Search

A capacitance multiplier is an active circuit designed specifically to increase the capacitance of a passive capacitor to a significantly higher capacitance level. In this paper, the use of a voltage differencing differential difference amplifier (VDDDA), an electronically controllable active device for designing grounded and floating capacitance multipliers, is proposed. The capacitance multipliers proposed in this study are extremely simple and consist of a VDDDA, a resistor, and a capacitor. The multiplication factor ( K c ) can be electronically controlled by adjusting the external bias current ( I B ). It offers an easy way of controlling it by utilizing a microcontroller for modern analog signal processing systems. The multiplication factor has the potential to be adjusted to a value that is either less than or greater than one, hence widening the variety of uses. The grounded capacitance multiplier can be easily transformed into a floating one by utilizing Zc-VDDDA. PSpice simulation and experimentation with a VDDDA realized from commercially available integrated circuits were used to test the performance of the proposed capacitance multipliers. The multiplication factor is electronically adjustable, ranging in approximation from 0.56 to 13.94. The operating frequency range is approximately three frequency decades. The realization of the lagging and leading phase shifters using the proposed capacitance multiplier is also examined and proven. The results reveal that the lagging and leading phase shifts are electronically tuned via the multiplication factor of the proposed capacitance multipliers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Materials offering high energy density are currently desired to meet the increasing demand for energy storage applications, such as pulsed power devices, electric vehicles, high-frequency inverters, and so on. Particularly, ceramic-based dielectric materials have received significant attention for energy storage capacitor applications due to their outstanding properties of high power density, fast charge–discharge capabilities, and excellent temperature stability relative to batteries, electrochemical capacitors, and dielectric polymers. In this paper, we present fundamental concepts for energy storage in dielectrics, key parameters, and influence factors to enhance the energy storage performance, and we also summarize the recent progress of dielectrics, such as bulk ceramics (linear dielectrics, ferroelectrics, relaxor ferroelectrics, and anti-ferroelectrics), ceramic films, and multilayer ceramic capacitors. In addition, various strategies, such as chemical modification, grain refinement/microstructure, defect engineering, phase, local structure, domain evolution, layer thickness, stability, and electrical homogeneity, are focused on the structure–property relationship on the multiscale, which has been thoroughly addressed. Moreover, this review addresses the challenges and opportunities for future dielectric materials in energy storage capacitor applications. Overall, this review provides readers with a deeper understanding of the chemical composition, physical properties, and energy storage performance in this field of energy storage ceramic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health management of railway signal equipment in the high-speed railway is a key link between intelligent operation and maintenance. Accurately predicting the health state of compensation capacitors is of great significance to ensure the reliable work of track circuits. This paper proposes an improved deep neural network algorithm focusing on the problem of long-term accurate health forecasts for compensation capacitors. First, establishing a transmission state model for degradation mechanism mining, the difference function that can quantitatively evaluate features is defined by piecewise processing cab signaling receiving voltage. Introducing the degradation model, predictive driving under both model and data is implemented. Then, the convolutional neural networks and bidirectional long–short-term memory are combined and improved to construct a novel artificial intelligence combination strategy, while parameters are optimized based on the sparrow search algorithm. Finally, facing the conditional repair of compensation capacitors, we set a reasonable threshold for the occurrence of hidden dangers to complete fault warning. This novel and practical approach effectively explores the procedure of prognosis and health management, while the refined maintenance will better utilize current monitoring information, helping the intelligence and accuracy of safety control decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents layer‐by‐layer additive manufacturing (AM) of molten metal microdroplets and dielectric materials to fabricate multilayer hybrid circuit boards featuring interdigitated 3D capacitors. The printed metal lines have a low resistance of 5 mΩ/mm, 12 times lower than state‐of‐the‐art conductive inks. Exploiting the advantages of Sn‐based oxide as an ideal candidate for Electrical Energy Storage Systems (ESS), we successfully fabricated an out‐of‐plane capacitor module using a combination of polymer and metal materials. The fabrication process exhibited an exceptional aspect ratio of 16, illustrating the successful incorporation of 20 metal layers in the out‐of‐plane capacitor module. Q factor obtained for the 3D capacitor was in the range of 66–500. Additionally, a fully automated printing technique was employed to produce a multilayer hybrid electrical printed circuit board (PCB), eliminating the need for post‐processing. This streamlined approach presents an efficient and comprehensive solution for the one‐stop printing of intricate electrical circuits. © 2024 The Authors. IEEJ Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Engineering published by Institute of Electrical Engineer of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper proposes a new extendable multicell topology based on the conventional quasi‐Z‐source converter (QZSC). The proposed topology has a multicell scheme and employs an active switched capacitor/inductor (ASC/SL) network. Therefore, it is entitled extended multicell ASC/SL QZSC (EMc‐ASC/SL‐QZSC). The proposed topology is augmented by cascading a modular cell consisting of two capacitors, an inductor, and a diode. The EMc‐ASC/SL‐QZSC offers significant advantages over existing QZSC‐based configurations. It has a high boosting capability that results in a wider output voltage range while simultaneously reducing voltage stress on capacitors and switching devices, all without losing voltage gain. Furthermore, this topology effectively reduces input current ripple, which contributes to a smoother charging current profile for capacitors, reducing electromagnetic interference (EMI) and improving overall efficiency. The practicality and performance of the EMc‐ASC/SL‐QZSC topology are comprehensively assessed through extensive numerical simulations and experimental verification, utilizing a laboratory‐built prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a unique sensor for detecting total ionizing dose (TID) on metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) devices. The proposed capacitive radiation sensor is based on commercial 180 nm complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The sensor parameters of 180 nm length (L) and 20 nm oxide thickness (TOX) have been finalized based on simulation and mathematical analysis. Low and high radiation doses ranging from 100 rad to 1 Mrad are used to characterize it. The sensor's