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Title: MAGNETICS DESIGN FOR HIGH CURRENT LOW VOLTAGE DC/DC CONVERTER.
Creator: zhou, hua, Wu, Thomas Xinzhang, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: With the increasing demand for small and cost efficient DC/DC converters, the power converters are expected to operate with high efficiency. Magnetics components design is one of the biggest challenges in achieving the higher power density and higher efficiency due to the significant portion of magnetics components volume in the whole power system. At the same time, most of the experimental phenomena are related to the magnetics components. So, good magnetics components design is one of the...
Show moreWith the increasing demand for small and cost efficient DC/DC converters, the power converters are expected to operate with high efficiency. Magnetics components design is one of the biggest challenges in achieving the higher power density and higher efficiency due to the significant portion of magnetics components volume in the whole power system. At the same time, most of the experimental phenomena are related to the magnetics components. So, good magnetics components design is one of the key issues to implement low voltage high current DC/DC converter. Planar technology has many advantages. It has low profile construction, low leakage inductance and inter-winding capacitance, excellent repeatability of parasitic properties, cost efficiency, great reliability, and excellent thermal characteristics. On the other side, however, planar technology also has some disadvantages. Although it improves thermal performance, the planar format increases footprint area. The fact that windings can be placed closer in planar technology to reduce leakage inductance also often has an unwanted effect of increasing parasitic capacitances. In this dissertation, the planar magnetics designs for high current low voltage applications are thoroughly investigated and one CAD design methodology based on FEA numerical analysis is proposed. Because the frequency dependant parasitic parameters of magnetics components are included in the circuit model, the whole circuit analysis is more accurate. When it is implemented correctly, integrated magnetics technique can produce a significant reduction in the magnetic core content number and it can also result in cost efficient designs with less weight and smaller volume. These will increase the whole converter's power density and power efficiency. For high output current and low output voltage applications, half bridge in primary and current doublers in secondary are proved to be a very good solution. Based on this topology, four different integrated magnetics structures are analyzed and compared with each other. One unified model is introduced and implemented in the circuit analysis. A new integrated magnetics component core shape is proposed. All simulation and experimental results verify the integrated magnetics design. There are several new magnetics components applications shown in the dissertation. Active transient voltage compensator is a good solution to the challenging high slew rate load current transient requirement of VRM. The transformer works as an extra voltage source. During the transient periods, the transformer injects or absorbs the extra transient to or from the circuit. A peak current mode controlled integrated magnetics structure is proposed in the dissertation. Two transformers and two inductors are integrated in one core. It can force the two input capacitors of half bridge topology to have the same voltage potential and solve the voltage unbalance issue. The proposed integrated magnetics structure is simple compared with other methods implementing the current mode control to half bridge topology. Circuit analysis, simulation and experimental results verify the feasibility of these applications.
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Date Issued: 2007
Identifier: CFE0001823, ucf:47341
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001823

Title: PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF WAVE SCATTERING BY CHIRAL PERIODIC STRUCTURE.
Creator: Yang, Xiaomin, Wu, Xinzhang, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Attention has been focused on electromagnetic chirality and its potential applications to microwave, millimeter wave and optical wave devices. In this work, wave propagation through a chiral periodic structure with arbitrary shape is investigated. Although perturbation theory and coupled-mode theory have been used to analyze chiral periodic structure, those are approximate methods and can only be used for low frequency applications. In this work, the rigorous mode-matching method is used to...
Show moreAttention has been focused on electromagnetic chirality and its potential applications to microwave, millimeter wave and optical wave devices. In this work, wave propagation through a chiral periodic structure with arbitrary shape is investigated. Although perturbation theory and coupled-mode theory have been used to analyze chiral periodic structure, those are approximate methods and can only be used for low frequency applications. In this work, the rigorous mode-matching method is used to solve the problem. Staircase approximation is introduced to change the curved structure to a multilayer structure. The field solutions in the uniform air regions and unbounded air-chiral periodic array have been derived. Finite element method is used to solve the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions in the periodic chiral slabs. Mode-matching method is used at the boundaries to calculate the scattering characteristics. Numerical results are displayed to explain the underlying physical properties of the chiral periodic structure. The Wood's anomalies at high frequencies have been investigated and explained by the excitation of leaky waves guided along the periodic layer. The influence of frequency, chirality parameter, incident angle, curve shape and period are discussed. It has been found that the chiral periodic structure can be used as both a frequency selective device and a mode conversion device. First, the derivation and numeric calculation were done with the principal plane incidence. Then, the discussion was extended to the more general case of oblique incidence by the coordinate transformation.
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Date Issued: 2009
Identifier: CFE0002964, ucf:47987
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002964

Title: High-efficiency Blue Phase Liquid Crystal Displays.
Creator: Li, Yan, Wu, Shintson, Saleh, Bahaa, Zeldovich, Boris, Wu, Xinzhang, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Blue phase liquid crystals (BPLCs) have a delicate lattice structure existing between chiral nematic and isotropic phases, with a stable temperature range of about 2 K. But due to short coherent length, these self-assembled nano-structured BPLCs have a fast response time. In the past three decades, the application of BPLC has been rather limited because of its narrow temperature range. In 2002, Kikuchi et al. developed a polymer stabilization method to extend the blue-phase temperature range...
Show moreBlue phase liquid crystals (BPLCs) have a delicate lattice structure existing between chiral nematic and isotropic phases, with a stable temperature range of about 2 K. But due to short coherent length, these self-assembled nano-structured BPLCs have a fast response time. In the past three decades, the application of BPLC has been rather limited because of its narrow temperature range. In 2002, Kikuchi et al. developed a polymer stabilization method to extend the blue-phase temperature range to more than 60 K. This opens a new gateway for display and photonic applications.In this dissertation, I investigate the material properties of polymer-stabilized BPLCs. According the Gerber's model, the Kerr constant of a BPLC is linearly proportional to the dielectric anisotropy of the LC host. Therefore, in the frequency domain, the relaxation of the Kerr constant follows the same trend as the dielectric relaxation of the host LC. I have carried out experiments to validate the theoretical predictions, and proposed a model called extended Cole-Cole model to describe the relaxation of the Kerr constant. On the other hand, because of the linear relationship, the Kerr constant should have the same sign as the dielectric anisotropy of the LC host; that is, a positive or negative Kerr constant results from positive or negative host LCs, respectively. BPLCs with a positive Kerr constant have been studied extensively, but there has been no study on negative polymer-stabilized BPLCs. Therefore, I have prepared a BPLC mixture using a negative dielectric anisotropy LC host and investigated its electro-optic properties. I have demonstrated that indeed the induced birefringence and Kerr constant are of negative sign. Due to the fast response time of BPLCs, color sequential display is made possible without color breakup. By removing the spatial color filters, the optical efficiency and resolution density are both tripled. With other advantages such as alignment free and wide viewing angle, polymer-stabilized BPLC is emerging as a promising candidate for next-generation displays.However, the optical efficiency of the BPLC cell is relatively low and the operating voltage is quite high using conventional in-plane-switching electrodes. I have proposed several device structures for improving the optical efficiency of transmissive BPLC cells. Significant improvement in transmittance is achieved by using enhanced protrusion electrodes, and a 100% transmittance is achievable using complementary enhanced protrusion electrode structure.For a conventional transmissive blue phase LCD, although it has superb performances indoor, when exposed to strong sunlight the displayed images could be washed out, leading to a degraded contrast ratio and readability. To overcome the sunlight readability problem, a common approach is to adaptively boost the backlight intensity, but the tradeoff is in the increased power consumption. Here, I have proposed a transflective blue phase LCD where the backlight is turned on in dark surroundings while ambient light is used to illuminate the displayed images in bright surroundings. Therefore, a good contrast ratio is preserved even for a strong ambient. I have proposed two transflective blue phase LCD structures, both of which have single cell gap, single gamma driving, reasonably wide view angle, low power consumption, and high optical efficiency. Among all the 3D technologies, integral imaging is an attractive approach due to its high efficiency and real image depth. However, the optimum observation distance should be adjusted as the displayed image depth changes. This requires a fast focal length change of an adaptive lens array. BPLC adaptive lenses are a good candidate because of their intrinsic fast response time. I have proposed several BPLC lens structures which are polarization independent and exhibit a parabolic phase profile in addition to fast response time.To meet the low power consumption requirement set by Energy Star, high optical efficiency is among the top lists of next-generation LCDs. In this dissertation, I have demonstrated some new device structures for improving the optical efficiency of a polymer-stabilized BPLC transmissive display and proposed sunlight readable transflective blue-phase LCDs by utilizing ambient light to reduce the power consumption. Moreover, we have proposed several blue-phase LC adaptive lenses for high efficiency 3D displays.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004787, ucf:49725
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004787

