Broadband Input Research Articles

Arbitrary Waveform Voltage Measuring Converter for Wideband AC Voltmeter

Alternating current (AС) voltage measurement is one of the most common types of measurements in various fields of science and technology. To evaluate the AC voltage level, special voltmeters are used which allow recording of amplitude, average and/or root mean square (RMS) voltage values. Among these measuring instruments, voltmeters of mean square voltage are especially significant because RMS is a fundamental physical characteristic of an electrical signal and is a true measure of power. The wide distribution of non-sinusoidal signals necessitates the creation of voltmeters for direct measurement of RMS. The main component of such voltmeter is an AC voltage to direct current (DC) voltage measuring converter based on the root-mean-square value level (AC RMS-DC converter). An analysis of existing technical solutions shows that it is advisable to use a thermoelectric converter (TEC) for high-precision measurement of RMS voltage of an arbitrary shape with a spectrum in the frequency band from 20 Hz to 20–50 MHz. Such a AC RMS-DC converter must contain a differential semiconductor TEC and an input broadband voltage amplifier with low nonlinearity of the frequency response. The aim of the paper was to develop a measuring AC RMS-DC converter of arbitrary shape voltage in which special attention is paid to modernization of the TEC and reduction of the AC RMS-DC converter error using corection of the frequency response of the input amplifier and introduction automatic calibration of the output voltage. Features of semiconductor chips and design of TEC in the form of a microcircuit or microassembly, results of converter’s and TEC elements’ parameters measurements are presented. A significant influence of the frequency response of the input amplifier and the offset voltage of the TEC transistors on the AC RMS-DC converter error was noted. Modernization of the input amplifier and introduction of automatic calibration of the output voltage ensured an error in a sinusoidal signal converting of less than 1 % in the range from 20 Hz to 50 MHz.

Detecting Instantaneous Tidal Signals in Ocean Models Utilizing Streaming Band‐Pass Filters

AbstractThrough the implementation of a streaming filter, output of numerical ocean simulations can be band‐pass filtered at tidal frequencies while the model is running, yielding time series of sinusoidal motions consisting of tidal signals in the filter's target frequency band. The filtering algorithm is developed from a system of two ordinary differential equations that represents the motion of a damped harmonic oscillator. The filter's response to a broadband input signal is unity at its target frequency but vanishes toward the low and high frequency limits. The decay of the filter response is controlled by a dimensionless parameter, which determines the filter's bandwidth. As a result, the filter allows signals within a small frequency band around its target frequency to pass through, while blocking signals outside of its target frequency band. In this work, the filtering algorithm is implemented into the barotropic solver of the Modular Ocean Model version 6 (MOM6) for determining the instantaneous tidal velocities of the semi‐diurnal and diurnal tides. Utilizing the filters, the frequency‐dependent internal wave drag is applied to the semi‐diurnal and diurnal frequency bands separately. The simulation results suggest that the performance of the algorithm is consistent with the filter transfer function in Fourier space. Potential applications of the algorithm also include de‐tiding the model output for nested regional ocean models, especially those for the purpose of operational forecasting.

Analysis of spiral antenna for enhancing antenna-plasma coupling impedance for SST-1 tokamak

Abstract A detailed characterization of a high-power radio frequency (RF) broadband circularly polarized two-arm spiral antenna is designed to operate within the frequency range of 0.1–1.0 GHz. The impedance matching network technique is introduced to optimize its performance. The traditional spiral antenna is excited by a vertical or horizontal balun, whereas the proposed design is directly fed by a coaxial cable featuring a planar feeding section specially optimized to achieve broadband input impedance matching. The spiral antenna is designed as per the steady-state superconducting tokamak (SST-1) port space constraints. The simulated efficiency of the RF power coupling with the hydrogen plasma is ∼70 %. Through simulation, it was evident that the proposed antenna exhibited inherent resonance at 0.5 GHz with a reflection coefficient of −27.94 dB and an axial ratio is 3.39 dB respectively. The obtained outcomes unequivocally demonstrate the circular polarization of the designed antenna. Overall, the findings support the enhancement of plasma heating and current drive techniques in fusion research.

