Resistances in two-dimensional matrices can be measured by addressing individual sensors one by one using two multiplexers. Thereby, it is assumed that the injected measurement current flows only through the target sensor. Nevertheless, if no special precautions are taken, a part of the injected current may flow through other sensors and this can significantly affect the measurement accuracy. This so-called cross-talk effect is therefore crucial for the measurement of two-dimensional sensor matrices. One possible solution to overcome this problem is to use the short-circuiting method, which sets the same potentials on both sides of the non-target sensors and avoids thereby the cross-talk currents leading to an improvement of measurement accuracy. The short-circuiting method is widely used because it requires no addition of further components, like diodes or MOSFETS, into the matrix. Nowadays, most of the short-circuiting methods are designed for the measurement of purely resistive (e.g., the zero potential circuit driving by DC signals) or capacitive sensor matrices. Thereby, capacitive matrix measurement methods are mainly designed to realize a high scanning speed and do not focus on reducing measurement deviations as they are more conceived for touch screens. In this thesis, the development of accurate measurement methods is focused, to reduce the cross-talk effects in two-dimensional impedimetric sensor matrices, where both the real part and imaginary part of the impedance need to be accurately measured. A multi-row excitation strategy using AC signals having different frequencies is proposed to avoid DC deviations due to the non-ideal behavior of electronic components and to enable simultaneous impedance measurement of all sensors. First, a novel method is proposed, to enable a multiplexer-free simultaneous measurement of resistive sensors in the two-dimensional matrix. This method is named the AC - Zero Potential Circuit (AC-ZPC Type 0), and it is extended for the measurement of impedimetric sensors. Then, based on analytical investigations, two advanced methods are proposed to realize higher measurement accuracy. The first advanced method (AC-ZPC Type 1) corrects the deviations caused by the row interface impedance by introducing a column with reference elements and dispenses with the measurement of the row side excitation signals. The second advanced method (AC-ZPC Type 2) extends the basic AC-ZPC method further. It uses a voltage follower on the row input side to reduce the row interface impedance and introduces a row and a column with reference elements. This method reduces the deviations related to the non-ideal features of the column side amplifier circuits, including their input/output impedance, open-loop gain factor, leakage current, and load impedance. The evaluation of the three proposed methods is carried out first by simulations and then on a specially developed experimental platform. In the simulations, the measurement deviations achieved by the proposed methods are less than 0.005% for the impedimetric targets composed of parallel RC pairs in the range from 2 kΩ||362 pF to 100 kΩ ||$ 7 pF. The feasibility of these proposed methods has been validated by the experimental investigations. Thereby, the AC-ZPC Type 2 method has shown better accuracy than the AC-ZPC Type 1 method. For purely resistive targets in the range from 2 kΩ to 100 kΩ, the averaged absolute deviation of 0.087% is achieved by the AC-ZPC Type 2 method, which is 20% less than the DC-ZPC methods.:1 Introduction 2 Theoretical background 3 Measurement methods for 2D sensor matrices 4 Novel methods for impedimetric sensor matrices 5 Performance in reducing cross-talk effects 6 Practical validation of the proposed methods 7 Conclusion and outlook References Appendix A Operational amplifier model Appendix B Calculation of the resistive and capacitive parts of a time constant unit Appendix C Supplements to performance investigation / Widerstände in zweidimensionalen Matrizen können gemessen werden, indem einzelne Sensoren mit zwei Multiplexern angesprochen werden. Dabei wird davon ausgegangen, dass der eingespeiste Messstrom nur durch den Zielsensor fließt. Ohne besondere Vorkehrungen kann jedoch ein Teil des eingespeisten Stroms durch andere Sensoren fließen, was die Messgenauigkeit erheblich beeinträchtigen kann. Dieser so genannte Übersprechungseffekt ist daher für die Messung von zweidimensionalen Sensormatrizen von entscheidender Bedeutung. Eine mögliche Lösung zur Überwindung dieses Problems ist die Kurzschlussmethode, bei der auf beiden Seiten der nicht zu messenden Sensoren die gleichen Potenziale angelegt werden und dadurch die Übersprechungsströme vermieden werden, was zu einer Verbesserung der Messgenauigkeit führt. Die Kurzschlussmethode ist weit verbreitet, da sie keine weiteren Komponenten, z.B. Dioden oder MOSFETS, in der Matrix erfordert. Heutzutage sind die meisten Kurzschlussverfahren für die Messung von rein resistiven (z.B. die Nullpotenzialschaltung, die durch Gleichstromsignale angetrieben wird) oder kapazitiven Sensormatrizen ausgelegt. Dabei sind kapazitive Matrixmessverfahren hauptsächlich auf eine hohe Messgeschwindigkeit ausgelegt und konzentrieren sich nicht auf die Reduzierung von Messabweichungen, da sie eher für Touchscreens konzipiert sind. In dieser Dissertation ist die Entwicklung präziser Messmethoden das Ziel, um die Übersprechungseffekte in zweidimensionalen impedimetrischen Sensormatrizen zu reduzieren, bei denen sowohl der Realteil als auch der Imaginärteil der Impedanz genau gemessen werden müssen. Es wird eine mehrreihige Erregungsstrategie unter Verwendung von Wechselstromsignalen mit