Dec 9, 2005
Pavia Presentation
Introduction
Good Day Ladies and Gentlemen
First of all I wish to thank University of Pavia professors and students for their invitation
to speak to you on research activity at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal
At first I used title “from microwave to optical engineering” and to-day I use the title
Maxwell Engineering and you will see why I changed title
Maxwell lived from 1831 to 1879.
Maxwell was a physics professor at Cambridge, England and
being a physicist he was also an excellent engineer.
Maxwell was not aware on importance of his displacement current concept
This physical concept is much used to-day in Maxwell Equations
These equationsso important in Information Technology Systems, radar, computers,
cellular telephones, cables with fibres at bottom of oceans, and so forth.
It is surprising that Maxwell stated
“in few years, all great physical constants will have been
approximately estimated, and that the only occupation which
will be left to men of science will be to carry these
measurements to another place of decimals”.
-- James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) [Scottish physicist]
Scientific Papers 2, 244, October 1871.
I will attempt to show how Maxwell Engineering was developed in Canada, at least in a
Canadian engineering faculty
It may be interesting to note that in 1950 speaker followed a course in electromagnetism
at McGill University in Montreal that was given by a student (Dr, Norman Shaw) of a
student ( J.J. Thomson) of Maxwell and William Thomson( Lord Kelvin).
This is a reminder that Maxwell s original contribution to engineering is in fact very
recent.
Slide 1
Web site on slide 1 has copies of:
power point slides presented to-day
list of conferences and papers published by speaker
1
list of six-port literature published by other researchers
Slide 2
Canada has a number of provinces and vast uninhabited territories extending from
Atlantic to Pacific oceans.
It is also important to note that Canada is a close neighbor of USA
The numbers seen indicate number of engineering faculties in each province.
Montreal is in Quebec, and Quebec province has a total of 8 engineering faculties.
Montreal has 4 engineering faculties
Two are English speaking and two are French speaking
.
Slide 3
This slide shows student enrollment in engineering faculties for Quebec.
Polytechnique has enrolled 22% of all engineering students in Quebec at bachelor’s level
and 28% at graduate level.
Besides Montreal four other cities in Quebec have universities with engineering faculties.
Sherbrooke, about 150 Km from Montreal, with University of Sherbrooke
Quebec city with Laval University.
This is the oldest university in America ( both north and south) situated about 250Km
from Montreal
UQTR at Trios Riviere situated about 100 Km from Montreal
UQAC at Chicoutimi situated about 500Km from Montreal
Slide 4
The logo of Ecole Polytechnique contains a bee ( vespa).
The message is that engineers are expected to work continuously as a bee does.
Slide 5
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Campus , University of Montreal
Ecole Polytechnique
New Lassonde Pavillon houses « Centre de recherche Poly-Grames ( Groupes de
recherches avancées en micro-ondes et électronique spatiale) « This Research center
covers an area of about 1200 sq meters.
This university campus is situated on top of Mt Royal
Mt Royal has an elevation of about 100 meters above sea level
Slide 6
Contents of this presentation reveal strong interaction between government, industry and
university graduate students at Canadian universities.
I will attempt to show ideal roles for government, university and industry in
development of Maxwell Engineering in Canada
Slide 7
Picture of James Clerk Maxwell ( 1831 1879) taken in year 1871 (40 years old )
Slide 8
In Maxwell’s time, and long thereafter, a long table at head of a class auditorium was
sufficient to explain and demonstrate basics of electromagnetism .
In fact Maxwell stated the following in next slide
Slide 9
“in few years, all great physical constants will have been
approximately estimated, and that the only occupation which will be left to men of
science will be to carry these measurements to another place of decimals.
-- James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) [Scottish physicist]
Scientific Papers 2, 244, October 1871.
To-day the sort of research foretold by Maxwell is referred to as “incremental research”
It has no value in obtaining research funds from NSERC Canada s leading agency.
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Maxwell Engineering is in fact an engineering activity that relies on applications of a
theory developed in previous centuries to solve to-day s social problems
Slide 10
In 2005 situation is very different, and we see that Maxwell was totally wrong in his
prediction
Waves are now traveling through space in all directions
Space is an ideal transmission line except for DC.
