Search Results (115)

In this work, a plasma-free atomic layer deposition (ALD)-based H₂O post-treatment method is proposed to precisely modulate hydrogen-related (H-related) traps in indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) by the number of H₂O treatment cycles. Under the optimized condition, the scaled device with a channel length of 70 nm exhibits a near-ideal subthreshold swing of 62.9 mV/dec, a low threshold voltage (V_TH) of 0.18 V, an acceptable static leakage current, and a high drive current of 3.29 μA/μm at an overdrive voltage and drain voltage of 1 V. In addition, the treated device shows only a 13 mV of V_TH shift after 1000 s positive bias stress (PBS), corresponding to a 94% improvement compared with the pristine device. These improvements are attributed to the introduction of two different polarities of hydrogen-related traps after H₂O treatment. Furthermore, the influence of H-related traps on bias stability and the mechanisms responsible for V_TH shift are systematically clarified. These results establish that an optimized hydrogen incorporation window that maximizes the beneficial effects while balancing severe hydrogen-induced degradation caused by excessive hydrogen incorporation. Consequently, scaled IGZO TFTs with fast switching, low-power operation, high performance, and high reliability can be achieved, providing strong potential for back-end-of-line (BEOL)-compatible electronics and monolithic three-dimensional integrated applications. Full article

To encourage a wild spread of EVs, accurate SoC and SoH estimation under thermally accelerated aging is critical for advanced BMS systems. This study presents a lifelong degradation analysis of LiBs cells over a 7700 cycle at 40 °C. An adaptive third-order ECM, coupled with a hybrid polynomial–logarithmic OCV formulation, is continuously identified via PSO. The experimental data reveals a distinct degradation profile where the cell crosses the 80% SoH EoL threshold at cycle 5500, steadily declining to a terminal state of 75.7% SoH. Continuous parameter tracking isolates key electrochemical transitions: an initial kinetic stabilization phase is followed by a synchronized thermodynamic OCV realignment near cycle 2000, consistent with increasing LLI. Mid-life aging features a pronounced increase in the time constants, while a late-life degradation is characterized by increasing transport limitations, reflected in the evolution of the slow diffusion-related model parameters, inducing parameter boundary clipping in the slow diffusion branch. Despite these physical non-linearities, the proposed framework maintains high global fidelity throughout the 7700-cycle lifespan, strictly bounding the SoC RMSE below 2.5%, keeping Voltage RMSE under 35 mV, and preserving an R² above 0.970. Comparative evaluations indicate that the proposed framework achieves a favorable balance between computational efficiency, tracking accuracy, and long-term diagnostic stability. Full article

Electrohydrodynamic emission from a sessile droplet depends on a coupled balance among electric traction, capillarity, gravity, charge transport and liquid motion. The present work addresses only the electrostatic-loading part of that problem. Verification-backed axisymmetric and three-dimensional Laplace solvers are used to map how parallel-plate, on-axis-pin, off-axis-pin and bipolar double-pin electrodes redistribute the normal electric field over a prescribed conducting water-droplet interface. The primary response is the dimensionless electric capillary number, Ca_E = ε₀E_n²R_v/γ. To compare geometries on a common voltage scale, V₁ is defined as the applied voltage at which the peak prescribed-interface loading reaches Ca_E = 1. V₁ is a normalisation voltage and not a jetting or stability threshold. The axisymmetric solver reproduces the exact conducting-hemisphere solution to within 0.07% at the finest grid. The three-dimensional finite-difference results are mesh-assessed, and their normalised surface-field topology is cross-checked against an independently implemented Galerkin finite-element model. At 4 kV, the finite parallel-plate cell produces an apex enhancement of 3.24 relative to V/H. Replacing the plate with an on-axis 1 mm pin reduces the apex field by 39.5%, which corresponds to a 63% reduction in Ca_E, and increases V₁ from approximately 5.0 to 8.2 kV. Lateral pin displacement moves the surface-field maximum away from the apex and produces a broad nominal plateau near d = 5–7 mm, although the sub-grid steering distance remains sensitive to mesh and extraction settings. The bipolar double-pin configuration produces two symmetric surface-field maxima together with a near-null at the apex. This topology, but not its absolute magnitude, is reproduced by the finite-element cross-check. A Gaussian-process model interpolates the one-dimensional offset family accurately under leave-one-offset-out validation (R² = 0.999). Four Bayesian-optimisation trials locate the broad steering plateau but show no visible evaluation-count advantage over random sampling in this one-dimensional test. A three-mesh study gives a reported field-magnitude mesh-sensitivity estimate of approximately 6.2% at the finest grid (rising to about 9.5% at the h = 0.20 mm production mesh) for the representative three-dimensional case, and an indicative combined-uncertainty band of approximately 10% is shown for V₁ in the exploratory trade-off plot. Illustrative Young–Laplace profiles at contact angles of 70° to 110° preserve the comparative pin-versus-plate field reduction, whereas V₁ varies by up to approximately 50%. A simplified Peek-law screening estimate places corona inception (the pin being cathodic) in the approximate range of 4.8–10 kV, which is comparable to the on-axis-pin V₁, so gas discharge may intervene before large electrocapillary loading is reached in ambient air. The results establish electrode geometry as a controllable electrostatic-loading parameter while explicitly deferring coupled stability analysis and experimental validation. By resolving this loading on a single exact-solution-verified basis, the study quantifies electrode geometry as a control parameter that idealised enhancement factors and the nominal gap field cannot capture and provides a verified fixed-interface reference state for subsequent coupled electrohydrodynamic modelling. Full article