unterschiedlichen Frequenzen vorgeschlagen, um Gleichstromabweichungen aufgrund des nicht idealen Verhaltens elektronischer Komponenten zu vermeiden und die gleichzeitige Impedanzmessung aller Sensoren zu ermöglichen. Zunächst wird eine neue Methode vorgeschlagen, die eine multiplexerfreie gleichzeitige Messung von Widerstandssensoren in einer zweidimensionalen Matrix ermöglicht. Diese Methode wird als AC-Nullpotenzialschaltung (AC-ZPC Typ 0) bezeichnet und für die Messung von impedimetrischen Sensoren erweitert. Anschließend werden auf der Grundlage analytischer Untersuchungen zwei fortschrittliche Methoden vorgeschlagen, um eine höhere Messgenauigkeit zu erzielen. Die erste fortschrittliche Methode (AC-ZPC Typ 1) korrigiert die durch die Impedanz der Reihenschnittstelle verursachten Abweichungen durch die Einführung einer Spalte mit Referenzelementen und verzichtet auf die Messung der reihenseitigen Anregungssignale. Die zweite fortgeschrittene Methode (AC-ZPC Typ 2) erweitert die grundlegende AC-ZPC Methode weiter. Sie verwendet einen Spannungsfolger auf der Reiheneingangsseite, um die Reihenschnittstellenimpedanz zu verringern, und führt eine Reihe und eine Spalte mit Referenzelementen ein. Diese Methode reduziert die Abweichungen, die mit den nicht idealen Eigenschaften der spaltenseitigen Verstärkerschaltungen zusammenhängen, einschließlich ihrer Eingangs-/Ausgangsimpedanz, des Open-Loop-Verstärkungsfaktors, des Leckstroms und der Lastimpedanz. Die Bewertung der drei vorgeschlagenen Methoden erfolgt zunächst durch Simulationen und dann auf einer speziell entwickelten Versuchsplattform. In den Simulationen liegen die mit den vorgeschlagenen Methoden erzielten Messabweichungen bei weniger als 0,005% für die aus parallelen RC-Paaren bestehenden impedimetrischen Ziele im Bereich von 2 kΩ||362 pF bis 100 kΩ ||$ 7 pF. Die Durchführbarkeit der vorgeschlagenen Methoden wurde durch die experimentellen Untersuchungen bestätigt. Dabei hat die AC-ZPC Typ 2 Methode eine bessere Genauigkeit als die AC-ZPC Typ 1 Methode gezeigt. Für rein resistive Ziele im Bereich von 2 kΩ bis 100 kΩ wird mit der AC-ZPC Typ 2-Methode eine gemittelte absolute Abweichung von 0.087% erreicht, was 20% weniger ist als bei den DC-ZPC-Methoden.:1 Introduction 2 Theoretical background 3 Measurement methods for 2D sensor matrices 4 Novel methods for impedimetric sensor matrices 5 Performance in reducing cross-talk effects 6 Practical validation of the proposed methods 7 Conclusion and outlook References Appendix A Operational amplifier model Appendix B Calculation of the resistive and capacitive parts of a time constant unit Appendix C Supplements to performance investigation

Throughout stochastic data processing fields, mean and covariance matrices are commonly employed for purposes such as standardizing multivariate data through decorrelation. For practical applications, these matrices are usually estimated, and often, the data used for these estimates are non-Gaussian or may be corrupted by outliers or impulsive noise. To address this, robust estimators should be employed. However, in signal processing, where complex-valued data are common, the robust estimation techniques currently employed, such as M-estimators, provide limited robustness in the multivariate case. For this reason, this dissertation extends, to the complex-valued domain, the high-breakdown-point class of multivariate estimators called S-estimators. This dissertation defines S-estimators in the complex-valued context, and it defines their properties for complex-valued data. One major shortcoming of the leading high-breakdown-point multivariate estimators, such as the Rocke S-estimator and the smoothed hard rejection MM-estimator, is that they lack statistical efficiency at non-Gaussian distributions, which are common with real-world applications. This dissertation proposes a new tunable S-estimator, termed the Sq-estimator, for the general class of elliptically symmetric distributions—a class containing many common families such as the multivariate Gaussian, K-, W-, t-, Cauchy, Laplace, hyperbolic, variance gamma, and normal inverse Gaussian distributions. This dissertation demonstrates the diverse applicability and performance benefits of the Sq-estimator through theoretical analysis, empirical simulation, and the processing of real-world data. Through analytical and empirical means, the Sq-estimator is shown to generally provide higher maximum efficiency than the leading maximum-breakdown estimators, and it is also shown to generally be more stable with respect to initial conditions. To illustrate the theoretical benefits of the Sq for complex-valued applications, the efficiencies and influence functions of adaptive minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) beamformers based on S- and M-estimators are compared. To illustrate the finite-sample performance benefits of the Sq-estimator, empirical simulation results of multiple signal classification (MUSIC) direction-of-arrival estimation are explored. Additionally, the optimal investment of real-world stock data is used to show the practical performance benefits of the Sq-estimator with respect to robustness to extreme events, estimation efficiency, and prediction performance. / Doctor of Philosophy / Throughout stochastic processing fields, mean and covariance matrices are commonly employed for purposes such as standardizing multivariate data through decorrelation. For practical applications, these matrices are usually estimated, and often, the data used for these estimates are non-normal or may be corrupted by outliers or large sporadic noise. To address this, estimators should be employed that are