Tailor Your PhoneCem AlperSeptember 5, 2013

Abstract

The current cell phone manufacturers in the market fail to deliver products that satisfactorily

meet the customer expectations. Although the flagship devices are packed with lots of features,

most of the functionalities offered do not have much of a use for mainstream customers (e.g. high

performance multi-core CPU/GPUs at the cost of battery life, high quality sound chips, speakers,

wireless charging, water-proofness etc.). This dilemma of the customers (either spend more money

for a phone that is full of useless features or buy a phone that does not have some desired func-

tionality) could be resolved by offering them a fully-customizable phone, for which the customer is

able to choose the feature he/she wants in it. These ’tailored’ phones could be fabricated using

off-the-shelf components (SOCs, baseband chips,antennas etc.) on a printed circuit board (PCB).

1

Stochastic Optimization and Artificial CreativityAuthor: Deniz Aydin

Wikipedia defines stochastic optimization as an optimization process that involves the generation and the use of random variables that are based on a probabilistic distribution [1]. The use of stochasticity inthe search procedure has the advantage of exploring broad sections of the search landscape and escaping local minima that often burden deterministic search methods.

On the other hand, creativity is typically known as the generation of novel and useful products [2]. The role of stochasticity in creativity has been long debated, with some authors suggesting that (at least scientific) creativity is a form of confined stochastic behavior [3], others questioning if stochasticity has a part in the creative generation of cultural memes [4]. In the light of these arguments, I wish to lay down some arguments that problem-solving type creativity -be it scientific or artistic- involves different processes than a blind stochastic search.

[1] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stochastic_optimization[2] Mumford, M. D. (2003). Where have we been, where are we going? Taking stock in creativity research. Creativity Research Journal, 15, 107–120.[3] Simonton, D.K. (2003). Scientific creativity as constrained stochastic behavior: the integration of product, person, and process perspectives. Psychological Bulletin, 129(4), 475-94.[4] Pinker, S. (1997). How the Mind Works. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

High speed delay electro-optic phase dynamics for nonlinear transient computing

A. Baylón-Fuentes, R. Martinenghi, M. Jacquot, Y. Chembo, L. Larger University of Franche-Comté & FEMTO-ST/Optics Dpt., UMR CNRS 6174, 16 route de Gray, F-25030 Besançon, France

Abstract: Abstract: The feasibility of implementing neuromorphic photonic computing based on Reservoir Computing (RC) concepts (or Nonlinear Transient Computing, NTC), has been first demonstrated in early 2012 [1, 2, 3]. It was implemented through the unexpected use of nonlinear delay dynamics as a Reservoir of complex motion, instead of the usual approach involving a network of coupled dynamical nodes mimicking the traditional neural network architectures. The basic setup architecture which was proposed for the first photonic RC demonstrations was initially reduced to an extremely simplified version, a single delayed nonlinear feedback loop, or possibly with a multiple delayed configuration, with optoelectronic and electro-optic architecture. However these setups typically have suffered from a relatively low frequency range, due to the use of FPGA card and/or moderate speed analog electronics circuits. An all-optical setup proposed was [4], in order to increase the processing bandwidth, however also requiring an information injection process through an electro-optic device. Following a both high-speed and intrinsically full electro-optic scheme, which was used successfully as a chaos generator for demonstrating 10 Gb/s optical chaos communications [5], we have proposed the currently fastest photonic Reservoir Computing setup. The architecture involves electro-optic phase modulation, an imbalanced Mach-Zehnder DPSK demodulator which provides a temporally nonlocal nonlinear phase-to-intensity conversion, and a delayed broadband optoelectronic feedback loop. We will report on the design and characterization of this fast neuromorphic computing unit, and we will present the first results on standard academic benchmark tests, such as speech recognition. [1] L. Larger, M. C. Soriano, D. Brunner, L. Appeltant, J. M. Gutierrez, L. Pesquera, C. R. Mirasso, and I. Fischer, “Photonic information processing beyond turing: an optoelectronic implementation of reservoir computing”. Opt. Express, 20(3):3241–3249, (January 2012). [2] R. Martinenghi, S. Rybalko, M. Jacquot, L. Larger, “Photonic nonlinear transient computing with multiple-delay wavelength dynamics”, Phys. Rev. Lett., 108, 244101 (2012). [3] Y. Paquot, F. Duport, A. Smerieri, J. Dambre, B. Schrauwen, M. Haelterman, and S. Massar, “Optoelectronic reservoir computing”, Scientific Reports, 2:287, (February 2012). [4] D. Brunner, M. C. Soriano, C. R. Mirasso and I. Fischer, “Parallel photonic information processing at gigabyte per second data rates using transient states”, Nature Communications, 4:1364, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2368 (2013) [5] R. Lavrov, M. Jacquot, L. Larger, "Nonlocal nonlinear electro-optic phase dynamics demonstrating 10 Gb/s chaos communications", IEEE J. Quant. Electron., Vol.46, No.10, pp.1430-1435 (2010)

High performance piezoelectric microactuators Toward a new 6-DOF microactuated platform

Alex Bienaimé, Postdoc, FEMTO-ST / AS2M, alex.bienaime@femto-st.fr

Thin film Thick film

Bulk

> 100nm 1 - 5 µm 50 - 100 µm >200µm

Target working area

Specifications Compact (<1cm3) Active mode : High displacements

(Tx/Ty/Tz > ±10 µm) Passive mode : High deformations

(Fapplied < 500µN)

Project : 6-DOF platform based on 2-DOF unimorph piezobeams

HPZT

HSi

L w

g

Tz

Tx/Ty

V1

V2

Specific microfabricated actuators (displacement and stiffness)

Microactuator design : PZT thick film on Si

Integrative approach : bonded and thinned bulk PZT plate on SOI wafer Au-Au bonding : low temperature process Bulk piezoelectric coefficient High thickness resolution

High piezoelectric properties

Actuator performances and process validation on 1-DOF microcantilever

1-DOF microcantilever

Tests

PZT polishing + Cr-Au deposition + Au-Au bonding (bottom electrode)

PZT thinning + polishing + Cr-Au deposition (top electrode)

Cantilevers dicing Si bulk etching

PZT-5H

Si

SiO2

Cr-Au

V

Cantilevers

Fonctionnalisation de surface de silicium par des polymères

électrodéposés en vue d’utilisation pour la micromanipulation

Amélie Cot a,b

, Jérôme Dejeu c, Sophie Lakard

b, Patrick Rougeot

a,

Michaël Gauthier a .

