Search Results (109)

This work presents an experimental evaluation of a high-speed analog-to-digital conversion method based on passive reference waveform crossings combined with time-to-digital converter (TDC) time-tagging. Unlike conventional level-crossing event-driven analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) that require dynamically updated digital-to-analog converters (DACs), the proposed architecture compares the input waveform against a broadband periodic sampling function without active threshold control. Crossing instants are detected by a high-speed comparator and converted into rising and falling edge timestamps using a multi-channel TDC. A commercial ScioSense GPX2-based time-tagger with 30 ps single-shot precision was used for validation. A range of test signals—including 5 MHz sine, sawtooth, damped sine, and frequency-modulated chirp waveforms—were acquired using triangular, sinusoidal, and sawtooth sampling functions. Stroboscopic sampling was demonstrated using reference frequencies lower than the signal of interest, enabling effective undersampling of periodic radio frequency (RF) waveforms. The method achieved effective bandwidths approaching 100 MHz, with amplitude reconstruction errors of 0.05–0.30 RMS for sinusoidal signals and 0.15–0.40 RMS for sawtooth signals. Timing jitter showed strong dependence on the relative slope between the acquired waveform and sampling function: steep regions produced jitter near 5 ns, while shallow regions exhibited jitter up to 20 ns. The study has several limitations, including the bandwidth and dead-time constraints of the commercial TDC, the finite slew rate and noise of the comparator front-end, and the limited frequency range of the generated sampling functions. These factors influence the achievable timing precision and reconstruction accuracy, especially in low-gradient signal regions. Overall, the passive waveform-crossing method demonstrates strong potential for wideband, sparse, and rapidly varying signals, with natural scalability to multi-channel systems. Potential application domains include RF acquisition, ultra-wideband (UWB) radar, integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) systems, high-speed instrumentation, and wideband timed antenna arrays. Full article

Objectives: Ultra-high dose-rate FLASH radiotherapy has demonstrated strong potential in reducing normal tissue toxicity while maintaining effective tumor control. However, its underlying radiobiological mechanisms remain unclear, highlighting the need for novel approaches to probe the effects of radiation during and immediately after delivery. This study presents the first exploration of 3D PET imaging of positron-emitting nuclei (PENs) generated by a FLASH proton beam. Methods: A home-built 12-panel preclinical small-animal PET system was employed for recording coincidence events. A 142.4 MeV FLASH proton beam with a 100 ms delivery time was directed into a solid water phantom. PET coincidence signals were recorded during the first 1 s and up to 11 min. The system’s capability for 3D localization was also assessed, and Monte Carlo simulations were performed for validation. Results: The PET system successfully recorded coincidence data within the first second, including the 100 ms beam delivery interval. Detector dead-time effects under the high beam flux were observed, leading to underestimated event counts. Following irradiation, the measured activity and decay behavior were consistent with simulations. The PET system accurately reconstructed the spatial distribution of PEN activities, with discrepancies in measured versus calculated line profiles ranging from 3.35–6.85%. Reconstructed PET images enabled reliable 3D localization with sub-millimeter accuracy in both lateral and depth dimensions. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that a multi-detector PET system is a promising tool for investigating the radiation effects of FLASH beams. Full article

This paper investigates a dual-active-bridge (DAB) converter topology based on a voltage-doubler rectifier and series resonant network. By integrating phasor-domain analysis with time-domain modeling, a comprehensive mathematical model of the output voltage and instantaneous inductor current is established. The voltage gain expression is further refined by accounting for the effects of dead-time and power switch output capacitance. Based on this model, a multi-objective global optimization is performed, aiming to minimize reactive power, RMS current, and switch conduction losses, while simultaneously satisfying zero-voltage switching (ZVS) conditions and voltage gain requirements. Leveraging the optimization results, an extended phase-shift control strategy incorporating phase-shift feedforward and frequency closed-loop regulation is proposed. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed topology achieves high efficiency across the entire operating range, with a peak efficiency of 96.92%. The results validate the effectiveness and engineering practicability of both the topology and the control scheme. Full article