Background: Current ablation strategies for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias remain suboptimal. Treating cardiac arrhythmias using epicardial pulsed field ablation (PFA) selectively targets ganglionated plexi (GPs) within epicardial fat, offering a promising alternative to thermal ablation. Previous computational studies lacked physiological realism, excluding catheter geometry, fluid flow and post-PFA thermal latency. This study aimed to develop a realistic 3D epicardial PFA model integrating a clinical catheter, clinical PFA parameters and a sequentially coupled electro-thermal-fluid dynamics model, including thermal latency, to assess electrical and thermal collateral effects near stented coronary arteries. Methods: The model included epicardial fat, myocardium, blood, and the left circumflex artery containing a metallic stent positioned 0.25 mm beneath the catheter electrodes. Pulses of 1000, 2000, and 2500 V (60 pulses × 100 µs, 1 Hz) were simulated to analyze electric field distribution, PFA-induced lesion volume, temperature evolution, and Arrhenius-based thermal damage, including a 90 s post-pulse period to account for thermal latency. The PFA-threshold of 1000 V/cm was considered. Results: The artery reduced PFA-induced lesion size mainly by occupying fat tissue volume, while the stent shielded the lumen without altering fat lesion volume. The presence of a stent produced localized electric field enhancement at the arterial wall, with up to 3.83% of the arterial wall volume affected by PFA in the worst-case configuration. At clinical settings (1000 V), temperature remained below 40 °C and no collateral damage occurred. Voltages > 2000 V increased arterial wall heating, with thermal damage expanding up to five-fold during latency in the epicardial fat. Myocardium remained unaffected in all cases. Conclusions: The computational model developed in this study indicates that clinically relevant PFA parameters (1000 V) produce localized electric field enhancement at the stent–artery interface, resulting in limited collateral electrical effects in the arterial wall, while avoiding collateral thermal effects and preserving the myocardium. However, the use of higher pulse voltages can lead to delayed thermal damage within the epicardial fat. Full article

We present a Sentaurus TCAD model calibrated for the hydrogen-terminated diamond p-channel MOSFET reported by Hirama et al. and validated using the published transfer characteristics. We used the calibrated model to analyze threshold voltage (V_th) and effective mobility (μ_eff) over a temperature range from 300 to 600 K and an interface-trap density range from 10¹² to 10¹⁶ cm⁻²·eV⁻¹. The analysis shows three main trends: (i) a drain-bias-dependent shift in V_th that becomes stronger at higher temperatures; (ii) a threshold shift toward more negative values with increasing temperature and interface-trap density, showing a coupled thermal trap effect; and (iii) a mobility response that stays near the phonon-limited regime at low trap densities but degrades rapidly as trap density increases. We extracted compact empirical expressions for ΔV_th (T, D_it) and μ_eff (T, D_it) that reproduce the simulated trends with good accuracy for device-level comparison. The results show that interface-trap control is important to achieve thermally stable, high-performance diamond MOSFETs. Full article

