High-resolution broadband spectroscopy using externally dispersed interferometry at the Hale telescope: Part 1, data analysis and results

High-resolution broadband spectroscopy at near-infrared wavelengths (950 to 2450 nm) has been performed using externally dispersed interferometry (EDI) at the Hale telescope at Mt. Palomar. Observations of stars were performed with the “TEDI” interferometer mounted within the central hole of the 200-in. primary mirror in series with the comounted TripleSpec near-infrared echelle spectrograph. These are the first multidelay EDI demonstrations on starlight, as earlier measurements used a single delay or laboratory sources. We demonstrate very high (10×) resolution boost, from original 2700 to 27,000 with current set of delays (up to 3 cm), well beyond the classical limits enforced by the slit width and detector pixel Nyquist limit. Significantly, the EDI used with multiple delays rather than a single delay as used previously yields an order of magnitude or more improvement in the stability against native spectrograph point spread function (PSF) drifts along the dispersion direction. We observe a dramatic (20×) reduction in sensitivity to PSF shift using our standard processing. A recently realized method of further reducing the PSF shift sensitivity to zero is described theoretically and demonstrated in a simple simulation which produces a 350× times reduction. We demonstrate superb rejection of fixed pattern noise due to bad detector pixels—EDI only responds to changes in pixel intensity synchronous to applied dithering. This part 1 describes data analysis, results, and instrument noise. A section on theoretical photon limited sensitivity is in a companion paper, part 2

Coherent Beam Combining of Ultrashort Laser Pulses

Ultrashort pulsed lasers have become critical to understanding light-matter interactions in new regimes such as generation of attosecond pulses, laser filamentation, and intense relativistic processes. Development of more powerful and energetic ultrafast lasers is required for advancing these fields of study. Several petawatt class systems now exist with more in development to further scale peak power and extend the frontier of ultrafast laser technology. Another relevant solution to the scaling of energy and power of ultrashort pulses is coherent beam combining (CBC). CBC is useful for not only scaling of laser parameters but also to mitigate parasitic nonlinear processes associated with high-intensity ultrashort pulses. In addition CBC is flexible and can be implemented as part of other techniques for ultrashort pulse amplification such as optical-parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA). In this thesis, CBC of ultrashort laser pulses is investigated based upon the method known as divided-pulse amplification (DPA). Active, passive and hybrid DPA have been achieved in a flashlamp-pumped Nd:YAG laser seeded from a Ti:sapphire mode-locked laser. Picosecond pulses at a repetition rate of 2.5 Hz were amplified and combined to record energy of 216 mJ with a combination efficiency of 80%. Engineering of the Nd:YAG amplifier chain for high-efficiency energy extraction is presented. In addition, phasing of actively divided pulses with a CW pilot laser co-propagating with the pulsed beam is also demonstrated. Analysis of multiple DPA configurations shows the viability of the method for a variety of different laser architectures including discussion of design restrictions