Title: Optical Fluid-based Photonic and Display Devices.
Creator: Xu, Su, Wu, Shintson, Li, Guifang, Moharam, M., Wu, Xinzhang, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Conventional solid-state photonic devices exhibit an ultra-high optical performance and durability, but minimal adaptability. Recently, optical fluid-based photonic and display devices are emerging. By dynamically manipulating the optical interface formed by liquids, the optical output can be reconfigured or adaptively tuned in real time. Such devices exhibit some unique characteristics that are not achievable in conventional solid-state photonic devices. Therefore, they open a gateway for...
Show moreConventional solid-state photonic devices exhibit an ultra-high optical performance and durability, but minimal adaptability. Recently, optical fluid-based photonic and display devices are emerging. By dynamically manipulating the optical interface formed by liquids, the optical output can be reconfigured or adaptively tuned in real time. Such devices exhibit some unique characteristics that are not achievable in conventional solid-state photonic devices. Therefore, they open a gateway for new applications, such as image and signal processing, optical communication, sensing, and lab-on-a-chip, etc. Different operation principles of optical fluid-based photonic devices have been proposed, for instance fluidic pressure, electrochemistry, thermal effect, environmentally adaptive hydrogel, electro-wetting and dielectrophoresis. In this dissertation, several novel optical fluid-based photonic and display devices are demonstrated. Their working principles are described and electro-optic properties investigated.The first part involves photonic devices based on fluidic pressure. Here, we present a membrane-encapsulated liquid lens actuated by a photo-activated polymer. This approach paves a way to achieve non-mechanical driving and easy integration with other photonic devices. Next, we develop a mechanical-wetting lens for visible and short-wavelength infrared applications. Such a device concept can be extended to longer wavelength if proper liquids are employed.In the second part, we reveal some new photonic and display devices based on dielectrophoretic effects. We conceive a dielectric liquid microlens with well-shaped electrode for fixing the droplet position and lowering the operating voltage. To widen the dynamic range, we demonstrate an approach to enable focus tuning from negative to positive or vice versa in a single dielectric lens without any moving part. The possibility of fabricating microlens arrays with different aperture and density using a simple method is also proposed. Furthermore, the fundamental electro-optic characteristics of dielectric liquid droplets are studied from the aspects of operating voltage, frequency and droplet size. In addition to dielectric liquid lenses, we also demonstrate some new optical switches based on dielectrophoretic effect, e.g., optical switch based on voltage-stretchable liquid crystal droplet, variable aperture or position-shifting droplet. These devices work well in the visible and near infrared spectral ranges. We also extend this approach to display and show a polarizer-free and color filter-free display. Simple fabrication, low power consumption, polarization independence, relatively low operating voltage as well as reasonably fast switching time are their key features.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004620, ucf:49943
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004620

Title: fast-response liquid crystals for photonic and display applications.
Creator: Sun, Jie, Wu, Shintson, Likamwa, Patrick, Schoenfeld, Winston, Wu, Xinzhang, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Liquid crystals (LCs) are attractive for many applications such as information displays, spatial light modulators, and adaptive optics because the optical properties of these devices are electrically tunable. For most display and photonic applications, response time is a critical parameter especially for spatial light modulators that requires at least 2? phase change. This problem gets more severe as the wavelength increases because a thicker LC layer is needed, which results in a slower...
Show moreLiquid crystals (LCs) are attractive for many applications such as information displays, spatial light modulators, and adaptive optics because the optical properties of these devices are electrically tunable. For most display and photonic applications, response time is a critical parameter especially for spatial light modulators that requires at least 2? phase change. This problem gets more severe as the wavelength increases because a thicker LC layer is needed, which results in a slower response time. A typical E7 nematic liquid crystal cell with 2? phase change shows a response time longer than 100 ms at room temperature, which is too slow. Therefore, solutions for achieving fast response time are in high demand.In this dissertation, several approaches for achieving submillisecond response time are investigated. In Chapter 2, we begin by introducing dual frequency liquid crystals (DFLCs) which provide possibility to achieve submillisecond rise time and decay time. We developed a DFLC mixture with a record-high birefringence (?n=0.39 at ?=633nm) based on phenyl-tolane compounds, which exhibit a positive dielectric anisotropy (??) and modest dielectric relaxation frequency. In Chapter 3, a phase modulator with 4? phase change and 400 (&)#181;s average gray-to-gray response time is demonstrated using a sheared polymer network liquid crystal (SPNLC). This device exhibits a low scattering at ?=532 nm due to the employed material set and shearing technique. We also discuss the application of SPNLCs for 3D displays.In Chapter 4, we studied the temperature effect on the splay elastic constant of polymer network liquid crystal (PNLC). Due to the existence of polymer network, the temperature dependent splay elastic constant of the LC cell deviates from the model for nematic LCs. In Chapter 5, we focus on PNLC light modulators. This technology is attractive because it can achieve submillisecond response time while maintaining a large phase change. However, the light scattering loss caused by grain boundaries of liquid crystal multi-domains at voltage-on state hinders the widespread application of PNLCs. By optimizing liquid crystal host, polymer, and proper curing process, we successfully eliminate light scattering from short wave infrared region (1.55 ?m) to visible range. In Chapter 6, we introduce a reconfigurable fabrication technique of tunable liquid crystal devices. Based on this technique and our scattering-free PNLCs, we developed a series of fast switching LC devices such as LC prism, grating and lens. The application of this technology in 3D lenticular lens development is also discussed. This technique provides a great flexibility for designing and fabricating LC photonic devices with desired refractive index profile.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0005063, ucf:49968
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005063