The valorization of vegetable-oil biomass into bio-based functional fluids offers a sustainable route for replacing petroleum-derived insulating liquids in power equipment. In this study, soybean and canola oils were used as renewable lipid feedstocks and converted into biomass-derived ester fluids through acid-catalyzed transesterification with methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, and 1-butanol. The obtained ester-rich products were subjected to a combined physicochemical, dielectric, and thermal screening workflow, including kinematic viscosity at 40 °C (ν₄₀), acid value, breakdown voltage (BDV), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC; 2–8 °C min⁻¹ under N₂), and oxygen bomb calorimetry. Transesterification effectively upgraded the vegetable oils into low-viscosity ester-rich product fluids for most alcohol routes, with soybean methyl ester (SME) reaching 4.41 ± 0.02 mm² s⁻¹ and selected canola-derived esters showing viscosities of 5.81–6.81 mm² s⁻¹. However, the functional performance of the biomass-derived fluids was strongly governed by the alcohol route. SME exhibited the most favorable balance between dielectric and physicochemical properties, delivering the highest BDV of 64.90 ± 9.74 kV, exceeding the IEC 60156 threshold of 30 kV, while maintaining a low acid value of 0.0103 ± 0.0006 mg KOH g⁻¹. In contrast, propyl- and butyl-derived esters showed substantially lower BDV values of ≤14.98 kV, whereas ethanol-derived products retained near-neat-oil viscosities and were unsuitable for BDV testing under the applied conditions. Although propyl- and butyl-derived ester-rich products reduced kinematic viscosity, their markedly lower BDV values were likely associated with route-dependent product heterogeneity, lower alcohol–oil miscibility, possible residual polar impurities, and moisture sensitivity; therefore, they were regarded as non-optimized screening outcomes rather than IEC-compliant transformer-fluid candidates. DSC analysis provided comparative thermal-response descriptors under nitrogen, with methylation producing more coherent endothermic features. The combustion heats of the ester-rich products were concentrated at approximately 39–41 MJ kg⁻¹, lower than that of the mineral-oil reference in this dataset, suggesting combustion heat was used only as a preliminary energy-density descriptor and was not interpreted as direct evidence of improved fire safety. From an engineering-safety perspective, the lower combustion heat of the bio-esters may reduce the potential fire-load contribution during fault-related fire scenarios, although full fire-safety qualification requires additional flash-point, fire-point, and aging evaluations. Overall, this work demonstrates that alcohol route selection is a critical factor in converting vegetable oil biomass into high-value bio-based insulating fluids. Among the tested formulations, soybean methyl ester is the most promising baseline candidate for further development as a biodegradable, sustainable transformer fluid. Full article

Aggressive technology scaling has led to a significant increase in manufacturing process variations and transistor aging effects, which critically degrade the performance of radio frequency (RF) circuits. These reliability challenges are particularly pronounced in voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs), where phase noise and operating frequency stability are compromised. While design strategies incorporating micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) actuators enhance VCO performance by leveraging MEMS varactors or inductors with substantially higher quality factors (Q), this benefit is progressively undermined over time by process variations and aging-induced shifts in the threshold voltage and carrier mobility of the VCO’s transistors. This work presents an ultra-low-power current-reuse voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) designed to maintain stable performance under process variability and reliability-induced parameter shifts. Robust operation is achieved using a self-detecting–correcting (SDC) bias scheme that senses performance drift and applies corrective feedback through body-bias control in the VCO core. Analytical relations are derived to describe the impact of threshold voltage and mobility variations, and the approach is validated via post-layout simulations in a 130 nm complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS). Under 18% variations in threshold voltage and carrier mobility, the proposed SDC scheme preserves oscillation frequency, phase noise, and figure of merit (FoM) while also mitigating the intrinsic output amplitude imbalance of conventional current-reuse VCOs. Monte Carlo analysis (500 runs) demonstrates low sensitivity to fabrication uncertainty, with a standard deviation below 0.14 dBc/Hz for phase noise, 210 kHz for oscillation frequency, and 0.4 dBc/Hz for FoM. The VCO operates from a 0.9 V supply, consumes 175 μW, and achieves −124 dBc/Hz phase noise at 1 MHz offset near 2.4 GHz (FoM ≈ −199 dBc/Hz). Full article