sensitivity for 0–10 krad is 20 mV/krad, 10 krad–100 krad is 3.9 mV/krad, and 100 krad–1 Mrad is 0.6 mV/krad when threshold shift is considered into account. Analysis of fixed oxide charge and interface trap charge generation due to ionizing radiation is done. Because interface traps are crucial to device performance, this device is evaluates using traps between 1 E06 cm−3 and 1 E14 cm−3 for realistic performance. Every interface trap exhibits a threshold voltage (VT) shift. Visual technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulator was used to build, study, and evaluate a capacitive radiation sensor that might be used as a dosimeter for TID monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Lithium ion capacitors (LICs) are a new generation of energy storage devices that combine the super energy storage capability of lithium ion batteries with the satisfactory power density of supercapacitors. The development of high-performance LICs still faces great challenges due to the unbalanced reaction kinetics at the anode and cathode. Therefore, it is an inevitable need to enhance the electron/ion transfer capability of the anode materials. In this paper, to obtain a superior-rate and high-capacity Ni 3 S 2 -based anode, highly conductive Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene sheets were introduced to sever as the carrier of Ni 3 S 2 nanoparticles and simultaneously an amorphous carbon layer which coats onto the surface of Ni 3 S 2 nanoparticles was in-situ generated by the carbonization of dopamine reactant. The as-synthesized Ni 3 S 2 /Ti 3 C 2 T x /C composite exhibits a high specific surface area (112.6 m2/g) because of the addition of Ti 3 C 2 T x that can reduce the aggregation of Ni 3 S 2 nanoparticles and the in-situ generated amorphous carbon layer that can suppress the growth of Ni 3 S 2 nanoparticles. The Ni 3 S 2 /Ti 3 C 2 T x /C anode possesses a remarkable reversible discharge specific capacity (626.0 mAh/g under 0.2 A/g current density), which increases to 1150.8 mAh/g after 400-cycle charge/discharge measurement at the same measurement condition indicating eminent cyclability, along with superior rate capability. To construct a superior-performance LIC device, a sterculiae lychnophorae derived porous carbon (SLPC) cathode with an average discharge specific capacity of 73.4 mAh/g@0.1A/g was prepared. The Ni 3 S 2 /Ti 3 C 2 T x /C//SLPC LIC device with optimal cathode/anode mass ratio has a satisfactory energy density ranging from 32.8 to 119.1 Wh kg−1 at the corresponding power density of 8799.4 to 157.5 W kg−1, together with a prominent capacity retention (95.5 %@1 A/g after 10,000 cycles). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the realm of medium/high voltage applications, the modular multilevel converter with an active power filter (APF-MMC) emerges as a technology that eliminated the inherent voltage fluctuations of larger sub-module (SM) capacitors. However, the introduced APF circuit in each phase can only deal with power in even frequencies, and the APF-MMC cannot be directly applied in the field of motor drives with low-frequency operation. In this paper, based on the APF-MMC topology, by adding two high-frequency variables as control degrees of freedom, the base frequency power is transferred to high-frequency power, which can considerably minimize the capacitor voltage ripple in the low-frequency region of the topology. In addition, the influence of the injected high-frequency variables on the output characteristics of the topology is eliminated by controlling the APF circuit as hardware degree of freedom. Its equivalent circuit and operating principle are introduced in detail. Concurrently, a control method is proposed for the APF circuit, ensuring seamless operation of the converter. Finally, through a combination of simulation and experimental results, it is demonstrated that the APF-MMC topology surpasses the conventional MMC in its efficacy under low-frequency operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, many inverters employ inductors to boost the AC voltage. However, this leads to increased current distortion and limits the voltage boosting capability of the inverter. To address the above issue, a triple two-level inverter is proposed in this paper. The proposed inverter adopts a switched-capacitor boost circuit to boost the AC output voltage and to generate a multi-level voltage. Simultaneously, a three-phase full-bridge circuit is assigned to convert the DC voltage into AC voltage. In addition, a novel space vector modulation strategy is introduced to achieve capacitor voltage self-balance. Finally, simulation and experimental platforms have been established to verify the effectiveness of proposed inverter. The obtained results show that the proposed inverter meets the requirements for the expected inverter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapidly growing demand for clean energy and energy interconnection, there is an urgent need for rapid and high-capacity energy storage technologies to realize large-scale energy storage, transfer energy, and establish the energy internet. Supercapacitors, which have advantages such as high specific capacitance, fast charging and discharging rates, and long cycle lifetimes, are being widely used in electric vehicles, information technology, aerospace, and other fields. The performance of supercapacitors is crucially dependent on electrode materials. These can be categorized into electric double-layer capacitors and pseudocapacitors, primarily made from carbon and transition metal oxides, respectively. However, effectively monitoring the physicochemical properties of electrode materials during preparation and processing is challenging, which limits the improvement of supercapacitors' performance. Plasma materials preparation technology can effectively affect the materials preparation processing by energetic electrons, ions, free radicals, and multiple effects in plasma, which are easily manipulated by operation parameters. Therefore, plasma material preparation technology is considered a promising method to precisely monitor the physicochemical and electrochemical properties of energy storage materials and has been widely studied. This paper provides an overview of plasma materials preparation mechanisms, and details of the plasma technology application in the preparation of transition metal hybrids, carbon, and composite electrode materials, as well as a comparison with traditional methods. In conclusion, the advantages, challenges, and research directions of plasma materials preparation technology in the field of electrode materials preparation are summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel switched capacitor converter has been proposed to generate 7-levels using seven semiconductor switches (7S7L) to get triple gain in the output voltage which is supplied by a single dc source. A PWM technique, phase disposition pulse width modulation (PD-PWM) has been designed to achieve a suitable switching operation for the 7S7L inverter. In addition, the capacitor voltage is balanced and the suggested inverter uses a charging inductor to decrease the capacitor inrush current, which is a shortcoming in the switched-capacitor multilevel inverters. Moreover, the 7S7L inverter is used to interface the solar panels with the utility grid using a synchronous reference frame-based controller. To check the efficiency, taking actual data, power loss calculation has been discussed for the 7S7L inverter. To illustrate the better performance of the proposed 7S7L inverter than the existing seven-level SC-MLI