The University of Southampton

ELEC3223 Introduction to Bionanotechnology

Module Overview

Bionanotechnology is the study of biology, in particular biological machines, and the application of biological building blocks to solve engineering challenges and create new areas of technological development. Learning about the structure and function of the inner workings of biological systems such as cells, bacteria and viruses has been used to improve existing applications of nanotechnology and to develop entirely new applications.  Examples of bionanotechnological study include: mechanical properties of materials, such as cell interaction with surfaces, nanopatterns and nanoparticles; electrical and optical effects, such as electrical stimulation, energy storage, absorption, luminescence and fluorescence; and computing via chemical wet computers and DNA computing.

This module provides an introduction to the theory and practice of bionanotechnology, and the challenges of commercialising new technologies.  It covers the types of macromolecules which form the building blocks of life, covering cell components such as DNA and proteins, describing how they are synthesised, interact and the role they play in cells.  The structure and forms of the different molecules and the process by which they are constructed and how they exchange information will be framed within the context of the operation of machines and the potential engineering uses that the naturally occurring mechanisms can be put to.

ELEC3223 includes a coursework component focussed on the technological applications in the topical area of this module.  This will examine the broader areas where bionanotechnology is found and used in industry and what novel areas are currently being researched for future potential commercial development.  This will cover the unique issues of the bridging the technology gap between applied research and product development in this highly multidisciplinary field.

Aims & Objectives

Syllabus

Learning & Teaching

Assessment

Aims & Objectives

Syllabus

Learning & Teaching

Assessment

Aims & Objectives

Syllabus

Learning & Teaching

Assessment

Aims & Objectives

Learning & Teaching

Assessment

Aims & Objectives

Learning & Teaching

Assessment

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • Biomolecules and biomolecular interactions
  • The relationship between molecular mynamics, nanoscale physics and macroscopic system behaviour

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Explain biophysical mechanisms in the context of bionanotechnology application areas
  • Analyse and discuss the engineering requirements of multidisciplinary technology based on biology

Transferable and Generic

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Investigate and analyse research and development material from a variety of sources including newspapers, journal articles, patents and corporate documentation
  • Write critical reports addressing engineering problems, including assessment of the impact of new technologies

Subject Specific Practical

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Perform engineering design calculations of molecular and biological effects
  • Explain the challenges of commercialising new technologies

Syllabus

  • Fundamentals
    • Cells, antibodies, carbohydrates (storage and structural)
    • Nucleotides, nucleic acids and DNA
    • Amino acids, peptides, proteins and protein structure
    • Biological membranes and ion channels
    • The behaviour of molecules in solution
    • Enzymes, kinetics and reaction rates
    • Ligand-Protein interactions
    • Sensing biomolecules (optical and electrical techniques)
    • Electrokinetics and particle/molecular interaction forces
  • Applications
    • Single molecule detection techniques
    • Interfacing bio-systems with electronics
    • Molecular motors
    • Patterning single molecules and self-assembled monolayers
    • Cell interactions with nano-structured surfaces.
    • DNA technologies (e.g. sequencing)
  • Commercialisation
    • Technology readiness levels
    • Bringing new technologies to market
    • Recently commercialised bio-nano technologies

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

This module uses a combination of lectures, tutorials, literature study and discussions of research and development material from sources including journal articles and corporate documentation. 

ActivityDescriptionHours
Lecture26
Tutorial6

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
30% - Assignment. An analysis of the impact of new technologies in the bionanotechnology field, written as a critical report discussing the the gap between applied research and product development.-30%
Exam2 hours hours70%

Referral Method: By examination and a new coursework assignment

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FPProvisional000004 ELEC3 - USMC 3211 Electromechanical tranduscers

Module Overview

To introduce the students to fundamental concepts of low frequency electromagnetics with application in mechatronic systems. To give students an appreciation of the importance of computational electromagnetics in the context of engineering and in electromechanical actuators.To introduce the students to fundamental numerical techniques for solving field problems.To equip the students with basic knpwledge of CAD skills applicable to electromagnetic devices. To introduce the students to the concept of principles of electromechanical energy conversion based on Hamilton’s principle.

