The workshop aims to bring together experts to present their latest research efforts related to Embedded and Cyber Connected Systems architectures and platforms that can scale efficiently, as well as operate securely and resiliently to provide the necessary resources demanded by current and future network applications.

In this presentation, we will review past, present, and future eras of quantum computing - such as Near Intermediate Scale Quantum (NISQ) and Utility Scale Quantum (USQ) eras – and cover their respective overarching aspirations and limitations. Once properly situated, we can identify the different roles that academic and industrial players are taking to drive this emerging technology and circumvent current systems' limitations.

In this thesis, we introduce a novel concept of metasurface optical accelerators for machine learning with the corresponding end-to-end optimization framework that is robust to fabrication intolerance and can simultaneously optimize in tens of millions of degrees of freedom. The core of this technology is universal approximators, a single surface of optical nanoresonators mathematically equivalent to a single layer of an artificial neural network (ANN).

A multi-agent system consists of individual agents sharing information and coordinating for collective decision making. The study of multi-agent decision making has important implications in conceiving networked engineering systems - a team of mobile robots or a fleet of drones - that can effectively coordinate to carry out assigned missions. Modeling such system as feedback interconnections of many smaller units allows us to examine its long-term behavior using analytical tools from feedback control theory, such as Lyapunov stability and bifurcation analysis. In this presentation, we discuss how such tools can be used to predict asymptotic behavior of the agents' decision making process and also to design computational models of the decision making process.

In this talk, I will present a special variational principle that we revived from the history of analytical mechanics: Hertz’ principle of least curvature. Using this principle, we developed a general (dynamical) closure condition that is, unlike the Kutta condition, derived from first principles. In contrast to the classical theory, the proposed variational theory is not confined to sharp-edged airfoils, i.e., it allows, for the first time, theoretical computation of lift over arbitrarily smooth shapes, thereby generalizing the century-old lift theory of Kutta and Zhukovsky. Moreover, the new variational condition reduces to the Kutta condition in the special case of a sharp-edged airfoil, which challenges the widely accepted concept regarding the viscous nature of the Kutta condition.  We also generalized this variational principle to Navier-Stokes’, thereby discovering the fundamental quantity that Nature minimizes in every incompressible flow.

In this talk, I will discuss multi-functional smart electronic devices which can perform the roles of multiple conventionally discrete components at once.

In a quest for anything, anytime, anywhere connectivity, next-generation wireless networks are envisioned to break the boundaries of the current ground-focused paradigm and fully embrace aerial and spaceborne communications.

With the widespread deployment of advanced heterogeneous technologies and the sharply-growing complexity in our modern society, there is an increasing demand for risk-aware management and joint operation of interconnected infrastructures and lifeline networks.

Flexible electronics is an emerging and widely explored area.  Most research groups in the area focus on fabrication processes to provide mechanical flexibility and their use in bendable and stretchable applications.  Also, most semiconductors employed in flexible electronics are non-single-crystalline thin films which compromise the performance of the flexible devices.

This dissertation presents novel approaches to the design of electrical and optical wide bandgap semiconductor devices, which opens new avenues for future research. It is possible that it might be used in a broad variety of sectors, including illumination, sensing, disinfection, and power devices by using TCAD and machine learning to deliver quick forecasts of the III-nitride semiconductor device.

Abstract

Thanks to ever improving sensing, computing, and actuating technologies, autonomy is fast

This dissertation presents a variety of methodological approaches to characterize, from a microstructural point of view, different properties of novel III-nitride-based heterostructures and devices. The results of the various characterizations contributed to developing novel LEDs and photocatalysts. The analyses and results presented in this dissertation strongly relied on the analytical capabilities offered by transmission electron microscopy, which proved to be a convenient and versatile tool for the characterization of many aspects related to the fabrication of III-nitride-based optoelectronic devices.

Next-generation wireless networks are envisioned to break the boundaries of the current terrestrial-based networks and fully adopt the Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs).

