El silicio es la plataforma más prometedora para la integración fotónica, asegurando la compatibilidad con los procesos de fabricación CMOS y la producción en masa de dispositivos a bajo coste. Durante las últimas décadas, la tecnología fotónica basada en la plataforma de silicio ha mostrado un gran crecimiento, desarrollando diferentes tipos de dispositivos ópticos de alto rendimiento. Una de las posibilidades para continuar mejorando las prestaciones de los dispositivos fotónicos es mediante la combinación con otras tecnologías como la plasmónica o con nuevos materiales con propiedades excepcionales y compatibilidad CMOS. Las tecnologías híbridas pueden superar las limitaciones de la tecnología de silicio, dando lugar a nuevos dispositivos capaces de superar las prestaciones de sus homólogos electrónicos. La tecnología híbrida dióxido de vanadio/ silicio permite el desarrollo de dispositivos de altas prestaciones, con gran ancho de banda, mayor velocidad de operación y mayor eficiencia energética con dimensiones de la escala de la longitud de onda. El objetivo principal de esta tesis ha sido la propuesta y desarrollo de dispositivos fotónicos de altas prestaciones para aplicaciones de conmutación. En este contexto, diferentes estructuras basadas en silicio, tecnología plasmónica y las propiedades sintonizables del dióxido de vanadio han sido investigadas para controlar la polarización de la luz y para desarrollar otras funcionalidades electro-ópticas como la modulación. / Silicon is the most promising platform for photonic integration, ensuring CMOS fabrication compatibility and mass production of cost-effective devices. During the last decades, photonic technology based on the Silicon on Insulator (SOI) platform has shown a great evolution, developing different sorts of high performance optical devices. One way to continue improving the performance of photonic optical devices is the combination of the silicon platform with another technologies like plasmonics or CMOS compatible materials with unique properties. Hybrid technologies can overcome the current limits of the silicon technology and develop new devices exceeding the performance metrics of its counterparts electronic devices. The vanadium dioxide/silicon hybrid technology allows the development of new high-performance devices with broadband performance, faster operating speed and energy efficient optical response with wavelength-scale device dimensions. The main goal of this thesis has been the proposal and development of high performance photonic devices for switching applications. In this context, different structures, based on silicon, plasmonics and the tunable properties of vanadium dioxide, have been investigated to control the polarization of light and for enabling other electro-optical functionalities, like optical modulation. / El silici és la plataforma més prometedora per a la integració fotònica, assegurant la compatibilitat amb els processos de fabricació CMOS i la producció en massa de dispositius a baix cost. Durant les últimes dècades, la tecnologia fotònica basada en la plataforma de silici ha mostrat un gran creixement, desenvolupant diferents tipus de dispositius òptics d'alt rendiment. Una de les possibilitats per a continuar millorant el rendiment dels dispositius fotònics és per mitjà de la combinació amb altres tecnologies com la plasmònica o amb nous materials amb propietats excepcionals i compatibilitat CMOS. Les tecnologies híbrides poden superar les limitacions de la tecnologia de silici, donant lloc a nous dispositius capaços de superar el rendiment dels seus homòlegs electrònics. La tecnologia híbrida diòxid de vanadi/silici permet el desenvolupament de dispositius d'alt rendiment, amb gran ample de banda, major velocitat d'operació i major eficiència energètica en l'escala de la longitud d'ona. L'objectiu principal d'esta tesi ha sigut la proposta i desenvolupament de dispositius fotònics d'alt rendiment per a aplicacions de commutació. En este context, diferents estructures basades en silici, tecnologia plasmònica i les propietats sintonitzables del diòxid de vanadi han sigut investigades per a controlar la polarització de la llum i per a desenvolupar altres funcionalitats electró-òptiques com la modulació. / Sánchez Diana, LD. (2016). High performance photonic devices for switching applications in silicon photonics [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/77150 / TESIS

The theoretical part of the diploma thesis deals with introduction to the issue of refrigeration systems with thermal energy storage. Possibilities of thermal energy storage with phase change are introduced. The thermodynamic principle of functioning of the particular refrigeration system type is explained here as well as its coefficient of performance and fundamental components. In addition, several examples of ice-making systems are discussed. In the practical part the design of a particular refrigeration system is calculated. The main part of the design is the cold evaporator with direct evaporation and the possibility of ice production and its usage for thermal energy storage. The calculation of the overall two-phase heat transfer is carried out.

