Dear Reader, this book project brings to you a unique study tool for ESD
protection Solutions used in analog-integrated circuit (IC) design. Quick-start
learning is combined with in-depth understanding for the whole spectrum of cross-
disciplinary knowledge required to excel in the ESD field. The chapters cover
technical material from elementary semiconductor structure and device levels up
to complex analog circuit design examples and case studies.
Resource allocation is an important issue in wireless communication networks. In
recent decades, cognitive radio technology and cognitive radio-based networks have
obtained more and more attention and have been well studied to improve spectrum
utilization and to overcomethe problem of spectrum scarcity in future wireless com-
munication systems. Many new challenges on resource allocation appear in cogni-
tive radio-based networks. In this book, we focus on effective Solutions to resource
allocation in several important cognitive radio-based networks, including a cogni-
tive radio-basedopportunisticspectrum access network, a cognitiveradio-basedcen-
tralized network, a cognitive radio-based cellular network, a cognitive radio-based
high-speed vehicle network, and a cognitive radio-based smart grid.
A revolution in power industries, including generation, transmission and distribution, driven by
environmental and economic considerations, is taking place all over the world. The smart grid allows for
integration of diverse generation and storage options, reduced losses, improved efficiencies, increased
grid flexibility, reduced power outages, allowing for competitive electricity pricing and integration of
electric vehicles and overall becoming more responsive to market, consumer and societal needs. It is
bringing profound changes to both power systems and many related industries.
This book is the result of works dedicated to specific applications of
metaheuristics in smart electrical grids. From electric transmission,
distribution networks to electric microgrids, the notion of intelligence refers
to the ability to propose acceptable Solutions in an increasingly more
restrictive environment. Most often, it refers to decision-making assisting
tools designed to support all human action.
Battery systems for energy storage are among the most relevant technologies of the
21 st century. They – in particular modern lithium-ion batteries (LIB) – are enablers
for the market success of electric vehicles (EV) as well as for stationary energy
storage Solutions for balancing fluctuations in electricity grids resulting from the
integrationofrenewableenergysourceswithvolatilesupply 1 .BothEVandstationary
storage Solutions are important because they foster the transition from the usage
of fossil energy carriers towards cleaner renewable energy sources. Furthermore,
EV cause less local air pollution and noise emissions compared to conventional
combustion engine vehicles resulting in better air quality especially in urban areas.
Unfortunately, to this day, various technological and economic challenges impede a
broad application of batteries for EV as well as for large scale energy storage and
load leveling in electricity grids.
One of the predominant topics in the domain of the emerging Smart Grid can be
seen in standardization. With the combination of existing protection and automa-
tion technology with upcoming ICT-based Solutions, different interoperability is-
sues arise when technologies have to be combined in the infrastructure. Standards
have proven to be one of the most striking Solutions to actually cope with this topic.
Since 2008, this topic has gained much attention in various political and technical
agendas.
Striking developments have taken place since 1980 in feedback control theory. The subject has be-
come both more rigorous and more applicable. The rigor is not for its own sake, but rather that even
in an engineering discipline rigor can lead to clarity and to methodical Solutions to problems. The
applicability is a consequence both of new problem formulations and new mathematical Solutions
to these problems. Moreover, computers and software have changed the way engineering design is
done. These developments suggest a fresh presentation of the subject, one that exploits these new
developments while emphasizing their connection with classical control.
The basic topic of this book is solving problems from system and control theory using
convex optimization. We show that a wide variety of problems arising in system
and control theory can be reduced to a handful of standard convex and quasiconvex
optimization problems that involve matrix inequalities. For a few special cases there
are “analytic Solutions” to these problems, but our main point is that they can be
solved numerically in all cases. These standard problems can be solved in polynomial-
time (by, e.g., the ellipsoid algorithm of Shor, Nemirovskii, and Yudin), and so are
tractable, at least in a theoretical sense. Recently developed interior-point methods
for these standard problems have been found to be extremely efficient in practice.
Therefore, we consider the original problems from system and control theory as solved.