Few-cycle phase-stable infrared OPCPA

Few-cycle laser pulses are an important tool for investigating laser-matter interactions. Apart from the mere resolution used in time-resolved processes, owing to this approach table-top sources nowadays can reach the limits of the perturbative regime and therewith enable extreme nonlinear optics. In the visible domain, femtosecond technology over the last decades has quickly developed, in recent years leading to the routine generation of carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stable few-cycle laser pulses at high energies, using ubiquitous Ti:Sapphire amplifiers. Near to mid-infrared few-cycle pulses in contrast can be employed for investigating interactions in the tunneling regime. The ponderomotive potential of the infrared light field allows quivered charged particles to acquire large energies, leading to applications like the generation of isolated attosecond pulses in the water window. In this wavelength regime however, the required sources are yet to be demonstrated or at least matured. The best candidate for few-cycle pulses in this domain is optical parametric amplification. This work describes the development of an optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier (OPCPA), used to create CEP-stable few-cycle pulses in the near infrared (NIR). It covers all essential parts of the system. First the signal pulses are generated from ultrashort lasers using spectral broadening techniques in chapter 2. After compression of these white light continua, intra-pulse broadband difference frequency generation yields CEP stable infrared pulses spanning over more than one octave. A thin-disk-based pump laser provides ample pump energy (20 mJ) at pulse durations around 1.5 ps. Its characterization and optimization for OPCPA is performed in chapter 3. The high peak energy of this pump laser leads to the buildup of optical nonlinearities and consequently shows distinct influence on the OPCPA system performance. The synchronization of the OPCPA pump and seed laser system is the topic of chapter 4. This chapter is not limited to NIR systems, but demonstrates enhanced (actively stabilized) synchronization of the jitter between pump and seed pulses to σ = 24 fs, which later results in improved output stability. The NIR OPCPA centered at 2.1 μm is described in chapter 5. This combines the efforts of the previous chapters and describes the generation and characterization of 100 μJ sub-two-cycle CEP-stable pulses, the shortest published to date at this energy level. As a first prototype (cutting edge) experiment, CEP dependent sub-fs currents in a dielectric are generated in chapter 6 using the developed light source. The results compared well to visible few-cycle laser sources and demonstrate the usability of the OPCPA system (beyond the charac- terizations of chapter 5) for investigating sub-cycle carrier dynamics in dielectrics. For the same purpose, to generate the currently most broadband NIR continua at kHz repetition rates and mJ-level pulse energies, the OPCPA system is further boosted and efficiently broadened to three optical octaves using a hollow core fiber setup (described in chapter 7). The spectral phase is characterized and demonstrates self-compression in the NIR around 1.3 μm. The process provides CEP-stable sub-2-cycle pulses in this regime directly, the shortest and most powerful reported to date. Furthermore, the spectral broadening in the infrared shows enhanced low-order harmonic gen- eration and cross-phase-modulation as the dominant mechanism. Experimentally the limited influence on the driver bandwidth is investigated. It is found that the processes allow using more efficient many-cycle infrared sources to generate several-octave spanning, compressible continua in the future. Even partial compression of these would then provide NIR transients for high-field experiments.Die Femtosekunden-Technologie hat sich in den letzten Jahrzehnten schnell fortentwickelt, vor