ZP-CI/OFDM:A Power Efficient Wireless Transmission Technology

Low power efficiency is a deficiency in traditional Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing （OFDM） systems. To counter this problem, a new wireless transmission technology based on Zero-Padding Carrier Interferometry OFDM （ZP-CI/OFDM） is proposed. In a ZP-CI/OFDM system, transmission symbols are spread to all OFDM subcarriers via carrier interferometry codes. This reduces the Peak-to-Average Power Ratio （PAPR） that traditional OFDM suffers and also exploits frequency diversity gain. By zero-padding at the transmitter, advanced receiver technologies can be adopted for ZP-CI/OFDM so that frequency diversity gain can be further utilized and the power efficiency of the system is improved.

Optimizing the power conversion processes in diluted donor/acceptor heterojunctions towards 19.4%efficiency all-polymer solar cells

All polymer solar cells(all-PSCs)promise mechanically-flexible and morphologically-stable organic photovoltaics and have aroused increased interests very recently.However,due to their disorderly conformation structures within the photoactive film,inefficient charge generation and carrier transport are observed which lead to inferior photovoltaic performance compared to smaller molecular acceptor-based photovoltaics.Here,by diluting PM6 with a cutting-edge polymeric acceptor PY-IT and diluting PY-IT with PM6 or D18,donor-dominating or acceptor-dominating heterojunctions were prepared.Synchrotron X-ray and multiple spectrometer techniques reveal that the diluted heterojunctions receive increased structural order,translating to enhanced carrier mobility,improved exciton diffusion length,and suppressed non-radiative recombination loss during the power conversion.As the results,the corresponding PM6+1%PY-IT/PY-IT+1%D18 and PM6+1%PY-IT/PY-IT+1%PM6 devices fabricated by layer-by-layer deposition received superior power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 19.4%and 18.8%respectively,along with enhanced operational lifetimes in air,outperforming the PCE of 17.5%in the PM6/PY-IT reference device.

Power transfer efficiency in an air-breathing radio frequency ion thruster

Due to a series of challenges such as low-orbit maintenance of satellites, the air-breathing electric propulsion has got widespread attention. Commonly, the radio frequency ion thruster is favored by low-orbit missions due to its high specific impulse and efficiency. In this paper, the power transfer efficiency of the radio frequency ion thruster with different gas compositions is studied experimentally, which is obtained by measuring the radio frequency power and current of the antenna coil with and without discharge operation. The results show that increasing the turns of antenna coils can effectively improve the radio frequency power transfer efficiency, which is due to the improvement of Q factor. In pure N_2 discharge,with the increase of radio frequency power, the radio frequency power transfer efficiency first rises rapidly and then exhibits a less steep increasing trend. The radio frequency power transfer efficiency increases with the increase of gas pressure at relatively high power, while declines rapidly at relatively low power. In N_(2)/O_(2) discharge, increasing the N_(2) content at high power can improve the radio frequency power transfer efficiency, but the opposite was observed at low power. In order to give a better understanding of these trends, an analytic solution in limit cases is utilized, and a Langmuir probe was employed to measure the electron density. It is found that the evolution of radio frequency power transfer efficiency can be well explained by the variation of plasma resistance, which is related to the electron density and the effective electron collision frequency.

A 20 μW 95 dB dynamic range 4th-order Delta-Sigma modulator with novel power efficient operational transconductance amplifier and resonator

A low power high performance Delta-Sigma modulator for portable measurement applications is presented. To reduce power consumption while maintaining high performance, a fully feedforward architecture with a comprehensive system-level design is implemented. As a key building block, a novel power efficient current mirror operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) with a fast-settling less-error switched-capacitor common-mode feedback (SC CMFB) circuit is introduced, and the effects of both gain nonlinearity and 1/f noise of OTA are discussed. A new method to determine the voltage gain of an OTA is also proposed. The bottom terminal parasitic effect of poly-insulator-poly (PIP) capacitors is considered. About an extra 20% of capacitance is added to the total capacitance load. A power and area efficient resonator is adopted to realize a coefficient of 1/90 for 50% power and 75% area reduction compared with conventional designs. The chip is implemented in a low cost 0.35 μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The total power consumption is 20 μW with a 1.5 V supply, and the measured dynamic range (DR) is 95 dB over a 1 kHz bandwidth. Experimental results show that a high figure-of-merit (FOM) is achieved for the designed modulator in comparison with those from the literature.