robust to these conditions. However, in signal processing, where complex-valued data are common, the robust estimation techniques currently employed provide limited robustness in the multivariate case. For this reason, this dissertation extends, to the complex-valued domain, the highly robust class of multivariate estimators called S-estimators. This dissertation defines S-estimators in the complex-valued context, and it defines their properties for complex-valued data. One major shortcoming of the leading highly robust multivariate estimators is that they may require unreasonably large numbers of samples (i.e. they may have low statistical efficiency) in order to provide good estimates at non-normal distributions, which are common with real-world applications. This dissertation proposes a new tunable S-estimator, termed the Sq-estimator, for the general class of elliptically symmetric distributions—a class containing many common families such as the multivariate Gaussian, K-, W-, t-, Cauchy, Laplace, hyperbolic, variance gamma, and normal inverse Gaussian distributions. This dissertation demonstrates the diverse applicability and performance benefits of the Sq-estimator through theoretical analysis, empirical simulation, and the processing of real-world data. Through analytical and empirical means, the Sq-estimator is shown to generally provide higher maximum efficiency than the leading highly robust estimators, and its solutions are also shown to generally be less sensitive to initial conditions. To illustrate the theoretical benefits of the Sq-estimator for complex-valued applications, the statistical efficiencies and robustness of adaptive beamformers based on various estimators are compared. To illustrate the finite-sample performance benefits of the Sq-estimator, empirical simulation results of signal direction-of-arrival estimation are explored. Additionally, the optimal investment of real-world stock data is used to show the practical performance benefits of the Sq-estimator with respect to robustness to extreme events, estimation efficiency, and prediction performance.

Hypersonic flow is both fascinating and intriguing mainly because of presence of strong entropy and viscous interactions in the flow field. Notwithstanding the tremendous advancements in numerical modeling in the last decade separated hypersonic flow still remains an area where considerable differences are observed between experiments and numerical results. Lack of reliable data base of surface static pressures with good spatial resolution in hypersonic separated flow field is one of the main motivations for the present study. The experiments in hypersonic shock tunnels has an advantage compared to wind tunnels for simulating the total energy content of the flow in addition to the Mach and Reynolds numbers. However the useful test time in shock tunnels is of the order of few milliseconds. Hence in shock tunnel experiments it is essential to have pressure measurement devices which has special features such as small in size, faster response time and the sensors in array form with improved spatial resolutions. Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) is an emerging technology, which holds lot of promise in these types of applications. In view of the above requirement, MEMS based pressure sensor array was developed to measure the static pressure distribution. The study is comprised of two parts: one is on the development of MEMS based pressure sensor array, which can be used for hypersonic application and other is on experimental static pressure measurement using MEMS based sensors in separated hypersonic flow over a backward facing step model. Initially a static pressure sensor array with 25 sensors was developed. The static calibration of sensor array was carried out to characterize the sensor array for various characteristic parameters. The preliminary experimental study with cluster of 25 MEMS sensor array mounted on the flat plate did not provide reliable and repeatable results, but gave valuable inputs on the typical problems of using MEMS sensors in short duration hypersonic ground test facilities like shock tunnels. Incidentally, to the best of our knowledge this is first report on use of MEMS based pressure sensors in hypersonic shock tunnel. Later cluster of 5 sensor array was developed with improved electronic packaging and surface finish. The experiments were conducted with flat plate by mounting 5 sensor array shows good agreement in static pressure measurement compared with standard sensors. In the second part of the study a backward facing step model, which simulates the typical gasdynamic flow features associated with hypersonic flow separation is designed. Backward facing step model with step height of 3 mm was mounted with sensor array along the length of model. Just after the step, static pressure measurements were carried out with MEMS sensors. It is important to note that, in the space available in backward facing step model we could mount only one conventional Kulite pressure transducer. The experiments were conducted at Mach number of 6.3 and at stagnation enthalpy of 1.5 MJ/kg in hypersonic shock tunnel (HST-5) at IISc. Based on the static pressure measurement on backward facing step, the location of separation and reattachment points were clearly identified. The static pressure values show that reattachment of flow takes place at about 7 step heights. Numerical simulations were carried out using commercial CFD code, FLUENT for flat plate and backward facing step models to compliment the experiments. The experimental tests results match well with the illustrative numerical simulations results.