Atom interferometer (AI)-based dynamic gravimeters enable high-precision absolute gravity measurements, which are crucial for applications in geophysics, navigation, resource exploration, and metrology. Understanding their underlying mechanisms and minimizing measurement noise is essential for enhancing performance. This work investigates gravity-measurement noise in AI-based systems induced by the dead time of the classical accelerometer. Using actual dynamic gravity-measurement data, we demonstrate that a dead time of 0.12 s introduces significant gravity-measurement noise, reaching 8 mGal. To elucidate the mechanism of this noise, we derive a frequency-domain formula, identifying high-frequency aliasing as its source. Analysis of the derived expressions indicates that reducing the dead-time duration and suppressing the acceleration’s high-frequency noise are effective strategies for mitigating this noise. This work provides significant insights into noise analysis and the future design of AI-based dynamic gravimeters. Full article

To address the vibration issues in bearingless interior permanent magnet synchronous motors (BIPMSMs) caused by rotor mass unbalance and inverter dead-time (DT) effects during operation, a vibration suppression strategy based on a Proportional–Integral–Resonant (PIR) controller is proposed. Firstly, the mathematical model of the BIPMSM is established, and the principle of suspension force generation is analyzed. Secondly, the mechanism underlying rotor vibration is theoretically investigated. Thirdly, a PIR controller is designed by connecting a modified Proportional–Resonant (PR) controller in parallel with a Proportional–Integral (PI) controller. The proposed controller combines the ideal PR controller’s characteristic of achieving infinite gain at the resonant frequency, enabling zero steady-state error tracking for sinusoidal signals at the resonant frequency. Finally, a vibration suppression system based on the PIR controller is constructed, and simulation experiments are conducted for verification. The simulation results show that the PIR controller effectively reduces both rotor mass unbalance vibration and DT vibration in the BIPMSM, while also suppressing current harmonics during the motor’s operation. Full article

Sensor sampling errors and inverter dead-time effects introduce significant nonlinear disturbances into dual three-phase permanent magnet synchronous machine (DTP-PMSM) drive systems with sinusoidal excitation, leading to pronounced alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) disturbances. These disturbances severely compromise the stability and reliability of the current control loop, ultimately degrading the overall driving accuracy of the system. To effectively address this issue, this paper proposes a novel interference suppression strategy based on bi-subspace predictive current control. Specifically, the proposed approach optimizes modulation through two-step virtual-vector-based predictive current control (VVPCC) operation to achieve disturbance decoupling. Building upon this foundation, a model-assisted discrete extended state observer (DESO) is incorporated into the fundamental subspace, whereas a discrete vector resonant controller (DVRC) with pre-distorted Tustin discretization is applied to the secondary subspace. Modeling analysis and experimental results demonstrate that, compared with the classical VVPCC method, the proposed bi-subspace VVPCC method has good steady-state performance and enhanced robustness in the presence of disturbances. Full article

The dead-time effect seriously affects the soft-switching performance and operating efficiency of the dual-active-bridge converter, and also causes problems such as reduced duty cycle, distortion of voltage and current waveforms, and narrowed transmission power range. The proposal of the five-degree-of-freedom modulation strategy transforms the working voltage waveforms of the primary and secondary sides as well as the inductor current waveform of the DAB converter from symmetric to asymmetric, while the dead-time issue still persists. Based on the five-degree-of-freedom modulation strategy, this paper analyzes the electrical characteristics of the converter before and after the introduction of dead time, designs switch drive pulses to avoid the dead time, and proposes a dead-time compensation modulation strategy based on five-degree-of-freedom phase shift. The results show that the proposed dead-time compensation control strategy can avoid problems such as voltage and current waveform distortion and reduction in the soft-switching power range caused by dead time, realizing dead-time compensation in the full power range. Experimental measurements show that, for different voltage transmission ratios, the maximum efficiency improvement is approximately 3.8–4% and the current stress is reduced by 2.11% to 3.13% under low-power operating conditions. The maximum efficiency improvement is approximately about 1.4–2.8% and the current stress is reduced by 1.84% to 2.53% under high-power operating conditions. Full article