presented in the literature, a comparative study is also undertaken. To verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed topology, a converter is simulated using Matlab/Simulink. To validate the simulation results, a real-time study is completed using the OPAL-RT 4510 real-time platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallized film capacitors (MFCs) are widely used in the power electronics industry due to their unique self-healing (SH) capability. SH performance is an essential assessment for MFC reliability verification in industrial production. The SH phenomenon of metallized films usually occurs rapidly in a very short period, and its real-time evolution details are often difficult to capture and analyze. In this paper, a test system for the SH performance of metallized films for capacitors was constructed. The system consists of three components: a voltage–current characteristic testing and current pulse capture device, a microscopic image real-time acquisition device, and an integrated analysis processing device. Through the voltage–current characteristic testing and current pulse capture device, the electrical parameters of the SH point, such as SH times, breakdown field strength, SH current, and SH energy, are obtained; through a microscopic image real-time acquisition device, the real-time spatial positioning of the SH point was obtained, and the interconnection between the morphology of the SH point and the electrical properties was established. The relationship between the SH point and the temperature distribution was further established using thermal imaging technology, which lays the foundation for a thorough and timely assessment and analysis of the failure mechanism and the real-time evolution of the metallized film SH process. This significantly improves the effectiveness of SH property research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to different output voltages, capacitor voltage imbalance occurs between half-bridge sub-modules (HBSM) and full-bridge sub-modules (FBSM) in hybrid modular multilevel converters (MMCs) under a boosted modulation index (m). To address this issue, a capacitor voltage balancing method based on second-harmonic voltage injection is proposed in this paper. The mechanism of the proposed method is to eliminate the DC component in the charging power of sub-modules under the restriction that the HBSM cannot output negative voltage. The proposed method is divided into two cases according to m. Case 1 is used when m ≤ 1.4, while Case 2 is implemented when m > 1.4. When compared with similar capacitor voltage balancing methods, the proposed SVI method has a simpler structure that can greatly reduce the number of computations. Simulation and experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed capacitor voltage balancing method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) is a research hotspot in medium-voltage and high-voltage applications. The measurement offset error would cause an increase in the monitoring error of the submodule (SM) capacitance of the MMC, affecting the estimation accuracy of the SM capacitance monitoring. This paper proposes a capacitor monitoring strategy based on the offset error compensation, where two reasonable capacitor monitoring periods are selected in one fundamental period under the proposed voltage-balancing control (VBC) based on the virtual capacitor voltage (VCV) to compensate for the offset error impact on the capacitance monitoring. The proposed strategy can effectively eliminate the offset error impact on the capacitance monitoring, which ensures the accuracy of the SM capacitance monitoring in the MMCs. The effectiveness of the proposed monitoring strategy is confirmed by the simulations and experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a low-distortion and low-power multi-stage noise-shaping (MASH) architecture Sigma-Delta (Σ Δ) modulator with double-sampling. The modulator uses a cascade of integrator feed-forward (CIFF) structure as a cascaded modulator in a MASH architecture. Since the CIFF structure provides a feedforward path from the input signal to the quantizer, the input signal is directly transmitted to the output without loop processing, relaxing the linearity requirement of the modulator, reducing performance requirements for the OTA and harmonic distortion. Double-sampling technique is adopted in the first integrator to double the sampling rate, improving the accuracy of the modulator without the increase of power consumption. In order to eliminate the influence of capacitor mismatch in the sampling network, a fully floating differential switched capacitor (SC) feedback digital-to-analog (DAC) is used in the integrator. The simulation results show that the Σ Δ modulator achieves 113 dB signal-to-noise and distortion ratio (SNDR) and the power consumption is 3.15 mW from a 5 V power supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the unique properties of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), most researchers' interest in RTIL-based electrolytes in electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) stems from molecular simulations, which are different from experimental scientific research fields. The knowledge of RTIL-based electrolytes in EDLCs began with a supposition obtained from the results of molecular simulations of molten salts. Furthermore, experiments and simulations were promoted and developed rapidly on this topic. In some instances, the achievements of molecular simulations are ahead of even those obtained from experiments in quantity and quality. Molecular simulations offer more information on the impacts of overscreening, quasicrowding, crowding, and underscreening for RTIL-based electrolytes than experimental studies, which can be helpful in understanding the mechanisms of EDLCs. With the advancement of experimental technology, these effects have been verified by experiments. The simulation prediction of the capacitance curve was in good agreement with the experiment for pure RTILs. For complex systems, such as RTIL–solvent mixtures and RTIL mixture systems, both molecular simulations and experiments have reported that the change in capacitance curves is not monotonous with RTIL concentrations. In addition, there are some phenomena that are difficult to explain in experiments and can be well explained through molecular simulations. Finally, experiments and molecular simulations have maintained synchronous developments in recent years, and this paper discusses their relationship and reflects on their application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metalized film capacitors (MFC) in converter valves are subjected to high-frequency currents under the action of power electronic switching, which will cause large differences in currents among capacitor elements inside MFC and seriously affect the stability of MFC. In this paper, experiments were conducted to measure the current waveforms among 90 elements under impulse, short-circuit discharge and sine waves at different frequencies. The equivalent circuit topology was simplified by using decoupling and controlled source equivalence, and parameters were extracted by electromagnetic calculations combined with experiments. Finally, an equivalent circuit model was established and the current distribution among elements was calculated. Influenced by the reactance of the parasitic inductor and the capacitor element, the frequency range can be divided into 3 regions based on the current distribution characteristics: in the high frequency range (>100 kHz), the current is mainly concentrated