This diploma thesis is focused on design of various antenna structures, based on slot antennas, created in the wider wall of a rectangular-shaped waveguide. As the substrate, it is used a 3D textile material, while its properties are examined. They were designed structures, that operate with linear and circular polarization, and other related structures, that are used for feeding and power division. Structures are designed to operate at central frequency of 8 GHz and its vicinity.

This thesis presents the development of integrated silicon photonic devices. These devices are compatible with the present and near future CMOS technology. High-khorizontal grating couplers and waveguides are proposed. This work consists of simulations and device design, as well as the layout for the fabrication process, device fabrication, process development, characterization instrument development and electro-optical characterizations. The work demonstrates an alternative solution to costly silicon-on-insulator photonics. The proposed solution uses bulk silicon wafers and thin film deposited waveguides. Back-end deposited horizontal slot grating couplers and waveguides are realized by multi-layers of amorphous silicon and high-k materials. The achievements of this work include: A theoretical study of fully etched slot grating couplers with Al2O3, HfO2 and AIN, an optical study of the high-k films with spectroscopic ellipsometry, an experimental demonstration of fully etched SiO2 single slot grating couplers and double slot Al2O3 grating couplers, a practical demonstration of horizontal double slot high-k waveguides, partially etched Al2O3 single slot grating couplers, a study of a scheme for integration of the double slot Al2O3  waveguides with selectively grown germanium PIN photodetectors, realization of test chips for the integrated germanium photodetectors, and study of integration with graphene photodetectors through embedding the graphene into a high-k slot layer. From an application point of view, these high-k slot waveguides add more functionality to the current silicon photonics. The presented devices can be used for low cost photonics applications. Also alternative optical materials can be used in the context of this photonics platform. With the robust design, the grating couplers result in improved yield and a more cost effective solution is realized for integration of the waveguides with the germanium and graphene photodetectors. / <p>QC 20141114</p>

[pt] O processo de revestimento por extrusão é muito usado na fabricação de produtos de alta tecnologia tais como circuitos flexíveis, telas LCD e OLED, dentre outros. A espessura do filme revestido depende da vazão de alimentação e da velocidade do substrato. O estudo do escoamento na região de aplicação é de muita importância, devido à influência que tem sobre a qualidade do filme revestido. A grande maioria dos trabalhos disponíveis na literatura consideram o líquido como um fluido Newtoniano. Porém, nos processos de revestimentos nas indústrias, os líquidos comumente usados são soluções poliméricas e suspensões de partículas. O efeito da presença de moléculas poliméricas dissolvidas no fluido de trabalho nos padrões de escoamento e consequentemente na janela de operação do processo foi estudado recentemente, contudo, o efeito de partículas suspensas no escoamento é ainda desconhecido. O objetivo deste trabalho é compreender melhor a influência da suspensão de partículas no padrão de escoamento que ocorre na região de aplicação de um filme fino de líquido sobre um substrato em movimento. A variação local da concentração de partículas no líquido pode levar a grande variações na viscosidade e consequentemente mudanças no escoamento e nos limites do processo. Neste estudo, considera-se a suspensão como um sistema formado por um fluido Newtoniano como a fase contínua e partículas esféricas rígidas como a fase dispersa. A equação de transporte de partículas engloba os efeitos de difusão de partículas devido a gradientes de concentração, viscosidade e taxa de deformação. As equações de transporte de partículas em conjunto com as equações de conservação de massa e quantidade de movimento são usadas para descrever o escoamento bidimensional com fronteiras livres. Estas equações são resolvidas aproximadamente pelo método de Galerkin/Elementos Finitos. A validação do código numérico foi feita comparando com resultados analíticos disponíveis para escoamento em tubos de seção circular. Os resultados obtidos para o escoamento no precesso de revestimento por extrusão mostram as regiões de maior e menor concentração de partículas e como esta variação altera o escoamento, e a variação da concentração ao longo da espessura do filme depositado. / [en] Slot coating process is commonly used in the manufacture of high technology products such as flexible circuits, LCD and OLED displays, among others. The thickness of the coated liquid film depends on the flow rate and substrate velocity. It is very important to study the flow in the coating bead region, because the flow pattern has a strong effect on the quality of the coated film. Most of the available studies on slot coating consider the fluid as a Newtonian liquid. However, coating liquids are usually polymer solutions or particle suspensions. The effect of dissolved polymer molecules in the flow has been analyzed recently. However, the effect of suspended particle remains unknown. The goal of this work is to develop a fundamental understanding of the effect of suspended particles in the flow pattern in a slot coating process. The local changes in particle concentration can lead to great changes in the local liquid viscosity and consequently in the flow and process limits. In this research, the particle suspension is a system composed by a Newtonian liquid as a continuous phase and rigid spherical particles as the dispersed phase. The particle transport equations takes into account the diffusion due to gradients of concentration, viscosity and deformation rates. The particle transport equation together with the mass and momentum conservation equations are used to describe the two-dimensional free surface flow. These equations are solved using the Galerkin/Finite element method. The numerical code was validated by comparing numerical prediction obtained in circular tube flow with the available exact solution. The results obtained in slot coating flow show regions of high and low concentration of particles and its effect of the flow, and the variation of particle concentration in the deposited thin film.

