Dual-band antenna elements that support dual-polarization provide ideal performance for applications including space-based platforms, multifunction radar, wireless communications, and personal electronic devices. In many communications and radar applications, a dual-band, dual-polarization antenna array becomes a requirement in order to produce an electronically steerable, directional beam capable of supporting multiple functions. The multiple polarizations and frequency bands allow the array to generate multiple simultaneous beams to support true multifunction radar. Many of the applications in spaced-based systems and personal electronic devices have strict restraints on the size and weight of the antenna element, favoring a low-profile, lightweight device. The research performed in this dissertation focuses on the design of a dual-band, dual-polarized antenna element capable of operating as an isolated element or in an array environment. The element contains two concentric, dual-polarized radiators. The low band radiator is a shorted square ring antenna, and the high band radiator is a square ring slot. Each constituent element achieves circular polarization through the introduction of triangular perturbations into opposing corners of the radiating element. This technique has been shown to introduce two, near-degenerate modes in the structure that – when excited in phase quadrature – combine to form circular polarization. The perturbations allow circular polarized operation with only a single feed point. The sense of the circular polarization is determined by the location of the feed point with respect to the perturbations. Both senses of circular polarization are excited by the introduction of orthogonal feeds for each of the two radiating elements. Thus, dual-ban, dual-circular polarization is obtained. The element achieves a low-profile from its printed circuit board realization. The high band square ring slot is realized in stripline. The orthogonal feeding transmission lines are printed on opposing sides of an electrically thin dielectric layer to allow them to cross without physically intersecting. This thin feeding substrate is sandwiched between two dielectric layers of matched dielectric constant. A ground plane is located on the top and bottom of the sandwiched dielectric structure, and the top ground plane contains the square ring slot with perturbed corners. Slotted stripline structures have been shown in the literature to excite a parallel-plate mode that can degrade overall performance of the antenna. Plated through holes are introduced at the outer perimeter of the square ring slot to short out this parallel-plate mode. The plated through holes (also called vias) serve as the shorting mechanism for the low band microstrip shorted square ring radiator. This element also contains triangular perturbations at opposing corners to excite circular polarization with a single feed point. In this element, orthogonal probe feeds are present to excite both senses of circular polarization. A dual-band, dual-polarized antenna element was built, tested, and compared to simulations. The constructed element operated at two distinct industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) frequency bands due to their popularity in low power communications. The antenna element was realized in a multilayer printed circuit layout. A complex design procedure was developed and submitted to a printed circuit board company who manufactured the antenna element. The s-parameters of the antenna were measured using a Network Analyzer, and the results show good agreement with simulations. The radiation and polarization characteristics were measured in a compact range facility. These results also agreed well with simulations. The measured results verify the simulation models that were used in the simulations and establish a confidence level in the feasibility of constructing this element. The dual-band, dual-polarization nature of this element was established through the construction and measurement of this element. A novel size reduction technique was developed that allows for significant reduction of the element's footprint. This size reduction facilitates the placement of this element within an array environment. The loading technique utilizes a structure analogous to a parallel-plate capacitor to drastically reduce the overall size of the low frequency shorted square ring. The loading structure uses a substrate that is separate from that of the radiating elements. This allows the load to use a high dielectric material to achieve a high capacitance without requiring the radiating elements to be printed on high dielectric material that is potentially expensive and lossy at microwave frequencies. The two frequency bands were selected to be in separate industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands. These frequency bands are increasingly popular in low power communication devices because unlicensed operation is permitted. The 2.45 GHz and 5.8 GHz ISM bands are commonly used for applications including Bluetooth technology, multiple 801.11 protocol, cellular phone technology, and cordless phones. The ISM bands were chosen for this antenna element due to their popularity, but this antenna is not restricted to these bands. The frequency ratio can be altered by controlling the dielectric constant used in the printed circuit board design, the parameters of the capacitive loading