The Chesapeake Bay watershed has seen an increase in population, nutrient loading, and stringent effluent limits; therefore, cost-effective technologies must be explored and implemented to intensify the treatment of regional wastewater. This work describes the bioaugmentation and retention of anammox (AMX) granules in a continuous adsorption/bio-oxidation (A/B) mainstream deammonification pilot-scale process treating domestic wastewater. The AMX granules were collected from the underflow of a sidestream DEMON® process. The bioaugmentation rate was based on several factors including full-scale sidestream DEMON® wasting rate and sidestream vs mainstream AMX activity. The retention of bioaugmented AMX granules required a novel settling column at the end of the deammonification step. The settling column was designed to provide a surface overflow rate (SOR) that allowed dense AMX granules to settle into the underflow and less dense floccular biomass to outselect into the overflow. B-Stage was operated to out-select nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) by maintaining an ammonia residual (>2 mg NH4-N/L), a relatively high dissolved oxygen (DO) (>1.5 mg O2/L) concentration, an aggressive solids retention time (SRT) for NOB washout, and intermittent aeration for transient anoxia. AMX activity was not detected in the mainstream at any time. The settling column AMX retention quantification suggested but did not confirm AMX were maintained in the mainstream. NOB were not suppressed during this study and no nitrite accumulation was present in the mainstream process. It was theorized that AMX granules were successfully settled into the settling column underflow and accumulated in the intermittently mixed sidestream biological phosphorus reactor (SBPR) where they disintegrated. This work also describes optimization of carbon addition to an anoxic partial denitrification anammox (PdN/A) moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) testing glycerol, acetate, and methanol as carbon sources to maximize total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) removal through the anammox pathway and to minimize effluent TIN. A carbon feeding strategy was developed and was evaluated by the extent of partial denitrification vs full denitrification (partial denitrification efficiency, PdN efficiency). All three carbon sources were capable of high TIN removal, low effluent TIN, and moderate to high PdN efficiency. Average TIN removal for glycerol was 10.0 ± 3.6 mg TIN/L, for acetate it was 8.7 ± 2.9 mg TIN/L, and for methanol it was 11.5 ± 5.6 mg TIN/L. Average effluent TIN for glycerol was 6.0 ± 4.0 mg TIN/L, for acetate it was 5.0 ± 1.1 mg TIN/L, and for methanol it was 4.3 ± 1.5 mg TIN/L. Average PdN efficiency for glycerol was 91.0 ± 9.0%, for acetate it was 88.0 ± 7.7%, and for methanol it was 74.0 ± 8.5%. When PdN efficiency was factored into the cost of each carbon source, methanol was 5.83% cheaper than glycerol per mass TIN removed and 59.0% cheaper than acetate per mass TIN-N removed. / Master of Science / The Chesapeake Bay watershed has seen an increase in population, nutrient loading, and stringent effluent limits; therefore, cost-effective technologies must be explored and implemented to intensify the treatment of regional wastewater. This work involves removing nitrogen from wastewater in a pilot sized modeled from a real wastewater treatment plant. The removal of nitrogen from wastewater can become costly. This cost is due to aeration and chemical demands to remove the nitrogen. This masters work uses a type of microorganism that can remove nitrogen without the need for aeration or chemicals through anaerobic ammonia oxidation (AMX bacteria). A specific environment has been created for AMX bacteria during this study to ensure they perform nitrogen removal optimally. Often times, communities of bacteria can help remove nitrogen more effectively when they work together. Therefore, communities of bacteria were encouraged to grow during this study. We were able to see that nitrogen removal was indeed occurring at high rates and producing high effluent water quality. We used several different metrics to prove this nitrogen removal technology worked well. This research was important because it showed the capabilities of a highly intensified process of successful nitrogen removal at a pilot-scale facility. It is the hope that these findings can be improved upon and implemented at full-scale facilities. These full-scale facilities would be able to achieve low levels of nitrogen in their effluent while saving millions of dollars on operational costs.

