Far-field optical spectroscopy allows for measurement of plasmonic resonances on metallic nanostructures of various shapes and sizes when illuminated by continuous light. Employing dark-field microscopy makes it possible to measure scattering on a localised plasmon excited on a single, isolated nanostructure. For the purpose of these measurements an apparatus based on commercial dual microscope system Nanonics has been put together. Experiments carried out during work on this thesis have shown a great sensitivity of the apparatus in its present form, allowing to measure a plasmonic resonance of a single nanoparticle. Proposed improvements of the apparatus should lead to even greater sensitivity and precision of measurements in the near future.

A high spatial resolution acoustic directivity acquisition system (ADAS) has been developed to acquire anechoic measurements of the far field radiation of musical instruments that are either remote controlled or played by musicians. Building upon work performed by the BYU Acoustic Research Group in the characterization of loudspeaker directivity, one can rotate a musical instrument with sequential azimuthal angle increments under a fixed semicircular array of microphones while recording repeated notes or sequences of notes. This results in highly detailed and instructive directivity data presented in the form of high-resolution balloon plots. The directivity data and corresponding balloon plots may be shown to vary as functions of time or frequency. This thesis outlines the development of a prototype ADAS and its application to different sources including loudspeakers, a concert grand piano, trombone, flute, and violin. The development of a method of compensating for variations in the played amplitude at subsequent measurement positions using a near-field reference microphone and Frequency Response Functions (FRF) is presented along with the results of its experimental validation. This validation involves a loudspeaker, with known directivity, to simulate a live musician. It radiates both idealized signals and anechoic recordings of musical instruments with random variations in amplitude. The concept of coherence balloon maps and surface averaged coherence are introduced as tools to establish directivity confidence. The method of creating composite directivities for musical instruments is also introduced. A composite directivity comes from combining the directivities of all played partials to approximate what the equivalent directivity from a musical instrument would be if full spectral excitation could be used. The composite directivities are derived from an iterative averaging process that uses coherence as an inclusion criterion. Sample directivity results and discussions of experimental considerations of the piano, trombone, flute, and violin are presented. The research conducted is preliminary and will be further developed by future students to expand and refine the methods presented here.

There is currently a demand of mm‑wave on‑chip antennas to enable all kinds of new applications in several different areas. But the development requires, among other things, special equipment used during the measurement phase due to the small dimensions and the high frequencies. In this project a robotic measurement system, SAX (Single Arm eXtra), was designed and constructed at Micro and Nanosystems (MST) department at KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden). The purpose of the SAX is to enable radiation pattern measurements of on‑chip antennas ( 140 GHz to 325 GHz ), whether the boresight is vertical or horizontal along with other requirements, by moving a converter with the measurement antenna around the antenna in question. Several alternative designs for the basic construction, both from other works and invented by the author, were analyzed based on the requirements for this project and other limitations. The chosen unique design, the SAX, is very compact and uses only one stepper motor. Several parts have been developed in this project to ensure the proper functionality of the SAX. That includes a main operator program, a motor input signal generating program, a motor input signal executing system, a security system, and a system for controlled rotation of the SAX. For the input signal to the motor two different algorithms to generate the time delays were developed and tested. They were adapted to make the motor manage the sweeps of an ever‑changing load with high inertia during acceleration and deceleration. One of them was developed to make the time delay array generation much more efficient albeit with larger approximation error. The SAX worked well and should be rather easy‑to‑use regarding the operation of the system, from the physical maneuvering to utilizing the sub‑systems to the running of the main operator program. It fulfilled the specific requirements by enable a cross pattern measurement from  -60° to +60°  both from above and from the side, adjustment of the radius between 15cm to 45cm , adjustment 10cm in height, to be rotated along the floor in steps of 1°, measurement steps of 1° with an accuracy of less than 0,5° (the largest error was measured to be ≤ 0,461°). However, some calibration work needs to be done before the optimal performance of the system is reached. As a verification of the operation of the system data from measurements of open‑ended waveguides was presented. / Det finns en efterfrågan på chipantenner för millimetervågor eftersom de kan möjliggöra allehanda produkter inom flera olika områden. Forskningen på dessa ställer dock bl.a. speciella krav på utrustning som används under testmätningsfasen p.g.a. de små dimensionerna och den höga frekvensen. I detta projekt har ett