Switching Ring Research Articles

Assessing the Clinical Effectiveness of an Exergame-Based Exercise Training Program Using Ring Fit Adventure to Prevent and Postpone Frailty and Sarcopenia Among Older Adults in Rural Long-Term Care Facilities: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Frailty and sarcopenia are geriatric syndromes of increasing concern and are associated with adverse health outcomes. They are more prevalent among long-term care facility (LTCF) users than among community dwellers. Exercise, especially multicomponent and progressive resistance training, is essential for managing these conditions. However, LTCFs, particularly in rural areas, face challenges in implementing structured exercise programs due to health care professional shortages. Moreover, older adults often become bored with repetitive exercise training and may lose interest over time. The Nintendo Switch Ring Fit Adventure (RFA) exergame is a novel exergame that combines resistance, aerobic, and balance exercises and offers a potential solution by boosting motivation in an immersive manner and reducing staff intervention needs. We aimed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of an exergame-based exercise training program delivered via RFA (exergame-RFA) in improving muscle mass and functional performance among older adult LTCF users. This was a randomized controlled trial conducted from August 2022 to September 2023 and involved older adult LTCF users (aged ≥60 y) in rural southern Taiwan. Participants were randomized into an intervention group (exergame-RFA plus standard care) or a control group (standard care alone). The intervention, conducted seated with arm fit skills and trunk control exercises using the RFA, lasted 30 minutes twice weekly over 12 weeks. The primary outcomes measured were the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures index (serving as an indicator of frailty status) and the diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia (appendicular skeletal muscle mass index, handgrip strength, and gait speed). The secondary outcomes included functional performance (box and block test as well as maximum voluntary isometric contraction of the dominant upper extremity), muscle condition (muscle thickness measured using ultrasonography), activities of daily living (Kihon checklist), health-related quality of life (Short Form Health Survey-36), and cognitive function (brain health test). We used an intention-to-treat analysis, incorporating a simple imputation technique in statistical analysis. A mixed ANOVA, with time as a within-participant factor and intervention as a between-participant factor, was used to compare the training effects on outcomes. We recruited 96 individuals, of whom 60 (62%) underwent randomization. Of these 60 participants, 55 (92%) completed the study. Significant group×time interactions were observed in the intervention group in all primary outcomes (all P<.001, except P=.01 for handgrip strength) and most secondary outcomes, including maximum voluntary isometric contraction of the biceps (P=.004) and triceps brachii (P<.001) muscles, biceps muscle thickness measured using ultrasonography (P<.001), box and block test (P<.001), Kihon checklist (physical function: P=.01, mood status: P=.003, and total: P=.003), and brain health test (P<.001). The exergame-RFA intervention significantly improved muscle mass, strength, and functional performance among older adult users of rural LTCFs, offering a novel approach to addressing frailty and sarcopenia. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05360667; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05360667. RR2-10.3389/fmed.2022.1071409.

Impact of Fruit and Vegetable Enzyme Supplementation on Aerobic Performance and Lactate Response in Older Adults Following High-Intensity Interval Exercise Through Exergaming: Randomized Experimental Matched-Pair Study.

