This thesis is mainly divided into two parts. The first part discusses in detail design flow of the coupled-resonator bandpass filters, including basic theory of synthesis and the procedure of electromagnetic (EM) simulation. In the second part, by using the above-mentioned design flow, different structure filters have been implemented on organic substrates. The coupled-resonator BPF designs are verified to overcome the elements¡¦ parasitic effects, and thus can be optimized with high degree of freedom. In practice, a 3rd-order bandpass filter by coupling three spiral resonators has been proposed and implemented, having miniature and wide stopband characteristics. Finally, a two-layer 4th-order cross-couple bandpass filter with a pair of transmission zeros has been also proposed and implemented, achieving a significant size reduction of 50% compared with the single-layer design. The simulation and measurement results have good agreement for all design cases in this thesis.

­^¤åºK­n A time-independent finite-difference numerical scheme is developed to study the dynamic response of a submerged and a floating breakwater under the wave loading of a fully numerical force. The coupled surge, heave and pitch motion of a floating breakwater and the wave-structure interaction are included in the model. The numerical results are validated uses several bench mark studies and results available elsemlse. The wave reducing effect of a submerged and a floating breakwaters were analysis and discusse.

As the electronic products are gotten smaller and the quantity of output is to be requested, the trend of the needs for speed and accuracy is more precise. Therefore, upgrading the speed and the accuracy of contour error on tracking control has become an important point. This research is focus on the improvement of tracking error and contour error. In tracking error, we propose that the compensation of friction disturbance is by building friction model. And then adaptive robust controller is used to eliminate other disturbance. Finally, velocity feedforward controller is used to improve system dynamic response and to remove the effect of time delay. The combination of such controllers can improve tracking error directly and contour error indirectly. In contour error, we use cross-coupled controller to coordinate the motors and to reform contour error. On the association of such controllers, we propose the design method of cross-coupled controller, to replace the traditional way of try-and-error, and improving contour error again. Finally, the above improving strategies are verified by the simulation and experimental results.

In this thesis, coupled inductors have been applied to multiphase DC-DC converters. Detailed analysis has been done to investigate the benefits of directly coupled inductors and inversely coupled inductors, compared to conventional uncoupled inductors. In general, coupled inductors for multiphase DC-DC converters have inherent benefits such as excellent current sharing characteristics, immunity to component tolerance and reduction in current control complexity. Specifically, by employing directly coupled inductors for multiphase DC-DC converters, overall current ripple can be effectively reduced, compared to that of uncoupled inductors. For inversely coupled inductors, phase current ripple can be reduced if operating points and coupling coefficients are carefully chosen. As for small-signal characteristics, inversely coupled inductors have the advantages of broadening the bandwidth of multiphase DC-DC converters and being more immune to load variation at low frequencies. On the other hand, directly coupled inductors have the benefit of low sensitivity to input variation at high frequencies. In addition, the proposed new structure for multiphase DC-DC converters has excellent current sharing performance and reduced current ripple. Computer simulations have been done and hardware prototypes have been built to validate the concepts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

This work focuses on an examination of the high-accuracy extrapoloated ab initio thermochemistry (HEAT) protocol of determining molecular atomization energies. The HEAT protocol does not utilize experimental data or empirical scaling effects. The accuracy of the approach is tested via comparison to ATcT data, and all molecules fall within 1 kcal/mol of accepted values. There are several important points to note about this treatment: namely, that we have used atomic natural orbital (ANO) basis sets for the calculation of the zero point energy and that we have made determinations for larger molecules than previously done with HEAT. The molecules in this paper were chosen to provide benchmark numbers for the homodesmotic reaction heirarchy as described by Wheeler et al.[3] The relative accuracy of the approach is considered, as well as a discussion of possible remaining sources of error. / text

published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The research in this thesis aims to characterize the signal-production processes of single particles in the ICP using time-resolved ICP-AES. Signal-production processes, including desolvation, vaporization, atomization, ionization, and diffusion, determine the temporal emission intensity of a single particle. Bimetallic nanoparticles of BaTiO3 (average diameter = 115 nm) were used as test particles. The particles were introduced into the ICP by nebulization of the suspension of the particles in water. As the ion plume of a particle moves up in central channel of the ICP, a temporal emission peak of the analyte atoms in the plume is produced. The emission intensity at any point of time in the temporal profile is related to the degree of vaporization and excitation of the particle at the corresponding vertical position of the ICP. The signal-production processes can, in principle, be studied by measuring the temporal emission profiles. However, the emission intensity of single particles is typically low. Continuous integration of the entire ICP central channel further reduces the signal-to-background ratio (SBR). A novel double-slit method has been developed to measure the temporal emission intensity of a single particle at two pre-defined ICP vertical positions. Two horizontal slits of slit height of 1 mm were placed in front of the monochromator. As the ion plume passes through the double-slit, two peaks in the temporal emission profile are produced. The configuration of the double-slit (slit height and distance between the two slits) was optimized for maximum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and temporal resolution of the double-peaks. Fast data sampling rate (50,000 Hz) was used in proper sampling of the temporal emission peaks. Large data sets were obtained. Custom programs were developed to extract the relatively weak double-peaks from the temporal emission profiles. The data treatment strategy includes smoothing of the temporal profile to increase SNR and automated peak extraction based on the characteristics of the double-peaks (peak height, peak width, time-difference of the peak pair, and SNR). Four smoothing methods, including Moving Average Filtering, Savitzky-Golay Filtering, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Wavelet Transform, were tested. FFT was adopted because the method requires only one parameter (the cutoff frequency) and is relatively easy to optimize. Hundreds of double-peaks were obtained in a typical temporal profile of time duration of approximately 120 s. The emission intensity and peak width of the peak pair are correlated to determine the degree of vaporization of the analyte atoms, the extent of diffusion of the analyte atoms and the plume size, and the velocity of the plume in the ICP. Two types of double-peaks are identified. The relative peak height and peak width of the double-peaks in each type are related to the degree of vaporization of the single particles. Simulation of the evaporation rate of water droplets that enclose the single BaTiO3 particles shows that the time required for complete evaporation of water is a major factor that determines the degree of vaporization of BaTiO3 particles at the double-slit. Aggregation of BaTiO3 particles in the suspension was also investigated. / published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Master / Master of Philosophy

