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A flexible and easily configurable software defined transmitter/receiver (TX/RX) architecture is described, which allows the determination of the distorted complex transfer characteristics of a 3 port nonlinear outphasing power amplifier (PA) for application in a WCDMA base station. The TX/RX architecture is capable of generating high precision single sideband signals (SSB) using a DSP algorithm, which is almost insensitive to measurement errors and to the frequency response of the output measurement channel. Based on this an inverse predistortion function for a necessary linearization is calculated and implemented into a FPGA (field programmable gate array) through look-up-tables (LUT). The common base band and the differential phase angles are predistorted, resulting in a linearization of the PA.

This paper presents the implementation of a Digital-Component-Separator (DCS) for a LINC-transmitter (linear amplification using nonlinear components) on an FPGA (field programmable gate array). It investigates and estimates the bandwidth requirements for such a LINC system. The influence of bandwidth limitations on a digitally based LINC-transmitter for W-CDMA utilization is studied by simulations. Furthermore a LINC transmitter is proposed which employs a flexible image-reject- or a direct up-conversion-architecture for transmission of single or combined multi-carrier/channel W-CDMA signals using the phase-modulation approach. The sampling frequency can be chosen at a value up to 32 times (122.88MHz) the symbol rate of the W-CDMA chip rate of 3.84Mbits/s. Measurement results for a LINC transmitter are presented and discussed.

The composition of materials generally has an influence on its dielectric properties. Hence it may be possible to determine their composition using microwave dielectric spectra. However with complex materials like foodstuffs it is difficult to devise a suitable dielectric model. Therefore multivariate calibration methods are discussed here. With these calibrations it is also possible to process the measured scattering parameters directly. In this case it is not necessary to calculate the permittivity and more degrees of freedom are available for the design of a sensor. The direct processing of the S-parameters is demonstrated with a new transmissionline sensor.

In order to verify simulations of a concave lens based upon a photonic crystal, it was scaled and built for the application in the microwave range. Its field distribution was measured between 5.5 and 12 GHz. Due to the effective refractive index smaller than 1, focusing points were found in spite of the concave shape. The survey of the field distributions at the investigated frequencies leads to other possible applications of photonic crystals in the microwave and millimetre wave region, like beam-splitter and prism.

Relating coupling and external quality factor of a filter to the physical parameters of the structure which is the final step of any filter design is usually complicated due to geometrical complexities of the filter, or in the case of microstrip resonators due to the lack of the exact solution for the field distribution. Therefore, common approach is using time consuming full wave simulations. In this paper active learning method (ALM) which is a fuzzy-based modeling technique developed by a procedure algorithmically mimics the information-handling process of the human brain, is proposed to overcome this drawback. Modeling steps of an unknown function using ALM will be described using an illustrative example. Afterwards, the modeling approach will be implemented to model coupling factor between two coupled spiral resonators (SRs) for two different coupling structures and external quality factor of the same resonator. Accuracy of the extracted surfaces is validated using two different criteria. Using the extracted surfaces; a four pole chebychev bandpass filter was designed and fabricated. Good agreement between the measured response and simulation validated the accuracy of the extracted surfaces again. Comparing the fabricated SR filter with a square open loop resonator (SOLR) one demonstrates more than 70% of filter area reduction.

Measurements of the converse magnetoelectric effect, observed for mesoscopic cantilever type magnetoelectric composites, are presented. The silicon based samples employ 2 µm of amorphous (Fe90Co10)78Si12B10 film as soft magnetic, magnetostrictive phase. The piezoelectric phase consists of 2 µm sputter deposited, highly textured aluminum nitride (AlN) in a plate capacitor arrangement. Exciting the piezoelectric phase at various frequencies leads to sharp peaks of induced voltage in a surrounding, mechanically decoupled pickup coil, corresponding to several mechanical resonances of the beam. The peak amplitude modulation can be exploited to detect DC magnetic fields. This entirely passive readout strategy is advantageous over other methods of sensitivity enhancement, typically requiring an active source of magnetic fields, thus prohibiting the construction of sensor arrays. Field dependent mechanical quality factors of up to 3800 near magnetic saturation are featured by a strong field dependence of induced voltage, reaching to 2290 V T−1 in the 20 µT field regime. Vibrational measurements reveal a combination of the 15th flexural with a high order torsional mode as primarily active, at a resonance frequency of 520.7 kHz. This finding is supported by simple analytical estimations and literature. In unbiased operation, a linear resolution of 1.2 nT towards small 200 mHz fields is shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors for the detection of magnetic fields are currently being studied scientifically in many ways, especially since both their sensitivity as well as their detectivity could be significantly improved by the utilization of shear horizontal surface acoustic waves, i.e., Love waves, instead of Rayleigh waves. By now, low-frequency limits of detection (LOD) below 100 pT/Hz can be achieved. However, the LOD can only be further improved by gaining a deep understanding of the existing sensor-intrinsic noise sources and their impact on the sensor's overall performance. This paper reports on a comprehensive study of the inherent noise of SAW delay line magnetic field sensors. In addition to the noise, however, the sensitivity is of importance, since both quantities are equally important for the LOD. Following the necessary explanations of the electrical and magnetic sensor properties, a further focus is on the losses within the sensor, since these are closely linked to the noise. The considered parameters are in particular the ambient magnetic bias field and the input power of the sensor. Depending on the sensor's operating point, various noise mechanisms contribute to f0 white phase noise, f-1 flicker phase noise, and f-2 random walk of phase. Flicker phase noise due to magnetic hysteresis losses, i.e. random fluctuations of the magnetization, is usually dominant under typical operating conditions. Noise characteristics are related to the overall magnetic and magnetic domain behavior. Both calculations and measurements show that the LOD cannot be further improved by increasing the sensitivity. Instead, the losses occurring in the magnetic material need to be decreased.

