Dans un contexte technologique où le degré d'intégration des circuits en micro et optoélectronique est de plus en plus fort, il apparaît nécessaire aux concepteurs de ces circuits de disposer d'outils de simulation complets permettant non seulement d'étudier le fonctionnement des différents éléments constitutifs des sous-systèmes qu'ils réalisent, mais également d'évaluer les performances globales de l'ensemble. Ce travail de thèse porte sur l'élaboration de modèles de composants optoélectroniques en utilisant le langage VHDL-AMS, langage particulièrement bien adapté à la modélisation de systèmes multi-domaines en intégrant les différentes contraintes: l'électronique, l'optique, la thermique ou la mécanique. Ce langage offre aussi la possibilité de modéliser à différents niveaux d'abstraction un même système. Notre travail se situe dans le contexte du projet SHAMAN, dont le but était de modéliser chaque composant d'un microsystème opto-électronique à haut débit, courte distance et à fortes interactions thermiques et mécaniques. La mise en œuvre d'une méthodologie de modélisation hiérarchique permettant de commuter entre deux conceptions ascendante et descendante amène à des solutions optimales en termes de performances, de coût et de temps de conception: ceci en ré-utilisant des composants virtuels dont l'utilisation est régie par des règles de propriétés intellectuelles (IP).

In this thesis, the conditions of using the maintenance method live work at the Swedish TSO, Svenska Kraftnät has been analyzed. The study is limited to only include live work on 220 and 400 kV. The live work method is a type of maintenance that can be done, on lines or stations, even though they are still energized. The purpose of this thesis has been to map the present live work situation at these levels in Sweden. The study is based mostly on interviews with people who have specific field competence with in live work but also with personnel at Svenska Kraftnät. Besides the study of Swedish usage of the method, a study of other countries was made. Live work isn’t new in Sweden, the method was first used here in the 1950’s. The method partially came back in the 1970’s, but it wasn’t until 1997 that the method was fully permitted in Sweden. Before 1997 government permission was mandatory to have to be allowed to use live work. This rule was changed in 1997 and now the method is equally valued to the other methods. This study also shows that there are incentives for using more live work in Sweden, especially now when the country has been split into four different electricity markets. But there are several obstacles for a development in live work usage. If Svenska Kraftnät wants to increase their live work usage there are many actions that have to be made. In the end of this study these actions are presented.

Total ionizing dose (TID) radiation effects modeling and simulation on digital, analog and mixed signal systems remains a significant bottle neck in the development of radiation-hardened electronics. Unverified modeling techniques and the very high computational cost with today's commercial simulation tools are among the primary hindrances to the timely hardened IC design, particularly to the design in commercially available processes. SPICE-based methods have been used for total dose radiation degradation simulations. While SPICE is effective in predicting the circuit behavior under circumstances when the electrical parameters stay constant during operation, it's not effective predicting aging behavior with gradual change with time. Behavioral modeling language, such as VHDL-AMS is needed to effectively capture the time-dependent degradation in these parameters in response to environmental stresses, such as TID radiation.This dissertation describes a method for accurate and rapid TID effect simulation of complex mixed-signal circuits. The method uses a hierarchical structure where small sub-circuits, such as voltage comparators, references, etc. are simulated using SPICE. These SPICE simulations of small circuits for multiple radiation doses are used to tune behavioral VHDL-AMS models for the sub-circuits. The created behavioral models therefore contain the electrical circuit behavior combined with the radiation response. The entire combined system is then simulated using VHDL-AMS.In a simulation experiment that was used to validate the speed and accuracy of the new method, a commercial 8-bit sub-ranging analog to digital converter netlist containing more than 2000 MOS transistors was simulated with TID models using a contemporary SPICE-based method and the new method. The new method shortened the simulation time by three orders of magnitude, while accuracy remained within reasonable limits compared to the SPICE-based method. Moreover, the automated procedures for circuit node bias monitoring, TID model replacement and result collection that are included in the simulation code of the new method decreased the "hands-on" engineering work significantly. Results from an experiment where the new TID effect simulation method was used as a hardness assurance test procedure for integrated circuits designed to be operated in radiation-harsh environments are also included in this dissertation.

Zugl.: Chemnitz, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2010

Techn. Hochsch., Diss., 2001--Aachen.