robotsystem, SAX (Single Arm eXtra), utformats och konstruerats på avdelningen för Mikro- och nanosystem på KTH. Syftet med SAX är att mäta högfrekventa chipantenner ( 140 GHz till 325 GHz ) genom att förflytta en frekvensomvandlare med tillhörande mätantenn i en cirkulär bana runt antennen ifråga, oavsett om den är riktad vertikalt eller horisontellt och givet andra kravspecifikationer. Flera designalternativ för den grundläggande konstruktionen, både från andras arbeten och framtagna av författaren själv, har analyserats utifrån kravspecifikation för detta projekt och andra begränsningar. Den valda unika designen, SAX, är väldigt kompakt och använder sig bara av en stegmotor. För att möjliggöra funktionen i den slutgiltiga produkten har flera delar tagits fram vilka inkluderar ett operatörsprogram, ett program för genererandet av motorstyrsignaler, ett program för motorstyrning, ett säkerhetssystem och ett rotationssystem för kontrollerad rotation av SAX. För genererandet av motorstyrsignaler i form av tidsfördröjda pulser framtogs två olika algoritmer. De ger anpassade accelerations- och retardationssignaler för att motorn ska klara av att förflytta en föränderlig last med stor tröghet. En av dessa framtogs med syfte att mycket effektivt generera pulstiderna om än med större approximationsfel. SAX fungerade tillfredsställande och torde vara ganska lättanvänd med tanke på vad systemet kräver av operatören, från att fysiskt manövrera systemet till att använda delsystemen till att använda operatörsprogrammet. Systemet uppfyllde de givna specifika kraven genom att möjliggöra mätningar i form av ett kryssmönster från -60° till +60°  både ovanifrån och från sidan, radiejustering från 15cm till 45cm , höjdjustering över 10cm , rotation över golvet i steg om 1° , mätningar i steg om 1° med en noggrannhet på 0,5° (den största avvikelsen uppmättes till ≤ 0,461°). Vidare kalibrering behöver dock utföras för att utnyttja den fulla potentialen hos konstruktionen. För att verifiera funktionsdugligheten för systemet presenterades data från mätningar gjorda på öppna vågledare.

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Durante la última década, los métodos de optimización heurísticos basados en imitar a nivel computacional procesos naturales, biológicos, sociales o culturales, han despertado el interés de la comunidad científica debido a su capacidad para explorar eficientemente espacios de soluciones multimodales y multidimensionales. En este ámbito, esta tesis aborda el desarrollo, análisis y puesta a punto de diferentes métodos de optimización tradicionales y heurísticos. En concreto, se considera un método de búsqueda local basado en símplex y varios métodos heurísticos, tales como el recocido simulado, los algoritmos genéticos y la optimización con enjambre de partículas. Para estos dos últimos algoritmos se investigan diferentes esquemas con el objetivo de superar las limitaciones propias de los esquemas clásicos.La puesta a punto de los diferentes métodos de optimización se realiza considerando como problema de referencia la caracterización de la radiación de antenas a partir de medidas en campo próximo sobre geometría plana, utilizando un método de transformación de campo cercano a campo lejano basado en corrientes equivalentes. Para cada método de optimización se incluye un análisis paramétrico, en los casos en los que se ha considerado necesario, así como resultados de transformación de campo teóricos obtenidos para diferentes antenas de apertura y antenas de bocina piramidal. Los resultados de un estudio comparativo, realizado utilizando fuentes teóricas y medidas, demuestran la utilidad del método y permiten concluir que la optimización con enjambre de partículas es el algoritmo que proporciona las mejores prestaciones para esta aplicación.Los métodos de optimización desarrollados e investigados en este trabajo han sido también aplicados a otros problemas como son la síntesis de agrupaciones lineales o el modelado de fuente en aplicaciones de compatibilidad electromagnética. / For the last decade, heuristic optimization methods based on imitating natural, biological, social or cultural processes in a computational way have aroused great interest among the scientific community, due to its ability to explore efficiently multimodal and high-dimension solution spaces. On this basis, this thesis tackles the development, analysis and tuning of different traditional and heuristic optimization methods. In short, a local search method based on simplex and several heuristic methods, such as simulated annealing, genetic algorithms and particle swarm optimization are considered. For these last two algorithms different schemes are investigated so as to overcome the typical limitations of classical schemes.The tuning of the optimization methods is carried out considering as a reference problem the antenna radiation characterization from near-field measurements over a planar geometry, using a near-field to far-field transformation method based on equivalent currents. A parametric analysis is included for each optimization method, in those cases in which it has been considered necessary, as well as theoretical field transformation results obtained with aperture and pyramidal horn antennas. Results of a comparative study, carried out using theoretical sources and measurements, demonstrate the usefulness of the method and make it possible to conclude that the particle swarm optimization is the algorithm that provides the best performance for this application.The optimization methods developed and investigated in this work have also been applied to other problems, such as the synthesis of linear arrays or the source modelling in electromagnetic compatibility applications.