Title: Low Voltage Blue Phase Liquid Crystal Displays.
Creator: Rao, Linghui, Wu, Shintson, Vanstryland, Eric, Zeldovich, Boris, Wu, Xinzhang, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: From cell phones, laptops, desktops, TVs, to projectors, high reliability LCDs have become indispensable in our daily life. Tremendous progress in liquid crystal displays (LCDs) has been made after decades of extensive research and development in materials, device configurations and manufacturing technology. Nowadays, the most critical issue on viewing angle has been solved using multidomain structures and optical film compensation. Slow response time has been improved to 2-5 ms with low...
Show moreFrom cell phones, laptops, desktops, TVs, to projectors, high reliability LCDs have become indispensable in our daily life. Tremendous progress in liquid crystal displays (LCDs) has been made after decades of extensive research and development in materials, device configurations and manufacturing technology. Nowadays, the most critical issue on viewing angle has been solved using multidomain structures and optical film compensation. Slow response time has been improved to 2-5 ms with low viscosity LC material, overdrive and undershoot voltage, and thin cell gap approach. Moving image blur has been significantly reduced by impulse driving and frame insertion. Contrast ratio in excess of one million-to-1 has been achieved through local dimming of the segmented LED backlight. The color gamut would exceed 100% of the NTSC (National Television System Committee), if RGB LEDs are used. Besides these technological advances, the cost has been reduced dramatically by investing in advanced manufacturing technologies. Polymer-stabilized blue phase liquid crystal displays (BPLCDs) based on Kerr effect is emerging as a potential next-generation display technology. In comparison to conventional nematic devices, the polymer-stabilized BPLCDs exhibit following attractive features: (1) submillisecond response time, (2) no need for molecular alignment layers, (3) optically isotropic dark state when sandwiched between crossed polarizers, and (4) transmittance is insensitive to cell gap when the in-plane electrodes are employed. However, aside from these great potentials, there are still some tough technical issues remain to be addressed. The major challenges are: 1) the operating voltage is still too high (~50 Volts vs. 5 Volts for conventional nematic LCDs), and the transmittance is relatively low (~65% vs. 85% for nematic LCDs), 2) the hysteresis effect and residual birefringence effect are still noticeable, 3) the mesogenic temperature range is still not wide enough for practical applications (?40 oC to 80 oC), and 4) the ionic impurities in these polymer-stabilized nano-structured LC composites could degrade the voltage holding ratio, which causes image sticking.In this dissertation, the BPLC materials are studied and the new BPLC device structures are designed to optimize display performances. From material aspect, the electro-optical properties of blue phase liquid crystals are studied based on Kerr effect. Temperature effects on polymer-stabilized blue phase or optically isotropic liquid crystal displays are investigated through the measurement of voltage dependent transmittance under different temperatures. The physical models for the temperature dependency of Kerr constant, induced birefringence and response time in BPLCs are first proposed and experimentally validated. In addition, we have demonstrated a polymer-stabilized BPLC mixture with a large Kerr constant K~13.7 nm/V2 at 20 oC at 633 nm. These models would set useful guidelines for optimizing material performances. From devices side, the basic operation principle of blue phase LCD is introduced. A numerical model is developed to simulate the electro-optic properties of blue phase LCDs based on in-plane-switching (IPS) structure. Detailed electrode dimension effect, distribution of induced birefringence, cell gap effect, correlation between operation voltage and Kerr constant, and wavelength dispersion are investigated. Viewing angle is another important parameter. We have optimized the device configurations according to the device physics studied. With proper new device designs, the operating voltage is decreased dramatically from around 50 Volts to below 10 Volts with a reasonably high transmittance (~70%) which enables the BPLCDs to be addressed by amorphous silicon thin-film transistors (TFTs). Moreover, weak wavelength dispersion, samll color shift, and low hysteresis BPLCDs are achieved after their root causes being unveiled. Optimization of device configurations plays a critical role to the widespread applications of BPLCDs.In addition to displays, blue phase liquid crystals can also be used for photonic applications, such as light modulator, phase grating, adaptive lens and photonic crystals. We will introduce the application of blue phase liquid crystal as a modulator to realize a viewing angle controllable display. The viewing angle can be tuned continuously and precisely with a fast response time. The detailed design and performance are also presented in this dissertation.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004625, ucf:49930
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004625

Title: Electromagnetic Environment in Payload Fairing Cavities.
Creator: Trout, Dawn, Wahid, Parveen, Wu, Xinzhang, Gong, Xun, Tang, Philip, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: An accurate determination of a spacecraft's radio frequency electromagnetic field environment during launch and flight is critical for mission success. Typical fairing structures consist of a parabolic nose and a cylindrical core with diameters of 1 to 5 meters resulting in electrically large dimensions for typical operational sources at S, C and X band where the free space wavelength varies from 0.15 m to 0.03 m. These electrically large size and complex structures at present have internal...
Show moreAn accurate determination of a spacecraft's radio frequency electromagnetic field environment during launch and flight is critical for mission success. Typical fairing structures consist of a parabolic nose and a cylindrical core with diameters of 1 to 5 meters resulting in electrically large dimensions for typical operational sources at S, C and X band where the free space wavelength varies from 0.15 m to 0.03 m. These electrically large size and complex structures at present have internal fairing electromagnetic field evaluation that is limited to general approximation methods and some test data. Though many of today's computational electromagnetic tools can model increasingly complex and large structures, they still have many limitations when used for field determination in electrically large cavities. In this dissertation, a series of test anchored, full wave computational electromagnetic models along with a novel application of the equivalent material property technique are presented to address the electrical, geometrical, and boundary constraints for electromagnetic field determination in composite fairing cavity structures and fairings with acoustic blanketing layers. Both external and internal excitations for these fairing configurations are examined for continuous wave and transient sources. A novel modification of the Nicholson Ross Weir technique is successfully applied to both blanketed aluminum and composite fairing structures and a significant improvement in computational efficiency over the multilayered model approach is obtained. The advantages and disadvantages of using commercially available tools by incorporating Multilevel Fast Multipole Method (MLFMM) and higher order method of moments (HO MoM) to extend their application of MoM to electrically large objects is examined for each continuous wave transmission case. The results obtained with these models are compared with those obtained using approximation techniques based on the Q factor, commonly utilized in the industry, and a significant improvement is seen in a prediction of the fields in these large cavity structures. A statistical distribution of data points within the fairing cavity is examined to study the nature of the fairing cavity field distribution and the effect of the presence of a spacecraft load on these fields is also discussed. In addition, a model with external application of Green's function is examined to address the shielding effectiveness of honeycomb panels in a fairing cavity. Accurate data for lightning induced effects within a fairing structure is not available and hence in this dissertation, a transmission line matrix method model is used to examine induced lightning effects inside a graphite composite fairing structure. The simulated results are compared with test data and show good agreement.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004275, ucf:49505
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004275

