International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1999 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper describes the current internationally recognized atomic time scales of International Atomic Time (TAI), Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), and Global Positioning System (GPS) Time as well as solar based Universal Time. The concept of Leap Seconds and the differences between the time scales are discussed. A brief history of the international agreements that created organizations responsible for maintaining these time scales is provided. A brief review of the GPS 1999 (Week Number Roll Over) WNRO with its potential GPS user problems is provided. Prudent personal precautions are proposed for the Year 2000 (Y2K) Rollover.

<p>The Swedish National Testing and Research Institute is maintaining the Swedish realization of the world time scale UTC, called UTC(SP). One area of research and development for The Swedish National Laboratory of Time and Frequency is time synchronization and how UTC(SP) can be distributed in Sweden. Dissemination of time information by SP is in Sweden mainly performed via Internet using the Network Time Protocol (NTP) as well as via a modem dial up service and a speaking clock (Fröken Ur). In addition to these services, time information from the Global Positioning System (GPS) and from the long-wave transmitter DCF77 in Germany, is also available in Sweden. </p><p>This master’s thesis considers how different available commercial communication systems could be used for multicast time distribution. DECT, Bluetooth, Mobile Telecommunication and Radio Broadcasting are different techniques that are investigated. One application of Radio Broadcasting, DARC, was found to be interesting for a more detailed study. A theoretical description of how DARC could be used for national time distribution is accomplished and a practical implementation of a test system is developed to evaluate the possibilities to use DARC for multicast time distribution. </p><p>The tests of DARC and the radio broadcast system showed that these could be interesting techniques to distribute time with an accuracy of a couple of milliseconds. This quality level is not obtained today but would be possible with some alterations of the system.</p>

The Swedish National Testing and Research Institute is maintaining the Swedish realization of the world time scale UTC, called UTC(SP). One area of research and development for The Swedish National Laboratory of Time and Frequency is time synchronization and how UTC(SP) can be distributed in Sweden. Dissemination of time information by SP is in Sweden mainly performed via Internet using the Network Time Protocol (NTP) as well as via a modem dial up service and a speaking clock (Fröken Ur). In addition to these services, time information from the Global Positioning System (GPS) and from the long-wave transmitter DCF77 in Germany, is also available in Sweden. This master’s thesis considers how different available commercial communication systems could be used for multicast time distribution. DECT, Bluetooth, Mobile Telecommunication and Radio Broadcasting are different techniques that are investigated. One application of Radio Broadcasting, DARC, was found to be interesting for a more detailed study. A theoretical description of how DARC could be used for national time distribution is accomplished and a practical implementation of a test system is developed to evaluate the possibilities to use DARC for multicast time distribution. The tests of DARC and the radio broadcast system showed that these could be interesting techniques to distribute time with an accuracy of a couple of milliseconds. This quality level is not obtained today but would be possible with some alterations of the system.

Social and environmental justice for a growing and developing global population requires significant increases in energy use. A possible means of contributing to this energy increase is to incinerate plutonium from spent fuel of pressurised light water reactors (Pu(PWR)) in high-temperature reactors such as the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Demonstration Power Plant 400 MWth (PBMR-DPP-400). Previous studies showed that at low temperatures a 3 g Pu(PWR) loading per fuel sphere or less had a positive uniform temperature reactivity coefficient (UTC) in a PBMR DPP-400. The licensing of this fuel design is consequently unlikely. In the present study it was shown by diffusion simulations of the neutronics, using VSOP-99/05, that there is a fuel design containing thorium and plutonium that achieves a negative maximum UTC. Further, a