Chalcogenide phase change (PC) materials can be reversibly transformed between the high resistivity (~ 1 Ω∙m) amorphous state (OFF-state) and low resistivity (~ 10-6 Ω∙m) crystalline state (ON-state) thermally, both are stable at the room temperature. This makes them well suited as reconfigurable RF switches and non-volatile memories. This work will present the understandings of two key characteristics of PC materials, the crystallization dynamics and the threshold voltage (Vth), as they determine performance limitations in these applications. Crystallization dynamics describe the correlations of the states, temperature and time; the Vth is the trigger of the threshold switching which leads to the “break down” of PC materials from OFF-state to ON-state. The four-terminal indirectly-heated RF switches with high cut-off frequency (> 5 THz) has advantages over other technologies but its programming power (~ 1.5 W) is yet to be reduced. Measuring the maximum allowed RESET quench time in the crystallization dynamics is critical for designing low power switches. As a major contribution, this work provides a universal methodology for accurate heater thermometry and in-situ crystallization measurements for this study. On the other hand, understanding the Vth is essential for high power handling applications as it determines the maximum power that an OFF-state switch can withstand without being spontaneously turned on. This work will discuss new observations and learnings from Vth measurements including the geometry dependent Vth variations which provide insights into the threshold switching mechanism. Unlike RF switches, faster crystallization is desired for memories to improve the write speed. The non-Arrhenius crystallization needs to be explored to achieve short crystallization time (< 10 ns) at high temperature (> 700 K). As another major contribution, this work will present a nano-scale (~ 100 nm) high-speed (thermal time constant < 5 ns) PC device for assessing the crystallization time in this regime, and provide a comprehensive learning for the crystallization dynamics from 300 K to 1000 K by developing a unified framework based on the fragility model and growth-dominated crystallization. This can be used to accurately simulate the crystallization process for any device geometry and estimate the RF switches power and Vth.

Kinetic energy storage via flywheels is an emerging avenue for hybrid vehicle research, offering both high energy and power density compared to more established electric and hydraulic alternatives. However, connecting the high speed flywheel to the relatively low speed drivetrain of the vehicle is a persistent challenge, requiring a transmission with high variability and efficiency. A proposed solution drawing inspiration from the electrical domain is the Switch-Mode Continuously Variable Transmission (SM CVT), which uses a high speed clutch to transfer energy to a torsion spring in discrete pulses with a variable duty cycle. The greatest limitation to the performance of this system is the speed and efficiency of commercial clutch technology. It is the goal of this thesis to develop a novel clutch which meets the actuation speed, controllability, and efficiency requirements of the SM CVT, with potential for reapplication in other rotary mechanical systems with switching functionality. The performance demands of the clutch were derived via a theoretical design case based on the performance requirements of a typical passenger vehicle, indicating the need for a sub-millisecond engagement and disengagement cycle. This is not met by any conventional clutch. Several concepts were considered across the fluid, electromagnetic and mechanical energy domains. A final concept was chosen which employs a friction disk style architecture, with normal force produced by compressing springs via an axial cam mounted to the flywheel. To control duty cycle, the cam was designed with a radially varying profile such that increasing radial position results in proportionally increasing ratio of high dwell to low dwell. Three synchronized followers are then translated radially on the cam by a control linkage. Analysis of the follower train dynamics and system stiffness were carried out to inform the design of a scaled benchtop prototype. Experimental testing was carried out to characterize the performance of the prototype. It was found that the intended functionality of the design was achieved, with discrete energy transfer accomplished via pulsing of the clutch. However, maximum efficiency was only 33% and torque capacity was only 65% of the intended 70Nm. Significant opportunity exists for improvement of the clutch performance in future research.

In the future, the performance of the railway system must be improved to accommodate increasing passenger volumes and service quality demands. Track switches are a vital part of the rail infrastructure, enabling traffic to take different routes. All modern switch designs have evolved from a design first patented in 1832. However, switches present single points of failure, require frequent and costly maintenance interventions, and restrict network capacity. Fault tolerance is the practice of preventing subsystem faults propagating to whole-system failures. Existing switches are not considered fault tolerant. This thesis describes the development and potential performance of fault-tolerant railway track switching solutions. The work first presents a requirements definition and evaluation framework which can be used to select candidate designs from a range of novel switching solutions. A candidate design with the potential to exceed the performance of existing designs is selected. This design is then modelled to ascertain its practical feasibility alongside potential reliability, availability, maintainability and capacity performance. The design and construction of a laboratory scale demonstrator of the design is described. The modelling results show that the performance of the fault tolerant design may exceed that of traditional switches. Reliability and availability performance increases significantly, whilst capacity gains are present but more marginal without the associated relaxation of rules regarding junction control. However, the work also identifies significant areas of future work before such an approach could be adopted in practice.