Magnetoelectric (ME) thin film composites consisting of sputtered piezoelectric (PE) and magnetostrictive (MS) layers enable for measurements of magnetic fields passively, i.e. an AC magnetic field directly generates an ME voltage by mechanical coupling of the MS deformation to the PE phase. In order to achieve high field sensitivities a magnetic bias field is necessary to operate at the maximum piezomagnetic coefficient of the MS phase, harnessing mechanical resonances further enhances this direct ME effect size. Despite being able to detect very small AC field amplitudes, exploiting mechanical resonances directly, implies a limitation to available signal bandwidth along with the inherent inability to detect DC or very low frequency magnetic fields. The presented work demonstrates converse ME modulation of thin film Si cantilever composites of mesoscopic dimensions (25 mm × 2.45 mm × 0.35 mm), employing piezoelectric AlN and magnetostrictive FeCoSiB films of 2 µm thickness each. A high frequency mechanical resonance at about 515 kHz leads to strong induced voltages in a surrounding pickup coil with matched self-resonance, leading to field sensitivities up to 64 kV/T. A DC limit of detection of 210 pT/Hz 1/2 as well as about 70 pT/Hz 1/2 at 10 Hz, without the need for a magnetic bias field, pave the way towards biomagnetic applications.

Multi-resonance microwave sensors have recently been introduced for moisture monitoring of pharmaceutical particulates up to > 20% residual moisture. The extended measuring range compared to previous systems as well as the microwave moisture values independent of other physical attributes make them promising process analytical technology (PAT) tools for various pharmaceutical production processes. However, so far, research focused on measurements on raw materials or drug-free model granulates and has neither evaluated the applicability for materials with crystal water containing excipients nor for active ingredients. In this study, possible influence of crystal water was evaluated using lactose monohydrate and donepezil hydrochloride, an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) against dementia. The study clearly showed that the contained hydrate does not cause interferences and is not monitored by the applied frequencies. Material-related limits measuring lactose monohydrate were only observed above typical granulation moistures and could be explained using raw resonance curves. Furthermore, the inclusion of donepezil hydrochloride into the monitored formulations and varied process parameters demonstrated the versatility of the microwave resonance sensor system. Inlet air temperature, spraying rate, and air flow were varied according to a 2 3 full factorial experimental design. A predictive model (R 2  = 0.9699, RMSEC = 0.33%) could be established using samples produced with different process parameter settings adjusted according to the corner points of the full factorial design and validated on the center point granulation processes (RMSEV = 0.38%). Thereby, performance on actual formulations and conditions faced during process development could be thoroughly assessed, and hence, another key requirement for applicability in formulation development could be met.

Recently, microwave resonance technology (MRT) sensor systems operating at four resonances instead of a single resonance frequency were established as a process analytical technology (PAT) tool for moisture monitoring. The additional resonance frequencies extend the technologies' possible application range in pharmaceutical production processes remarkably towards higher moisture contents. In the present study, a novel multi-resonance MRT sensor was installed in a bottom-tangential-spray fluidized bed granulator in order to provide a proof-of-concept of the recently introduced technology in industrial pilot-scale equipment. The mounting position within the granulator was optimized to allow faster measurements and thereby even tighter process control. As the amount of data provided by using novel MRT sensor systems has increased manifold by the additional resonance frequencies and the accelerated measurement rate, it permitted to investigate the benefit of more sophisticated evaluation methods instead of the simple linear regression which is used in established single-resonance systems. Therefore, models for moisture prediction based on multiple linear regression (MLR), principal component regression (PCR), and partial least squares regression (PLS) were built and assessed. Correlation was strong (all R 2  > 0.988) and predictive abilities were rather acceptable (all RMSE ≤0.5%) for all models over the whole granulation process up to 16% residual moisture. While PCR provided best predictive abilities, MLR proofed as a simple and valuable alternative without the need of chemometric data evaluation.