Exercise offers substantial health benefits but can induce oxidative stress and inflammation, especially in high-intensity formats such as high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE). Exergaming has become an effective, enjoyable fitness tool for all ages, particularly older adults. Enzyme supplements may enhance exercise performance by improving lactate metabolism and reducing oxidative stress. This study investigates the efficacy of fruit and vegetable enzyme supplementation in modulating fatigue and enhancing aerobic capacity in older adults following HIIE through exergaming. The study recruited 16 older adult female participants and allocated them into 2 distinct groups (enzyme and placebo) based on their pretest lactate levels. This division used pairwise grouping to guarantee comparability between the groups, ensuring the integrity of the results. They engaged in HIIE using Nintendo Switch Ring Fit Adventure, performing 8 sets of 20 seconds of maximum effort exercise interspersed with 30 seconds of rest, totaling 370 seconds of exercise. Key metrics assessed included blood lactate levels, heart rate, rating of perceived exertion, and training impulse. Participants in the enzyme group were administered a fruit and vegetable enzyme supplement at a dosage of 30 mL twice daily over a period of 14 days. The enzyme group showed significantly lower blood lactate levels compared to the placebo group, notably after the fourth (mean 4.29, SD 0.67 vs mean 6.34, SD 1.17 mmol/L; P=.001) and eighth (mean 5.84, SD 0.63 vs mean 8.20, SD 1.15 mmol/L; P<.001) exercise sessions. This trend continued at 5 minutes (mean 6.85, SD 0.82 vs mean 8.60, SD 1.13 mmol/L; P=.003) and 10 minutes (mean 5.91, SD 1.16 vs mean 8.21, SD 1.27 mmol/L; P=.002) after exercise. Although both groups exceeded 85% of their estimated maximum heart rate during the exercise, enzyme supplementation did not markedly affect the perceived intensity or effort. The study indicates that fruit and vegetable enzyme supplementation can significantly reduce blood lactate levels in older adults following HIIE through exergaming. This suggests a potential role for these enzymes in modulating lactate production or clearance during and after high-intensity exercise. These findings have implications for developing targeted interventions to enhance exercise tolerance and recovery in older adults.

Exploring the Design of Upper Limb Strength Training Through High-Intensity Interval Training Combined With Exergaming: Usability Study.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has become a popular exercise strategy in modern society, with the Tabata training method being the most popular. In the past, these training methods were mostly done without equipment, but incorporating exergaming into the training may provide a new option for muscle training. The aim of this study was to explore the differences in upper limb muscle activation using an HIIT program combined with exergaming. A total of 15 healthy male participants were recruited for the study, and the differences in muscle activation were compared between push-ups and exergaming (Nintendo Switch Ring Fit Adventure with the Ring-Con accessory) during HIIT. Prior to the tests, participants underwent pretests, including maximal voluntary contractions of various muscle groups, maximal push-up tests, and maximal movement tests using the exergaming device. The push-up and exergaming tests were conducted on separate days to avoid interference, with a warm-up period of 5 minutes on a treadmill before testing. Muscle activation in the lateral and anterior portions of the deltoid muscle, the sternal and clavicular heads of the pectoralis major muscle, and the latissimus dorsi muscle were measured during the maximal voluntary contractions and single-round tests for each exercise mode. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess the variations in muscle activation observed across the 2 distinct modes of exercise, specifically push-ups and exergaming. In exergaming, the number of repetitions for push-ups was significantly fewer than for single-site exercises across both exhaustive (mean 23.13, SD 6.36 vs mean 55.67, SD 17.83; P=.001; effect size [ES]: 2.43) and single-round (mean 21.93, SD 7.67 vs mean 92.40, SD 20.47; P=.001; ES: 4.56) training. Heart rate differences were not significant (all P>.05), yet exergaming led to better muscle activation in specific muscle groups, particularly the right anterior deltoid (mean 48.00%, SD 7.66% vs mean 32.84%, SD 10.27%; P=.001; ES: 1.67) and right pectoralis major (sternal head: mean 38.99%, SD 9.98% vs mean 26.90%, SD 12.97%; P=.001; ES: 1.04; clavicular head: mean 43.54%, SD 9.59% vs mean 30.09%, SD 11.59%; P=.002; ES: 1.26) during exhaustive training. In single-round training, similar patterns were observed with the anterior deltoid (mean 51.37%, SD 11.76% vs mean 35.47%, SD 12.72%; P=.002; ES: 1.30) and pectoralis major (sternal head: mean 53.27%, SD 10.79% vs mean 31.56%, SD 16.92%; P=.001; ES: 1.53; clavicular head: mean 53.75%, SD 13.01% vs mean 37.95%, SD 14.67%; P=.006; ES: 1.14). These results suggest that exergaming may be more effective for targeted muscle activation. In conclusion, HIIT can increase muscle activation in the upper extremities and can be incorporated into exergaming strategies to provide a fun and engaging way to exercise.