Analysis and design of power efficient semi-passive RFID tag

The analysis and design of a semi-passive radio frequency identification（RFID） tag is presented.By studying the power transmission link of the backscatter RFID system and exploiting a power conversion efficiency model for a multi-stage AC-DC charge pump,the calculation method for semi-passive tag＇s read range is proposed.According to different read range limitation factors,an intuitive way to define the specifications of tag＇s power budget and backscatter modulation index is given.A test chip is implemented in SMIC 0.18μm standard CMOS technology under the guidance of theoretical analysis.The main building blocks are the threshold compensated charge pump and low power wake-up circuit using the power triggering wake-up mode.The proposed semi-passive tag is fully compatible to EPC C1G2 standard.It has a compact chip size of 0.54 mm^2,and is adaptable to batteries with a 1.2 to 2.4 V output voltage.

Highly Efficient Power Conversion from Salinity Gradients with Ion-Selective Polymeric Nanopores

A polymeric nanopore membrane with selective ionic transport has been proposed as a potential device to convert the chemical potential energy in salinity gradients to electrical power. However, its energy conversion efficiency and power density are often limited due to the challenge in reliably controlling the size of the nanopores with the conventional chemical etching method. Here we report that without chemical etching, polyimide （PI） membranes irradiated with GeV heavy ions have negatively charged nanopores, showing nearly perfect selectivity for cations over anions, and they can generate electrical power from salinity gradients. We further demonstrate that the power generation efficiency of the PI membrane approaches the theoretical limit, and the maximum power density reaches 130m W/m2 with a modified etching method, outperforming the previous energy conversion device that was made of polymeric nanopore membranes.

Adaptive Energy-Efficient Power Allocation for DAS with Imperfect Channel State Information and Antenna Selection

Considering that perfect channel state information(CSI) is difficult to obtain in practice,energy efficiency(EE) for distributed antenna systems(DAS) based on imperfect CSI and antennas selection is investigated in Rayleigh fading channel.A novel EE that is defined as the average transmission rate divided by the total consumed power is introduced.In accordance with this definition,an adaptive power allocation(PA) scheme for DAS is proposed to maximize the EE under the maximum transmit power constraint.The solution of PA in the constrained EE optimization does exist and is unique.A practical iterative algorithm with Newton method is presented to obtain the solution of PA.The proposed scheme includes the one under perfect CSI as a special case,and it only needs large scale and statistical information.As a result,the scheme has low overhead and good robustness.The theoretical EE is also derived for performance evaluation,and simulation result shows the validity of the theoretical analysis.Moreover,EE can be enhanced by decreasing the estimation error and/or path loss exponents.

An SDN-Based Algorithm for Caching,Routing,and Load Balancing in ICN

One of the challenges of Informationcentric Networking(ICN)is finding the optimal location for caching content and processing users’requests.In this paper,we address this challenge by leveraging Software-defined Networking(SDN)for efficient ICN management.To achieve this,we formulate the problem as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming(MINLP)model,incorporating caching,routing,and load balancing decisions.We explore two distinct scenarios to tackle the problem.Firstly,we solve the problem in an offline mode using the GAMS environment,assuming a stable network state to demonstrate the superior performance of the cacheenabled network compared to non-cache networks.Subsequently,we investigate the problem in an online mode where the network state dynamically changes over time.Given the computational complexity associated with MINLP,we propose the software-defined caching,routing,and load balancing(SDCRL)algorithm as an efficient and scalable solution.Our evaluation demonstrates that the SDCRL algorithm significantly reduces computational time while maintaining results that closely resemble those achieved by GAMS.

