Thesis (M.Sc. (Physics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Online Oil Debris Monitors (ODM) provide a direct, effective and reliable approach to machinery condition monitoring. ODM can be used to monitor the condition of complex machines, such as airplane engines, electric generators, wind turbines, or other machines with oil circulation systems. The principle of the sensor is to detect the quantity and the size of metal particles in the flowing oil. The current available ODM sensors suffer from sensitivity to vibrations, as their electromagnetic response is largely affected by interfering vibrations. This thesis presents a novel structure and algorithms to separate and eliminate the vibration interference. In the new structure, a dual channel system is designed as opposed to previous single channel systems. Three signal processing algorithms have been developed and tested using experimental data from a prototype. They have shown to be effective, as detailed in the thesis.

A novel photon flux monitor has been designed and tested for use at the Duke University High Intensity Gamma Source, where the photon beam produced is essentially mono-energetic but it is not tagged. Direct counting of the number of photons using a high-efficiency detector is not possible because of the high photon fluxes expected. Therefore, a direct counting detector with a low, accurately known efficiency was required.<p> The photon flux monitor based on a five scintillator paddle system detects recoil electrons and positrons from photoelectric, Compton and pair-production processes. It has been designed to be insensitive to gain and detector threshold changes and to be usable for photon energies above 5 MeV. It has been calibrated using direct counting with a NaI detector and its efficiency has been shown to be well predicted by a GEANT4 simulation.<p> Results of measurements, calibration and calculations required to characterize the 5-paddle photon flux monitor are presented. The photon flux monitor has met its design specifications of being able to determine the number of photons incident on it during the live time of a measurement to within a systematic error of 2%.<p> A paper based on the work for this thesis has been published in the Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Journal.

This thesis presents the design, implementation, and fabrication of a pattern-guided equalizer in a 65nm CMOS process. By counting the occurrence of 6 out of 16 4-bit patterns in the received data and utilizing their spectral content, the signal is equalized separately at fN and fN/2, where fN is half the bit rate. The design was packaged using a 64 pin Quad Flat No leads (QFN) package. Two different channels were used and the equalizer was able to open the eye for both 13dB and 17dB of attenuation at the Nyquist frequency. The adaptation performance was determined by measuring the vertical and horizontal eye openings for all possible equalizer coefficients. Measured results at 6Gb/s confirm that the adaptation engine opens a closed eye to within 2.6% of optimal vertical opening and 7% of optimal horizontal eye opening while consuming 16.8mW from a 1.2V supply.

This thesis presents the design, implementation, and fabrication of a pattern-guided equalizer in a 65nm CMOS process. By counting the occurrence of 6 out of 16 4-bit patterns in the received data and utilizing their spectral content, the signal is equalized separately at fN and fN/2, where fN is half the bit rate. The design was packaged using a 64 pin Quad Flat No leads (QFN) package. Two different channels were used and the equalizer was able to open the eye for both 13dB and 17dB of attenuation at the Nyquist frequency. The adaptation performance was determined by measuring the vertical and horizontal eye openings for all possible equalizer coefficients. Measured results at 6Gb/s confirm that the adaptation engine opens a closed eye to within 2.6% of optimal vertical opening and 7% of optimal horizontal eye opening while consuming 16.8mW from a 1.2V supply.

The development of X-ray Beam Position Monitors (XBPM) used on the Canadian Light Source front ends is described in this thesis, from the design concepts to the practical implementation and commissioning. Surveyed into position to provide a fiducialized point of origin for incoming synchrotron radiation, the primary purpose of the XBPM is to provide a measure of synchrotron beam motion. Currently XBPMs have been installed on three beamlines at the Canadian Light Source, a 2.9 GeV third generation synchrotron radiation source. Two of the XBPMs are comprised of chemical vapour deposition synthetic diamond blades coated with gold and installed on insertion device beamlines, while the third makes use of molybdenum blades for a dipole beamline. By incrementally scanning the blades of the XBPM through the synchrotron beam it is possible to determine the monitors� spatial resolution to beam motion. For the commissioned XBPM a typical spatial resolution of +/- 1 micron of beam motion was achieved; and the thermal power loading capacity has been tested to the 2/5 of maximum value. An independent white beam profiler, comprised of a converter crystal and image acquisition software, was constructed to corroborate the functionality of the XBPM.