allem im sichtbaren Wellenl ̈angen-Bereich. Speziell moderne Titanium-Saphir Verst ̈arker haben zuletzt zu (Träger-Einhüllenden-) phasenstabilen und hochenergetischen Laserpulsen geführt, die nur noch aus einzelnen optischen Zyklen bestehen. Diese erlauben die Investigation extrem nichtlinearer optischer Prozesse im Regime der Multiphotonenionisation. Um weiter im Infraroten Prozesse im Regime der Tunnelionisation zu untersuchen, fehlt es jedoch nach wie vor an Lichtquellen mit ähnlichen Characteristiken für Anwendungen wie die Generation von isolierten Attosekunden-Pulsen im Wasser-Transmissions-Fenster. Hier bietet die optische parametrische Verstärkung bisher die größten Perspektiven. Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Entwicklung eines optischen parametrischen Verstärkers mit gestreckten Pulsen (engl.: optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier, OPCPA), der TE- phasen-stabile Pulse mit wenigen optischen Zyklen im nahen Infraroten erzeugt. Alle wesentlichen Teile des Systems werden beschrieben. Zuerst wird der Saat-Puls durch die spektrale Verbreiterung eines Titanium-Saphir Verstärkers gewonnen. Nach der Kompression des generierten Weißlichts führt die breitbandige Differenz-Frequenz-Generation (DFG) des Pulses mit sich selbst zu TE-phasen-stabilen Infrarot-Pulsen, deren Spektrum mehr als eine optische Oktave aufspannt. Ein Scheiben-Laser liefert die Pumpenergie (20 mJ) bei einer Pulsdauer von ca. 1.5 ps. Seine Charakterisierung und Optimierung für die OPCPA erfolgt in Kapitel 3. Die hohen Spitzeninten- sit ̈aten dieses Pumplasers führen zum Akkumulieren optischer Nichtlinearit ̈aten und beeinflussen die OPCPA im Folgenden negativ. Die Synchronisation von OPCPA Pump- und Saat-Lasern ist das Thema von Kapitel 4. Es demonstriert eine aktive Stabilisierung des zeitlichen Überlapps beider Pulse, der den gesamten Prozess im Folgenden stabilisiert, und ist nicht auf den Einsatz im Infraroten beschränkt, sondern für die meisten OPCPA Systeme anwendbar. Die in Kapitel 5 beschriebene infrarote OPCPA hat ihre Zentralwellenlänge bei 2.1 μm und baut auf den vorherigen Kapiteln auf. Die Erzeugung und Charakterisierung von Pulsen mit weniger als zwei optischen Zyklen, den bisher kürzesten in diesem Wellenlängen-Bereich und einer En- ergie von 100 μJ, werden beschrieben. Ferner erweist sich die TE-Phase der verstärkten Pulse als außerordentlich kurz- und langzeitstabil. Kapitel 6 demonstriert dann die Möglichkeiten des neuen Systems mit einem technisch anspruchsvollen Experiment. TE-phasen-abhängige Ströme mit einer Lebenszeit auf der Skala von Attosekunden werden in einem Dielektrikum erzeugt und gemessen. Die Resultate stimmen gut mit den bere- its gemessenen Werten im sichtbaren Bereich u ̈ berein und demonstrieren die Möglichkeiten und Einsetzbarkeit des Systems. Für ähnliche Anwendungen, allerdings bei noch höheren Intensitäten, wird in Kapitel 7 das OPCPA-System weiter verstärkt. Die spektrale Verbreiterung in einer gas-gefüllten Hohlfaser erzeugt ein Kontinuum über drei optische Oktaven. Dessen spektrale Phase wird im Folgen- den charakterisiert und zeigt Selbstkompression bei einer Wellenlänge von 1.3 μm. Der Prozess erzeugt TE-phasen-stabile Pulse kürzer also zwei optische Zyklen, welche die kürzesten und intensivsten darstellen, die in diesem Bereich bislang erzeugt wurden. Weiterhin zeigt die spektrale Verbreiterung im Infraroten besondere Merkmale. Speziell die Gen- eration von ungeraden Harmonischen niedriger Ordnung und deren Kreuz-Phasen-Modulation zeigen sich als dominante Prozesse, welche den Einfluss der Eingangsbandbreite minimieren. Eine experimentelle Untersuchung demonstriert dann, dass auch potentiell effizientere infrarote OPCPA Systeme mit deutlich längeren Pulsen ähnliche spektrale Bandbreiten erzeugen können. Die Komprimierung dieser sollte in der nahen Zukunft zu Hochfeld-Anwendungen mit infraroten Feldtransienten und synthetisierten elektrischen Feldern mit Sub-Zyklus Merkmalen führen

