Measurement Bandwidth Research Articles

Application of active piezoresistive cantilevers in high-eigenmode surface imaging

Abstract One of the most important limitations of the atomic force microscopy (AFM) is scanning speed, whose high values are required for contemporary high-resolution, long-range diagnostic applications. The measurement bandwidth of an AFM depends on several factors, but usually results from the time constant of the oscillating cantilever, which is correlated with its resonance frequency and quality factor. We propose a method to overcome this problem by performing the surface measurements when the cantilever is vibrating in higher eigenmodes. In this paper we demonstrate the application of active piezoresistive cantilevers operating in this mode. The active piezoresistive cantilever comprises a piezoresistive deflection sensor, a deflection actuator and a nanotip. It is a complete micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS), ensuring the highest reliability of cantilever vibration control and detection. Higher eigenmode operations are usually difficult to implement as they usually result in lower deflection and lower sensitivity of the probe vibration deflection. Here we present an experimental modification of the structure of an active piezoresistive cantilever using focused ion beam (FIB) machining that mitigates both weaknesses. This has enabled the cantilever to scan the surface at a scanning rate of 10 lines/s with a maximum speed of 500 μm/s and a data acquisition rate of 10 kS/s, when the probe is vibrating at 380 kHz in the second eigenmode. We also describe a traceable calibration routine (based on analysis of the response of the piezoresistive detector, the output of the HeNe interferometer and precise control of the deflection actuator), together with the cantilever modification process and the development of the measurement setup. We show measurement results of dedicated calibration samples and silicon carbide crystal lattice references.

Upgrade of DIII-D radial interferometer-polarimeter for large bandwidth, low noise, and toroidal mode number measurements.

Near ion-cyclotron frequency (fci) fluctuations, such as those originating from Global and Compressional Alfvén Eigenmodes (GAEs/CAEs), are expected to be present in future fusion reactors but are not well understood due to the limited availability of core measurements in present-day tokamaks. The measurement bandwidth of the Radial Interferometer-Polarimeter (RIP) diagnostic has been upgraded from 1 to 5MHz to detect these fluctuations in DIII-D. RIP adopts the three-wave technique for simultaneous polarimetric and interferometric measurements. Solid-state microwave sources operating at 650GHz are used as probe beams and provide 5MHz bandwidth for both polarimetric and interferometric measurements. Bandwidths of related hardware, including mixer amplifier, signal cable, and digital phase demodulator, are increased correspondingly. Measurement noise is minimized by reducing the time delay between reference and probe signals to nanosecond level and employing correlation-based techniques. Using the upgraded diagnostic, CAE/GAE-like bursting fluctuations are observed in neutral-beam heated plasmas with toroidal magnetic field Bφ ≈ 1 T. Current upgrades being undertaken would enable the evaluation of toroidal mode number for these modes. This work opens the possibility of better understanding near ion-cyclotron frequency fluctuations in fusion relevant plasmas.

Performance Testing Techniques for Live TV Streaming on STBs

In the realm of live TV streaming, performance testing is critical to ensure seamless delivery and optimal user experience on Set-Top Boxes (STBs). This paper presents a comprehensive exploration of performance testing techniques tailored for live TV streaming on STBs, focusing on methodologies, challenges, and best practices. With the growing demand for high-quality, uninterrupted live TV content, effective performance testing becomes imperative to address issues related to latency, buffering, and overall system reliability. The study begins with an overview of the unique performance challenges associated with live TV streaming on STBs. Unlike on-demand streaming, live TV requires real-time data processing and minimal latency to deliver a continuous viewing experience. The paper categorizes performance testing into several key areas: network performance, system resource utilization, and user experience. Network performance testing evaluates the efficiency of data transmission across various network conditions. Techniques such as bandwidth measurement, latency analysis, and jitter assessment are employed to simulate different network scenarios and determine their impact on streaming quality. These tests help in identifying bottlenecks and optimizing network configurations to support smooth streaming.

Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy-Ultralow-Current Measurement Systems for Nanoscale Imaging of a Surface's Electrical Properties.

One of the most advanced and versatile nanoscale diagnostic tools is atomic force microscopy. By enabling advanced imaging techniques, it allows us to determine various assets of a surface, including morphological, electrical, mechanical, magnetic, and thermal properties. Measuring local current flow is one of the very important methods of evaluation for, for instance, photovoltaic materials or semiconductor structures and other nanodevices. Due to contact areas, the current densities can easily reach above 1 kA/m2; therefore, special detection/measurement setups are required. They meet the required measurement range, sensitivity, noise level, and bandwidth at the measurement scale. Also, they prevent the sample from becoming damaged and prevent unwanted tip-sample issues. In this paper, we present three different nanoscale current measurement solutions, supported with test results, proving their performance.

Impact force measurement by in-plane piezoelectricity of polyvinylidene fluoride films

This manuscript provides a new idea to solve the problems related to measurement of impact force wave especially in the situation with a strong environment noise by utilizing the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film instead of strain gauge. According to our experimental results, an extremely high ratio between output signal and noise in environment (SN ratio) is realized even the infrequently employed in-plane piezoelectricity of film is utilized. Instead of piezoelectricity in thickness direction, attachment of film on Hopkinson pressure bar based on in-plane piezoelectricity could help us to avoid the influence from separation of Hopkinson pressure bar on measurement result. We could conclude that a more precise measurement could be realized by a short film rather than long one even though the short film shows a relative lower output signal. However, the output signal could be amplified by increasing its width. Besides, comparing with the use of strain gauge, broader bandwidth of film measurement is discovered. In the situation where the duration of impact force wave is extremely short, high accuracy measurement should be realized by PVDF film rather than strain gauge.

Recent improvements in the novel approach to the fast detection of surface contaminations

Here, we present the idea behind a novel measurement system and the recent improvements in detecting surface contaminations using a tunable, very fast three-core quantum cascade laser (QCL) system. It is developed as a potential replacement for the old established double-wheel sampling system currently used to detect surface threats caused by hazardous, non-volatile chemical substances. The novel system design is based on an optical measurement principle, allowing standoff detection and identification, thus rendering ground contact unnecessary. One of the leading military requirements for a CBRN reconnaissance vehicle is a high marching speed; hence, this new system is designed to have an ultra-short acquisition time and an adequate spectral bandwidth for measurements in the mid-infrared (MIR). This innovative approach may replace the more cumbersome indirect detection techniques. We discuss the main advantages and evaluate possible application scenarios that we expect from this setup. Active IR backscatter spectroscopy generally permits the contactless identification of hazardous chemical substances on surfaces. Here, the design was optimized around an approximate measuring distance of decimeters. Using a monoaxial setup, the autofocus is less demanding than alternative approaches and even allows for rapid measurements of rough surfaces. We built the improved measurement system based on novel QCL modules that integrate micro-opto-electro-mechanical grating scanners (MOEMS) in an external cavity. These elaborate laser modules provide almost one kilohertz (kHz) spectral scan speeds and typically cover a spectral range of 200–300 cm-1, respectively. Furthermore, such modules achieve measurement times of as short as one millisecond per spectrum. The full spectral coverage of the system is realized by coupling several of such modules.

Lightning Current Measurement Method Using Rogowski Coil Based on Integral Circuit with Low-Frequency Attenuation Feedback.