The thesis deals with the preparation, characterization and, in particular, with the switching properties of phase-change material (PCM) thin films. The films were deposited using the Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) technique. Phase transformations in these films were triggered by means of thermal annealing, laser pulses, and electrical pulses. The five major physical aspects structure transformation, crystallization kinetics, topography, optical properties, and electrical properties have been investigated using XRD, TEM, SEM, AFM, DSC, UV-Vis spectroscopy, a custom-made nanosecond UV laser pump-probe system, in situ resistance measurements, and conductive-AFM. The systematic investigation of the ex situ thermally induced crystallization process of pure stoichiometric GeTe films and O-incorporating GeTe films provides detailed information on structure transformation, topography, crystallization kinetics, optical reflectivity and electrical resistivity. The results reveal a significant improvement of the thermal stability in PCM application for data storage. With the aim of reducing the switching energy consumption and to enhance the optical reflectivity contrast by improving the quality of the produced films, the growth of the GeTe films with simultaneous in situ thermal treatment was investigated with respect to optimizing the film growth conditions, e.g. growth temperature, substrate type. For the investigation of the fast phase transformation process, GeTe films were irradiated by ns UV laser pulses, tailoring various parameters such as pulse number, laser fluence, pulse repetition rate, and film thickness. Additionally, the investigation focused on the comparison of crystallization of GST thin films induced by either nano- or femtosecond single laser pulse irradiation, used to attain a high data transfer rate and to improve the understanding of the mechanisms of fast phase transformation. Non-volatile optical multilevel switching in GeTe phase-change films was identified to be feasible and accurately controllable at a timescale of nanoseconds, which is promising for high speed and high storage density of optical memory devices. Moreover, correlating the dynamics of the optical switching process and the structural information demonstrated not only exactly how fast phase change processes take place, but also, importantly, allowed the determination of the rapid kinetics of phase transformation on the microscopic scale. In the next step, a new general concept for the combination of PCRAM and ReRAM was developed. Bipolar electrical switching of PCM memory cells at the nanoscale can be achieved and improvements of the performance in terms of RESET/SET operation voltage, On/Off resistance ratio and cycling endurance are demonstrated. The original underlying mechanism was verified by the Poole-Frenkel conduction model. The polarity-dependent resistance switching processes can be visualized simultaneously by topography and current images. The local microstructure on the nanoscale of such memory cells and the corresponding local chemical composition were correlated. The gained results contribute to meeting the key challenges of the current understanding and of the development of PCMs for data storage applications, covering thin film preparation, thermal stability, signal-to-noise ratio, switching energy, data transfer rate, storage density, and scalability.

Innovative methods for providing sustainable heating and cooling through thermal energy storage (TES) have gained increasing attention as heating and cooling demands in the built environment continue to climb. As energy prices continue to soar and systems reach their maximal capacity, there is an urgent need for alternatives to alleviate peak energy use. TES systems allow decoupling of energy production from energy utilization, both in location and in time. It is shown in this thesis that successful implementation of TES in the built environment alleviates peak energy load and reduces network expansion as well as the marginal energy production cost. This thesis analyzes phase change material (PCM) based TES systems in terms of material property characterization, numerical modeling and validation of thermal storage, as well as case specific techno-economic feasibility studies of system integration. The difficulties identified in latent heat TES design, such as heat transfer aspects, subcooling and identification of phase separation, have been analyzed through Temperature-History mapping and TES numerical modeling with experimental validation. This work focuses on the interdependency between resource availability, thermal charge/discharge power and storage capacity. In a situation where resource availability is limited, e.g. when using free cooling, waste heat or off-peak storage, the thermal power and storage capacity are strongly interrelated and should always be considered in unison to reach an acceptable techno-economic solution. Furthermore, when considering TES integration into an existing thermal energy distribution network, three adverse aspects are revealed in the Swedish case study: the single tariff system, the low-return temperature penalty, and the low storage utilization rate. These issues can be overcome through better adapted policies and optimized storage control strategies. Finally, despite the currently unfavorable conditions in the Swedish energy system, it is shown that TES has the potential to mitigate climate change through greenhouse gas emission reduction by displacing fossil-fuel based marginal thermal energy production. / QC 20110629 / Cold Thermal Energy Storage