Fiber-based Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy Systems Operated in the Telecom Band

The aim of the doctoral thesis is the study of Terahertz time domain spectrometers relying on telecommunication fiber technology. Optical fiber offers low losses, high stability and compactness, features that ease the deployment of this kind of sensing instruments in industrial scenarios. The development of terahertz signal sources working at telecom wavelengths has enabled the employment of mature, telecom-related photonic components that allowed a transition within THz research from being mainly object of scientific interest to an application-oriented technology. In this thesis, fiber terahertz systems utilizing ultrafast photoconductors with integrated antenna structures have been investigated at different levels, including the control of the photoconductor structure, as well as at instrument and system levels. The carrier transport in InGaAs-InAlAs multilayer hetero-structures, present in the employed photoconductive antennas, has been investigated under the additional injection of a continuous optical wave. By varying the amplitude level of the respective optical signal injected into either the emitter or the receiver, it has been shown that the amplitude of the detected photocurrent could be controlled without affecting its bandwidth. Unlike increasing the optical power of the pulsed signal, raising the continuous optical power results in a reduction of the measured photocurrent. This lowering of the conductivity is related to changes in the instantaneous carrier momentum relaxation time in the photoactive material, rather than to variations of the free carrier density level. This behavior affects systems including continuous-wave optical components, as, for instance, optical amplifiers. The effect has been further exploited to modulate the operation conditions of photoconductive antennas, enabling an all-optical control of the THz amplitude. This represents a method to implement a signal modulation, necessary, for instance, for lock-in signal detection. Different industrial applications and THz imaging systems require fast data acquisition. Slow, stepwise working mechanical optical delay lines are about to be replaced by faster schemes. A fast THz-time-domain spectroscopy system using a coil-based rapid mechanic delay line has been set up and analyzed. A convenience of usage of optical fibers is the simplicity of signal multiplication and distribution. It can be exploited to allow centralized operation of a set of parallel terahertz sensing units. A centralized architecture with optical source sharing simplifies the implementation as well as the cost of nondestructive inspection platforms, where several sensing units would have to work in the same facility, for example at quality control in factories or security checkpoints. The cost of such a distribution system is evaluated, its feasibility experimentally demonstrated, and key features relevant to the system performance are discussed. The present document is formally structured in a brief introduction, Chapter 2, which review common terahertz technology as a whole, with the focus on optoelectronic schemes and respective technology in the telecom band. Chapter 3 includes work carried out dealing with the carrier dynamics under continuous optical wave irradiation of the photoconductive antenna modules and the application of the effect as modulation method. Chapter 4 deals with the implementation of the fast delay in the system and Chapter 5 describes and analyses architecture for parallel, remotely controlled sensing. Finally, Chapter 6 provides conclusion and future work perspectives.El objetivo de la presente Tesis Doctoral es el estudio de espectroscopios temporales de Terahercios basados en tecnología de fibra óptica para telecomunicaciones. La fibra óptica ofrece bajas pérdidas de propagación, alta estabilidad y la capacidad de implementar sistemas robustos y compactos, características que facilitan el despliegue de este tipo de instrumentos de sensado en escenarios industriales. El desarrollo de fuentes de THz que operan en la banda infrarroja empleada en telecomunicaciones permite el uso de componentes maduros de la industria de las comunicaciones ópticas, lo que a su vez se ha traducido en una transición desde el uso de la banda de THz básicamente para intereses científicos al desarrollo de sistemas para aplicaciones industriales. En la presente tesis se investigan sistemas de THz basados en antenas fotoconductivas y fibra óptica a distintos niveles: control de la estructura fotoconductiva, instrumento y sistema. El transporte de portadores en heteroestructuras multicapa InGaAs-InAlAs, empleadas actualmente en antenas fotoconductivas, se ha investigado bajo la inyección de una onda óptica continua. Se ha observado que variando el nivel de amplitud de esta onda continua tanto en el emisor como en el receptor es posible controlar la fotocorriente detectada sin afectar a su ancho de banda. A diferencia de un incremento en la potencia óptica de la señal pulsada, elevar el nivel de continua resulta en una reducción de la fotocorriente medida. Esta reducción de la conductividad se relaciona con cambios en el tiempo de relajación del momento de los portadores en el material fotoactivo en lugar de variaciones de la densidad de portadores libres. Este comportamiento puede tener un efecto en sistemas que introduzcan componentes ópticos continuos como por ejemplo sistemas de sensado que empleen amplificadores ópticos. Este efecto puede ser usado para modular las condiciones de operación de las antenas fotoconductivas permitiendo el control todo-óptico del sistema. Este método permite modular la señal, lo que resulta necesario por ejemplo para realizar detección lock-in. Tanto