a Institut FEMTO-ST, CNRS UFC ENSMM UTBM, département AS2M, 24 rue Alain

Savary, 25000 Besançon Cedex, France b Institut UTINAM, Université de Franche-Comté, 16 route de Gray, 25030 Besançon

Cedex, France c DCM – Département de Chimie Moléculaire UMR CNRS 5250, ICMG FR – CNRS

2607, Université Joseph Fourier BP-53, 38041 Grenoble Cedex 9, France

L’essor des nouvelles technologies de la communication, requiert des

caractéristiques menant à la miniaturisation toujours plus importante des

composants. Il est, en particulier, nécessaire de pouvoir déplacer et positionner

ces micro-composants en vue de les assembler. Or, à l’échelle du micromètre, les

forces prépondérantes appliquées à l’objet sont sensiblement différente de celles

à l’échelle métrique. Dans le « micro-monde », les effets de surface comme les

forces électrostatiques deviennent prépondérantes devant les effets volumiques

comme le poids.

Nous proposons une méthode innovante exploitant la chimie des

surfaces afin de contrôler les forces électrostatiques à l’aide de polymères pH-

dépendant en milieu liquide.

Les premiers résultats

ont montré la possibilité

d’atteindre une force de

répulsion importante, de

plusieurs microNewtons avec

des distances d’interaction de

plusieurs dizaines de

micromètres (figure 1b).

D’autre part, une forte force

adhésive supérieure à 1 µN a

également été mesurée à

plusieurs micromètres de

distance (figure 1a). Ces effets

à distance d’origine électrostatique sont significativement novateurs en

comparaison aux valeurs habituellement rencontrées, par exemple dans une

suspension colloïdale où les distances d’interaction ne dépassent pas 100 nm.

Nous avons démontré l’origine électrostatique de ces forces par la mise

au point d’un modèle se basant sur la théorie de la double couche électrique. Sur

la base des modèles actuels, nous considérons une couche de dipôle à la surface

du substrat en interaction avec une sphère chargée.

Figure 1 : Principe de la mesure en spectroscopie de force en milieu liquide sur les

polymères chargés. a) courbe caractéristique d’une force adhésive (force : 1,1 µN, distance

d’interaction : 3,5 µm) b) courbe caractéristique d’une force répulsive (force : 3,5)

1

The Wasteless Smartphone

S. Dandavino1

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchatel, 2000, Switzerland

Abstract Smartphone waste is increasingly becoming a critical worldwide issue. In the second quarter of 2013, 236.4 million smartphones were sold in the world, an increase of 51% over the same period in 20121. At this rate, the global smartphone consumption may soon reach and surpass 1 000 000 000 units per year. With an average usage life of 18 months2, the problem of generated solid waste is evident. Even more concerning is the energy required to produce each phone. Li et al. 3, report an estimated energy use of 42 kWh to produce a 3G phone, “the equivalent of 4.3L of gasoline”. The production of the 1.2 cm2 CMOS processor standard for smartphones will by itself require 1.87kWh and generate 2.9 kg CO2 – eq2. Recycling can be a useful way to reduce the environmental impact of smartphones, yet, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, only 8% of mobile phones were recycled in the US in 20094. Clearly, there is insufficient incentive to convince the users to follow this approach with their obsolete devices. What’s more, recycling an electronic device can only recover a fraction of the useful materials composing it. It also offers a more basic contradiction: the need to spend additional energy to deconstruct a device which required considerable energy and resources to build in the first place. In other words, it demands for regressing resources from a highly processed high value state back to their low value states. It seems that a more efficient way to render a smartphone “wasteless”, is to make use of this digital potential and avoid, or at least delay, the device going to waste altogether. Based on this premise, it is proposed to give a second life to the device, as a component to a flexible “personal supercomputer“. The concept relies on a simple and low-cost central hub which could manage a number of devices connected to it in parallel, as represented in Figure 1. The devices would be entirely taken over by the hub, with all but their basic functionalities disabled or overridden, to extend their lifetime limit and reduce the complexity resulting from their heterogeneity. Each would contribute in terms of processing power, random access memory and storage to this flexible and expandable parallel computer. The main function of the hub would be to manage data transfer and computations, while also supplying the basic functionalities required by a PC (e.g. sound and graphics cards). Fundamental to the concept is the induced incentive that the user will experience: it will personally gain from connecting additional devices to the hub and so will actively attempt to prevent smartphones going to waste. One could even imagine public users such as school or research laboratories who would recuperate devices from their personnel or even companies who would buy old smartphones and sell processing capability or online storage.

References 1“Apple Cedes Market Share in Smartphone Operating System Market as Android Surges and Windows Phone Gains, According to IDC”,

Retrieved from the web, 23/08/13 (http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130807005280/en/Apple-Cedes-Market-Share-Smartphone-

Operating-System) 2Li, Xun et al., “A Study of Reusing Smartphones to Augment Elementary School Education.” International Journal of Handheld Computing

Research, 3(2), p. 73-92, April-June 2012 3 Li, Xun et al., “Mitigating the Environmental of Smartphones with Device Reuse”, Sustainable ICTs and Management Systems for Green

Computing, Information Science Reference, Hershey, 1st ed., 2012, pp. 252-282. 4“Statistics on the Management of Used and End-of-Life Electronics”, Retrieved from the web, United States Environmental Protection

Agency, Retrieved 30/08/13 (http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/manage.htm)

1 Presenting author, PhD Student, Microsystems for Space Technologies Laboratory (IMT - LMTS),

simon.dandavino@epfl.ch, +41 32 720 5170

Figure 1. Concept of central hub managing several heterogenous

smartphones and interfacing directly with the user.

Architecture opto-électronique pour la manipulation de qudits dans le domaine des fréquences

Source de photons jumeaux

Filtres de Bragg

Système de contrôle RF

Modulateurs de phase électro-optiques

Compteurs de photons Auréa

Institut FEMTO-ST [UMR CNRS 6174], Département d’optique, 16 route de Gray, 25030 Besançon (cedex), France

- Portes logiques

- Interférence à 1 photon conditionnelle

- Interférences à 2 photons

- Marches aléatoires quantiques

- Distribution quantique de clés

- Compensation non-locale de dispersion

Poster Title: Multivariable feedforward control of hysteretic, creeped, oscillating and

thermal sensitive microsystems

Abstract:

Piezoelectric materials are well recognized in microrobots and microsystems thanks to the

high bandwidth (more than the kHz possible), to the high resolution (micrometric or

submicrometric), to the high force density and to the reversibility physical principle (allowing

sensing and actuation action) that they can offer. However, piezoelectric based systems

suffer from the strong nonlinearities (hysteresis and creep), the badly damped vibration and

the high sensitivity to the environment (thermal drift, mechanical vibration, etc).