A lightning current measurement method using a Rogowski coil based on an integral circuit with low-frequency attenuation feedback was proposed to address the issue of low-frequency distortion in the measurement of lightning currents on transmission lines using Rogowski coils. Firstly, the causes of low-frequency distortion in lightning current measurements using Rogowski coils were analyzed from the perspective of frequency domains. On this basis, an integration correction optimization circuit with a low-frequency attenuation feedback network was designed to correct the low-frequency distortion. The optimized integration circuit can also reduce the impact of low-frequency noise and the DC bias of the operational amplifier (op-amp) on the integration circuit due to the high low-frequency gain. Additionally, a high-pass filtering and voltage-divided sampling circuit has been added to ensure the normal operation of the integrator and improve the measurement range of the measurement system. Then, according to the relationship between the amplitude-frequency characteristics of the measurement system and the parameters of each component, the appropriate types of components and op-amp were selected to expand the measurement bandwidth. Finally, a simulation verification was conducted, and the simulation results show that this measurement method can effectively expand the lower measurement frequency limit to 20 Hz, correct the low-frequency distortion caused by Rogowski coils measuring lightning currents on transmission lines, and accurately restore the measured lightning current waveform.

On the accuracy of Prony's method for recovery of exponential sums with closely spaced exponents

In this paper we establish accuracy bounds of Prony's method (PM) for recovery of sparse measures from incomplete and noisy frequency measurements, or the so-called problem of super-resolution, when the minimal separation between the points in the support of the measure may be much smaller than the Rayleigh limit. In particular, we show that PM is optimal with respect to the previously established min-max bound for the problem, in the setting when the measurement bandwidth is constant, with the minimal separation going to zero. Our main technical contribution is an accurate analysis of the inter-relations between the different errors in each step of PM, resulting in previously unnoticed cancellations. We also prove that PM is numerically stable in finite-precision arithmetic. We believe our analysis will pave the way to providing accurate analysis of known algorithms for the super-resolution problem in full generality.

Experiments on High-Resolution Digitizer Accuracy in Measuring Voltage Ratio and Phase Difference of Distorted Harmonic Waveforms above 2 kHz

High-resolution multi-channel digitizers are used extensively for precision low voltage measurements in numerous applications and allow the simultaneous measurement of voltage magnitude ratio and phase difference between two different waveforms in power system applications. Delta–sigma-based analog-to-digital conversion enables the use of sampling frequencies in the range of megahertz, which provides accurate measurement bandwidths for transformed high-frequency, high-voltage signals. With the increased use of power electronic converters contributing to high-frequency harmonic emissions in power systems, there is a growing interest in developing calibration systems to measure voltage ratio and phase difference of distorted fundamental frequency waveforms consisting of superimposed, high-frequency harmonics. However, information regarding the accuracy of the high-resolution digitizers in the measurement of distorted voltage waveforms is limited as characterization is typically performed under sinusoidal voltage waveform conditions. This paper presents the details of the accuracy characterization of a 24-bit resolution digitizer under both sinusoidal and distorted waveform conditions for measuring complex voltage ratio and phase error for frequencies up to 10 kHz. The detailed experimental results and the measurement uncertainty evaluations show that increased voltage ratio and phase difference errors should be allocated when these high-resolution digitizers are used to measure distorted voltage waveforms. The estimated expanded uncertainties of complex voltage ratio measurement and phase error measurement for harmonic frequencies up to 10 kHz are ±260 ppm and ±100 µrad, respectively.

Research on Hybrid Vibration Sensor for Measuring Downhole Drilling Tool Vibrational Frequencies