structure, and the size of the constituent elements that are used. After the size reduction technique is applied, the dual-band, dual-polarized elements can be placed in an array environment resulting in an array capable of generating both senses of circular polarization in the two, distinct ISM bands. This provides an aperture capable of supporting multiple functions. Depending on the applications required, the frequency bands of the antenna element can be altered to suit the particular system needs. The array analysis performed in this dissertation used a unique hybrid calculation technique that utilizes nine active element patterns to represent the patterns of the individual elements within a large antenna array. A common first look at array performance is achieved by multiplying the element pattern of an isolated element by an array factor containing the contributions of the geometrical arrangement of the antenna elements. This technique neglects mutual coupling between elements in the array that can alter the impedance match and radiation characteristics of the elements in the array. The active element pattern defines the radiation pattern of a given element in an array when all other elements are terminated in a matched impedance load. The active element pattern is unique for each element in an array. When these patterns are summed, the exact array pattern is obtained. While this technique has the advantage of accuracy, it is not ideal because it requires the simulation, calculation, or measurement of the pattern for each element in the array environment. The technique developed in this dissertation uses only nine active element patterns. These elements are then assigned to represent the active element patterns for all elements in the array depending on the geometrical region where the given element resides. This technique provides a compromise between the speed of using a single element pattern and the accuracy of using the unique active element pattern for each element in the array. The application of these two concentric, coplanar radiators along with the capacitive loading technique provides a unique contribution to the field of antenna engineering. The majority of dual-band antenna elements in the literature operate with a single polarization in each band. The ones that operate with dual-polarization in each band are typically limited to dual-linear polarization. Circular polarization is preferable to linear in many applications because it allows flexible orientation between the transmitting antenna and receiving antenna in a communications system, while also mitigating multipath effects that lead to signal fading. The ability to operate with two, orthogonal senses of circular polarization allows a system to reuse frequencies and double system capacity without requiring additional bandwidth. The uniqueness of this element lies in its ability to provide dual-circular polarization in two separate frequency bands for an individual element or an antenna array environment. The arrangement of the two element geometries with the addition of the novel capacitive loading technique is also unique. The performance of this element is achieved while maintaining the light weight, low profile design that is critical for many wireless communications applications. This dissertation provides a detailed description of the operation of this dual-band, dual-polarized antenna element. The design of the constituent elements is discussed for several polarization configurations to establish an understanding of the building blocks for this element. The dual-band, dual-polarized element is presented in detail to show the impedance match, isolation, and axial ratio performance. The capacitive loading technique is applied to the dual-band, dual-polarized element, and the performance with the loading in place is compared to the performance of the unloaded element. Next, there is an in-depth description of the array calculation technique that was developed to incorporate mutual coupling effects into the array calculations. This technique is then applied to the dual-band, dual-polarized array to show the performance of several array sizes. / Ph. D.

<p dir="ltr">Portable sensing enables an enhanced form of disease monitoring due to its accessible form-factors, low costs, and insights into user health, along with enhanced detection methods due to its many use cases for at-home or in-field applications. To that end, electrochemistry has been a widely used technique in characterization, detection, and diagnostics. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is an electrochemical technique that enables electrode surface characterization through changes in impedance across a given frequency range making it sensitive to interactions at the electrode surface and enabling the detection and quantification of analytes. While EIS has been traditionally limited to benchtop potentiostats, advancements in integrated circuits (ICs) have since enabled the miniaturization of potentiostats for at-home or field applications. However, implementation of EIS in a portable format is still limited by discontinuous measurements, high cost, or designs not fit for portability. This work revolves around the development of a miniaturized potentiostat that can implement EIS to better accommodate the need for miniaturized sensing platforms. My design uses the AD5941 IC which is a single-chip potentiostat analog-front-end enabling a small form-factor that fits in the palm of the user’s hand. The device was able to characterize a resistor-capacitor circuit with errors as low as 0.33% and quantify the concentration of a redox active compound with a 6.2% error, providing agreeable results with a commercial benchtop potentiostat and demonstrating our device’s potential for diagnostic applications. Our working frequency range of 200 kHz – 0.15 Hz, coupled with high system configurability and a cost of $50 makes our device an accessible option for at-home and portable applications. Future work to implement truly wireless functionalities, such as WiFi or Bluetooth Low Energy, along with experimental testing of biological substances will create a truly robust platform for portable diagnostic and sensing applications.</p>

