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Description
Super-Resolution (SR) techniques are widely developed to increase image resolution by fusing several Low-Resolution (LR) images of the same scene to overcome sensor hardware limitations and reduce media impairments in a cost-effective manner. When choosing a solution for the SR problem, there is always a trade-off between computational efficiency and

Super-Resolution (SR) techniques are widely developed to increase image resolution by fusing several Low-Resolution (LR) images of the same scene to overcome sensor hardware limitations and reduce media impairments in a cost-effective manner. When choosing a solution for the SR problem, there is always a trade-off between computational efficiency and High-Resolution (HR) image quality. Existing SR approaches suffer from extremely high computational requirements due to the high number of unknowns to be estimated in the solution of the SR inverse problem. This thesis proposes efficient iterative SR techniques based on Visual Attention (VA) and perceptual modeling of the human visual system. In the first part of this thesis, an efficient ATtentive-SELective Perceptual-based (AT-SELP) SR framework is presented, where only a subset of perceptually significant active pixels is selected for processing by the SR algorithm based on a local contrast sensitivity threshold model and a proposed low complexity saliency detector. The proposed saliency detector utilizes a probability of detection rule inspired by concepts of luminance masking and visual attention. The second part of this thesis further enhances on the efficiency of selective SR approaches by presenting an ATtentive (AT) SR framework that is completely driven by VA region detectors. Additionally, different VA techniques that combine several low-level features, such as center-surround differences in intensity and orientation, patch luminance and contrast, bandpass outputs of patch luminance and contrast, and difference of Gaussians of luminance intensity are integrated and analyzed to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed selective SR frameworks. The proposed AT-SELP SR and AT-SR frameworks proved to be flexible by integrating a Maximum A Posteriori (MAP)-based SR algorithm as well as a fast two-stage Fusion-Restoration (FR) SR estimator. By adopting the proposed selective SR frameworks, simulation results show significant reduction on average in computational complexity with comparable visual quality in terms of quantitative metrics such as PSNR, SNR or MAE gains, and subjective assessment. The third part of this thesis proposes a Perceptually Weighted (WP) SR technique that incorporates unequal weighting parameters in the cost function of iterative SR problems. The proposed approach is inspired by the unequal processing of the Human Visual System (HVS) to different local image features in an image. Simulation results show an enhanced reconstruction quality and faster convergence rates when applied to the MAP-based and FR-based SR schemes.
ContributorsSadaka, Nabil (Author) / Karam, Lina J (Thesis advisor) / Spanias, Andreas S (Committee member) / Papandreou-Suppappola, Antonia (Committee member) / Abousleman, Glen P (Committee member) / Goryll, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
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Description
Three-dimensional (3D) inductors with square, hexagonal and octagonal geometries have been designed and simulated in ANSYS HFSS. The inductors have been designed on Silicon substrate with through-hole via with different width, spacing and thickness. Spice modeling has been done in Agilent ADS and comparison has been made with results of

Three-dimensional (3D) inductors with square, hexagonal and octagonal geometries have been designed and simulated in ANSYS HFSS. The inductors have been designed on Silicon substrate with through-hole via with different width, spacing and thickness. Spice modeling has been done in Agilent ADS and comparison has been made with results of custom excel based calculator and HFSS simulation results. Single ended quality factor was measured as 12.97 and differential ended quality factor was measured as 15.96 at a maximum operational frequency of 3.65GHz. The single ended and differential inductance was measured as 2.98nH and 2.88nH respectively at this frequency. Based on results a symmetric octagonal inductor design has been recommended to be used for application in RF biosensing. A system design has been proposed based on use of this inductor and principle of inductive sensing using magnetic labeling.
ContributorsAbbey, Hemanshu (Author) / Bakkaloglu, Bertan (Thesis advisor) / Kiaei, Sayfe (Committee member) / Goryll, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
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Description
The past two decades have been monumental in the advancement of microchips designed for a diverse range of medical applications and bio-analysis. Owing to the remarkable progress in micro-fabrication technology, complex chemical and electro-mechanical features can now be integrated into chip-scale devices for use in biosensing and physiological measurements. Some