Recess-free enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN RF HEMTs on Si substrate

Enhancement-mode(E-mode)GaN-on-Si radio-frequency(RF)high-electron-mobility transistors(HEMTs)were fabri-cated on an ultrathin-barrier(UTB)AlGaN(<6 nm)/GaN heterostructure featuring a naturally depleted 2-D electron gas(2DEG)channel.The fabricated E-mode HEMTs exhibit a relatively high threshold voltage(VTH)of+1.1 V with good uniformity.A maxi-mum current/power gain cut-off frequency(fT/fMAX)of 31.3/99.6 GHz with a power added efficiency(PAE)of 52.47%and an out-put power density(Pout)of 1.0 W/mm at 3.5 GHz were achieved on the fabricated E-mode HEMTs with 1-μm gate and Au-free ohmic contact.

Enhancing the crystallinity and stability of perovskite solar cells with 4-tert-butylpyridine induction for efficiency exceeding 24%

Perovskite solar cells(PSCs)have emerged as a promising photovoltaic technology because of their high light absorption coefficient,long carrier diffusion distance,and tunable bandgap.However,PSCs face challenges such as hysteresis effects and stability issues.In this study,we introduced a novel approach to improve film crystallization by leveraging 4-tert-butylpyridine(TBP)molecules,thereby enhancing the performance and stability of PSCs.Our findings demonstrate the effective removal of PbI_(2)from the perovskite surface through strong coordination with TBP molecules.Additionally,by carefully adjusting the concentration of the TBP solution,we achieved enhanced film crystallinity without disrupting the perovskite structure.The TBP-treated perovskite films exhibit a low defect density,improved crystallinity,and improved carrier lifetime.As a result,the PSCs manufactured with TBP treatment achieve power conversion efficiency(PCE)exceeding 24%.Moreover,we obtained the PCE of 21.39%for the 12.25 cm^(2)module.

Hydrodynamic Performance of An Integrated System of Breakwater and A Multi-Chamber OWC Wave Energy Converter

A multi-chamber oscillating water column wave energy converter(OWC-WEC)integrated to a breakwater is investigated.The hydrodynamic characteristics of the device are analyzed using an analytical model based on the linear potential flow theory.A pneumatic model is employed to investigate the relationship between the air mass flux in the chamber and the turbine characteristics.The effects of chamber width,wall draft and wall thickness on the hydrodynamic performance of a dual-chamber OWC-WEC are investigated.The results demonstrate that the device,with a smaller front wall draft and a wider rear chamber exhibits a broader effective frequency bandwidth.The device with a chamber-width-ratio of 1:3 performs better in terms of power absorption.Additionally,results from the analysis of a triplechamber OWC-WEC demonstrate that reducing the front chamber width and increasing the rearward chamber width can improve the total performance of the device.Increasing the number of chambers from 1 to 2 or 3 can widen the effective frequency bandwidth.

High Efficiency Formamidinium-Cesium Perovskite-Based Radio-Photovoltaic Cells

Radio-photovoltaic cell is a micro nuclear battery for devices operating in extreme environments,which converts the decay energy of a radioisotope into electric energy by using a phosphor and a photovoltaic converter.Many phosphors with high light yield and good environmental stability have been developed,but the performance of radio-photovoltaic cells remains far behind expectations in terms of power density and power conversion efficiency,because of the poor photoelectric conversion efficiency of traditional photovoltaic converters under low-light conditions.This paper reports an radio-photovoltaic cell based on an intrinsically stable formamidinium-cesium perovskite photovoltaic converter exhibiting a wide light wavelength response from 300 to 800 nm,high open-circuit voltage(V_(oc)),and remarkable efficiency at low-light intensity.When a He ions accelerator is adopted as a mimickedαradioisotope source with an equivalent activity of 0.83 mCi cm^(-2),the formamidinium-cesium perovskite radio-photovoltaic cell achieves a V_(oc)of 0.498 V,a short-circuit current(J_(sc))of 423.94 nA cm^(-2),and a remarkable power conversion efficiency of 0.886%,which is 6.6 times that of the Si reference radio-photovoltaic cell,as well as the highest among all radio-photovoltaic cells reported so far.This work provides a theoretical basis for enhancing the performance of radio-photovoltaic cells.