Design of dual-band power amplifier based on microstrip coupled-line bandstop filter

This article presents a simple and effective method for designing a dual-band power amplifier (PA). A microstrip coupled-line bandstop filter (BSF) is cascaded with a broadband PA, thus a notched band can be obtained in the wide operating band, realizing a dual-band characteristic of the PA. The simplified real frequency technique (SRFT) is employed to derive a broadband input matching networks covering the requisite frequency band. Appropriate fundamental impedance and second harmonic impedance matching are achieved at the ideal region of the Smith chart. For validation, an experimental prototype is fabricated and tested using a commercial GaN transistor Cree’s CGH40010F. The proposed dual-band PA is operated at 1.95–2.4 GHz and 2.65–3.1 GHz, with 61%–71% measured power-added efficiency (PAE) and 40.5–41.5 dBm of measured output power.

Assessing the dissipative capacity of particle impact dampers based on nonlinear bandwidth characteristics

The dissipative capacity as quantified by the nonlinear bandwidth measure of impulsively loaded linear primary resonators or primary structures (PSs) coupled to particle impact dampers (PIDs) is assessed. The considered PIDs are designed by initially placing different numbers of spherical, linearly viscoelastic granules at various 2D initial topologies and clearances. The strongly nonlinear and highly discontinuous dynamics of the PIDs are simulated via the discrete element method taking Hertzian interactions, slipping friction caused by granular rotations into account. An extended definition of nonlinear bandwidth is used to evaluate the energy dissipation capacity of the integrated PS-PID systems. To this end, the time-bandwidth (T-B) product is defined by nonlinear bandwidth in tandem with characteristic time. The T-B product is studied as a measure of the capacity of these systems to store or dissipate vibration energy. It is found that the initial topologies of the granules in the PID drastically affect the T-B product, which, depending on shock intensity, may break the classical limit of unity of linear time-invariant dissipative resonators. The optimal PS-PID systems composed of multiple granules produce large nonlinear bandwidths, indicating strong dissipative capacity of broadband input energy by the PIDs. Moreover, the granular collect-and-collide regime yields high nonlinear bandwidth and efficient energy dissipation capacity, whereas the opposite is observed for the granular gaseous state regime. The relationship between energy dissipation by the PID and nonlinear bandwidth of the PS are discussed, and it is found that as the shock intensity increases these two measures tend to vary similarly. The implications of these findings on the study of the dissipative capacity of the PS-PID system are discussed, yielding a predictive methodology for designing PIDs to act as highly effective nonlinear energy sinks capable of rapid and efficient suppression of vibration induced by shocks.

A reservoir of timescales emerges in recurrent circuits with heterogeneous neural assemblies.

The temporal activity of many physical and biological systems, from complex networks to neural circuits, exhibits fluctuations simultaneously varying over a large range of timescales. Long-tailed distributions of intrinsic timescales have been observed across neurons simultaneously recorded within the same cortical circuit. The mechanisms leading to this striking temporal heterogeneity are yet unknown. Here, we show that neural circuits, endowed with heterogeneous neural assemblies of different sizes, naturally generate multiple timescales of activity spanning several orders of magnitude. We develop an analytical theory using rate networks, supported by simulations of spiking networks with cell-type specific connectivity, to explain how neural timescales depend on assembly size and show that our model can naturally explain the long-tailed timescale distribution observed in the awake primate cortex. When driving recurrent networks of heterogeneous neural assemblies by a time-dependent broadband input, we found that large and small assemblies preferentially entrain slow and fast spectral components of the input, respectively. Our results suggest that heterogeneous assemblies can provide a biologically plausible mechanism for neural circuits to demix complex temporal input signals by transforming temporal into spatial neural codes via frequency-selective neural assemblies.