on several capacitor elements near the connection terminals. In the middle frequency range (about 10 kHz–100 kHz), the current oscillates between elements and the inductor, resulting in a wavy distribution of current amplitude, strongly influenced by frequency. In the low frequency range (<10 kHz), the current distribution varies very little among 90 elements. These results can support the study of performance evolution, fault analysis and design optimization in MFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In power engineering, the importance of maintaining a high power factor in low-voltage electrical installations is known. In power substations for industry, the usual method of coupling is to use an automatic power factor controller which connects capacitors banks (with electromagnetic contactors). Sometimes, AC reactors are connected to the phases of the capacitors banks (to reduce transient phenomena and the deforming regime), depending on the desired value of the power factor. This paper presents an analysis (more focused on experimentation) of a low-cost system for automatic regulation of the power factor with a reduction in transients and an increase in the life of contactors (eliminating the electric arc during switching on), with capacitors banks for low-voltage three-phase installations that connect the capacitors banks by means of one three-phase solid-state relay (an expensive device for a quality device; one is used for all capacitors banks) and using several electromagnetic contactors. The automatic power factor adjustment system has a controller with a microprocessor with six outputs, controlled by the phase shift between the current (measured with a current transformer proportional to the current in a bar) and the phase voltage, which is part of a system of distribution bars (L1,2,3, N) from which electrical consumers (e.g., induction motors) are supplied. To reduce transients when connecting capacitors banks, a three-phase solid-state relay and two related electromagnetic contactors are used for each capacitors bank. The automatic power factor controller is connected to two low-capacity PLCs that control the logic of connecting the capacitors banks to reduce transients. By using the proposed regulation system, a cheaper control solution is obtained compared to the use of one solid-state relay for each capacitors banks, under the conditions in which the power factor adjustment is made as in the classic solution. If twelve capacitors banks are used, the proposed installation is 22.57% cheaper than the classical power factor regulation installation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper presents a novel CMOS tunable positive and negative active inductor simulator (AIS), positive capacitance and resistance multiplier, and negative capacitance and resistance simulator. The proposed designs use only one analog building block (ABB), one grounded capacitor, and two resistors. Applications to the proposed designs in different types of tunable filters and parasitic compensation schemes are also presented. The functionality of the designs is confirmed using Tanner Tspice in 0.18 μm TSMC CMOS technology. Simulation results indicate that the proposed designs are superior to previous arts in number of ABB, number of functions, and power consumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new generalised boost integrated multilevel inverter (MLI) with reduced components. The proposed MLI is developed by using a modified boost integrated switched capacitor unit, which provides four-level output from each cell. The operation of the proposed MLI for symmetrical 17-level operation with sinusoidal pulse width modulation & nearest level control and asymmetrical 31-level operation with NLC is explained and validated experimentally. The experimental results of static and dynamic load conditions are analysed and discussed in detail. In addition, the proposed topology is compared with recent boost MLI topologies in terms of component count, device stress, efficiency, capacitor size and cost. From the comparative study, it is evident that the proposed MLI provides features such as reduced component count, capacitors size, overall cost and improved voltage gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, multilevel inverters are widely utilized in various applications. Reducing the number of components in the design of these converters is one of the crucial goals so that they have less volume and cost. This paper presents a single‐source structure for a multilevel switched‐capacitor inverter with voltage boost capability. The proposed structure can generate 25 sinusoidal‐like step voltage levels with a six times amplitude increase compared to the input. This converter uses only one direct current (DC) power source, 14 switches, and four capacitors. The nearest level control switching method has been used to control the converter, create voltage levels, and select the switching modes. A comprehensive comparison has been made with other recently presented structures to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed structure. The advantages of the proposed structure include using only one DC voltage source, the ability to increase the output voltage six times compared to the input, the use of fewer power electronics components compared to the number of voltage levels, proper efficiency, self‐balancing of capacitors, and as a result, the lower cost. The performance accuracy of the proposed converter has been simulated in the MATLAB Simulink environment and then evaluated by a laboratory prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With their high-energy density, high-power density, long life, and low self-discharge, lithium-ion capacitors are a novel form of electrochemical energy storage devices which are extensively utilized in electric vehicles, energy storage systems, and portable electronic gadgets. Li-ion capacitor aging mechanisms and life prediction techniques, however, continue to be active research areas. This paper examines the aging process for Li-ion batteries, covering the alterations in cell composition, the effect of the electrode charge state, temperature effects, and electrolyte deterioration. Additionally, this research offers approaches for predicting the lifespan of lithium-ion batteries, including those based on physical models, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. In this work, cycle life testing techniques are also discussed, including accelerated aging experiments for lithium-ion capacitors. The paper concludes by discussing future directions for the creation of aging mechanisms and lithium-ion capacitor life prediction techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bandpass filters are integral in modern communication systems for selecting specific frequency ranges to ensure interferencefree signal transmission and reception. This paper explores various bandpass filter designs, including those using active inductors, transmission-line unit-cells, microstrip open-loop resonators, and dual-port dual-frequency integration antennas. The focus is on the 10.7-MHz bandpass filter, widely used in FM radio and television systems. The study evaluates current-controlled and balanced designs, analyzing their performance, advantages, and drawbacks. Unique trade-offs in terms of linearity, distortion, temperature sensitivity, and component variations are discussed. Additionally, advancements in filter technology and diverse design options are presented. The paper introduces a novel current-balanced, frequency-adjusted bandpass filter to address odd-order