Jitter and noise on package and printed circuit board interconnects are limiting factors in the performance of high speed digital channels. The simultaneous switching noise (SSN) induced by the return path discontinuities (RPDs) is a major source of noise and jitter on the signal interconnects of these channels. Therefore, optimal design of the power delivery network (PDN) is required to reduce SSN induced noise and jitter and improve the performance of high speed channels. The design of PDN is done in frequency domain whereas jitter and noise are time domain events. As a result, multiple iterations between frequency domain design of PDN and time domain analysis of noise and jitter are required before a design is taped out. A new methodology to correlate PDN impedance with jitter and voltage margin is presented in this thesis. Using this methodology, it would be possible to estimate jitter and noise from the PDN impedance and reduce the iterations involved in freezing the PDN design. The SSN induced at a given RPD is proportional to the PDN impedance at that RPD. As a result, the jitter and the noise can be correlated to the PDN impedance. The PDN impedance is a function of frequency and has alternate local minima and local maxima at resonances and anti-resonances respectively. The anti-resonances in the PDN impedance at the RPD cause significant increase in the insertion loss of signal whose return current is disrupted at that RPD. The increase in the insertion loss attenuates significant harmonics of the signal degrading its rise/fall times and voltage levels. This results in reduction of timing and voltage margins of the signal. Thus, based on the insertion loss profile and harmonic content of the signal, an estimate of jitter and noise on the signal can be made. Passive test vehicles consisting of microstrips with RPDs have been designed and fabricated to demonstrate the proof of concept through both simulations and measurements. Suitable placement of decoupling capacitors is suggested to reduce the PDN impedance below the target impedance and to minimize coupling between two noise ports on the PDN. Genetic algorithm to optimize the selection and placement of decoupling capacitors has been implemented. The efficacy of the algorithm has been demonstrated by testing it on a power delivery networks consisting of a simple power/ground plane pair.

Préparation et étude de nouveaux dinitroxydes comme agents de polarisation en polarisation dynamique nucléaire (PDN) en phase solide. La principale limite de la RMN, en tant qu'outil de détection ou d'imagerie (IRM), est sa faible sensibilité qui résulte principalement de la faible différence d'énergie entre les états de spin nucléaire entre lesquels on observe la résonance. A l'équilibre thermique, la polarisation nucléaire PI (différence de population entre les états de spin) est très faible et le signal RMN, qui lui est proportionnel, sera peu intense. Le but de la Polarisation Dynamique Nucléaire (PDN) est d'augmenter l'intensité de signaux de RMN, en transférant vers des spins nucléaires de la polarisation de spin électronique PS, plus élevée que celle des spins nucléaires (PS/PI = 658 pour 1H). Depuis une quinzaine d'années, la PDN connaît un regain d'intérêt et un champ de développement exceptionnels. Cette renaissance de la PDN est surtout due aux importants travaux de fond du groupe de R. G. Griffin et ceux plus récents du groupe d'Ardenkjaer-Larsen. Ces travaux ont entre autre montré qu'avec des radicaux trityl ou des dinitroxydes, la PDN pouvait permettre d'atteindre de fortes augmentations du rapport signal sur bruit, en RMN en phases solide et liquide. Les propriétés de l'espèce paramagnétique à partir de laquelle se fait le transfert de polarisation spin électronique - spin nucléaire, jouent un rôle primordial dans l'efficacité de ce transfert. Au cours de notre travail, nous avons réalisé les synthèses de cinq nouveaux biradicaux de la famille des dinitroxides. / Preparation and study of new dinitroxydes as polarizing agents in dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) in solid state. Nowadays, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is one of the most important structure elucidation techniques in chemistry and biochemistry, NMR is also the underlying principle of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, the use of NMR to investigate various materials or biological systems is still limited by its inherent low sensitivity. This arises from the relatively small size of the Zeeman interaction of the nuclear spins with an external magnetic field which leads to small Boltzmann polarizations (PI) and weak NMR signals. Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) is a prominent process to achieve a high non-equilibrium nuclear spin polarization by transferring to nuclear spins the higher electron spin polarization PS (PS/PI = 658 for 1H)) of unpaired electrons, belonging for example to stable free radicals. The past fifteen years has witnessed a renaissance in the use of DNP. This renewed interest is due to the outstanding work of the R. G. Griffin's group and the more recent work of the Ardenkjaer-Larsen's group. These authors have shown, among other, that with the use of trityl radicals or dinitroxides, PDN allowed to reach impressive signal enhancements for solid state and liquid NMR. The characteristics of the paramagnetic species used as polarizing agent play a pivotal role in the efficiency of a DNP process. In the course of our work we have performed the synthesis of five new dinitroxides, and through collaborations we tested their performance as polarizing agents for solid state PDN at 100 K, 9,4 T [263 GHz (RPE), 400 MHz (RMN)].