Closed-loop control would definitely improve the performances of the systems,

but the lack of sensors with convenient dimensions and good performances for

feedback is the main limitation of such approaches. Consequently, open-loop (feedforward)

control synthesis constitutes the optimal approach utilized these last years.

The feedforward control of 1-dof microsystems, in particular 1-dof piezoelectric

microsystems, is almost well established. However, the concern of multi-dof

microsystems has not yet been addressed. This poster presents the feedforward

control of multi-dof piezoelectric microsystems. In addition, a 2-DOF hysteresis open-loop

compensation result is also presented. The research works related to this poster include three

aspects: the modeling of the considered mutli-dof microsystem, their experimental

characterization and model's parameters identification, and the compensators (open-loop

controllers) synthesis.

Presenter: Didace HABINEZA

PhD Student at AS2M Department of

FEMTO-ST Institute

24 rue Alain Savary-F-25000 Besançon

{didace.habineza, mrakoton, legorrec}@femto-st.fr

The associated PhD Research Works are Supervised by Pr. Yann LeGORREC (Professor at

ENSMM Besançon) and Co-Supervised by Micky RAKOTONDRABE (Associate Professor

at UFR-ST Université de Franche Comté-Besançon).

Task scheduling in distributed environment to extend platformuseful life under service constraint, subject to predictive

maintenanceNathalie HERR, Jean-Marc NICOD, Christophe VARNIER

FEMTO-ST, dpt AS2M

Keywords: Scheduling, Predictive Maintenance, Remaining Useful Life, Integer Programming, Op-timal Solution, Heuristics, Decision Making, PHM

Extended Abstract:

A common assumption in literature on scheduling theory is that machines are continuously available.However, this assumption may not be valid in a real production situation due to wear and tear onmachines. Maintain production equipment in their best operational condition is therefore one majorobjective of all manufacturers. Maintenance operations generate however significant costs due to the useof material and human resources or production shutdown periods. Prognostics and Health Management(PHM) aims at minimizing these costs while maintaining equipment’ operational performance over time.One way to minimize maintenance costs is to postpone and group many maintenance operations in orderto limit the number of maintenance time periods.

The problem that is tackled is the optimization of the useful life of a heterogeneous distributedplatform which has to produce a given production throughput. At each time the sum of the machinethroughputs that are currently running determines the global throughput. We aim at providing a pro-duction scheduling that maximizes the useful life of such a platform. Prognostic-based scheduling isconsidered, which can be defined as a scheduling that takes into account the wear and tear of equipmentand that adapts to Remaining Useful Life (RUL). This work falls within the last part of the PHMprocess, i.e Decision Making. Prognostics results, in the form of RUL, are indeed used to determinethe length of time intervals between two maintenance operations. Traditional scheduling models assumethat the time a job requires on a machine is not under control. The novelty of the proposed approachis to consider controlled running modes that can be chosen during the scheduling, in order to controleach equipment’s production rate and by extension the global system’s production rate. We define arunning mode as a controlled machine profile involving a given throughput and associated with a givenRUL. Each running mode has a different impact on the wear and tear of the machine and thereforeon its operational time. Taking several running modes into consideration seems to be interesting. Thecombination of two or more running modes allows to reach an operational time that is greater than ifthe machine had been used only in its nominal running mode.

Our approach consists in discretizing the time into periods and in choosing a configuration at thebeginning of each period. We propose complexity results in that case where throughput requirement isconstant in time. The problem complexity can be refined depending on the machine throughput valuesand their RUL. A first problem is considered with homogeneous machines, providing same throughputbut associated with different RUL. The problem is polynomial with such assumptions. It turns out to beNP-complete with machines providing different throughputs and having a RUL equal to one. The generalcase with machines providing different throughputs and having different RUL is then NP-complete. AnInteger Linear Programming (ILP) model is also proposed to find a configuration for a fixed time horizon.Due to the ILP, the largest horizon can only be computed for small instances of the problem (less thanfive machines, two running modes and twenty periods). For larger instances, polynomial time heuristicsare proposed to compute a scheduling, with the objective to reach the demand as long as possible.Exhaustive simulations assess the efficiency of these heuristics, in that they are able to provide solutionswith production horizon close to the theoretical maximal value.

1

Experimental study on flow patterns in parallel

multi-microchannels evaporator with R245fa

Houxue Huang, Navid Borhani, John Richard Thome*

Laboratory of Heat and Mass Transfer, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne,

Switzerland

The future 3D CPU architecture proposes a highly demanding requirement for

the electronics cooling industry. Hopefully a 3D stacked on-chip cooling system

integrated by several layers of parallel multi-microchannels was expected to

meet this challenge. The heat transfer mechanism in microchanels was well-

related to the corresponding flow patterns, which mainly were sorted into bubbly

flow, slug flow, annular flow and dry out. However, a well-accepted flow

pattern prediction model covering various refrigerant, different test sections as

well as various working conditions has not yet been procured.

Therefore, to obtain a comprehensive data of flow pattern in parallel multi-

microchannels evaporator, a series of experimental study on two-phase flow of

R245fa was investigated. The inlet orifice restriction was adopted to stabilize the

flow boiling in multi-microchannels evaporator. The fluid temperature and

pressure were read by thermocouples and pressure transducers, which were

connected to a data acquisition system controlled by LabView program. The

flow pattern in microchannels was recorded by high speed camera coupled by a

microscope, which was vertically placed above the test section. Simultaneously,

the temperature profile at the bottom of the test section was acquired by an IR

camera, which was re-calibrated with a home-made program. Before tow-phase

flow study, single phase flow validation including flow friction factor and

energy balance was carried out. The flow friction factor among the channels

agreed well with Shah-London’s correlation. Energy efficiency used for two

phase flow was estimated during single phase energy balance test. During two

phase flow study, PID controller was employed to control the mass flux and heat

flux to make the system response stably and in a reasonable amount of time.