diferentes aplicaciones industriales como los sistemas de imagen en THz requieren sistemas rápidos de captura. Para ello es necesario sustituir las líneas de retardo ópticas tradicionales basadas en motores paso-a-paso por otros sistemas de mayor velocidad. Se ha implementado y caracterizado un sistema THz-TDS usando una línea de retardo rápida basada en bobinas de voz. Una característica fundamental de la fibra óptica es su extraordinaria simplicidad para realizar la distribución de señales ópticas. Esta característica puede ser explotada para permitir la operación centralizada de un conjunto paralelo de sensores de THz. Una arquitectura centralizada en la que la fuente óptica se comparte entre muchos sensores simplifica la implementación y reduce el coste de sistemas de inspección no destructiva que requieran de múltiples sensores en paralelo, como, por ejemplo, en control de calidad industrial o en controles de seguridad. Se ha evaluado el coste de estos sistemas distribuidos, se ha validado experimentalmente su viabilidad y se han identificado y estudiado sus prestaciones. El documento de la tesis doctoral se estructura formalmente en una breve introducción, el capítulo 2, en el que se revisa la tecnología de THz en su conjunto, los esquemas optoelectrónicos y el uso de tecnologías ópticas basadas en la banda de las telecomunicaciones. El capítulo 3 incluye el estudio realizado sobre la dinámica de los portadores bajo la irradiación dela antena fotoconductiva con una onda óptica continua y su uso como técnica de modulación. El capítulo 4 trata con la implementación de un sistema THz-TDS rápido mientras que el capítulo 5 describe y analiza una arquitectura de sensado paralela para reducir costes. Finalmente el capítulo 6 recoge las conclusiones y futuras líneas de actuación.L'objectiu de la present Tesi Doctoral és l'estudi d'espectroscopis temporals de terahertzs basats en tecnologia de fibra òptica per a telecomunicacions. La fibra òptica ofereix baixes pèrdues de propagació, alta estabilitat i la capacitat d'implementar sistemes robustos i compactes, característiques que faciliten el desplegament d'aquest tipus d'instruments de sensat en escenaris industrials. El desenvolupament de fonts de THz que operen a la banda infraroja emprada en telecomunicacions permet l'ús de components madurs de la indústria de les comunicacions òptiques, el que al seu torn s'ha traduït en una transició des de l'ús de la banda de THz bàsicament per interessos científics al desenvolupament de sistemes per a aplicacions industrials. En la present tesi s'investiguen sistemes de THz basats en antenes fotoconductivas i fibra òptica a diferents nivells: control de l'estructura fotoconductiva, instrument i sistema. El transport de portadors en heteroestructures multicapa InGaAs-InAlAs, emprades actualment en antenes fotoconductivas, s'ha investigat sota la injecció d'una ona òptica contínua. S'ha observat que variant el nivell d'amplitud d'aquesta ona contínua tant en l'emissor com en el receptor és possible controlar la fotocorriente detectada sense afectar el seu ample de banda. A diferència d'un increment en la potència òptica del senyal polsada, elevar el nivell de contínua resulta en una reducció de la fotocorrent mesurada. Aquesta reducció de la conductivitat es relaciona amb canvis en el temps de relaxació del moment dels portadors en el material fotoactiu en lloc de variacions de la densitat de portadors lliures. Aquest comportament pot tenir un efecte en sistemes que introdueixin components òptics continus com ara sistemes de sensat que utilitzen amplificadors òptics. Aquest efecte pot ser usat per modular les condicions d'operació de les antenes fotoconductivas permetent el control tot-òptic del sistema. Aquest mètode permet modular el senyal, el que resulta necessari per exemple per realitzar detecció lock-in. Tant diferents aplicacions industrials com els sistemes d'imatge en THz requereixen sistemes ràpids de captura. Per a això és necessari substituir les línies de retard òptiques tradicionals basades en motors pas-a-pas per altres sistemes de major velocitat. S'ha implementat i caracteritzat un sistema THz-TDS usant una línia de retard ràpida basada en bobines de veu. Una característica fonamental de la fibra òptica és la seua extraordinària simplicitat per realitzar la distribució de senyals òptiques. Aquesta característica pot ser explotada per a permetre l'operació centralitzada d'un conjunt paral·lel de sensors de THz. Una arquitectura centralitzada en la qual la font òptica es comparteix entre molts sensors simplifica la implementació i redueix el cost de sistemes d'inspecció no destructiva que requereixin de múltiples sensors en paral·lel, com, per exemple, en control de qualitat industrial o en controls de seguretat . S'ha avaluat el cost d'aquests sistemes distribuïts, s'ha validat experimentalment la seua viabilitat i s'han identificat i estudiat les seues prestacions. El document de la tesi doctoral s'estructura formalment en una breu introducció, capítol 2, en el qual es revisa la tecnologia de THz en el seu conjunt, els esquemes optoelectrònics i l'ús de tecnologies òptiques basades en la banda de les telecomunicacions. El capítol 4 inclou l'estudi realitzat sobre la dinàmica dels portadors sota la irradiació de la antena fotoconductiva amb una ona òptica contínua i el seu ús com a tècnica de modulació. El capítol 5 tracta la implementació d'un sistema THz-TDS ràpid mentre que el capítol 6 descriu i analitza una arquitectura de sensat paral·lela per reduir costos. Finalment, el capítol 7 recull les conclusions i futures línies d'actuació.Bockelt, AS. (2017). Fiber-based Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy Systems Operated in the Telecom Band [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/86148TESI