The objective of this work is to enhance and advance sensing technologies with the design and development of novel radio frequency (RF) sensors based on far-field and near-field principles of the electromagnetic (EM) resonances. In the first part of this thesis, original design and development of a passive RF temperature sensor, a passive RF strain sensor, and a passive RF pressure sensor are presented. The RF temperature sensor is presented in Chapter 3. It is based on split ring resonators loaded with bimorph cantilevers. Its operating principles and equivalent circuits are discussed in Chapter 4, where the design concept is illustrated to be robust and highly adaptable to different sensing ranges, environments, and applicable to other type of sensing beyond temperatures. The passive RF strain sensor, based on a patch antenna loaded with a cantilever-integrated open loop, is presented in Chapter 5, where it is demonstrated to have the highest strain sensitivity in the same remote and passive class of sensors in the state-of-the-art. Chapter 6 describes the passive RF pressure sensor, which is based on a dual-band stacked-patch antenna that allows both identification and sensing to be embedded in its unique dual resonant responses. In the second part of this thesis, an original and first-of-its-kind RF transducer is presented that enables non-touch sensing of human fingers within 3 cm of proximity (based on one unit sensor cell). The RF transducer is based on a slotted microstrip patch coupled to a half-wavelength parallel-coupled microstrip filter operating in the frequency range of 6 – 8 GHz. The sensing mechanism is based on the EM near-field coupling between the resonator and the human finger. Fundamentally different from the electric field capacitive sensing, this new method of sensing, the first of its kind, based on near-field interference that produces a myriad of nonlinearities in the sensing response, can introduce new capabilities for the interface of electronic displays (the detection is based on pattern recognition). What set this sensor and its platform apart from previous proximity sensors and microwave sensing platforms is the low profile planar structure of the system, and its compatibility with mobile applications. The thesis provides both breadth and depth in the proposed design and development and thus presenting a complete research in its contributions to RF sensing.

Cette thèse porte sur le développement d'un ensemble d'outils numériques destinés à simuler différents aspects des interactions vagues-structure appliquées à l'exploitation des systèmes de récupération de l'énergie des vagues (SREV). Elle a été réalisée dans le cadre du projet ANR Monacorev (projet ANR11-MONU-018-01, 2012-2015).L'objectif est de pouvoir traiter la question des interactions à l'échelle d'une ferme de SREVs (≈ 1 km), et d'étudier l'impact d'une ou plusieurs fermes de SREVs à l'échelle régionale (≈ 10km) sur le champ de vague total. Des méthodes de modélisation et de simulation adaptées sont développées pour chacune de ces deux échelles. Jusqu'à présent, les interactions entre les SREVs étaient bien souvent étudiées en considérant que le fond était plat (l'influence d'un fond variable sur le champ de houle au niveau de la ferme étant alors jugé négligeable), ce qui permet de calculer facilement et rapidement le champ de vagues et les interactions grâce à l'utilisation de la théorie linéaire potentielle. Une application pratique de cette méthode est le calcul du rendement d'une ferme de SREVs, et l'optimisation de leurs positions relatives au sein d'un parc. Dans le cadre de la théorie linéaire, cette thèse propose une méthodologie de couplage originale entre un code de tenue à la mer (Aquaplus) et un code de propagation de la houle en zone côtière (Artemis), laquelle a été développée et qualifiée. Les simulations réalisées montrent que, pour une configuration de ferme de SREVs donnée, on ne peut pas toujours négliger les effets de la bathymétrie. Par exemple, la présence d'une plage de pente 10% au large d'une ferme de SREV peut modifier la hauteur des vagues de manière significative, et affecter ainsi le rendement de la ferme de manière significative par rapport au cas où le fond est uniformément plat. A l'échelle côtière régionale, il est aussi intéressant de simuler et prédire l'impact de fermes de SREVs sur le champ de vagues. Pour des raisons d'efficacité, une approche à phases moyennées de modélisation des vagues a été privilégiée, fondée sur le code spectral d'états de mer Tomawac. La représentation des effets d'un SREV à travers l'utilisation d'un terme puits (concept permettant de soustraire au spectre d'énergie d'état de mer local l'énergie correspondant à