Alexandre Bessa dos Santos

Analysis of Variations of Volterra Series Models for RF Power Amplifiers

This article discusses several different implementations of Volterra series models, and performs a fair comparison between them using measured data and well known figures of merit. Among the implemented models, an approach that uses sub-sampling techniques together with Volterra series in a parallel cascade structure shows an improved performance compared to the other variations of Volterra series models. Based on the results, new trends in RF power amplifier behavioral modeling are suggested.

An Optical Fiber Sensor and Its Application in UAVs for Current Measurements

In this paper, we propose and experimentally investigate an optical sensor based on a novel combination of a long-period fiber grating (LPFG) with a permanent magnet to measure electrical current in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The proposed device uses a neodymium magnet attached to the grating structure, which suffers from an electromagnetic force produced when the current flows in the wire of the UAV engine. Therefore, it causes deformation on the sensor and thus, different shifts occur in the resonant bands of the transmission spectrum of the LPFG. Finally, the results show that it is possible to monitor electrical current throughout the entire operating range of the UAV engine from 0 A to 10 A in an effective and practical way with good linearity, reliability and response time, which are desirable characteristics in electrical current sensing.

Autonomous UAV Outdoor Flight Controlled by an Embedded System Using Odroid and ROS

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become a prominent research field due to their vast applicability and reduced size. An appealing aspect of the UAVs is the ability to accomplish autonomous flights in several contexts and purposes, and a variety of applications have been developed, from military to civilian fields. The system proposed in this work is a novel and simplified interaction between the user and the UAV for autonomous flight, where the necessary computation is performed in an embedded computer, decreasing response time and eliminating the necessity of long-distance communication links with base stations. Results are presented with both hardware in the loop simulations and a real UAV using Pixhawk, and Odroid and ROS as companion computer and software platform for code development.

Modulador Digital Educacional em FPGA para uso em Aulas de Laboratório de Telecomunicações

This article presents a generator of digital modulations in FPGA for the teaching and the practice in Telecommunication laboratory. With the increasing demand for technological tools to be used in practical classes, this generator is an alternative to the use of commercial measurement equipments, it presents great flexibility, but at a high cost; and also, to the use of specific laboratory kits, which have a lower cost but have little flexibility. The design, its implementation and tests are showed in this work. Finally, the results are compared to a commercial kit, showing the viability of using this project for laboratory practice.

Fiber Bragg grating interrogation using FBG filters and artificial neural network

Optical fiber sensors have become a popular alternative to traditional electronic sensors due to their numerous advantages. An important challenge in deploying optical sensors is the interrogation of the sensor, that is, recovering the measured value from the sensor output. This paper aims to present a simple yet effective way of interrogating a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) temperature sensor using optical filters and an artificial neural network (ANN). This interrogation system is capable of giving the precise temperature value without directly measuring the resonance wavelength shift or performing any Fourier calculations. The network was implemented and the training was accomplished using simulated data. Simulated results are presented and compared to traditional methods of interrogation. The system proposed in this paper showed excellent performance in identifying the temperature from the sensor output and showed more precision than the traditional method.

Autonomous Quadrotor for accurate positioning

Surveillance missions in vast, difficult access environments are responsible for logistic difficulties in comparison to using an in loco monitoring team. For this and many other reasons, solutions with robotic platforms such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), present economic advantages.

PMD Emulator based on PZTs attached to pieces of an Hi-Bi fiber

In this paper we demonstrate the development of an adjustable and compact polarization mode dispersion (PMD) emulator device, based on piezoelectric actuators that squeezes a defined pieces of an Hi-Bi fiber. Using this device, the first and second order PMD (SOPMD) can be reproduced in a controlled and compact way, allowing its use as a reliable metrological reference for PMD compensators and for the study of several polarizations phenomena that can represent impairments to the high data transmission networks. This emulator was used to perform an analysis of the correlation between the PMD and SOPMD under different climate chamber temperature.

Considerations about the number of coefficients used in Volterra series models for RF Power Amplifiers

This article discusses further about the number of coefficients used in the many implementations of Volterra series models, performing a fair comparison between them, using measured data and known figures of merit found in the literature. Among the models implemented, a model that uses sub-sampling techniques allied to Volterra series in a parallel cascade structure aiming accuracy outperforms other variations of Volterra series models, with the drawback of using a higher number of coefficients. Based on the many figures of merit results, this article suggests new trends to be used in RF power amplifier behavioral models.

Evolution of Black-Box Models Based on Volterra Series

This paper presents a historical review of the many behavioral models actually used to model radio frequency power amplifiers and a new classification of these behavioral models. It also discusses the evolution of these models, from a single polynomial to multirate Volterra models, presenting equations and estimation methods. New trends in RF power amplifier behavioral modeling are suggested.

A new experimental approach to second-order polarization mode dispersion analysis for optical communications systems

This article analyzes the polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in optical fibers and presents a new approach for its measurement. This approach permits the combined analysis of the first-order PMD and the second-order polarization mode dispersion (SOPMD) in optical systems for different values of temperature. The relation between SOPMD and the differential group delay (DGD) in a single-mode fiber is discussed. The analysis is based on time/wavelength and temperature variations changing/impacting PMD and DGD measured values. We present long-term statistical characteristics of SOPMD acquired by a PMD emulator constructed with some pieces of high birefringence fiber, and the correlation between the SOPMD, depolarization (Depol) and polarization-dependent chromatic dispersion (PCD) was investigated. A new interpretation of SOPMD is presented to analyze the problem of the temperature spectral stability. The actual techniques for SOPMD determination, consequently Depol and PCD, use the variation with time and/or wavelength. In some studies, the results obtained for SOPMD are correlated to first-order PMD. We demonstrate experimentally that the temperature is an important factor for the correlation between SOPMD and PMD and cannot be neglected in the optimization of high-speed optical communications links.