Title: Load Estimation for Electric Power Distribution Networks.
Creator: Eyisi, Chiebuka, Lotfifard, Saeed, Yuan, Jiann-Shiun, Wu, Xinzhang, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In electric power distribution systems, the major determinant in electricity supply strategy is the quantity of demand. Customers need to be accurately represented using updated nodal load information as a requirement for efficient control and operation of the distribution network. In Distribution Load Estimation (DLE), two major categories of data are utilized: historical data and direct real-time measured data. In this thesis, a comprehensive survey on the state-of-the-art methods for...
Show moreIn electric power distribution systems, the major determinant in electricity supply strategy is the quantity of demand. Customers need to be accurately represented using updated nodal load information as a requirement for efficient control and operation of the distribution network. In Distribution Load Estimation (DLE), two major categories of data are utilized: historical data and direct real-time measured data. In this thesis, a comprehensive survey on the state-of-the-art methods for estimating loads in distribution networks is presented. Then, a novel method for representing historical data in the form of Representative Load Curves (RLCs) for use in real-time DLE is also described. Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS) is used in this regard to determine RLCs. An RLC is a curve that represents the behavior of the load during a specified time span; typically daily, weekly or monthly based on historical data. Although RLCs provide insight about the variation of load, it is not accurate enough for estimating real-time load. This therefore, should be used along with real-time measurements to estimate the load more accurately. It is notable that more accurate RLCs lead to better real-time load estimation in distribution networks.This thesis addresses the need to obtain accurate RLCs to assist in the decision-making process pertaining to Radial Distribution Networks (RDNs).This thesis proposes a method based on Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS) architecture to estimate the RLCs for Distribution Networks. The performance of the method is demonstrated and simulated, on a test 11kV Radial Distribution Network using the MATLAB software. The Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE) criterion is used to justify the accuracy of the RLCs.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0004995, ucf:49555
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004995

Title: High Temperature Materials Characterization and Sensor Application.
Creator: Ren, Xinhua, Gong, Xun, Wahid, Parveen, Wu, Xinzhang, An, Linan, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation presents new solutions for turbine engines in need of wireless temperature sensors at temperatures up to 1300oC. Two important goals have been achieved in this dissertation. First, a novel method for precisely characterizing the dielectric properties of high temperature ceramic materials at high temperatures is presented for microwave frequencies. This technique is based on a high-quality (Q)-factor dielectrically-loaded cavity resonator, which allows for accurate...
Show moreThis dissertation presents new solutions for turbine engines in need of wireless temperature sensors at temperatures up to 1300oC. Two important goals have been achieved in this dissertation. First, a novel method for precisely characterizing the dielectric properties of high temperature ceramic materials at high temperatures is presented for microwave frequencies. This technique is based on a high-quality (Q)-factor dielectrically-loaded cavity resonator, which allows for accurate characterization of both dielectric constant and loss tangent of the material. The dielectric properties of Silicon Carbonitride (SiCN) and Silicoboron Carbonitride (SiBCN) ceramics, developed at UCF Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center (AMPC) are characterized from 25 to 1300oC. It is observed that the dielectric constant and loss tangent of SiCN and SiBCN materials increase monotonously with temperature. This temperature dependency provides the valuable basis for development of wireless passive temperature sensors for high-temperature applications. Second, wireless temperature sensors are designed based on the aforementioned high-temperature ceramic materials. The dielectric constant of high-temperature ceramics increases monotonically with temperature and as a result changes the resonant frequency of the resonator. Therefore, the temperature can be extracted by measuring the change of the resonant frequency of the resonator. In order for the resonator to operate wirelessly, antennas need to be included in the design. Three different types of sensors, corresponding to different antenna configurations, are designed and the prototypes are fabricated and tested. All of the sensors successfully perform at temperatures over 1000oC. These wireless passive sensor designs will significantly benefit turbine engines in need of sensors operating at harsh environments.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004791, ucf:49727
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004791

Title: Simulation of Heat/Mass Transfer of a Three-Layer Impingement/Effusion Cooling System.
Creator: Smith, Brandon, Chow, Louis, Wu, Xinzhang, Deng, Weiwei, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Cooling techniques for high density electrical components and electronic devices have been studied heavily in recent years. The advancements in the electrical/electronic industry have required methods of high heat flux removal. Many of the current electrical components and electronic devices produce a range of heat fluxes from 20 W/cm2 (-) 100 W/cm2. While parallel flow cooling systems have been used in the past, jet impingement is now more desirable for its potential to have a heat transfer...
Show moreCooling techniques for high density electrical components and electronic devices have been studied heavily in recent years. The advancements in the electrical/electronic industry have required methods of high heat flux removal. Many of the current electrical components and electronic devices produce a range of heat fluxes from 20 W/cm2 (-) 100 W/cm2. While parallel flow cooling systems have been used in the past, jet impingement is now more desirable for its potential to have a heat transfer coefficient 3-5 times greater than that of parallel flow at the same flow rate. Problems do arise when the jet impingement is confined and a cross flow develops that interacts with impinging jets downstream leading to a decrease in heat transfer coefficient. For long heated surfaces, such as an aircraft generator rotor, span wise fluid management is important in keeping the temperature distribution uniform along the length of the surface. A detailed simulation of the heat/mass transfer on a three-layer impingement/effusion cooling system has been conducted. The impingement jet fluid enters from the top layer into the bottom layer to impinge on the heated surface. The spent fluid is removed from the effusion holes and exits through the middle layer. Three different effusion configurations were used with effusion diameters ranging from 0.5 mm to 2 mm. Temperature uniformity, heat transfer coefficients, and pressure drops were compared for each effusion diameter arrangement, jet to target spacing (H/d), and rib configuration. A Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence fluid model was used within ANSYS CFX to simulate all design models. Three-layer configurations were also set in series for long, rectangular heated surfaces and compared against traditional cooling methods such as parallel internal flow and traditional jet impingement models. The results show that the three-layer design compared to a traditional impingement cooling scheme over an elongated heated surface can increase the average heat transfer coefficient by 75% and reduce the temperature difference on the surface by 75%. It was shown that for a three layer design under the same impingement geometry, the average heat transfer coefficient increases when H/d is small. The inclusion of ribs always provided better heat transfer and centralized the cooling areas. The heat transfer was increased by as much as 25% when ribs were used. The effusion hole arrangement showed minimal correlation to heat transfer other than a large array provides better results. The effusion holes' greatest impact was found in the pressure drop of the cooling model. The pressure losses were minimal when the effective area of effusion holes was large. This minimizes the losses due to contraction and expansion.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004795, ucf:49720
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004795

