This study explores the use of digital pulse processing techniques for n/y pulse shape discrimination (PSD) in liquid scintillators, and the application of these techniques to a capture-gated fast neutron monitor developed using an enriched '°B-loaded liquid scintillator (BC523A). The motivation for this study has been to develop a computationally-fast digital PSD algorithm, which can be used to detect a weak neutron flux in the presence of a strong gamma ray background and to assess its suitability for use as a portable neutron monitor for fast neutron dosimetry. BC523A can operate as a full-energy neutron spectrometer when used in the 'capturegated' mode, where a characteristic capture time is observed between the proton recoil and neutron capture pulses, thus producing a very clean signature for those fast neutrons which are completely moderated within the detector volume. The use of digital waveform capture of this double-pulse sequence is a powerful technique that allows acquiring both the timestamped pulse amplitudes and the capture lifetime in a single data set. The capture-gated performance of a 105 cm' BC523A detector was investigated using fast neutrons from an Am-Be source. The measured mean neutron capture time in BC523A was 470±80 ns, which is a factor of 5 shorter than that reported for liquid scintillators loaded with natural boron. Due to its limited neutron detection efficiency, an extension of this technique to a large volume (685 cm) BC523A was developed, and provided an efficiency increase by a factor of 7. The efficiency enhancement was modelled using MCNP-4C. Good n/y separation was obtained using digital PSD applied to BC523A. The PSD figure of- merit (FOM) was investigated for various organic scintillators, and compared between digital and analogue pulse processing techniques. The application of digital PSD to the capture-gate detection mode was investigated, as an additional method for suppression of gamma sensitivity.

A new multiplexing technique based on the orthogonality of the signal waveform is proposed. It can bring extra capacity to the existing fiber-optic communication system. / A new multiplexing technique is proposed in this work, which is a promising alternative technique for next-generation high-capacity fiber-optic communication system. The concept of this technique is based on the orthogonality of the signal waveform. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / A number of signals with orthogonal waveforms are multiplexed into a single optical fiber. In this scheme, the user’s information is encoded into the amplitude and the phase of the signal waveform. Then multiplexed signals can be transmitted through the fiber-optic communication system.

No description available.

The crust is the outer-most layer of the earth with thickness up to 80 km. Massive seismic waveform data have enabled imaging fine crustal structures with the aid of new imaging techniques. In this thesis, I develop seismic imaging techniques to take full advantage of the expanding dataset as well as apply the imaging techniques to understand crustal seismic structures. First, I apply receiver function techniques to image the crustal thickness and average Vp/Vs in Northeast China. I found an uplifted Moho in eastern flank of the Songliao Basin and the Changbaishan region and suggest that dynamic mantle upwelling might be the cause of the observed uplift. With accumulated waveform data available, it becomes possible to extract more subtle structural information from receiver function. Second, I develop a new technique to robustly estimate seismic azimuthal anisotropy with radial and transverse receiver functions. I apply this technique to estimate the crustal anisotropy in Southeast Yunnan region and found that the significant crustal anisotropy may be caused by lower crust flow in this region. Full-wave based imaging techniques such as reverse time migration and full-wave inversion does not assume flat interfaces or infinite frequency rays as that the receiver function techniques do and are desirable in imaging more complex crustal structures. However, their high computational cost is one of the issues that prevent their practical applications. In the last part, I developed an effective waveform modeling technique to efficiently simulate wave propagation in acoustic media. With this novel modeling technique, the full-wave based imaging techniques are accelerated by a factor up to 400%.

No description available.

Seismic waves are used to study the Earth, exploit its hydrocarbon resources, and understand its hazards. Extracting information from seismic waves about the Earth’s subsurface, however, is becoming more challenging as our questions become more complex and our demands for higher resolution increase. This dissertation introduces two new methods that use scattered waves for improving the resolution of subsurface images: natural migration of passive seismic data and convergent full-waveform inversion. In the first part of this dissertation, I describe a method where the recorded seismic data are used to image subsurface heterogeneities like fault planes. This method, denoted as natural migration of backscattered surface waves, provides higher resolution images for near-surface faults that is complementary to surface-wave tomography images. Our proposed method differ from contemporary methods in that it does not (1) require a velocity model of the earth, (2) assumes weak scattering, or (3) have a high computational cost. This method is applied to ambient noise recorded by the US-Array to map regional faults across the American continent. Natural migration can be formulated as a least-squares inversion to furtherer enhance the resolution and the quality of the fault images. This inversion is applied to ambient noise recorded in Long Beach, California to reveal a matrix of shallow subsurface faults. The second part of this dissertation describes a convergent full waveform inversion method for controlled source data. A controlled source excites waves that scatter from subsurface reflectors. The scattered waves are recorded by a large array of geophones. These recorded waves can be inverted for a high-resolution image of the subsurface by FWI, which is typically convergent for transmitted arrivals but often does not converge for deep reflected events. I propose a preconditioning approach that extends the ability of FWI to image deep parts of the velocity model, which significantly improves the chances for finding hydrocarbon deposits.

