Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 401-406). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2009. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xvii, 169 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 147-155).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- McMaster University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 136-143). Also available via World Wide Web.

A highly successful architecture for the exchange of single quanta between coupled quantum systems is circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED), in which the electrical interaction between a qubit and a high-quality microwave resonator offers the possibility to reliably control, store, and read out quantum bits of information on a chip. This architecture has also been implemented with mechanical resonators, showing that a vibrational mode can in principle be manipulated via a coupled qubit. The work presented in this thesis consists of realising an acoustic version of circuit QED that we call circuit quantum acoustodynamics (QAD), in which a superconducting qubit is piezoelectrically coupled to an acoustic cavity based on surface acoustic waves (SAWs). Designing and building this novel platform involved the following main accomplishments: a systematic characterisation of SAW resonators at low temperatures; successfully developing a recipe for the fabrication of Josephson junction on quartz and diamond; measuring the coherence time of superconducting 3D transmon qubits on these substrates and demonstrating the dispersive coupling between a SAW cavity and a qubit on a planar geometry. This thesis presents evidence of the coherent interaction between a SAW cavity and a superconducting qubit in several ways. First of all, a frequency shift of the mechanical mode as a function of qubit frequency is observed. We also measure the acoustic Stark shift of the qubit due to the population of the SAW cavity. The extracted coupling is in agreement with theoretical expectations. A time delayed acoustic Stark shift serves to further demonstrate that the Stark shifts that we observe are indeed due to the acoustic field of the SAW mode. The dispersive coupling between these two quantum systems offers the possibility to perform qubit spectroscopy using the SAW resonator as readout component, indicating that these acoustic resonators can, in principle, be adopted as an alternative qubit readout scheme in quantum information processors. We finally present preliminary measurements of the direct coupling between a SAW resonator and a transmon on diamond, suggesting that strong coupling can in principle be obtained.

M.Ing. / The aim of Spoornet is to provide a minimise predictable service. In order to provide a predictable service, it is necessary to move trains safely and effectively from the place of departure to their destination. The keywords here are safely and effectively. Although support functions such as infrastructure and train control procedures are vital in moving the train, the train or rolling stock as it is generally known, warrants some attention. Defects on the rolling stock are very costly to Spoornet. This is mainly due to the fact that a defect on the rolling stock that goes undetected can cause damage to the rolling stock and the infrastructure. This damage can eventually lead to derailments. Considering that a derailment can cost Spoornet millions of rand and cause delays to the services, it is only logical to spend time preventing derailments. It is for this reason that a workgroup was formed to investigate and solve the problem of defects causing derailments and delays by developing an early warning system. The need for an integrated train condition monitoring system became apparent when considering an early warning system. The objectives of the integrated train condition monitoring system are to provide train condition information to different users, and alarms on detection of emergency or dangerous conditions. Various train defects that may cause damage or derailments were identified. One of them being a flat wheel on a rail vehicle. A flat wheel is characterised by the flattening of the wheel on one or more positions on its circumference, so that the wheel does not have an even and completely round profile. Flat wheels are mostly caused by the wheels of a vehicle becoming locked during braking, and sliding along the rail track. The friction created by this action grinds a flat spot on the wheel. The flat wheel leads to a decline in the riding quality of the rolling stock and a rise in the levels of vibration and noise is evident. But more importantly, the flat spot causes the wheel to roll unevenly, creating impacts on the rail on some points. It is these impacts that can cause damage to the rail and the rolling stock. Depending on the length of the flat spot, the vehicle type and speed, the stresses may be sufficient to cause final failure of the rail or initiate fatigue cracks in the rail. Severe flat wheels are a safety hazard and can in some cases, cause derailments and consequent delays to trains. Smaller flat spots contribute to track deterioration and so increase maintenance costs by damaging the rails, sleepers and ballast. Flat wheels can thus be very costly to Spoornet and its public image. In addition to safety and economic considerations, wheel flats reduce the comfort levels in the passenger coaches and the noises they make is annoying. In an attempt to restrict the damage caused by flat wheels, most railway administrations place a limit on the length of the flats that may stay in service. But to effectively find a flat wheel on rolling stock is currently a very expensive exercise. Flat wheels can be detected by an audible knocking sound when standing next to the rail. This sound is impossible for the driver to hear and therefore goes undetected. Normally flat wheels are detected by random inspection of the rolling stock or when they are brought in for a routine service. The service cycle on rolling stock can be up to 24 months in Spoornet. Considering that a flat wheel has an impact roughly every 3m, a serious flat generates roughly 160 000 impacts on a single trip on the coal heavy haul export line. It is therefore clear that a flat wheel can cause a considerable amount of damage between service cycles. The severity of the problem is however not accurately defined in Spoornet, because up to a few months ago there was no detection system in use to determine the distribution of flat wheels. The research department of the Deutsche Bundesbahn however considers rail fractures due to the flat wheels to be a serious problem with a significant annual replacement cost. There are thus sound safety and economic reasons for wishing to understand the mechanisms of flat wheels and to develop an early warning system using an automatic detector.

