ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
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- Creators: Kitchen, Jennifer
- Creators: Shen, Wei
Description自2018年下半年以来，全球主要经济体复苏动力减弱，全球经济下行风险加大，全球贸易环境趋紧，局部金融风险增大，地缘热点地区的博弈依旧激烈。2020年新型冠状病毒疫情全球蔓延，世界经济复苏遭遇阻力。黄金作为一种古老的货币，其不仅拥有商品属性，还兼具有货币属性和金融属性，其避险功能和保值效果能有效分散家庭资产组合的非系统性风险。本文利用23个全球主要黄金市场国家的面板数据，从黄金资产配置收入效应和替代效应、避险动机、金融市场不确定性、文化差异等角度分析家庭黄金商品配置（黄金饰品）和家庭黄金投资品配置（黄金条块）的影响因素。其次针对中国高净值人群资产配置展开问卷调查，主要关注高净值人群风险偏好、金融素养等因素在家庭资产中配置黄金的影响。
本文发现的主要结论是：（1）人均收入水平高的国家，家庭黄金资产配置比例越低，即居民整体收入越高，居民黄金资产配置越低；（2）十年期国债名义年化收益率、国家主要股票指数收益率对家庭黄金资产配置比例不具有显著影响，在通货膨胀率较高的国家，家庭居民会选择消费更多黄金饰品而非购买黄金投资品来提升黄金资产的配置比例；（3）全球金融市场风险较高时，家庭通过购买黄金投资品来配置黄金资产的比例显著提升，即各国居民面对全球金融市场风险时，会选择配置黄金资产来规避风险；（4）受到东亚文化辐射越深入的国家，家庭黄金投资品的配置比例和家庭黄金饰品的配置比例越高；（5）高净值人群风险偏好水平的提升，家庭资产配置黄金的可能性偏高，但是高净值人群黄金配置比例与风险偏好水平无显著相关性；（6）高净值人群金融素养水平的提升，家庭资产配置黄金的可能性偏高，但是高净值人群黄金配置比例与金融素养水平无显著相关性。
ContributorsYang, Hong (Author) / Shen, Wei (Thesis advisor) / Wu, Fei (Thesis advisor) / Hou, Kewei (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Impedance is one of the fundamental properties of electrical components, materials, and waves. Therefore, impedance measurement and monitoring have a wide range of applications. The multi-port technique is a natural candidate for impedance measurement and monitoring due to its low overhead and ease of implementation for Built-in Self-Test (BIST) applications. The multi-port technique can measure complex reflection coefficients, thus impedance, by using scalar measurements provided by the power detectors. These power detectors are strategically placed on different points (ports) of a passive network to produce unique solution. Impedance measurement and monitoring is readily deployed on mobile phone radio-frequency (RF) front ends, and are combined with antenna tuners to boost the signal reception capabilities of phones. These sensors also can be used in self-healing circuits to improve their yield and performance under process, voltage, and temperature variations. Even though, this work is preliminary interested in low-overhead impedance measurement for RF circuit applications, the proposed methods can be used in a wide variety of metrology applications where impedance measurements are already used. Some examples of these applications include determining material properties, plasma generation, and moisture detection. Additionally, multi-port applications extend beyond the impedance measurement. There are applications where multi-ports are used as receivers for communication systems, RADARs, and remote sensing applications. The multi-port technique generally requires a careful design of the testing structure to produce a unique solution from power detector measurements. It also requires the use of nonlinear solvers during calibration, and depending on calibration procedure, measurement. The use of nonlinear solvers generates issues for convergence, computational complexity, and resources needed for carrying out calibrations and measurements in a timely manner. In this work, using periodic structures, a structure where a circuit block repeats itself, for multi-port measurements is proposed. The periodic structures introduce a new constraint that simplifies the multi-port theory and leads to an explicit calibration and measurement procedure. Unlike the existing calibration procedures which require at least five loads and various constraints on the load for explicit solution, the proposed method can use three loads for calibration. Multi-ports built with periodic structures will always produce a unique measurement result. This leads to increased bandwidth of operation and simplifies design procedure. The efficacy of the method demonstrated in two embodiments.
In the first embodiment, a multi-port is directly embedded into a matching network to measure impedance of the load.
In the second embodiment, periodic structures are used to compare two loads without requiring any calibration.
ContributorsAvci, Muslum Emir (Author) / Ozev, Sule (Thesis advisor) / Bakkaloglu, Bertan (Committee member) / Kitchen, Jennifer (Committee member) / Trichopoulos, Georgios (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
This work presents two balanced power amplifier (PA) architectures, one at X-band and the other at K-band. The presented balanced PAs are designed for use in small satellite and cube satellite applications.The presented X-band PA employs wideband hybrid couplers to split input power to two commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Gallium Nitride (GaN) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) PAs and combine their output powers. The presented X-band balanced PA manufactured on a Rogers 4003C substrate yields increased small signal gain and saturated output power under continuous wave (CW) operation compared to the single MMIC PA used in the design under pulsed operation. The presented PA operates from 7.5 GHz to 11.5 GHz, has a maximum small signal gain of 36.3 dB, a maximum saturated power out of 40.0 dBm, and a maximum power added efficiency (PAE) of 38%.