Cymatic Revelations is a multi-media composition that aims to artistically reveal the power of vibration through the synchronous use of cymatic pattern imaging, real-time video projection, and live music. When musical vibrations are channeled through a malleable medium such as a liquid, the vibrations cause the medium to arrange itself into visible geometries known as cymatic patterns. Being that these patterns are created by the sounds themselves, the projected visual elements are used to visually connect the audience to what they hear. While incorporating archetypal elements of light, reflection, and symmetry, Cymatic Revelations utilizes cutting-edge music technologies to expose this common thread of vibration in the world around us. The piece combines the real-time generation of cymatic events, videos, and slideshows, with a live ensemble that features both electronic and acoustic instruments. / Mary Pappert School of Music; / Music Technology / MM; / Thesis;

No description available.

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar employs orthogonal or partially correlated transmit signals to achieve performance benefits over its phased-array counterpart. It has been shown that MIMO radar can achieve greater spatial resolution, improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and target localization, and greater clutter resolution using space-time adaptive processing (STAP). This thesis explores various methods to improve the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) via transmit and receive beamforming. In MIMO radar settings, it is often desirable to transmit power only to a given location or set of locations defined by a beampattern. Current methods involve a two- step process of designing the transmit covariance matrix R via iterative solutions and then using R to generate waveforms that fulfill practical constraints such as having a constant-envelope or drawing from a finite alphabet. In this document, a closed- form method to design R is proposed that utilizes the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) coefficients and Toeplitz matrices. The resulting covariance matrix fulfills the practical constraints such as positive semidefiniteness and the uniform elemental power constraint and provides performance similar to that of iterative methods, which require a much greater computation time. Next, a transmit architecture is presented 
that exploits the orthogonality of frequencies at discrete DFT values to transmit a sum of orthogonal signals from each antenna. The resulting waveforms provide a lower mean-square error than current methods at a much lower computational cost, and a simulated detection scenario demonstrates the performance advantages achieved. It is also desirable to receive signal power only from a given set of directions defined by a beampattern. In a later chapter of this document, the problem of receive beampattern matching is formulated and three solutions to this problem are demonstrated. We show that partitioning the received data vector into subvectors and then multiplying each subvector with its corresponding weight vector can improve performance and reduce the length of the data vector. Simulation results show that all methods are capable of matching a desired beampattern. Signal-to-interference- plus-noise ratio (SINR) calculations demonstrate a significant improvement over the unaltered MIMO case.

Full waveform inversion (FWI) for reflection events is limited by its linearized update requirements given by a process equivalent to migration. Unless the background velocity model is reasonably accurate the resulting gradient can have an inaccurate update direction leading the inversion to converge into what we refer to as local minima of the objective function. In this thesis, I first look into the subject of full model wavenumber to analysis the root of local minima and suggest the possible ways to avoid this problem. And then I analysis the possibility of recovering the corresponding wavenumber components through the existing inversion and migration algorithms. Migration can be taken as a generalized inversion method which mainly retrieves the high wavenumber part of the model. Conventional impedance inversion method gives a mapping relationship between the migration image (high wavenumber) and model parameters (full wavenumber) and thus provides a possible cascade inversion strategy to retrieve the full wavenumber components from seismic data. In the proposed approach, consider a mild lateral variation in the model, I find an analytical Frechet derivation corresponding to the new objective function. In the proposed approach, the gradient is given by the oriented time-domain imaging method. This is independent of the background velocity. Specifically, I apply the oriented time-domain imaging (which depends on the reflection slope instead of a background velocity) on the data residual to obtain the geometrical features of the velocity perturbation. Assuming that density is constant, the conventional 1D impedance inversion method is also applicable for 2D or 3D velocity inversion within the process of FWI. This method is not only capable of inverting for velocity, but it is also capable of retrieving anisotropic parameters relying on linearized representations of the reflection response. To eliminate the cross-talk artifacts between different parameters, I utilize what I consider being an optimal parameterization. To do so, I extend the prestack time-domain migration image in incident angle dimension to incorporate angular dependence needed by the multiparameter inversion. For simple models, this approach provides an efficient and stable way to do full waveform inversion or modified seismic inversion and makes the anisotropic inversion more practical. Results based on synthetic data of isotropic and anisotropic case examples illustrate the benefits and limitations of this method.