celle absorbée par le SREV), bien qu'incomplète du fait que les effets de radiation/diffraction ne sont pas pris en compte, a été étudiée et testée. Une nouvelle méthodologie prenant en compte ces effets dans un code spectral est présentée ici et testée, avec l'objectif de pallier à ces limitations. Les discussions sur la validité de deux approches permettent d'esquisser des pistes de développements ultérieurs pour la représentation des fermes de SREV à l'échelle régionale / This thesis focuses on the development of a set of numerical tools to simulate different aspects of the wave-body interactions applied to the exploitation of wave energy converters (WEC). It was conducted under the ANR Monacorev project (project-ANR11 MONU-018-01, 2012-2015).The objective is to address the issue of the interactions at the scale of a farm of WECs (≈ 1 km), and to study the impact of one or more WEC farms at the regional scale (≈ 10km ) on the total wave field. Modeling and simulation methods adapted for each of these two scales are developed. Until now, the interactions between WECs was often studied by considering that the bottom was flat (the influence of a variable bathymetry on the wave field at the farm site being considered to be negligible), allowing to easily and quickly calculate the wave field and interactions through the use of linear potential theory. A practical application of this method is the yield estimation for a WEC farm and the optimization of the WEC position within a park. In the framework of the linear theory, this thesis proposes an original coupling methodology between a seakeeping (Aquaplus) and a wave propagation code in coastal areas (Artemis), which was developed and qualified. Simulations show that, for a given WEC farm configuration, effects of the bathymetry cannot systematically ignored. For example, the presence of a 10% slope close to a WEC farm can significantly modify the wave height, and thus affect the performance of the farm by several percent compared to the case with a uniformly flat bottom. At the regional coastal scale, it is also interesting to simulate and predict the impact of WEC farms on the wave field. At this scale, for efficiency reasons, a phase-averaged simulation of waves was preferred, based on the sea state spectral code TOMAWAC. The representation of the effects of a WEC through the use of a sink-term (concept for subtracting the energy equivalent to that absorbed by the WEC to the sea state energy spectrum), though incomplete due to the fact that the scattering effects are not taken into account, has been studied and tested. A new methodology taking into account these effects in a spectral code is presented here and tested with the aim to overcome these limitations. Discussions on the validity of these approaches allow us to propose possible future developments for the modeling of WEC farm at the regional scale

Récepteurs récupérateurs d’énergie sans fil (WPR) détiennent un avenir prometteur pour la génération d'énergie électrique continue afin d’alimenter complètement ou partiellement les circuits compris dans les systèmes de communication sans fil. Applications importantes telles que l'identification par radiofréquence (RFID) et les réseaux de capteurs sans fils (WSN) fonctionnant aux bandes de fréquences UHF et SHF sont apparues, nécessitant un important effort sur la conception de WPRs d’haute efficacité pour étendre la distance de fonctionnement ou de la durée de vie de ces applications portables. Dans ce contexte, les redresseurs intégrés et les antennes sont d'un intérêt particulier, car ils sont responsables pour la tâche de conversion d'énergie. Ce travail de thèse vise à faire progresser l'étatde l'art à travers de la conception et réalisation de WPRs d’haute efficacité, dès l'antenne jusqu’au stockage de la puissance DC convertie, en explorant les défis d’interconnexion avec leur pleine intégration sur PCBs. / Wireless Powered Receivers (WPR) hold a promising future for generating a small amount ofelectrical DC energy to drive full or partial circuits in wirelessly communicating electronic devices.Important applications such as RFIDs and WSNs operating at UHF and SHF bands have emerged,requiring a significant effort on the design of high efficient WPRs to extend the operating range or thelifetime of these portable applications. In this context, integrated rectifiers and antennas are of aparticular interest, since they are responsible for the energy conversion task. This thesis work aims tofurther the state-of-the-art throughout the design and realization of high efficient WPRs from the antennaup to the storage of the converted DC power, exploring the interfacing challenges with their fullyintegration into PCBs.