Variants of Secondary Control with Power Recovery for Loading Hydraulic Driving Device

Current high power load simulators are generally incapable of obtaining both high loading performance and high energy efficiency. Simulators with high energy efficiency are used to simulate static-state load, and those with high dynamic performance typically have low energy efficiency. In this paper, the variants of secondary control（VSC） with power recovery are developed to solve this problem for loading hydraulic driving devices that operate under variable pressure, unlike classical secondary control（CSC） that operates in constant pressure network. Hydrostatic secondary control units are used as the loading components, by which the absorbed mechanical power from the tested device is converted into hydraulic power and then fed back into the tested system through 4 types of feedback passages（FPs）. The loading subsystem can operate in constant pressure network, controlled variable pressure network, or the same variable pressure network as that of the tested device by using different FPs. The 4 types of systems are defined, and their key techniques are analyzed, including work principle, simulating the work state of original tested device, static operation points, loading performance, energy efficiency, and control strategy, etc. The important technical merits of the 4 schemes are compared, and 3 of the schemes are selected, designed, simulated using AMESim and evaluated. The researching results show that the investigated systems can simulate the given loads effectively, realize the work conditions of the tested device, and furthermore attain a high power recovery efficiency that ranges from 0.54 to 0.85, even though the 3 schemes have different loading performances and energy efficiencies. This paper proposes several loading schemes that can achieve both high dynamic performance and high power recovery efficiency.

Heteroatom substitution-induced asymmetric A–D–A type non-fullerene acceptor for efficient organic solar cells

Research on asymmetric A–D–A structured non-fullerene acceptors has lagged far behind the development of symmetric counterpart.In this contribution,by simply replacing one sulfur atom in indacenodithiophene unit with a selenium atom,an asymmetric building block Se PT and a corresponding asymmetric non-fullerene acceptor Se PT-IN have been developed.Asymmetric Se PT-IN achieved a high efficiency of 10.20% in organic solar cells when blended with PBT1-C,much higher than that of symmetric TPT-IN counterpart(8.91%).Our results demonstrated an effective heteroatom substitution strategy to develop asymmetric A–D–A structured non-fullerene acceptors.

Blade-coating Perovskite Films with Diverse Compositions for Efficient Photovoltaics

In this research highlight,recent significant advances with hot-assisted blade-coating or air knife-assisted blade-coating of different perovskite compositions with bandgaps ranging from 1.3 eV to 1.9 eV(i.e.widebandgap or small-bandgap perovskites with mixed cations and anions,2D/3D perovskites,Pb/Sn binary perovskites,and all-inorganic perovskites)for single-junction or tandem PSCs are discussed,with an emphasis on elucidating the distinct ink formulation engineering strategies,crystal growth mechanisms,crystallization kinetics,and optoelectronic properties of the different perovskite compositions.

Development of a power control system for AUVs probing for underwater mineral resources

Valuable mineral resources are widely distributed throughout the seabed. autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are preferable to remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) when probing for such mineral resources as the extensive exploration area makes it difficult to maintain contact with operators. AUVs depend on batteries, so their power consumption should be reduced to extend exploration time. Power for conventional marine instrument systems is incorporated in their waterproof sealing. External intermittent control of this power source until termination of exploration is challenging due to limitations imposed by the underwater environment. Thus, the AUV must have a power control system that can improve performance and maximize use of battery capacity. The authors developed such a power control system with a three-step algorithm. It automatically detects underwater operational states and can limit power, effectively decreasing power consumption by about 15%.