[pt] A estimação de direção de chegada (DoA) é uma importante área de processamento de arranjos de sensores que é encontrada em uma ampla gama de aplicações de engenharia. Este fato, juntamente com o desenvolvimento da área de Compressed Sensing (CS) nos últimos anos, são a principal motivação desta dissertação. Nesta dissertação, é apresentada uma formulação do problema de estimação de direção de chegada como um problema de representação esparsa da sinal e vários algoritmos de recuperação esparsa são derivados e investigados para resolver o problema atual. Os algoritmos propostos são baseados na incorporação da informação prévia sobre o sinal esparso no processo de estimativa. Na primeira parte, nos concentramos no desenvolvimento de dois algoritmos Bayesianos , que se baseiam principalmente no algoritmo iterative hard thresholding (IHT). Devido ao desempenho inferior dos algoritmos convencionais de estimação de chegada em cenários com fontes correlacionadas, nós prestamos atenção especial ao desempenho dos algoritmos propostos nesta condição. Na segunda parte, o problema de otimização baseados na minimização da norma l1 é apresentado e um algoritmo bayesiano é proposto para resolver o problema chamado basis pursuit denoising (BPDN). Os resultados da simulação mostram que os estimadores Bayesianos superam os estimadores não Bayesianos e que a incorporação do conhecimento prévio da distribuição do sinal melhorou substancialmente o desempenho dos algoritmos. / [en] Direction of arrival (DoA) estimation is a key area of sensor array processing which is encountered in a broad range of important engineering applications. This fact together with the development of the Compressed Sensing (CS) area in the last years are the principal motivation of this thesis. In this dissertation, a formulation of the source localization problem as a sparse signal representation problem is presented and several sparse recovery algorithms are derived and investigated for solving the current problem. The proposed algorithms are based on the incorporation of the prior information about the sparse signal in the estimation process. In the first part, we focus on the development of two Bayesian greedy algorithms which are principally based on the iterative hard thresholding (IHT) algorithm. Due to the inferior performance of the conventional DoA estimation algorithm in scenarios with correlated sources, we pay special attention to the performance of the proposed algorithms under this condition. In the second part, the optimization problem using a l1 penalty is introduced and a Bayesian algorithm for solving the basis pursuit denoising problem is presented. Simulation results shows that Bayesian estimators which take into account the prior knowledge of the signal distribution outperform and improve substantially the performance of the non-Bayesian estimators.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T15:08:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_Hugo_Silva.pdf: 1463961 bytes, checksum: 3a6b5b3e5e7db58659b1bb58d6d4cd66 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-13 / This work is concerned with the estimation of Direction-Of-Arrival (DOA) angles of plane waves impinging on a sensor array. Among all methods of estimation found in litera-ture, MODEX (MODE with eXtra roots) outstands for its performance and computational complexity. However, recently, a method called SEAD (SEArch of Direction by differential spectrum) was proposed. It has shown better estimation performance against noise than MODEX has. However, its computational complexity is prohibitive for real-time applications. In order to reduce it s computational complexity, a new estimate selection procedure on SEAD is proposed, that yields to significantly less candidate angles than before. Additionally, the introduction of iterative refinements on estimates has allowed improving resolution as well as complexity reduction / Este trabalho aborda o problema de estimação de ângulos de incidência (DOA) de ondas planas sobre um arranjo de sensores. Dentre os vários métodos encontrados na literatu-ra, o método MODEX (MODE with eXtra roots) se destaca por seu desempenho e complexi-dade computacional. Recentemente, foi proposto o método SEAD (SEArch of Direction by differential spectrum), que apresenta desempenho de estimação mais robusto que o MODEX aos efeitos do ruído, contudo, possui complexidade computacional proibitiva para aplicações de tempo-real. Na busca por reduzir esta complexidade computacional, este trabalho apresenta uma nova proposta de seleção de estimativas para o SEAD que gera uma quantidade signifi-cativamente menor de ângulos candidatos. Adicionalmente, a inserção de um processo iterati-vo de refinamento de soluções permitiu que a resolução do estimador fosse aprimorada em relação àquela inicialmente ajustada, além de reduzir a complexidade computacional da sele-ção

[EN] The main objective of this thesis is the development of new sensors and actuators using Printed Electronics technology. For this, conductive, semiconductor and dielectric polymeric materials are used on flexible and/or elastic substrates. By means of suitable designs and application processes, it is possible to manufacture sensors capable of interacting with the environment. In this way, specific sensing functionalities can be incorporated into the substrates, such as textile fabrics. Additionally, it is necessary to include electronic systems capable of processing the data obtained, as well as its registration. In the development of these sensors and actuators, the physical properties of the different materials are precisely combined. For this, multilayer structures are designed where the properties of some materials interact with those of others. The result is a sensor capable of capturing physical variations of the environment, and convert them into signals that can be processed, and finally transformed