 

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Aim

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • To introduce the students to fundamental concepts of low frequency electromagnetics with application in mechatronic systems

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • To understand the Basic concepts of electromagnetic theory; To use Vector algebra in the electromagnetic field context; To understand Properties of static and time-varying electromagnetic fields as well as Physical meaning of Maxwell's equations A5. Mathematical description of fundamental laws of electromagnetism A6. Electric and magnetic properties of matter A7. Electromechanical energy conversion as based on Hamilton’s principle A8. Fundamentals of modelling and simulation techniques applied to electromagnetics A9. Dual energy bounds techniques A10. Principles of finite difference and finite element formulations A11. Advantages and limitations of various field modelling techniques

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Demonstrate electromagnetic theory applied to simple practical situations; Explain the meaning and consequences of field theory; Apply Maxwell's equations to problems involving simple configurations ; Interpret electromagnetic solutions; Explain the operation of electromagnetic devices especially actuators; Apply mathematical methods and vector algebra to practical problems; Be familiar with running commercial electromagnetic design environment software; Set up, solve and interrogate solutions to problems using FE software

Transferable and Generic

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Use electromagnetic CAD packages; Write technical reports; Work in a small team to conduct an experiment

Subject Specific Practical

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Design, anlayze and test electromagnetic devices used as actuators in mechatronic systems

Syllabus

Approximate methods of field solution (2 lectures)

o          Geometrical properties of fields; method of ‘tubes and slices’.

•           Flow of steady current (2 lectures)

o          Potential gradient; current density; divergence; nabla operator; Laplace's equation.

•           Electrostatics (3 lectures)

o          The electric field vector; scalar electric potential; Gauss's theorem and divergence; conservative fields; Laplace and Poisson equations; electric dipole, line charge, surface charge; solution of Laplace's equation by separation of variables; polarisation; dielectrics, electric boundary conditions.

•           Magnetostatics (4 lectures)

o          Non-conservative fields, Ampere's law and curl; magnetic vector potential; magnetization and magnetic boundary conditions; magnetic screening with examples.

•           Electromagnetic induction (2 lectures)

o          Faraday's law; induced and conservative components of the electric field, emf and potential difference.

•           Maxwell's equations (2 lectures)

o          Displacement current; Maxwell's and constituent equations; the Lorentz guage;

wave equation.

•           Time-varying fields in conductors (3 lectures)

o          Diffusion and Helmholtz equations; skin depth; eddy currents in slabs, plates and cylindrical conductors; deep bar effect.

•           Computational aspects of approximate methods of field solution (1 lecture)

o          The method of tubes and slices.

•           Review of field equations (1 lecture)

o          Classification of fields: Laplace's, Poisson's, Helmholtz, diffusion, wave equations; Vector and scalar formulations.

•   

•           Finite element method (5 lectures)

o          Variational formulation, first-order triangular elements, discretisation and matrix assembly; the art of sparse matrices; alternative approximate formulations (including Galerkin).

•           Principles of electromechanical energy conversion (11 lectures)

o          Generalised variables for electromechanical systems; Hamilton’s principle and Lagrangian state function; conservative and non-conservative systems; examples.

o          Comparison between field and equivalent circuit calculations.

Analysis of elctromechanical systems

 

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

Lectures, tutorials, labs and self study (coursework).

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
Magnetostatic screening; Eddy currents screening; Electromagnetic actuator characterization.-15%
Electromagnetic actuator analysis.-20%
Exam2 hours65%

Referral Method: By examination

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FPProvisional000003 ELEC3 - USMC3208 - Power Electronics for Mechatronics Systems

Module Overview

To understand the concept of power electronics based converters for applications related to mechatronics.

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Aim

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • To analyse the operation of power electronic converters.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • To select suitable power electronic converters for different applications

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • To comprehend the operating principles of variable speed DC and AC motor drives

Subject Specific Practical

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • To select suitable drives for different applications

Syllabus

  1. Introduction to power electronics
    1. Introduce the concept of electronics power conversion
    2. Revise circuit analysis techniques
    3. Introduce power semiconductor devices (diode, Thyristor and power transistors)
    4. Heating and cooling
  1. DC-DC Converter
    1. Buck Converter
    2. Boost Converter
    3. Buck-Boost converter
    4. Operation, analysis and design techniques
  1. DC-AC Converter
    1. Single phase bridge inverter
    2. Three phase two level voltage source inverter
    3. Neutral point clamp (NPC) multilevel inverter (3 level)
    4. Modulation techniques
    5. Space vector theory
  1. AC-DC Converter
    1. Uncontrolled rectification
    2. Controlled rectification
  1. DC variable speed drives
    1. Four quadrant operation
    2. Motor control based on the DC chopper and H-bridge converter (common hardware topology).
    3. Closed-loop transfer function and analysis
    4. Stepper motors and operating principle
  1. AC variable speed drives
    1. Induction motor control - scalar control, open-loop flux vector control, closed-loop vector control.
    2. Permanent magnet synchronous motor control (sinusoidal MMF distribution, trapezoidal MMF distribution/BLDC) – vector control.
    3. Explanation of the motor control principles are based on the space vector representations of the three-phase electromagnetic quantities (e.g. voltage, current, flux).
  1. Drives design and selection requirement
    1. Power requirement (low and high power)
    2. Basics of drives auxiliary components (gear, bearing, coupling, encoder)
    3. Environmental protection (e.g. EMC, liquid, solid objects)
    4. Sizing based on the position, speed, torque, and inertia requirements