The FDR (Frequency Disturbance Recorder) is a data acquisition device for the power system. The device is portable and can be used with any residential wall outlet for frequency data collection. Furthermore, the FDR transmits calculated frequency data to the web for access by authorized users via Ethernet connection. As a result, Virginia Tech implemented Frequency Monitoring Network (FNET) with these FDR devices. FNET is a collection of identical FDRs placed in different measurement sites to allow for data integration and comparison. Frequency is an important factor for power system control and stabilization. With funding and support provided by ABB, TVA and NSF the FDRs are placed strategically all over the United States for frequency analysis, power system protection and monitoring. The purpose of this study is to refine the current FDR hardware design and establish a new design that will physically fit all the components on one Printed Circuit Board (PCB). At the same time, the software that is to be implemented on the new board is to be kept similar if not the same as that of the current design. The current FDR uses the Axiom CME555 development board and it is interfaced to the external devices through its communication ports. Even through the CME555 board is able to meet the demands of the basic FDR operations, there are still several problems associated with this design. This paper will address some of those hardware problems, as well as propose a new board design that is specifically aimed for operations of FDR. / Master of Science

Cette thèse, qui s’intègre dans le cadre du projet européen EMCOMIT, a pour objectif de contribuer à l’étude des circuits imprimés haute densité d’intégration comportant un nombre de couches important et des composants enterrés. La qualification de cette technologie est effectuée en conduisant des simulations et des mesures électriques sur des véhicules de tests spécifiques. L’analyse des résultats électriques permet d’évaluer l’aptitude de ces matériaux à répondre aux exigences des applications de télécommunication et de technologie de l’information rapide. La fiabilité d’un assemblage de BGA de grande taille sur un circuit imprimé a été évaluée. Des simulations thermomécaniques ont été effectuées afin de calculer les contraintes résiduelles accumulées pendant le procédé d’assemblage puis l’énergie dépensée dans les parties critiques des joints au cours d’un cycle thermique. Simultanément, des BGA reportés sur des circuits imprimés ont été placés dans une chambre climatique et ont subi des variations de températures. / This thesis, which is part of the European EMCOMIT project, aims at contributing to the study of high density printed circuit board including a great number of internal layers and embedded components. The qualification of this technology is done by the way of simulations and electrical measurements on specific test vehicles. The electrical results allow estimating the performance of materials for telecommunication applications and speed data transfer. The reliability of the assembly of the large BGA on a printed circuit board has been evaluated. Thermomechanical simulations have been done in order to compute residual stresses stored during the assembly process and the deformation energy density in the solder joints during one thermal cycle. Simultaneously BGA soldered on printed circuits have been positioned in climatic chamber and have been subjected to temperature variations.

[pt] Este trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar a viabilidade técnica para fabricação de placas de circuito impresso de múltiplas camadas com espessuras reduzidas mantendo a integridade dos sinais que se propagam em conexões inter- chip, nas taxas de transmissão de 1Gb/s e 10Gb/s para aplicações em redes de comunicações nos padrões 1GB Ethernet e 10GB Ethernet. A avaliação inclui o projeto de uma placa de 6 camadas de planos condutores, com espessura total de 1,29mm. A placa desenvolvida contém linhas de transmissão, vias e curvas, microcapacitores , microresistores e conectores I/O adequados para a faixa de freqüência em questão. / [en] The main purpose of this work is to evaluate the technical reliability to fabricate a Printed circuit board (PCB) with reduced thickness multilayer keeping signal Integrity on inter-chip connections in 1Gb/s and 10Gb/s (1GB Ethernet and 10GB Ethernet network communications). This evaluation includes the development of a PCB project with 06 layers and 1,29mm thickness. The PCB contains several transmission lines, vias, bends, microcapacitors, microresistors, connectors (I/O) suitable to this frequency band.