La densité des circuits intégrés n’a pas cessé d’augmenter depuis la découverte du transistor en 1947, à travers la réduction de la taille de leurs composants. Cependant, cette miniaturisation se heurte aujourd’hui à certaines barrières et la réduction de la longueur de grille des transistors ne permet plus à elle seule l’augmentation des performances globales des circuits intégrés. L’industrie de la microélectronique s’est donc tournée vers de nouvelles solutions d’intégrations hétérogènes visant à développer la diversification des fonctionnalités proposées par les circuits. Parmi ces solutions, l’intégration 3D consistant à empiler plusieurs puces de silicium les unes sur les autres à l’aide de « Through Silicon Vias » (TSV) apparait très prometteuse. Toutefois, de telles structures mettront du temps à atteindre leur maturité puisqu’elles requièrent l’évolution de tout l’écosystème industriel. Une solution intermédiaire en termes de maturité technologique réside dans l’utilisation de l’interposeur : un substrat aminci placé entre les puces haute densité et le « Ball Grid Array » faisant office de plateforme d’intégration permettant le placement côte à côte de puces hétérogènes ainsi que la réalisation d’une forte densité d’interconnexions. Cependant, l’ajout de l’interposeur dans le système a pour effet l’augmentation de l’impédance du réseau de distribution de puissance. L’intégration d’une capacité de découplage au sein de l’interposeur répond à cette problématique en assurant l’intégrité de l’alimentation dans des structures tridimensionnelles.L’objectif de cette thèse de doctorat consiste en l’étude de l’intégration d’un nouveau type de capacité intégrée au sein de l’interposeur silicium. Cette capacité basée sur un empilement Métal-Isolant-Métal (MIM) tridimensionnelle a pour particularité de traverser l’intégralité de l’épaisseur de l’interposeur et d’être co-intégrée avec les TSV.La première étape de l’étude de ce nouveau composant intégré a été la définition d’une architecture performante, réalisée à travers une étude de modélisation permettant l’évaluation de l’influence des nombreux paramètres géométriques et matériaux entrant en jeu. Cette étude a permis de mettre en avant les faibles valeurs d’ESR et d’ESL atteignable par la structure (de l’ordre du m et fH respectivement). Ensuite, la réalisation de la capacité a nécessité le développement de procédés de fabrication innovants permettant le dépôt d’un empilement MIM dans des matrices de vias profonds ainsi que sa co-intégration avec les TSV. Enfin, les performances du composant ont été évaluées à travers la réalisation et la caractérisation d’un démonstrateur de test ainsi qu’une campagne de simulations électromagnétiques par éléments finis. Une densité de capacité de 20 nF.mm-2 a été atteinte sur ce démonstrateur, offrant un gain d’un facteur supérieur à 6 par rapport à une structure planaire. / Integrated circuits density never stopped rising since the discovery of the transistor in 1947, through components size shrinking. However, this miniaturization now encounters barriers and reduction of transistor’s gate size alone no longer allows integrated circuits overall performances increase. Therefore, microelectronic industry turned to new heterogeneous integration solutions aiming to develop the diversification of functionalities offered by the circuits. Among these solutions, 3D integration involving stacking several silicon dies on top of each other with the help of Through Silicon Vias (TSV) appears to be promising. Nevertheless, such structures will take times to reach maturity since they require the evolution of the whole industrial ecosystem. A transitional solution in term of technological maturity lies in the use of the interposer: a thinned substrate placed between the high density silicon dies and the Ball Grid Array acting as an integration platform allowing side by side placement of heterogeneous dies as well as high density interconnections. However, the addition of the interposer in the system leads to the increase of the Power Delivery Network impedance. The integration of a decoupling capacitor on the interposer resolves this issue by ensuring power integrity within 3D structures.The objective of this PhD thesis consists in the study of different aspects of a new kind of integrated capacitor within the silicon interposer. This 3D Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) capacitor has the particularity to cross over the whole silicon interposer’s thickness and to be co-integrated with TSV.The first step of this new integrated component study has been the definition of an efficient architecture, achieved through a modeling study allowing the influence evaluation of the numerous geometrical and material parameters coming into play. This modeling study pointed out the low ESR and ESL values achievable by the structure (in the m and fH range respectively). Then, the fabrication of the capacitor required the development of innovative process steps allowing the deposition of a MIM stack in deep vias matrices as well as co-integration with TSV. Finally, component performances have been evaluated through the fabrication of a test demonstrator as well as a finites elements electromagnetic simulation campaign. A capacitance density of 20 nF.mm-2 has been reached on this demonstrator, showing an increase up to a factor 6 compared to a planar structure.