Reference monitor inlining is a technique for enforcing security policies by injecting security checks into the untrusted software in a style similar to aspect-oriented programming. The intention is that the injected code enforces compliance with the policy (security), without adding behavior (conservativity) or affecting existing policy compliant behavior (transparency). This thesis consists of four papers which covers a range of topics including formalization of monitor inlining correctness properties, certification of inlined monitors, limitations in multithreaded settings and extensions using data-flow monitoring. The first paper addresses the problem of having a potentially complex program rewriter as part of the trusted computing base. By means of proof-carrying code we show how the inliner can be replaced by a relatively simple proof-checker. This technique also enables the use of monitor inlining for quality assurance at development time, while minimizing the need for post-shipping code rewrites. The second paper focuses on the issues associated with monitor inlining in a concurrent setting. Specifically, it discusses the problem of maintaining transparency when introducing locks for synchronizing monitor state reads and updates. Due to Java's relaxed memory model, it turns out to be impossible for a monitor to be entirely transparent without sacrificing the security property. To accommodate for this, the paper proposes a set of new correctness properties shown to be realistic and realizable. The third paper also focuses on problems due to concurrency and identifies a class of race-free policies that precisely characterizes the set of inlineable policies. This is done by showing that inlining of a policy outside this class is either not secure or not transparent, and by exhibiting a concrete algorithm for inlining of policies inside the class which is secure, conservative, and transparent. The paper also discusses how certification in the style of proof-carrying code could be supported in multithreaded Java programs. The fourth paper formalizes a new type of data centric runtime monitoring which combines monitor inlining with taint tracking. As opposed to ordinary techniques which focus on monitoring linear flows of events, the approach presented here relies on tree shaped traces. The paper describes how the approach can be efficiently implemented and presents a denotational semantics for a simple ``while'' language illustrating how the theoretical foundations is to be used in a practical setting. Each paper is concluded by a practical evaluation of the theoretical results, based on a prototype implementation and case studies on real-world applications and policies. / Referensmonitorinvävning, eller monitorinvävning, är en teknik som används för att se till att en given säkerhetspolicy efterföljs under exekvering av potentiellt skadlig kod. Tekniken går ut på att bädda in en uppsättning säkerhetskontroller (en säkerhetsmonitor) i koden på ett sätt som kan jämföras med aspektorienterad programmering. Syftet med den invävda monitorn är att garantera att policyn efterföljs (säkerhet) utan att påverka ursprungsprogrammets beteende, såvida det följer policyn (transparans och konservativitet). Denna avhandling innefattar fyra artiklar som tillsammans täcker in en rad ämnen rörande monitorinvävning. Bland annat diskuteras formalisering av korrekthetsegenskaper hos invävda monitorer, certifiering av invävda monitorer, begränsningar i multitrådade program och utökningar för hantering av dataflödesmonitorering. Den första artikeln behandlar problemen associerade med att ha en potentiellt komplex programmodifierare som del i den säkerhetskritiska komponenten av ett datorsystem. Genom så kallad bevisbärande kod visar vi hur en monitorinvävare kan ersättas av en relativt enkel beviskontrollerare. Denna teknik möjliggör även användandet av monitorinvävning som hjälpmedel för programutvecklare och eliminerar behovet av programmodifikationer efter att programmet distribuerats. Den andra artikeln fokuserar på problemen kring invävning av monitorer i multitrådade program. Artikeln diskuterar problemen kring att upprätthålla transparans trots införandet av lås för synkronisering av läsningar av och skrivningar till säkerhetstillståndet. På grund av Javas minnesmodell visar det sig dock omöjligt att bädda in en säkerhetsmonitor på ett säkert och transparent sätt. För att ackommodera för detta föreslås en ny uppsättning korrekthetsegenskaper som visas vara realistiska och realiserbara. Den tredje artikeln fokuserar även den på problemen kring flertrådad exekvering och karaktäriserar en egenskap för en policy som är tillräcklig och nödvändig för att både säkerhet och transparens ska uppnås. Detta görs genom att visa att en policy utan egenskapen inte kan upprätthållas på ett säkert och transparent sätt, och genom att beskriva en implementation av en monitorinvävare som är säker och transparent för en policy som har egenskapen. Artikeln diskuterar också hur certifiering av säkerhetsmonitorer i flertrådade program kan realiseras genom bevisbärande kod. Den fjärde artikeln beskriver en ny typ av datacentrisk säkerhetsmonitorering som kombinerar monitorinvävning med dataflödesanalys. Till skillnad mot existerande tekniker som fokuserar på linjära sekvenser av säkerhetskritiska händelser förlitar sig tekniken som presenteras här på trädformade händelsesekvenser. Artikeln beskriver hur tekniken kan implementeras på ett effektivt sätt med hjälp av abstraktion. Varje artikel avslutas med en praktisk evaluering av de teoretiska resultaten baserat på en prototypimplementation och fallstudier av verkliga program och säkerhetsegenskaper. / <p>QC 20130220</p>