<p>Flexible printed circuit boards (flex PCBs) are used in a wide range of electronic devices today due to their light weight, bendability, extensive wiring possibilities, and low-cost manufacturing techniques. The general trend in the flex PCB industry is further miniaturization alongside increasing functionality per device and reduced costs. To meet these demands, a new generation of low cost manufacturing technologies is being developed to enable structures with smaller lateral dimensions and higher packing densities.</p><p>Wet etching is today the most cost-efficient method for producing a large number of through-foil structures in flex PCBs. However, conventional wet etch techniques do not allow for through-foil structures with aspect ratios over 1 – a fact that either necessitates thin and mechanically weak foils or puts severe limitations on the packing density. The fabrication techniques presented in this thesis allow for through-foil structures with higher aspect ratios and packing densities using wet etching. To achieve high aspect ratios with wet etching, the flex PCB foils are pre-treated with irradiation by swift heavy ions. Each ion that passes through the foil leaves a track of damaged material which can be subsequently etched to form highly vertical pores. By using conventional flex PCB process techniques on the porous foils, high aspect ratio metallized through-foil structures are demonstrated.</p><p>The resulting structures consist of multiple sub-micrometer sized wires. These structures are superior to their conventional counterparts when it comes to their higher aspect ratios, higher possible packing densities and low metallic cross-section. Furthermore, metallized through-foil structures with larger areas and more complicated geometries are possible without losing the mechanical stability of the foil. This in turn enables applications that are not possible using conventional techniques and structures. In this thesis, two such applications are demonstrated: flex PCB vertical thermopile sensors and substrate integrated waveguides for use in millimeter wave applications.</p>

Energy efficiency is a vital key component when designing and miniaturizing self sustained microsystems. The smaller the system, the smaller is the possibility to store enough stored energy for a long and continuous operational time. To move such a system in an energy efficient way, a piezoelectrical locomotion module consisting of four resonating cantilevers has been designed, manufactured and evaluated in this work. The combination of a suitable substrate, a multilayered piezoelectric material to reduce the voltage, and a resonating drive mechanism resulted in a low power demand. A manufacturing process for multilayer cantilever actuators made of P(VDF-TrFE) with aluminum electrodes on a substrate of flexible printed circuit board (FPC), has been developed. An important step in this process was the development of an etch recipe for dry etching the multilayer actuators in an inductive plasma equipment. Formulas for the quasi static tip deflection and resonance frequency of a multilayered cantilever, have been derived. Through theses, it was found that the multilayered structures should be deposited on the polymer side of the FPC in order to maximize the tip deflection. Both a large and a miniaturized locomotion module were manufactured and connected by wires to verify that the three legged motion principal worked to move the structures forward and backward, and turn it right and left. By touching and adding load, to a fourth miniaturized cantilever, its ability to act as a contact sensor and carry object was verified. The presented locomotion module is part of a multifunctional microsystem, intended to be energy efficient and powered by a solar panel with a total volume of less than 25 mm3 and weight 65 mg. The whole system, consisting of a solar cell, an infra red communication module, an integrated circuit for control, three capacitors for power regulating, the locomotion module and an FPC connecting the different modules, was surface mounted using a state of the art industrial facility. Two fully assembled systems could be programmed both through a test connector and through optical sensors in the multifunctional solar cell. One of these was folded together to the final configuration of a robot. However, the entire system could not be tested under full autonomous operating conditions. On the other hand, using wires, the locomotion module could be operated and used to move the entire system from a peak-to-peak voltage of 3.0 V.