Both a Wilkinson and a Gysel splitter and combiner are designed for use at K-band and their performance is compared. The presented K-band balanced PA uses Gysel power dividers and combiners with a GaN MMIC PA that is soon to be released in production.
ContributorsPearson, Katherine Elizabeth (Author) / Kitchen, Jennifer (Thesis advisor) / Bakkaloglu, Bertan (Committee member) / Ozev, Sule (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
In this study I investigate the organizational mechanisms (pathways) through which strategic investors can help a firm improve performance. Many commercial banks in China have recently invited foreign banks as strategic investors since China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), hoping to gain managerial and technological knowhow from the foreign banks. Using Shanghai Pudong Development Bank as a representative example, I conduct an in-depth qualitative analysis about how the joining of Citi Bank as a strategic investor has helped the local Chinese bank improve its financial performance. On the basis of a comprehensive review of the relevant literature, I first develop a theoretical model that describes the organizational mechanisms (pathways) through which foreign strategic investors can influence the local bank’s performance. Specifically, by participation in corporate governance, the foreign strategic investor can have a positive influence over the local bank’s strategy development, operational targets, incentive systems, and organizational culture, which consequently lead to improvements in the local banks operations and financial performance. I then use a case study method to substantiate the logic and the pathways of the model with the detailed information collected from the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Citi Bank strategic alliance. The results are consistent with the model’s descriptive validity.
ContributorsLiu, Xinyi (Author) / Pei, Ker-Wei (Thesis advisor) / Chen, Hong (Committee member) / Shen, Wei (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
This study investigates the performance effects of cross-industry mergers and acquisitions (M&A) using a sample of firms listed in China’s Growth Entrepreses Market (GEM). Compared to firms listed in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, firms listed in the GEM are much smaller and tend to derive the majority of their revenues from a single industry. I first analyze the motives for firms listed in the GEM to engage in M&As and propose a set of factors that may influence their likelihood of M&A activities. Using data on 55 cross-industry M&As between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016, I find that investor generally responded positively in short-term, as indicated by the positive accumulated abonormal returns over the first five trading days following the announcements. Meanwhile, I found no evidence that investors benefited from cross-industry M&As in long-term over three years after the event. Further analysis suggests that the short-term effects of cross-industry M&As by GEM listed firms were influenced by the target firm’s market valuation, whether the M&A was paid by cash, the amount of the payment, and the degree of difference between the acquiring firm’s and the target firm’s industries. These findings have important implications for the investors and senior executives of firms listed in the GEM.
ContributorsZhou, Wei (Author) / Shen, Wei (Thesis advisor) / Yu, Xiaoyun (Thesis advisor) / Jiang, Zhan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
This thesis aims to investigate the impacts of foreign banks’ management model on their degree of localization and operating efficiency. I decompose their management model into five major factors, including two formative factors and three reflective factors. The two formative factors are (1) strategic orientation and (2) target customers, and the three reflective factors are (1) top management team composition, (2) organizational structure, and (3) managerial authority and incentives. I propose that the formative factors influence foreign banks’ degree of localization, as demonstrated by the reflective factors, which subsequently influence foreign banks’ operating efficiency in China.
To test the above proposition, I conduct the empirical analysis in three steps. In the first step, I investigate foreign banks’ management model by surveying 13 major foreign banks locally incorporated in Mainland China. The results suggest that these 13 foreign banks can be categorized into three distinct groups based on their management model: intergrators, customer-followers, and parent-followers. The results also indicate that intergrators have the highest level of localization while parent-followers have the lowest level of localization.
In the second step, I conduct DEA (Data Envelope Analysis) and CAMEL (Capital Adequacy, Asset Quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity Analysis) to assess the operating efficiency of these 13 foreign banks. The assessment is conducted in two ways: 1) the inter-group comparison between foreign banks and local Chinese banks; 2) the intra-group comparison between the three distinct groups of foreign banks identified in the first step. The results indicates that the principal factor driving the operating efficiency of both local Chinese banks and foreign banks is the comprehensive technical efficiency, which includes both the quality of management and the quality of technical elements. I also find the uptrend of technical efficiency of the integrators is more stable than that of the other two groups of foreign banks.