Investigating the Effects of Donors and Alkyne Spacer on the Properties of Donor-Acceptor-Donor Xanthene-Based Dyes.

NIR dyes have become popular for many applications, including biosensing and imaging. For this reason, the molecular switch mechanism of the xanthene dyes makes them useful for in vivo detection and imaging of bioanalytes. Our group has been designing NIR xanthene-based dyes by the donor-acceptor-donor approach; however, the equilibrium between their opened and closed forms varies depending on the donors and spacer. We synthesized donor-acceptor-donor NIR xanthene-based dyes with an alkyne spacer via the Sonogashira coupling reaction to investigate the effects of the alkyne spacer and the donors on the maximum absorption wavelength and the molecular switching (ring opening) process of the dyes. We evaluated the strength and nature of the donors and the presence and absence of the alkyne spacer on the properties of the dyes. It was shown that the alkyne spacer extended the conjugation of the dyes, leading to absorption wavelengths of longer values compared with the dyes without the alkyne group. In addition, strong charge transfer donors shifted the absorption wavelength towards the NIR region, while donors with strong π-donation resulted in xanthene dyes with a smaller equilibrium constant. DFT/TDDFT calculations corroborated the experimental data in most of the cases. Dye 2 containing the N,N-dimethylaniline group gave contrary results and is being further investigated.

A study on electrical properties of silicon carbide power devices

Silicon Carbide (SiC) devices have the characteristics of high voltage resistance, fast switching speed, high working frequency, small on-resistance, and high-temperature resistance, and have broad application prospects in high voltage and high-power occasions. However, the application of SiC is faced with the problems of high-frequency switching transient voltage, current overshoot, ringing, and short circuit protection. Based on the problems encountered in the application process of SiC power devices, the characteristics and drive protection technology of sic devices are studied in this paper. In this paper, the static characteristic parameters of SiC device are studied, the switching characteristic parameters are tested, the influence of parasitic inductance parameters on the switching characteristic is analyzed, and the design method of PCB Roche coil is analyzed, the anti-interference performance of loop winding turns is analyzed and the driver protection circuit is designed.

Improved Circuit Design and Adaptive Burst Mode Control in PSFB Converters for Higher Efficiency Over a Wide Power Range

This paper presents an improved circuit design of Gallium Nitride (GaN) based phase shifted full bridge (PSFB) converters along with a new adaptive burst mode control strategy, to achieve high efficiency over a wide power range, including light loads. The main challenges of PSFB converters addressed in this paper are: load-dependent zero-voltage switching (ZVS), transformer saturation, and secondary side ringing. Since switching losses of GaN FETs are dominant at light loads, adaptive burst mode control can be employed to improve the efficiency at lower output power. By periodically switching output current between 0 A and minimum ZVS current, adaptive burst mode control can enable both smaller effective switching frequency and lower switching losses. A correction factor ‘k’ is adopted in the adaptive burst mode control’s current loop PI calculation so that the output current can switch fast without any overshoot that increases switches’ current stress. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed circuit and controller design, a 375 V input, 70 V output, 800 W PSIM simulation model as well as experimental prototype are developed and tested. The experimental results demonstrate the practical benefits of the proposed adaptive burst mode control.