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

Lecture – 40 hours

Tutorial – 8 hours

Coursework x 1

Laboratory x 1– BLDC motor drives

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
The course assesses both the power electronic aspects (e.g. pulse width modulation, switching/conduction/snubber losses) and motor aspects (torque, speed, power). Tentatively, this coursework will require the students to select the proper power switches and electric motors to meet the application needs. Then, they will simulate and verify the complete power converter-motor operation with the suitable PWM and control algorithm in the PSIM/PowerSIM Demo software (which is freely available from the official Powersimtech website). The simulated results must verify their design meeting the stipulated requirements.-10%
This laboratory exercise provides an introduction to open loop drives of a brushless DC (BLDC) motor using power electronics system. It provides opportunity for students to obtain hands-on experience with several tasks of increasing complexity. They will construct and control a three-phase inverter to understand how it works. Then, they will test a BLDC motor to determine the rotor position and construct the commutation tables. Ultimately, they will programme Ilmato to read the Hall sensor signals which further control the BLDC motor -5%
1. Test (mid semester) – 10% Duration: 1 hour Tentatively, the mid-semester test aims to assess the students’ understanding on the fundamentals of power electronics, such as the basic concept of electronic power conversion, semiconductor switches, heating and cooling, and DC-DC converter. -10%
-%
Exam2 hours75%

Referral Method: By examination

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Aims & Objectives

Aims

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

Assessment

Assessment methods

MethodHoursPercentage contribution

Referral Method:

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ELEC6247 Group Design Project (Overseas Placement)

Module Overview

This module provides an introduction to intensive group project work in collaboration with an industrial or academic customer. Students work in groups of four or five on a challenging project iwhich will be typically based on an idea from an industrial partner, or from a research project looking to transfer technology to industry or build a demonstrator/proof of concept.

The aim of the group design project is to encourage both innovation and engagement with the broader engineering context (financial, economic, social, environmental). The use of ‘real world’ engineering problems requires students to actively engage with their customers to determine the scope and requirements of their project, in order to provide a realistic simulation of the sort of challenges that they are likely to face as engineering graduates.

This variant of ELEC6200 allows MEng students to take an overseas placement at another university during semester 2 of part 4.

Aims & Objectives

Aims

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • A range of subject areas that are relevant to your project, including some from outside engineering, and their application to your project
  • Design processes, methodologies, specialist tools and techniques used to design, analyse, implement and verify systems in your area of engineering

Subject Specific Intellectual

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Acquire specialist knowledge through critical study of the relevant research literature
  • Solve unfamiliar problems and address challenges encountered during the course of your project

Transferable and Generic

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Work as part of a team to manage your project, by planning and allocating tasks, and by coordinating your activities with those of your team mates
  • Make effective use of available resources (human, economic and time)
  • Present and explain joint technical work, both in written form and in formal group and individual presentations

Subject Specific Practical

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to:

  • Liaise with customers in order to determine the scope and requirements of your project, and the criteria for judging its success
  • Apply design processes and methodologies and adapt them in unfamiliar situations
  • Generate innovative designs for products, systems, components or processes to fulfill new needs
  • Apply engineering techniques, taking account of a range of commercial and industrial constraints
  • Apply mathematical and computer-based models for solving problems in engineering
  • Assess the limitations of particular cases when solving engineering problems, and reflect on and critically evaluate the effectiveness of your chosen approach

Learning & Teaching

Learning & teaching methods

ActivityDescriptionHours
Project supervision12

Assessment

Assessment methods

Group Report

The largest element of the assessment is the group report, which gives the group the opportunity to report on their planning; their allocation of responsibilities; their design, implementation and testing, including any innovative solution; their relationship with their industrial "customer"; and to justify their chosen approach. The group report must indicate clearly the individual contributions of all partners and should contain at most 4000 words per group member. The group report is submitted at the end of Semester 1 and counts for 70% of the total module mark.

20% of the marks from the group report derive from the writing and presentation of the report, and the remaining 80% derive from the technical contribution made by the project, including the team work aspect.

Group Presentations and Poster

The presentations give the group an opportunity to describe what they are planning to accomplish, and to demonstrate what they have achieved. There are three presentations, all in Semester 1. The group also create a poster, summarising their project. This poster and the final presentation are assessed and together contribute 15% towards the final mark for the GDP.

Individual Reflection

Each student will also produce a critical appraisal of their project, including the rationale for any design or implementation decisions they were responsible for, and an evaluation of the achievements of the group, how well everyone worked together, and the effectiveness of the planning and development process. Up to 2000 words. The individual reflection contributes 15% towards the final mark for the GDP.