Commutated N-path networks have seen a resurgence in the past decade in the context of modern integrated circuits. N-path circuits have been used to implement high-quality tunable band-pass and notch filters with just switches and capacitors. Recently, nonreciprocal circuits such as circulators and isolators have also been reported as other applications of Linear Periodically-Time-Varying (LPTV) networks. In this dissertation, high performance filters and inductorless nonreciprocal components based on novel LPTV networks are introduced. We proposed a concept called Negative Transresistance (NTR) in phase-shifted N-path structures. The rejection of the conventional N-path notch filters is limited to the number of paths used; however, by using our proposed NTR concept, we were able to achieve more than 50dB rejection regardless of the number of paths. Using the same concept, we introduced the first prototype of N-path Low-Pass Filter (LPF). The resulting components can find application in blocker-tolerant systems, to select closely-spaced frequency channels, and also in the analog Baseband (BB). Nonreciprocal components such as circulators and isolators have traditionally relied on ferrites that offer nonreciprocal behavior based on Faraday Effect (by applying an external magnetic field). Recent efforts to eliminate the need for magnetic materials, despite being a huge success involve the usage of transmission lines (and/or inductors). In this dissertation, a novel concept called Nonreciprocal Transresistance (NRTR) is introduced. This led to the first ever inductorless RF isolator. Furthermore, we expanded the idea to the first inductorless circulator consisting of only switches and capacitors. The resulting isolator can find application in base stations to prevent back reflections (e.g. to protect the Power Amplifier (PA)). Also, in superconducting quantum systems, an isolator is necessary to separate the noise and reflections at the interface of different blocks. The introduced circulator can find applications in wireless communication systems as an antenna interface connecting the Transmitter (TX) and the Receiver (RX) to a shared antenna. This is crucial, especially for Full-Duplex (FD) applications where high isolation between RX and TX is necessary as they are operating at the same frequency. Finally, we enhanced the performance of the conventional N-path Band-Pass Filter (BPF). We first introduced a second-order N-path BPF with passive gain called impedance-transforming N-path filter. We then proposed a concept called rotary-clock-path in N-path filters which enables passive frequency shifting of N-path filters of any kind without the need for a separate clock frequency or active circuitries. Then by combining the impedance-transforming BPF and rotary-clock-path ideas, we implemented the first ever inductorless passive higher-order N-path BPF with voltage gain. The resulting BPFs can find applications in matching networks and also in a Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW)-less mixer-first receivers.