Title: Practical Issues in GPRAM Development.
Creator: Li, Yin, Wei, Lei, Wu, Xinzhang, Mikhael, Wasfy, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In this thesis, two parts of practical issues in the GPRAM system design are included. The first part is the coding part. The sum-product decoding algorithm of LDPC codes has been refined to fit for the GPRAM hardware implementation. As we all know, communication channel has noise. The noise in telecom system is different from that in GPRAM systems. So the noise should be handled well in the GPRAM design. A noise look-up table was created for FPGA and those noises in the table are quantized....
Show moreIn this thesis, two parts of practical issues in the GPRAM system design are included. The first part is the coding part. The sum-product decoding algorithm of LDPC codes has been refined to fit for the GPRAM hardware implementation. As we all know, communication channel has noise. The noise in telecom system is different from that in GPRAM systems. So the noise should be handled well in the GPRAM design. A noise look-up table was created for FPGA and those noises in the table are quantized. The second part of the thesis is to convert perfect images in video stream to those similar to the coarse images in human vision. GPRAM is an animal like robot in which coarse images are needed more than the fine images in order for us to understand how to GPRAM progresses those images to generate as clear image as we experienced. We use three steps, Point Spread function, inserting Poisson Noise, and introducing Eye fixation movements to mimic the coarse images seen merely from our eyes at the retinal photo-receptor level, i.e., without any brain processing.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005200, ucf:50632
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005200

Title: Vertical Field Switching Blue Phase Liquid Crystals for Field Sequential Color Displays.
Creator: Cheng, Hui-Chuan, Wu, Shintson, Likamwa, Patrick, Schoenfeld, Winston, Wu, Xinzhang, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Low power consumption is a critical requirement for all liquid crystal display (LCD) devices. A field sequential color (FSC) LCD was proposed by using red (R), green (G) and blue (B) LEDs and removing the lossy component of color filters which only transmits ~30% of the incoming white light. Without color filters, FSC LCDs exhibit a ~3X higher optical efficiency and 3X higher resolution density as compared to the conventional color filters-based LCDs. However, color breakup (CBU) is a most...
Show moreLow power consumption is a critical requirement for all liquid crystal display (LCD) devices. A field sequential color (FSC) LCD was proposed by using red (R), green (G) and blue (B) LEDs and removing the lossy component of color filters which only transmits ~30% of the incoming white light. Without color filters, FSC LCDs exhibit a ~3X higher optical efficiency and 3X higher resolution density as compared to the conventional color filters-based LCDs. However, color breakup (CBU) is a most disturbing defect that degrades the image quality in FSC displays. CBU can be observed in stationary or moving images. It manifests in FSC LCDs when there is a relative speed between the images and observers' eyes, and the observer will see the color splitting patterns or rainbow effect at the boundary between two different colors.In Chapter 2, we introduce a five-primary display by adding additional yellow(Y) and cyan(C) colors. From the analysis and simulations, five primaries can provide wide color gamut and meanwhile the white brightness is increased, as compared to the three-primary. Based on the five-primary theorem, we propose a method to reduce CBU of FSC LCDs by using RGBYC LEDs instead of RGB LEDs in the second section. Without increasing the sub-frame rate as three-primary LCDs, we can reduce the CBU by utilizing proper color sequence and weighting ratios. In addition, the color gamut achieves 140% NTSC and the white brightness increases by more than 13%, as compared to the three-primary FSC LCDs.Another strategy to suppress CBU is using higher field frequency, such as 540 Hz or even up to 1000 Hz. However, this approach needs liquid crystals with a very fast response time ((<)1 ms). Recently, the polymer-stabilized blue-phase liquid crystal (PS-BPLC) draws great attentions because of improved temperature range which enables the applications for photonic devices and displays. PS-BPLC is a good candidate for FSC LCDs because of its submillisecond gray-to-gray response time, no need for alignment layer, and isotropic dark state. So far, almost all the BPLC devices utilize planar or protruded in-plane switching (IPS) electrode configuration. The structure of planar IPS is relatively simple, but the operating voltage is too high for thin-film transistor (TFT) addressing. Moreover, high voltage causes deformation of polymer network and induces a noticeable hysteresis. Protruded IPS is helpful for lowering the operating voltage, but the manufacturing process becomes more sophisticated. In Chapter 3, we propose a vertical field switching (VFS) mode for blue phase LCDs. The simple structure of VFS cell generates uniform vertical fields on the BPLC materials. From our experimental results, the operation voltage can be reduced to ~10Vrms while eliminating the hysteresis. We also defined a critical field below which hysteresis does not occur. Above critical field, lattice distortion and other irreversible phase transition processes would occur. As a result, the associated response time would be slower. Therefore, VFS mode also shows faster response time than IPS mode. The operating voltage can be further reduced by choosing an optimized cell gap and a larger oblique incident angle in VFS blue phase LCDs.In Chapter 4, we propose several compensation mechanisms to improve the viewing angle of VFS blue-phase LCDs. The compensation principles are analyzed and simulation results evaluated. Because VFS blue-phase LCD processes several advantages over IPS blue-phase LCD and conventional LCDs, it could become a strong contender for next-generation display technology.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004780, ucf:49772
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004780

Title: Integration of High-Q filters with Highly Efficient Antennas.
Creator: Yusuf, Yazid, Gong, Xun, Wahid, Parveen, Jones, W, Wu, Xinzhang, Wang, Jing, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The integration of high-quality (Q)-factor 3-D filters with highly efficient antennas is addressed in this dissertation. Integration of filters and antennas into inseparable units eliminates the transitions between the otherwise separate structures resulting in more compact and efficient systems. The compact, highly efficient integrated 3-D filter/antenna systems, enabled by the techniques developed herein, allow for the realization of integrated RF front ends with significantly- reduced form...
Show moreThe integration of high-quality (Q)-factor 3-D filters with highly efficient antennas is addressed in this dissertation. Integration of filters and antennas into inseparable units eliminates the transitions between the otherwise separate structures resulting in more compact and efficient systems. The compact, highly efficient integrated 3-D filter/antenna systems, enabled by the techniques developed herein, allow for the realization of integrated RF front ends with significantly- reduced form factors.Integration of cavity filters with slot antennas in a single planar substrate is first demonstrated. Due to the high Q factor of cavity resonators, the efficiency of the integrated filter/antenna system is found to be the same as that of a reference filter with the same filtering characteristics. This means a near 100% efficient slot antenna is achieved within this integrated filter/antenna system. To further reduce the footprint of the integrated systems, vertically integrated filter/antenna systems are developed. We then demonstrate the integration of cavity filters with aperture antenna structures which enable larger bandwidths compared with slot antennas. The enhanced bandwidths are made possible through the excitation and radiation of surface waves. To obtain omnidirectional radiation patterns , we integrate cavity filters with monopole antennas. Finally, the integration of filters with patch antennas is addressed. Unlike the other filter/antenna integration examples presented, in which the antenna is utilized as an equivalent load, the patch antenna provides an additional pole in the filtering function.The presented techniques in this dissertation can be applied for filter/antenna integration in all microwave, and millimeter-wave frequency regions.
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Date Issued: 2011
Identifier: CFE0004183, ucf:49075
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004183