This research work is focused on a conceptual combination of membrane-based energy recovery ventilator (ERV) and phase change material (PCM) to provide energy savings in building heating, ventilation & air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. An ERV can recover thermal energy and moisture between the outside fresh air (OFA) entering into the building and the exhaust air (EA) leaving from the building thus reducing the energy consumption of the HVAC system for cooling and heating the spaces inside the building. The membranes were stacked parallel to each other forming adjacent channels in a counter-flow arrangement for OFA and EA streams. Heat and moisture is diffused through the membrane core. Flat-plate encapsulated PCM is arranged in OFA duct upstream/downstream of the ERV thereby allowing for further reduction in temperature by virtue of free cooling. Paraffin-based PCMs with a melting point of 24°C and 31°C is used in two different configurations where the PCM is added either before or after the ERV. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and heat and mass transfer modeling is employed using COMSOL Multiphysics v5.3 to perform the heat and mass transfer analysis for the membrane-based ERV and flat-plate PCMs. An 8-story office building was considered to perform building energy simulation using eQUEST v3.65 from Department of Energy (DOE). Based on the heat and mass transfer analysis, it is found that the sensible effectiveness (heat recovery) stood in the range of 65%-97% while the latent effectiveness (moisture recovery) stood at 55%-80%. Also, the highest annual energy savings achieved were 72,700 kWh in electricity consumption and 358.45 MBtu in gas consumption.

<p>  </p> <p>Thermal energy storage (TES) is used to reduce the operating costs of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems by shifting loads away from on-peak periods, to reduce the maximum heating or cooling capacity needed from the HVAC system, and to store excess energy generated by on-site solar power. The most commonly-used form of TES is ice storage with air conditioning (A/C) systems in commercial buildings. There has been extensive research into many other forms of TES for use with HVAC systems, both in commercial and residential buildings. However, this research is often limited to use with either heating or cooling systems.</p> <p>Year-round, high-density storage for both heating and cooling would yield significantly larger cost savings than existing TES systems, particularly for residential buildings, where heating loads are often larger than cooling loads. This dissertation examines the feasibility of using metal hydrides for year-round storage, as well as analyzing the potential of variable-temperature energy storage for optimizing system performance beyond allowing for year-round use.</p> <p>Metal hydrides are metals that exothermically absorb and endothermically desorb hydrogen. Since the temperature this reaction occurs at depends on the hydrogen pressure, hydrides can be used for energy storage at varying temperatures. System architecture for using metal hydrides with an HVAC system is developed. A thermodynamic model which combines a dynamic model of the hydride reactors with a static model of the HVAC system is used to calculate operating costs, compared to a conventional HVAC system, for different utility rates and locations. The payback period of the system is unacceptably high, due to the high initial cost of metal hydrides and the operating costs of compressing hydrogen to move it between hydride reactors.</p> <p>In addition to the metal hydride system model, a generalized model of a variable-temperature TES system is used to determine the potential cost savings from dynamically altering the storage temperature to achieve optimal cost savings. Dynamic tuning does result in cost savings but is most effective for storage tank sizes significantly smaller than the optimal tank size. An alternate system design where the storage tank is charged with the outlet flow from the house achieves larger cost savings even for the optimally-sized tanks. Payback periods calculated for optimal sizing show that year-round storage has a lower payback period than separate cold and heat storage if the year-round storage system is not more expensive than two separate storage tanks. </p>

