behalf of the consulting company Seavus to re-duce cable usage in their office. Smart hubs (i.e. a central control unit) are made tomake usage of devices more effective.One problem is to decide between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for communication betweenthe user and the smart hub. The choice may depend upon several factors such asbandwidth (throughput), jitter (variation in delay) and packet loss, which are im-portant parameters for assessing the quality of the communication channel.The HW-platform Raspberry Pi and compatible software was used as a measure-ment tool to test Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in different environments.The result showed that Wi-Fi is best suited for communication systems that requirehigh bandwidth and low jitter, and where high amount of packet loss is tolerable.Bluetooth is best suited for communication systems where low bandwidth and highjitter is tolerable, and minimal packet losses preferred.