Finally, time strip method was used to identify the different flow patterns based

on the videos from high speed camera. Meantime, the heat transfer coefficients

were calculated using TDMA according to the temperature profile from IR

camera.

*Author for correspondence (john.thome@epfl.ch)

Poster summary-SMYLE 2013 By: Hussein Hussein

Title: Smart structures based on the spatial distribution of bistable mechanical modules: application to digital microrbotics.

Digital microrobotics is a novel approach in microrobotics, Why digital microrobotics?

Technological evolution promotes adding extra functionalities and increasing performance and

reliability of micro-devices, which means to add actuators and sensors in a smaller clutter making it

difficult to integrate and to control and poses problems of fabrication and assembly.

Digital actuator is a possible solution where the mobile part of the actuator can take only pre-set

positions during fabrication. So there are no needs to sensors where the actuator is accurate, robust

and reliable.

A digital micro-robot “DiMiBot” is already fabricated in AS2M department in FEMTO-ST laboratory.

Its idea is to connect the moving part of several bistable modules fabricated on a monolithic wafer.

This spatial distributes of bistable modules allow obtaining 2N reachable positions at the end effector.

We aim to provide new levels of performance for these new microrobots:

Optimize the dimensions of the bistable modules and links connecting them

Propose new structures and kinematics

Analyze the dynamic behavior and performance

Control and test these micro robots in real conditions

Add the movement in a 3rd dimension ...

Optimization and miniaturization must meet several constraints simultaneously in the design. Since it

is distributed modules, adding new levels of performance involves improvements at each module .

Each module has thermal actuators and curved bistable beams to ensure bistability. In this context, a

study of the buckling of a beam was made in order to optimize the dimensions of the bistable

modules. Analytical model is developed and approved by FEM simulations. This model allows to

understand and to identify the conditions of the bistability and the evolution of the snapping force

and the internal stress. Optimal dimensions can be deduced by comparison of the calculated internal

stress with the strength limits.

In conclusion, optimal digital microrobots can be micro fabricated according to blocking force, size in

the plane and design requirements …. The smallest one can be build according to material

constraints. New architectures will be created to surpass the current limits.

Prognostics of PEMFC - An approach based on particle filter

Marine Jouin – FEMTO-ST (AS2M, ENERGIE), FCLAB

Energetic transition is one of the major challenges for the future. Fuel cell systems might be good candidates to

help facing these challenges and are benefiting from a growing interest. Indeed their perspectives of

applications are numerous. They are presented as a good alternative to internal combustion engines for

transportation, but also as a clean and efficient portable power source for low power electronic devices (µFC).

Fuel cells also seem to be a great solution for combined heat and power systems (µCHP), providing both heat

and electricity for homes and buildings.

Fuel cell systems are composed by the stack which transforms chemical energy into electricity and heat but also

by a certain number of ancillaries bringing fuel, collecting electricity or controlling operating conditions. Fuel cell

stacks have the advantage of having no moving part, offering them a great reliability. However, as all systems,

they are prone to material degradations and these phenomena are still far from being all understood. That is

why fuel cells suffer from a too short life duration impeding large deployment of this technology.

Prognostics and Health Management (PHM), and particularly prognostics, represents a great opportunity to

contribute to extend fuel cell lifetime, and more precisely Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel

Cell (PEMFC) in this case. PHM appears to be an enabling discipline ranging from data collection to decision

making via health assessment, diagnostic and prognostics. It aims at using real monitoring data to propose

relevant indicators and trends that depict the health of the system. Also, it enables deciding adequate actions at

the right time in order to extend the system's life. It is mainly achieved thanks to prognostic which determines

the remaining useful life of the system. In PEMFC case, with the knowledge of the remaining useful life, one

could decide to adapt the power demanded to the stack to make it last longer. Consequently, PHM and

particularly prognostics benefit from a growing interest in the FC community.

Nevertheless, applying prognostics to PEMFC raises some scientific issues. First, all the degradation phenomena

occurring in the stack are far from being understood and no complete model describing the aging of the stack

exists yet. Then, in the great majority of experiments realized in laboratories, constant load solicitations of the

stack are studied. Consequently, the real influence of mission profiles with variable loads on aging processes is

still ignored. Moreover, some of the characterizations performed on the system disturbs its behavior and

accelerate the aging. Finally, when performing prognostics, we have to deal with uncertainties coming from

different sources (system, loads, sensors, prognostic model) and it is crucial to manage these uncertainties.

A new prognostics model for estimating the remaining useful life of a PEMFC stack is presented. The approach is

based on a particle filtering framework. Developments are bounded by the following assumptions. 1) The stack

is only solicited with a constant load. 2) Although the stack is surrounded by ancillaries, the interactions with

these ancillaries are not taken into account. 3) The aging of the stack is only observed through the voltage drop

and the associated model respect Bayesian tracking hypotheses (non-exact, non-stationary, non-linear and with

a non-Gaussian noise). According to this, the particle filtering framework allows predicting the future behavior

of the system thanks to a degradation model. This behavior is constructed by successively drawing the

probability distributions of the possible degradation states. These probabilities give both the state estimation

and the uncertainty related to this estimation. Three empirical models for voltage drop are tested and

compared.

The method offers promising results: the remaining useful life of the stack is estimated with an accuracy of ±90h

on a life time duration of 1000h. Nevertheless, to go further some limitations have to be overcome. Variable

loads as well as disturbances created by some characterizations should be included. A complete and physically

justified degradation model must be developed. Next developments aim at solving these issues.

MesoMedS

Mesoscale Systems for Medical and Surgical Applications

Johan Kruis, Simon Henein

EPFL INSTANT-LAB

The medical and surgical domain is bit by bit finding the merits of applying modern technologic

advances. Though a wide variety of applications already exist in domains such as surgical robotics

and local drug delivery; many problems still either remain unaided by the advances in technology or

could be solved in a more efficient less costly way.

This poster is oriented at finding opportunities in the form of possible new markets and challenges

for meso scale systems (millimeter and centimeter scale dimensions) in the world of medical and

surgical applications.

We start off by trying to look into many possible avenues in the medical and surgical world, taking

into account options ranging from animal to human and laboratory to in vivo applications.

Simultaneous we take into account the key features of meso scale systems what are their merits and

weaknesses. In our search we are specifically interested in mature technologies (market-ready or

near market ready) which have not yet found or only been applied in limited quantity in the medical

world.