Techn. Hochsch., Diss., 2003--Aachen.

No description available.

Les systèmes sur puces intègrent aujourd’hui sur le même substrat des parties analogiques et des unités de traitement numérique. Tandis que la complexité de ces systèmes s’accroissait, leur temps de mise sur le marché se réduisait. Une conception descendante globale et coordonnée du système est devenue indispensable de façon à tenir compte des interactions entre les parties analogiques et les partis numériques dès le début du développement. Dans le but de répondre à ce besoin, cette thèse expose un processus de raffinement progressif et méthodique des parties analogiques, comparable à ce qui existe pour le raffinement des parties numériques. L'attention a été plus particulièrement portée sur la définition des niveaux analogiques les plus abstraits et à la mise en correspondance des niveaux d’abstraction entre parties analogiques et numériques. La cohérence du raffinement analogique exige de détecter le niveau d’abstraction à partir duquel l’utilisation d’un modèle trop idéalisé conduit à des comportements irréalistes et par conséquent d’identifier l’étape du raffinement à partir de laquelle les limitations et les non linéarités aux conséquences les plus fortes sur le comportement doivent être introduites. Cette étape peut être d’un niveau d'abstraction élevé. Le choix du style de modélisation le mieux adapté à chaque niveau d'abstraction est crucial pour atteindre le meilleur compromis entre vitesse de simulation et précision. Les styles de modélisations possibles à chaque niveau ont été examinés de façon à évaluer leur impact sur la simulation. Les différents modèles de calcul de SystemC-AMS ont été catégorisés dans cet objectif. Les temps de simulation obtenus avec SystemC-AMS ont été comparés avec Matlab Simulink. L'interface entre les modèles issus de l'exploration d'architecture, encore assez abstraits, et les modèles plus fin requis pour l'implémentation, est une question qui reste entière. Une bibliothèque de composants électroniques complexes décrits en SystemC-AMS avec le modèle de calcul le plus précis (modélisation ELN) pourrait être une voie pour réussir une telle interface. Afin d’illustrer ce que pourrait être un élément d’une telle bibliothèque et ainsi démontrer la faisabilité du concept, un modèle d'amplificateur opérationnel a été élaboré de façon à être suffisamment détaillé pour prendre en compte la saturation de la tension de sortie et la vitesse de balayage finie, tout en gardant un niveau d'abstraction suffisamment élevé pour rester indépendant de toute hypothèse sur la structure interne de l'amplificateur ou la technologie à employer. / Systems on Chip (SoC) embed in the same chip analogue parts and digital processing units. While their complexity is ever increasing, their time to market is becoming shorter. A global and coordinated top-down design approach of the whole system is becoming crucial in order to take into account the interactions between the analogue and digital parts since the beginning of the development. This thesis presents a systematic and gradual refinement process for the analogue parts comparable to what exists for the digital parts. A special attention has been paid to the definition of the highest abstracted analogue levels and to the correspondence between the analogue and the digital abstraction levels. The analogue refinement consistency requires to detect the abstraction level where a too idealised model leads to unrealistic behaviours. Then the refinement step consist in introducing – for instance – the limitations and non-linearities that have a strong impact on the behaviour. Such a step can be done at a relatively high level of abstraction. Correctly choosing a modelling style, that suits well an abstraction level, is crucial to obtain the best trade-off between the simulation speed and the accuracy. The modelling styles at each abstraction level have been examined to understand their impact on the simulation. The SystemC-AMS models of computation have been classified for this purpose. The SystemC-AMS simulation times have been compared to that obtained with Matlab Simulink. The interface between models arisen from the architectural exploration – still rather abstracted – and the more detailed models that are required for the implementation, is still an open question. A library of complex electronic components described with the most accurate model of computation of SystemC-AMS (ELN modelling) could be a way to achieve such an interface. In order to show what should be an element of such a library, and thus prove the concept, a model of an operational amplifier has been elaborated. It is enough detailed to take into account the output voltage saturation and the finite slew rate of the amplifier. Nevertheless, it remains sufficiently abstracted to stay independent from any architectural or technological assumption.