Title: STUDY OF DESIGN FOR RELIABILITY OF RF AND ANALOG CIRCUITS.
Creator: Tang, Hongxia, Yuan, Jiann-Shiun, Wu, Xinzhang, Sundaram, Kalpathy, Chow, Lee, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Due to continued device dimensions scaling, CMOS transistors in the nanometer regime have resulted in major reliability and variability challenges. Reliability issues such as channel hot electron injection, gate dielectric breakdown, and negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) need to be accounted for in the design of robust RF circuits. In addition, process variations in the nanoscale CMOS transistors are another major concern in today's circuits design.An adaptive gate-source biasing...
Show moreDue to continued device dimensions scaling, CMOS transistors in the nanometer regime have resulted in major reliability and variability challenges. Reliability issues such as channel hot electron injection, gate dielectric breakdown, and negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) need to be accounted for in the design of robust RF circuits. In addition, process variations in the nanoscale CMOS transistors are another major concern in today's circuits design.An adaptive gate-source biasing scheme to improve the RF circuit reliability is presented in this work. The adaptive method automatically adjusts the gate-source voltage to compensate the reduction in drain current subjected to various device reliability mechanisms. A class-AB RF power amplifier shows that the use of a source resistance makes the power-added efficiency robust against threshold voltage and mobility variations, while the use of a source inductance is more reliable for the input third-order intercept point.A RF power amplifier with adaptive gate biasing is proposed to improve the circuit device reliability degradation and process variation. The performances of the power amplifier with adaptive gate biasing are compared with those of the power amplifier without adaptive gate biasing technique. The adaptive gate biasing makes the power amplifier more resilient to process variations as well as the device aging such as mobility and threshold voltage degradation. Injection locked voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) have been examined. The VCOs are implemented using TSMC 0.18 (&)#181;m mixed-signal CMOS technology. The injection locked oscillators have improved phase noise performance than free running oscillators.A differential Clapp-VCO has been designed and fabricated for the evaluation of hot electron reliability. The differential Clapp-VCO is formed using cross-coupled nMOS transistors, on-chip transformers/inductors, and voltage-controlled capacitors. The experimental data demonstrate that the hot carrier damage increases the oscillation frequency and degrades the phase noise of Clapp-VCO.A p-channel transistor only VCO has been designed for low phase noise. The simulation results show that the phase noise degrades after NBTI stress at elevated temperature. This is due to increased interface states after NBTI stress. The process variability has also been evaluated.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004223, ucf:49000
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004223

Title: Analysis and Design Optimization of Resonant DC-DC Converters.
Creator: Fang, Xiang, Shen, Zheng, Batarseh, Issa, Mikhael, Wasfy, Wu, Xinzhang, Kutkut, Nasser, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: The development in power conversion technology is in constant demand of high power efficiency and high power density. The DC-DC power conversion is an indispensable stage for numerous power supplies and energy related applications. Particularly, in PV micro-inverters and front-end converter of power supplies, great challenges are imposed on the power performances of the DC-DC converter stage, which not only require high efficiency and density but also the capability to regulate a wide...
Show moreThe development in power conversion technology is in constant demand of high power efficiency and high power density. The DC-DC power conversion is an indispensable stage for numerous power supplies and energy related applications. Particularly, in PV micro-inverters and front-end converter of power supplies, great challenges are imposed on the power performances of the DC-DC converter stage, which not only require high efficiency and density but also the capability to regulate a wide variation range of input voltage and load conditions. The resonant DC-DC converters are good candidates to meet these challenges with the advantages of achieving soft switching and low EMI. Among the resonant converters, the LLC converter is very attractive for its high gain range and providing ZVS from full load to zero load condition. The operation of the LLC converter is complicated due to its multiple resonant stage mechanism. In this dissertation, a literature review of different analysis methods are presented, and it shows that the study on the LLC is still incomplete. Therefore, an operation mode analysis method is proposed, which divides the operation into six major modes based on the occurrence of resonant stages. The resonant currents, voltages and the DC gain characteristics for each mode is investigated. To get a thorough view of the converter behavior, the boundaries of every mode are studied, and the mode distribution is discussed. An experimental prototype is built and tested to demonstrate its accuracy in operation waveforms and gain prediction. Since most of the LLC modes have no closed-form solutions, simplification is necessary in order to utilize this mode model in practical design. As the peak gain is an important design parameters indicating the LLC's operating limit of input voltage and switching frequency, a numerical peak gain approximation method is developed, which provide a direct way to calculate the peak gain and its corresponding load and frequency condition. In addition, as PO mode is the most favorable operation mode of the LLC, its operation region is investigated and an approximation approach is developed to determine its boundary. The design optimization of the LLC has always been a difficult problem as there are many parameters affecting the design and it lacks clear design guidance in selecting the optimal resonant tank parameters. Based on the operation mode model, three optimization methods are proposed according to the design scenarios. These methods focus on minimize the conduction loss of resonant tank while maintaining the required voltage gain level, and the approximations of peak gains and mode boundary can be applied here to facilitate the design. A design example is presented following one of the optimization procedure. As a comparison, the L-C component values are reselected and tested while the design specifications are the same. The experiments show that the optimal design has better efficiency performance. Finally, a generalized approach for resonant converter analysis is developed. It can be implemented by computer programs or numerical analysis tools to derive the operation waveforms and DC characteristics of resonant converters.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004229, ucf:49026
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004229

Title: Wireless Power Transfer for Space Applications: System Design and Electromagnetic Compatibility Compliance of Radiated Emissions.
Creator: Vazquez Ramos, Gabriel, Yuan, Jiann-Shiun, Sundaram, Kalpathy, Wu, Xinzhang, Soto Toro, Felix, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation evaluates the possibility of wireless power transfer (WPT) systems for space applications, with an emphasis in launch vehicles (rockets). After performing literature review for WPT systems, it was identified that magnetic resonance provides the more suited set of characteristics for this application. Advanced analysis, simulation and testing were performed to magnetic resonance WPT systems to acquire system performance insight. This was accomplished by evaluating/varying...
Show moreThis dissertation evaluates the possibility of wireless power transfer (WPT) systems for space applications, with an emphasis in launch vehicles (rockets). After performing literature review for WPT systems, it was identified that magnetic resonance provides the more suited set of characteristics for this application. Advanced analysis, simulation and testing were performed to magnetic resonance WPT systems to acquire system performance insight. This was accomplished by evaluating/varying coupling configuration, load effects and magnetic element physical characteristics (i.e. wire material, loop radius, etc.). It was identified by analysis, circuit simulation and testing that the best coupling configuration for this application was series-series and series-shunt with Litz wire loop inductors. The main concern identified for the implementation of these systems for space applications was radiated emissions that could potentially generate electromagnetic interference (EMI). To address this EMI concern, we developed the Electromagnetic Compatibility Radiated Emissions Compliance Design Evaluation Approach for WPT Space Systems. This approach systematically allocates key analyses, simulations and tests procedures to predict WPT EMC compliance to NASA's EMC standard Mil-Std-461E/F. Three prototype/magnetic elements were successfully assessed by implementing the WPT EMC design approach. The electric fields intensity generated by the WPT prototypes/magnetic elements tested were: 30.02 dBuV/m, 28.90 dBuV/m and 82.13 dBuV/m (requirement limit: 140 dBuV/m). All three prototypes successfully transferred power wirelessly and successfully met the NASA EMC requirements.
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Date Issued: 2012
Identifier: CFE0004448, ucf:49344
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004448