By intersecting the possible applications with the strength and weaknesses of our meso-scale

systems we look at the domains of interest for such systems. After finding several key applications

for such systems we estimate where they can be most beneficial and commercially successful.

After taking the most promising concept we discuss the approach that has to be taken towards

realizing it. And make a first effort of verifying it both from a perspective of technical feasibility and

market.

Laboratory of excellence ACTION Towards smart smatters and highly integrated smart structures Labeled in 2012 as a Laboratory of Excellence (LabEx) within the framework of the “Investments for the Future”, ACTION is a large-scale triptych including: A very high quality research project dedicated to the integration of smart capabilities

(perception, processing, decision, predictive or adaptive action) within structures (cars, medical microdevices, manufacturing equipments, communication networks, etc.) in order to provide them with more sophisticated and cost-effective features; A higher education project (creation of a Master of engineering in “Smart systems &

structures”), A project of valorisation and dissemination of the scientific results or knowledge towards the

socio-economic world.

Thus, the aim of the Labex ACTION is to establish a pole of excellence in the field of the design, study and demonstration of structures or systems ensuring integrated and/or distributed functions of: Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), Pronostic Health Management (PHM), Self-adaptability, active or passive control of shape

/airflow/noise/vibrations, Self-reconfigurability (for a better energy management), High complexity calculations, High-speed data processing and decision making.

In order to achieve its goals, ACTION has been implementing a program structured around:

5 scientific work packages: Micro/Nanotechnologies, Functional materials, Nonlinear functionalities, Wave propagation, Systems architecture, information

processing.

5 projects of demonstrators: Self-adaptive metacomposites, Optical frequency comb generator, Neuromorphic photonic chip, Active spectral OCT endoscope, Smart nanosensors networks.

ACTION addresses several markets: transports, (e-)health, energy, civil engineering, telecoms, defence, environment, industrial processes... ACTION involves: more than 200 researchers, engineers and postdocs coming from 3 research labs (FEMTO-ST

(Besançon), ICB (Dijon) and LNIO (Troyes)) with expertise in the field of micro/Nanotechnologies, materials structuration and activation, complex signal processing and energy production and transformation, 5 main significant facilities (MIMENTO, Quartz-Tech, ARCEN, NANO’MAT, PICASSO), 5 associated laboratories (EPFL, IRTES, IMB, LMB, LM2S).

Contact: claudia.laou-huen@femto-st.fr

Characterization of fluids using resonant microsensors

Th. Leblois, J.F. ManceauFEMTO

Resonant piezoelectric microsensors are very suitable for label free sensing in liquid. The devicerely on the interaction between acoustic waves propagating within a thin membrane and the liquid. This work lies with two types of modes of vibration: Lamb waves and bulk acoustic waves by a lateral electric field [1]. The designs of the structures havmodels and FEM simulation. In parallel, several micro[2] keeping in mind the fact that the devicepiezoelectric structures, Si/AlN and GaAs to generate and propagate waves. The fabrication process based on anisotropic chemical etching microfluidic microchannels (Fig.1)resonant microsensors, the microfluidic chamber, The microfluidic chamber is made in silicon analyses of sensors response were recorded. Variousdetection of a liquid, such as its densityalready showed good ability to perform measurements on design and tests, we developed a specific interface that is able to fix covalently a dense layer of bioreceptors on the GaAs surface. Theseinteractions that we want to detect and measure of this active surface on the transducerliquids and determine the experimental performances of the sensitivity. The microfluidic chamber can monodisperse droplets/bubbles (Fig.3)

Figure 1: Microfluidic cell

References : [1] Bienaime, A., Liu, L., Elie-Caille, C., Leblois, T., “Design and microfabrication of a lateral excited gallium arsenide biosensor”, Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys[2] A. Bienaime, C. Elie-Caille, T. Leblois, “surface behaviour GaAs as a crystal for bioMEMS: Micromachining of the sensing surface”,Nanotech 12, 6855-6863, (2012). [3] Zhou, L., Wu, Y., Xuan, M., Manceau, J.Wave Sensor for Improving the Selectivity of Label

Characterization of fluids using resonant microsensors

Leblois, J.F. Manceau, C. Elie-Caille, F. Chollet FEMTO -ST Institute, Besançon, France

microsensors are very suitable for label free sensing in liquid. The deviceon the interaction between acoustic waves propagating within a thin membrane and the liquid.

This work lies with two types of modes of vibration: Lamb waves and bulk acoustic waves . The designs of the structures have been performed using analytical

ion. In parallel, several microfabrication processes that the devices must remain low cost. We report

Si/AlN and GaAs to generate and propagate waves. The fabrication process based on anisotropic chemical etching allows producing a thin membrane but is also adapted for

(Fig.1). An experimental set up has been realized which interesonant microsensors, the microfluidic chamber, the electrical connection and microfluidic ports. The microfluidic chamber is made in silicon or GaAs using also wet chemical etching. Real

response were recorded. Various experiments show of a liquid, such as its density (Fig.2), sound velocity and viscosity [3

already showed good ability to perform measurements on gas. In parallel with this transducer oped a specific interface that is able to fix covalently a dense layer of bio

. These results are promising to obtain information on the biological interactions that we want to detect and measure with a low detection level [2]of this active surface on the transducers will allow us to make rapidly some tests with biological

s and determine the experimental performances of the devices in terms of selectivity andThe microfluidic chamber can also generate fluids made of arrangement of

(Fig.3) for fluid/gas characterization.

Figure 2: density measurement of a fluid Figure 3 :

Caille, C., Leblois, T., “Design and microfabrication of a lateral excited gallium Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys 57, 21003 (2011).

Caille, T. Leblois, “Microstructuration of GaAs surface by wet etching: towards a specific GaAs as a crystal for bioMEMS: Micromachining of the sensing surface”,

] Zhou, L., Wu, Y., Xuan, M., Manceau, J.-F., Bastien, F., “A Multi-Parameter Decoupling Method with a Lamb Wave Sensor for Improving the Selectivity of Label-Free Liquid Detection”, Sensors 12, 10369

Characterization of fluids using resonant microsensors

microsensors are very suitable for label free sensing in liquid. The devices on the interaction between acoustic waves propagating within a thin membrane and the liquid.

