Estimating the carrier frequency from a modulated waveform is one of the most important functions of a coherent signal receiver. Good performance and low bit error rates are obtained by coherent demodulation. Therefore, exact knowledge of the received signal carrier frequency is critical for communication systems. Also due to the spectral crowding, a high probability of channel interference can be observed. Under moderate carrier frequency offsets, data-aided estimators have been developed which have a high accuracy of estimation. However, for high frequency offsets the frequency estimator does not have the information of data or timing. In this thesis we propose a parametric based carrier frequency estimation of GMSK, which has improved performance over ad-hoc methods (delay and multiply) and has high resolution capability. In this thesis three methods are implemented over GMSK data to improve the performance and their results compared with the standard delay and multiply method. Two of these methods are parametric based estimators and one is a fast frequency estimator. Parametric based estimators were chosen partly due to their high resolution capabilities and mainly for their proven performance. Parametric based estimators were seen to have high computational load, and hence an alternate fast frequency estimator was implemented. The tradeoffs involved with respect to computational load and performance were shown. The contributions of this thesis include the verification of the validity of applying a parametric based approach on GMSK data, and compare the performances of parametric methods and fast frequency estimator. It is showii that such an approach has a better performance compared to non-data aided ad-hoc delay. and multiply methods. A closed loop configuration of the open loop parametric methods is suggested in the end. / Graduation date: 2004 / Best scan available. Figures are light on the original.

The precise measurement of a capacitance difference or ratio in a digital form is very important for capacitive sensors, for CMOS process characterization as well as for the realization of precise switched-capacitor data converters, amplifiers and other circuits utilizing ratioed capacitors. This thesis introduces design techniques for on-chip capacitor ratio testing and sensor readout that utilize sigma-delta modulation and integrate the sensor capacitors into the modulator. Several single-ended circuits are introduced, and the correlated-double-sampling (CDS) technique is used in the circuits to reduce the non-ideal effects of opamps. Several simple calibration schemes for clock-feedthrough cancellation are also introduced and discussed. A fully-differential implementation is also described and various common-mode feedback schemes are discussed and analyzed. Simulation and experimental results show that these circuits can provide extremely accurate results even in the presence of non-ideal circuit effects such as finite opamp gain, opamp input offset and noise, and clock-feedthrough effect from the switches. To verify the effectiveness of the circuits and simulations, two prototype chips containing a single-ended realization and a fully-differential one were designed and fabricated in a 1.2 ��m CMOS technology. Two off-chip mica capacitors were used in the test circuits, and the measured results show that very accurate results can be obtained using these circuit techniques even with off-chip noise coupling and large parasitic capacitances. / Graduation date: 1999

Conducted Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) is a major cause of concern in switchmode power supplies (SMPS) which commonly use standard pulsewidth modulation (PWM). In this thesis, Sigma-Delta (����) modulation is proposed as an alternative switching technique to reduce conducted EMI from SMPS. The result of using ���� modulation is a spread in the spectrum of the conducted emissions so that large concentrations of power at discrete frequencies are avoided. Experimental time-domain waveforms and spectra of the switching function from first-order and second-order ���� modulators are presented to prove the viability of the scheme in EMI mitigation. These modulators are then applied to an off-the-shelf computer power supply and experimental results using FCC-specified methods show a reduction of roughly 5-10dB in EMI emissions over standard PWM modulators. / Graduation date: 1999

A comparison of two novel demodulators. The first is a basic zero crossing demodulator, as introduced by Beards. The second is an approach proposed by Hovin. The two demodulators are compared to each other and to the conventional method of demodulation. / Graduation date: 1998

Delta-sigma data converters have gained popularity in both analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters (ADCs and DACs) due to their simplicity, high linearity and immunity to many analog circuit imperfections. These data converters include features such as oversampling, noise-shaping, and (historically) single-bit quantization. Single-bit converters are preferred for their inherent linearity. This is a feature which multibit converters cannot realize due to the unavoidable phenomenon of element mismatch. Because of this problem, multibit converters have been largely unexplored, and the market has seen few multibit commercial products. Earlier work has shown that multibit DACs constructed with unit elements can be applied in an architecture which shapes the spectrum of the noise caused by element mismatch. The basis of this thesis is the experimental verification of such a DAC. A Xilinx 4005 FPGA is utilized to implement a 3rd-order 4-bit delta-sigma modulator and the mismatch-shaping logic, while a custom IC consisting of 16 individually-controlled differential current sources implements the unit-element DAC. The final DAC achives a Spurious Free Dynamic Range (SFDR) of 96 dB at a sampling rate of 62.5 kHz. / Graduation date: 1997

Complementary delta-doped AlGaAs/GaAs Heterojunction Field Effect Transistor (CHFET) devices and circuits were fabricated using MBE and a 2�� non-planar gate recess process. Several schemes were used in an attempt to improve the performance of the p-channel HFETs. These included delta-doping, carbon-doping and dipole-doping. Circuits and individual n- and p- channel devices were fabricated on a stacked delta-doped complementary structure. The circuits failed to perform due to complications with adjusting the threshold voltage. However, Individual devices were successfully characterized, p-channel devices with extrinsic transconductances up to 14 mS/mm, n-channel devices with extrinsic transconductances up to 120 mS/mm and a unity power gain bandwidth of 5.5 GHz. / Graduation date: 1995

Graduation date: 1994

Graduation date: 1994

Not available

Fluorescent labeling of biological materials using small organic dyes is widely employed in the life sciences and have been used in a variety of applications that include diagnostics and imaging. Quantum dots have the potential to overcome problems encountered by organic molecules and have been exploited for applications in biological imaging and in single particle tracking studies. The dithiolane ring can be exploited to attach a diversity of organic compounds to CdSe–ZnS core–shell nanoparticles. The introduction of spectroscopic labels as trans-azobenzene chromophores offers the opportunity to quantify the average number of dithiolane anchoring groups attached to each quantum dot. The transition from monomeric ligands with a single dithiolane anchor to polymeric ligands with multiple dithiolane anchoring groups can be exploited to raise the number of chromophoric labels adsorbed on each quantum dot. Systems showing FRET have been developed on the basis of supramolecular association of BODIPY based dyes or quantum dots as donors and organic chromophores as acceptors. Amino - terminated dyes and quantum dots associate with the chromophores through an ammonium moiety on addition of acid, thereby bringing them closer. Addition of base increases back the fluorescence intensity of the donor completely because of the dissociation. However a similar system with quantum dots as donor, show a very small restoration of fluorescence possibly due to non-specific interaction. In the next project, introduction of spectroscopic labels, in the form of BODIPY dye within the ligands offered the opportunity to quantify the average number of dithiolane anchoring groups attached to each quantum dot. Both fluorescence resonance energy transfer and electron transfer mechanisms are responsible for the quenching of quantum dot fluorescence and unfortunately does not make the system suitable for pH sensing. In the final project, BODIPY-oxazine based fluorophore – photochrome dyad has been assembled by a connecting triazole ring, such that the emission of the former can be modulated by the electronic and structural changes caused by the photoinduced transformations of the later. Further experiments need to be conducted on the fluorophore – photochrome dyads to switch the luminescence of the former with optical inputs.