The technique of single-cell analysis using time-resolved inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry has been characterized and optimized. Determination of the metal contents of individual cells provides data on the natural metal contents of the cells and the corresponding distributions in the population. The distribution is a useful indicator of the health and the state of development of the cells. The contents of sorbed metals of individual cells over a duration of time are required to understand the dynamics of metal-cell interactions. A green alga, Chlorella vulgaris, was used as a model biological cell in this study. The criteria and procedures for proper sampling of the cells into the ICP will be discussed. Ideally, each ICP-MS spike corresponds to one cell, but cell overlapping occurs because the cells enter the ICP randomly. Selection of cell number density and sample uptake rate to minimize spike overlapping will be discussed. A cell counting method based on the frequency of the spikes has been developed. The distribution of the metal contents of cells was determined by measuring large number of spikes. The minimum number of spikes required was determined by statistical analysis. The spike intensity distribution was correlated with the size distribution of the cells. The peak maximum of the spike intensity distribution was used for the determination of the average metal content of the cells. The use of the peak maximum reduces errors due to spike overlapping in the measurement. Quantitative determination of the metal contents was achieved using standard particles for calibration. Errors in calibration using standard solution nebulization were discussed. The technique was applied in the study of metal-cell interactions. Sorption of heavy metal ions (as environmental pollutants) by Chlorella vulgaris, and uptake of biometal (as nutrient) and metallodrug (as toxin) by Helicobacter pylori were studied. The technique requires simple sample preparation of removing the culture medium by filtration or centrifugation. The health state of the cells in the presence of toxic metals was related to the change in cell number density. The ratio of the FWHM of the spike intensity distributions of the sorbed metals to the natural metal contents of the cells is identified as a possible indicator of the location of the sorbed metals. The kinetics of metal sorption by the cells can be studied using a single cell culture. The method reduces errors due to uncertainties in cell number density and metal concentration in multiple samples that are required in conventional methods. The optimal ICP-MS sampling depth of 17 elements, introduced into the ICP by conventional solution nebulization of aqueous standard solutions, has been determined. The elements were selected to represent a wide range of boiling points and ionization potentials. Boiling point of the dried residues and ionization potential of the analyte element were identified as the major factors that determine the optimal sampling position. Since dried sample solution aerosols are effectively nanoparticles, the study provides useful insight on the optimization of the operation conditions and calibration strategies for single-particle analysis using ICP-MS. / published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Time-resolved Inductively Coupled Plasma –Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a versatile tool for the analysis of single particles such as air particles, nanoparticles, and biological cells. In this study, the processes of particle vaporization and analyte atom diffusion and ionization in the ICP were investigated using computer simulation. Gold nanoparticles of particle diameter 10 to 250 nm were used as the model particle. The parameters of the model were optimized with respect to the experimental data. The relative importance of these parameters was investigated. Simulated ICP-MS intensity versus sampling depth for different particle size was calculated. Two models of particle vaporization, namely heat-transfer-limited and mass-transfer-limited, were adopted to describe the kinetics of vaporization of the gold nanoparticles. The rate of particle vaporization of the limiting model in each 5-µs time step was used in the simulation. The heat-transfer-limited process dominates at lower position of the ICP. The mass-transfer-limited process takes over at sampling depth of 4mm or above where the ICP temperature is higher than 4000K. The simulation assumed that the gold atoms vaporized from the particle in each time step diffuse independently. The number density of the gold atoms was calculated using the Chapman-Enskog diffusion theory for each subsequent time step. The degree of ionization of the gold atoms was estimated using Saha equation and was assumed to be dependent on the plasma temperature only. The simulated ICP-MS intensity at any instant was the sum of the gold ions in the ion plumes from all previous time steps that pass through a 1-mm sampler cone. The effects of several simulation parameters on the calculated ICP-MS intensity were investigated. The simulation depth profile of ICP-MS intensity of 100-nm gold nanoparticle was compared to the experimental ICP-MS depth profile. The ICP-MS intensity depends strongly on the ionization temperature of the plasma and the evaporation coefficient of the analyte. The ICP temperature profile, gas velocity, ionization temperature and evaporation coefficient were optimized for the best fit of simulated results to the experimental data. Simulated calibration curves of gold nanoparticles of nominal diameter of 10 nm to 250 nm are non-linear at any sampling depth. The calibration curve rolls off at high mass due to incomplete vaporization of the larger particles in the ICP. The calibration curve at high sampling depth concaves upward in the low mass range because of significant diffusion loss of the analyte atoms for the small particles. / published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Master / Master of Philosophy