Jeremy Barnes, Jimmy Pina, Fernando Santos
Advisor: Professor
James Hedrick
Gas Detection Robot
An autonomous voice controlled robot that can detect the concentration
of carbon dioxide, C02, in a small environment and notify the user whether
the environment is safe or dangerous.
Project
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Peter K. Chan
Advisor:
Professor James Hedrick
As the microelectronics industry
strives to maintain Moore’s law in the midst of expected scaling limits in
the near future, long-term efforts have been made to develop a
double-gated transistor called a “FinFET” for commercial ULSI/VLSI
applications that will hopefully further extend the validity of Moore’s
Law. Recent studies have shown that FinFET devices have
significantly faster switching times and higher current density than
current CMOS device technology, which would allow future ULSI/VLSI
applications to perform at the standards set by Moore’s Law. The PowerPC®
group in the IBM® Microelectronics Division in Burlington, Vermont has
started in working on the long-term transition in replacing their current
device technology in PowerPC processors with FinFET devices. Their first
main objective in this long-term transition is to compare the overall
performance between the current PowerPC® devices and FinFET devices. As
the initial step in this objective, comparative noise analysis was
performed in Cadence between PowerPC® Circuits (Dynamic NOR-Logic Circuit,
Latch Circuit, SRAM Cell) implemented with current commercial devices and
FinFET devices. A number of noise analysis tests were created to evaluate
the noise performance of the FinFET devices in these circuits relative to
the current devices. The development of a FinFET model through
macromodeling techniques in Pspice® has been investigated to provide a
better understanding of the FinFET at the device-level. The design and
implementation of such a model would allow FinFET noise analysis to be
performed (similar to the noise analysis done with Cadence in IBM®
Burlington) in a more publicly accessible software tool such as Pspice®.
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Justin P. Creticos
Advisor:
Professor Yu Chang
An Octave model based on the method of moments is developed as a first
step towards a web interactive tool kit for wire antenna design. The
feasability of using short, thin wire antennas to model larger, more
complex antennas is investigated. Important parameters for wireless system
design such as current distribution, field pattern, and input impedance
can be determined as well as a discussion of expansion and testing
functions.
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Lisa A. DeMar
Advisor:
Professor Claudine Lecocq
My senior project is a biomedical application of the Polhemus Fastrak
motion sensor system, which uses electromagnetic sensors to determine
position in 6 degrees of freedom with respect to a fixed transmitter.
Lindsay Pacuska and I used this system to do biomedical research in
Montpellier, France. We worked at a hospital of the University de
Montpellier I, in conjunction with Professor Coubes and Professor Beuter.
We tested patients who were receiving deep brain stimulation as a
treatment for dystonia, a neurological disorder. The next step was to
analyze the data. The analysis involved filtering and frequency analysis
using fft and power spectral density to determine the amplitude
fluctuation, rms amplitude, drift, and dominant frequency. The three weeks
we spent doing research in France was a good experience, from which we
learned a lot not only about biomedical research, but also about problem
solving and about working in a cooperative interdisciplinary and
international setting.
Project
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Eric Giang
Advisors:
Prof. James Raynolds (University at Albany School of Nanosciences and Nanoengineering (UAlbany-SNN))
The growth of the internet poses a demand for faster, higher bandwidth networks. The current fastest networks use a fiber optic
backbone to transmit optical signals at data rates as high as 13Gbps. Consequently, as the transmission distance increases, the network slows down due to the constant conversion and retransmission of the optical signal required to maintain signal integrity. Currently, there has been much research on developing an all-optical network solution that avoids signal conversion and retransmission and thereby achieve high speed networking. This project seeks to model pulse propagation in optical waveguides, for potential use in investigations of all-optical switching. The modeling starts with simple configurations having known analytic solutions, which increase in complexity. Simulations performed with SGFramework, a software tool employing the finite-difference time domain method to solve systems described by partial
differential equations, will be presented. We thank the University at Albany School of Nanosciences and Nanoengineering for its
support.
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Rosabeth Kriegler
Advisors:
Prof. James Castracane and Steve Olson (University at Albany School of Nanosciences and
Nanoengineering (UAlbany-SNN))
Radio Frequency Micro-Electromechanical Devices (RF MEMS) have high potential for applications in the communications industry, mainly due to the sheer size of MEM devices (micrometers). A device called an RF MEM micromachined variable capacitor and a RF MEM comb drive are the focus components of this project. Detailed results of computer simulations done on the micromachined variable capacitor and comb drives will be presented and accompanied with experimental measurements and images. Simulations were performed and experimental images were
acquired at University at Albany School of Nanosciences and Nanoengineering (UAlbany-SNN).