The ability to successfully switch hit, or hit a baseball from both sides of the plate, requires a great amount of practice and coordination bilaterally. This study used three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic data to examine the swing patterns of skilled switch hitters in baseball. Three male minor league and division I collegiate switch hitters participated. Subjects stood on force plates and hit baseballs off a tee while their swings were recorded with a three-dimensional optical motion capture system. Each subject performed twenty total swings, ten from the right and ten from the left. The swings were digitally analyzed and the dependent measures were compared side-to-side. The swing was broken down into specific events and temporal phase parameters were obtained. Peak vertical ground reaction force of each foot and stride length of each swing were also obtained. All variables were statistically analyzed using paired t-tests. The subjects displayed surface swing characteristics side-to-side that appeared identical and statistically there were no significant differences in the swing variables side-to-side. However, each subject had slight internal pattern differences side-to-side that are reported and discussed. Switch hitters are an excellent example of skilled practitioners that can provide insight into questions pertaining to dominance and motor control. Further research is needed with more subjects to explore side-to-side similarities and differences in well-established patterns.

Since the birth of the New Hollywood blockbuster out of the Hollywood Renaissance in the 1970s, popular moving image media has continually exhibited an intense interest in play with Newtonian physics and tactile, immediate experience. As the entertainment industry has moved further away from analog and celluloid and deeper into a digital media space, we have begun to see new a new breed of media project that differently engages with our sensorium in order to newly use (and abuse) this interest. I term this digital media project “corporealized media.” Corporealized media, as I define it, refers to media that includes, but is not limited to, the current undertaking in virtual reality technology and other media that has the primary focus of calling attention to or recognizing the user’s physicality, corporeal form, and embodiment. Through phenomenological readings of contemporary corporealized works, I suggest that current popular use of corporealized media is potentially dangerous and inhibiting to society. It has the ability not just to inform aesthetics, but also to shape our greater understanding of our potential connections to others. Instead of embracing physical contraction, we should aim to collectively accept the possible expansion that abstraction in media allows.

During the past few years, the demand for optical telecommunications has boomed (Scientifc American, January 2001). In order to satisfy this demand, new optical switches are required to replace the electrical switches used up until now.<br />In this work, 1 x N optical switches are studied. Theoretical investigations are conducted to describe the physical properties of the switches and to determine their limitations. The merit function of optical switches is their power coupling efficiency. The limitations are mainly aberrations and misalignments of the optical components. We experimentally demonstrate these limitations and realize improvements to the optical switch. Two approaches have been chosen. The first is to use an adaptive mirror for the correction of the aberrations. The second is to integrate microlenses into the optical switch in order to reduce the aberrations and to relax the alignment tolerances. Both approaches have been realized and have brought significant improvements in power coupling efficiency. With the experiment, we demonstrate an optical switch allowing up to 3019 receiver fibers to be addressed. The measured coupling efficiency (including losses due to the<br />optical elements) is between 6 dB and 3 dB for the adaptive system and between 3 dB and 2 dB for the system using microlenses.

<p>Probably no group of organisms has been as important as bacteriophages when it comes to the understanding of fundamental biological processes like transcriptional control, DNA replication, site-specific recombination, e.t.c.</p><p>The work presented in this thesis is a contribution towards the complete understanding of these organisms. Two proteins, integrase, and Cox, which are important for the choice of the life mode of bacteriophage P2, are investigated. P2 is a temperate phage, i.e. it can either insert its DNA into the host chromosome (by site-specific recombination) and wait (lysogeny), or it can produce new progeny with the help of the host protein machinery and thereafter lyse the cell (lytic cycle). The integrase protein is necessary for the integration and excision of the phage genome. The Cox protein is involved as a directional factor in the site-specific recombination, where it stimulates excision and inhibits integration. It has been shown that the Cox protein also is important for the choice of the lytic cycle. The choice of life mode is regulated on a transcriptional level, where two mutually exclusive promoters direct whether the lytic cycle (Pe) or lysogeny (Pc) is chosen. The Cox pro-tein has been shown to repress the Pc promoter and thereby making tran-scription from the Pe promoter possible, leading to the lytic cycle. Further, the Cox protein can function as a transcriptional activator on the parasite phage, P4. P4 has gained the ability to adopt the P2 protein machinery to its own purposes.</p><p>In this work the importance of the native size for biologically active integrase and Cox proteins has been determined. Further, structure-function analyses of the two proteins have been performed with focus on the protein-protein interfaces. In addition it is shown that P2 Cox and the P2 relative Wphi Cox changes the DNA topology upon specific binding. From the obtained results a mechanism for P2 Cox-DNA interaction is discussed.</p><p>The results from this thesis can be used in the development of a gene delivery system based on the P2 site-specific recombination system.</p>