The vibration parameters during drilling play a critical role in enhancing drilling speed and ensuring safety. However, traditional downhole vibration sensors face limitations in their power supply methods, hindering widespread adoption. To address this challenge, our research introduces a novel solution: a hybrid downhole vibration sensor (HDV-TENG) utilizing triboelectric nanogenerators. This sensor not only enables the measurement of low- to medium–high-frequency vibrations using self-power but also serves to energize other downhole devices. We utilized a self-constructed vibration simulator to replicate downhole drilling tool vibrations and conducted a comprehensive series of sensor tests. The test results indicate that the frequency measurement bandwidth of the HDV-TENG spans from 0 to 200 kHz. Especially, the measurement errors for vibrations within the low-frequency range of 0 to 10 Hz and the high-frequency range of 10 to 200 k Hz are less than 5% and 8%, respectively. Additionally, the experimental findings regarding load matching demonstrate that the HDV-TENG achieves an output power level in the milliwatt range, representing a significant improvement over the output power of traditional triboelectric nanogenerators. Unlike traditional downhole vibration measurement sensors, HDV-TENG operates without requiring any external power supply, thereby conserving downhole space and significantly enhancing drilling efficiency. Furthermore, HDV-TENG not only offers a broad measurement range but also amplifies output power through the synergy of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), piezoelectric nanogenerator (PENG), and electromagnetic power generator (EMG). This capability enables its utilization as an emergency power source for other micropower equipment downhole. The introduction of HDV-TENG also holds considerable implications for the development of self-powered underground sensors with high-frequency measurement capabilities.

Integrated Ultra‐Wideband Dynamic Microwave Frequency Identification System in Lithium Niobate on Insulator

AbstractThe capability to identify the frequency of unknown microwave signals with an ultra‐wide measurement bandwidth is highly desirable in radar astronomy, satellite communication, and 6G networks. Compared to electronic solutions, the integrated photonic technology‐enabled dynamic instantaneous frequency measurement (DIFM) approach is attractive as it offers unique advantages, such as ultra‐wide frequency measurement bandwidth, high flexibility, and immunity to electromagnetic interference. However, so far the bandwidth of the reported DIFM systems based on integrated photonic technology is limited to below 30 GHz due to the finite bandwidth of electro‐optical modulators (EOMs), limiting their applications, particularly in the field of millimeter wave technology (30–300 GHz). Here, the first integrated dynamic microwave instantaneous frequency measurement system with a record‐breaking operation bandwidth (ranging from 5 to 65 GHz) and low root‐mean‐square (RMS) error (≈300 MHz) is presented on the lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) integrated photonic platform. This demonstration paves the way for high‐performance millimeter wave photonic integrated devices using the LNOI platform.

Impact factor on the measurement stability of Roche's coil

Compared with the traditional electromagnetic current sensor, Roche coil has advantage in no magnetic saturation phenomenon, simple structure, and has been widely used in current measurement. However, the measurement accuracy, bandwidth and sensitivity of Roche coils are still affected by a variety of factors, and the problem in ensuring the stability of the measurement system of Roche coils still remains to be a problem nowadays. This article is a review of how each factor affects the measurement stability of Rochester coils. In addition, Roche coils also have certain limitations, such as not being able to directly measure the size of the DC current for the principle of current mutual inductance , in order to make Roche coils to obtain a wider range of applications, this article mentions the zero-drift adjustment method, the method of AC superposition, the use of differential coils, and the method of the Hall effect sensor, which are of guiding significance for the future design of Roche coils capable of measuring DC currents.

THz-TDS with gigahertz Yb-based dual-comb lasers: noise analysis and mitigation strategies

We investigate terahertz time-domain spectroscopy using a low-noise dual-frequency-comb laser based on a single spatially multiplexed laser cavity. The laser cavity includes a reflective biprism, which enables generation of a pair of modelocked output pulse trains with slightly different repetition rates and highly correlated noise characteristics. These two pulse trains are used to generate the THz waves and detect them by equivalent time sampling. The laser is based on Yb:CALGO, operates at a nominal repetition rate of 1.18 GHz, and produces 110 mW per comb with 77 fs pulses around 1057 nm. We perform THz measurements with Fe-doped photoconductive antennas, operating these devices with gigahertz 1 µm lasers for the first time, to our knowledge, and obtain THz signal currents approximately as strong as those from reference measurements at 1.55 µm and 80 MHz. We investigate the influence of the laser’s timing noise properties on THz measurements, showing that the laser’s timing jitter is quantitatively explained by power-dependent shifts in center wavelength. We demonstrate reduction in noise by simple stabilization of the pump power and show up to 20 dB suppression in noise by the combination of shared pumping and shared cavity architecture. The laser’s ultra-low-noise properties enable averaging of the THz waveform for repetition rate differences from 1 kHz to 22 kHz, resulting in a dynamic range of 55 dB when operating at 1 kHz and averaging for 2 s. We show that the obtained dynamic range is competitive and can be well explained by accounting for the measured optical delay range, integration time, as well as the measurement bandwidth dependence of the noise from transimpedance amplification. These results will help enable a new approach to high-resolution THz-TDS enabled by low-noise gigahertz dual-comb lasers.