noise issues. This filter aims to achieve high linearity, harmonic distortion attenuation, and the elimination of even-order harmonics. Through synthesis, analysis, simulation, and comparison with traditional filters, the proposed design enhances signal quality and efficiency. The fullybalanced current-tunable bandpass filter with the Caprio technique at 10.7 MHz is developed, exhibiting symmetrical characteristics with lower total harmonic distortion. The circuit’s structure is simple and adaptable for integration, validated through consistent simulation results. The study concludes by emphasizing the constant sensitivity of transistor differential amplifier circuits to the center frequency and the linear relationship between center frequency and adjustable bias current. The suggested transistor and capacitor selection criteria contribute to optimizing the circuit’s performance, aligning with the Caprio technique’s recommendations. Overall, this research presents a promising solution for achieving high-quality signal transmission in contemporary communication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses in detail the inability of a circuit designer to design a single input single element-controlled universal memelement emulator. A Single input Single element-controlled universal memelement emulator would be such a configuration that can provide the realization of any of the three memelements (Memristor/Memcapacitor/Meminductor) by taking a circuit element as inductor (L), Capacitor (C) or Resistor (R) with the same input port. The analysis shows that no such circuit configuration can be built to realize such a highly flexible universal memelement emulator. It is found that by using such structures, only two ideal memelements can be realized at maximum. If these circuit structures are used to realize the remaining third memelement, then, the resulting element comes out to be a non-ideal memelement. Two circuit configurations to demonstrate this theory are also included for both charge-controlled and flux-controlled memelement emulation based on the approaches shown in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the stability analysis and enhancement in the AC‐microgrid system comprising parallel‐operated voltage‐source inverters (VSIs) supplying an active‐load. The active‐load behaves such as a constant power load from the AC‐side. In the paper, two models for the active‐load modeling in the AC microgrid are considered: (i) simple model in which the active‐load is modeled as an ideal current source, (ii) detailed model in which all dynamics of the active‐load converter and related controllers are taken into account. The main findings and contribution of this paper are as follows. (a) All linearized state equations of the study system are extracted and transferred into a unified common dq‐reference frame, and then, small‐signal stability of the study system is carried out in the common reference frame by using the simple and detailed models of the active‐load. (b) It is shown that the simple model of the active‐load, as a current source, leads to more pessimistic results in comparison to the active‐load detailed model. (c) Impacts of the active‐load power and bandwidth of the active‐load voltage control loop on the system stability are examined. (d) Control of the generation‐side VSIs is modified and a stabilizing approach, called generation‐side virtual capacitor, is proposed for stabilizing the system under high active‐load penetration. Next, modal analysis and time‐domain simulations are used to investigate the study system responses with and without the proposed stabilizing approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a graph theory-based allocation methodology of capacitor bank is proposed for unbalanced distribution system. A single-stage optimization procedure using electrical centrality measure concept to identify the best suitable locations for the multi-point connection of capacitor is described with its significance. The electrical centrality measure approach gives ranking of all the buses, single capacitor or multiple capacitors can be placed in unbalanced distribution system (UDS) using these indices to fulfill the reactive power demand and maintain voltage profile of the system. To evaluate the performance of the UDS due to capacitor bank connection two parameters are considered – improvement of overall voltage profile and reduction of active power loss. The contribution of the paper is – first, electrical centrality measure is used for identifying the capacitor bank location in the unbalanced distribution system and second it optimizes the size of the capacitor using two different objectives to improve the system voltage profile and reduce the active power loss. The proposed methodology is tested on a modified 123 bus unbalanced distribution system. The active power loss reduction up to 16.50% and total voltage deviation reduction up to 71.53% were achieved using the proposed method. The obtained results corresponding to the two objectives are also compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper presents a symmetrical current-tunable active-RC all-pass filter that uses an active BJT coupled with R and C. The circuit's symmetrical structure ensures that the differential signals are treated equally, resulting in improved performance. Furthermore, the filter's ability to adjust the frequency by bias current makes it suitable for a wide range of applications, such as improving phase properties and creating other types of filters. The simulation results obtained through the Pspice program show that the value of the operating frequency can be adjusted by bias current, which is the highlight of this research. The transfer function of the circuit shows a response of about 0 dB and -90° respectively, indicating that the circuit can change the phase of the input signal without changing its magnitude. This feature is particularly useful in signal processing applications where phase changes are required. In addition, the paper discusses how the operating frequency can be increased by decreasing the capacitor. The transfer function of the circuit analyzed shows that the operating frequency (f0) is inversely proportional to the product of the capacitors. Therefore, decreasing the value of C increases the operating frequency of the circuit. Monte Carlo analysis results are also presented for resistors, capacitors, and transistors with error values. This analysis helps determine the effect of errors on the output signal of the circuit. The results show that the output signal is sensitive to changes in the resistor values, which can affect the accuracy of the filter. Therefore, it is important to select high-quality resistors to ensure that the filter operates accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power capacitors are highly reliable due to their completely enclosed configuration. They are relatively trouble-free over the long term. However, their dielectric strength can be reduced due to some stresses, including overvoltage application or thermal degradation of the insulation material during long periods of operation; these events can result in dielectric breakdown of capacitors in extreme cases. Since almost all power capacitors with oil-impregnated paper have been operated for more than twenty years, some kind of failure should be expected. To prevent these incipient accidents, it is important to examine the insulation deterioration mechanism and evaluate the degree of deterioration before capacitor breakdown. To establish a diagnostic method of deterioration of the capacitors