Nonlinear Design Technique for High-Power Switching-Mode Oscillators

A simple nonlinear technique for the design of high-efficiency and high-power switching-mode oscillators is presented. It combines existing quasi-nonlinear methods and the use of an auxiliary generator (AG) in harmonic balance. The AG enables the oscillator optimization to achieve high output power and dc-to-RF conversion efficiency without affecting the oscillation frequency. It also imposes a sufficient drive on the transistor to enable the switching-mode operation with high efficiency. Using this AG, constant-power and constant-efficiency contour plots are traced in order to determine the optimum element values. The oscillation startup condition and the steady-state stability are analyzed with the pole-zero identification technique. The influence of the gate bias on the output power, efficiency, and stability is also investigated. A class-E oscillator is demonstrated using the proposed technique. The oscillator exhibits 75 W with 67% efficiency at 410 MHz

Bifurcation analysis of stabilization circuits in an L-band LDMOS 60-W power amplifier

n this letter, the global stability analysis of an L-band push-pull power amplifier is presented. The analysis is carried out for the amplifier operating in different modes, such as Class AB, Class B, and Class E/F, considering variations in the bias voltages, the input power and the input frequency. After determination of the oscillation mode, three different stabilization techniques are applied and compared: feedback resistors, neutralization capacitors, and odd-mode stabilization resistor. The element values of each stabilization network, ensuring a stable behavior for all the operating conditions, are calculated with a bifurcation-analysis technique. Good agreement is found between measured and simulated results

Analysis and elimination of hysteresis and noisy precursors in power amplifiers

Power amplifiers (PAs) often exhibit instabilities leading to frequency division by two or oscillations at incommensurate frequencies. This undesired behavior can be detected through a large-signal stability analysis of the solution. However, other commonly observed phenomena are still difficult to predict and eliminate. In this paper, the anomalous behavior observed in a Class-E PA is analyzed in detail. It involves hysteresis in the power-transfer curve, oscillation, and noisy precursors. The precursors are pronounced bumps in the power spectrum due to noise amplification under a small stability margin. The correction of the amplifier performance has required the development of a new technique for the elimination of the hysteresis. Instead of a trial-and-error procedure, this technique, of general application to circuit design, makes use of bifurcation concepts to suppress the hysteresis phenomenon through a single simulation on harmonic-balance software. Another objective has been the investigation of the circuit characteristics that make the noisy precursors observable in practical circuits and a technique has been derived for their elimination from the amplifier output spectrum. All the different techniques have been experimentally validated

Photospheric downward plasma motions in the quiet-Sun

We analyze spectropolarimetric data taken with the Hinode spacecraft in quiet solar regions at the disk center. Distorted redshifted Stokes $V$ profiles are found showing a characteristic evolution that always follows the same sequence of phases. We have studied the statistical properties of these events using spectropolarimetric data from Hinode/SP. We also examined the upper photosphere and the low chromosphere using Mg i b2 and Ca ii h data from Hinode. Finally, we have applied the SIRGAUSS inversion code to the polarimetric data in order to infer the atmospheric stratification of the physical parameters. We have also obtained these physical parameters taking into account dynamical terms in the equation of motion. The Stokes V profiles display a bump that evolves in four different time steps, and the total process lasts 108 seconds. The Stokes I shows a strongly bent red wing and the continuum signal exhibits a bright point inside an intergranular lane. This bright point is correlated with a strong redshift in the Mg i b2 line and a bright feature in Ca ii h images. The model obtained from the inversion of the Stokes profiles is hotter than the average quiet-Sun model, with a vertical magnetic field configuration and field strengths in the range of kG values. It also presents a LOS velocity stratification with a Gaussian perturbation whose center is moving to deeper layers with time. We have examined a particular type of event that can be described as a plasmoid of hot plasma that is moving downward from the top of the photosphere, placed over intergranular lanes and always related to strong magnetic field concentrations. We argue that the origin of this plasmoid could be a magnetic reconnection that is taking place in the chromosphere.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figure

The magnetic field configuration of a solar prominence inferred from spectropolarimetric observations in the He I 10830 A triplet

Context: The determination of the magnetic field vector in quiescent solar prominences is possible by interpreting the Hanle and Zeeman effects in spectral lines. However, observational measurements are scarce and lack high spatial resolution. Aims: To determine the magnetic field vector configuration along a quiescent solar prominence by interpreting spectropolarimetric measurements in the He I 1083.0 nm triplet obtained with the Tenerife Infrared Polarimeter installed at the German Vacuum Tower Telescope of the Observatorio del Teide. Methods. The He I 1083.0 nm triplet Stokes profiles are analyzed with an inversion code that takes into account the physics responsible of the polarization signals in this triplet. The results are put into a solar context with the help of extreme ultraviolet observations taken with the Solar Dynamic Observatory and the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory satellites. Results: For the most probable magnetic field vector configuration, the analysis depicts a mean field strength of 7 gauss. We do not find local variations in the field strength except that the field is, in average, lower in the prominence body than in the prominence feet, where the field strength reaches 25 gauss. The averaged magnetic field inclination with respect to the local vertical is 77 degrees. The acute angle of the magnetic field vector with the prominence main axis is 24 degrees for the sinistral chirality case and 58 degrees for the dextral chirality. These inferences are in rough agreement with previous results obtained from the analysis of data acquired with lower spatial resolutions.Comment: Accepted in A&

A Statistical Analysis of the Solar Phenomena Associated with Global EUV Waves

Solar eruptions are the most spectacular events in our solar system and are associated with many different signatures of energy release including solar flares, coronal mass ejections, global waves, radio emission and accelerated particles. Here, we apply the Coronal Pulse Identification and Tracking Algorithm (CorPITA) to the high cadence synoptic data provided by the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) to identify and track global waves observed by SDO. 164 of the 362 solar flare events studied (45%) are found to have associated global waves with no waves found for the remaining 198 (55%). A clear linear relationship was found between the median initial velocity and the acceleration of the waves, with faster waves exhibiting a stronger deceleration (consistent with previous results). No clear relationship was found between global waves and type II radio bursts, electrons or protons detected in-situ near Earth. While no relationship was found between the wave properties and the associated flare size (with waves produced by flares from B to X-class), more than a quarter of the active regions studied were found to produce more than one wave event. These results suggest that the presence of a global wave in a solar eruption is most likely determined by the structure and connectivity of the erupting active region and the surrounding quiet solar corona rather than by the amount of free energy available within the active region.Comment: 33 pages, 6 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in Solar Physic

Non-linear Causal Inference using Gaussianity Measures

We provide theoretical and empirical evidence for a type of asymmetry between causes and effects that is present when these are related via linear models contaminated with additive non-Gaussian noise. Assuming that the causes and the effects have the same distribution, we show that the distribution of the residuals of a linear fit in the anti-causal direction is closer to a Gaussian than the distribution of the residuals in the causal direction. This Gaussianization effect is characterized by reduction of the magnitude of the high-order cumulants and by an increment of the differential entropy of the residuals. The problem of non-linear causal inference is addressed by performing an embedding in an expanded feature space, in which the relation between causes and effects can be assumed to be linear. The effectiveness of a method to discriminate between causes and effects based on this type of asymmetry is illustrated in a variety of experiments using different measures of Gaussianity. The proposed method is shown to be competitive with state-of-the-art techniques for causal inference.Comment: 35 pages, 9 figure