Optical chaos synchronization in a cascaded injection experiment.

We experimentally study the synchronization of chaos generated by semiconductor lasers in a cascade injection configuration, i.e., a tunable master laser is used to generate chaos by optical injection in a transmitter laser that injects light into a receiver laser. Chaos synchronization between the transmitter and the receiver lasers is achieved with a correlation coefficient of 90% for a measurement bandwidth up to 35 GHz. Two parameter regions of good synchronization are found, corresponding to the alignment of the oscillation frequencies of the receiver laser with either the transmitter laser or the master laser.

Wideband Measurement Approach for EIS of Lithium-Ion Batteries Using Low-Frequency Concentrated Disturbance

Precise and rapid measurement for electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is conducive to the working state monitoring and fault diagnosis of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Although using a wideband signal can effectively reduce measurement time, it will deteriorate the measurement precision due to the insufficient Signal-to-Noise Ratio. Considering this issue, this paper proposes a wideband measurement approach using low-frequency concentrated disturbance for the EIS of LIBs. This approach can obtain high measurement accuracy and a wide measurement bandwidth under a small current disturbance. Besides, it effectively reduces the measurement time. First, LIBs are stimulated by a low-frequency concentrated binary sequence signal to enhance measurement precision in a low-frequency region. Then, in the entire frequency region, an accurate EIS can be obtained by a fast Morlet wavelet transform and covariance-based impedance calculation. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified on a buck-boost converter-based EIS measurement platform, and comparative analyses with literature methods are conducted. The experimental results illustrate that the maximum Normalized Root Square Error of the two types of LIBs at different state-of-charge is 0.37% under the response voltage amplitude of less than 10mV. Moreover, this approach is approximately 20 times faster than commercial electrochemical workstations in measurement time.

Low-frequency vibration measurements in harsh environments using a frequency-modulated interferometer

Low-frequency vibration measurements in harsh environments are considerably challenging owing to strong background noise. In this study, a simple, high-dynamic-range, and high-precision vibration-measuring system using a frequency-modulated interferometer was proposed and validated. Harmonics with perfectly orthogonal phases were extracted directly from the interference signal, and noise with random frequencies was filtered using a synchronous detection method. The modulation index of the interferometer was controlled to remove the effect of Bessel functions; hence, a full-circle Lissajous diagram was obtained. The ratio of the two harmonics was used to determine the vibration; hence, the effects of intensity fluctuation and background noise can be neglected. The vibration measurement bandwidth was well controlled by controlling the modulation and cutoff frequencies of the bandpass filters. The best noise level of 1 nm/√Hz under harsh measuring conditions can be archived in the low-frequency range.

Photonic-assisted wideband microwave frequency measurement based on optical heterodyne detection

A photonic-assisted microwave frequency measurement (MFM) method based on optical heterodyne detection is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. In the proposed MFM system, a linearly chirped optical waveform (LCOW) from a three-electrode distributed Bragg reflector laser diode (DBR-LD) and a multi-wavelength signal from a Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM), where the signal under test (SUT) is modulated on an optical carrier from a distributed feedback laser diode (DFB-LD), are heterodyne detected by the photodetector (PD). A bandpass filter then filters the detected signal, and the envelope is detected by an oscilloscope. Then, frequency-to-time mapping is realized, and the signal frequency is measured. Thanks to the fast tuning rate and large tuning range of the DBR-LD, the proposed MFM system has a high measurement speed and a broad instantaneous measurement bandwidth. In the experimental demonstration, a measurement error below 39.1 MHz is achieved at an instantaneous bandwidth of 20 GHz and a measurement speed of 1.12 GHz/µs. The MFM of a frequency-hopping signal is also experimentally demonstrated. The successful demonstration of the MFM system with a simple structure provides a new optical solution for realizing broadband and fast microwave frequency measurements.