Design of Low-Cost Full W-Band 8th Harmonic Mixers for Frequency Extension of Spectrum Analyzer

High-order harmonic mixer is popular for frequency extension of spectrum analyzer (SA) from microwave to millimeter-wave or even terahertz band. The manufactures of SA usually offer expensive harmonic mixers where frequency extension is needed. In this work, low-cost designs of 2-port and 3-port W-band 8th harmonic mixers covering 75–110 GHz are proposed, and design method of two port mixer without frequency diplexer to separate local oscillator (LO) and intermediate frequency (IF) signals are first presented. These two kinds of mixers are compatible with almost all the current SAs with frequency extension options, which provides LO for the external harmonic mixer. The mixers are designed with planar microstrip lines and antiparallel Schottky diodes. The circuit of 2-port mixer includes the input broadband bandpass filter, diodes, output lowpass filter, and matching circuits. As for 3-port mixer, only an extra diplexer is needed to separate the IF signal and LO signal. The diplexer is composed of a planar semi-lumped lowpass and a highpass filter. The planar circuits are easily fabricated with low-cost print circuit board process on polytetrafluoroethylene substrate. The measured conversion loss of 2-port 8th harmonic mixer is from 20 to 26 dB, and 23 to 28 dB for 3-port mixer at full W-band. The good measured results indicate the proposed mixers are simple and effective.

Piston Error Measurement for Segmented Telescopes Based on a Hybrid Artificial Neural Network.

To address the difficulty and complexity of detecting piston errors for segmented telescopes, this paper proposes a new piston error measurement method based on a hybrid artificial neural network. First, we use the Resnet network to learn the mapping relationship between the focal plane degradation image and signs of the piston error. Then, based on the established theoretical relationship between the modulation transfer function and the piston error, a BP neural network is used to learn the mapping relationship between the MTF and the absolute value of the piston error. After the training of the hybrid network is completed, a wide-range and high-precision detection of the piston error of the sub-mirrors can be achieved using the combined output of the two networks, where only a focal plane image of the point source with broadband illumination is used as the input. The detection range can reach the entire coherent length of the input broadband light, and the detection accuracy can reach 10 nm. The method proposed in this paper has the advantages of high detection accuracy, a wide detection range, low hardware cost, a small network scale, and low training difficulty.

Uncertainty laws of experimental modal analysis with known broadband input

‘Uncertainty law’ aims at closed-form asymptotic formulas for the relationship between the identification uncertainties of modal properties (e.g., natural frequency, damping ratio) and test configuration (e.g., noise level, number and location of sensors, data duration). Existing developments focused on the case of unknown-input (ambient), where it has been found that identification uncertainty does not vanish even for noiseless instruments, essentially because the input is unknown. A natural question is then on how the uncertainty depends on test configuration when the input is known, not to mention how the configuration should be quantified. Motivated by these and related questions, this paper develops the uncertainty laws of modal parameters for well-separated modes with known single broadband input, e.g., vibration test with a single shaker as in experimental modal analysis. Asymptotic expressions for the posterior coefficient of variation of modal parameters are derived via the Fisher Information Matrix for long data and small damping scenarios. Assumptions and theory are validated using synthetic and field test data. Governing factors motivated by the theory are investigated, including the equivalent modal signal-to-noise ratio (for known input), the number of measured degrees of freedom, shaker location, and data duration. By virtue of the Cramér-Rao bound in classical statistics, the developed uncertainty laws represent the lower bound of identification uncertainty with known broadband input that can be achieved by any unbiased estimator. They provide a scientific basis for planning and managing identification uncertainties in vibration tests with known input.

Decoupling and one-time elimination of the timing skew in a time-demultiplexing photonic analog-to-digital converter for high-resolution wideband signal acquisition.