The trend towards continuous manufacturing in the pharmaceutical industry is associated with an increasing demand for advanced control strategies. It is a mandatory requirement to obtain reliable real-time information on critical quality attributes (CQA) during every process step as the decision on diversion of material needs to be performed fast and automatically. Where possible, production equipment should provide redundant systems for in-process control (IPC) measurements to ensure continuous process monitoring even if one of the systems is not available. In this paper, two methods for real-time monitoring of granule moisture in a semi-continuous fluid-bed drying unit are compared. While near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has already proven to be a suitable process analytical technology (PAT) tool for moisture measurements in fluid-bed applications, microwave resonance technology (MRT) showed difficulties to monitor moistures above 8% until recently. The results indicate, that the newly developed MRT sensor operating at four resonances is capable to compete with NIR spectroscopy. While NIR spectra were preprocessed by mean centering and first derivative before application of partial least squares (PLS) regression to build predictive models (RMSEP = 0.20%), microwave moisture values of two resonances sufficed to build a statistically close multiple linear regression (MLR) model (RMSEP = 0.07%) for moisture prediction. Thereby, it could be verified that moisture monitoring by MRT sensor systems could be a valuable alternative to NIR spectroscopy or could be used as a redundant system providing great ease of application., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We present a comprehensive study of a magnetic sensor system that benefits from a new technique to substantially increase the magnetoelastic coupling of surface acoustic waves (SAW). The device uses shear horizontal acoustic surface waves that are guided by a fused silica layer with an amorphous magnetostrictive FeCoSiB thin film on top. The velocity of these so-called Love waves follows the magnetoelastically-induced changes of the shear modulus according to the magnetic field present. The SAW sensor is operated in a delay line configuration at approximately 150 MHz and translates the magnetic field to a time delay and a related phase shift. The fundamentals of this sensor concept are motivated by magnetic and mechanical simulations. They are experimentally verified using customized low-noise readout electronics. With an extremely low magnetic noise level of ≈100 pT/[Formula: see text], a bandwidth of 50 kHz and a dynamic range of 120 dB, this magnetic field sensor system shows outstanding characteristics. A range of additional measures to further increase the sensitivity are investigated with simulations.

Microwave resonance technology (MRT) is known as a process analytical technology (PAT) tool for moisture measurements in fluid-bed granulation. It offers a great potential for wet granulation processes even where the suitability of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is limited, e.g. colored granules, large variations in bulk density. However, previous sensor systems operating around a single resonance frequency showed limitations above approx. 7.5% granule moisture. This paper describes the application of a novel sensor working with four resonance frequencies. In-line data of all four resonance frequencies were collected and further processed. Based on calculation of density-independent microwave moisture values multiple linear regression (MLR) models using Karl-Fischer titration (KF) as well as loss on drying (LOD) as reference methods were build. Rapid, reliable in-process moisture control (RMSEP≤0.5%) even at higher moisture contents was achieved., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Microwave sensor systems using resonance technology at a single resonance in the range of 2-3 GHz have been shown to be a rapid and reliable tool for moisture determination in solid materials including pharmaceutical granules. So far, their application is limited to lower moisture ranges or limitations above certain moisture contents had to be accepted. Aim of the present study was to develop a novel multi-resonance sensor system in order to expand the measurement range. Therefore, a novel sensor using additional resonances over a wide frequency band was designed and used to investigate inherent limitations of first generation sensor systems and material-related limits. Using granule samples with different moisture contents, an experimental protocol for calibration and validation of the method was established. Pursuant to this protocol, a multiple linear regression (MLR) prediction model built by correlating microwave moisture values to the moisture determined by Karl Fischer titration was chosen and rated using conventional criteria such as coefficient of determination (R 2 ) and root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC). Using different operators, different analysis dates and different ambient conditions the method was fully validated following the guidance of ICH Q2(R1). The study clearly showed explanations for measurement uncertainties of first generation sensor systems which confirmed the approach to overcome these by using additional resonances. The established prediction model could be validated in the range of 7.6-19.6%, demonstrating its fit for its future purpose, the moisture content determination during wet granulations., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The metabolic processes that regulate bone healing and bone induction in tissue engineering models are not fully understood. Eddy current excitation is widely used in technical approaches and in the food industry. The aim of this study was to establish eddy current excitation for monitoring metabolic processes during heterotopic osteoinduction in vivo., Methods: Hydroxyapatite scaffolds were implanted into the musculus latissimus dorsi of six rats. Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) was applied 1 and 2 weeks after implantation. Weekly eddy current excitation measurements were performed. Additionally, invasive pH measurements were obtained from the scaffolds using fiber optic detection devices. Correlations between the eddy current measurements and the metabolic values were calculated., Results: The eddy current measurements and pH values decreased significantly in the first 2 weeks of the study, followed by a steady increase and stabilization at higher levels towards the end of the study. The measurement curves and statistical evaluations indicated a significant correlation between the resonance frequency values of the eddy current excitation measurements and the observed pH levels (p = 0.0041)., Conclusions: This innovative technique was capable of noninvasively monitoring metabolic processes in living tissues according to pH values, showing a direct correlation between eddy current excitation and pH in an in vivo tissue engineering model.