with oil-impregnated paper, we have conducted thermally and electrically accelerated deterioration tests and investigated the changes of their characteristics. Based on the experimental results we obtained, it can be concluded that the behavior of the oil-dissolved gases can be used as a useful index to diagnose the insulator deterioration of these capacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this work, a flexible and freestanding carbon nanofiber/graphene nanosheet (CNF/GNS) composite paper is prepared via electrospinning followed by high-temperature annealing using a polyacrylonitrile/GNS/dimethylformamide mixture as electrospun precursor. The structure characterizations show that GNS homogeneously distributes in the CNF, forming a thin, light-weight and flexible composite paper. Due to the reinforcing effects coming from CNF and GNS, the Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) specific surface area, conductivity and capacitance performance of pure CNF are significantly improved after adding GNS. The GNS/CNF composite paper exhibits the largest specific capacitance of 197Fg−1, about 24% higher than that of pure CNF paper. Therefore, based on the above investigations, such GNS/CNF composite paper can be a potential candidate for high-performance flexible capacitors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A nanostructured Ni(OH)2 electrode was prepared and evaluated in supercapacitor application. Mesoporous Ni(OH)2 tubes were integrated onto carbon fiber paper without the use of a binder. The large surface area and porous structure of Ni(OH)2 combined with the effective diffusion of electrolytes through carbon network resulted in an excellent charge storage capacity and good long-term cyclability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A first-principles theoretical approach to the effective dielectric permittivity of a nanocomposite, which contains nanoinclusions dispersed in a host dielectric enclosed between two parallel metallic electrodes, is developed. The inclusions are modeled by spheroids, and their response to the external electric field is found using the point dipole approximation and Green's function approach. As a result, besides the mutual interactions between the induced dipoles, the local field in the nanocomposite contains also a contribution from the dipole field reflected from the capacitor electrodes. It is shown that the nanocomposite dielectric permittivity is determined by an average inclusion polarizability density, and its dependence on the aspect ratio and orientations of inclusions is found analytically and investigated. The theoretical predictions derived in the paper are in excellent agreement with the available experimental data and can be used for a proper design of nanocomposite capacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the efficiency of ruthenium dioxide, RuO2, as an electrochemical capacitor electrode, a RuO2 thin film is deposited on carbon paper and its structure and properties are evaluated. This new composite material is prepared via solution dip-coating of a Ru-ethoxide precursor and heat conversion. The coating thickness is easily controlled by varying the number of repetitions of the preparation process. The resulting structure consists of a by homogeneously coated RuO2 film on carbon paper which has a porous graphite matrix. Extensive electrochemical studies have been performed in 1 M H2SO4 electrolyte in order to evaluate the properties of the composite as an electrode in an electrochemical capacitor. The composite material shows not only high specific capacitance (620 F g−1) but also good power characteristics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper describes a new vacuum thermal recycling (VTR) method for treating discarded polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)-contaminated capacitors and pressure-sensitive paper. Based on results demonstrating an exceptionally high PCB separation efficiency and recovery ratio from capacitors containing high-concentration PCBs, i.e. > 99.9%, respectively, the presented VTR method is verified to effectively remove PCBs. In addition, associated safety aspects of the employed procedure were confirmed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The work reported in this paper aims at developing an algorithm for system operators to solve a robust security-constrained AC optimal power flow (R-SC-ACOPF) problem, which also optimizes the settings of discrete controllers including load tap changers (LTCs) and shunt capacitor banks (SCBs). An iterative algorithm involving a master problem and a number of sub-problems is proposed. The master problem selects the optimal discrete controllers’ settings by taking into account primal SC-ACOPF constraints based on the single-component worst contingencies identified by the sub-problems. Each sub-problem is a bi-level max-min problem used to find the current worst contingency. The overall objective is to minimize the total cost, including generation and load shedding cost, while satisfying all relevant constraints. The master problem and sub-problems allow representing LTC tap positions, SCB status, and contingencies using binary variables. Two case studies are presented as applications of this novel technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The letter presents the design, fabrication, and measurement of a configurable radio frequency identification (RFID) tag based on time-domain reflections. The tag circuit contains a microstrip line (ML) that propagates radio frequency (RF) signals, and a group of capacitors that introduce impedance discontinuities to encode binary codes. The configurability of the tag circuit is allowed by connecting the nearby-placed capacitors with the ML. Ink-jet printing technology is employed to implement the layout of the proposed tag on paper substrate. To overcome the limitations of printed metallic tracks, a linearly tapering technique is proposed. With this technique, a four-bit configurable passive chipless RFID tag is realized. Both time-domain reflectometry (TDR) measurements and ultrawideband (UWB) characterizations were conducted for the proposed tag, and the results are in good consistence with the simulation ones from the circuit simulator advanced design system (ADS). Owing to its low cost fabrication and environmentally friendly nature, the proposed tag has great potential to be widely employed in low-end RFID applications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 53:2781-2786, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26412 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper (Cu) based pastes have emerged as the termination materials of choice for ceramic capacitors with base metal internal electrodes. To prevent oxidation of nickel (Ni) internal electrode and the copper terminations, it is necessary to fire the terminations in a nitrogen atmosphere. This requirement places significant restrictions on raw material selection for the termination pastes. For example, acrylic-based resins are used as organic binder for their clean burning characteristics over the traditional ethyl cellulose based binder system. As the viscoelastic behavior of acrylic resin systems are different to those of cellulose systems, differences are observed in the flow behavior of the paste. In this paper, the influence of paste rheology on the green cosmetic defects such as mooning, peaking, etc. is discussed. Additionally, the influence of process condition such as dipping parameters, drying conditions etc., on the green cosmetic defects are discussed. Finally, properties of a copper termination, which can be processed between 800-825 °C, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that examined the aging process of mineral oil-impregnated-high density kraft paper capacitor bushing models subjected to voltage switching surges. Effects of the removal of electrical impulse stress over a finite time period; Thickness of the insulating system of the model capacitor bushing; Implication of the partial discharged inception stress characteristics for the doubled insulation specimen.