Flexible printed circuit boards (flex PCBs) are used in a wide range of electronic devices today due to their light weight, bendability, extensive wiring possibilities, and low-cost manufacturing techniques. The general trend in the flex PCB industry is further miniaturization alongside increasing functionality per device and reduced costs. To meet these demands, a new generation of low cost manufacturing technologies is being developed to enable structures with smaller lateral dimensions and higher packing densities. Wet etching is today the most cost-efficient method for producing a large number of through-foil structures in flex PCBs. However, conventional wet etch techniques do not allow for through-foil structures with aspect ratios over 1 – a fact that either necessitates thin and mechanically weak foils or puts severe limitations on the packing density. The fabrication techniques presented in this thesis allow for through-foil structures with higher aspect ratios and packing densities using wet etching. To achieve high aspect ratios with wet etching, the flex PCB foils are pre-treated with irradiation by swift heavy ions. Each ion that passes through the foil leaves a track of damaged material which can be subsequently etched to form highly vertical pores. By using conventional flex PCB process techniques on the porous foils, high aspect ratio metallized through-foil structures are demonstrated. The resulting structures consist of multiple sub-micrometer sized wires. These structures are superior to their conventional counterparts when it comes to their higher aspect ratios, higher possible packing densities and low metallic cross-section. Furthermore, metallized through-foil structures with larger areas and more complicated geometries are possible without losing the mechanical stability of the foil. This in turn enables applications that are not possible using conventional techniques and structures. In this thesis, two such applications are demonstrated: flex PCB vertical thermopile sensors and substrate integrated waveguides for use in millimeter wave applications. / wisenet

The first version of the Senior processor was created as part of a thesis projectin 2007. This processor was completed and used for educational purposes atLinköpings University. In 2008 several parts of the processor were optimized andthe processor expanded with additional functionality as part of another thesisproject. In 2009 an EU funded project called MULTI-BASE started, in which theComputer Division at the Department of Electrical Engineering participated in.For their part of the MULTI-BASE project, the Senior processor was selected tobe used. After continuous revision and development, this processor was sent formanufacturing. The assignment of this thesis project was to test and verify the different func-tions implemted in the Senior processor. To do this a PCB was developed fortesting the Senior processor together with a Virtex-4 FPGA. Extensive testingwas done on the most important functions of the Senior processor. These testsshowed that the manufactured Senior processor works as designed and that it alonecan perform larger calculations and use external hardware accelerators with thehelp of its various interfaces. / Den första versionen av Senior processorn skapades som en del i ett examensarbe-te under 2007, denna processor färdigställdes och användes i utbildningssyfte påLinköping Universitet. 2008 optimerades flera delar av processorn och utökadesmed extra funktionalitet som del av ytterligare ett examensarbete. 2009 startadeett EU finansierat projekt vid namn MULTI-BASE, som ISYs Datortekniks avdel-ning deltar i. Till deras del av MULTI-BASE projektet valdes Senior processorn attanvändas, efter ytterligare utveckling skickades denna processor för tillverkning. Detta examensarbete hade i uppgift att testa och verifiera de olika funktionernasom Senior processorn har implementerats med. För att göra detta tillverkades ettkretskort som ska användas för att testa Senior processorn tillsammans med enVirtex-4 FPGA. Utförliga tester gjordes på de viktigaste funktionerna hos Seniorprocessorn, dessa tester visade att den tillverkade Senior processorn fungerar somplanerat. Den kan på egen hand utföra större beräkningar och använda sig avexterna hårdvare acceleratorer med hjälp av sina olika gränssnitt.