fuel design containing 12 g Pu(PWR) loading per fuel sphere achieved a negative maximum UTC as well as the other PBMR (Ltd.) safety limits of maximum power per fuel sphere, fast fluence and maximum temperatures. It is proposed that the low average thermal neutron flux, caused by reduced moderation and increased absorption of thermal neutrons due to the higher plutonium loading, is responsible for these effects. However, to fully understand the mechanisms involved a detailed quantitative analysis of the roll of each factor is required. A 12 g Pu(PWR) loading per fuel sphere analysis shows a burn-up of 180.7 GWd/tHM which is approximately double the proposed PBMR (Ltd.) low enriched uranium fuel burn-up. The spent fuel has only a decrease of 24.5 % in the Pu content which is sub-optimal with respect to proliferation and waste disposal objectives. Incinerating Pu(PWR) in the PBMR-DPP 400 MWth is potentially licensable and economically feasible and should be considered for application by industry. / MIng (Nuclear Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Social and environmental justice for a growing and developing global population requires significant increases in energy use. A possible means of contributing to this energy increase is to incinerate plutonium from spent fuel of pressurised light water reactors (Pu(PWR)) in high-temperature reactors such as the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Demonstration Power Plant 400 MWth (PBMR-DPP-400). Previous studies showed that at low temperatures a 3 g Pu(PWR) loading per fuel sphere or less had a positive uniform temperature reactivity coefficient (UTC) in a PBMR DPP-400. The licensing of this fuel design is consequently unlikely. In the present study it was shown by diffusion simulations of the neutronics, using VSOP-99/05, that there is a fuel design containing thorium and plutonium that achieves a negative maximum UTC. Further, a fuel design containing 12 g Pu(PWR) loading per fuel sphere achieved a negative maximum UTC as well as the other PBMR (Ltd.) safety limits of maximum power per fuel sphere, fast fluence and maximum temperatures. It is proposed that the low average thermal neutron flux, caused by reduced moderation and increased absorption of thermal neutrons due to the higher plutonium loading, is responsible for these effects. However, to fully understand the mechanisms involved a detailed quantitative analysis of the roll of each factor is required. A 12 g Pu(PWR) loading per fuel sphere analysis shows a burn-up of 180.7 GWd/tHM which is approximately double the proposed PBMR (Ltd.) low enriched uranium fuel burn-up. The spent fuel has only a decrease of 24.5 % in the Pu content which is sub-optimal with respect to proliferation and waste disposal objectives. Incinerating Pu(PWR) in the PBMR-DPP 400 MWth is potentially licensable and economically feasible and should be considered for application by industry. / MIng (Nuclear Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Ce travail porte sur la conception, la fabrication et la caractérisation d’une photodiode très haut débit (UTC PD) et son intégration avec un préamplificateur optique à semi-conducteur (SOA) pour les liaisons optiques à courte distance à 100 Gbit/s en bandes C et O. Il porte également sur la conception d'un duplexeur (Tx / Rx) avec liaison montante en bande C et liaison descendante en bande O. L'intégration monolithique d’un SOA avec une photodiode haut débit sans filtre optique entre les deux présente des avantages majeurs parmi lesquels: - Augmentation de la distance de transmission. - Augmentation du nombre d'utilisateurs connectés. - Diminution des coûts globaux de fabrication incluant l’assemblage. La première partie de cette étude porte sur l'optimisation SOA pour un fonctionnement à forte puissance (Psat). Un faible facteur de bruit (NF) et une faible dépendance à la polarisation (PDL) sont requis pour les récepteurs préamplifiés. De plus, un fonctionnement du et opérer en régime linéaire est nécessaire pour les schémas de modulation complexes. Le SOA actuel possède un gain de 18 dB avec un facteur de bruit de 8 dB, une faible PDL (<2 dB), et une bonne puissance de saturation en entrée (-8 dBm). Grâce à l’optimisation de la structure verticale du SOA et de son couplage avec la fibre les performances attendues sont améliores : Psat >-5 dBm, NF <8 dB, PDL et gain similaire. D'autre part, les interconnexions électriques de la photodiode ont été optimisées ce qui a permis de démontrer des photodiodes avec une bande passante supérieure à 100 GHz. Les photodiodes présentent un fort coefficient de réponse (R) (0,6 A/W à 1,3 μm et 