[pt] Os sistemas que operam em banda larga necessitam de radiadores que atendam eletricamente a banda de frequência utilizada. As antenas com características de independência da frequência, em particular as antenas espirais, têm encontrando cada vez mais utilização nesses sistemas, seja em aplicações comercias ou militares. Esta dissertação tem por objetivo a análise de desempenho de antenas espirais do tipo fenda em cavidades, pela aplicação do método dos momentos. Serão consideradas cavidades com a face oposta à antena constituída por um condutor perfeito ou acoplada a uma estrutura de microondas com matriz de espalhamento conhecida. Essa estrutura de microondas, poderá simular, por exemplo, uma ou mais camadas de material absorvente.Um modelo numérico foi desenvolvido, e a partir dele foi elaborado um programa de computador, para determinar as características de radiação de antenas espirais em cavidade. São apresentados e comparados os resultados obtidos para três configurações de antenas espirais de Arquimedes do tipo fenda: sem cavidade, com cavidade condutora e com um material absorvente colocado sobre a face da cavidade oposta a abertura da antena. / [en] Broad band systems need radiators to operate over the entire frequency band. Frequency independent antennas, in particular spiral antennas, are finding increasing application in such systems, for commercial or military purposes. This dissertation has for objective the analysis of performance of cavity-backed slot spiral antenna, by applying the moment method . For this study it will be taken into account cavities with the face opposing to the antenna consisting of a perfect conductor or connected to a structure of microwaves with known scattering matrix. This microwave structure will be able to simulate, for example, one or more layers of absorbing material. A numerical model was developed, and based on it, it was elaborated a computer program to determine the radiation characteristics of cavity-backed spiral antennas. The results surveyed for three configurations of slot Archimedean spiral antenna are presented and compared: without cavity, with conducting cavity, and with an absorbing material placed on the cavity opposite to the antenna.

Defect generation and propagation in thin films, such as separation membranes, can lead to premature or catastrophic failure of devices such as polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). It is hypothesized that defects (e.g., air bubbles, pin-holes, and holes) originate during the manufacturing stage, if precise control is not maintained over the coating process, and they propagate during system operation. Experimental and numerical studies were performed to detect and eliminate defects that were induced during slot die coating of high-viscosity (1 to 40 Pa-s), shear-thinning solutions. The effects of fluid properties, geometric parameters and processing conditions on air entrainment and coating windows (limited set of processing conditions for which defect-free coating exists) were studied. When smaller slot gaps and coating gaps were used, relatively small bubbles were entrained in the coated film. The air bubble sizes increased as the viscosity of the coating solution decreased. A semi-empirical model correlating the maximum coating speed to a solution's material properties, geometric parameters and processing conditions was developed. Such a predictive model will enable engineers to determine the maximum coating boundary for shear-thinning and Newtonian solutions within certain constraints. Smaller coating gaps and low-viscosity solutions produced higher coating speeds. The surface tension property of the coating solution provided stability to the coating bead. Therefore, solutions with higher surface tension could be processed at higher coating speeds.

Silicon is the dominant material in Microelectronics. Building photonic devices out of silicon can leverage the mature processing technologies developed in silicon CMOS. Silicon is also a very good waveguide material. It is highly transparent at 1550nm, and it has very high refractive index of 3.46. High refractive index enables building high index contrast waveguides with dimensions close to the diffraction limit. This provides the opportunity to build highly integrated photonic integrated circuit that can perform multiple functions on the same silicon chip, an optical parallel of the electronic integrated circuit. However, silicon does not have some of the necessary properties to build active optical devices such as lasers and modulators. For Example, silicon is an indirect band gap material that can’t be used to make lasers. The centro-symmetric crystal structure in silicon presents no electro-optic effect. By contrast, electro-optic polymer can be engineered to show very strong electro-optic effect up to 300pm/V. In this research we have demonstrated highly compact and efficient devices that utilize the strong optical confinement ability in silicon and strong electro-optic effect in polymer. We have performed detailed investigations on the optical coupling to a slow light waveguide and developed solutions to improve the coupling efficiency to a slow light photonic crystal waveguides (PCW). These studies have lead to the demonstration of the most hybrid silicon modulator demonstrate to date and a compact chip scale true time delay module that can be implemented in future phased array antenna systems. In the future, people may be able to realize a photonic integrated circuit for optical communication or sensor systems using the devices we developed in our research. / text