Στην παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή παρουσιάζεται µια εκτενής µελέτη συστηµάτων απόκλισης τυπωµένων κεραιών για ασύρµατες συσκευές. Η εξέλιξη των ασύρµατων επικοινωνιών και ειδικότερα η κατανόηση των φαινοµένων που λαµβάνουν χώρα στο ασύρµατο κανάλι µετάδοσης έδωσε ώθηση στην ανάπτυξη τεχνικών αντιµετώπισης φαινοµένων όπως η πολυοδευτική εξασθένηση και η διασυµβολική παρεµβολή. Τέτοιες τεχνικές είναι οι τεχνικές απόκλισης και ειδικότερα οι τεχνικές απόκλισης κεραιών (χώρου, πόλωσης και διαγράµµατος ακτινοβολίας) οι οποίες συνδυάζουν τα λαµβανόµενα από διαφορετικές κεραίες σήµατα µε σκοπό την δηµιουργία ενός σήµατος υψηλότερης στάθµης. Η µεθοδολογία αξιολόγησης της ικανότητας απόκλισης ενός συστήµατος κεραιών περιλαµβάνει τα κριτήρια του συντελεστή συσχέτισης των λαµβανοµένων σηµάτων και του λόγου των µέσων ενεργών κερδών των κεραιών που αποτελούν το σύστηµα. Καθοριστικό ρόλο στην τεχνική απόκλισης διαδραµατίζει ο τρόπος που συνδυάζονται τα λαµβανόµενα σήµατα στον δέκτη, µε την τεχνική του µεγίστου λόγου να αποτελεί την βέλτιστη λύση από πλευράς απόδοσης, αλλά ταυτοχρόνως την πιο δύσκολα υλοποιήσιµη. Η ποσοτικοποίηση της ικανότητας απόκλισης ενός συστήµατος πραγµατοποιείται µε το κέρδος απόκλισης το οποίο λαµβάνει διαφορετικές µορφές και ουσιαστικά παρέχει την πληροφορία του ποσοστού βελτίωσης του συνδυασµένου σήµατος σε σχέση µε µία κεραία αναφοράς. Στα πλαίσια της διατριβής αναπτύχθηκαν συστήµατα απόκλισης τυπωµένων κεραιών δύο, τριών, τεσσάρων έως και έξι στοιχείων. Χρησιµοποιήθηκαν κεραίες γεωµετρίας fractal λόγω της σπουδαίας ικανότητας σµίκρυνσης που παρέχει η εν λόγω τεχνική καθώς και το µονόπολο γεωµετρίας ανεστραµµένου F. Ακολουθήθηκε η µεθοδολογία αξιολόγησης της ικανότητας απόκλισης για όλα τα προτεινόµενα συστήµατα και έγινε σύγκριση µεταξύ των συστηµάτων. Μελετήθηκε αφ’ ενός η επίδραση της θέσης της κεραίας σε µία ασύρµατη συσκευή και αφ’ ετέρου η επιλογή της καταλληλότερης προς χρήση κεραίας στην µείωση του φαινοµένου της αµοιβαίας σύζευξης, φαινόµενο το οποίο αποτελεί τον κυριότερο παράγοντα µείωσης της συνολικής ικανότητας απόκλισης σε ένα σύστηµα πολλαπλών κεραιών. Ακόµη, µελετήθηκαν συστήµατα απόκλισης κεραιών τα οποία λειτουργούν σε διαφορετικές µπάντες συχνοτήτων. Τέλος, έγινε µια συγκριτική µελέτη για τον ρόλο που διαδραµατίζει το περιβάλλον και ο τρόπος που κατανέµεται η προσπίπτουσα ισχύς στην συµπεριφορά της απόκλισης των µελετηθέντων συστηµάτων. / This thesis presents a comprehensive study on printed antenna diversity systems for wireless devices. The current upsurge in wireless communications systems and, in particular, the realization of the immanent propagation mechanisms that take place in the transmission medium led to the development of special techniques in order to mitigate the undesired phenomena such as multipath fading and intersymbol interference. Antenna diversity (space, polarization and pattern) is one of these techniques and is based on the assumption that the received signals of two or more antennas could be efficiently combined in order to produce a stronger signal. The evaluation of the diversity performance involves the correlation coefficient of the received signals and the mean effective gain ratio of the diversity antennas. A key role in diversity action plays the combining technique used with the maximum ratio technique producing the best results. Diversity performance is “quantified” by means of diversity gain, which gives the amount of improvement of the combined signal relative to a signal received from a reference antenna. In this thesis, printed antenna diversity systems comprising up to six elements were developed. Antennas of fractal geometry such as the Koch, Minkowski, Sierpinski and FRC monopoles, were utilized due to their inherent miniaturization ability as well as the printed inverted F antenna. All the proposed systems were evaluated according to the methodology mentioned earlier and a comparison of the diversity performance between the systems was carried out. The effect of the antenna placement as well as the proper antenna selection for each system on the reduction of mutual coupling was addressed, which is an issue of primal importance in multi element antenna systems. Multi band antenna diversity systems were also studied. Finally, the impact of the environment’s power distribution on the diversity performance of the antenna systems was considered.