into data. On the one hand, a tactile sensor printed on textile substrate for 2D gesture recognition was developed. This sensor consists of a matrix composed of small capacitive sensors based on a capacitor type structure. These sensors were designed in such a way that, if a finger or other object with capacitive properties, gets close enough, its behaviour varies, and it can be measured. The small sensors are arranged in this matrix as in a grid. Each sensor has a position that is determined by a row and a column. The capacity of each small sensor is periodically measured in order to assess whether significant variations have been produced. For this, it is necessary to convert the sensor capacity into a value that is subsequently digitally processed. On the other hand, to improve the effectiveness in the use of the developed 2D touch sensors, the way of incorporating an actuator system was studied. Thereby, the user receives feedback that the order or action was recognized. To achieve this, the capacitive sensor grid was complemented with an electroluminescent screen printed as well. The final prototype offers a solution that combines a 2D tactile sensor with an electroluminescent actuator on a printed textile substrate. Next, the development of a 3D gesture sensor was carried out using a combination of sensors also printed on textile substrate. In this type of 3D sensor, a signal is sent generating an electric field on the sensors. This is done using a transmission electrode located very close to them. The generated field is received by the reception sensors and converted to electrical signals. For this, the sensors are based on electrodes that act as receivers. If a person places their hands within the emission area, a disturbance of the electric field lines is created. This is due to the deviation of the lines to ground using the intrinsic conductivity of the human body. This disturbance affects the signals received by the electrodes. Variations captured by all electrodes are processed together and can determine the position and movement of the hand on the sensor surface. Finally, the development of an improved 3D gesture sensor was carried out. As in the previous development, the sensor allows contactless gesture detection, but increasing the detection range. In addition to printed electronic technology, two other textile manufacturing technologies were evaluated. / [ES] La presente tesis doctoral tiene como objetivo fundamental el desarrollo de nuevos sensores y actuadores empleando la tecnología electrónica impresa, también conocida como Printed Electronics. Para ello, se emplean materiales poliméricos conductores, semiconductores y dieléctricos sobre sustratos flexibles y/o elásticos. Por medio de diseños y procesos de aplicación adecuados, es posible fabricar sensores capaces de interactuar con el entorno. De este modo, se pueden incorporar a los sustratos, como puedan ser tejidos textiles, funcionalidades específicas de medición del entorno y de respuesta ante cambios de este. Adicionalmente, es necesario incluir sistemas electrónicos, capaces de realizar el procesado de los datos obtenidos, así como de su registro. En el desarrollo de estos sensores y actuadores se combinan las propiedades físicas de los diferentes materiales de forma precisa. Para ello, se diseñan estructuras multicapa donde las propiedades de unos materiales interaccionan con las de los demás. El resultado es un sensor capaz de captar variaciones físicas del entorno, y convertirlas en señales que pueden ser procesadas y transformadas finalmente en datos. Por una parte, se ha desarrollado un sensor táctil impreso sobre sustrato textil para reconocimiento de gestos en 2D. Este sensor se compone de una matriz formada por pequeños sensores capacitivos basados en estructura de tipo condensador. Estos se han diseñado de forma que, si un dedo u otro objeto con propiedades capacitivas se aproxima suficientemente, su comportamiento varía, pudiendo ser medido. Los pequeños sensores están ordenados en dicha matriz como en una cuadrícula. Cada sensor tiene una posición que viene determinada por una fila y por una columna. Periódicamente se mide la capacidad de cada pequeño sensor con el fin de evaluar si ha sufrido variaciones significativas. Para ello es necesario convertir la capacidad del sensor en un valor que posteriormente es procesado digitalmente. Por otro lado, con el fin de mejorar la efectividad en el uso de los sensores táctiles 2D desarrollados, se ha estudiado el modo de incorporar un sistema actuador. De esta forma, el usuario recibe una retroalimentación indicando que la orden o acción ha sido reconocida. Para ello, se ha complementado la matriz de sensores capacitivos con una pantalla electroluminiscente también impresa. El resultado final ofrece una solución que combina un sensor táctil 2D con un actuador electroluminiscente realizado mediante impresión electrónica sobre sustrato textil. Posteriormente, se ha llevado a cabo el desarrollo de un sensor de gestos 3D empleando una combinación de sensores impresos también sobre sustrato textil. En este tipo de sensor 3D, se envía una señal que genera un campo eléctrico sobre los sensores impresos. Esto se lleva a cabo mediante un electrodo de transmisión situado muy cerca de ellos. El campo generado es recibido por los sensores y convertido a señales eléctricas. Para ello, los sensores se basan en electrodos que actúan de receptores. Si una persona coloca su mano dentro del área de emisión, se crea una perturbación de las líneas de los campos eléctricos. Esto es debido a la desviación de las líneas de campo a tierra utilizando la conductividad intrínseca del cuerpo humano. Esta perturbación cambia/afecta a las señales recibidas por los electrodos. Las variaciones captadas por todos los electrodos son procesadas de forma conjunta pudiendo determinar la posición y el movimiento de la mano sobre la superficie del