The past two decades have been monumental in the advancement of microchips designed for a diverse range of medical applications and bio-analysis. Owing to the remarkable progress in micro-fabrication technology, complex chemical and electro-mechanical features can now be integrated into chip-scale devices for use in biosensing and physiological measurements. Some of these devices have made enormous contributions in the study of complex biochemical processes occurring at the molecular and cellular levels while others overcame the challenges of replicating various functions of human organs as implant systems. This thesis presents test data and analysis of two such systems. First, an ISFET based pH sensor is characterized for its performance in a continuous pH monitoring application. Many of the basic properties of ISFETs including I-V characteristics, pH sensitivity and more importantly, its long term drift behavior have been investigated. A new theory based on frequent switching of electric field across the gate oxide to decrease the rate of current drift has been successfully implemented with the help of an automated data acquisition and switching system. The system was further tested for a range of duty cycles in order to accurately determine the minimum length of time required to fully reset the drift. Second, a microfluidic based vestibular implant system was tested for its underlying characteristics as a light sensor. A computer controlled tilt platform was then implemented to further test its sensitivity to inclinations and thus it‟s more important role as a tilt sensor. The sensor operates through means of optoelectronics and relies on the signals generated from photodiode arrays as a result of light being incident on them. ISFET results show a significant drop in the overall drift and good linear characteristics. The drift was seen to reset at less than an hour. The photodiodes show ideal I-V comparison between photoconductive and photovoltaic modes of operation with maximum responsivity at 400nm and a shunt resistance of 394 MΩ. Additionally, post-processing of the tilt sensor to incorporate the sensing fluids is outlined. Based on several test and fabrication results, a possible method of sealing the open cavity of the chip using a UV curable epoxy has been discussed.
ContributorsMamun, Samiha (Author) / Christen, Jennifer Blain (Thesis advisor) / Goryll, Michael (Committee member) / Yu, Hongyu (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
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Description
The high cut-off frequency of deep sub-micron CMOS technologies has enabled the integration of radio frequency (RF) transceivers with digital circuits. However, the challenging point is the integration of RF power amplifiers, mainly due to the low breakdown voltage of CMOS transistors. Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) metal semiconductor field effect transistors (MESFETs)

The high cut-off frequency of deep sub-micron CMOS technologies has enabled the integration of radio frequency (RF) transceivers with digital circuits. However, the challenging point is the integration of RF power amplifiers, mainly due to the low breakdown voltage of CMOS transistors. Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) metal semiconductor field effect transistors (MESFETs) have been introduced to remedy the limited headroom concern in CMOS technologies. The MESFETs presented in this thesis have been fabricated on different SOI-CMOS processes without making any change to the standard fabrication steps and offer 2-30 times higher breakdown voltage than the MOSFETs on the same process. This thesis explains the design steps of high efficiency and wideband RF transmitters using the proposed SOI-CMOS compatible MESFETs. This task involves DC and RF characterization of MESFET devices, along with providing a compact Spice model for simulation purposes. This thesis presents the design of several SOI-MESFET RF power amplifiers operating at 433, 900 and 1800 MHz with ~40% bandwidth. Measurement results show a peak power added efficiency (PAE) of 55% and a peak output power of 22.5 dBm. The RF-PAs were designed to operate in Class-AB mode to minimize the linearity degradation. Class-AB power amplifiers lead to poor power added efficiency, especially when fed with signals with high peak to average power ratio (PAPR) such as wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA). Polar transmitters have been introduced to improve the efficiency of RF-PAs at backed-off powers. A MESFET based envelope tracking (ET) polar transmitter was designed and measured. A low drop-out voltage regulator (LDO) was used as the supply modulator of this polar transmitter. MESFETs are depletion mode devices; therefore, they can be configured in a source follower configuration to have better stability and higher bandwidth that MOSFET based LDOs. Measurement results show 350 MHz bandwidth while driving a 10 pF capacitive load. A novel polar transmitter is introduced in this thesis to alleviate some of the limitations associated with polar transmitters. The proposed architecture uses the backgate terminal of a partially depleted transistor on SOI process, which relaxes the bandwidth and efficiency requirements of the envelope amplifier in a polar transmitter. The measurement results of the proposed transmitter demonstrate more than three times PAE improvement at 6-dB backed-off output power, compared to the traditional RF transmitters.
ContributorsGhajar, Mohammad Reza (Author) / Thornton, Trevor (Thesis advisor) / Aberle, James T., 1961- (Committee member) / Bakkaloglu, Bertan (Committee member) / Goryll, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
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Description
Detection of molecular interactions is critical for understanding many biological processes, for detecting disease biomarkers, and for screening drug candidates. Fluorescence-based approach can be problematic, especially when applied to the detection of small molecules. Various label-free techniques, such as surface plasmon resonance technique are sensitive to mass, making it extremely

Detection of molecular interactions is critical for understanding many biological processes, for detecting disease biomarkers, and for screening drug candidates. Fluorescence-based approach can be problematic, especially when applied to the detection of small molecules. Various label-free techniques, such as surface plasmon resonance technique are sensitive to mass, making it extremely challenging to detect small molecules. In this thesis, novel detection methods for molecular interactions are described.

