Application of Memristors in Microwave Passive Circuits

The recent implementation of the fourth fundamental electric circuit element, the memristor, opened new vistas in many fields of engineering applications. In this paper, we explore several RF/microwave passive circuits that might benefit from the memristor salient characteristics. We consider a power divider, coupled resonator bandpass filters, and a low-reflection quasi-Gaussian lowpass filter with lossy elements. We utilize memristors as configurable linear resistors and we propose memristor-based bandpass filters that feature suppression of parasitic frequency pass bands and widening of the desired rejection band. The simulations are performed in the time domain, using LTspice, and the RF/microwave circuits under consideration are modeled by ideal elements available in LTspice

Low Power Superconducting Microwave Applications and Microwave Microscopy

We briefly review some non-accelerator high-frequency applications of superconductors. These include the use of high-Tc superconductors in front-end band-pass filters in cellular telephone base stations, the High Temperature Superconductor Space Experiment, and high-speed digital electronics. We also present an overview of our work on a novel form of near-field scanning microscopy at microwave frequencies. This form of microscopy can be used to investigate the microwave properties of metals and dielectrics on length scales as small as 1 mm. With this microscope we have demonstrated quantitative imaging of sheet resistance and topography at microwave frequencies. An examination of the local microwave response of the surface of a heat-treated bulk Nb sample is also presented.Comment: 11 pages, including 6 figures. Presented at the Eight Workshop on RF Superconductivity. To appear in Particle Accelerator

New trends in active filters for improving power quality

Since their basic compensation principles were proposed around 1970, active filters have been studied by many researchers and engineers aiming to put them into practical applications. Shunt active filters for harmonic compensation with or without reactive power compensation, flicker compensation or voltage regulation have been put on a commercial base in Japan, and their rating or capacity has ranged from 50 kVA to 60 MVA at present. In near future, the term of active filters will cover a much wider sense than that of active filters in the 1970s did. The function of active filters will be expanded from voltage flicker compensation or voltage regulation into power quality improvement for power distribution systems as the capacity of active filters becomes larger. This paper describes present states of the active filters based on state-of-the-art power electronics technology, and their future prospects toward the 21st century, including the personal view and expectation of the author</p

Signal specific electric potential sensors for operation in noisy environments

Limitations on the performance of electric potential sensors are due to saturation caused by environmental electromagnetic noise. The work described involves tailoring the response of the sensors to reject the main components of the noise, thereby enhancing both the effective dynamic range and signal to noise. We show that by using real-time analogue signal processing it is possible to detect a human heartbeat at a distance of 40 cm from the front of a subject in an unshielded laboratory. This result has significant implications both for security sensing and biometric measurements in addition to the more obvious safety related applications

Efficient integral equation formulation for inductive waveguide components with posts touching the waveguide walls

In this paper a surface integral equation technique is employed for the analysis of inductive waveguide problems containing metallic or dielectric objects of arbitrary shape, focusing on the case where these objects are connected to the waveguide walls. Using the extinction theorem, the main problem is split into two problems. In the first one the parallel plate waveguide Green’s functions are used. Because of the choice of these functions, the side of the object touching the waveguide wall is not considered for discretization in a method of moments analysis. The second problem is applied inside the dielectric object, and uses the free space Green’s functions. It is shown that an additional spatial image is needed to impose the proper boundary conditions for the fields on the side touching the waveguide wall in the original problem. Results show the importance of including this additional image in the formulation for the correct behavior of the fields. With the proposed technique, the paper explores some alternatives for designing specific filter responses using dielectric posts inside cavity filters. Comparisons with a commercial finite elements tool demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed integral equation formulation.This work has been developed with support from the Spanish National Project (CICYT) with Ref TEC2004-04313-C02-02/TCM, and the Regional Seneca Project with Ref 02972/PI/05

Optimal design of single-tuned passive filters using response surface methodology