This study presents a field-validated, scenario-based two-layer dispatch framework for sustainable rural electrification, demonstrated at the Khlong Ruea hybrid microgrid (50 kW micro-hydro, 20 kWp PV, 48 kWh LiFePO₄ BESS, 48 kW diesel) in Chumphon Province, southern Thailand. The framework combines an offline mixed-integer linear program (MILP) with scenario-based uncertainty handling (k-medoid clustering, N = 8; CVaR penalty at α = 0.9) and an operator-assisted execution layer implementing source transitions via manual changeover switches. A Fluke 435 IEC 61000-4-30 Class-A field campaign with stationary block-bootstrap inference (B = 2000 resamples, 10 min blocks) documented substantial power quality improvements under BESS supply: the three-phase average THD-V reduced from 5.4% to 2.9% with 95% confidence intervals that do not overlap between the two supply modes; the THD-I dropped from 55.8% to 4.9% (Phase A; 91.2% reduction; three-phase average 64.0% → 7.8%); the voltage unbalance fell from 0.86% to 0.03%; and the displacement power factor improved from 0.92 to 0.95. IEEE Std 1459-2010 decomposition reveals that 93% of the non-fundamental apparent power under diesel supply is attributable to current-distortion volt-amperes (Dᵚ = 4737 VA vs. 283 VA under BESS). A composite power quality index confirms that diesel operation fails the IEEE 519-2022 current-distortion limits while BESS supply satisfies all EN 50160 and IEEE 519-2022 thresholds (PQI: 0.75 vs. 3.89). A 365-day closed-loop simulation confirmed an 18.4% reduction in annual operating cost and a 27.6% reduction in diesel runtime relative to a rule-based baseline, while maintaining LPSP at or below 0.53%. Techno-economic projection from field-verified HOMER inputs reduced the levelized cost of electricity from approximately 0.69 USD/kWh (diesel-only) to 0.36 USD/kWh for the proposed PV + BESS + Hydro + Diesel configuration, which retains diesel as a low-utilization backup at a near-100% renewable energy share. The same configuration delivered a 47.9% net present cost advantage over diesel-only operation and a 12.8 t (82%) annual CO₂ reduction. Manual source-transfer interruptions of 1–3 min are fully characterized, and a cost-estimated ATS + SCADA upgrade roadmap is defined. Full article

The increasing penetration of inverter-based distributed energy resources (DERs) within distribution networks has resulted in harmonic distortion risks that can affect transformer thermal loading, service life, and network hosting capacity. This study assesses harmonic behaviour under increasing DER penetration using a detailed MATLAB 2025b/Simulink model of the CIGRÉ low-voltage benchmark feeder, adapted to reflect representative network parameters and run at a 400 V point of common coupling (PCC). DER penetration is incrementally increased from 0% to 195% of feeder load, and for each penetration level the PCC currents and voltages are examined using FFT-based spectrum extraction. The short-circuit strength is first calculated (I_SC/I_L = 14.1), and harmonic current and voltage distortion thresholds are benchmarked against IEEE 519:2022 and NRS 048-2:2025 respectively. Results show that while DER inverters introduce increasing odd-order harmonics, mainly the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 11th, the feeder’s moderate short-circuit capacity suppresses PCC voltage distortion, keeping voltage THD below 3% across all scenarios. As the inverter-based DER penetration increases, so does the harmonic current distortion. At 180%, Total Demand Distortion (TDD) nears the IEEE limit of 5%. Full article