Title: Microstrip Patch Electrically Steerable Parasitic Array Radiators.
Creator: Luther, Justin, Gong, Xun, Wahid, Parveen, Jones, W, Wu, Xinzhang, Flitsiyan, Elena, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: This dissertation explores the expansion of the Electrically Steerable Parasitic Array Radiator (ESPAR) technology to arrays using microstrip patch elements. Scanning arrays of two and three closely-coupled rectangular patch elements are presented, which incorporate no phase shifters. These arrays achieve directive radiation patterns and scanning of up to 26(&)deg; with maintained impedance match. The scanning is effected by tunable reactive loads which are used to control the mutual coupling...
Show moreThis dissertation explores the expansion of the Electrically Steerable Parasitic Array Radiator (ESPAR) technology to arrays using microstrip patch elements. Scanning arrays of two and three closely-coupled rectangular patch elements are presented, which incorporate no phase shifters. These arrays achieve directive radiation patterns and scanning of up to 26(&)deg; with maintained impedance match. The scanning is effected by tunable reactive loads which are used to control the mutual coupling between the elements, as well as additional loads which compensate to maintain the appropriate resonant frequency. The design incorporates theoretical analysis of the system of coupled antennas with full-wave simulation. A prototype of the three-element array at 1 GHz is fabricated and measured to exhibit a maximum gain of 7.4 dBi with an efficiency of 79.1%. Further, the microstrip ESPAR is thoroughly compared to uniformly-illuminated arrays of similar size. To satisfy the need for higher directivity antennas with inexpensive electronic scanning, the microstrip ESPAR is then integrated as a subarray. The three-element subcell fabrication is simplified to a single layer with an inverted-Y groove in the ground plane, allowing for DC biasing without the need for the radial biasing stubs or tuning stubs found in the two-layer design. The 1 GHz ESPAR array employs a corporate feed network consisting of a Wilkinson power divider with switchable delay line phase shifts, ring hybrid couplers, and achieves a gain of 12.1 dBi at boresight with (&)#177;20(&)deg; scanning and low side lobes. This array successfully illustrates the cost savings associated with ESPAR subarray scanning and the associated reduction in required number of phase shifters in the RF front end.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0005107, ucf:50754
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005107

Title: investigation of dual-stage high efficiency (&)density micro inverter for solar application.
Creator: Chen, Lin, Batarseh, Issa, Mikhael, Wasfy, Wu, Xinzhang, Behal, Aman, Kutkut, Nasser, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Module integrated converters (MIC), also called micro inverter, in single phase have witnessed recent market success due to unique features (1) improved energy harvest, (2) improved system efficiency, (3) lower installation costs, (4) plug-N-play operation, (5) and enhanced flexibility and modularity. The MIC sector has grown from a niche market to mainstream, especially in the United States. Due to the fact that two-stage architecture is commonly used for single phase MIC application. A DC...
Show moreModule integrated converters (MIC), also called micro inverter, in single phase have witnessed recent market success due to unique features (1) improved energy harvest, (2) improved system efficiency, (3) lower installation costs, (4) plug-N-play operation, (5) and enhanced flexibility and modularity. The MIC sector has grown from a niche market to mainstream, especially in the United States. Due to the fact that two-stage architecture is commonly used for single phase MIC application. A DC-DC stage with maximum power point tracking to boost the output voltage of the Photovoltaic (PV) panel is employed in the first stage, DC-AC stage is used for use to connect the grid or the residential application. As well known, the cost of MIC is key issue compared to convention PV system, such as the architecture: string inverter or central inverter. A high efficiency and density DC-DC converter is proposed and dedicated for MIC application. Assuming further expansion of the MIC market, this dissertation presents the micro-inverter concept incorporated in large size PV installations such as MW-class solar farms where a three phase AC connection is employed. A high efficiency three phase MIC with two-stage ZVS operation for grid tied photovoltaic system is proposed which will reduce cost per watt, improve reliability, and increase scalability of MW-class solar farms through the development of new solar farm system architectures. This dissertation presents modeling and triple-loop control for a high efficiency three-phase four-wire inverter for use in grid-connected two-stage micro inverter applications. An average signal model based on a synchronous rotation frame for a three-phase four-wire inverter has been developed. The inner current loop consists of a variable frequency bidirectional current mode (VFBCM) controller which regulates output filter inductor current thereby achieving ZVS, improved system response, and reduced grid current THD. Active damping of the LCL output filter using filter inductor current feedback is discussed along with small signal modeling of the proposed control method. Since the DC-link capacitor plays a critical role in two-stage micro inverter applications, a DC-link controller is implemented outside of the two current control loops to keep the bus voltage constant. In the end, simulation and experimental results from a 400 watt prototype are presented to verify the validity of the theoretical analysis.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005148, ucf:50699
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005148