PANDA is the next generation hadron physics detector under construction at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) in Darmstadt, Germany to accurately detect and parameterize particles with kinetic energies from 1MeV to 8GeV. PANDA is a 4π detector and due to its unique shape, all the readout electronic from ADC modules, power supplies, and a controller unit is housed in the liquid-cooled crates mounted inside the detector. Therefore, the readout electronics are exposed to a high level of magnetic field and radiation. The controller unit as the critical component of the digitization system with adequate radiation resiliency governs the crate. The control unit manages power supplies, monitors the radiation damages of each ADC modules, offer a mechanism to re-program the ADC module firmware, and finally features a redundant communication for the crate over fiber optics. The purpose of this thesis is to study and design the controller unit hardware that meets the specification of the PANDA experiment.

This thesis aims to prove the concept of replacing traditional electrical cabinets with PCBs on a fully electric boat. The existing solution with two electrical cabinets is considered expensive and believed to be replacable by PCBs.  Means of protections for PCBs are evaluated with regard to moisture, salt and vibrations. Two PCBs are designed to carry a current up to 60 ampere for a longer period of time. A cost analysis of 1, 10 and 100 PCBs are made to compare the cost of the proposed design to the existing solution. The result is a functioning prototype, a proposed design, cost analysis and suggested means of protections for withstanding the elements that the PCBs are exposed to at sea.Verification of the design is done by PDN Analysis and load testing with thermal imaging to monitor the temperature rise. Soley this is not enough to fully validate the design as further tests are needed and the local juristrictions has to be met before implementing these PCBs in consumer equipment.

Le travail de cette thèse a consisté à concevoir, réaliser et optimiser un montage expérimental de Polarisation Dynamique Nucléaire multi-échantillons pour des applications biomédicales en Imagerie Spectroscopique par Résonance Magnétique. Ce montage est constitué d'un aimant à fort champ magnétique (3,35T), dans lequel se place un système cryogénique à bain d'hélium (He4) liquide pompé pouvant atteindre des températures inférieures à 1,2K. Un ensemble d'inserts permet d'effectuer les différentes étapes du processus PDN dont l'irradiation des échantillons par un champ micro-onde (f=94GHz et P=50mW) et le suivi de leur polarisation par Résonance Magnétique Nucléaire. Ce système permet de polariser jusqu'à trois échantillons, de volume proche de 1mL, à des taux de polarisation de quelques pourcents. Il présente une forte autonomie supérieure à quatre heures, autorisant ainsi la polarisation de molécules à longues constantes de temps de polarisation. La possibilité de disposer quasi-simultanément, après dissolution, de plusieurs échantillons fortement polarisés ouvre la voie à de nouvelles applications dans le domaine de l'imagerie biomédicale

Power supply noise, which is the variation in the supply voltage across the on-die supply terminals of VLSI circuits, is a serious performance degrader in digital circuits and mixed analog-digital circuits. In digital VLSI systems, power supply noise causes timing errors such as delays, jitter, and false switching. In microprocessors, power supply noise reduces the maximum operating frequency (FMAX) of the CPU. In mixed analog-digital circuits, power supply noise manifests as the substrate noise and impairs the performance of the analog portion. The decrease in the available noise margin with the decrease in the feature size of transistors in CMOS systems makes the power supply noise a very serious issue, and demands new methods to reduce the power supply noise in sub-micron CMOS systems. In this thesis, we develop a new method to determine optimal time-delays between the switching of input/output (I/O) data buffers in digital VLSI systems that realizes maximum reduction of the power supply noise. We first discuss methods to characterize the distributed nature of the Power Delivery Network (PDN) in the frequency-domain. We then develop an analytical method to determine the optimal delays using the frequency-domain response of the PDN and the supply current spectrum of the buffer units. We explain the mechanism behind the cancellation of the power supply noise by the introduction of optimal buffer-to-buffer delays. We also develop a numerical method to determine the optimal delays and compare it with the analytical method. We illustrate the reduction in the power supply noise by applying the optimal time-delays determined using our methods to two examples of PDN. Our method has great potential to realize maximum reduction of power supply noise in digital VLSI circuits and substrate noise in mixed analog-digital VLSI circuits. Lower power supply noise translates into lower cost and improved performance of the circuit.

Le travail de cette thèse a consisté à concevoir, réaliser et optimiser un montage expérimental de Polarisation Dynamique Nucléaire multi-échantillons pour des applications biomédicales en Imagerie Spectroscopique par Résonance Magnétique. Ce montage est constitué d'un aimant à fort champ magnétique (3,35T), dans lequel se place un système cryog&nique à bain d'hélium (He4) liquide pompé pouvant atteindre des températures infèrieures à 1,2K. Un ensemble d'inserts permet d'effectuer les différentes étapes du processus PDN dont l'irradiation des échantillons par un champ micro-onde (f=94GHz et P=50mW) et le suivi de leur polarisation par Résonance Magnétique Nucléaire. Ce système permet de polariser jusqu'à trois échantillons, de volume proche de 1mL, à des taux de polarisation de quelques pourcents. Il présente une forte autonomie supérieure à quatre heures, autorisant ainsi la polarisation de molécules à longues constantes de temps de polarisation. La possibilité de disposer quasi-simultanèment, après dissolution, de plusieurs échantillons fortement polarisés ouvre la voie à de nouvelles applications dans le domaine de l'imagerie biomédicale.