Since the dawn of the nuclear age, radioactive technetium (Tc)-99 has been released into the environment from nuclear weapons testing, spent fuel reprocessing facilities, and other nuclear activities. Quantifying the measurement, effect, and risk of trace concentrations of Tc-99 is paramount to understanding the isotope’s behaviour in human-environment systems. Ground state Tc-99 decays by beta emission (Emax — 292 keV) with a half-life (t1/2= 2.11 x 105 y), while the metastable isomer Tc-99m (t1/2 = 6.0 h) decays rapidly by emitting a gamma photon. Technetium-99 is present in the environment in mobile pertechnetate (TcO4−) form. Tc-99 is used as an oceanographic tracer to investigate seawater movement and coastal pollution using seaweed as a bioindicator. The purpose of this study is to develop a sample preparation method to measure low concentrations, down to femtogram levels, of Tc-99 in environmental samples such as seaweed, water and medical Tc-99m waste using an accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS). When present in its soluble form, Tc (VII)can be reduced to Tc (IV) in the presence of a strong reducing agent such as SnCl2, then precipitated out of solution as an iron hydroxide by the addition of an iron carrier. Using AMS to measure precipitates prepared through a simple one-step co-precipitation method show high levels of isobaric interferences by Ruthenium-99 (Ru-99) and impurities by the co-precipitation of other hydroxides. A double-step co-precipitation method was determined to be efficient at reducing interferences of impurities present in the final precipitate. Using Tc-99m as a chemical tracer, the efficiencies of different oxidizing- reducing agents were compared to optimize the yield of Tc-99. The aims and objectives of the study are first: to develop a method for the separation and purification of Tc-99 from Ru-99 by ARS-II with ABEC column. Second: to develop methods for the removal of interferences and extraction of Tc-99 from iii environmental small size samples, and third: to develop a method to analyze Tc-99 by low energy AMS. Concentrations of Tc-99 were measured in seaweed samples with a newly developed oxidation-reduction method using Tc-99m as a yield tracer. The detection of Tc-99 from seaweed samples follows a two-step procedure. The first step is the oxidation of technetium from Tc (IV) to Tc (VII) oxidation state with H2O2 followed by iron hydroxide precipitation. The second step is the reduction of Technetium from Tc (VII) to the Tc (IV) oxidation state with SnCl2 followed by iron hydroxide co-precipitate. The co-precipitate contains the Tc (IV) and is dried at 80oC and then at 200oC to remove excess water, then mixed with PbF2 to produce TcF5– in the AMS ion source. The purification and separation of Ru-99 from Tc-99 is done by ARS-II with ABEC column and measure by AMS. Currently, the most sensitive practical choice for Tc-99 is ICP-MS, with typical LOD at picogram (pg.) levels. This translates to 10-100s of litres required for a seawater sample. AMS has shown potential <10 fg LOD, which translates to volume requirement of sub-litre to litres for seawater samples, this would make the AMS quantification of Tc-99 an incredibly useful and competitive alternative.

