An air insulated linear pulse transformer for electrodischarge technology

A linear pulse transformer with air insulation at atmospheric pressure was created and tested under both constant resistance and non linear loads. The maximum power of the transformer output pulse reached ∼500 MW at a matched load with a charge voltage 50 kV. The transformer transferred ∼60% of the stored energy to the load over a characteristic time of about 1 μs. The scalability the generator was studied by connecting two identical transformers in series which gave a power output of ∼850 MW with doubled output voltage and reduced current. The frequency mode of operation was studied using one and two transformers with a charge voltage of 50 kV and a load that was, close to matched. In both cases, the power maximum and jitter showed no significant changes at any of the frequencies tested (up to 5 Hz). These results mean that the use of this generator can be recommended for a wide field of applications due to its scalability and low internal impedance.

A new type of non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma source based on a waveguide bridge

A new type of microwave source of non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasmas, presented earlier by the authors, has both the characteristics of a dielectric barrier discharge (in terms of the configuration and low gas temperature) and an ability to form a “clean” plasma jet like a classical microwave plasma torch. However, the need to use a circulator leads to a significant increase in complexity, cost and weight of the installation as a whole. The basis of the presented plasma source is a three-decibel waveguide bridge with connection through a narrow wall. Both output arms of the bridge are loaded on identical short-circuited segments of waveguides. The discharge tube passes across the waveguides at a distance of a quarter of the wavelength from the short circuit. Since the output arms of the bridge are always loaded symmetrically, the generator’s power which is reflected from the short circuits or not be absorbed in the microwave discharge, enters the decoupled arm of the bridge that is connected to the matched load. Thus, the magnetron is protected from the reflected wave without the need for an expensive circulator, in any case.

Compact Photonic-Crystals Based Isolator Using Ni–Zn Gyromagnetic Ferrite Posts

A Faraday rotation isolator is conventionally achieved by connecting a matched load to a three-port circulator. It obtains superior performance (isolation > 20 dB) at the inevitable cost of non-ideal size. In order to adapt to the miniaturizations and integrations required for future 5G communication systems, it is particularly important to reduce the size of the devices. This work demonstrates a photonic crystal-based isolator design, comprising a unique reflecting cavity and a built-in fan-shaped coupler, where four Ni–Zn ferrite posts achieve the rotations. The design with the compact size of about 46.6 × 41.6 × 4.32 mm3 obtains excellent forward transmission efficiency and reverse isolation of 0.50 dB and 44.20 dB, respectively.

Electret Nanogenerators for Self-Powered, Flexible Electronic Pianos

Traditional electronic pianos mostly adopt a gantry type and a large number of rigid keys, and most keyboard sensors of the electronic piano require additional power supply during playing, which poses certain challenges for portable electronic products. Here, we demonstrated a fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP)-based electret nanogenerator (ENG), and the output electrical performances of the ENG under different external pressures and frequencies were systematically characterized. At a fixed frequency of 4 Hz and force of 4 N with a matched load resistance of 200 MΩ, an output power density of 20.6 mW/cm2 could be achieved. Though the implementation of a signal processing circuit, ENG-based, self-powered pressure sensors have been demonstrated for self-powered, flexible electronic pianos. This work provides a new strategy for electret nanogenerators for self-powered sensor networks and portable electronics.

Contactless Measurement of Sheet Resistance of Nanomaterial Using Waveguide Reflection Method

Conductive nanomaterials are widely studied and used. The four-point probe method has been widely used to measure nanomaterials’ sheet resistance, denoted as Rs. However, for materials sensitive to contamination or physical damage, contactless measurement is highly recommended if not required. Feasibility of Rs evaluation using a one-port rectangular waveguide working on the microwave band in a contact-free mode is studied. Compared with existed waveguide methods, the proposed method has three advantages: first, by introducing an air gap between the waveguide flange and the sample surface, it is truly contactless; second, within the specified range of Rs, the substrate’s effect may be neglected; third, it does not require a matched load and/or metallization at the sample backside. Both theoretical derivation and simulation showed that the magnitude of the reflection coefficient S11 decreased monotonously with increasing Rs. Through calibration, a quantitative correlation of S11 and Rs was established. Experimental results with various conductive glasses showed that, for Rs in the range of ~10 to 400 Ohm/sq, the estimation error of sheet resistance was below ~20%. The potential effects of air gap size, sample size/location and measurement uncertainty of S11 are discussed. The proposed method is particularly suitable for characterization of conductive glass or related nanomaterials with Rs in the range of tens or hundreds of Ohm/sq.

MAXIMUM POWER OF THE HF ANTENNA TUNER SWITCHED BY PIN DIODES AT LOAD MISMATCH

PIN diodes, as inertial nonlinear elements, are widely used in transceiver equipment of various frequency ranges as limiters, attenuators and phase shifters. Also, with their help, it is possible to implement double-sided switching elements used, among other things, in switches and automatic antenna-matching devices of the HF range. Literary sources note that PIN diode switches in the HF range are capable of switching power up to 2 kW. In this case, only the task of switching the sub-octave bandpass filters of the transmitter is meant when operating at a perfectly matched load in a 50 Ohm path. The article discusses the features of the operation of PIN diodes in the HF range and determines the limiting values of the switched power depending on the parameters of the device and the load resistance. Examples of the circuit design of high-speed control circuits are given. The analysis of the maximum power of an automatic antenna-matching device of the HF range, carried out using the example of the most famous samples, with a load mismatch with PIN diodes, showed that in the case of a matched load, they can be used up to power levels practically equal to 2 kW. With a strong load mismatch, which is observed in most practical cases, especially when using communication facilities on mobile objects with electrically short antennas, the maximum power levels are reduced to 170 W when operating at frequencies above 3 MHz and to 100 W when operating at frequencies above 1 MHz.