Inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching of high aspect ratio structures on 4H-SiC for MEMS applications

As silicon carbide(SiC) gets more and more attention from the semiconductor industry due to its robust mechanical and chemical properties, reliable and standardized processing technologies such as reactive ion etching(RIE) for SiC are in great demand. This is because of the difficulty and challenge of fabricating micro devices on the SiC...

Adaptive Impedance Matching Network for Contactless Power and Data Transfer in E-Textiles

One of the major challenges associated with e-textiles is the connection between flexible fabric-integrated wires and rigid electronics. This work aims to increase the user experience and mechanical reliability of these connections by foregoing conventional galvanic connections in favor of inductively coupled coils. The new design allows for...

Contactless Inductive Power and Data Transfer: For use in E-Textiles

Distributing power and data around a garment is a common problem in sensor enabled e-textiles, as connecting separate electronic subsystems together using connectors and wires has proven to be unreliable and cumbersome. In this work a solution is presented that will eliminate the connectors by using two pairs of short-range wireless inductive...

Weight sensor readout system: Accurately measuring the resonance frequency of a passive wireless RLC resonator

This thesis’s objective was to re-design a weight sensor readout system for Intralox, an international manufacturer of conveyor belts and equipment. Intralox’s current implementation is expensive, too complicated, and inaccurate. After considering several possible readout implementations, an inductively coupled solution with a frequency-based...

Wireless passive weight sensor: Design and simulation of an RLC-resonance sensor for weight sensing in conveyor belts

This thesis presents a resonant sensor circuit design that converts the deformation of a load cell in a conveyor belt into a change in resonance frequency. The sensor is inductively coupled to a reader circuit using planar PCB inductor coils. A sensor circuit was designed, fitted on a square PCB with 14.14 mm side length. The circuit consists of...

Optimization of mesa etch for a quasi-vertical gan schottky barrier diode (Sbd) by inductively coupled plasma (icp) and device characteristics

The optimization of mesa etch for a quasi-vertical gallium nitride (GaN) Schottky barrier diode (SBD) by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching was comprehensively investigated in this work, including selection of the etching mask, ICP power, radio frequency (RF) power, ratio of mixed gas, flow rate, and chamber pressure, etc. In particular...

Wireless Charger for Hand-held Mobile Devices: EE3L11 - BSc Project: Final Thesis

In recent years the field of wireless charging has seen remarkable developments. More and more devices like mobile phones and laptops can be charged wirelessly, and larger equipment like electric vehicles are likely to follow the same path. The air gaps over which the power can be transferred keeps increasing, as do the <br/>amount of power that...

VC-precipitation kinetics studied by Small-Angle Neutron Scattering in nano-steels

Nanosteels are used in automotive applications to accomplish resource-efficiency while providing high-tech properties. Quantitative data and further understanding on the precipitation kinetics in Nanosteels can contribute to fulfil this goal. Small-Angle Neutron Scattering measurements are performed on a Fe-C-Mn-V steel, previously heat-treated...

Practical Inductive Link Design for Biomedical Wireless Power Transfer: A Tutorial

Wireless power transfer systems, particularly those based on inductive coupling, provide an increasingly attractive method to safely deliver power to biomedical implants. Although there exists a large body of literature describing the design of inductive links, it generally focuses on single aspects of the design process. There is a variety...

A Wireless Charging solution for the Zebro

The Zebro is a six legged autonomous robot, designed to be deployed in swarms. Charging the battery is still done manually. To further increase the autonomous abilities of the Zebro, a wireless charging station and module is designed. The charging station is fully modular and interconnected by charging pads. This opens the possibility of...

Wireless Power Transfer and Optogenetic Stimulation of Freely Moving Rodents

Animal studies are often used to test the feasibility and effectiveness of neuroscience research ideas. Optogenetics is a state-of-the-art technique that allows researchers to control brain activity with light. Current methods are limited as they use tethered setups with the animal in a fixed position, resulting in stress and reduced animal...

Pattern transfer into silicon using sub-10 nm masks made by electron beam induced deposition

To demonstrate the possibility of using EBID masks for sub-10 nm pattern transfer into silicon, first experiments were carried out by using 20-40 nm EBID masks, that were etched by different chemistries. It is experimentally verified that recipes based on hydrogen bromide, chlorine and boron trichloride can selectively etch silicon when using 20...

Pattern transfer into silicon using sub-10 nm masks made by electron beam-induced deposition

To demonstrate the possibility of using electron beam-induced deposition (EBID) masks for sub-10 nm pattern transfer into silicon, first experiments were carried out by using 20- to 40-nm EBID masks, which were etched by different chemistries. It is experimentally verified that recipes based on hydrogen bromide, chlorine, and boron trichloride...

Series Resonant Power Converter for Contactless Energy Transfer with Improved Efficiency

The development of more efficient power converters is the most important and challenging task for Power Electronics specialists. In the same time, many currently existing or yet to appear future applications require full mechanical independence between the transmitter and receiver of the electrical energy. This contactless form of energy...

Quantum control for an experimental contactless energy transfer system for multiple users

A method for the destruction and analysis of biogenic silicon in two Antarctic diatom species: Thalassiosira sp and Chaetoceros brevis

Deep anisotropic dry etching of silicon microstructures by high-density plasmas

This thesis deals with the dry etching of deep anisotropic microstructures in monocrystalline silicon by high-density plasmas. High aspect ratio trenches are necessary in the fabrication of sensitive inertial devices such as accellerometers and gyroscopes. The etching of silicon in fluorine-based plasmas is isotropic. To obtain anisotropy the...

Redistribution of carbon during the austenite to ferrite transformation in pure Fe-C alloys