First, a simple detection paradigm based on reflectance interferometry is developed. This method is simple, low cost and can be easily applied for protein array detection.

Second, a label-free charge sensitive optical detection (CSOD) technique is developed for detecting of both large and small molecules. The technique is based on that most molecules relevant to biomedical research and applications are charged or partially charged. An optical fiber is dipped into the well of a microplate. It detects the surface charge of the fiber, which does not decrease with the size (mass) of the molecule, making it particularly attractive for studying small molecules.

Third, a method for mechanically amplification detection of molecular interactions (MADMI) is developed. It provides quantitative analysis of small molecules interaction with membrane proteins in intact cells. The interactions are monitored by detecting a mechanical deformation in the membrane induced by the molecular interactions. With this novel method small molecules and membrane proteins interaction in the intact cells can be detected. This new paradigm provides mechanical amplification of small interaction signals, allowing us to measure the binding kinetics of both large and small molecules with membrane proteins, and to analyze heterogeneous nature of the binding kinetics between different cells, and different regions of a single cell.

Last, by tracking the cell membrane edge deformation, binding caused downstream event – granule secretory has been measured. This method focuses on the plasma membrane change when granules fuse with the cell. The fusion of granules increases the plasma membrane area and thus the cell edge expands. The expansion is localized at the vesicle release location. Granule size was calculated based on measured edge expansion. The membrane deformation due to the granule release is real-time monitored by this method.
ContributorsGuan, Yan (Author) / Tao, Nongjian (Thesis advisor) / LaBaer, Joshua (Committee member) / Goryll, Michael (Committee member) / Wang, Shaopeng (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
In mesoscopic physics, conductance fluctuations are a quantum interference phenomenon that comes from the phase interference of electron wave functions scattered by the impurity disorder. During the past few decades, conductance fluctuations have been studied in various materials including metals, semiconductors and graphene. Since the patterns of conductance fluctuations is

In mesoscopic physics, conductance fluctuations are a quantum interference phenomenon that comes from the phase interference of electron wave functions scattered by the impurity disorder. During the past few decades, conductance fluctuations have been studied in various materials including metals, semiconductors and graphene. Since the patterns of conductance fluctuations is related to the distributions and configurations of the impurity scatterers, each sample has its unique pattern of fluctuations, which is considered as a sample fingerprint. Thus, research on conductance fluctuations attracts attention worldwide for its importance in both fundamental physics and potential technical applications. Since early experimental measurements of conductance fluctuations showed that the amplitudes of the fluctuations are on order of a universal value (e2/h), theorists proposed the hypothesis of ergodicity, e.g. the amplitudes of the conductance fluctuations by varying impurity configurations is the same as that from varying the Fermi energy or varying the magnetic field. They also proposed the principle of universality; e.g., that the observed fluctuations would appear the same in all materials. Recently, transport experiments in graphene reveal a deviation of fluctuation amplitudes from those expected from ergodicity.

Thus, in my thesis work, I have carried out numerical research on the conductance fluctuations in GaAs nanowires and graphene nanoribbons in order to examine whether or not the theoretical principles of universality and ergodicity hold. Finite difference methods are employed to study the conductance fluctuations in GaAs nanowires, but an atomic basis tight-binding model is used in calculations of graphene nanoribbons. Both short-range disorder and long-range disorder are considered in the simulations of graphene. A stabilized recursive scattering matrix technique is used to calculate the conductance. In particular, the dependence of the observed fluctuations on the amplitude of the disorder has been investigated. Finally, the root-mean-square values of the amplitude of conductance fluctuations are calculated as a basis with which to draw the appropriate conclusions. The results for Fermi energy sweeps and magnetic field sweeps are compared and effects of magnetic fields on the conductance fluctuations of Fermi energy sweeps are discussed for both GaAs nanowires and graphene nanoribbons.
ContributorsLiu, Bobo (Author) / Ferry, David K. (Thesis advisor) / Akis, Richard (Committee member) / Saraniti, Marco (Committee member) / Goryll, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
Solid-state nanopore research, used in the field of biomolecule detection and separation, has developed rapidly during the last decade. An electric field generated from the nanopore membrane to the aperture surface by a bias voltage can be used to electrostatically control the transport of charges. This results in ionic current