This thesis presents the rectifying antenna potential for infrared and millimeter wave energy conversion. Infrared imaging is one of the emerging technologies that have attracted considerable attention in the next generation of military, medical, and commercial applications. Moreover, with the ever-increasing congestion of the electromagnetic spectrum at RF and microwave frequencies and the establishment of firm civilian and military requirements best met by millimeter wave systems, the interest in the technology has grown and is now firmly established. During this work a 2.5GHz slot antenna, a 2.5GHz Schottky diode detector, a CPW-to-Microstrip transition, a fully integrated Rectenna element, and a 94GHz slot antenna were designed, fabricated, and tested. Results on the performance of the devices show a great deal of correlation between the simulated and measured data. To perform an initial study, the CPW-fed narrow slot antenna is designed at 2.5GHz and implemented on an FR-4 board. This investigation serves as the basis for the development of the Rectenna element at millimeter wave frequencies. In order to increase the bandwidth of the slot antenna, a 2.5GHz CPW-fed wide slot antenna with U-shaped tuning stub is realized, which provides a 60% increase in bandwidth while keeping the same radiation characteristics. In addition, a set of simulations is performed to show how a reflector plate affects the radiating properties of the slot antenna. A 2.5GHz square-law detector is also designed, fabricated, and tested in order to rectify the RF signal delivered by the antenna. The fabricated detector presents a well matched condition at the design frequency with a dynamic range found to be from --17dBm to --50dBm. The low frequency Rectenna element prototype is then integrated within a single FR-4 board. This is accomplished by implementing a compact via-less CPW-to-Microstrip transition. Finally, a 94GHz CPW-fed wide slot antenna is realized on a 10μm high resistivity silicon membrane. This antenna shows a great deal of similarity to the 2.5GHz slot antenna. This low profile antenna presents at least a 10dB return loss over the entire W band frequency window. Simulated antenna efficiencies of up to 99% were achieved assuming a perfect conductor.

An evaporating meniscus formed by a wetting °uid in a heated capillary slot with capillary driven °flow is numerically and experimentally investigated at the microscale and pore scale. In the microscale analysis, the contact line region of an extended evaporating thin ¯lm meniscus is numerically investigated to study the influence of °uid properties on the heat transfer. The governing equations to describe the fluid °flow, heat and mass transfer phenomena in an evaporating extended meniscus are grouped uniquely as function of °uid dependent parameters, namely the interline heat flow number and heat pipe ¯figure of merit. A physical interpretation of these parameters is presented. Numerical experiments conducted with different working °fluids show that a °uid with a high interline heat °flow parameter and heat pipe ¯figure of merit also has a high cumulative heat transfer in the micro region encompassing the evaporating thin ¯lm. In the pore scale analysis, the evaporation from a pentane meniscus in a heated capillary slot is experimentally and numerically investigated to study how the wetting characteristics are influenced with heat input. In the experimental investigation, a test set up is fabricated with a heated glass capillary slot that is partially immersed in a constant temperature bath with constant °uid level. A novel aspect of this experiment is that both the wicking height and steady state evaporation mass flow rate are measured simultaneously. Based on a macroscopic force balance, the apparent contact angle of the evaporating meniscus is experimentally estimated from the wicking height and mass flow rate. This is compared with the results obtained using evaporating thin ¯lm theory. The experimentally estimated contact angle is higher than that obtained from the thin ¯lm model but both experiment and theory show similar trends. In the numerical study, a ¯finite volume numerical model of an evaporating meniscus in a heated capillary slot (simulating the above experimental condition) is developed for predicting the wicking height and mass flow rate. This model includes: (i) one-dimensional heat transfer and °uid °flow in the liquid and vapour regions of the capillary slot, (ii) one{dimensional evaporating thin ¯lm model for the meniscus region, and (iii) two-dimensional conduction heat transfer in the capillary wall. Correlations obtained from the evaporating thin{¯lm theory in terms of cumulative heat transfer and apparent contact angle are applied to the pore level problem. The problem is solved iteratively between the micro and pore scales till convergence is achieved. The wicking height is influenced by the change in apparent contact angle and the pressure drops to flow of liquid and vapor in the capillary slot that is a function of evaporation mass °ow rate. Heat input to the capillary slot increases both the contact angle in the evaporating meniscus and the frictional pressure drops in the liquid and vapor regions. In the present study, the influence of increased contact angle is more significant and the liquid and vapor pressure drops are negligible. The trends in the wicking height, mass flow rate and conductance are similar to the experimental data. The proposed numerical approach using correlations from thin ¯lm theory to link the micro and macro scales yields results that are consistent with experimental data. The results show that the change in contact angle can degrade the ability of the liquid to wet the pore and hence result in a lower heat transfer coefficident.