Wireless transmission of electrical power, in space, is a major problem to be eventually
solved for the benefit of mankind
Physical transmission lines are needed in equipment for waves to travel correctly from
one point to another in a given circuit.
In addition amplification, attenuation, generation, and phase shifting circuit functions
have to be elaborated in digital format with hardware and software.
The total effort requires a knowledge of Maxwell equations combined with pure and
applied mathematics, solid state physics, optics, signal processing, computer science,
intelligent machines, etc.
Transmission lines are important
A number of transmission lines already exist but new ones are required at low cost to
cover new frequencies from 1GHz to optical frequencies including millimeter waves,
sub-millimeter waves, and Terahertz frequencies.
Slide 11
Waves are needed to travel in space but optical fibers are also needed to carry vast
quantity of information for numerous users that demand ever increasing amounts of
digital data.
The “last mile” is ideally traveled by electromagnetic waves in space. In addition low
cost hardware must be available to provide last mile or last meter services
An interface is needed between optics and microwaves. This is the origin of research
labelled RF over Fibre .
Slide 12
Maxwell engineering is valuable only if equipment is low cost to users.
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Low cost is associated with large volume production
Large volume production is achieved by use of mass technologies such as integrated
circuits, computers, etc.
Integrated circuits are designed by numerical means, and quality of circuits depend on
numerous electrical tests, done with complex and expensive equipment.
Mass volume technology is needed to offer low cost services and equipment to world
markets.
Also needed are well trained technicians to do hardware and software manipulations
Slide 13
Integrated circuits contain traveling waves obeying Maxwell Equations.
User information is added to wave properties in numerical format that require
engineering knowledge of Maxell equations, solid state physics, computer science, etc.
and technical skills of well trained personnel.
The cost of developing Maxwell engineered products are high and unit cost must be low.
The only solution is mass production with help of Maxwell Engineering with quality
software and hardware tools and services.
Slide 14
In addition to low cost integrated circuits, reliable, precision, numerical machining of
mechanical parts is essential. Maxwell engineering requires precision mechanical
structures if waves are to be correctly guided and launched with mechanical structures.
Slide 15
The long black table in front of a class auditorium is no longer sufficient.
We now need many rooms (such as one shown here) inside cramped university space.
Slide 16
However these rooms are to be well equipped.
Expensive hardware and software is needed in each room to teach and train students in
electromagnetism, numerical design, simulation, fabrication, automated tests, and so
forth.
Slide 17
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This room has an automatic numerical milling machine to be operated by technician.
This numerical machine is operated by computer to fabricate complex precision parts in
three dimensions as needed for waveguides, antennas, etc.
Trained technicians are essential to operate hardware and software used in Maxwell
Engineering.
Slide 18
This slide shows an anechoic chamber to test antennas.
Chamber is fitted with a short range planar wave radiator to simulate plane waves
received by satellite antennas in outer space.
Slide 19
In this slide we have a precision optical assembly bench to mount optical devices with
high accuracy. Maxwell Engineering includes optical waves as well as millimeter waves
sub-millimeter waves , THz waves and other RF frequencies.
Slide 20
In this slide we illustrate a frigid mountain climate (research climate of past years) in
microwaves at Canadian universities prior to 1970.
Between 1870 and 1970 innovations .such as magnetrons (1940), were made at
microwave frequencies but related applications such as radar and microwave
communication links remained for most part under military control.
Very little research activity in microwaves was performed at universities up to 1970.
Maxwell’s equations were well known in electro-magnetic courses, but very few
opportunities existed to apply this knowledge.
New courses, in other engineering fields such as semi-conductors, electronics, computer
science, etc. were introduced by 1970 but these were seldom applied in a Maxwell
Engineering context in a single project as needed to-day.
An exception is a number of large companies such as GE, RCA, Marconi, Westinghouse,
etc.
These large companies were not necessarily linked to a university before 1970, and for
the most part relied on their own research in USA.
The research climate in Canadian universities prior to 1970 was then as cold as seen in
this mountain range
Slide 21
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A number of key engineering disciplines were in full development after 1970 in Canada
As in Tower of Babel there was no common language nor technical language familiarity
with research neighbors.