Solid-state nanopore research, used in the field of biomolecule detection and separation, has developed rapidly during the last decade. An electric field generated from the nanopore membrane to the aperture surface by a bias voltage can be used to electrostatically control the transport of charges. This results in ionic current rectification that can be used for applications such as biomolecule filtration and DNA sequencing.

In this doctoral research, a voltage bias was applied on the device silicon layer of Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) cylindrical single nanopore to analyze how the perpendicular gate electrical field affected the ionic current through the pore. The nanopore was fabricated using electron beam lithography (EBL) and reactive ion etching (RIE) which are standard CMOS processes and can be integrated into any electronic circuit with massive production. The long cylindrical pore shape provides a larger surface area inside the aperture compared to other nanopores whose surface charge is of vital importance to ion transport.

Ionic transport through the nanopore was characterized by measuring the ionic conductance of the nanopore in aqueous hydrochloric acid and potassium chloride solutions under field effect modulation. The nanopores were separately coated with negatively charged thermal silicon oxide and positively charged aluminum oxide using Atomic Layer Deposition. Both layers worked as electrical insulation layers preventing leakage current once the substrate bias was applied. Different surface charges also provided different counterion-coion configurations. The transverse conductance of the nanopore at low electrolyte concentrations (<10-4 M) changed with voltage bias when the Debye length was comparable to the dimensions of the nanopore.

Ionic transport through nanopores coated with polyelectrolyte (PE) brushes were also investigated in ionic solutions with various pH values using Electrochemical Impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The pH sensitive poly[2–(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate] (PDMAEMA) PE brushes were integrated on the inner walls as well as the surface of the thermal oxidized SOI cylindrical nanopore using surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). An equivalent circuit model was developed to extract conductive and resistive values of the nanopore in ionic solutions. The ionic conductance of PE coated nanopore was effectively rectified by varying the pH and gate bias.
ContributorsWang, Xiaofeng (Author) / Goryll, Michael (Thesis advisor) / Thornton, Trevor J (Committee member) / Christen, Jennifer M (Committee member) / Yu, Hongbin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
Biosensors aiming at detection of target analytes, such as proteins, microbes, virus, and toxins, are widely needed for various applications including detection of chemical and biological warfare (CBW) agents, biomedicine, environmental monitoring, and drug screening. Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), as a surface-sensitive analytical tool, can very sensitively respond to minute

Biosensors aiming at detection of target analytes, such as proteins, microbes, virus, and toxins, are widely needed for various applications including detection of chemical and biological warfare (CBW) agents, biomedicine, environmental monitoring, and drug screening. Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR), as a surface-sensitive analytical tool, can very sensitively respond to minute changes of refractive index occurring adjacent to a metal film, offering detection limits up to a few ppt (pg/mL). Through SPR, the process of protein adsorption may be monitored in real-time, and transduced into an SPR angle shift. This unique technique bypasses the time-consuming, labor-intensive labeling processes, such as radioisotope and fluorescence labeling. More importantly, the method avoids the modification of the biomarker’s characteristics and behaviors by labeling that often occurs in traditional biosensors. While many transducers, including SPR, offer high sensitivity, selectivity is determined by the bio-receptors. In traditional biosensors, the selectivity is provided by bio-receptors possessing highly specific binding affinity to capture target analytes, yet their use in biosensors are often limited by their relatively-weak binding affinity with analyte, non-specific adsorption, need for optimization conditions, low reproducibility, and difficulties integrating onto the surface of transducers. In order to circumvent the use of bio-receptors, the competitive adsorption of proteins, termed the Vroman effect, is utilized in this work. The Vroman effect was first reported by Vroman and Adams in 1969. The competitive adsorption targeted here occurs among different proteins competing to adsorb to a surface, when more than one type of protein is present. When lower-affinity proteins are adsorbed on the surface first, they can be displaced by higher-affinity proteins arriving at the surface at a later point in time. Moreover, only low-affinity proteins can be displaced by high-affinity proteins, typically possessing higher molecular weight, yet the reverse sequence does not occur. The SPR biosensor based on competitive adsorption is successfully demonstrated to detect fibrinogen and thyroglobulin (Tg) in undiluted human serum and copper ions in drinking water through the denatured albumin.
ContributorsWang, Ran (Author) / Chae, Junseok (Thesis advisor) / Bakkaloglu, Bertan (Committee member) / Tsow, Tsing (Committee member) / Goryll, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
The microelectronics technology has seen a tremendous growth over the past sixty years. The advancements in microelectronics, which shows the capability of yielding highly reliable and reproducible structures, have made the mass production of integrated electronic components feasible. Miniaturized, low-cost, and accurate sensors became available due to the rise of