Finally, I integrate the results from step one and step two to assess the relevance between foreign banks’ localization level and operating efficiency. I find that foreign banks that score higher in localization tend to have a higher level of operating efficiency. Although this finding is not conclusive about the causal relationship between localization and operating efficiency, it nevertheless suggests that the management model of the higher performing integrators can serve as references for the other foreign banks attempting to enhance their localization and operating efficiency. I also discuss the future trends of development in the banking industry in China and what foreign banks can learn from local Chinese banks to improve their market positions.
To test the above proposition, I conduct the empirical analysis in three steps. In the first step, I investigate foreign banks’ management model by surveying 13 major foreign banks locally incorporated in Mainland China. The results suggest that these 13 foreign banks can be categorized into three distinct groups based on their management model: intergrators, customer-followers, and parent-followers. The results also indicate that intergrators have the highest level of localization while parent-followers have the lowest level of localization.
In the second step, I conduct DEA (Data Envelope Analysis) and CAMEL (Capital Adequacy, Asset Quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity Analysis) to assess the operating efficiency of these 13 foreign banks. The assessment is conducted in two ways: 1) the inter-group comparison between foreign banks and local Chinese banks; 2) the intra-group comparison between the three distinct groups of foreign banks identified in the first step. The results indicates that the principal factor driving the operating efficiency of both local Chinese banks and foreign banks is the comprehensive technical efficiency, which includes both the quality of management and the quality of technical elements. I also find the uptrend of technical efficiency of the integrators is more stable than that of the other two groups of foreign banks.
Finally, I integrate the results from step one and step two to assess the relevance between foreign banks’ localization level and operating efficiency. I find that foreign banks that score higher in localization tend to have a higher level of operating efficiency. Although this finding is not conclusive about the causal relationship between localization and operating efficiency, it nevertheless suggests that the management model of the higher performing integrators can serve as references for the other foreign banks attempting to enhance their localization and operating efficiency. I also discuss the future trends of development in the banking industry in China and what foreign banks can learn from local Chinese banks to improve their market positions.
ContributorsSun, Minjie (Author) / Shen, Wei (Thesis advisor) / Qian, Jun (Thesis advisor) / Pei, Ker-Wei (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Kuwait is committed to implementing the Kyoto Protocol in “Vision 2035” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by shifting to the use of wind and solar energies [1]. The specific goal of the Vision 2035 is for renewables to comprise 15% of Kuwait’s electrical generation by 2030. Wind and solar are abundant in Kuwait and can easily provide 15% of the total electrical generation. However, there are three significant obstacles. The first is Kuwait currently depends heavily on rapidly diminishing fossil fuels which are the major sources of CO2, NOx, and SOx emissions. Unfortunately, current plans are to build two conventional power stations by 2024. The purpose is to cover the energy needs for growing population. The second problem is that Kuwait has a very small land area. Consequently, there is limited space to build new utility-scale renewable power stations. The third issue is the low electricity tariff provides little incentive for the population to save energy. Offshore wind farms have the potential to provide thousands of GWh/yr to accomplish the goals of Vision 2035. Kuwait has a vast untapped supply of offshore wind energy. Specifically, there are eight offshore locations in which 50 turbines could be built each, for a total of 400 turbines. Using 4.2 MW turbines, this would provide 1.68 GW of wind energy, and increase the renewable portion of the electrical energy production to 13.93% (including Shagaya renewable park). Installing battery storage with the proposed wind turbines could provide fast ramp response which would serve to complement existing power production on Kuwait’s grid. In this work, six different turbines with different sizes are considered from 2.5 MW to 4.2 MW (from well-known manufacturers, such as, Nordex and Vestas), but ultimately 4.2 MW turbines are recommended. Data for this study has been supplied by: A) Civil Aviation -- temperature and wind speed, B) Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) -- electricity data, and C) Public Authority for Civil Information -- population data.
ContributorsAlotaibi, Abdullah Saqer (Author) / Calhoun, Ronald (Thesis advisor) / Kitchen, Jennifer (Thesis advisor) / Roedel, Ronald (Committee member) / Mayyas, Abdul Ra'ouf (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
This study investigates the impact of a specific organizational form – partnership – on employees’ awareness of risk control and job engagement in securities companies. Given that their organizational performance relies heavily on the performance of individual employees, it is critical for securities companies in China to adopt appropriate organizational forms so that they can better captalize on their employees’ human capital to cope with the increasingly intense market competition. Partnership, as one of the few organizational forms, has been widely adopted in industries that rely on the performance of individuals, such as law, auditing, consulting, and investment banking, around the world. In the context of China’s emerging economy, it has also been adopted as an incentive system by market leaders across several industries, including Alibaba in online shopping, Vanke in real estate, and Fosun in investments. In contrast, partnership has not been adopted or implemented by securities companies in China as most of them are still state-owned enterprises.