Reconstructions of facial bone defects are one of the most challenging aspects in surgical treatment of malignant diseases, large facial traumata, or congenital anomalies. High-level reconstruction techniques are often associated with an elevated morbidity by the harvest of autologous bone grafts from the patient. Tissue engineering techniques may help to solve this problem. The aim of this study was to monitor metabolic processes during cellular colonization of matrices in vivo in an established rat model for endocultivation. After implantation of computer-designed hydroxyapatite scaffolds into the latissimus dorsi muscle of six rats, 100 μg bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) was injected twice, in week 1 and 2, directly into the center of the matrices. The development of pH value and oxygen (O₂) saturation inside the matrix was followed by fiber optic detection technique over 8 weeks and analyzed by variance analyses. Bone density measurements were performed by computed tomography as well as histological evaluations. Two weeks after implantation, oxygen supply and pH value measurements had decreased significantly. In the following weeks both parameters increased and stabilized on higher levels. This is the first study reporting a reproducible method to follow metabolic processes during heterotopic osteoinduction in vivo. It was shown that in the beginning of the study pH value and O₂ saturation decreased and it took several weeks to regain physiological levels. This is an important step to further understand the physiological process of bone induction.

Magnetoelectric composite materials are promising candidates for highly sensitive magnetic-field sensors. However, the composites showing the highest reported magnetoelectric coefficients require the presence of external d.c. magnetic bias fields, which is detrimental to their use as sensitive high-resolution magnetic-field sensors. Here, we report magnetoelectric composite materials that instead rely on intrinsic magnetic fields arising from exchange bias in the device. Thin-film magnetoelectric two-two composites were fabricated by magnetron sputtering on silicon-cantilever substrates. The composites consist of piezoelectric AlN and multilayers with the sequence Ta/Cu/Mn(70)Ir(30)/Fe(50)Co(50) or Ta/Cu/Mn(70)Ir(30)/Fe(70.2)Co(7.8)Si(12)B(10) serving as the magnetostrictive component. The thickness of the ferromagnetic layers and angle dependency of the exchange bias field are used to adjust the shift of the magnetostriction curve in such a way that the maximum piezomagnetic coefficient occurs at zero magnetic bias field. These self-biased composites show high sensitivity to a.c. magnetic fields with a maximum magnetoelectric coefficient of 96 V cm(-1) Oe(-1) at mechanical resonance.

Background: The authors evaluated the role of 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)-induced fluorescence endoscopy (AFE) in the detection of flat urothelial lesions in light of the suggestions made for flat neoplastic lesions within the 1999 World Health Organization (WHO) classification of urinary bladder tumors., Methods: From 1995 to 2000, 713 patients underwent 1414 AFE procedures for the detection of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder (TCCB). Fluorescence imaging was performed with an incoherent light source (D-light; 380-440 nm) that was filtered for efficient protoporphyrin IX excitation and with cystoscopes partially blocking reflected excitation light to enable fluorescence evaluation by a red/blue color contrast 2-3 hours after 50 mL of a 3% solution of 5-ALA was instilled into the bladder. In total, 3834 biopsy specimens (mean, 2.7 specimens per AFE procedure) were taken., Results: Malignant disease was found in 1250 (32.6%) of all biopsies, with 304 biopsies (24.3%) showing carcinoma in situ (cis) and dysplasia II degrees (dys II) according to the previous diagnostic criteria of the WHO. Under prior conventional white-light endoscopy, 30.3% of specimens with dys II and 52.8% of specimens with cis had been missed., Conclusions: The current results suggest that 5-ALA may be more effective in the detection of flat urothelial lesions than the current diagnostic devices., (Copyright 2002 American Cancer Society.)

The dielectric properties of a rat tumour (rhabdomyosarcoma R1H), skin and muscle were measured in vivo with an open-ended coaxial line and a computer-controlled system based on a network analyser. The permittivity of the tumour R1H and of the normal tissues in anaesthetised rats was determined at frequencies between 0.2 and 2.4 GHz. No significant differences were observed either between rat tumour and muscle or between normal and 15 Gy irradiated rat tumour and skin. However, after a hyperthermia treatment at 43 degrees C for 60 min the dielectric properties, especially of the rat skin, changed due to the hyperthermic induced oedema which is related to an increase in tissue water content. The process of the oedema modifies the dielectric properties of the skin to a higher degree than those of the tumour.