This thesis concerned with iodine status, sources in human body, and measurements especially here in Canada, where iodine status for the Canadian population is not well known. With the recent re-emergence of iodine deficiency among individuals in other industrial countries, understanding the main sources of iodine to the Canadian population is necessary to ensure fortification strategies are justified and effective. Uncertinaty has arisen to the importance of iodized salt recently, along with medical warnings to reduce salt consumbtion. This conflicts give rise to improve scientific research and hone thier methods with new applications. The research question here is that: Can we benefit from the existence of long-lived radioiodine-129 in the environment and explore its potential as a tracer? To answer this question, the study was divided into an introductory chapter contains a review about the topic, then three research chapters. The second chapter was devoted to study the possibility of extracting 129I from human urine. As for third chapter of the thesis, it was about refining a method that already established, and use it to extract 129I from breastmilk using combustion, then determine the radiological dose of 129I in infants’ thyroid. While the fourth chapter was devoted to investigate the main sources of 127I and 129I in the Canadian diet based on daily food consumption and modelling the urinary iodine concentration for adults and infants through the novel application of a well-established compartment model implemented in AMBER. The path of this thesis was crowned with a set of results, which are detailed in the end of each chapter as follow: 1- The advantage of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) helps to measure 129I in human urine for the first time. The result for 25 participants from Ottawa ranged from 3.3 x 106 atoms/L to 884 x 106 atoms/L with a median of 108.7 x 106 atoms/L, and the 129I/127I ratio ranged from 7.38 x 10-12 to 3.97 x 10-10 with a mean of 1.3 x 10-10. 2- The concentration of 127I and 129I in Ottawa urine samples were significantly correlated and generally similar to the 129I concentrations and 129I/127I ratios from environmental samples collected around Ottawa. 3- This correlation suggests that 129I could be a potential nutritional tracer of dietary iodine. 4- In chapter 3, the 129I in breastmilk ranged from 1.26x108 atoms/L to 6.64x108 atoms/L with a median of 2.10 x108 atoms/L, and the 129I/127I ratio ranged from 1.27x10-10 to 9.9x10-10 with a median of 2.13x10-10. 5- A correlation was also observed between 127I and 129I concentrations in breastmilk. 6- The isotopic ratios in breastmilk were similar to Canadian cow’s’ milk, indicating that the milk of both cows and humans is a reflection of the 129I concentration of their local environment and the food ingested. 7- Result from chapter 3 confirms that humans are exposed to the 129I from birth through their mother breastmilk, giving them an average dose of 1.10 x10-4 Bq/year and thyroid dose rate equal to 5.92 x10-10 Sv/year. 8- In fourth chapter, the daily milk consumption was measured for 78 mother-infants’ pairs, and ranged from 275 -1202 g/day, with a mean of 731 g/day. This value agrees well with global infant milk intake which estimated at 730g/day. 9- The daily iodine intake from breastmilk ranged from 11.2 µg/day to 476.2 µg/day with a median of 127.9 µg/day. 10- The urinary iodine concentrations were estimated without urine collection using iodine biokinetic model, giving a median urinary iodine concentration (n=78) at 304.7 µg/L. The result was compared to those measured by Health Canada (median= 398.7 µg/L), showing a moderate correlation (r= 0.496). 11- A further comparison of the results was made based on gender shows that the difference between UIC in male and female infants measured by Health Canada and those estimated by AMBER is non-significant. 12- Through AMBER software, the influence of seven common diets on UICs was assessed to determine which foods play an important role in ensuring iodine adequacy. We observed that the main source of iodine in a vegan diet is grain products providing up to 70%, while in remaining diets the main source of iodine was dairy products (50-69%) when they are consumed. 13- The contribution of iodized salt to all Canadian diets was ranked second, after dairy, unless the diet is vegan or ovo-vegetarian, where dairy is not consumed, iodized salt was ranked first. 14- Among 23 scenarios for seven different diets, the urinary iodine-129 concentrations ranged from 1.4 x10-7 to 3.3 x10-7 µg/L with a median of 3.1 x10-7 µg/L, and the isotopic 129I/127I ratio ranged from 1.1 x10-9 to 1.2 x10-8 with a median of 2.8 x10-9. 15- In contrast to stable iodine, the highest isotopic ratio was observed in vegan diet, while the lowest was observed in ketogenic diet. This suggests that grain products are the main contributor of 129I to humans. 16- Despite being the primary contributors of stable iodine (127I), salt and dairy show a lower contribution of 129I. Based on this we can qualitatively predict the source of iodine 127 using isotopic ratio 129I/127I. For example, in cases where the isotopic ratio was between 10-8 and 10-9, therefore, the main sources of iodine in this person may be from grains products, vegetables, and fruits; and in cases where the isotopic ratio was between 10-10 and 10-11, therefore, the main sources of iodine in this person may be from dairy products and some contribution from salt. This study has shown the capability of 129I to be used in biomedical fields. In this thesis 129I used as a nutritional tracer where it helps to detect the sources of stable iodine in human body based on isotopic ratio. The extraction method invented in Chapter 2 can be used to evaluate 129I exposure directly in the human body for those who live nearby nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. An additional application for this method can be in assessing 129I in human to investigate 131I uptake in the event of a nuclear emergency using 129I in urine as a proxy. Moreover, the extraction technique used Chapter 3, can be extended to other biological samples such as thyroid or brain. Furthermore, Chapter 4 shows that with the right estimation of daily iodine intake and urine volume, a biokinetic model of iodine, built in the AMBER software, can predict urinary iodine concentration with a high degree of accuracy without collecting urine samples.