Στην παρούσα Διπλωματική Εργασία μελετάται και αναλύεται η Ηλεκτρομαγνητική συμπεριφορά βασικών κυκλωμάτων και στοιχείων, τα οποία απαντώνται πάνω σε Πλακέτες Τυπωμένων Κυκλωμάτων. Η σχεδίαση και ανάλυση των μοντέλων γίνεται χρησιμοποιώντας τα Ηλεκτρομαγνητικά λογισμικά πακέτα της Agilent, ΕΜPro και ADS, ενώ για τον υπολογισμό χρήσιμων παραμέτρων χρησιμοποιείται η ελεύθερη εφαρμογή της Agilent, Appcad και η εφαρμογή Linecalc, η οποία είναι ενσωματωμένη στο ADS. Αρχικά, γίνεται μια σύντομη αναφορά στις σύγχρονες τάσεις που επικρατούν στην περιοχή των Τυπωμένων Κυκλωμάτων και περιγράφεται η χρησιμότητα των τοπολογιών που αναλύονται. Επιπροσθέτως, αναφέρεται η αναγκαιότητα και οι περιπτώσεις κατά τις οποίες είναι απαραίτητη η διεξαγωγή ηλεκτρομαγνητικής ανάλυσης των κυκλωμάτων, αλλά και τα προτερήματα που αυτή προσφέρει. Παρουσιάζεται η χρησιμότητα και αναλύεται η δομή μιας μαιανδρικής μικροταινιακής γραμμής εισαγωγής καθυστερήσεως και συγκρίνονται οι εκπομπές της ως προς τις εκπομπές μιας ευθείας μικροταινιακής γραμμής. Έπειτα, μελετάται η κατανομή του ρεύματος στο επίπεδο αναφοράς μιας απλούστερης γεωμετρίας μαιανδρικής μικροταινιακής γραμμής και παρουσιάζονται φαινόμενα περισσότερο αισθητά σε υψηλές συχνότητες. Έπειτα, μελετώνται οι εκπομπές από μια γεωμετρία μικροταινιακής γραμμής, η οποία διασχίζει σχισμή στο επίπεδο αναφοράς. Επίσης, μελετάται η συμπεριφορά μικροταινιακής γραμμής ευρισκόμενης στο χείλος μιας πλακέτας. Επιπλέον, μελετάται ένα πρόβλημα σχεδιάσεως αποτελεσματικής ηλεκτρομαγνητικής θωρακίσεως και υπολογίζεται η αποδοτικότης της θωρακίσεως. Σε επόμενο κεφάλαιο, μελετάται η επίδραση ασυνεχειών ευρισκόμενων σε μια δομή μικροταινιακής γραμμής και σχεδιάζεται ένα μεταϋλικό, ενώ παράλληλα προσδιορίζονται χαρακτηριστικές παράμετροι της δομής. Ακολούθως, σχεδιάζονται τρία είδη δομών που περιλαμβάνουν οπές via. Αυτές είναι: μία απλή via , μια δομή διαφορικών via και μια εφαρμογή απομονώσεως δυο συζευγμένων ταινιογραμμών χρήσει ενός φράχτη από οπές via. Τέλος, προσομοιώνεται η λειτουργία μιας πραγματικής πλακέτας και υπολογίζονται οι ηλεκτρομαγνητικές της εκπομπές στο μακρινό πεδίο. Παράλληλα, παρουσιάζονται ορισμένα στατιστικά του χρόνου εκτελέσεως και των απαιτούμενων πόρων για την προσομοίωση, γίνονται σχόλια και επισημάνσεις που αφορούν στα χαρακτηριστικά των χρησιμοποιούμενων αλγορίθμων για τη διεξαγωγή μετεπεξεργασίας των δεδομένων και δίνονται χρήσιμες συμβουλές όσον αφορά σε χαρακτηριστικά του λογισμικού Προσομοιώσεως και σε δυνατότητες επιταχύνσεως της Προσομοιώσεως που προσφέρονται από το ίδιο το λογισμικό. / -