This paper presents an approach based on Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to find the optimal parameters of the single-tuned passive filters for harmonic mitigation. The main advantages of RSM can be underlined as easy implementation and effective computation. Using RSM, the single-tuned harmonic filter is designed to minimize voltage total harmonic distortion (THDV) and current total harmonic distortion (THDI). Power factor (PF) is also incorporated in the design procedure as a constraint. To show the validity of the proposed approach, RSM and Classical Direct Search (Grid Search) methods are evaluated for a typical industrial power system

Gap and channelled plasmons in tapered grooves: a review

Tapered metallic grooves have been shown to support plasmons -- electromagnetically coupled oscillations of free electrons at metal-dielectric interfaces -- across a variety of configurations and V-like profiles. Such plasmons may be divided into two categories: gap-surface plasmons (GSPs) that are confined laterally between the tapered groove sidewalls and propagate either along the groove axis or normal to the planar surface, and channelled plasmon polaritons (CPPs) that occupy the tapered groove profile and propagate exclusively along the groove axis. Both GSPs and CPPs exhibit an assortment of unique properties that are highly suited to a broad range of cutting-edge nanoplasmonic technologies, including ultracompact photonic circuits, quantum-optics components, enhanced lab-on-a-chip devices, efficient light-absorbing surfaces and advanced optical filters, while additionally affording a niche platform to explore the fundamental science of plasmon excitations and their interactions. In this Review, we provide a research status update of plasmons in tapered grooves, starting with a presentation of the theory and important features of GSPs and CPPs, and follow with an overview of the broad range of applications they enable or improve. We cover the techniques that can fabricate tapered groove structures, in particular highlighting wafer-scale production methods, and outline the various photon- and electron-based approaches that can be used to launch and study GSPs and CPPs. We conclude with a discussion of the challenges that remain for further developing plasmonic tapered-groove devices, and consider the future directions offered by this select yet potentially far-reaching topic area.Comment: 32 pages, 34 figure

Nonlinear Performance of BAW Filters Including BST Capacitors

This paper evaluates the nonlinear effects occurring in a bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filter which includes barium strontium titanate (BST) capacitors to cancel the electrostatic capacitance of the BAW resonators. To do that we consider the nonlinear effects on the BAW resonators by use of a nonlinear Mason model. This model accounts for the distributed nonlinearities inherent in the materials forming the resonator. The whole filter is then implemented by properly connecting the resonators in a balanced configuration. Additional BST capacitors are included in the filter topology. The nonlinear behavior of the BST capacitors is also accounted in the overall nonlinear assessment. The whole circuit is then used to evaluate its nonlinear behavior. It is found that the nonlinear contribution arising from the ferroelectric nature of the BST capacitors makes it impractical to fulfill the linearity requirements of commercial filters

Comparison of three control theories for single-phase active power filters

Active Power Filters have been developed in last years, mostly for three-phase systems applications. The use of Shunt Active Power Filters on single-phase facilities brings many benefits for the electrical grid, since these installations have non linear loads and power factor problems, and in their total, they are responsible by a significant portion of the total electric energy consumption. Harmonics and reactive power consumed by single-phase installations cause additional power losses on the electrical grid. So, mitigate harmonics at the origin helps reducing these extra losses and other problems caused by the harmonics. The drawback of this solution is the necessity of a large number of Active Power Filters distributed by the generality of the single-phase facilities. So, it becomes necessary a simple and low cost Shunt Active Power Filter to install on single-phase installations. This paper presents three simple control theories to use on single-phase Shunt Active Power Filters. Simulation and experimental results comparing the three different control theories are presented and analyzed.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Jones-matrix Formalism as a Representation of the Lorentz Group

It is shown that the two-by-two Jones-matrix formalism for polarization optics is a six-parameter two-by-two representation of the Lorentz group. The attenuation and phase-shift filters are represented respectively by the three-parameter rotation subgroup and the three-parameter Lorentz group for two spatial and one time dimensions. It is noted that the Lorentz group has another three-parameter subgroup which is like the two-dimensional Euclidean group. Possible optical filters having this Euclidean symmetry are discussed in detail. It is shown also that the Jones-matrix formalism can be extended to some of the non-orthogonal polarization coordinate systems within the framework of the Lorentz-group representation.Comment: RevTeX, 27 pages, no figures, to be published in J. Opt. Soc. Am.