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices are a solution for today’s ever growing need for passive wireless sensors. Orthogonal frequency coding (OFC) together with time division multiplexing (TDM) provides a large number of codes and coding algorithms producing devices that have excellent collision properties. Novel SAW noise-like re- flector (NLR) structures with pulse position modulation (PPM) are shown to exhibit good auto- and cross-correlation, and anti-collision properties. Multi-track, multi-transducer approaches yield devices with adjustable input impedances and enhanced collision properties for OFC TDM SAW sensor devices. Each track-transducer is designed for optimum performance for loss, coding, and chip reflectivity. Experimental results and theoretical predictions confirm a constant Q for SAW transducers for a given operational bandwidth, independent of device and transducer embodiment. Results on these new NLR SAW structures and devices along with a new novel 915 MHz transceiver based on a software radio approach was designed, built, and analyzed. Passive wireless SAW temperature sensors were interrogated and demodulated in a spread spectrum correlator system using a new adaptive filter. The first-ever SAW OFC four-sensor operation was demonstrated at a distance of 1 meter and a single sensor was shown to operate up to 3 meters. Comments on future work and directions are also presented

The concept of a compact sound source driven by piezoactuators is experimentally investigated, and analytical design tools are developed. The sound source, consisting of a thin, cylindrically curved aluminum panel and a pair of collocated, surface-bonded piezoceramic actuators, was developed with the objective of employing it as a secondary sound source in the active control of turbofan blade interaction inlet noise. The sound source was fitted in an experimental duct representative of an aircraft engine inlet, and the interior and exterior sound pressure levels generated by the source were measured. The effects of excitation voltage, excitation frequency, duct length, and downstream termination of the duct were investigated. It was found that the source is capable of generating relatively high acoustic levels at its fundamental frequency (over 130 dB at maximum voltage input). Techniques for analytically predicting the acoustic levels are investigated. A commercial code for numerical modeling of structural-acoustic radiation was utilized. Results show generally good agreement with experimental measurements for the case of the short duct. It is believed that the model accuracy can be further improved through additional refinements in the modeling techniques. / Master of Science

An array of small, lightweight acoustic sources was investigated to determine how such an arrangement of sources would acoustically interact with a duct similar to that of a turbofan engine inlet. The sources were cylindrically curved aluminum panels excited in vibration by the application of a sinusoidally varying voltage to a piezoceramic actuator bonded to them. The finite element method was used as a design tool to size the panel based on desired vibration characteristics. A boundary element acoustic analysis was used to predict the acoustic output from various arrangements of sources. The central portion of the research was a series of experiments using an array of twelve sources arranged circumferentially in a duct. Measurements of the performance of each source revealed that the performance of the acoustic sources varied from source to source. This variation was assumed to have been caused by differences in the quality of the bond of each of the piezoceramic actuators to the panels. Directivity measurements were made in the far field. Measurements were also taken of the pressure field established in the duct cross-section. Modal decomposition was applied to the data. It was found that the dominant acoustic modes in the duct are those whose cut-on frequencies were near the frequency of excitation. / Master of Science

Several techniques for measuring high frequency vibrations are presented. The goal of the study is to develop a sensor for detecting acoustic emissions (AE) inside composite structures. The basics of wave propagation inside of materials has been presented along with an overview of typical acoustic emission testing. Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) were studied first and a novel, noncontact optical interferometric technique for measuring absolute amplitudes is presented. This technique has the added advantages in that it does not require that the interferometer be stabilized or phase biased. It is insensitive to laser fluctuations, random phase drifts, polarization changes and changes in mixing efficiency of the interferometer. SAW amplitudes between 7 and 2.5 angstroms were measured with the described technique. An intrinsic Fabry-Perot type interferometer was demonstrated for detecting SAW's and was then embedded into carbon fiber composite panels which were then put through tensile tests. AE's were captured, centered around 300 KHz, as is expected of a composite. These tests were repeatable and indicate that qualitative measurements of AE can be made. This sensor configuration was also used for detecting a variety of taps on the composite panel as well as pencil lead breaks, a standard calibration procedure for AE testing. / Master of Science