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Viktor Kustov
Advisor:
Professor Ekram Hassib
A spectrum analyzer is used to display energy components of a signal
vs. frequency. The main purpose of this analyzer is to provide visual
representation of the input signal in the frequency domain. This is a
major advantage in tuning audio equipment.
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Daniel E. Lewis
Advisor: Professor Ekram Hassib
Design & Implementation of a SONAR Depth Detector
The focus of this project is to design and implement an active Sonar
system. My ultimate goal is to create an underwater Sonar depth detector.
Due to the many difficulties of wave propagation in water, I started the
project working in air. In my design I use the Polaroid 6500 Ranging
Module, a 7000 Series transducer and the Parallax Basic Stamp 2SX. These
parts collaborate to measure the distance from obstacles through a program
written in Basic. The program has the stamp tell the Sonar module to emit
a "ping" and it will measure the time it takes to receive an echo. The
stamp then converts this time into a distance. This resulting distance is
then displayed in the Basic Stamp 2 development software on a PC. As this
device is designed to work in air for a limited range (approximately 35
feet), the bulk of this project involves adapting the device so that it
will propagate in water. This is the main focus, and the overall goal is
to make it capable of making underwater depth measurements of at least 10
feet!
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Douglas J. Lockett (EE) and Christopher D. Roblee (CpE)
Advisor: Professor Michael Rudko
In today’s fast-paced society, effective real-time processing
technology is expected and therefore arguably essential. The rapid growth
and prevalence of digital multimedia has driven the development of
associated technologies. Modern signal and image processing applications
demand significant levels of computation, many of which are too complex
for practical implementation using software alone. This paper outlines the
use of a genetic algorithm to design multiplierless recursive IIR filters
for applications in hardware-based image processing. A unique genetic
algorithm was developed to optimize filter coefficients such that the
corresponding filter’s frequency response matches that of an ideal system
with the constraint that all coefficients are powers-of-two and the
resulting filter is stable. The motivation for using power-of-two filter
coefficients is to reduce the overall arithmetic complexity in any
hardware based implementation by replacing digital multipliers with
simpler shift operators. This approach is highly beneficial for image
filtering applications that are computationally intensive. The cases
considered comprise Canny’s edge detection filter as well as an image blur
operator. The resulting multiplierless filters are compared to analogous
implementations using real multipliers on the basis of complexity (the
number of shifts and additions performed), frequency response, and
qualitative performance on test images. It is shown that in many cases the
multiplierless systems have a definite advantage in terms of their
efficiency while maintaining a desired response, making them a viable
alternative as image filters. It is demonstrated that custom genetic
optimization is a reliable, efficient, and in specific circumstances a
superior means for realizing such filters.
Project link
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Daniel Osei-Antwi
Advisors: Prof. Michael Carpenter (University at Albany School
of Nanosciences and Nanoengineering (UAlbany-SNN))
One of the budding areas of nanotechnology research is the use of chemiresistor microsensors for environmental monitoring systems.
In the presence of any chemical vapor, the resistance of the chemiresistor changes in proportion to vapor concentration. This phenomenon
provides a fascinating method for quantitative detection of hazardous gases, provided one can develop a method for monitoring the ultra-high resistance (1Gohm +) associated with chemiresistor microsensors. Especially in these times of heightened danger from bioterrorism and weapons of mass destruction, the potential benefits of this technology has taken on added importance. We thank the University at Albany
School of Nanosciences and Nanoengineering for its support.
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ChengLin Zheng
Advisors: Prof. Katharine Dovidenko and Prof. Vince LaBella
(University at Albany School of Nanosciences and Nanoengineering (UAlbany-SNN))
The unique electronic properties and mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes promise fascinating opportunities for small-scale
device development. In order to explore these properties, good images of carbon nanotubes, which have typical diameters of less than 100nm, are required. Several different methods are currently available for imaging carbon nanotubes. This report concentrates on comparing images of carbon nanotubes and graphite sheets taken with Focused Ion Beam Microscope and Scanning Tunnelling Microscope. These studies have been performed at the UAlbany Institute for Materials, University at Albany. The advantages and disadvantages of each imaging method will be
discussed.
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