<p>This thesis examines the possibility of designing a fully integrated and switched testing environment for a test laboratory which conducts automated testing. Execution of tests in this environment will make it possible to manage all test objects without requiring any manual intervention resulting in efficient utilization of machine hours and test objects. The thesis explores the concepts and requirements for designing such an environment. It also describes the methods to implement the environment. The result of the thesis work shows that it is possible to design and implement a fully integrated and switched testing environment which can reduce the lead time for delivery by a substantial amount along with a more efficient utilization of machine hours and resources. The exact information related to the instruments, devices under testing and tools are removed by the author according to NDA.</p>

<p>Företaget Flextronics AB i Linköping testar moderna mobiltelefoner för tillverkares räkning. Som examensarbete har jag fått företagets uppdrag att utvärdera och förbättra deras testsystem DVT-UMTS (3G).</p><p>DVT-UMTS är ett komplext system av komponenter, och man misstänker att dessa stör varandra inbördes, vilket i sin tur kan ge felaktiga mätresultat.</p><p>Beträffande mottagarsidan hos en mobiltelefon tror man att DVT-UMTS p g a störningar, s k intermodulationsprodukter, uppvisar bitfelshalter i testet Rx Out of band blocking. Komponenter som kan tänkas ge störningar är continuous wave-generator och basstationssimulatorn. Antennanslutningen bortses från i undersökningen. Kontroll av CW-generatorn sker med hjälp av lågpassfilter, riktkopplare och dämpare. Kontrollen visar att den är orsak till bitfel men inte ensam orsak. Basstationssimulatorn kontrolleras med hjälp av högpassfilter, riktkopplare och varierade kabellängder. Även denna visar sig ge upphov till bitfel.</p><p>Bitfel orsakade av intermodulationsprodukter från CW-generatorn kan reduceras med lågpassfilter och dämpare. Motsvarande problem hos basstationssimulatorn kan åtgärdas med högpassfilter och varierade kabellängder.</p><p>Kvarstående bitfel är acceptabla enligt specificerade krav från det internationella samarbetsorganet 3GPP.</p><p>Mobiltelefonens sändarefunktion testas med programmet Tx Spurious emission, där otillåtet höga dämpningsnivåer kan ge problem. Dessa nivåer beror av signalvägarna mellan testad enhet och spektrumanalysatorn. Med hjälp av gordon, darlingtontransistor och switch kan signalvägarna optimeras. En alternativ testuppkoppling på DVT-UMTS, innehållande switch med styrprogram, ger dämpningsnivåer innanför specificerade gränser.</p>

<p>This work focuses on different kinds of Switch Mode Power Amplifiers (SMPAs) using LDMOS technologies. It involves a literature study of different SMPA concepts. Choosing the suitable class that achieves the high efficiency was the base stone of this</p><p>work. A push-pull class J power amplifier (PA) was designed with an integrated LC resonator inside the package using the bondwires and die capacitances. Analysis and motivation of the chosen class is included. Designing the suitable Input/Output printed circuit board (PCB) external circuits (i.e.; BALUN circuit, Matching network and DC</p><p>bias network) was part of the work. This work is done by ADS simulation and showed a simulated result of about 70% drain efficiency for 34 W output power and 16 dB gain at 2.14 GHz. Study of the losses in each part of the design elements is also included.</p><p>Another design at lower frequency (i.e.; at 0.94 GHz) was also simulated and compared to the previous design. The drain efficiency was 83% for 32 W output power and 15.4 dB Gain.</p>