Resumen de Identification and control of diffusive systems applied to charge trapping and thermal space sensors
The work underlying this Thesis, has contributed to the main study and characterization of diffusive systems. The research work has been focused on the analysis of two kind of systems. On the one hand, the dynamics of thermal anemometers has been deeply studied. These sensors detect the wind velocity by measuring the power dissipated of a heated element due to forced convection. The thermal dynamics of different sensor structures have been analyzed and modeled during the Thesis work. On the other hand, we have dealed with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The dynamics of charge trapped in the dielectric layer of these systems has also been studied. It is know, that this undesired effect has been associated to diffusion phenomena.
In this Thesis a characterization method based on the technique of Diffusive Representation (DR), for linear and nonlinear time-varying diffusive systems, is presented. This technique allows to describe a system with an arbitrary order state-space model in the frequency domain. The changes in the dynamics of a system over time may come as a result of the own actuation over the device or as a result of an external disturbance. In the wind sensor case, the time variation of the model comes from the wind, which is an external disturbance, whereas in the MEMS case, changes in the actuation voltage generate time-variation in the model.
The state-space models obtained from DR characterization have proven to be able to reproduce and predict the behaviour of the devices under arbitrary excitations. Specifically, in the case of wind sensors, the thermal dynamics of these sensors, under constant temperature operation, has been predicted for different wind velocities using Sliding Mode Controllers. As it has been observed, these controllers also help to understand how the time response of a system, under closed loop, can be accelerated beyond the natural limit imposed by its own thermal circuit if the thermal filter associated to the sensor structure has only one significative time constant.
The experimental corroboration of the thermal analysis is presented with various prototypes of wind sensors for Mars atmosphere. On one side, the time-varying thermal dynamics models of two different prototypes of a spherical 3-dimensional wind sensor, developed by the Micro and Nano Technologies group of the UPC, have been obtained. On the other side, the engineering model prototype of the wind sensor of the REMS (Rover Environmental Monitoring Station) instrument that it is currently on board the Curiosity rover in Mars has been characterized.
For the characterization of the dynamics of the parasitic charge trapped in the dielectric layer of a MEMS device, the experimental validation is obtained through quasi-differential capacitance measurements of a two-parallel plate structure contactless capacitive MEMS.