This work lies with two types of modes of vibration: Lamb waves and bulk acoustic waves excited e been performed using analytical

fabrication processes have been developed remain low cost. We report the use of two

Si/AlN and GaAs to generate and propagate waves. The fabrication process allows producing a thin membrane but is also adapted for

. An experimental set up has been realized which integrates the the electrical connection and microfluidic ports.

using also wet chemical etching. Real-time experiments show a multi-parameters

sound velocity and viscosity [3]. These devices In parallel with this transducer

oped a specific interface that is able to fix covalently a dense layer of bio-to obtain information on the biological

with a low detection level [2]. The implementation will allow us to make rapidly some tests with biological

devices in terms of selectivity and also generate fluids made of arrangement of

Figure 3 : 2D micro-acousto-

fluidic platform

Caille, C., Leblois, T., “Design and microfabrication of a lateral excited gallium

surface by wet etching: towards a specific GaAs as a crystal for bioMEMS: Micromachining of the sensing surface”, J. Nanoscience and

ameter Decoupling Method with a Lamb 12, 10369–10380, (2012).

Abstract In recent years, the CMOS technology scaling down enables MOS transistors to achieve

higher speed and lower power consumption. As results, medium resolution (8-10 bits) SAR ADCs are widely used because of its digital nature, which makes the full benefit of technology scaling down.

However, when the sampling rate and resolution increases, the SAR ADC suffers from settling error and comparator noise. Over-sampling could not solve this issue, since it requires at least 2 times higher sampling rate, which leads to even more settling errors.

One solution is to make the conversion procedure non-binary, where the scale between each bit is less than 2. This method provides tolerance to comparison errors but however causes complex circuit implementation. It also makes it hard for matching, since the scale is not integer.

A novel idea is to provide dummy capacitors into the DAC network, and provide redundant comparisons in order to verify and correct possible comparator errors. This compensation method is named as binary error compensation.

This poster proposes a novel method to further improve the efficiency of multi-stage binary error compensation, as well as a optimized DAC structure for it. According to mathematical and Cadence simulation results, this method could increase accuracy by up to 20%, providing an efficient trade-off between accuracy and sampling rate.

Design and simulation of an electrostatically actuated array-type mirror scanner for phase-shifting interferometry

J. Lullin1, S. Bargiel1, N. Passilly1, C. Gorecki1, P. Le Moal²

FEMTO-ST Institute, 1MN2S, ²Applied Mechanics Department, Besançon, France

Abstract - VIAMOS project aims to develop a miniature Optical Coherent Tomography (OCT) system that enables non-invasive 3D optical biopsies of skin, in order to improve early detection of skin cancer, nowadays the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer. This OCT system should be handheld, low-cost and fully parallel, thanks to MOEMS technologies. In order to improve signal to noise ratio and especially to remove artifacts resulting from Fourier Domain OCT, the reference mirrors are actuated so that phase shifting interferometry is performed. Because of vertically integrated Mirau architecture of our system, a platform handling the reference mirror scanner is electrostatically driven with comb-drives to achieve out-of-plane actuation. In this work, mechanical design and simulation of this platform is presented, and in particular its vertical actuation as well as related position sensing.

Optics Department

Distributed Sensing in Microstructure Optical Fibers

« Capteurs Distribués à Fibres Optiques Microstructurées »

CD-FOM project

Principle of a Distributed Brillouin Fiber Sensorlongitudinally resolved opto-acoustic mapping along the fiber (1°C-temperature change - 20µm/m-strain) with standard BOTDA: 1-m resolution - 30-km rangemore than 105 measurement points simultaneously and remotely interrogated with a single standard fiber

Courtesy Omnisens ©

The CD-FOM Project:- improve the performance ofdistributed Brillouin fiber

sensors- study the specific Brillouinfeatures in microstructuredoptical fibers (PCFs)

Bri

llou

in f

req

uen

cysh

ift

(GH

z)

localised elongation measurement after a 50-km fiber length

strain measurementon 5cm

ContactsH. Maillotte, J.C. Beugnot, T. Sylvestre

email : herve.maillotte@univ-fcomte.fr

Remote monitoring of structures

risk prevention in oil industry, civil engineering,

environmental sites…

Main Results▪ x20 improvement of the longitudinal

resolution by DPSK Brillouin EchoDistributed Sensing (BEDS)

▪ x5 increase of the BOTDA measurementrange by antiStokes single-sidebandmodulation

▪ complete unified opto-acousticelectrostrictive modeling of Brillouininteractions in PCFs

▪ joint guidance of optical modes andresonant acoustic modes trapped within thePCF cores

▪ BEDS mapping method of PCFs for theirindustrial qualification.

WORKSHOP SMYLE 213

Efficient Waiting Line Reduction Mariazel Maqueda López

1

Efficient Waiting Line Reduction

“Time Saved is Money Earned”

Abstract

A phenomenon which is particularly familiar to everybody is the time which is spent in

waiting lines. Even if annoying, waiting line time has been assimilated as an inevitable part of

certain occasional tasks, such as medical visits or paperwork. Considering the study

accomplished in United States [1], in his lifetime a person will spend five years waiting in

line, which is comparable to the six years which will be employed in eating.

Focusing in the scenario of doctor’s appointments, a solution has been suggested by

proposing an interactive online booking which is able to predict more accurately the

remaining timeout and send this information to the portable devices of patients in real time.

Thereby, patients who use this application are not required to arrive on time to medical offices

if their appointments have been postponed due to longer consultations of the previous

patients.

This application could ensure an efficient use of time, which otherwise is usually wasted in

medical offices, as well as it could improve the doctor-patient relationship, helping to

schedule in a better way the time on both sides. In the same way, this solution could be

applied to other environments in which appointments are required, as banks or bureaucratic

offices, allowing people to employ the time in more fruitful activities.

References

[1] The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/22/garden/study-shows-how-time-

s-a-wasting.html

Digital electronics for vibroacoustic structural control

Gaël Matten, Manuel Collet, Scott Cogan, Emeline Sadoulet-Reboul

Applied Mechanics Department, Femto-ST Institute24 chemin de l’Epitaphe, F-25000, Besançon

Abstract

A well known vibrations control technique consists in shunting piezoelectric transducers with resistive, resonant or negative capac-itance electrical circuits. A digital implementation of these circuits, based on a Cortex-M3 core microcontroller, is presented.

1 Introduction

Vibration control using piezoelectric materials has been proven to be efficient. Indeed, these materials produce a voltagewhen strained and conversely strain when exposed to a voltage. Therefore, the mechanical energy can be convertedinto electrical energy and dissipated through a circuit . This technique is called piezoelectric shunt damping. The shuntcircuit can be either analog [1] or digital [2]. Although, a digital implementation paves the way for more flexible systems,able of real time communication and self adaptation. The digital circuit presented here is based on a Cortex-M3 coremicrocontroller.

