In very small electronic devices the alternate capture and emission of carriers at an individual defect site generates discrete switching in the device resistance—referred to as a random telegraph signal (RTS) The study of RTSs has provided a powerful means of investigating the capture and emission kinetics of single defects, has demonstrated the defect origins of low-frequency (1/ƒ) noise in these devices, and has provided new insight into the nature of defects at the Si/SiO2 interface

Noise in solid-state microstructures: A new perspective on individual defects, interface states and low-frequency (1/ƒ) noise

The outstanding properties of SiO2, which include high resistivity, excellent dielectric strength, a large band gap, a high melting point, and a native, low defect density interface with Si, are in large part responsible for enabling the microelectronics revolution. The Si/SiO2 interface, which forms the heart of the modern metal–oxide–semiconductor field effect transistor, the building block of the integrated circuit, is arguably the worlds most economically and technologically important materials interface. This article summarizes recent progress and current scientific understanding of ultrathin (<4 nm) SiO2 and Si–O–N (silicon oxynitride) gate dielectrics on Si based devices. We will emphasize an understanding of the limits of these gate dielectrics, i.e., how their continuously shrinking thickness, dictated by integrated circuit device scaling, results in physical and electrical property changes that impose limits on their usefulness. We observe, in conclusion, that although Si microelectronic devices...

Ultrathin (<4 nm) SiO2 and Si-O-N gate dielectric layers for silicon microelectronics: Understanding the processing, structure, and physical and electrical limits

With the rapidly evolving technology of the smart grid and electric vehicles (EVs), the battery has emerged as the most prominent energy storage device, attracting a significant amount of attention. The very recent discussions about the performance of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in the Boeing 787 have confirmed so far that, while battery technology is growing very quickly, developing cells with higher power and energy densities, it is equally important to improve the performance of the battery management system (BMS) to make the battery a safe, reliable, and cost-efficient solution. The specific characteristics and needs of the smart grid and EVs, such as deep charge/discharge protection and accurate state-of-charge (SOC) and state-of-health (SOH) estimation, intensify the need for a more efficient BMS. The BMS should contain accurate algorithms to measure and estimate the functional status of the battery and, at the same time, be equipped with state-of-the-art mechanisms to protect the battery from hazardous and inefficient operating conditions.

Battery Management System: An Overview of Its Application in the Smart Grid and Electric Vehicles

The aim of this paper is to review the state-of-the-art of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technologies and their contribution to industrial control applications. Authors start by addressing various research fields which can exploit the advantages of FPGAs. The features of these devices are then presented, followed by their corresponding design tools. To illustrate the benefits of using FPGAs in the case of complex control applications, a sensorless motor controller has been treated. This controller is based on the Extended Kalman Filter. Its development has been made according to a dedicated design methodology, which is also discussed. The use of FPGAs to implement artificial intelligence-based industrial controllers is then briefly reviewed. The final section presents two short case studies of Neural Network control systems designs targeting FPGAs.

https://hal-centralesupelec.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01337007/document

FPGAs in Industrial Control Applications

This paper discusses techniques for generating digital sequences of noise which simulate processes with certain known properties or describing equations. Part I of the paper presents a review of stochastic processes and spectral estimation (with some new results) and a tutorial on simulating continuous noise processes with a known autospectral density or autocorrelation function. In defining these techniques for computer generating sequences, it also defines the necessary accuracy criteria. These methods are compared to some of the common techniques for noise generation and the problems, or advantages, of each are discussed. Finally, Part I presents results on simulating stochastic differential equations. A Runge-Kutta (RK) method is presented for numerically solving these equations. Part II of the paper discusses power law, or 1/f/sup /spl alpha//, noises. Such noise processes occur frequently in nature and, in many cases, with nonintegral values for /spl alpha/. A review of 1/f noises in devices and systems is followed by a discussion of the most common continuous 1/f noise models. The paper then presents a new digital model for power law noises. This model allows for very accurate and efficient computer generation of 1/f/sup /spl alpha// noises for any /spl alpha/. Many of the statistical properties of this model are discussed and compared to the previous continuous models. Lastly, a number of approximate techniques for generating power law noises are presented for rapid or real time simulation. >

/pdf/discrete-simulation-of-colored-noise-and-stochastic-56wh4884s3.pdf

Discrete simulation of colored noise and stochastic processes and 1/f/sup /spl alpha// power law noise generation

Performance comparison of active balancing techniques for lithium-ion batteries

The battery is a fundamental component of electric vehicles, which represent a step forward towards sustainable mobility. Lithium chemistry is now acknowledged as the technology of choice for energy storage in electric vehicles. However, several research points are still open. They include the best choice of the cell materials and the development of electronic circuits and algorithms for a more effective battery utilization. This paper initially reviews the most interesting modeling approaches for predicting the battery performance and discusses the demanding requirements and standards that apply to ICs and systems for battery management. Then, a general and flexible architecture for battery management implementation and the main techniques for state-of-charge estimation and charge balancing are reported. Finally, we describe the design and implementation of an innovative BMS, which incorporates an almost fully-integrated active charge equalizer.

Batteries and battery management systems for electric vehicles

This brief shows that a conventional semi-custom design-flow based on a positive feedback adiabatic logic (PFAL) cell library allows any VLSI designer to design and verify complex adiabatic systems (e.g., arithmetic units) in a short time and easy way, thus, enjoying the energy reduction benefits of adiabatic logic. A family of semi-custom PFAL carry lookahead adders and parallel multipliers were designed in a 0.6-/spl mu/m CMOS technology and verified. Post-layout simulations show that semi-custom adiabatic arithmetic units can save energy a factor 17 at 10 MHz and about 7 at 100 MHz, as compared to a logically equivalent static CMOS implementation. The energy saving obtained is also better if compared to other custom adiabatic circuit realizations and maintains high values (3/spl divide/6) even when the losses in power-clock generation are considered.

Ultralow-power adiabatic circuit semi-custom design

The charge stored in series-connected lithium batteries needs to be well equalized between the elements of the series. We present here an innovative lithium-battery cell-to-cell active equalizer capable of moving charge between series-connected cells using a super-capacitor as an energy tank. The system temporarily stores the charge drawn from a cell in the super-capacitor, then the charge is moved into another cell without wasting energy as it happens in passive equalization. The architecture of the system which employs a digitally-controlled switching converter is compared with the state of the art, then fully investigated, together with the methodology used in its design. The performance of the system is described by presenting and discussing the experimental results of laboratory tests. The most innovative and attractive aspect of the proposed system is its very high efficiency, which is over 90%.

High-Efficiency Digitally Controlled Charge Equalizer for Series-Connected Cells Based on Switching Converter and Super-Capacitor

We have studied the behavior of very thin oxide (∼20 A) metal‐oxide‐semiconductor tunnel diodes under high electrical field bias. These devices do not usually experience catastrophic breakdown, but can be worn out at high fields through the creation of a low barrier tunneling path. The effective area of the path increases during stress, while the barrier height remains essentially constant at ∼1 eV. The formation of the path is correlated to the presence of multilevel switching fluctuations in the diode current. The same complex fluctuations and excess currents are seen in oxides up to 70 A where the fluctuations show up as noisy precursors to catastrophic breakdown.

Roberto Saletti

Papers

Performance comparison of active balancing techniques for lithium-ion batteries

Batteries and battery management systems for electric vehicles

Ultralow-power adiabatic circuit semi-custom design

High-Efficiency Digitally Controlled Charge Equalizer for Series-Connected Cells Based on Switching Converter and Super-Capacitor

Current fluctuations and silicon oxide wear-out in metal-oxide-semiconductor tunnel diodes