The microelectronics technology has seen a tremendous growth over the past sixty years. The advancements in microelectronics, which shows the capability of yielding highly reliable and reproducible structures, have made the mass production of integrated electronic components feasible. Miniaturized, low-cost, and accurate sensors became available due to the rise of the microelectronics industry. A variety of sensors are being used extensively in many portable applications. These sensors are promising not only in research area but also in daily routine applications.

However, many sensing systems are relatively bulky, complicated, and expensive and main advantages of new sensors do not play an important role in practical applications. Many challenges arise due to intricacies for sensor packaging, especially operation in a solution environment. Additional problems emerge when interfacing sensors with external off-chip components. A large amount of research in the field of sensors has been focused on how to improve the system integration.

This work presents new methods for the design, fabrication, and integration of sensor systems. This thesis addresses these challenges, for example, interfacing microelectronic system to a liquid environment and developing a new technique for impedimetric measurement. This work also shows a new design for on-chip optical sensor without any other extra components or post-processing.
ContributorsLuo, Tao (Author) / Blain Christen, Jennifer (Thesis advisor) / Song, Hongjiang (Committee member) / Goryll, Michael (Committee member) / Yu, Hongbin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
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Description
Programmable metallization cell (PMC) technology employs the mechanisms of metal ion transport in solid electrolytes (SE) and electrochemical redox reactions in order to form metallic electrodeposits. When a positive bias is applied to an anode opposite to a cathode, atoms at the anode are oxidized to ions and dissolve into

Programmable metallization cell (PMC) technology employs the mechanisms of metal ion transport in solid electrolytes (SE) and electrochemical redox reactions in order to form metallic electrodeposits. When a positive bias is applied to an anode opposite to a cathode, atoms at the anode are oxidized to ions and dissolve into the SE. Under the influence of the electric field, the ions move to the cathode and become reduced to form the electrodeposits. These electrodeposits are filamentary in nature and persistent, and since they are metallic can alter the physical characteristics of the material on which they are formed. PMCs can be used as next generation memories, radio frequency (RF) switches and physical unclonable functions (PUFs).

The morphology of the filaments is impacted by the biasing conditions. Under a relatively high applied electric field, they form as dendritic elements with a low fractal dimension (FD), whereas a low electric field leads to high FD features. Ion depletion effects in the SE due to low ion diffusivity/mobility also influences the morphology by limiting the ion supply into the growing electrodeposit.

Ion transport in SE is due to hopping transitions driven by drift and diffusion force. A physical model of ion hopping with Brownian motion has been proposed, in which the ion transitions are random when time window is larger than characteristic time. The random growth process of filaments in PMC adds entropy to the electrodeposition, which leads to random features in the dendritic patterns. Such patterns has extremely high information capacity due to the fractal nature of the electrodeposits.

In this project, lateral-growth PMCs were fabricated, whose LRS resistance is less than 10Ω, which can be used as RF switches. Also, an array of radial-growth PMCs was fabricated, on which multiple dendrites, all with different shapes, could be grown simultaneously. Those patterns can be used as secure keys in PUFs and authentication can be performed by optical scanning.

A kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) model is developed to simulate the ion transportation in SE under electric field. The simulation results matched experimental data well that validated the ion hopping model.
ContributorsYu, Weijie (Author) / Kozicki, Michael N (Thesis advisor) / Barnaby, Hugh (Thesis advisor) / Diaz, Rodolfo (Committee member) / Goryll, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015