Conductometric titrations in the presence of indifferent electrolytes using bright platinum electrodes

4T CMOS Active Pixel Sensors under Ionizing Radiation

This thesis investigates the ionizing radiation effects on 4T pixels and the elementary in-pixel test devices with regard to the electrical performance and the optical performance. In addition to an analysis of the macroscopic pixel parameter degradation, the radiation-induced degradation mechanisms are also presented from the microscopic...

Energy-Efficient Capacitive-Sensor Interfaces

This thesis describes the theory, design and realization of energy-efficient capacitive-sensor interfaces that are dedicated to energy-constrained applications. The goal of this work is to explore energy-efficient capacitive-sensor interface design techniques both at the system and the circuit level.

Negotiation and Design for the Self-Organizing City. Gaming as a method for Urban Design: Gaming as a method for Urban Design

An understanding of cities as open systems whose agents act on them simultaneously from below and above, influencing urban processes by their interaction with them and with each other, is replacing the simplistic debate on urban participation which asks whether cities should be organized bottom-up or top-down. This conceptualization of cities as...

Materials and Light Management for High-Efficiency Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

Direct conversion of sunlight into electricity is one of the most promising approaches to provide sufficient renewable energy for humankind. Solar cells are such devices which can efficiently generate electricity from sunlight through the photovoltaic effect. Thin-film silicon solar cells, a type of photovoltaic (PV) devices which deploy the...

Dynamic Finite Element Investigation of Wave Attack on Sea Dikes: A Coupled Approach using Plate and Volume Elements

Approximately 400 kilometres of Dutch sea dikes are protected by bituminous concrete revetments to prevent damage from erosion and repeated wave attacks during storms. The numerical analysis of sea dikes subjected to cyclic wave loading needs to consider the behaviour of the bituminous concrete revetment, and the behaviour of the subsoil...

Integrated Transceiver Circuits for Catheter-Based Ultrasound Probes and Wearable Ultrasound Patches

This thesis describes the design, prototyping and experimental evaluation of transceiver ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) for catheter-based ultrasound probes and wearable ultrasound patches. To reduce the loading effect of micro-coaxial cables in an ICE probe based on capacitive micro-machined ultrasound transducers (CMUTs), an...

Improving the Techno-Economic Performance of Wave Energy Converters: From the Perspective of Systematic Sizing

Ocean wave energy has a huge potential to make a contribution to global energy transition. However, the high Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) is currently a big hurdle to the development of wave energy converters (WECs). This thesis is motivated to improve the techno-economic competitiveness of WECs. It focuses on the effects of systematic sizing...

Understanding the Fundament of Virus Inactivation via Modeling

Historically, viruses have always been the causative agent of most human diseases. As one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, the COVID-19 pandemic, associated with SARS-CoV-2, is responsible for tens of millions of casualties in the world since the end of 2019. Meanwhile, it also has destabilized global economics. Therefore, in...

Sensing and Modeling Human Behaviors In Complex Conversational Scenes

Understanding human behavior has been an intriguing topic studied by many disciplines, including social science, neuroscience, etc. Humans exhibit social behaviors, through for example, interacting, conversing, empathizing with each other. Systematically and scientifically studying these behaviors often requires granular observations and...