As a result Maxwell Engineering was not fully initiated until 2002 when important
monetary investments were made by National Science and Engineering Research Council
of Canada (NSERC) through a new foundation Canadian Foundation for
Innovation(CFI)
Slide 22
The frigid research climate that existed before 1970 changed in Canada between 1970
and 2002 with insertion of modest NSERC funds in university research.
During this technical melting period each university developed a pool of researchers with
engineering knowledge that matured with time but could not be applied in social
projects for lack of capital investment in expensive experimental equipment.
NSERC in 2002 invested in expensive research equipment for Canadian universities to
solve complex problems facing Canada: climate change, energy requirements, etc.
Maxwell Engineering has greatly benefited from such a wise policy.
Slide 23
Funding sources for Maxwell engineering at universities are now of two types.
Non -profit oriented organizations (e.g. NSERC).
Profit oriented organizations ( private companies)
How well can both funding sources exist in a university research environment.
Universities are basically institutions created to develop and transmit new knowledge
A prime objective of university research is to publish, instruct general public, and form
competent scientific personnel for government laboratories, industry and future university
staff.
On the other hand, private enterprise is profit oriented; it tends to protect its own know
how
New knowledge derived from its own research funds is protected by important
investments in patents and mandatory professional secrecy..
However investment in expensive capital equipment is necessary for benefit of all.
New products for world markets are made possible by large capital investments in
research.
Maxwell Engineering research is a key player in development of new products for world
markets.
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.
What is the solution to University research and industrial interests?
Slide 24
This table summarizes Maxwell type engineering project undertaken at Ecole
Polytechnique from 1965 to 2005
Slide 25
The first project was development of a high power amplitron with Atomic Energy of
Canada to build an Intense Neutron Generator that needed a large number of 100KW of
CW power amplifiers at 805 MHz with a gain of 10dB for use in linear accelerators.
Slide 26
Learning from past work on Amplitron slow wave structure new knowledge and
expertise was applied to the design of non -invasive sensors needed to measure moisture
on mobile and large paper sheets and felts.
Non -invasive sensor research and related know how are needed in medical imagery and
other imagery scenarios for both civil and military applications.
A great interest exists to do more work on sensors in combination with new six port
receiver concept..
Slide 27
This slide shows actual non- invasive moisture sensor head with two N type connectors
for cables
Slide 28
Slow wave structure expertise was also used to develop a large microwave plasma
generator fitted with a long slow wave structure as seen here.
This slow wave structure generates fringing fields that link into a gas at partial pressures
inside a long tube placed next to structure and a long uniform plasma is generated
Such large volume plasma equipment is now used in plasma engineering to deposit thin
dielectric films on various substrates. Industry uses such films on millions of compact
discs for improved surface protection.
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Slide 29
Past research on instrumentation lead to investigations on six-port used as a
reflectometer to measure complex reflection coefficients of microwave signals.
The numbers on slide are references found on poly website address (same website as on
first slide, also available from Google using speaker s name and Ecole Polytechnique )
Slide 30
A number of six ports can be used to characterize multi-port (two or more) devices under
test.
S parameters and non-linear characterization measurements were done this way.
Results were used to obtain important NSERC grants for more research funds
Slide 31
Introduction of direct six-port digital receiver concept at Poly-Grames research center in
1994
Slide 32
Followed six-port direct digital receiver in software defined radio application (2000) by
industry.
Slide 33
Schematic of a wireless sensor network (or users) with a base station
Slide 34
Suggested role for university, industry and government in to-morrow’s society?
Creation of non -profit Research Transfer Center financed by government and industry?
Advantages
Research center focuses on formation of personnel to be hired by
government, industry or university.
Publications and quality of personnel can be criteria for evaluation of
activities.
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Qualified persons are available to local industry to develop world
products.
Private industry can participate in financing a part of experimental
equipment costs.
Disadvantages
Government has to invest in university infrastructure for advanced
research activity and award contracts to develop world products by
industry.
Operating budget must be made available to university to pay for technical
salaries and materials
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