DESIGN OF A BURST MODE ULTRA HIGH-SPEED LOW-NOISE CMOS IMAGE SENSOR

Ultra-high-speed (UHS) image sensors are of interest for studying fast scientific phenomena and may also be useful in medicine. Several published studies have recently achieved frame rates of up to millions of frames per second (Mfps) using advanced processes and/or customized processes. This thesis presents a burst-mode (108 frames) UHS low-noise CMOS image sensor (CIS) based on charge-sweep transfer gates in an unmodified, standard 180 nm front-side-illuminated CIS process. By optimizing the photodiode geometry, the 52.8 μm pitch pixels with 20x20 μm^2 of active area, achieve a charge-transfer time of less than 10 ns. A proof-of-concept CIS was designed and fabricated. Through characterization, it is shown that the designed CIS has the potential to achieve 20 Mfps with an input-referred noise of 5.1 e− rms

Sustainable Development and Market Liberalism\u27s Shotgun Wedding: Emissions Trading Under the Kyoto Protocol

This Article analyzes the international emissions trading regime at the heart of the world\u27s effort to address global warming as a means of exploring broader international governance issues. The trading regime seeks to marry two models of global governance, market liberalism, which embraces markets as the model of global governance, and sustainable development, which seeks to change development patterns to protect future generations. This Article explores a previously unacknowledged tension between market liberalism\u27s goal of maximizing short-term cost effectiveness and sustainable development\u27s goal of catalyzing technological change for the benefit of future generations.T his Article presents new data and theory unsettling the traditionalv iew that market mechanisms encourage innovations vital to sustainable development. Market actors fail to take positive spillovers-for example, benefits accruing to competitors and thence to future generations-into account in making technological choices. Because of this failure to take long-term economic development into account, the international trading markets have contributed far less to sustainable energy development than more targeted programs. Consideration of these spillovers yields fresh insights. Market liberalism\u27s ideal of comprehensive evaluation of costs and benefits conflicts with its preference for free markets. Conversely, sustainable development advocates\u27 tendency to rely on collective decision making to make difficult technological choices may prove unrealistic. This Article unsettles prevailing notions of governance and seeks to stimulate a richer, more subtle discourse about the roles of government and markets in addressing global problems

Free Trade in Electric Power

This Article develops the core legal framework of a new electricity-trading ecosystem in which anyone, anytime, anywhere, can trade electricity in any amount with anyone else. The proliferation of solar and other distributed energy resources, business model innovation in the sharing economy, and climate change present enormous challenges — and opportunities — for America’s energy economy. But the electricity industry is ill equipped to adapt to and benefit from these transformative forces, with much of its physical infrastructure, regulatory institutions, and business models a relic of the early days of electrification. We suggest a systematic rethinking to usher in a new trading paradigm and propel the electric utility industry into the 21st century.Our model has the potential to revolutionize the way electricity is generated, delivered, and used without requiring dramatic legal reform or radically new technologies. Instead, this Article draws on recent Supreme Court precedent and readily available technologies to democratize the electric grid and unlock free trade in electric power. We refine and expand pilot initiatives currently under way in California and New York to combine existing wholesale markets with new trading platforms similar to Airbnb and Uber. Enhanced market access will empower previously captive consumers to emancipate themselves from their local utilities while also ensuring the proper valuation and integration of a diverse portfolio of energy resources. Transformative change, however necessary and beneficial in the long run, will not come easy in an industry famous for its resistance to reform efforts of any kind. Accordingly, our proposal does not start with a clean slate but, rather, envisions a hybrid system where competitive markets coexist with traditional utility governance structures while regulators and stakeholders adjust to the new trading paradigm

Free Trade in Electric Power

This Article develops the core legal framework of a new electricity-trading ecosystem in which anyone, anytime, anywhere, can trade electricity in any amount with anyone else. The proliferation of solar and other distributed energy resources, business model innovation in the sharing economy, and climate change present enormous challenges — and opportunities — for America’s energy economy. But the electricity industry is ill equipped to adapt to and benefit from these transformative forces, with much of its physical infrastructure, regulatory institutions, and business models a relic of the early days of electrification. We suggest a systematic rethinking to usher in a new trading paradigm and propel the electric utility industry into the 21st century. Our model has the potential to revolutionize the way electricity is generated, delivered, and used without requiring dramatic legal reform or radically new technologies. Instead, this Article draws on recent Supreme Court precedent and readily available technologies to democratize the electric grid and unlock free trade in electric power. We refine and expand pilot initiatives currently under way in California and New York to combine existing wholesale markets with new trading platforms similar to Airbnb and Uber. Enhanced market access will empower previously captive consumers to emancipate themselves from their local utilities while also ensuring the proper valuation and integration of a diverse portfolio of energy resources. Transformative change, however necessary and beneficial in the long run, will not come easy in an industry famous for its resistance to reform efforts of any kind. Accordingly, our proposal does not start with a clean slate but, rather, envisions a hybrid system where competitive markets coexist with traditional utility governance structures while regulators and stakeholders adjust to the new trading paradigm