Research and Technology

Langley Research Center is engaged in the basic an applied research necessary for the advancement of aeronautics and space flight, generating advanced concepts for the accomplishment of related national goals, and provding research advice, technological support, and assistance to other NASA installations, other government agencies, and industry. Highlights of major accomplishments and applications are presented

Aeronautical engineering: A continuing bibliography, supplement 122

This bibliography lists 303 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in April 1980

End-to-End Simulation of 5G mmWave Networks

Due to its potential for multi-gigabit and low latency wireless links, millimeter wave (mmWave) technology is expected to play a central role in 5th generation cellular systems. While there has been considerable progress in understanding the mmWave physical layer, innovations will be required at all layers of the protocol stack, in both the access and the core network. Discrete-event network simulation is essential for end-to-end, cross-layer research and development. This paper provides a tutorial on a recently developed full-stack mmWave module integrated into the widely used open-source ns--3 simulator. The module includes a number of detailed statistical channel models as well as the ability to incorporate real measurements or ray-tracing data. The Physical (PHY) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers are modular and highly customizable, making it easy to integrate algorithms or compare Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) numerologies, for example. The module is interfaced with the core network of the ns--3 Long Term Evolution (LTE) module for full-stack simulations of end-to-end connectivity, and advanced architectural features, such as dual-connectivity, are also available. To facilitate the understanding of the module, and verify its correct functioning, we provide several examples that show the performance of the custom mmWave stack as well as custom congestion control algorithms designed specifically for efficient utilization of the mmWave channel.Comment: 25 pages, 16 figures, submitted to IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials (revised Jan. 2018

Timed array antenna system : application to wideband and ultra-wideband beamforming receivers