<p>To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, shifting the energy sources used in buildings, transportation, industry, etc., from fossil fuels to clean electricity is a trend. The increasing electricity demand stresses the existing electric grids. Buildings consume 73% of all U.S. electricity and are responsible for 30% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.  Residential and commercial buildings' space heating/cooling system consumes considerable electricity. Integrating thermal energy storage (TES) in building heating/cooling systems can mitigate the challenge of electric grids. Applying TES to existing air-source heat pump (ASHP) systems is the most studied for residential buildings. However, the high-quality thermal energy requirement for charging the TES tank results in low thermal performance of the ASHP system. Moreover, the failure of ASHP in cold climates requires a supplemental electric heater that significantly reduces the system efficiency and may lead to a higher annual peak for the grids.</p> <p>This study proposes integrating TES with ground-source heat pump (GSHP) systems as a more effective solution for building decarbonization due to the high efficiency of renewable-energy-based GSHPs year-round. This study focuses on proving the effectiveness of TES-integrated GSHPs for building decarbonization.  A dual-source heat pump (DSHP) with a hybrid TES and ground heat exchanger (GHE) named dual-purpose underground thermal battery (DPUTB) is investigated. The study uses modeling and experiments to verify the system's energy efficiency, decarbonization potential, and demand response capability. The modeling process involves developing various models, from component-level to system-level, and investigating advanced control strategies. A first-of-this-kind dynamic model of the DPUTB is developed to enable high-resolution system simulation for the GSHP system. The simulation is conducted using Modelica with rule-based control (RBC). A model predictive control (MPC) is also developed based on dynamic building envelope and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system models. A cutting-edge co-simulation testbed integrates Modelica physical models with a MATLAB MPC controller model for advanced control evaluation. A prototype system of the DPUTB+DSHP is tested in a flexible research platform (FRP) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), which allows for component and system-level testing and remote automation controls. </p> <p>The study highlights the importance of proper insulation in the performance of the DPUTB, which consists of a TES tank enclosed by an outer tank functioning as a GHE. With appropriate insulation, a full-size DPUTB can store 1-ton cooling (3.5 kW) for four hours after eight hours of charging. Simulation results suggest that decoupling the TES with the GHE could reduce energy consumption by 27%.  System-level simulations confirm that the DSHP+DPUTB system, with a customized RBC, outperforms the conventional ASHP. The proposed system can reduce the annual HVAC electricity cost by up to 50% while saving 45% on electricity consumption. In the Northern areas of the United States, the annual peak load of the HVAC system can be reduced by 60%.  However, this reduction is less in the Southern parts of the as the system's higher efficiency in winter dominates the overall decrease. The application of MPC can further reduce the cost and energy consumption of the system by 35% theoretically. However, the accuracy of model prediction affects its performance in practical applications, which can be mitigated by employing technologies such as machine learning and reinforcement learning. Further research is required to verify these technologies.</p> <p>The DSHP+DPUTB system, a type of TES-integrated GSHP, has been well-designed and demonstrated superior performance to conventional systems, with greater flexibility and thermal efficiency. As a result, this system can enable electrification in the space heating sector without requiring an escalation in the grid. Moreover, alternative controls can be utilized to exploit its decarbonization potential fully.</p>

No description available.

<p>With the advent of increasingly complex radio systems at higher frequencies and the slowing of traditional CMOS process scaling with power concerns, there has been an increased focus on integration, architectural, and material innovations as a continued path forward in MEMS and logic. This work presents the first comprehensive experimental study of resonant body transistors in a commercial 14nm FinFET process, demonstrating differential radio frequency transduction as a function of transistor biasing through electrostatic, piezoresistive, and threshold voltage modulation. The impact of device design changes on unreleased resonator performance are further explored, highlighting the importance of phononic confinement in achieving an f*Q product of 8.2*10¹¹ at 11.73 GHz. Also shown are initial efforts towards the understanding of coupled oscillator architectures and a perovskite nickelate material system. Finally, development of resonators based on two-dimensional materials, whose scale is particularly attractive for high-frequency nano-mechanical resonators and acoustic devices, is discussed. Experiments towards dry transfer of tellurene flakes using geometries printed via two photon polymerization are presented along with optimization of a fabrication process for gated RF devices, presenting new opportunities for high-frequency electro-mechanical interactions in this topological material. </p>

No description available.