Volume 66 (2015): Issue 5 (September 2015)

In this study, a new versatile active element, namely multifunction current differencing cascaded transconductance amplifier (MCDCTA), is proposed. This device which adopts a simple configuration enjoys the performances of low-voltage, low-input and high-output impedance, wide bandwidth etc. It simplifies the design of the current-mode analog signal processing circuit greatly, especially the design of high-order filter and oscillator circuits. Moreover, an example as a new current-mode multiphase sinusoidal oscillator (MSO) using MCDCTA is described in this paper. The proposed oscillator, which employs only one MCDCTA and minimum grounded passive elements, is easy to be realized. It can provide random n (n being odd or even) output current signals and these output currents are equally spaced in phase all at high output impedance terminals. Its oscillation condition and the oscillation frequency can be adjusted independently, linearly and electronically by controlling the bias currents of MCDCTA. The operation of the proposed oscillator has been testified through PSPICE simulation and experimental results.

This paper presents a novel comparator structure based on the common gate differential MOS pair. The proposed comparator has been applied to fully parallel analog to digital converter (A/D converter). Furthermore, this article presents 5 bit fully parallel A/D Converter design using the cadence IC5141 design platform and NCSU(North Carolina State University) design kit with 0.18 μm CMOS technology library. The proposed fully parallel A/D converter consist of resistor array block, comparator block, 1-n decoder block and programmable logic array. The 1-n decoder block includes latch block and thermometer code circuit that is implemented using transmission gate based multiplexer circuit. Thus, sampling frequency and analog bandwidth are increased. The INL and DNL of the proposed fully parallel A/D converter are (0/ + 0.63) LSB and (−0.26/ + 0.31) LSB at a sampling frequency of 5 GS/s with an input signal of 50 MHz, respectively. The proposed fully parallel A/D Converter consumes 340 mW from 1.8 V supply.

In electric power systems, grid elements are often subjected to very complex and demanding disturbances or dangerous operating conditions. Determining initial fault or cause of those states is a difficult task. When fault occurs, often it is an imperative to disconnect affected grid element from the grid. This paper contains an overview of possibilities for using fuzzy logic in an assessment of primary faults in the transmission grid. The tool for this task is SCADA system, which is based on information of currents, voltages, events of protection devices and status of circuit breakers in the grid. The function model described with the membership function and fuzzy logic systems will be presented in the paper. For input data, diagnostics system uses information of protection devices tripping, states of circuit breakers and measurements of currents and voltages before and after faults.

It is well known that the fixed pitch vertical axis wind turbine (FP-VAWT) has some disadvantages such as the low start-up torque and inefficient output efficiency. In this paper, the variable pitch vertical axis wind turbine (VP-VAWT) is analyzed to improve the output characteristics of FP-VAWT by discussing the force of the six blade H type vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) under the stationary and rotating conditions using built the H-type VAWT model. First, the force of single blade at variable pitch and fixed pitch is analyzed, respectively. Then, the resultant force of six blades at different pitch is gained. Finally, a variable pitch control method based on a six blade H type VP-VAWT is proposed, moreover, the technical analysis and simulation results validate that the variable pitch method can improve the start-up torque of VAWT, and increase the utilization efficiency of wind energy, and reduce the blade oscillation, as comparable with that of FP-VAWT.

A new robust control procedure for robot manipulators is proposed in this paper. Coefficients diagram method controllers CDM and Backstepping methodology are combined to create the novel control law. Two steps of backstepping on the resulting system are used to design a nonlinear CDM-Backstepping controller. Simulations on a PUMA robot including external disturbances, parametric uncertainties and noises are performed to show the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method.

Diamond and ZnO are very promising wide-bandgap materials for electronic, photovoltaic and sensor applications because of their excellent electrical, optical, physical and electrochemical properties and biocompatibility. In this contribution we show that the combination of these two materials opens up the potential for fabrication of bipolar heterojunctions. Semiconducting boron doped diamond (BDD) thin films were grown on Si and UV grade silica glass substrates by HFCVD method with various boron concentration in the gas mixture. Doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al, ZnO:Ge) thin layers were deposited by diode sputtering and pulsed lased deposition as the second semiconducting layer on the diamond films. The amount of dopants within the films was varied to obtain optimal semiconducting properties to form a bipolar p-n junction. Finally, different ZnO/BDD heterostructures were prepared and analyzed. Raman spectroscopy, SEM, Hall constant and I-V measurements were used to investigate the quality, structural and electrical properties of deposited heterostructures, respectively. I-V measurements of ZnO/BDD diodes show a rectifying ratio of 55 at ±4 V. We found that only very low dopant concentrations for both semiconducting materials enabled us to fabricate a functional p-n junction. Obtained results are promising for fabrication of optically transparent ZnO/BDD bipolar heterojunction.

Diamond and/or carbon thin films are in the center of interest due to their variability and extraordinary combination of intrinsic properties. However, some applications require fabrication of films with tailored properties. Especially, fabrication of periodic structures is highly attractive due to their increased surface area. In this contribution we point out the key technological aspects for fabrication of micro- and nano-sized carbon-based structures. Three representative structures are presented: diamond nanorods, self-assembled templates and self-standing diamond membranes. We found that the diameter of diamond nanorods can be controlled in a broad range from 10 to 200 nm by the masking material (Au vs Ni) and its initial thickness (from few to tens of nanometers). The assembly of polystyrene microspheres in mono- or multi-layer with square or hexagonal periodicities was controlled by the spin-coating parameters. The diamond porous membrane was selectively grown on Si substrate with an interdigital or mesh like geometry. Advantages of each structure as well as the fabrication limitations are discussed more in detail and finally their representative applications are pointed out.

The paper deals with a control of current source with an LCL output filter. The controlled current source is realized as a single-phase inverter and output LCL filter provides low ripple of output current. However, systems incorporating LCL filters require more complex control strategies and there are several interesting approaches to the control of this type of converter. This paper presents the inverter control algorithm, which combines model based control with a direct current control based on resonant controllers and single-phase vector control. The primary goal is to reduce the current ripple and distortion under required limits and provides fast and precise control of output current. The proposed control technique is verified by measurements on the laboratory model.

The magnetic field acting on the ferrofluids causes microstructural conversions that result in a change of their permeability. For this physical phenomenon is referred to as field induced magnetism (FIMA). An experimental method is described for ferrofluids in this state to examine their permeability tensor. Also an analogous phenomenon is described also when there is a change of the ferrofluids permittivity. We call it field induced dielectric anisotropy (FIDA). The contribution describes the method of measuring of the permittivity tensor. It can be expected that the FIMA and FIDA of ferrofluids will find interesting applications in designing of various sensors, in measurement technology, in mechatronic and in other areas of practice.

We present a study of ferromagnetic systems based on Fe-Co-Sn-B in nanocrystalline state. Interesting magnetic properties potentially are given by the homogeneous and ultrafine structure of bcc Fe grains in amorphous structure. The effect of alloying by Sn improves the properties of resulting structure constituted be crystalline grains in amorphous matrix. The structure transformation from amorphous state was investigated by selected techniques of thermal analysis and the resulting phase and morphology of crystalline products were analyzed.