Antenna array systems have a broad range of applications in radio frequency (RF) and ultra-wideband (UWB) communications to receive/transmit electromagnetic waves from/to the sky. They can enhance the amplitude of the input signals, steer beams electronically, and reject interferences thanks to beamforming technique. In an antenna array beamforming system, delay cells with the tunable capability of delay amount compensate the relative delay of signals received by antennas. In fact, each antenna almost acts individually depending upon time delaying effects on the input signals. As a result, the delay cells are the basic elements of the beamforming systems. For this purpose, novel active true time delay (TTD) cells suitable for RF antenna arrays have been presented in this thesis. These active delay cells are based on 1st- and 2nd-order all-pass filters (APFs) and achieve quite a flat gain and delay within up to 10-GHz frequency range. Various techniques such as phase linearity and delay tunability have been accomplished to improve the design and performance. The 1st-order APF has been designed for a frequency range of 5 GHz, showing desirable frequency responses and linearity which is comparable with the state-of-the-art. This 1st-order APF is able to convert into a 2nd-order APF via adding a grounded capacitor. A compact 2nd-order APF using an active inductor has been also designed and simulated for frequencies up to 10 GHz. The active inductor has been utilized to tune the amount of delay and to reduce the on-chip size of the filter. In order to validate the performance of the delay cells, two UWB four-channel timed array beamforming receivers realized by the active TTD cells have been proposed. Each antenna channel exploits digitally controllable gain and delay on the input signal and demonstrates desirable gain and delay resolutions. The beamforming receivers have been designed for different UWB applications depending on their operating frequency ranges (that is, 3-5 and 3.1-10.6 GHz), and thus they have different system requirements and specifications. All the circuits and topologies presented in this dissertation have been designed in standard 180-nm CMOS technologies, featuring a unity gain frequency ( ft) up to 60 GHz.Els sistemes matricials d’antenes tenen una àmplia gamma d’aplicacions en radiofreqüència (RF) i comunicacions de banda ultraampla (UWB) per rebre i transmetre ones electromagnètics. Poden millorar l’amplitud dels senyals d’entrada rebuts, dirigir els feixos electrònicament i rebutjar les interferències gràcies a la tècnica de formació de feixos (beamforming). En un sistema beamforming de matriu d’antenes, les cèl·lules de retard amb capacitat ajustable del retard, compensen aquest retard relatiu dels senyals rebuts per les diferents antenes. De fet, cada antena gairebé actua individualment depenent dels efectes de retard de temps sobre el senyals d’entrada. Com a resultat, les cel·les de retard són els elements bàsics en el disseny dels actuals sistemes beamforming. Amb aquest propòsit, en aquesta tesi es presenten noves cèl·lules actives de retard en temps real (TTD, true time delay) adequades per a matrius d’antenes de RF. Aquestes cèl·lules de retard actives es basen en cèl·lules de primer i segon ordre passa-tot (APF), i aconsegueixen un guany i un retard força plans, en el rang de freqüència de fins a 10 GHz. Diverses tècniques com ara la linealitat de fase i la sintonització del retard s’han aconseguit per millorar el disseny i el rendiment. La cèl·lula APF de primer ordre s’ha dissenyat per a un rang de freqüències de fins a 5 GHz, mostrant unes respostes freqüencials i linealitat que són comparables amb l’estat de l’art actual. Aquestes cèl·lules APF de primer ordre es poden convertir en un APF de segon ordre afegint un condensador més connectat a massa. També s’ha dissenyat un APF compacte de segon ordre que utilitza una emulació d’inductor actiu per a freqüències de treball de fins a 10 GHz. S’ha utilitzat l'inductor actiu per ajustar la quantitat de retard introduït i reduir les dimensions del filtre al xip. Per validar les prestacions de les cel·les de retard propostes, s’han proposat dos receptors beamforming basats en matrius d’antenes de 4 canals, realitzats por cèl·lules TTD actives. Cada canal d’antena aprofita el guany i el retard controlables digitalment aplicats al senyal d’entrada, i demostra resolucions de guany i retard desitjables. Els receptors beamforming s’han dissenyat per a diferents aplicacions UWB segons els seus rangs de freqüències de funcionament (en aquest cas, 3-5 i 3,1-10,6 GHz) i, per tant, tenen diferents requisits i especificacions de disseny del sistema. Tots els circuits i topologies presentats en aquesta tesi s’han dissenyat en tecnologies CMOS estàndards de 180 nm, amb una freqüència de guany unitari (ft) de fins a 60 GHz.Postprint (published version

A preliminary study of a cryogenic equivalence principle experiment on Shuttle

The Weak Equivalence Principle is the hypothesis that all test bodies fall with the same acceleration in the same gravitational field. The current limit on violations of the Weak Equivalence Principle, measured by the ratio of the difference in acceleration of two test masses to their average acceleration, is about 3 parts in one-hundred billion. It is anticipated that this can be improved in a shuttle experiment to a part in one quadrillion. Topics covered include: (1) studies of the shuttle environment, including interference with the experiment, interfacing to the experiment, and possible alternatives; (2) numerical simulations of the proposed experiment, including analytic solutions for special cases of the mass motion and preliminary estimates of sensitivity and time required; (3) error analysis of several noise sources such as thermal distortion, gas and radiation pressure effects, and mechanical distortion; and (4) development and performance tests of a laboratory version of the instrument