A new low-bandgap polymer acceptor based on benzotriazole for efficient all-polymer solar cells

The rational design of polymer acceptors with strong and broad absorption is critical to improve photovoltaic performance.In this work,a new polymer acceptor PY9-T based on heptacyclic benzotriazole(Y9-C16)as a building block and thiophene unit as the linking unit was synthesized,which exhibited a low bandgap(1.37 eV)and a high extinction coefficient of the neat film(1.44×10^(5) cm^(−1)).When PY9-T was blended with the wide bandgap polymer donor PBDB-T,the all-polymer solar cells(APSCs)showed a high power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 10.45%with both high open circuit voltage of 0.881 V and short-circuit current density of 19.82 mA/cm^(2).In addition,APSCs based on PY9-T show good thermal stability,as evidenced by slight changes morphologies when annealed at 100℃.These results suggest that Y9-C16 provides a new building block to develop efficient and stable polymer acceptors.

Formamidinium-incorporated Dion-Jacobson phase 2D perovskites for highly efficient and stable photovoltaics

Dion-Jacobson phase two-dimensional(DJ 2D)perovskites,recently attracting considerable interests,exhibit excellent environmental stability and structural tunability,but their solar cells still offer unsatisfactory power conversion efficiencies(PCEs).Herein,we develop DJ 2D perovskites employing formamidinium(FA+)as a ternary cation in the perovskite cages((PDA)(FA)x(MA)3-xPb4 I13,χ=0,0.15,0.3 and 0.6,PDA=1,3-propanediammonium)for highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells(PSCs).We found that the DJ 2D perovskite with a 10%FA+fraction presents improved crystallinity,preferred vertical orientation,and longer charge carrier lifetime compared to that without FA+doping.As a result,the FAdoped DJ 2D PSCs exhibit a champion PCE of 14.74%with superior device stability.The unencapsulated devices sustain over 92%of its initial PCE after storage at a constant relative humidity(RH)of 65%for 6000 h,90%by heat at 85℃in air for 800 h,and 94%under 1-sun illumination for 5000 h.These findings demonstrate that the incorporation of FA cation into the DJ 2D perovskite is a promising strategy to develop highly efficient and stable DJ 2D PSCs.

Self-assembled TiO_(2)hole-blocking layers for efficient perovskite solar cells

The self-assembly process for compatible functional layers of devices is a simple,feasible,and energy-saving strategy.In mesoporous perovskite solar cells(PSCs),compact and scaffold TiO_(2) films generally function as the hole-blocking and electron-transporting layers,respectively.However,both of these layers are usually generated through a high-temperature annealing process.Here,we deposited TiO_(2) compact films through a room-temperature self-assembly process as effective hole-blocking layers for PSCs.The thickness of TiO_(2) compact films can be easily controlled by the deposition time.Through the optimization of TiO_(2) compact films(80 nm),the power conversion efficiency(PCE)of mesoporous PSCs without and with hole conductor layers increases up to 10.66%and 17.95%,respectively.Notably,an all-low-temperature planar PSC with the self-assembled TiO_(2) layer exhibits a PCE of 16.41%.

Invited Paper: Antenna Selection in Energy Efficient MIMO Systems: A Survey

With the explosive growth and need for high-speed wireless communications, more and more energy is consumed to support the required quality of service. Therefore, energy efficient or green communication has become a very hot topic under the ground of limited energy resource and environmentally friendly transmission schemes. MIMO technique is capable of reducing the transmission power thanks to its diversity and multiplexing gain. Moreover, antenna selection(AS) is an alternative to extract many of the benefits in MIMO systems with a reduced cost of complexity and power. Although many works including several survey papers have investigated AS in MIMO systems, the goal of these works is only the capacity maximization or error rate minimization, which fails to guarantee the optimality of the energy efficiency in MIMO systems. In this paper, we overview the state of the art in the AS schemes in energy efficient MIMO systems, the goal of which is to optimize the energy efficiency of the whole system. Specifically, we introduce energy efficient AS in point-to-point MIMO, cooperative MIMO, multiuser MIMO and largescale MIMO systems, respectively. Several challenging and practical issues in this area are also addressed.