Neste trabalho é apresentada uma análise da antena planar F-invertido (PIFA) com o objetivo de identificar os parâmetros geométricos que influenciam nas características de desempenho: frequência de ressonância, perda de retorno e largura de banda. Para realizar este estudo é desenvolvido um algoritmo em linguagem C baseado no método das Diferenças Finitas no Domínio do Tempo (FDTD). Duas PIFAs de geometria distintas foram investigadas. O primeiro modelo trata da geometria tradicional de elemento irradiador e plano de terra, ambos retangulares. Já o segundo modelo apresenta a fenda em formato de L no elemento irradiador, para operação em frequência dupla, e o plano de terra em formato de T, visando a aumentar a largura de banda. Os resultados da simulação do algoritmo identificam os parâmetros que influenciam no aumento nas duas larguras de banda, e são aplicados na prototipação de uma PIFA GSM-900 e GSM-1800. As medidas de laboratório do protótipo evidenciam os resultados previstos pelo algoritmo. / A Planar Inverted-F Antenna (PIFA) analysis is presented in this work, aiming to identify the geometric parameters that influence the antenna performance, such as resonant frequency, return loss and bandwidth. To accomplish this goal, an algorithm in C language based on the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method is developed. Two PIFAs with distinct geometries are investigated. The first one corresponds to a typicall rectangular patch and ground plane, The second model presents an L-shaped slot for dual frequency band operation, combined with a T-shaped ground plane, in order to increase the bandwidth. The simulated results obtained by algorithm identify the parameters that respond for both bandwidths enhancement, and are applied in a PIFA GSM-900/GSM-1800 practical project. The prototype’s measurements confirm the simulated results.

abstract: Kinetic inductance springs from the inertia of charged mobile carriers in alternating electric fields and it is fundamentally different from the magnetic inductance which is only a geometry dependent property. The magnetic inductance is proportional to the volume occupied by the electric and magnetic fields and is often limited by the number of turns of the coil. Kinetic inductance on the other hand is inversely proportional to the density of electrons or holes that exert inertia, the unit mass of the charge carriers and the momentum relaxation time of these charge carriers, all of which can be varied merely by modifying the material properties. Highly sensitive and broadband signal amplifiers often broaden the field of study in astrophysics. Quantum-noise limited travelling wave kinetic inductance parametric amplifiers offer a noise figure of around 0.5 K ± 0.3 K as compared to 20 K in HEMT signal amplifiers and can be designed to operate to cover the entire W-band (75 GHz – 115 GHz).The research cumulating to this thesis involves applying and exploiting kinetic inductance properties in designing a W-band orthogonal mode transducer, quadratic gain phase shifter with a gain of ~49 dB over a meter of microstrip transmission line. The phase shifter will help in measuring the maximum amount of phase shift ∆ϕ_max (I) that can be obtained from half a meter transmission line which helps in predicting the gain of a travelling wave parametric amplifier. In another project, a microstrip to slot line transition is designed and optimized to operate at 150 GHz and 220 GHz frequencies, that is used as a part of horn antenna coupled microwave kinetic inductance detector proposed to operate from 138 GHz to 250 GHz. In the final project, kinetic inductance in a 2D electron gas (2DEG) is explored by design, simulation, fabrication and experimentation. A transmission line model of a 2DEG proposed by Burke (1999), is simulated and verified experimentally by fabricating a capacitvely coupled 2DEG mesa structure. Low temperature experiments were done at 77 K and 10 K with photo-doping the 2DEG. A circuit model of a 2DEG coupled co-planar waveguide model is also proposed and simulated. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Electrical Engineering 2016