Temporal alignment between the demultiplexing signal and sampled signal for complex wideband signals greatly increases the difficulty of designing high-speed and high-resolution photonic analog-to-digital converters (PADCs). We present a vector description to decouple the timing skew from the phase frequency response in time-demultiplexing PADC. We demonstrate that the calibration can be optically implemented with true time delay effects and the broadband input can be one-time calibrated through several single-frequency signals. For verification, we configure out a 40 GSa/s PADC with eight-interleaved sub-channels. The timing skew-induced spurs across the whole Nyquist band are effectively suppressed, making the PADC acquire a wideband signal with 16 GHz instantaneous bandwidth. The spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) is enhanced to ∼55 dB, and the effective number of bits (ENOB) is improved from ∼5.5 bits to ∼8 bits within 20 GHz. It is nearly 1 bit better than the recently reported time-demultiplexing PADC under the comparable input frequencies.

Time reversal of broadband microwave signal based on frequency conversion of multiple subbands.

Time reversal of broadband microwave signals based on frequency conversion of multiple subbands is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The broadband input spectrum is cut into a number of narrowband subbands, and the center frequency of each subband is reassigned by multi-heterodyne measurement. The input spectrum is inversed, while the time reversal of the temporal waveform is also realized. The equivalence between time reversal and the spectral inversion of the proposed system is verified by mathematical derivation and numerical simulation. Meanwhile, spectral inversion and time reversal of a broadband signal with instantaneous bandwidth larger than 2 GHz are experimentally demonstrated. Our solution shows good potential for integration where no dispersion element is employed in the system. Moreover, this solution for an instantaneous bandwidth larger than 2 GHz is competitive in the processing of broadband microwave signals.

All-optical image classification through unknown random diffusers using a single-pixel diffractive network

Classification of an object behind a random and unknown scattering medium sets a challenging task for computational imaging and machine vision fields. Recent deep learning-based approaches demonstrated the classification of objects using diffuser-distorted patterns collected by an image sensor. These methods demand relatively large-scale computing using deep neural networks running on digital computers. Here, we present an all-optical processor to directly classify unknown objects through unknown, random phase diffusers using broadband illumination detected with a single pixel. A set of transmissive diffractive layers, optimized using deep learning, forms a physical network that all-optically maps the spatial information of an input object behind a random diffuser into the power spectrum of the output light detected through a single pixel at the output plane of the diffractive network. We numerically demonstrated the accuracy of this framework using broadband radiation to classify unknown handwritten digits through random new diffusers, never used during the training phase, and achieved a blind testing accuracy of 87.74 ± 1.12%. We also experimentally validated our single-pixel broadband diffractive network by classifying handwritten digits “0” and “1” through a random diffuser using terahertz waves and a 3D-printed diffractive network. This single-pixel all-optical object classification system through random diffusers is based on passive diffractive layers that process broadband input light and can operate at any part of the electromagnetic spectrum by simply scaling the diffractive features proportional to the wavelength range of interest. These results have various potential applications in, e.g., biomedical imaging, security, robotics, and autonomous driving.

Influence of the potential barrier switching frequency on the effectiveness of energy harvesting

Dynamical systems for kinetic energy harvesting have recently been designed that use nonlinear mechanical resonators and corresponding transducers to create electrical output. Nonlinearities are important for providing a broadband input frequency efficiency, which is necessary to ensure that the output voltage is at a satisfactory level in the case of a variable ambient vibration source. In this paper, we analyze the dynamics of such a system with the additional possibility of a switching potential barrier in the nonlinear resonator. In order to improve the effectiveness of the energy harvester, we numerically test the possibility of using abrupt changes in the system parameters. We analyze the voltage output for various frequencies of both the harmonic excitations and the potential barrier switching. In a range that includes low and high switching frequencies of potentials, the periodic solutions dominate in the bifurcation diagrams. With regard to the large switching frequency, the effective values of the voltage at the piezoelectric electrodes are significantly reduced. The highest effective values of the voltage that are induced at the piezoelectric electrodes are observed when the chaotic solutions appear due to their specific ability to pass the potential barrier for relatively small excitation. The results also show that mechanical damping with high-enough magnitudes minimize the influence of the transient states caused by the switching potentials.