Noncontact Monitoring of IGBT Turn-OFF Time Using PWM Switching Ringing for Inverter-Fed Machine Systems

Turn- <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">off</small> time is an important condition parameter for insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), which could provide useful information on the device junction temperature and its state of health. Currently, it is measured directly from the IGBT collector-emitter voltage <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">V</i> <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">ce</sub> or indirectly from the gate side, which may cause problems of safety and complexity for a power converter operating in a harsh electromagnetic environment. To address the challenges, this article proposes a noncontact method to monitor the IGBT turn- <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">off</small> time from the PWM switching ringing in the converter output current. First, a phenomenon is observed that there are two switch-over points in the switching ringing current corresponding to the transition of IGBT turn- <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">off</small> voltage. Analytical analysis is performed with a high-frequency (HF) equivalent circuit to investigate the mechanism of the one-to-one temporal relationship. Then, the noncontact condition monitoring (CM) scheme including the HF switching ringing current sensor and the framework of CM system is devised. Finally, experimental work is carried out to validate the theoretical analysis and the effectiveness of the method. Research results show that the turn- <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">off</small> time of multi-IGBTs can be effectively extracted at the terminal of converter during system normal operation with electrically isolated safety.

Protocol for a phase II, multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial to compare the efficacy of gamification using Nintendo Switch Ring Fit Adventure game versus standard exercise in the treatment of fibromyalgia

Background: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic condition related to dysfunctional central pain processing mechanisms, which affects 3-6% of the world population, leading to widespread pain, stiffness, and tenderness of the muscles, tendons, and joints, as well as restless sleep, fatigue, depression, and anxiety. Exercise is the most effective way of reducing pain and improving global well-being in people with FM, but such patients present an important limitation to exercise adherence. Objective: We aim to evaluate whether a home-based gamification strategy will improve the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire Revised (FIQR) scores in female patients aged 18-60 years old as an alternative to traditional exercise. Methods: The proposed trial is a multicenter, phase II, open-label, parallel, randomized, superiority trial. Female patients ranging from 18 to 60 years old with a diagnosis of FM will be randomized to the intervention group, designed to play the Nintendo Switch Ring Fit Adventure game on three home-based weekly sessions, or to the control group, which will receive general educational guidance through videos and pamphlets provided by the study staff for a total of 12 weeks. The primary outcome will be the mean change in FIQR score results. Discussion: The development of new strategies to increase exercise adherence can enhance the control of symptoms such as pain, depression, low quality of sleep, and physical limitation in FM patients, thereby improving their quality of life. We believe that gamification strategies such as the one used here can make physical activity more playful, accessible, and dynamic, motivating patients and increasing their physical function compared to those seeking center-based or conventional exercises.

Characteristics of SiC inverter powertrains on common-mode EMI noise

This paper studies the characteristics of SiC inverter powertrains on common-mode (CM) EMI emission. First, a CM noise source model of an EV powertrain is built. Then, the factors of switching frequency, switching speed, and switching ringing on the CM noise source are analyzed. Finally, experiments on a conducted EMI test-bed are carried out to verify the influence of SiC inverters on conducted CM EMI emission in EV powertrains.

Online ESR Monitoring of DC-Link Capacitor in Voltage-Source-Converter Using Damping Characteristic of Switching Ringings

Online monitoring of dc-link capacitor's equivalent series resistance (ESR) could provide valuable and timely information for power converter failure prognosis and predictive maintenance. The conventional ESR estimation methods are mainly based on pulsewidth modulation (PWM) voltage and current ripples (ESR≈Δu <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> /Δi <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">c</sub> ), but the performance is affected by operating conditions (especially at light-load), quasi-resonance effect and sensor amplitude error. To overcome these difficulties, an online ESR monitoring method is proposed using the damping characteristic of dc capacitor switching ringings. The intrinsic high-frequency (HF) resonance incidents between the power device fast switching and converter parasitic parameters are utilized in this article. First, the mechanism of dc capacitor switching ringing is analyzed by the HF resonance equivalent circuit. The analytic relationship between the damping characteristic and the ESR is established. Then, the condition monitoring (CM) scheme, noncontact HF sensor, and half-power bandwidth algorithm for ESR estimation are presented. Finally, an experimental study is carried out to validate the feasibility and effectiveness. The damping of switching ringing is inherently sensitive to the ESR of dc capacitor under the condition of resonance. Both theoretical analysis and experimental results confirm that the proposed method can achieve mΩ-level accuracy and good robustness under different conditions.