The theoretical modeling of a dynamic system will have derivatives of the response (y) with respect to time (t). Two common physical attributes (i.e., parameters) of dynamic systems are dead-time (θ) and lag (τ). Theoretical dynamic modeling will contain physically interpretable parameters such as τ and θ with physical constraints. In addition, the number of unknown model-based parameters can be considerably smaller than empirically based (i.e., lagged-based) approaches. This work proposes a Theoretically based Dynamic Regression (TDR) modeling approach that overcomes critical lagged-based modeling limitations as demonstrated in three large, multiple input, highly dynamic, real data sets. Dynamic Regression (DR) is a lagged-based, empirical dynamic modeling approach that appears in the statistics literature. However, like all empirical approaches, the model structures do not contain first-principle interpretable parameters. Additionally, several time lags are typically needed for the output, y, and input, x, to capture significant dynamic behavior. TDR uses a simplistic theoretically based dynamic modeling approach to transform x_t into its dynamic counterpart, v_t, and then applies the methods and tools of static regression to v_t. TDR is demonstrated on the following three modeling problems of freely existing (i.e., not experimentally designed) real data sets: 1. the weight variation in a person (y) with four measured nutrient inputs (x_i); 2. the variation in the tray temperature (y) of a distillation column with nine inputs and eight test data sets over a three year period; and 3. eleven extremely large, highly dynamic, subject-specific models of sensor glucose (y) with 12 inputs (x_i). Full article

Permanent magnet flux harmonics in Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSMs) can cause torque ripple. Traditional torque ripple suppression methods based on analytical models are highly dependent on the accuracy of motor parameters, while existing flux harmonic identification techniques often suffer from limited precision, compromising the effectiveness of ripple suppression. This paper proposes an online flux harmonic identification method that considers the dead-time effect of inverters. A dead-time compensation algorithm is introduced to effectively mitigate current harmonics induced by inverter dead-time. The current harmonic signals are extracted using a multi-synchronous rotating coordinate system. A harmonic controller is employed to suppress current harmonics, and its output voltage is used to identify the permanent magnet flux harmonics, from which a flux harmonic lookup table is constructed. Based on the identified flux harmonics, the torque ripple suppression strategy using analytical methods is further optimized. Experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method in improving flux harmonic identification accuracy and reducing torque ripple. Full article

The laser pulse detection probability of a scanning direct time-of-flight light detection and ranging (LiDAR) measurement is evaluated based on the optical signal distribution on a multipixel single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) array. These detectors intrinsically suffer from dead-times after the successful detection of a single photon and, thus, allow only for limited counting statistics when multiple returning laser photons are imaged on a single pixel. By blurring the imaged laser spot, the transition from single-pixel statistics with high signal intensity to multipixel statistics with less signal intensity is examined. Specifically, a comparison is made between the boundary cases in which (i) the returning LiDAR signal is focused through optics onto a single pixel and (ii) the detection is performed without lenses using all available pixels on the sensor matrix. The omission of imaging optics reduces the overall system size and minimizes optical transfer losses, which is crucial given the limited laser emission power due to safety standards. The investigation relies on a photon rate model for interfering (background) and signal light, applied to a simulated first-photon sensor architecture. For single-shot scenarios that reflect the optimal use of the time budget in scanning LiDAR systems, the lens-less and blurred approaches can achieve comparable or even superior results to the focusing system. This highlights the potential of fully solid-state scanning LiDAR systems utilizing optical phase arrays or multidirectional laser chips. Full article

Class-D power amplifiers driving variable loads, such as inductively coupled plasma (ICP), typically require an impedance matching network, which has a relatively slow matching speed, generally in the millisecond range. To address this issue, this paper proposes a solution that uses a fully digital control method for Class-D power amplifiers to directly drive ICP loads. This solution eliminates the need for an impedance matching network, reducing the overall output power regulation time to just tens of microseconds. Compared to traditional methods that use a VI probe to detect output power, the proposed method in this paper only requires measuring the resonant current in the loop to control the output power, thereby reducing costs and ensuring that the Class-D power amplifier achieves zero-voltage switching (ZVS) throughout the adjustment process. This paper provides a detailed introduction to the design method of the Class-D power amplifier and the overall digital control scheme and validates them via simulation and experimentation. The Class-D power amplifier prototype was designed using SiC MOSFETs, with a Xilinx ZYNQ-XC7Z100 FPGA as the control board. The output frequency varies around 4 MHz, successfully generating plasma. Full article