Cavity-enhanced dual-comb spectroscopy with wide spectral band tuning

Cavity-enhanced dual-comb spectroscopy holds significant research value by combining the high sensitivity of cavity enhancement and dual-comb high resolution and rapid measurement. However, due to the presence of intracavity dispersion, the insufficient coupling between the enhancement cavity and the optical frequency comb restricts the measurement bandwidth of the system, making it unable to provide abundant spectral information of the sample. To overcome this limitation, we propose a cavity-enhanced dual-comb spectroscopy with wide spectral band tuning by a single-point locking tuning scheme, which achieves a tuning capability of over 9 THz at the central wave number of 6400 cm−1. This represents a significant improvement compared to the untuned cavity-enhanced spectrum, increasing the measurable bandwidth by 2.5 times. We verified the capability of the scheme by measuring the rovibrational spectrum of CO2 in various frequency bands within the 6250–6550 cm−1 range. In each tuned frequency band, we achieved an enhancement factor of ∼950, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR > 600) in 30 s, and resolution of 250 MHz. The cavity-enhanced dual-comb spectroscopy with wide spectral band tuning holds promise for potential applications in fields such as trace gas analysis and respiratory diagnostics.

A channelized broadband and high-resolution microwave instantaneous multi-frequency measurement system based on Fabry-Perot Filter and Stimulated Brillouin Scattering

A broadband high-resolution microwave instantaneous multi-frequency measurement (IMFM) system based on a Fabry-Perot filter (FPF) and Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) is proposed. In the system, the 14-line flat optical frequency comb (OFC) in the first branch is input to dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator (DPMZM) for carrier suppressed single sideband modulation (CS-SSB), so that the microwave signal to be measured is loaded onto the sideband of the 14-line OFC. The FPF is employed for periodic filtering to roughly determine the frequency band of the captured microwave signal. Subsequently, the demultiplexer (De-mux) is utilized to channelize the captured frequency band, which serves as a pump light input to the high nonlinear fiber (HNLF). By setting the center frequency spacing between the OFCs in the second and third branches with the channelized pump light in the first branch is equal to the Brillouin frequency shift, the frequencies of the microwave signal under measurement are determined based on the fine frequency selection characteristic of the SBS effect. This achieves an enhancement in measurement resolution while ensuring measurement bandwidth. Simulation experiments indicate that by adjusting the frequency shifter and center frequency of the FPF, the proposed IFM system can realize measurement ranges of 0.6–13.5 GHz, 13.6–26.5 GHz, and 26.6–39.5 GHz, the measurement resolution is 0.1 GHz, and the measurement error is ±0.05 GHz.

Instantaneous frequency measurement based on photonic compressive sensing with sub-Nyquist pseudo-random binary sequences.

We propose a novel, to the best of our knowledge, approach to realizing instantaneous frequency measurement with ultrahigh measurement bandwidth, which utilizes three-channel photonic compressive sensing (CS) with sub-Nyquist pseudo-random binary sequences (PRBSs). In each CS channel, an alias frequency is recovered due to the sub-Nyquist property of the applied PRBS. A frequency identification algorithm is employed to determine the frequency of the signal under measurement according to the three alias frequencies. The proposed approach significantly reduces the bit rate of the applied PRBSs and the sampling rate required by the digitizers in CS. A proof-of-concept experiment for measuring frequency in the Ku band is demonstrated using PRBSs at 1 Gb/s and digitizers with a sampling rate of 250 MS/s.