0,55 A/W à 1,55 μm) et une faible PDL <1 dB. Un fort courant de saturation de 14 mA à 100 GHz a aussi été démonté. Enfin, la caractérisation des SOA-UTC réalisés a montré simultanément une très forte responsivité (95 A/W), une faible dépendance à la polarisation PDL (<2 dB), un faible NF (8 dB) et une large bande passante à 3 dB (> 95 GHz), qui placent nos composants au meilleur niveau de l’état de l’art avec un produit gain-bande record de 6,1 THz. Les Mesures numériques à 64 Gbit/s montrent que notre récepteur atteint une sensibilité de -17 dBm pour un taux d'erreur de 10-9, et la sensibilité attendue à 100 Gbit/s est de -14 dBm / This work focuses on the design, fabrication and measurements of a uni-travelling carrier high speed photodiode (UTC PD) and its integration with a semiconductor optical preamplifier (SOA) for short reach 100 Gbit/s optical links, in O- and C- bands. This work also focuses on the design of a duplexer (Tx/Rx) with downstream in O-band and upstream in C-band. The SOA monolithic integration with a high speed PD without an optical filter in between yields major benefits among which: - Increase in the transmission distance. - Increase in the split ratio correlated to the number of connected users. - Decrease of the overall fabrication and assembling cost. The first part of this work is dedicated to optimizing the SOA for high power operation (Psat). The low noise figure (NF), and polarization dependence loss (PDL) are critical parameters for a preamplified receiver. Also complex modulation formats require linear gain regime of the SOA. The current SOA presents 18 dB gain with NF (8 dB), low PDL (<2 dB), and good input power saturation (-8 dBm). Thanks to further optimization of the SOA vertical structure and coupling with the optical fiber, the expected SOA performance is higher Psat >-5 dBm, NF <8 dB, similar PDL and gain. Secondly, the electrical interconnects of the photodiode is optimized to increase the photodiodes’ bandwidth, which allows to demonstrate photodiode with >100 GHz bandwidth. The PD presents high responsivity (R) (0,6 A/W at 1,3 μm and 0.55 A/W at 1,55 μm) and low PDL <1 dB. Also the saturation photocurrent is high (14 mA at 100 GHz). Finally, the SOA-UTC demonstrates high responsivity (95 A/W), low PDL (<2 dB), low NF (8 dB) and a wide 3 dB bandwidth (>95 GHz), which yields a record gain-bandwidth product of 6.1 THz. Large signal measurements at 64 Gbit/s show that our receiver reaches a low sensitivity of -17 dBm for a bit error rate of 10-9, and is expected to reach -14 dBm at 100 Gbit/s

L'intégration optoélectronique d'un récepteur dans une transmission sur fibre optique concerne l'assemblage de trois principales fonctions : la photodétection, la récupération d'horloge et la régénération des données. Cette thèse contribue au développement d'un tel concept avec, d'une part, l'étude d'une structure de photodiode appelée UTC (Uni-Travelling Carrier) compatible avec le transistor bipolaire à double hétérojonction (TBdH), et d'autre part, la réalisation dans cette même technologie TBdH d'un oscillateur commandé en tension ou VCO (Voltage-Controlled Oscillator) pour la récupération d'horloge et des données à 40 et 43 Gbit/s. La photodiode UTC présente de très bonnes performances en bande passante et en courant de saturation par rapport à la photodiode PIN classique. La première partie de ce travail présente une étude approfondie de la structure UTC ainsi que son intégration avec la structure TBdH sur substrat InP. La compatibilité entre ces deux structures a été validée avec quelques critères à respecter. En particulier, le dopage et l'épaisseur de la base constituent les principaux compromis entre la sensibilité et la rapidité du dispositif. Le VCO de type différentiel permettra, après intégration dans une boucle à verrouillage de phase ou PLL (Phase-Locked Loop), de générer un signal stable fournissant deux phases d'horloge complémentaires aux circuits numériques, notamment au circuit de décision utilisé pour la régénération des données. L'architecture « à varactor interne » choisie offre un fort potentiel pour la réalisation des VCO de très hautes fréquences. Le circuit VCO réalisé au cours de cette thèse présente de bonnes performances en plage d'accord (10%) autour de la fréquence d'oscillation de 45 GHz. La précision de cette fréquence est liée aux modèles du transistor et de la ligne coplanaire utilisés dans la simulation, ainsi qu'à la reproductibilité technologique. Ces résultats permettent de franchir une étape importante et nécessaire à la réalisation d'un récepteur monolithique à base de TBdH InP pour les applications à très haut débit.

