1,223 research outputs found
Modeling techniques for quantum cascade lasers
Quantum cascade lasers are unipolar semiconductor lasers covering a wide
range of the infrared and terahertz spectrum. Lasing action is achieved by
using optical intersubband transitions between quantized states in specifically
designed multiple-quantum-well heterostructures. A systematic improvement of
quantum cascade lasers with respect to operating temperature, efficiency and
spectral range requires detailed modeling of the underlying physical processes
in these structures. Moreover, the quantum cascade laser constitutes a
versatile model device for the development and improvement of simulation
techniques in nano- and optoelectronics. This review provides a comprehensive
survey and discussion of the modeling techniques used for the simulation of
quantum cascade lasers. The main focus is on the modeling of carrier transport
in the nanostructured gain medium, while the simulation of the optical cavity
is covered at a more basic level. Specifically, the transfer matrix and finite
difference methods for solving the one-dimensional Schr\"odinger equation and
Schr\"odinger-Poisson system are discussed, providing the quantized states in
the multiple-quantum-well active region. The modeling of the optical cavity is
covered with a focus on basic waveguide resonator structures. Furthermore,
various carrier transport simulation methods are discussed, ranging from basic
empirical approaches to advanced self-consistent techniques. The methods
include empirical rate equation and related Maxwell-Bloch equation approaches,
self-consistent rate equation and ensemble Monte Carlo methods, as well as
quantum transport approaches, in particular the density matrix and
non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) formalism. The derived scattering rates
and self-energies are generally valid for n-type devices based on
one-dimensional quantum confinement, such as quantum well structures
Apollo guidance, navigation, and control: Candidate configuration trade study, Stellar-Inertial Measurement System (SIMS) for an Earth Observation Satellite (EOS)
The ten candidate SIMS configurations were reduced to three in preparation for the final trade comparison. The report emphasizes subsystem design trades, star availability studies, data processing (smoothing) methods, and the analytical and simulation studies at subsystem and system levels from which candidate accuracy estimates will be presented
Lossy compression and real-time geovisualization for ultra-low bandwidth telemetry from untethered underwater vehicles
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution September 2008Oceanographic applications of robotics are as varied as the undersea environment itself. As
underwater robotics moves toward the study of dynamic processes with multiple vehicles,
there is an increasing need to distill large volumes of data from underwater vehicles and
deliver it quickly to human operators. While tethered robots are able to communicate data
to surface observers instantly, communicating discoveries is more difficult for untethered
vehicles. The ocean imposes severe limitations on wireless communications; light is quickly
absorbed by seawater, and tradeoffs between frequency, bitrate and environmental effects
result in data rates for acoustic modems that are routinely as low as tens of bits per second.
These data rates usually limit telemetry to state and health information, to the exclusion
of mission-specific science data.
In this thesis, I present a system designed for communicating and presenting science
telemetry from untethered underwater vehicles to surface observers. The system's goals
are threefold: to aid human operators in understanding oceanographic processes, to enable
human operators to play a role in adaptively responding to mission-specific data, and to accelerate mission planning from one vehicle dive to the next. The system uses standard lossy
compression techniques to lower required data rates to those supported by commercially
available acoustic modems (O(10)-O(100) bits per second).
As part of the system, a method for compressing time-series science data based upon
the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) is explained, a number of low-bitrate image compression techniques are compared, and a novel user interface for reviewing transmitted
telemetry is presented. Each component is motivated by science data from a variety of
actual Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) missions performed in the last year.National Science Foundation Center for Subsurface Sensing and Imaging (CenSSIS ERC
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