sensor. Finalmente, se ha llevado a cabo el desarrollo de un sensor de gestos 3D mejorado. Al igual que el desarrollo anterior, permite la detección de gestos sin necesidad de contacto, pero incrementando la distancia de alcance. Además de la tecnología de impresión electrónica, se ha evaluado el empleo de otras dos tecnologías de fabricación textil. / [CA] La present tesi doctoral té com a objectiu fonamental el desenvolupament de nous sensors i actuadors fent servir la tecnologia de electrònica impresa, també coneguda com Printed Electronics. Es va fer us de materials polimèrics conductors, semiconductors i dielèctrics sobre substrats flexibles i/o elàstics. Per mitjà de dissenys i processos d'aplicació adequats, és possible fabricar sensors capaços d'interactuar amb l'entorn. D'aquesta manera, es poden incorporar als substrats, com ara teixits tèxtils, funcionalitats específiques de mesurament de l'entorn i de resposta davant canvis d'aquest. Addicionalment, és necessari incloure sistemes electrònics, capaços de realitzar el processament de les dades obtingudes, així com del seu registre. En el desenvolupament d'aquests sensors i actuadors es combinen les propietats físiques dels diferents materials de forma precisa. Cal dissenyar estructures multicapa on les propietats d'uns materials interaccionen amb les de la resta. manera El resultat es un sensor capaç de captar variacions físiques de l'entorn, i convertirles en senyals que poden ser processades i convertides en dades. D'una banda, s'ha desenvolupat un sensor tàctil imprès sobre substrat tèxtil per a reconeixement de gestos en 2D. Aquest sensor es compon d'una matriu formada amb petits sensors capacitius basats en una estructura de tipus condensador. Aquests s'han dissenyat de manera que, si un dit o un altre objecte amb propietats capacitives s'aproxima prou, el seu comportament varia, podent ser mesurat. Els petits sensors estan ordenats en aquesta matriu com en una quadrícula. Cada sensor té una posició que ve determinada per una fila i per una columna. Periòdicament es mesura la capacitat de cada petit sensor per tal d'avaluar si ha sofert variacions significatives. Per a això cal convertir la capacitat del sensor a un valor que posteriorment és processat digitalment. D'altra banda, per tal de millorar l'efectivitat en l'ús dels sensors tàctils 2D desenvolupats, s'ha estudiat la manera d'incorporar un sistema actuador. D'aquesta forma, l'usuari rep una retroalimentació indicant que l'ordre o acció ha estat reconeguda. Per a això, s'ha complementat la matriu de sensors capacitius amb una pantalla electroluminescent també impresa. El resultat final ofereix una solució que combina un sensor tàctil 2D amb un actuador electroluminescent realitzat mitjançant impressió electrònica sobre substrat tèxtil. Posteriorment, s'ha dut a terme el desenvolupament d'un sensor de gestos 3D emprant una combinació d'un mínim de sensors impresos també sobre substrat tèxtil. En aquest tipus de sensor 3D, s'envia un senyal que genera un camp elèctric sobre els sensors impresos. Això es porta a terme mitjançant un elèctrode de transmissió situat molt a proper a ells. El camp generat és rebut pels sensors i convertit a senyals elèctrics. Per això, els sensors es basen en elèctrodes que actuen de receptors. Si una persona col·loca la seva mà dins de l'àrea d'emissió, es crea una pertorbació de les línies dels camps elèctrics. Això és a causa de la desviació de les línies de camp a terra utilitzant la conductivitat intrínseca de el cos humà. Aquesta pertorbació afecta als senyals rebudes pels elèctrodes. Les variacions captades per tots els elèctrodes són processades de manera conjunta per determinar la posició i el moviment de la mà sobre la superfície del sensor. Finalment, s'ha dut a terme el desenvolupament d'un sensor de gestos 3D millorat. A l'igual que el desenvolupament anterior, permet la detecció de gestos sense necessitat de contacte, però incrementant la distància d'abast. A més a més de la tecnologia d'impressió electrònica, s'ha avaluat emprar altres dues tecnologies de fabricació tèxtil. / Ferri Pascual, J. (2020). Tactile and Touchless Sensors Printed on Flexible Textile Substrates for Gesture Recognition [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/153075 / TESIS

Cette thèse propose une technique innovante de diagnostic non invasive pour les systèmes piles à combustible. Cette technique s’appuie sur la mesure de la signature magnétique générée par ces systèmes. A l'aide de ces champs magnétiques externes, il est possible d'obtenir une cartographie de la densité de courant interne par résolution d'un problème inverse. Ce problème est néanmoins mal posé : la solution est non unique et est extrêmement sensible au bruit. Des techniques de régularisation ont ainsi été mises en place pour filtrer les erreurs de mesures et obtenir une solution physiquement acceptable. Afin d'augmenter la qualité de reconstruction des courants, nous avons conçu notre outil de diagnostic de manière à ce qu'il soit uniquement sensible aux défaillances de la pile (capteur de défauts). De plus, cette reconstruction se base sur un nombre extrêmement faible de mesures. Une telle approche facilite l'instrumentation du système et augmente la précision et la rapidité de celui-ci. La sensibilité de notre outil à certaines défaillances (assèchements, appauvrissement en réactifs, dégradations) est démontrée. / This thesis proposes a new non invasive technique for fuel cell diagnosis. This technique relies on the measurements of the magnetic field signature created by these systems. By solving an inverse problem, it is possible to get an internal current density map. However, the inverse problem is ill-posed: the solution is not unique and it is extremely sensitive to noise. Regularization techniques were used in order to filter out measurement errors and to obtain physical realistic solutions. In order to improve the quality of the current density estimators, a diagnostic tool was built which is only sensitive to faults occurring inside the fuel cell (fault sensor). More over, our approach is based on a very low number of measurements. Such technique simplifies the experimental setup and improves the accuracy and the speed of the diagnostic tool. The sensitivity of our tool to some faults (drying out, oxygen starvation and ageing) is demonstrated.