In this thesis advanced fuel cycles for the incineration, i.e. deep–burn, of weapons–grade plutonium, reactor–grade plutonium from pressurised light water reactors and reactor–grade plutonium + the associated Minor Actinides in the 400 MWth Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Demonstration Power Plant was simulated with the VSOP 99/05 diffusion code. These results were also compared to the standard 9 g/fuel sphere U/Pu 9.6% enriched uranium fuel cycle. The addition of the Minor Actinides to the reactor–grade plutonium caused an unacceptable decrease in the burn–up and thus an unacceptable increase in the heavy metal (HM) content in the spent fuel, which is intended for direct disposal in a deep geological repository, without chemical reprocessing. All the Pu fuel cycles failed the adopted safety limits in that either the maximum fuel temperature of 1130°C, during normal operation, or the maximum power of 4.5 kW/sphere was exceeded. All the Pu cycles also produced positive Uniform Temperature Reactivity Coefficients, i.e. the coefficient where the temperature of the fuel and the graphite moderator in the fuel spheres are varied together. these positive temperature coefficients were experienced at low temperatures, typically below 700°C. This was due to the influence of the thermal fission resonance of 241Pu. The safety performance of the weapons–grade plutonium was the worst. The safety performance of the reactor–grade plutonium also deteriorated when the heavy metal loading was reduced from 3 g/sphere to 2 g or 1 g. In view of these safety problems, these Pu fuel cycles were judged to be not licensable in the PBMR DPP–400 reactor. Therefore a redesign of the fuel cycle for reactor–grade plutonium, the power conversion system and the reactor geometry was proposed in order to solve these problems. The main elements of these proposals are: v 1. The use of 3 g reactor–grade plutonium fuel spheres should be the point of departure. 232Th will then be added in order to restore negative Uniform Temperature Reactivity Coefficients. 2. The introduction of neutron poisons into the reflectors, in order to suppress the power density peaks and thus the temperature peaks. 3. In order to counter the reduction in burn–up by this introduction of neutron poisons, a thinning of the central reflector was proposed. / Thesis (PhD (Nuclear Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

In this thesis advanced fuel cycles for the incineration, i.e. deep–burn, of weapons–grade plutonium, reactor–grade plutonium from pressurised light water reactors and reactor–grade plutonium + the associated Minor Actinides in the 400 MWth Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Demonstration Power Plant was simulated with the VSOP 99/05 diffusion code. These results were also compared to the standard 9 g/fuel sphere U/Pu 9.6% enriched uranium fuel cycle. The addition of the Minor Actinides to the reactor–grade plutonium caused an unacceptable decrease in the burn–up and thus an unacceptable increase in the heavy metal (HM) content in the spent fuel, which is intended for direct disposal in a deep geological repository, without chemical reprocessing. All the Pu fuel cycles failed the adopted safety limits in that either the maximum fuel temperature of 1130°C, during normal operation, or the maximum power of 4.5 kW/sphere was exceeded. All the Pu cycles also produced positive Uniform Temperature Reactivity Coefficients, i.e. the coefficient where the temperature of the fuel and the graphite moderator in the fuel spheres are varied together. these positive temperature coefficients were experienced at low temperatures, typically below 700°C. This was due to the influence of the thermal fission resonance of 241Pu. The safety performance of the weapons–grade plutonium was the worst. The safety performance of the reactor–grade plutonium also deteriorated when the heavy metal loading was reduced from 3 g/sphere to 2 g or 1 g. In view of these safety problems, these Pu fuel cycles were judged to be not licensable in the PBMR DPP–400 reactor. Therefore a redesign of the fuel cycle for reactor–grade plutonium, the power conversion system and the reactor geometry was proposed in order to solve these problems. The main elements of these proposals are: v 1. The use of 3 g reactor–grade plutonium fuel spheres should be the point of departure. 232Th will then be added in order to restore negative Uniform Temperature Reactivity Coefficients. 2. The introduction of neutron poisons into the reflectors, in order to suppress the power density peaks and thus the temperature peaks. 3. In order to counter the reduction in burn–up by this introduction of neutron poisons, a thinning of the central reflector was proposed. / Thesis (PhD (Nuclear Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.