2 Digital shunt

The voltage between the two electrodes of the transducer can go past a hundred volts. Thus, a level adaptation cardhas been design to measure the high voltages induced by the transducer et to drive the electric current in it. The circuitaims at behave like a chosen admittance. The figure 1 shows the principle of the circuit.

A1 - Adapt impedance and levels for

Digital to Analog Converter (DAC)

A2 - Voltage/current conversionA3 - Adapt impedance and levels for

Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)

A4 - Calculate control law

Transducer

Fig. 1: Scheme of the circuit

3 Results & Perspectives

The designed digital shunt has been proven to be efficient, especially for resistive shunt. The parameters of the circuitcan be modified in real time. Then implementing adaptive algorithms become possible. Although, by increasing theresolution of the analog to digital and digital to analog converters, the performances should be higher.

4 Acknowledgement

The author wants to thank the Région Franche-Comté for the financial support.

References

[1] Douglas R. Browning and Woodson D. Wynn. Vibration damping system using active negative capacitance shuntcircuit ..., September 1996. U.S. Classification: 408/143 International Classification: :ￜ B23B 4700; G01B 716.

[2] A.J. Fleming, S. Behrens, and S.O.R. Moheimani. Synthetic impedance for implementation of piezoelectric shunt-damping circuits. Electronics Letters, 36(18):1525 –1526, August 2000.

1

Towards a PEMFC prognostic system based on Echo States Network

S. Morando1,2

, S. Jemei1,2

, R. Gouriveau2,3

, N. Zerhouni2,3

, D. Hissel1,2

1 FEMTO-ST (UMR CNRS 6174) Energy department

2 FC-LAB (FR CNRS 3539), Techn’Hom, 90010 Belfort Cedex, France

3 FEMTO-ST (UMR CNRS 6174) AS2M department

Abstract— One remaining technological bottleneck to develop industrial Fuel Cell (FC)

application resides in the system limited useful lifetime. Consequently, it’s important to

develop failure diagnostics and prognostics tools enabling the optimization of FC. Among all

existing prognostics approaches, data-mining methods such as artificial neural networks aim

at estimating the process' behavior without huge knowledge about the underlying physical

phenomena. Nevertheless, this kind of approach needs huge learning dataset. Also, the

deployment of such an approach can be long (trial and error method), which represents a real

problem for industrial applications where real-time complying algorithms must be developed.

According to this, the aim of the study showed in this poster is to apply a reservoir computing

tool (called the Echo State Network) as a prognostics system enabling the estimation of the

Remaining Useful Life of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell. Developments emphasize

on the prediction of the mean voltage cells of a degrading FC. Results appear to be promising.

Sensors for Safe Food

Tung NGUYEN Laboratoire des Fibres et Matériaux Photoniques

Institute des Matériaux, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne tung.nguyen@epfl.ch

Abstract:

The food industry employs heavily artificial chemical products in every process, from the

pesticides to increase the growth of vegetable to chemical preservatives in storage for instance.

However, the excessive residual substances on food are usually harmful for human health. In

Vietnam and some princes in China, governmental reports show a direct link between the use of

chemical substances in food and the high cancer rate; while according to a recent publication of

French Ministry of Agriculture, French consumers consider the alimentary safety is one of their

biggest preoccupations.

To ease concerns about food safety, consumers can only rely on certifications given by

governmental organizations, who conduct tests in laboratories to control the level of residual

substances on food. However, these tests are based on sampling methods, and along with

administrative processes, can take time to have results published; while individual consumers

want to know the safety level of each product they buy in their daily shopping. This concern

raises a need for a wearable fast-respond device which gives accurate information of residual

chemical substances.

In this poster, I present a design of a fast-respond analytical device based on fluorescence which

could detect a hazardous element used in food industry. A proof-of-concept was made by

creating a sandwich-structure which consists of a fluorescent substance on top of a

photosensitive material and two electrodes. The roadmap to the next generation by

miniaturization is also presented.

PEM Fuel Cell State of Health Estimation Elodie PAHON – Latifa Oukhellou – Samir Jemei – Daniel Hissel

Abstract - In order to exploit fuel cell technology, as an alternative device for electrical energy production, their durability must be extended. However, there are some limits to their lifetime which have to be overcome. This study consists on detection of fuel cell dysfunction. It is important to choose the right diagnosis technique able to detect faulty states. Experiments are performed on three different Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) stack in various operating conditions as flooding, drying or CO poisoning. After data acquisition on test bench, we use classification methods to estimate PEMFC state of health. Three methods are presented: k-nearest neighbor method, statistical method and multifractal analysis method. The classification results are given according to operating conditions and computation time.

Keywords - Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell, diagnosis, state of health, classification,