MethodHoursPercentage contribution
Group Report-70%
Group Presentations-15%
Individual Reflection-15%

Referral Method: By set coursework assignment(s)

Due to the nature of this module in that the majority of the assessment is based on group work referral is by internal resit only. It is not possible to refer in the same academic year.

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Published: 21 October 2016
Illustration
Professor Otto Muskens

A team of scientists, led by the University of Southampton, have produced a fast nanoscale optical transistor using gold nanoantenna assisted phase transition.

The work, published in the journal
Light, Science and Applications, opens up new directions in antenna-assisted switches and optical memory.

Small nanostructures that can interact strongly with light are of interest for a range of emerging new applications including small optical circuits and metasurface flat optics. Nanoantennas are designed to have strong optical resonances where energy is concentrated far below the diffraction limit, the smallest scale possible using conventional optics. Such extreme concentration of light can be used to enhance all kinds of effects related to localised energy conversion and harvesting, coupling of light to small molecules and quantum dots, and generating new frequencies of light through nonlinear optics.

Next to precise tuning of these antennas by design, an ability to actively tune their properties is of great interest.

Lead author Professor Otto Muskens, from the University of Southampton, said: “If we are able to actively tune a nanoantenna using an electrical or optical signal, we could achieve transistor-type switches for light with nanometer-scale footprint for datacommunication. Such active devices could also be used to tune the antenna’s light-concentration effects leading to new applications in switchable and tuneable antenna-assisted processes.â€?

The Southampton team, which includes Professor Kees de Groot from Electronics and Computer Science, used the properties of the antenna itself to achieve low energy optical switching of a phase-change material. The material used to achieve this effect was vanadium dioxide. Vanadium dioxide is a special material with properties that can be switched from an insulator to a metal by increasing the temperature above the phase transition point (68 °C). Fabrication of this material is challenging and was produced by a team at the University of Salford, who specialise in thin-film deposition and who were able to grow very high quality films of this material.

Gold nanoantennas were fabricated on top of this thin film and were used to locally drive the phase transition of the vanadium dioxide.

Professor Muskens explained: “The nanoantenna assists the phase transition of the vanadium dioxide by locally concentrating energy near the tips of the antenna. It is like a lightning-rod effect. These positions are also where the antenna resonances are the most sensitive to local perturbations. Antenna-assisted switching thus results a large effect while requiring only a small amount of energy.â€?

The theoretical modelling was done by a team from the University of the Basque Country in San Sebastian, Spain. Their detailed calculations revealed that the nanoantennas provided a new pathway by local absorption around the antenna. The antenna-assisted mechanism resulted in a much lower switching energy compared to just the VO2 film, corresponding to picojoule energies and a calculated efficiency of over 40 per cent.

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Published: 21 October 2016
Illustration
Digital Accessibility: Enabling Participation in the Information Society

Academics from the Web and Internet Science (WAIS) research group within Electronics and Computer Science are lead educators on a new, free online course that aims to help learners understand how accessible digital technologies can overcome barriers encountered by people with sensory, physical or cognitive impairments.

The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in Digital Accessibility: Enabling Participation in the Information Society has recently been launched on the FutureLearn platform and already thousands of students from more than 50 countries have signed up.

The course has been designed by members of the University of Southampton’s Electronics and Computer Science Accessibility Team in collaboration with seven other European universities as part of the Erasmus+ MOOC Accessibility Partnership – a European project running until September 2017 that aims to provide education on accessible design in ICT.

The course highlights how inclusive design and a better understanding of users’ needs can enable technologies to be more accessible and provide a more inclusive environment. It also aims to make people aware of the wide variety of assistive technologies.

Course Lead Educator Professor Mike Wald, from WAIS, said: “Technology is fantastic but it is important to be aware of the barriers they might cause if digital accessibility is not considered.

“By overcoming these barriers you can involve everyone in the exciting world of technology, so they can enjoy their everyday lives and work.â€?

The five-week MOOC is open to everyone and, if required, can be completed over a longer period to suit individual needs.

Mike said: “We are delighted to launch this course that we have designed for everyone, including web developers, business managers, elderly or disabled people, and parents of disabled children.

“People have very diverse needs, skills and abilities and, while some products and services are designed to take this into account, others sometimes create barriers for people who have physical, sensory or cognitive impairments.â€?

The MOOC covers the wide spectrum of accessibility in digital media, and explores how the digital world can be made more open to everyone. It includes the accessibility of the web, as well as a wide variety of different technologies both inside and outside of the home, including computers, mobile phones, washing machines and ATM machines.

Mike added: “The course gives students the unique opportunity to benefit from the extensive knowledge and experience of accessibility experts from eight universities across Europe, as well as the personal experiences of disabled or elderly people.â€?

To register for the course or to find out more visit www.futurelearn.com/courses/digital-accessibility

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