Modeling and Experimental Investigation of Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) for SiC-Based Motor Drive

The motor drive has been widely adopted in modern power applications. With the emergency of the next generation wide bandgap semiconductor device, such as silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET, performance of the motor drive can be improved in terms of efficiency, power density, and reliability. However, the fast switching transient and serious switching ringing of the SiC MOSFET can cause unwanted high-frequency (HF) electromagnetic interference (EMI), which may significantly reduce the reliability of the motor drive in many aspects. In order to comprehensively reveal the mechanism of the EMI previously used in motor drives using SiC MOSFET, this paper plans to analyze the influences of both HF impedance of the motor and switching characteristics of the SiC MOSFET. A simulation model for motor drives has been proposed, which contains the HF circuit model of the motor as well as a semi-behavioral analytical model of the SiC MOSFET. Since the model shows a good agreement with the experimentally measured results on spectra of drain-source voltage of the SiC MOSFET (vds), phase to ground voltage of the motor (vphase), CM voltage (vcm), phase current of the motor (idm), and CM current (icm), it can be adopted to quantitatively investigate the influence of the motor impedance on EMI through frequency-domain analysis. Additionally, the impacts of switching characteristics of SiC MOSFET on EMI are also well studied according to relative experiment results in terms of switching speed, switching frequency, and switching ringing. Based on the analysis above, the relationship between motor impedance, switching characteristics of the SiC MOSFET, and HF EMI can be figured out, which is able to provide much helpful assistance for application of the motor drive.

Study on the Anticondensation Characteristics of Liquid Silicone Rubber Temperature-Control Coatings.

Metal cabinets such as switch cabinets and ring network cabinets have the advantages of small footprints and good protection for equipment and offer neat and orderly protection. They are widely used in power systems. In a hot and humid environment, condensation can easily cause equipment to age and even cause insulation failure. Therefore, research on reliable anticondensation methods is of great significance for the safe operation of power equipment. In this study, phase change capsules with phase transition temperatures of 22 and 32 °C were used as fillers and liquid silicone rubber was used as a matrix to prepare liquid silicone rubber composites filled with phase change capsules for a temperature-control coating. Studies have shown that liquid silicone rubber coatings containing phase change capsules can significantly enhance the anticondensation performance of metal cabinets. By using a temperature-control coating on the surface where the cabinet experiences condensation, the temperature difference between the surface and the dew point is reduced, thereby slowing down the condensation rate and even preventing condensation.

A Site‐Specific Charge Carrier Control in Monolithic Integrated Amorphous Oxide Semiconductors and Circuits with Locally Induced Optical‐Doping Process

AbstractAmorphous oxide semiconductor (AOS) thin film transistors (TFTs) have found cutting‐edge applications in sensor technologies. To reduce manufacturing costs, sensors, analog front end, and digital signal processing circuits need to be integrated on the identical substrate. Unlike traditional silicon‐based devices, optimizations for locally controllable electrical parameters of the AOSs have rarely been investigated. Here, photoactivated combustion reduction is utilized as doping motivation for solution‐processed amorphous indium–gallium–zinc oxide (a‐IGZO) to tune their electrical performance. By controlling parameters of a‐IGZO TFTs, which can be partly doped with covering the desired area of the identical substrate, it is possible to match the particular threshold voltage for various circuits. For circuit optimization, automatic integrated circuit modeling spice is carried out to find the best match of the complementary metal–oxide semiconductor circuits. Finally, the site‐specific performance of switching TFTs, amplifiers, and ring oscillators implemented with low‐temperature solution‐processed a‐IGZO and p‐type single‐walled carbon nanotube TFTs is demonstrated. The optical‐doped a‐IGZO TFTs exhibiting a saturation mobility of &gt;9.15 cm2 V−1 s−1 with a locally tunable threshold voltage of −5 – 1.5 V are realized, enabling monolithic integration of functional devices. The resultant circuits demonstrate excellent amplification of 24 dB and an oscillation frequency of 12 kHz for 7‐stage ring oscillators.