Summary: This paper introduces a common ground (CG) nine‐level switched‐capacitor (SC)‐based multilevel inverter (MLI) with dual boosting feature. The proposed circuit possess 11 switches, 2 diodes, and 3 capacitors. A simple level‐shifted modulation method has been used to generate the switching signals. The key feature of the proposed circuit is the presence of common ground between the input and output. The CG configuration eliminates the leakage current problem encountered in photovoltaic (PV) applications, which means the proposed circuit is suitable for use in PV applications. Moreover, the circuit also possesses reduced overall components and voltage stress on switches. At the same time, the dual boosting feature is another salient feature of the proposed MLI. This means the input voltage is stepped up two times and we get boosted/increased voltage at the output. The various simulation and experimental conditions have been tried to test the circuit under different load situations. Moreover, the loss analysis using PLECS software tool has been done to get information about the circuit losses. The results are shown and explained in the concerned sections of the paper. A quantitative comparison, based on different parameters, has been provided with other nine‐level MLIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper presents an energy‐efficient fully differential switching scheme for successive approximation register (SAR) analog‐to‐digital converters (ADCs). During the sampling phase, the top and bottom plates of all capacitors except most significant bit (MSB) capacitors are grounded in digital‐to‐analog converter (DAC) arrays. The input signals are bottom plate sampled on MSB capacitors. This technique can reduce the settling time by more than 87.5% in comparison with the conventional switching scheme. Furthermore, a novel reset‐free regenerative comparator is unveiled in this paper. The proposed comparator is armed to amplify its inputs both during the reset and evaluation phases. In comparison with a conventional single‐ended comparator, the proposed comparator can reduce power consumption above 90% for the almost same input‐referred offset voltage. The proposed scheme is designed with a resolution of 8‐bit and a sampling rate of 90 MS/s in a standard 65‐nm CMOS technology. The simulation results certify that the ADC dissipates 363‐μW power with a 1.2‐V supply voltage and achieves a 7.13 effective number of bits (ENOBs), yielding a 28.8 fJ/conversion step Nyquist rate Walden FOM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the concept of one switched-inductor Z-source inverter is extended to improved switched-capacitor inductor ZSI. In the proposed inverter, capacitors are used instead of the side diodes of the one switched inductor Z-source inverter. The proposed inverter improved voltage gain and boost factor compared to the switched-inductor Z-source inverter and the switched-inductor quasi Z-source inverter. The improved switched-inductor-capacitor Z-source inverter reduces the stress to capacitor voltage. The proposed inverter in this paper can be extended up to the n cascade, thus achieving a higher boost factor of a low duty cycle. The performance of the proposed structure at different operating modes is investigated, and the voltage equations are calculated. The analysis, derivation of the stress of switches voltage, the stress of capacitors voltage, the stress of diode voltage, the stress of inductor current, the gain of voltage, and the boost factor of the proposed inverters are carried out are compared with the similar inverters. To confirm the performance of the proposed converter, a laboratory sample of converters is made, in which, with V d c = 60 output for the improved switched-capacitor-inductor ZSI of converter, the DC-link (Vi) voltage is 200 with boost factor 1.67, which confirms the relationships obtained from the proposed converters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this paper, an integrated coupled inductor–capacitor DC–DC high step‐up converter is proposed for the renewable energy systems. A DC–DC high step‐up converter is mandatory owing to the comparative low output voltage of renewable energy systems. A new configuration has been proposed in this paper, in which capacitor and coupled inductor are integrated into a converter to achieve the required results. To charge the capacitor a coupled inductor is used, not only the voltage gain significantly boosted and the switch voltage clamped inherently but also the turns ratio and part count scale down. When proposed converter operates in ORF mode, this results in the decline of conduction losses and enhances its efficiency. The proposed converter has good efficiency and simplest structure as it has only six components. This paper illustrates the key state operation principles of the proposed converter and derivation of its steady‐state operations. A prototype is designed, and experiments are performed in the laboratory to verify the precision of the theoretical analysis. The highest efficiency of 97% has been achieved in the laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an implementation of inductorless and resistorless Chua's chaotic oscillator using voltage-differencing gain amplifier (VDGA). The chaotic oscillator circuit is implemented by designing a resistorless Chua's diode using a single VDGA and a VDGA-based tank oscillator with coupled network circuit. The proposed chaotic oscillator uses two VDGAs and three grounded capacitors only. Although resistors and inductors may also be fabricated, the use of no resistor and inductor makes the circuit suitable for fabrication in terms of cost and area. It offers the advantages of an increased frequency spectrum having a dominant operating frequency of 21.1 MHz. The Chua's circuit is simulated in Pspice using both macro models of IC MAX435 and 0.18 µm CMOS TSMC Technology parameters. As a result, chaotic waveforms (V1 and V2) and the various attractors (V1 versus V2) are found in the simulation. These results confirm the theoretical predictions of Chua's chaotic oscillator. Various aspects of the proposed implementation of Chua's oscillator are compared with the earlier implementations. Finally, the paper concludes with simple remarks on the proposed circuit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power distribution systems (PDS) are the infrastructure and equipment used to distribute electricity from the transmission system to end-users, such as homes and businesses. PDS are usually designed to operate in a radial mode, where power flows from one substation to the end user through a series of feeders. The extension of distribution lines to attend new customers along with the growing demand for electricity result in increased energy losses and voltage reductions. Various solutions have been proposed to solve these issues, such as selecting the optimal set of conductors, optimizing the placement of voltage regulators, using capacitor banks, reconfiguring the distribution system, and implementing distributed generation. A well-known