Monolithic integration of quantum dot (QD) gain materials onto Si photonic platforms via direct epitaxial growth is considered as the ultimate solution for on-chip light sources.

In this talk, I will first provide an overview of our research on design-for-testability of 3D integrated circuits, silicon lifecycle management, microfluidics, and hardware security, which all involve close industry collaborations. I will next describe in more detail our recent work on design-for-yield that targets manufacturing imperfections for layouts based on emerging carbon nanotube field-effect transistors. Following this, I will present our ongoing work on built-in self-test of monolithic 3D integrated circuits. Finally, I will describe a test and diagnosis technique to characterize fault origins in inter-tier vias and resistive random-access memories for monolithic 3D integration.

Applied Complexity aims to understand the physical origin of these behaviors and transform them into sustainable technologies that tackle global problems of global interest. These range from energy harvesting to clean water production, the design of smart materials, biomedical applications, information security, artificial intelligence, and global warming. In this talk, I will summarize my group's recent research, discussing present results and future challenges of Applied complexity both as a science and engineering.

This talk will provide a brief overview of LoCMOS systems, the technologies used to construct them, and their application to novel applications in biosensing, medical diagnostics, and neuroscience. The integration of integrated circuits into LoCMOS devices poses a number of distinct and vexing challenges, increasing complexity while reducing the need for external instrumentation.

Advances in Si-based millimeter-wave circuit design, Si-based phased arrays, and low-cost antenna integration techniques have enabled the development of scalable phased arrays supporting 10s to 100s of elements.

Many IoT devices are expected to be limited in capability and run with minimal power sources/limited batteries. To extend their lifetime, and autonomy, and reduce the cost of deployment, we introduce the concepts of sensor-less and energy-free sensing, where we sense the environment without using any external sensors while consuming minimal or no energy.

With the continuous reduction of chip feature size, the continuation of Moore's Law becomes increasingly difficult and heterogeneous integration has become one of the important orientations of electronic technology.

In this thesis, we focus on the design and development of 4D printed sensors. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are used as the active sensing medium as they have proven to be ideal for application in sensors due to their high electric conductivity, stability, and mechanical flexibility. The effect of a heat-shrinkable substrate on the electronic and structural properties of CNTs is analyzed in depth, followed by the application in temperature, humidity, and pressure sensors. The results show that the 4D effect results in a more porous yet more conductive film due to an increase in the charge carrier concentration, enabling an improved sensitivity of the devices and allowing us to tune the selectivity based on the shrinking percentage. The developed device was fabricated using a rapid, cost-effective technique that is independent of advanced fabrication facilities to expand its applications to low-resource settings and environments.

In this talk we will present the design and implementation of hybrid integrated sensors using integrated circuits. We will discuss the advantages and shortcomings of sensors built in silicon-based fabrication processes and examine, in detail, their integrated circuit topologies. We will conclude with examples of solutions that worked in the field which we domnetarted at KAUST.

Pulse-shaped signal characterization is a fundamental problem in signal processing. One recently developed tool available to analyze non-stationary pulse-shaped waveforms with a suitable peak reconstruction is semiclassical signal analysis (SCSA). SCSA is a signal representation method that decomposes a real positive signal y(t) into a set of squared eigenfunctions through the discrete spectrum of the Schrödinger operator which is of particular interest. Beginning with an introduction to the young method, this dissertation discusses the relevant properties of SCSA and how they are utilized in signal denoising and biomedical application. Based on this, different frameworks and methodologies are proposed to leverage the advantages of the SCSA, especially in the pulse-shaped signal analysis field.

With the advent of wearable devices and internet of things (IoT), there is a new focus on sensing systems which can be bent so that they can be worn or mounted on non-planar objects.

Dr. Obayya will present the most recent research results achieved at the Center for Photonics and Smart Materials (CPSM), Zewail city, in connection with analysis, design and optimization of wide range of photonic devices with applications in optical communications, plasmonics, metamaterials, energy harvesters, optical biosensors, and many others.