One of the most important contributions of modern control theory from the 1960s was the separation of the dynamics of state-space controller design from the dynamics of state reconstruction. However, because modern control theory predates the mass spread of digital controllers and was predominantly focused on analog solutions that avoided modeling dead-time elements, it cannot effectively cover all aspects that emerged with the development of programmable devices and embedded systems. The same historical limitations also characterized the development of proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers, which began several decades earlier. Although they were used to control time-delayed systems, these solutions, which are most commonly used in practice today, can also be referred to as simplified disturbance observers that allow the avoidance of the the direct use of dead-time models. Using the example of controlling systems with a double integrator plus dead-time model, this article shows a novel controller design that significantly improves control performance compared to conventional PID controllers. The new control structure is a combination of a generalized state-space controller, interpreted as a higher-order derivative controller, and a predictive disturbance observer that uses the inversion of double integrator dynamics and dead-time models. It enables the elimination of the windup effect that is typical for PID control and extends the separation of the dynamics of setpoint tracking from the dynamics of state and disturbance reconstruction to time-delayed processes as well. The novelty of the presented solution offers several orders of magnitude lower amplification of measurement noise compared to traditional PID control. On the other hand, it offers high robustness and a stable transient response despite the unstable internal feedback of processes like the magnetic levitation system. The improvements achieved are so high that they call into question the classical solutions with PID controllers, at least for DIPDT models. In addition to the comparison with PID control, the relationship with traditional state space controllers, which today form the basis of active disturbance rejection control (ADRC), is also discussed and examined for processes including dead time. Full article

The development of a correlation-assisted direct time-of-flight (CA-dToF) pixel provides a novel solution for time-of-flight applications that combines low power consumption, robust ambient shot noise suppression, and a compact design. However, the pixel’s implementation introduces systematic errors, affecting its performance. We investigate the pixel’s robustness against various noise sources, including timing jitter, kTC noise, switching noise, and photon shot noise. Additionally, we address limitations such as the SPAD deadtime, and source follower gain mismatch and offset, identifying their impact on performance. The paper also proposes solutions to enhance the pixel’s overall reliability and to improve the pixel’s implementation. Full article

The performance portrait method (PPM) can be characterized as a systematized digitalized version of the trial and error method—probably the most popular and very often used method of engineering work. Its digitization required the expansion of performance measures used to evaluate the step responses of dynamic systems. Based on process modeling, PPM also contributed to the classification of models describing linear and non-linear dynamic processes so that they approximate their dynamics using the smallest possible number of numerical parameters. From most bio-inspired procedures of artificial intelligence and optimization used for the design of automatic controllers, PPM is distinguished by the possibility of repeated application of once generated performance portraits (PPs). These represent information about the process obtained by evaluating the performance of setpoint and disturbance step responses for all relevant values of the determining loop parameters organized into a grid. It can be supported by the implementation of parallel calculations with optimized decomposition in the high-performance computing (HPC) cloud. The wide applicability of PPM ranges from verification of analytically calculated optimal settings achieved by various approaches to controller design, to the analysis as well as optimal and robust setting of controllers for processes where other known control design methods fail. One such situation is illustrated by an example of predictive integrating (PrI) controller design for processes with a dominant time-delayed sensor dynamics, representing a counterpart of proportional-integrating (PI) controllers, the most frequently used solutions in practice. PrI controllers can be considered as a generalization of the disturbance–response feedback—the oldest known method for the design of dead-time compensators by Reswick. In applications with dominant dead-time and loop time constants located in the feedback (sensors), as those, e.g., met in magnetoencephalography (MEG), it makes it possible to significantly improve the control performance. PPM shows that, despite the absence of effective analytical control design methods for such situations, it is possible to obtain high-quality optimal solutions for processes that require working with uncertain models specified by interval parameters, while achieving invariance to changes in uncertain parameters. Full article

The voltage utilization in the PMSM control can be improved through the voltage angle control (VAC) method, thereby enhancing the control efficiency and output power capability. However, the traditional VAC method can only be applied to a high-speed region, and it is still necessary to switch to another control mode in the low-speed region, resulting in a significant torque jitter during the switching process. Meanwhile, the deviation between the actual current operating point and the optimal one is caused by the dead-time effect in the traditional VAC method, causing more energy loss. To solve these problems, a global-speed-region VAC method considering dead-time effect compensation is proposed in this article. Firstly, the application area of the proposed method is extended to both the high-speed and low-speed region on the basis of analyzing the variation function of the modulation index (MI), achieving global non-mode-switching control and eliminating the torque jitter. Additionally, the relationship between the dead time and MI is quantitatively analyzed, and a global-speed-region VAC method is proposed to compensate the dead-time effect and reduce the energy loss. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified in PMSM bench experiments. Full article