approach for reducing energy losses and enhancing voltage profile is the optimal conductor selection (OCS). While this can be beneficial, it may not be sufficient to fully reduce technical losses and improve the system voltage profile; therefore, it must be combined with other strategies. This paper presents a new approach that combines the OCS with the optimal placement of capacitor banks (OPCB) to minimize technical losses and improve the voltage profile in PDS. The main contribution of this paper is the integration of these two problems into a single mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model, therefore guaranteeing the achievement of globally optimal solutions. Three test systems of 27, 69, and 85 buses were used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed modeling approach. The results indicate that the combination of OCS and OPCB effectively minimizes energy losses and enhances the voltage profile. In all cases, the solutions obtained by the proposed MILP approach were better than those previously reported through metaheuristics for the combined OCS and OPCB problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The necessity of drying the graphene oxide suspension (GOsus) using Hummer's Method to produce graphene oxide (GO) powder was studied. The undried GOsus was compared to the dried GO. The GO materials were used as Pt supports via NaBH4 reduction for O2 reduction. XRD patterns showed similar d-spacing in both while the half-cell tests of the Pt/rGOsus and Pt/rGO catalysts were similar. GOsus film, deposited onto Toray Carbon Paper and electrochemically reduced in aq. H2SO4 was tested as a capacitor. The suspension and dried graphene-based capacitor showed similar XRD and XPS patterns and the erGOsus capacitor displayed increased capacitance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The requirements and development of high-k dielectric films for application in storage cells of future generation flash and Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) devices are reviewed. Dielectrics with k-value in the 9–30 range are studied as insulators between charge storage layers and control gates in flash devices. For this application, large band gaps (>6eV) and band offsets are required, as well as low trap densities. Materials studied include aluminates and scandates. For DRAM metal–insulator–metal (MIM) capacitors, aggressive scaling of the equivalent oxide thickness (with targets down to 0.3nm) drives the research towards dielectrics with k-values >50. Due to the high aspect ratio of MIMCap structures, highly conformal deposition techniques are needed, triggering a substantial effort to develop Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) processes for the deposition of metal gates and high-k dielectrics. Materials studied include Sr- and Ba-based perovskites, with SrTiO3 as one of the most promising candidates, as well as tantalates, titanates and niobates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We review our recent studies of the passivation of the GaAs and InGaAs surface using a combination of in situ and ex situ surface analysis and capacitor measurements. We find that the control of Ga-oxides in particular appears to play an important role in understanding the characteristics of III–V MOS devices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Atomic layer deposited (ALD) HfO2/GeO x N y /Ge(100) and Al2O3/In0.53Ga0.47As(100)−4×2 gate stacks were analyzed both by MOS capacitor electrical characterization and by advanced physical characterization to correlate the presence of electrically-active defects with chemical bonding across the insulator/channel interface. By controlled in situ plasma nitridation of Ge and post-ALD annealing, the capacitance-derived equivalent oxide thickness was reduced to 1.3nm for 5nm HfO2 layers, and mid-gap density of interface states, D it =3×1011 cm−2 eV−1, was obtained. In contrast to the Ge case, where an engineered interface layer greatly improves electrical characteristics, we show that ALD-Al2O3 deposited on the In0.53Ga0.47As (100)−4×2 surface after in situ thermal desorption in the ALD chamber of a protective As cap results in an atomically-abrupt and unpinned interface. By avoiding subcutaneous oxidation of the InGaAs channel during Al2O3 deposition, a relatively passive gate oxide/III–V interface is formed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We developed a technique to directly observe at nanoscale resolution the degradation of gate SiO2 films observed in metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors by using conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM). As a result of observing gate SiO2 films subjected to a constant current stress, local leakage current spots related to the stress-induced leakage current (SILC) were detected. Distribution of defects induced by the electrical stress and the conduction mechanism of local leakage current caused by them are discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 2, 88(6): 18–26, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjb.20123 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The grid‐connected inverter (GCI) based on the fractional‐order LCL (FOLCL) filter can achieve good attenuation of resonant peak and simplify the control system design by omitting the capacitor current feedback as long as the orders of the inductor and capacitor are set appropriately. This paper investigates the parameter design methods of four types of controllers based on a single‐phase FOLCL‐type GCI without capacitor current feedback; the four controllers are the integer‐order proportional integral controller, fractional‐order proportional integral controller, integer‐order proportional resonance controller, and fractional‐order proportional resonance controller. Closed‐loop constraints based on steady‐state error, phase margin, and gain margin are given to design the specific parameters of each controller. The methods can accurately and quickly obtain the appropriate controller parameters to meet the system performance requirements without repeated trial and error. Simulations and hardware‐in‐the‐loop experiments verify the validity of the theoretical analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Nonagonal modular multilevel converter (MMC) is a three‐port AC/AC converter promising as a soft open point (SOP) to connect different AC feeders or buses in distribution networks, owing to its flexible power control, transformerless structure, and low power component count and its capability of accommodating multiple AC ports of different frequencies. An SOP should be able to work under port reduction condition, which is often encountered when maintenance is required or the network structure is reconfigured. However, as a component reuse converter of circular structure, nonagonal MMC cannot turn off one or some of its branches to achieve this. To address this issue, a control scheme is proposed in this paper to enable nonagonal MMC to operate under port reduction condition by switching the nonagonal MMC to a hexagonal MMC, which is an AC/AC topology of a similar circular structure but has only two ports. Without inserting extra switches, the nine branches of nonagonal MMC is redistributed into six branches. By alternately operating the submodules, no submodules need to be shut down, reducing the submodule capacitor voltage fluctuation during port reduction operation. RTlab results verify the feasibility of the quasi‐hexagonal topology and the effectiveness of port reduction control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]