Imbalance Current Analysis and Its Suppression Methodology for Parallel SiC MOSFETs with Aid of a Differential Mode Choke

Parallel connection of silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs is a cost-effective solution for high-capacity power converters. However, transient imbalance current, during turn- on and - off processes, challenges the safety and stability of parallel SiC MOSFETs. In this paper, considering the impact factors of device parameters, circuit parasitics, and junction temperatures, in-depth mathematical models are created to reveal the electrothermal mechanisms of the imbalance current. Moreover, with the incorporation of a differential mode choke (DMC), an effective approach is proposed to suppress the imbalance current among parallel SiC MOSFETs. Physics concepts, operation principles, and design guidelines of the DMC-based suppression method are fully presented. Besides, to reduce the equivalent leakage inductance and equivalent parallel capacitance of the DMC, winding patterns of the DMC are comparatively studied and optimized to suppress turn- off over-voltage and switching ringing. Concerning the influence of winding patterns, load currents, gate resistances, and junction temperatures, experimental results are comprehensively demonstrated to confirm the validity of theoretical models and the function of the proposed DMC-based suppression method. It is turned out the low-cost DMC is easy to design and utilize without complex feedback circuits or control schemes, which is a cost-effective component to guarantee consistent and synchronous on–off trajectories of parallel SiC MOSFETs.

Suppression of Switching Crosstalk and Voltage Oscillations in a SiC MOSFET Based Half-Bridge Converter

The silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET is characterized by high operating voltage, temperature, switching frequency and efficiency which enables a converter to achieve high power density. However, at high switching frequency, the crosstalk phenomenon occurs when the gate voltage spike introduced by high dv/dt and voltage ringing forces false turn-on of SiC MOSFET which causes a crow-bar current thereby increasing switching losses. In order to increase the immunity against the crosstalk phenomenon in a half-bridge configuration, this paper presents a gate driver for SiC MOSFET capable of generating the negative turn-off voltage without using a negative power supply. In addition, the effect of parasitic inductances on the switching response is analyzed and an RC snubber is designed using high-frequency based circuit reduction technique to dampen the switching ringing. The performance of the proposed gate driver and the designed RC snubber is validated using simulation and experiment at the 1 MHz switching frequency. The results show that the proposed gate driver with RC snubber eliminates crosstalk by maintaining any spurious gate spike below the gate threshold voltage.

AWG-based WDM ring networks: High-performance and low-cost system designs

Optical packet switching (OPS) ring networks are regarded as being promising solutions for future optical metropolitan area networks. In this paper, we propose novel arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG)-based wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) ring network systems that are aimed at achieving low-cost, scalable, and high-performance systems. By exploiting the cyclic routing properties and spatial wavelength reuse of a passive 2*2 AWG device, we redesign the ring network into a two-subring network, connected through the AWG device. The network is governed by a novel distributed medium access control (MAC) scheme, and we further derive a highly efficient and fair bandwidth allocation in accordance with a quota. A previously proposed experimental optical packet-switched WDM metro-ring network, called HOPSMAN, has shown to have exceptional performance among the OPS ring network studies. We show simulation and analytic results to demonstrate that our proposed system have achieved enhanced performance of the TT (tunable transmitter)-TR (tunable receiver)-based HOPSMAN by 1.5 times but have used only low-cost TT-FR (fixed-tuned receiver) or FT (fixed-tuned transmitter)-FR optical devices. Thus, the proposed networks achieve exceptional network throughput and also greatly reduce system costs.