Man’s desire to replicate/mimic the nature’s creation provided an impetus and inspiration to the rapid advancements and progress made in the sensors and actuators technology. A normal human being has five basic sensory organs, which helps and guides him in performing the routine tasks. This underlines the importance of basic sensory organs in a human life. In a similar fashion, sensors and actuators are of paramount importance for most of the science and engineering applications. The aim of the present thesis work is to explore the application of piezoelectric ZnO thin films deposited on a flexible substrate for the development of sensors and actuators. Detailed study was performed on the suitability of three different flexible substrates namely Phynox, Kapton and Mylar. However, Phynox alloy substrate was found to be a suitable substrate material for the above mentioned applications. Sputtering technique was chosen for the deposition of ZnO thin films on to Phynox substrate. The necessary process parameters were optimized to achieve good quality piezoelectric thin films. In the present work, sensors have been developed by utilizing the direct piezoelectric effect of ZnO thin films deposited on Phynox alloy substrate. These includes a flow sensor for gas flow rate measurement, impact sensor for non-destructive material discrimination study and a Thin Film Sensor Array (TFSA) for monitoring the impact events. On the other hand, using the converse piezoelectric effect of ZnO thin films, actuators have also been developed. These include a thin film micro actuator and a Thin Film Micro Vibrator (TFMV) for vibration testing of micro devices. The thesis is divided into following seven chapters. Chapter 1: This chapter gives a general introduction about sensors and actuators, piezoelectric thin films, flexible substrates, thin film deposition processes and characterization techniques. A brief literature survey of different applications of piezoelectric thin films deposited on various flexible substrates in device development is presented. Chapter 2: A novel flexible metal alloy (Phynox) and its properties along with its applications are discussed in this chapter. ZnO thin films were deposited on Phynox substrate by Rf reactive magnetron sputtering technique. The sputtering process parameters such as: Ar:O2 gas ratio, substrate temperature and RF power were optimized for the deposition of good quality piezoelectric ZnO thin films. The deposited ZnO thin films were characterized using XRD, SEM, AFM and d31 coefficient measurement techniques. Chapter 3: It reports on the comparative study of properties of piezoelectric ZnO thin films deposited on three different types of flexible substrates. The substrate materials employed were a metal alloy (Phynox), polyimide (Kapton), and polyester (Mylar). Piezoelectric ZnO thin films deposited on these flexible substrates were characterized by XRD, SEM, AFM and d31 coefficient measurement techniques. A vibration sensing test was also performed for the confirmation of good piezoelectric property. Compared to the polymer flexible substrates, the metal alloy flexible substrate (Phynox) was found to be more suitable for integrating ZnO thin film for sensing applications. Chapter 4: The development of a novel gas flow sensor for the flow rate measurement in the range of L min-1 is presented in this chapter. The sensing element is a Phynox alloy cantilever integrated with piezoelectric ZnO thin film. A detailed theoretical analysis of the experimental set–up showing the relationship between output voltage generated and force at a particular flow rate has been discussed. The flow sensor is calibrated using an in-house developed testing set-up. Chapter 5: This chapter is divided into two sections. Section 5.1 reports on the development of a novel packaged piezoelectric thin film impact sensor and its application in non-destructive material discrimination studies. Different materials (Iron, Glass, Wood and Plastic) were successfully discriminated by using the developed impact sensor. The output response of impact sensor showed good linearity and repeatability. The impact sensor is sensitive, reliable and cost-effective. Section 5.2 reports on the development of a Thin Film Senor Array (TFSA) for monitoring the location and magnitude of the impact force. The fabricated TFSA consists of evenly distributed ZnO thin film sensor array. Chapter 6: It consists of two sections. Section 6.1 reports on the fabrication of micro actuator using piezoelectric ZnO thin film integrated with flexible Phynox substrate. A suitable concave Perspex mounting was designed for the actuator element. The actuator element was excited at different frequencies for the supply voltages of 2V, 5V and 8V. The developed micro actuator has the potential to be used as a micro pump for pumping nano liters to micro liters of fluids. Section 6.2 reports the design and development of a portable ready to use Thin Film Micro Vibrator (TFMV). The TFMV is capable of providing the vibration amplitude in the range of nanometer to micrometer. A thin silicon diaphragm was used as a test specimen for its vibration testing studies using the developed TFMV. The TFMV is light-weight and have internal battery, hence no external power supply is required for its functioning. Chapter 7: The first section summarizes the salient features of the work presented in this thesis. In the second section the scope for carrying out the further work is given.