Title: Control Based Soft Switching Three-phase Micro-inverter: Efficiency and Power Density Optimization.
Creator: Amirahmadi, Ahmadreza, Batarseh, Issa, Lotfifard, Saeed, Mikhael, Wasfy, Wu, Xinzhang, Kutkut, Nasser, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: In the field of renewable energy, solar photovoltaic is growing exponentially. Grid-tied PV micro-inverters have become the trend for future PV system development because of their remarkable advantages such as enhanced energy production due to MPPT implementation for each PV panel, high reliability due to redundant and distributed system architecture, and simple design, installation, and management due to its plug-and-play feature. Conventional approaches for the PV micro-inverters are mainly...
Show moreIn the field of renewable energy, solar photovoltaic is growing exponentially. Grid-tied PV micro-inverters have become the trend for future PV system development because of their remarkable advantages such as enhanced energy production due to MPPT implementation for each PV panel, high reliability due to redundant and distributed system architecture, and simple design, installation, and management due to its plug-and-play feature. Conventional approaches for the PV micro-inverters are mainly in the form of single-phase grid connected and they aim at the residential and commercial rooftop applications. It would be advantageous to extend the micro-inverter concept to large size PV installations such as MW-class solar farms where three-phase AC connections are used.The relatively high cost of the three-phase micro-inverter is the biggest barrier to its large scale deployment. Increasing the switching frequency may be the best way to reduce cost by shrinking the size of reactive components and heat-sink. However, this approach could cause conversion efficiency to drop dramatically without employing soft switching techniques or using costly new devices.This dissertation presents a new zero voltage switching control method that is suitable for low power applications such as three-phase micro-inverters. The proposed hybrid boundary conduction mode (BCM) current control method increases the efficiency and power density of the micro-inverters and features both reduced number of components and easy digital implementation. Zero voltage switching is achieved by controlling the inductor current bi-directional in every switching cycle and results in lower switching losses, higher operating frequency, and reduced size and cost of passive components, especially magnetic cores. Some practical aspects of hybrid control implementation such as dead-time insertion can degrade the performance of the micro-inverter. A dead-time compensation method that improves the performance of hybrid BCM current control by decreasing the output current THD and reducing the zero crossing distortion is presented.Different BCM ZVS current control modulation schemes are compared based on power losses breakdown, switching frequency range, and current quality. Compared to continuous conduction mode (CCM) current control, BCM ZVS control decreases MOSFET switching losses and filter inductor conduction losses but increases MOSFET conduction losses and inductor core losses. Based on the loss analysis, a dual-mode current modulation method combining ZVS and zero current switching (ZCS) schemes is proposed to improve the efficiency of the micro-inverter.Finally, a method of maintaining high power conversion efficiency across the entire load range of the three-phase micro-inverter is proposed. The proposed control method substantially increases the conversion efficiency at light loads by minimizing switching losses of semiconductor devices as well as core losses of magnetic components. This is accomplished by entering a phase skipping operating mode wherein two phases of an inverter are disabled and three inverters are combined to form a new three-phase system with minimal grid imbalance. A 400W prototype of a three-phase micro-inverter and its hybrid control system have been designed and tested under different conditions to verify the effectiveness of the proposed controller, current modulation scheme, and light load efficiency enhancement method.
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Date Issued: 2014
Identifier: CFE0005125, ucf:50703
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005125

Title: Analysis and Design Optimization of Multiphase Converter.
Creator: Zhang, Kejiu, Wu, Xinzhang, Batarseh, Issa, Yuan, Jiann-Shiun, Sundaram, Kalpathy, Chow, Louis, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description: Future microprocessors pose many challenges to the power conversion techniques. Multiphase synchronous buck converters have been widely used in high current low voltage microprocessor application. Design optimization needs to be carefully carried out with pushing the envelope specification and ever increasing concentration towards power saving features. In this work, attention has been focused on dynamic aspects of multiphase synchronous buck design. The power related issues and optimizations...
Show moreFuture microprocessors pose many challenges to the power conversion techniques. Multiphase synchronous buck converters have been widely used in high current low voltage microprocessor application. Design optimization needs to be carefully carried out with pushing the envelope specification and ever increasing concentration towards power saving features. In this work, attention has been focused on dynamic aspects of multiphase synchronous buck design. The power related issues and optimizations have been comprehensively investigated in this paper. In the first chapter, multiphase DC-DC conversion is presented with background application. Adaptive voltage positioning and various nonlinear control schemes are evaluated. Design optimization are presented to achieve best static efficiency over the entire load range. Power loss analysis from various operation modes and driver IC definition are studied thoroughly to better understand the loss terms and minimize the power loss. Load adaptive control is then proposed together with parametric optimization to achieve optimum efficiency figure.New nonlinear control schemes are proposed to improve the transient response, i.e. load engage and load release responses, of the multiphase VR in low frequency repetitive transient. Drop phase optimization and PWM transition from long tri-state phase are presented to improve the smoothness and robustness of the VR in mode transition. During high frequency repetitive transient, the control loop should be optimized and nonlinear loop should be turned off. Dynamic current sharing are thoroughly studied in chapter 4. The output impedance of the multiphase synchronous buck are derived to assist the analysis. Beat frequency is studied and mitigated by proposing load frequency detection scheme by turning OFF the nonlinear loop and introducing current protection in the control loop.Dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) is now used in modern Multi-Core processor (MCP) and multiprocessor System-on-Chip (MPSoC) to reduce operational voltage under light load condition. With the aggressive motivation to boost dynamic power efficiency, the design specification of voltage transition (dv/dt) for the DVS is pushing the physical limitation of the multiphase converter design and the component stress as well. In this paper, the operation modes and modes transition during dynamic voltage transition are illustrated. Critical dead-times of driver IC design and system dynamics are first studied and then optimized. The excessive stress on the control MOSFET which increases the reliability concern is captured in boost mode operation. Feasible solutions are also proposed and verified by both simulation and experiment results. CdV/dt compensation for removing the AVP effect and novel nonlinear control scheme for smooth transition are proposed for dealing with fast voltage positioning. Optimum phase number control during dynamic voltage transition is also proposed and triggered by voltage identification (VID) delta to further reduce the dynamic loss. The proposed schemes are experimentally verified in a 200 W six phase synchronous buck converter.Finally, the work is concluded. The references are listed.
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Date Issued: 2013
Identifier: CFE0005079, ucf:50742
Format: Document (PDF)
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005079

Power Electronics (2)	+ -
blue phase (2)	+ -
liquid crystal display (2)	+ -
low voltage (2)	+ -
3D display (1)	+ -

ANFIS (1)	+ -
Adaptive lens (1)	+ -
Antennas (1)	+ -
Battery (1)	+ -
CFD (1)	+ -
Chirality (1)	+ -
DC-DC power conversion (1)	+ -
DC-Link (1)	+ -
DVID (1)	+ -
Design for reliability (1)	+ -
Display (1)	+ -
Distribution Networks (1)	+ -
ESD (1)	+ -
EV (1)	+ -
FEA (1)	+ -
Filters (1)	+ -
GPRAM LDPC human vision (1)	+ -
GaAs (1)	+ -
HEV (1)	+ -
Half Bridge PWM Inverter Loss Model (1)	+ -
IC (1)	+ -
IPM (1)	+ -
Integrated Systems (1)	+ -
Kerr constant (1)	+ -
LLC Converter (1)	+ -

University of Central Florida (27)	+ -
Wu, Xinzhang (26)	+ -
Batarseh, Issa (7)	+ -
Yuan, Jiann-Shiun (6)	+ -
Kutkut, Nasser (5)	+ -

Sundaram, Kalpathy (5)	+ -
Wahid, Parveen (5)	+ -
Wu, Shintson (5)	+ -
Chow, Louis (4)	+ -
Gong, Xun (4)	+ -
Lotfifard, Saeed (4)	+ -
Mikhael, Wasfy (4)	+ -
Shen, Zheng (4)	+ -
Haralambous, Michael (3)	+ -
Jones, W (2)	+ -
Likamwa, Patrick (2)	+ -
Schoenfeld, Winston (2)	+ -
Wei, Lei (2)	+ -
Zeldovich, Boris (2)	+ -
Amirahmadi, Ahmadreza (1)	+ -
An, Linan (1)	+ -
Behal, Aman (1)	+ -
Chen, Lin (1)	+ -
Cheng, Hui-Chuan (1)	+ -
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Cui, Qiang (1)	+ -
Deng, Weiwei (1)	+ -
Deppe, Dennis (1)	+ -
Eyisi, Chiebuka (1)	+ -
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