Cette thèse porte sur le développement d'un ensemble d'outils numériques destinés à simuler différents aspects des interactions vagues-structure appliquées à l'exploitation des systèmes de récupération de l'énergie des vagues (SREV). Elle a été réalisée dans le cadre du projet ANR Monacorev (projet ANR11-MONU-018-01, 2012-2015).L'objectif est de pouvoir traiter la question des interactions à l'échelle d'une ferme de SREVs (≈ 1 km), et d'étudier l'impact d'une ou plusieurs fermes de SREVs à l'échelle régionale (≈ 10km) sur le champ de vague total. Des méthodes de modélisation et de simulation adaptées sont développées pour chacune de ces deux échelles. Jusqu'à présent, les interactions entre les SREVs étaient bien souvent étudiées en considérant que le fond était plat (l'influence d'un fond variable sur le champ de houle au niveau de la ferme étant alors jugé négligeable), ce qui permet de calculer facilement et rapidement le champ de vagues et les interactions grâce à l'utilisation de la théorie linéaire potentielle. Une application pratique de cette méthode est le calcul du rendement d'une ferme de SREVs, et l'optimisation de leurs positions relatives au sein d'un parc. Dans le cadre de la théorie linéaire, cette thèse propose une méthodologie de couplage originale entre un code de tenue à la mer (Aquaplus) et un code de propagation de la houle en zone côtière (Artemis), laquelle a été développée et qualifiée. Les simulations réalisées montrent que, pour une configuration de ferme de SREVs donnée, on ne peut pas toujours négliger les effets de la bathymétrie. Par exemple, la présence d'une plage de pente 10% au large d'une ferme de SREV peut modifier la hauteur des vagues de manière significative, et affecter ainsi le rendement de la ferme de manière significative par rapport au cas où le fond est uniformément plat. A l'échelle côtière régionale, il est aussi intéressant de simuler et prédire l'impact de fermes de SREVs sur le champ de vagues. Pour des raisons d'efficacité, une approche à phases moyennées de modélisation des vagues a été privilégiée, fondée sur le code spectral d'états de mer Tomawac. La représentation des effets d'un SREV à travers l'utilisation d'un terme puits (concept permettant de soustraire au spectre d'énergie d'état de mer local l'énergie correspondant à celle absorbée par le SREV), bien qu'incomplète du fait que les effets de radiation/diffraction ne sont pas pris en compte, a été étudiée et testée. Une nouvelle méthodologie prenant en compte ces effets dans un code spectral est présentée ici et testée, avec l'objectif de pallier à ces limitations. Les discussions sur la validité de deux approches permettent d'esquisser des pistes de développements ultérieurs pour la représentation des fermes de SREV à l'échelle régionale / This thesis focuses on the development of a set of numerical tools to simulate different aspects of the wave-body interactions applied to the exploitation of wave energy converters (WEC). It was conducted under the ANR Monacorev project (project-ANR11 MONU-018-01, 2012-2015).The objective is to address the issue of the interactions at the scale of a farm of WECs (≈ 1 km), and to study the impact of one or more WEC farms at the regional scale (≈ 10km ) on the total wave field. Modeling and simulation methods adapted for each of these two scales are developed. Until now, the interactions between WECs was often studied by considering that the bottom was flat (the influence of a variable bathymetry on the wave field at the farm site being considered to be negligible), allowing to easily and quickly calculate the wave field and interactions through the use of linear potential theory. A practical application of this method is the yield estimation for a WEC farm and the optimization of the WEC position within a park. In the framework of the linear theory, this thesis proposes an original coupling methodology between a seakeeping (Aquaplus) and a wave propagation code in coastal areas (Artemis), which was developed and qualified. Simulations show that, for a given WEC farm configuration, effects of the bathymetry cannot systematically ignored. For example, the presence of a 10% slope close to a WEC farm can significantly modify the wave height, and thus affect the performance of the farm by several percent compared to the case with a uniformly flat bottom. At the regional coastal scale, it is also interesting to simulate and predict the impact of WEC farms on the wave field. At this scale, for efficiency reasons, a phase-averaged simulation of waves was preferred, based on the sea state spectral code TOMAWAC. The representation of the effects of a WEC through the use of a sink-term (concept for subtracting the energy equivalent to that absorbed by the WEC to the sea state energy spectrum), though incomplete due to the fact that the scattering effects are not taken into account, has been studied and tested. A new methodology taking into account these effects in a spectral code is presented here and tested with the aim to overcome these limitations. Discussions on the validity of these approaches allow us to propose possible future developments for the modeling of WEC farm at the regional scale

The thesis describes the radiation of dipole antennas in near field area. More methods for evaluation of spatial dipole field arrangement are compared. The work target for practical use is to create software for simulation of near field values placed in planar or cylindrical observation plane. The computer programme is applicable to single dipole or dipole array. The limits for human body exposition of non-ionizing radiation are here implemented for compliance purpose in hygienic evaluations. The simulated results of field distribution are possible to display as graphs or save to data file. The results of own calculation are compared with results obtained by some commercial software as well by measurement of field components under model conditions.