Online Oil Debris Monitors (ODM) provide a direct, effective and reliable approach to machinery condition monitoring. ODM can be used to monitor the condition of complex machines, such as airplane engines, electric generators, wind turbines, or other machines with oil circulation systems. The principle of the sensor is to detect the quantity and the size of metal particles in the flowing oil. The current available ODM sensors suffer from sensitivity to vibrations, as their electromagnetic response is largely affected by interfering vibrations. This thesis presents a novel structure and algorithms to separate and eliminate the vibration interference. In the new structure, a dual channel system is designed as opposed to previous single channel systems. Three signal processing algorithms have been developed and tested using experimental data from a prototype. They have shown to be effective, as detailed in the thesis.

Designing touch screen devices includes many variables off how to address design issues in the best possible way. The design includes what type of touch interaction method is to be used, how the interface is to be designed and in which context it will be used. The problematic issue that has to be dealt with is how the designer must put together all these parameters into one final product. This paper presents the case of re-designing a touch screen bedside monitor, a device used in hospitals to observe the vital signs of patients. The design solution presented deals with the issues of how the device was designed to suit the users and environment of a hospital. A contextual inquiry showed the many constraints and standards that had to be met and how they shaped the design solution. Earlier work shows the different methods for touch interaction, interface design and feedback that can be applied for touch screen devices. The resulting design is discussed in relation to the different ways of creating touch screen interfaces, and an example of a work method is presented in the end of the paper on how to design for contextual touch screen devises.

The development of X-ray Beam Position Monitors (XBPM) used on the Canadian Light Source front ends is described in this thesis, from the design concepts to the practical implementation and commissioning. Surveyed into position to provide a fiducialized point of origin for incoming synchrotron radiation, the primary purpose of the XBPM is to provide a measure of synchrotron beam motion. Currently XBPMs have been installed on three beamlines at the Canadian Light Source, a 2.9 GeV third generation synchrotron radiation source. Two of the XBPMs are comprised of chemical vapour deposition synthetic diamond blades coated with gold and installed on insertion device beamlines, while the third makes use of molybdenum blades for a dipole beamline. By incrementally scanning the blades of the XBPM through the synchrotron beam it is possible to determine the monitors� spatial resolution to beam motion. For the commissioned XBPM a typical spatial resolution of +/- 1 micron of beam motion was achieved; and the thermal power loading capacity has been tested to the 2/5 of maximum value. An independent white beam profiler, comprised of a converter crystal and image acquisition software, was constructed to corroborate the functionality of the XBPM.