Virtual synchronous generators (VSGs) are prone to transient power angle instability and short-circuit current overshoot under symmetrical short-circuit grid faults. To address the limitation that existing transient control strategies fail to simultaneously guarantee power angle stability and fault current limiting, a coordinated control strategy combining dynamic active power reference regulation and adaptive virtual impedance is designed. Specifically, the active power reference is dynamically adjusted in accordance with the voltage sag magnitude at the point of common coupling (PCC), which effectively narrows the acceleration area of the virtual rotor and maintains the transient power angle near its rated value to prevent the risk of system loss of synchronism. On this basis, an adaptive virtual impedance control scheme is designed to accurately calculate and implement the optimal current-limiting impedance on demand, confining the steady-state fault current within the allowable threshold. Finally, the effectiveness of the designed strategy is verified on the Matlab/Simulink simulation platform. Simulation results demonstrate that the designed strategy achieves the coordination between transient power angle stability and fault current limiting, thus improving the operational stability of the VSG grid-connected system under symmetrical short-circuit grid faults. Full article

Agriculture currently faces multiple challenges associated with climate change, the reduction in arable land, and the need to produce food more efficiently in terms of water and nutrient use. This study evaluated an Internet of Things (IoT)-based hydroponic monitoring system with threshold-controlled recirculation for lettuce (Lactuca sativa) under open-field thermal stress conditions, comparing it with a conventional closed recirculating PVC pipe-based hydroponic system operated using fixed pump timing. The architecture integrated an ESP32 microcontroller, sensors for nutrient solution temperature, pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity voltage, dissolved oxygen (DO), and electrical conductivity (EC), Wi-Fi/HTTPS connectivity, a PHP–MySQL server, and a web interface for near-real-time monitoring. During the growing period, 241,797 readings were recorded between 21 January and 13 February 2026. The threshold-based logic activated the pump mainly according to nutrient solution temperature and DO, while pH, EC, TDS, and relative turbidity voltage were monitored as operational indicators. The sensor-instrumented system operated with pump activation during approximately 28.5% of the monitoring period, while temperature exhibited high variability and peaks of 40.19 °C. Visual crop monitoring showed greater canopy uniformity in the sensor-instrumented system, supporting the technical feasibility of low-cost IoT-based monitoring and threshold-controlled recirculation for open-field hydroponic production of lettuce. Full article

The Nd:GYSAG crystal enables multi-wavelength near-infrared laser output, with adjustable wavelengths tailored for specific application requirements, making it highly valuable for space-borne water vapor detection. This study reports, for the first time, the side-pumping characteristics and electro-optical Q-switching performance of this crystal. Using Ø3 × 73 mm and Ø4 × 73 mm crystal rods doped with 1.21 at.% Nd:GYSAG (chemical formula Nd_0.033Gd_0.93Y_1.79Sc_0.70Al_4.54O_11.99), 1060.4 nm laser output was achieved under 808 nm laser diode (LD) side-pumping at a repetition rate of 100 Hz and a pump pulse width of 250 μs. The experimental results show that the Ø4 × 73 mm rod had a higher laser threshold but exhibited significantly superior slope efficiency and maximum output power compared to the Ø3 × 73 mm rod. Using a flat–flat resonator, optimal laser performance was obtained with an output coupler transmission of 35%, yielding a slope efficiency of 37.2%. A maximum output energy of 179.4 mJ was achieved at a pump energy of 646 mJ. Thermal lensing effects were compensated using a flat–convex cavity, leading to improved laser performance and beam quality. Electro-optical Q-switching experiments were conducted using a KD*P crystal. A comparison between voltage-applied and voltage-removed Q-switching techniques revealed superior performance for the voltage-applied method. High-performance laser output was realized, achieving a maximum pulse energy of 59.6 mJ, a pulse width of 14.93 ns, and a peak power of 3.99 MW. This study provides an important foundation for the development of near-infrared laser devices based on Nd:GYSAG. Full article