Scalable On‐Chip Microdisk Resonator Spectrometer

AbstractOn‐chip micro‐spectrometers are sought after with great effort owing to extensive potential applications in mobile optical sensing and imaging. By multiplexing more physical channels, the reconstructive spectrometers based on the spectral‐to‐spatial mapping technique can improve the spectral range. However, this method is challenging to implement and sustain due to the increase in system complexity and the decrease of dynamic range or spectral resolution. Here, a micro‐spectrometer utilizing a single tunable microdisk resonator (MDR) is demonstrated. Such a single MDR spectrometer has only one physical channel to receive all spectral components with a compact size, overcoming the trade‐off among spectral resolution, spectral range, and dynamic range. Leveraging the wavelength and temperature‐dependent response matrix, unknown spectra are reconstructed from their corresponding output light intensity vector. The fabricated device illustrates a high resolution of 0.01 nm for a dual peak and a medium resolution of 0.2 nm in the 20 nm spectral range. A wide variety of complex input spectra, including narrowband and broadband spectral signals, can be well recovered, exhibiting the robustness of the spectral reconstruction approach. Moreover, this proposed spectrometer exhibits ease of scalability and flexible configuration to a spectrometer array covering a set of desired and even discrete spectral ranges.

Opsin knockdown specifically slows phototransduction in broadband and UV-sensitive photoreceptors in Periplaneta americana.

Photoreceptors with different spectral sensitivities serve different physiological and behavioral roles. We hypothesized that such functional evolutionary optimization could also include differences in phototransduction dynamics. We recorded elementary responses to light, quantum bumps (QBs), of broadband green-sensitive and ultraviolet (UV)-sensitive photoreceptors in the cockroach, Periplaneta americana, compound eyes using intracellular recordings. In addition to control photoreceptors, we used photoreceptors from cockroaches whose green opsin 1 (GO1) or UV opsin expression was suppressed by RNA interference. In the control broadband and UV-sensitive photoreceptors average input resistances were similar, but the membrane capacitance, a proxy for membrane area, was smaller in the broadband photoreceptors. QBs recorded in the broadband photoreceptors had comparatively short latencies, high amplitudes and short durations. Absolute sensitivities of both opsin knockdown photoreceptors were significantly lower than in wild type, and, unexpectedly, their latency was significantly longer while the amplitudes were not changed. Morphologic examination of GO1 knockdown photoreceptors did not find significant differences in rhabdom size compared to wild type. Our results differ from previous findings in Drosophila melanogaster rhodopsin mutants characterized by progressive rhabdomere degeneration, where QB amplitudes were larger but phototransduction latency was not changed compared to wild type.

A 18–44 GHz Low Noise Amplifier With Input Matching and Bandwidth Extension Techniques

This letter presents a low noise amplifier (LNA) with a 3-dB gain bandwidth (3-dB BW) of 18–44 GHz in 65-nm CMOS technology. By deriving an analytical equation of input impedance, a co-design methodology for the first two stages of LNA that can simultaneously achieve broadband input matching and low noise figure (NF) is implemented. Weakly coupled asymmetric transformers that introduce a section of reverse parallel winding in the primary coil are designed to realize broadband interstage matching, optimize the gain flatness and boost the transconductance. The proposed LNA achieves a measured peak gain of 19.5 dB with a fractional 3-dB gain bandwidth (FBW) of 83.8%, covering the whole <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$K$ </tex-math></inline-formula> -band and <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Ka$ </tex-math></inline-formula> -band. The measured NF is 2.6–3.5 dB from 20 to 43 GHz. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed LNA achieves the highest 3-dB BW and FBW with competitive NF. The measured input 1-dB gain compression point ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text {IP}_{\mathrm {1\,dB}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> ) ranges from −23 to −18.5 dBm over the entire 3-dB gain bandwidth.

Dual-Polarization Bandwidth-Bridged Bandpass Sampling Fourier Transform Spectrometer from Visible to Near-Infrared on a Silicon Nitride Platform.