A reversible and colorimetric fluorescence probe for highly sensitive detection of toxic BF3 in air

BF3 is an important catalyst in organic synthesis and petrochemicals which widely used in many chemical reactions. However, minor leaks may lead to serious environmental pollution and deadly biological damage. Therefore, how to quickly discover BF3 with high selectivity and sensitivity is of great significance and challenge. Here, we designed a BF3 specific fluorescent probe on the Rhodamine's switch ring process. In the presence of BF3, the fluorescence intensity showed a remarkable increase (200-fold) and the color of probe changed obviously with quick respond (< 1 min). The probe showed high sensitivity for BF3 with a low detection limit (1.4 × 10−9 M). The sensing mechanism was demonstrated by mass spectra and NMR titration. Furthermore, a certain amount of BF3 could be firsthand detected by test papers in air handily and practically. This method may help in maintaining a safe air environment and has potential applications in industrial production.

A Damping Scheme for Switching Ringing of Full SiC MOSFET by Air Core PCB Circuit

In this paper, a resonant damping circuit to suppress the switching ringing of full SiC mosfet is proposed. It reveals that the ringing phenomenon caused by parasitic impedances of switching circuit can be damped out using air core PCB transformer which has a properly designed secondary side circuit. The design method for PCB transformer and the secondary circuit are developed considering the physical dimension applied to the PCB transformer inserted between full SiC mosfet module and snubber capacitor. Experimental results using 1200 V–180 A full SiC mosfet module validate the design method and the performance of the proposed air core PCB circuit. Thanks to the damping circuit, the resonant component due to the switching ringing has been reduced to a half compared to that of system without damping circuit.

Optical switching based small-world data center network

Redesigning data center networks, particularly taking advantages of optical switching technologies to reduce cost-per-bandwidth and energy consumption, has spawned interests of researchers worldwide in recent years. In this paper, we introduce and analysis our recently proposed optical switching technology powered data center network architecture, which is inspired from the small world data center network topology yet has additional flexibility brought by optical lightpath's reconfigurability. Specifically, logically full-meshed optical burst switching rings are employed to compose a lattice substrate, which provide dense connectivity for small groups of ToR switches to accommodate highly clustered and dynamic regional data traffic, while a reconfigurable wavelength circuit switching plane offers direct connections among the racks to effectively reduce overall network diameter. A centralized control plane is employed to realize traffic-adaptive optical lightpath scheduling mechanisms. We thoroughly study the throughput and latency performance of the proposed architecture through numerical simulations, and particularly reveal the impact of traffic patterns. It turns out that, the proposed network architecture can achieve high throughput with significantly reduced cost, and exploiting its traffic-adaptive reconfiguration capability can effectively improve throughput and reduce latency under varying traffic distributions.

Optimal and dynamic virtual datacenter provisioning over metro-embedded datacenters with holistic SDN orchestration

Conventional mega datacenter (DC) lacks flexibility and has poor service connectivity for users faraway. Therefore, the metro-embeded DC architecture has been introduced to deliver more reliable and flexible services with less access latency. For fine-grained all-optical switching ability and high bandwidth connection, optical burst switching (OBS) ring is deployed inside the micro-DCs (mDC) and OBS over wavelength switched optical network paradigm is used for inter-mDC communication. Meanwhile, hierarchical SDN control is employed to virtualize and holistically coordinate the distributed mDCs and the metro network slices into reconfigurable virtual DC (VDC). Optimal VDC provisioning based on an integer linear programming (ILP) formulation is also developed in the SDN control plane to provide services with minimum latency and traffic load. A dynamic VDC provisioning algorithm based on partial ILP is further proposed to reconfigure the VDC with reduced complexity considering the user and resource dynamics. Experimental demonstrations conducted on the implemented metro-embedded DC prototype testbed show that optimal and fast VDC provisioning is realized based on the proposed ILP, while dynamic VDC reconfiguration makes sure that VDC is adjusted accordingly with the change of user location and resource requirement.