Array-based architecture for FET-based, nanoscale electronics

Advances in our basic scientific understanding at the molecular and atomic level place us on the verge of engineering designer structures with key features at the single nanometer scale. This offers us the opportunity to design computing systems at what may be the ultimate limits on device size. At this scale, we are faced with new challenges and a new cost structure which motivates different computing architectures than we found efficient and appropriate in conventional very large scale integration (VLSI). We sketch a basic architecture for nanoscale electronics based on carbon nanotubes, silicon nanowires, and nano-scale FETs. This architecture can provide universal logic functionality with all logic and signal restoration operating at the nanoscale. The key properties of this architecture are its minimalism, defect tolerance, and compatibility with emerging bottom-up nanoscale fabrication techniques. The architecture further supports micro-to-nanoscale interfacing for communication with conventional integrated circuits and bootstrap loading

Electric Vehicles Charging Control based on Future Internet Generic Enablers

In this paper a rationale for the deployment of Future Internet based applications in the field of Electric Vehicles (EVs) smart charging is presented. The focus is on the Connected Device Interface (CDI) Generic Enabler (GE) and the Network Information and Controller (NetIC) GE, which are recognized to have a potential impact on the charging control problem and the configuration of communications networks within reconfigurable clusters of charging points. The CDI GE can be used for capturing the driver feedback in terms of Quality of Experience (QoE) in those situations where the charging power is abruptly limited as a consequence of short term grid needs, like the shedding action asked by the Transmission System Operator to the Distribution System Operator aimed at clearing networks contingencies due to the loss of a transmission line or large wind power fluctuations. The NetIC GE can be used when a master Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) hosts the Load Area Controller, responsible for managing simultaneous charging sessions within a given Load Area (LA); the reconfiguration of distribution grid topology results in shift of EVSEs among LAs, then reallocation of slave EVSEs is needed. Involved actors, equipment, communications and processes are identified through the standardized framework provided by the Smart Grid Architecture Model (SGAM).Comment: To appear in IEEE International Electric Vehicle Conference (IEEE IEVC 2014

Demonstration of a switchless Class E/Fodd dual-band power amplifier

A 250 W dual-band power amplifier belonging to the Class E/F switching amplifier family is presented. The amplifier operates in the 7 MHz and 10 MHz HAM bands, achieving 16 dB and 15 d B gain with power added efficiencies (PAE) of 92% and 87% in those bands, respectively. It utilizes dual-resonant passive input and output networks to achieve high-efficiency Class E/Fodd operation at both frequencies of operation, allowing the same passive networks to be used for both frequency bands without the use of band-select switches

Software Defined Networks based Smart Grid Communication: A Comprehensive Survey

The current power grid is no longer a feasible solution due to ever-increasing user demand of electricity, old infrastructure, and reliability issues and thus require transformation to a better grid a.k.a., smart grid (SG). The key features that distinguish SG from the conventional electrical power grid are its capability to perform two-way communication, demand side management, and real time pricing. Despite all these advantages that SG will bring, there are certain issues which are specific to SG communication system. For instance, network management of current SG systems is complex, time consuming, and done manually. Moreover, SG communication (SGC) system is built on different vendor specific devices and protocols. Therefore, the current SG systems are not protocol independent, thus leading to interoperability issue. Software defined network (SDN) has been proposed to monitor and manage the communication networks globally. This article serves as a comprehensive survey on SDN-based SGC. In this article, we first discuss taxonomy of advantages of SDNbased SGC.We then discuss SDN-based SGC architectures, along with case studies. Our article provides an in-depth discussion on routing schemes for SDN-based SGC. We also provide detailed survey of security and privacy schemes applied to SDN-based SGC. We furthermore present challenges, open issues, and future research directions related to SDN-based SGC.Comment: Accepte

Smart grid architecture for rural distribution networks: application to a Spanish pilot network

This paper presents a novel architecture for rural distribution grids. This architecture is designed to modernize traditional rural networks into new Smart Grid ones. The architecture tackles innovation actions on both the power plane and the management plane of the system. In the power plane, the architecture focuses on exploiting the synergies between telecommunications and innovative technologies based on power electronics managing low scale electrical storage. In the management plane, a decentralized management system is proposed based on the addition of two new agents assisting the typical Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system of distribution system operators. Altogether, the proposed architecture enables operators to use more effectively—in an automated and decentralized way—weak rural distribution systems, increasing the capability to integrate new distributed energy resources. This architecture is being implemented in a real Pilot Network located in Spain, in the frame of the European Smart Rural Grid project. The paper also includes a study case showing one of the potentialities of one of the principal technologies developed in the project and underpinning the realization of the new architecture: the so-called Intelligent Distribution Power Router.Postprint (published version

Optimizing Service Restoration in Distribution Systems with Uncertain Repair Time and Demand

This paper proposes a novel method to co-optimize distribution system operation and repair crew routing for outage restoration after extreme weather events. A two-stage stochastic mixed integer linear program is developed. The first stage is to dispatch the repair crews to the damaged components. The second stage is distribution system restoration using distributed generators, and reconfiguration. We consider demand uncertainty in terms of a truncated normal forecast error distribution, and model the uncertainty of the repair time using a lognormal distribution. A new decomposition approach, combined with the Progressive Hedging algorithm, is developed for solving large-scale outage management problems in an effective and timely manner. The proposed method is validated on modified IEEE 34- and 8500-bus distribution test systems.Comment: Under review in IEEE Transactions on Power System

Automated routing and control of silicon photonic switch fabrics

Automatic reconfiguration and feedback controlled routing is demonstrated in an 8×8 silicon photonic switch fabric based on Mach-Zehnder interferometers. The use of non-invasive Contactless Integrated Photonic Probes (CLIPPs) enables real-time monitoring of the state of each switching element individually. Local monitoring provides direct information on the routing path, allowing an easy sequential tuning and feedback controlled stabilization of the individual switching elements, thus making the switch fabric robust against thermal crosstalk, even in the absence of a cooling system for the silicon chip. Up to 24 CLIPPs are interrogated by a multichannel integrated ASIC wire-bonded to the photonic chip. Optical routing is demonstrated on simultaneous WDM input signals that are labelled directly on-chip by suitable pilot tones without affecting the quality of the signals. Neither preliminary circuit calibration nor lookup tables are required, being the proposed control scheme inherently insensible to channels power fluctuations