On-chip broadband optical spectrometers that cover the entire tissue transparency window (λ = 650–1050 nm) with high resolution are highly demanded for miniaturized biosensing and bioimaging applications. The standard spatial heterodyne Fourier transform spectrometer (SHFTS) requires a large number of Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) arrays to obtain a broad spectral bandwidth while maintaining high resolution. Here, we propose a novel type of SHFTS integrated with a subwavelength grating coupler (SWGC) for the dual-polarization bandpass sampling on the Si3N4 platform to solve the intrinsic trade-off limitation between the bandwidth and resolution of the SHFTS without having an outrageous number of MZI arrays or adding additional active photonic components. By applying the bandpass sampling theorem, the continuous broadband input spectrum is divided into multiple narrow-band channels through tuning the phase-matching condition of the SWGC with different polarization and coupling angles. Thereby, it is able to reconstruct each band separately far beyond the Nyquist criterion without aliasing error or degrading the resolution. We experimentally demonstrated the broadband spectrum retrieval results with the overall bandwidth coverage of 400 nm, bridging the wavelengths from 650 to 1050 nm, with a resolution of 2–5 nm. The bandpass sampling SHFTS is designed to have 32 linearly unbalanced MZIs with the maximum optical path length difference of 93 μm within an overall footprint size of 4.7 mm × 0.65 mm, and the coupling angles of SWGC are varied from 0° to 32° to cover the entire tissue transparency window.

Compact and Efficient Broadband Rectifier Using T-type Matching Network

In this letter, a multioctave voltage doubler rectifier using a T-type matching network is demonstrated. The voltage doubler topology is used to flatten the load impedance, which makes it easier to achieve broadband impedance matching. The T-type matching network is used for the broadband input impedance matching. The design procedure of the proposed broadband rectifier is provided and discussed. For validation, a rectifier prototype is fabricated, and the performance is evaluated. The measured results exhibit power conversion efficiency (PCE) of more than 50% over a frequency band of 0.2–3.2 GHz at 15 dBm input power and 70% from 1 to 2.7 GHz. Moreover, the peak PCE is 78.2% at 1.9 GHz when the input power is 18 dBm.

Design and performance of a terahertz Fourier transform spectrometer for axion dark matter experiments

Dedicated spectrometers for terahertz radiation with [0.3, 30] THz frequencies using traditional optomechanical interferometry are substantially less common than their infrared and microwave counterparts. This paper presents public documentation for the design and initial performance measurements of a tabletop Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) for terahertz spectral analysis using infrared optics in a Michelson arrangement. This is coupled to a broadband pyroelectric photodetector designed for [0.1, 30] THz frequencies. We measure spectra of narrowband and broadband input radiation to characterize the performance of this instrument above 10 THz, where signal-to-noise is high. This device is constructed in the context of research-and-development for the recently-proposed Broadband Reflector Experiment for Axion Detection (BREAD), where the optical components can be applied to ongoing efforts for testing the pilot experiment.

Test Design Methodology for Time-Domain Immunity Investigations Using Electric Near-Field Probes

This article investigates the possibility to develop time-domain immunity tests using electric near-field probes, for flexible customization of broadband input waveforms injected into specific pins of PCBs. For this purpose, a test design methodology is proposed, which is based on circuit modeling of the injection mechanism on the one hand, and on pulse design and equalization on the other hand. Two circuit models are developed. The former employs measurement/simulation data along with port-reduction techniques to model noise injection through near-field probes by means of internal induced sources. Conversely, the latter model only includes passive components and is derived starting from physical observation of the involved phenomena. Both models are compatible with circuit solvers and can be easily adapted for different traces under test. Since pulse-like noise is usually broadband, suitable stress waveforms are utilized to obtain different noise spectra. Also, in order to precisely control the shape of the waveform reaching the targeted pin, an equalization procedure is employed. These models and techniques can be easily applied to amplification systems originally designed for frequency-domain tests, thus providing a comprehensive solution for the design of broadband immunity tests in the time domain. The feasibility and accuracy of the proposed methodology are proved by full-wave simulations and measurements.