estimation

The  Unique  Fidelity  Card  for  Intense  Shopping  Author:  Sara  Rigante  Affiliation:  Nanoelectronic  Devices  Laboratory,  Ecole  Polytechnique  Fédérale  de  Lausanne,  Lausanne,  Switzerland      The  history  of  loyalty  marketing  goes  back  to  the  18th  century  when  copper  tokens  where   collected   by   U.S.   consumers   and   exchanged   for   items   in   the   store.   Today,  loyalty  programs  are  well-­‐structured  marketing  efforts  to  reward  and  encourage  the  customers   to   come   back.   This  marketing   strategy   has   spread   in   numerous   fields,  from   coffee   shops   to   travelling   agencies   and   it   is   certainly   at   the   peak   for   cloth  shops.   Many   different   rewarding   procedures   are   available   in   forms   of   discounts,  vouchers  and  gifts.  A  member  is  also  personally  informed,  by  text  message  or  e-­‐mail,  on  current  promotions  or  special  shop  openings.  Commonly,  a  member  registers  his  personal  data  at  the  shop,  for  free,  and  he  is  afterwards  identified  with  a  plastic  or  paper  card,  which  through  a  barcode,  magnetic  stripe  or  even  a  chip   is  scanned  at  the  moment  of  the  purchase.  Being  the  card  associated  to  a  virtual  account  it  is  not  necessary  to  scan  the  card  to  access  a  specific  profile,  but  looking  for  customers  and  verifying  their  identities  is  too  time  consuming  and  impossible  to  be  managed  on  a  Saturday  afternoon  for  example.  The  fact:   it   is  quite  difficult   to  say  no  to  a  smiling  salesperson  proposing  you  the  many  advantages  of   their   loyalty  card  (especially   if  you  have  firmly  put  on  trial  her/his  patience  for  your  purchase).  The  result:  even  if  big  wallets  are  now  cutting-­‐edge  there  is  not  enough  room  in  them  for  all  our  loyalty  cards   and   they   are   randomly   lost   or   left   at   home.   The   solution:   a   unique,   easily  accessible  system  recording  all  our  loyalty  programs.    Herein,  we  propose  such  a  solution  in  the  form  of  a  universal  shopping  card  (Ushop)  resulting   from   the   agreement   of   sharing   the   customer   information   between   the  service  itself  and  the  shops  willing  to  subscribe.  Technically,  the  card  works  with  a  contactless  identification  chip,  a  technology  spreading  all  over  the  world  thanks  to  its   simplicity,   universality  but   also   security  provided  by   the  RF   (Radio   frequency)  technology.  The   radio  wave   readers   are  usually   located  next   to   the  PIN   card  pads  and   registers,   which   also  makes   it   convenient   for   customers   to   scan   their   Ushop  card   while   paying.   From   a   software   point   of   view,   the   Ushop   service   controls   a  customer  database  with  the  personal  information  required  (address,  date  of  birth).  The  customer  has  to  insert  his  or  her  data  only  the  first  time  he  enrolls  to  the  Ushop  service.  The  interested  firm  also  subscribes  to  the  Ushop  service.  When  a  customer  is   interested   in   the   loyalty   program   of   a   given   firm,   the   latter   is   able   to   directly  access  his  or  her  personal  information.  At  the  first  purchase,  the  firm  transfers  the  customer   profile   from   the   Ushop   database   to   their   own   database.   Each   time   the  smart   card   is   used,   the   Ushop   service   updates   the   database   of   the   corresponding  shop.   Besides   the   completely   user-­‐friendly   interface,   the   main   advantage   for   the  customers   is   that   a   single   card   is  more   conveniently   stored   in   the   same   place   as  money  and  credit  card.  The  payment  procedure  is  not  slowed  down,  neither  creates  additional   operation   as   it  would   be   for   a   cell-­‐phone   application.   The   loyal   buying  behavior   is   even   accentuated,   which   is   potentially   beneficial   to   the   firm.   Possible  outlook:  the  Ushop  service  is  incorporated  in  the  functions  offered  by  a  credit  card  provider,  leading  all  to  an  all-­‐in-­‐one  payment/loyalty  card.    

A NEW WINTER SPORT

F. A. Vetrò* (1)

(1) Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, IPMC, station 3, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

* antonio.vetro@epfl.ch

A winter sport is by definition a sports played on snow or ice. Nowadays we can find a large variety of such sports that very often they are variations of the most traditional ones as skiing, ice skating, sledding. The Winter Olympic Games include alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, ski jumping, speed skating, figure skating, luge, skeleton, bobsleigh, snowmobiling, ice hockey, curling [1]. Here, a new kind of winter sport is presented: the “K-Ice-Boarding”. The name comes from the

combination of kite, ice and board and it defines a sport that has to be played outdoor, on ice, and in

presence of wind. As suggested by the name, in the Kiceboarding people use the kite power to glide on

the ice. This sport is similar to Kitesurfing, and in particular to the Snowkiting, a combination of

Snowboarding and Kitesurfing where, in order to glide on snow or glacier, the waterboard is replaced by

a snowboard. Kiceboarding differs from Snowkiting for the fact that it is played on ice instead of snow.

This requires the implementation of an “iceboard”, a board with blades attached to the bottom in order

to propel the bearer across a sheet of ice avoiding drifting.

The only locations suitable for such sport are frozen lakes and rivers that are particularly windy. An

example is the “Lac de Joux” located in the Jura Mountains in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland.

[1] http://www.olympic.org/sports

Homemade ultra-flat gold chip dedicated for analysis of grafting antibodies

by both SPRi and AFM

R. Zeggari1, F. Rémy-Martin

1, C. Elie-Caille

1, K. Arezki

1, J-Y. Rauch

2, W. Boireau

1

1Clinical Innovation Proteomic Platform, FEMTO-ST, Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France

2Institut FEMTO-ST, Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France

In this work, we present an experimental method to assess the density of immobilized antibody (Ab) on flat gold terraces using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi). The gold terraces were prepared on glass substrates by e-beam evaporation with special parameters developed recently. The monitoring of Ab immobilization was performed using surface plasmon resonance apparatus (SPRi-Plex II from Horiba), which provides kinetics behavior of the grafting and quantitative estimation of the surface coverage of immobilized protein. Interestingly, the atomically flat gold terraces provide suitable imaging of the biochip surface by using AFM (Nanoscope III from Veeco,Santa Barbara,CA, USA). Hence, an accurate observation of the distribution quality was obtained leading to an easy counting of antibodies immobilized on the terraces. The comparison between SPRi and AFM results shows, for the first time, a good correlation on a window from 40 to 1200 Abs/µm2 which warrants the reliability of SPR detection at this Ab surfacic coverage and the relevancy of immunosensors developed at FEMTO-ST.

Non-model based fault diagnosis of PEM fuel cell stack system utilizing EIS as a tool

Zhixue ZHENG1, Marie-Cécile PERA1, Daniel HISSEL1, Mohamed BECHERIF2 1FCLAB Research Federation, FR CNRS 3539, FEMTO-ST/Energy Department, UMR CNRS 6174,

University of Franche-Comté, 90010 Belfort Cedex, France 2FCLAB Research Federation, FR CNRS 3539, FEMTO-ST/Energy Department, UMR CNRS 6174,

University of Technology of Belfort-Montbéliard, 90010 Belfort Cedex, France

Abstract: To realize the commercialization of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, durability and reliability remain big challenges. Our research aims to develop a fault detection, identification and analysis methodology based on a commercial fuel cell system. Effect of air stoichiometry is studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Relevant faults are: oxygen starvation, water flooding and drying. Based on the EIS measurements, a non-model based methodology is proposed consisting of four parts: feature extraction based on the spectra, feature selection, fuzzy clustering and fault analysis. Validity of the proposed diagnostic methodology is verified experimentally.

Figures:

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Fig.2 Fuzzy clustering results at Istk=10A and 30A

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