Based on my review of the corporate governance literature and qualitative analysis of partnership adoption in China, I propose that partnership can help better alighn the interests of employees with owners in securities companies as well. Specifically, the prospect of becoming a partner in the future can improve employees’ awareness of risk control and increase their job engagement. Taking advantage of partnership adoption at a Chinese securities company as a natural field experienment, I surveyed its employees about their awareness of risk contrl and job dedication before and after the adoption. The results from 505 matched surveys showed an increase in the average scores of both awareness of risk control and job dedication after the company adopted partnership as a new organizational form. Findings of this study have important implications for organizational and incentive design for securities companies in China.
Based on my review of the corporate governance literature and qualitative analysis of partnership adoption in China, I propose that partnership can help better alighn the interests of employees with owners in securities companies as well. Specifically, the prospect of becoming a partner in the future can improve employees’ awareness of risk control and increase their job engagement. Taking advantage of partnership adoption at a Chinese securities company as a natural field experienment, I surveyed its employees about their awareness of risk contrl and job dedication before and after the adoption. The results from 505 matched surveys showed an increase in the average scores of both awareness of risk control and job dedication after the company adopted partnership as a new organizational form. Findings of this study have important implications for organizational and incentive design for securities companies in China.
ContributorsSha, Changming (Author) / Shen, Wei (Thesis advisor) / Li, Feng (Thesis advisor) / Gu, Bin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
China's city commercial banks were reorganized by the urban credit cooperatives in the same city in the 1990s. Although they are allowed to open branches outside the registered city, the location and the number of their branches have been strictly restricted. It is fatal to them to increase the competitiveness of their branches. Based on the diversity theory and its mechanism, in this study I examined the impact of source diversity of the senior management in the branches of the city commercial bank on the branches’ productivity and their asset yield. Invoking the resource-based theory and the social capital framework, the source diversity lead to the organization resources diversity and the organization knowledge diversity. The results demonstrate that the source diversity contribute to the branches’ competitiveness advantage. Both internal trained personnel and external introduction personnel are important for the branches’ top management team. But one of the two kinds of personnel is more suitable to their middle management team.
ContributorsZhang, Xiande (Author) / Gu, Bin (Thesis advisor) / Wang, Tan (Thesis advisor) / Shen, Wei (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
In this dissertation, enhanced coherent detection of terahertz (THz) radiation is presented for Silicon integrated circuits (ICs). In general THz receivers implemented in silicon technologies face a challenge due to the high noise figure (NF) of the low noise amplifier (LNA) and low conversion gain of the radio frequency (RF) mixers. Moreover, issues with implementing local oscillators (LOs) further compound these challenges, including power driving mixes, distribution networks, and overall power consumption, particularly for large-scale arrays. To address these inherent obstacles, two notable cases of enhancing THz receiver performance are presented. In the Sideband Separation Receiver (SSR) for space-borne applications is introduced. Implemented in SiGe BiCMOS technology this broadband SSR boasts a high Image Rejection Ratio (IRR) exceeding 20 dB across 220 – 320 GHz. Employing a modified Weaver architecture, optimized for simultaneous spectral line observation, it utilizes an I/Q double down-conversion, pushing the technological boundaries of silicon and enabling large-scale focal plane array (FPA) deployment in space. Notably, the use of a sub-harmonic down-conversion mixer (SHM) significantly reduces LO power generation challenges, enhancing scalability while maintaining minimal NF.
In the 4x4 FPA active THz imager, a dual-polarized patch antenna operating at 420 GHz utilizes orthogonal polarization for RF and LO signals, coupled with a coherent homodyne power detector. Realized in 0.13µm SiGe HBT technology, the power detector is co-designing with the antenna to ensure minimal crosstalk and achieving -30dB cross-polarization isolation. Illumination of the LO enhances power detector performance without on-chip routing complexities, enabling scalability to 1K pixel THz imagers. Each pixel achieves a Noise-Equivalent Power (NEP) of 1 pW/√Hz at 420 GHz, and integration with a readout and digital filter ensures high dynamic range.
Furthermore, this study explores radiation hardening techniques to mitigate single-event effects (SEEs) in high-frequency receivers operating in space. Leveraging a W-band receiver in 90 nm SiGe BiCMOS technology, matching considerations and diverse modes of operation are employed to reduce SEE susceptibility. Transient current pulse modeling, validated through TCAD simulations, demonstrates the effectiveness of proposed techniques in substantially mitigating SETs within the proposed radiation-hardened-by-design (RHBD) receiver front-end.
ContributorsAl Seragi, Ebrahim (Author) / Zeinolabedinzadeh, Saeed (Thesis advisor) / Trichopoulos, Georgios (Committee member) / Bakkaloglu, Bertan (Committee member) / Aberle, James (Committee member) / Kitchen, Jennifer (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024