This master's thesis focuses on the utilization of an artificially created weak magnetic field for navigation in 3D space. The theoretical part of this work deals with the general properties of the magnetic field and with its description. The next section of the theoretical part contains an overview of measuring principles for magnetic field measurements. Based on various types of measuring principles, the thesis elaborates on commercially available miniature sensors for magnetic field measurement with a measuring range up to 10 mT. The work focuses mainly on the magnetoresistive principle and fluxgate sensors. Furthermore, the theoretical part contains descriptions of methods for modeling the magnetic field of simple permanent magnets and various magnet assemblies. Lastly, the theoretical part involves a patent search of devices used for locating magnets that are installed in an intramedullary nail, which is used in intramedullary stabilization used on fractures of human bones. By locating the magnet in the nail, it is possible to precisely determine the position of the mounting holes. The practical part of the thesis deals with the analysis of magnetic field behavior in the vicinity of various magnetic assemblies, which were modeled in COMSOL Multiphysics using the finite element method. The models were created with the aim of analysing the behaviour of the magnetic field in the vicinity of the magnets and at the same time to find possible analytical functions that could be used to determine the position of the magnet in space relative to the probe. The result of this work is an analysis of various assemblies, which contains graphs of different dependencies and prescription of polynomial functions that approximate these dependencies. Another part of the thesis is the design of a probe that serves to locate the magnetic target. The work describes two possible methods of localization. For the differential method, a user interface in LabVIEW was created. The probe based on this method is fully capable of locating the magnet in the 2D plane. The state space search method is described only in theory.

<p>The development of low-cost, and reliable platforms for on-site detection of pathogenic agents, and toxic environmental traces is still a critical need for real-time monitoring of potential environmental pollution and imminent outbreaks. The biosensors market is projected to attain 31.5 billion by 2024. In this landscape, colorimetric and electrochemical devices continue to have significant relevance, with paper-based platforms leading the point-of-care (POC) segment for pathogen detection and environmental monitoring.</p> <p>Despite the true potential of biosensors in general, they have witnessed a slow rate in commercialization, mainly due to cost restrictions, and concerns related to their reliability and repeatability once scaled-up. This research evaluates the implementation of printing techniques as a strong approach for the fabrication of paper-based and flexible electrochemical biosensors. The results obtained demonstrated the ability to control and predict the variables affecting the sensing performance, achieving high precision of the printing parameters, and allowing optimization, and iterations since very early stages of prototype development.</p> <p>Besides the novel fabrication approach, this work introduces the use of truncated aptameric DNA sequences for whole cell detection of E. coli O157:H7 and heavy metals (Hg2+ and As3+), providing evidence of high stability and robustness under harsh conditions. Results obtained demonstrate their equal or even superior performance when compared to antibodies.</p> <p>We established the use of aptamer-functionalized multilayered label particles (PEI-grafted gold decorated polystyrene) with high stability as label particles. These particles address the well known drawback of non-selective aggregation typical of traditional naked Gold nanoparticles. The outstanding stability of these multilayered labels was demonstrated when used in an enhanced version of the lateral flow assay for detection of E. coli O157:H7 (state of the art for paper-based colorimetric detection of whole cell bacteria), and in a multiplexed paper-based microfluidic device for dual detection of Mercury and Arsenic. This work sets the foundation of the development of a next generation of health care and environmental monitoring devices that are portable, sensitive, quantitative, and can reliably detect multiple targets with one single test.</p>