Voltage security assessment is increasingly challenged by stochastic demand growth and localized stress patterns that are not well represented by deterministic, single-snapshot analyses. This paper proposes a fully steady-state probabilistic stress-testing framework based on Monte Carlo simulation and Newton–Raphson AC power flow, jointly evaluating the minimum bus voltage magnitude $V_{min}$ (voltage-floor adequacy) and the scenario maximum Fast Voltage Stability Index $FVS{I}_{max}$ (worst-case line stress). Stress is injected selectively on screened weak buses by sampling a random stress footprint and intensity across three progressive levels (L1–L3), while preserving the local power factor. The approach is demonstrated on IEEE 14-, 30-, and 118-bus benchmark systems using $N=2000$ realizations per level, with 100% convergence across all cases. Across all systems, results show a consistent, monotone degradation of the voltage floor and a systematic increase in violation risk as stress intensifies. For the IEEE 14 system, the voltage-risk profile escalates rapidly, with $\mathbb{P}(V_{min}<0.90)$ rising from 0.16 (L1) to 0.54 (L3), while the worst-case FVSI tail strengthens markedly (p95 increasing from 0.1455 to 0.2081), indicating a growing likelihood of severe voltage-stress events. In contrast, the IEEE 30 and IEEE 118 systems exhibit milder shifts in central voltage levels but maintain substantial exposure relative to the 0.95 pu planning threshold, with $\mathbb{P}(V_{min}<0.95)$ reaching 0.79 and 0.74 at L3, respectively. Beyond risk magnitudes, the framework reveals a nontrivial structural phenomenon in worst-case line stress: as system size increases, stochastic stress outcomes become increasingly concentrated into a small number of dominant transmission corridors. Recurrence analysis at the highest stress level shows fragmented criticality in IEEE 14 (Top-3 lines sharing criticality), near-total dominance by a single corridor in IEEE 30 (>92% of cases), and complete dominance collapse in IEEE 118 (one corridor governing 100% of $FVS{I}_{max}$ events). These results demonstrate that probabilistic stress-testing can simultaneously quantify voltage-risk escalation and expose hidden structural bottlenecks that remain invisible under deterministic screening, providing a scalable diagnostic tool for planning-stage monitoring and reinforcement prioritization. Full article

For next-generation biomedical and biochemical sensor nodes, the analog front-end demands a direct interface with current-output sensors, extreme miniaturization, and nanowatt power consumption to enable energy autonomy. This work directly addresses these needs by presenting a comparative analysis of four minimalist, first-order, current-mode $\Delta \Sigma$ modulator ($\Delta \Sigma$M) architectures. Optimized for ultra-low-voltage operation (supply $\le 0.5$ V), the investigated topologies—including resistive, switched-capacitor, and current-reference-based cores—exploit passive integration and charge-domain feedback, eliminating the need for power-hungry active blocks. Detailed circuit-level simulations confirm that, with ad hoc techniques, it is possible to achieve stable first-order noise shaping in the deep near-threshold region, delivering up to 10-bit resolution while consuming less than 10 nW at a 0.5 V supply voltage achieving a signal bandwidth in the sub-10 hertz range. This study validates that robust $\Delta \Sigma$ conversion is feasible under extreme area and power constraints by leveraging architectural simplicity. The clear performance–complexity trade-offs outlined make these current-mode architectures ideal candidates for monolithic integration within miniaturized, energy-autonomous sensing systems. Full article

In nanometer integrated-circuit (IC) manufacturing, advanced technology scaling has intensified the effects of process variations on circuit reliability and performance. Random fluctuations in parameters such as threshold voltage, channel length, and oxide thickness further degrade design margins and increase the likelihood of functional failures. These variations often lead to rare circuit failure events, underscoring the importance of accurate yield estimation and robust design methodologies. Conventional Monte Carlo yield estimation is computationally infeasible as millions of simulations are required to capture failure events with extremely low probability. This paper presents a novel reliability-based circuit design optimization framework that leverages deep transfer learning to improve the efficiency of repeated yield analysis in optimization iterations. Based on pre-trained neural network models from prior design knowledge, we utilize model fine-tuning to accelerate importance sampling (IS) for yield estimation. To improve estimation accuracy, adversarial perturbations are introduced to calibrate uncertainty near the model decision boundary. Moreover, we propose a cascaded batch Bayesian optimization (CBBO) framework that incorporates a smart initialization strategy and a localized penalty mechanism, guiding the search process toward high-yield regions while satisfying nominal performance constraints. Experimental validation on SRAM circuits and amplifiers reveals that CBBO achieves a computational speedup of 2.02×–4.63× over state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods, without compromising accuracy and robustness. Full article