Leader: Assoc. Prof. Petr Bača

The researchers‘ efforts are concentrated on engineering and developing electrochemical sources of energy, including, above all, lead, lithium-ion, sodium-ion, and lithium-sulphur accumulators; in this context, fuel cells also receive substantial attention. One of the stable objectives rests in broadening the collaboration with research-oriented and commercial partners at the national and international levels: The group organizes annual international conferences, namely, ABAF (Advanced Batteries, Accumulators and Fuel Cells) and USEE (Unconventional Sources of Electrical Energy), which promote renewable sources of energy and different approaches to energy storage and processing by means of electrochemical sources.

Major 4-year outputs:

• A flexible, thin-film hybrid supercapacitor developed in collaboration with the company SPUR a.s., Zlín; the University of Pardubice; and the Rybitví-based COC (Center of organic chemistry, s.r.o.) research company.
• Alkali and/or alkaline earth ion-monoclinic sulfur allotrope battery with self-supporting electrodes: a patent targeting Li-S accumulators and methods for increasing their stability, produced jointly with a Norwegian partner.
• Analyses to characterize the suitability of materials for use as accumulator electrodes, electrolytes, and separators.
• Analyses of accumulators performed for industrial and commercial purposes. Most of the individual documents were employed either in internal company audits to help extend the life and to optimize the operating modes of accumulators or as tools to resolve complaints or related disputes.
• Expert reports ordered by a court or compiled to satisfy the demand of a commercial subject.

Leader: Assoc. Prof. Jiří Vaněk

The group pursues not only basic research and development but also industrial cooperation within photovoltaic cells, modules, and panels. In terms of the primary research, our specialists investigate perovskite photovoltaic cells; within the applied domain, attention is directed towards eliminating the effects that degrade photovoltaic modules. The diagnostic activities then consist mainly in developing luminescence techniques to analyze cells and modules in an accredited laboratory (PV Lab).

Major 4-year outputs:

• HYLSKY, J.; STRACHALA, D.; HLADIK, J.; CUDEK, P.; KAZDA, T.; VANEK, J.; VYROUBAL, P.; STARY, J. Design of P-Type Photovoltaic Cells Resistant to Potential-Induced Degradation. IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, 2018, vol. 99, no. 99, p. 300-306. ISSN: 2156-3381.
• STOJAN, R.; VANEK, J. Luminescence Diagnostics of Photovoltaic Cells. International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology (IJRASET), 2018, vol. 1, no. 1, p. 1-4. ISSN: 2321-9653.
• HYLSKY, J.; STRACHALA, D.; VYROUBAL, P.; CUDEK, P.; VANEK, J.; VANYSEK, P. Effect of negative potential on the extent of PID degradation in photovoltaic power plant in a real operation mode. Microelectronics Reliability, 2018, no. 85, p. 12-18. ISSN: 0026-2714.

Leader: Petr Vyroubal, Ph.D.

We concentrate on close cooperation with the industry to solve multiple tasks stemming from the real needs of manufacturers. When searching for suitable options, we can benefit from our main assets, including long-term experience in modeling fluid and gas flow to atmospheric pressure and pressures approaching vacuum; the ability to analyze heat flow and transfer in diverse structures and electronic devices; and the skills necessary for the simulation of real and virtual operating conditions and also processes such as the heating and cooling of bodies in time. Computations of low-frequency electric and magnetic fields are performed on a regular basis.

Major 4-year outputs:

• A probe to measure the electrical properties of ceramic powders.
• VYROUBAL, P.; KAZDA, T.; MAXA, J.; VONDRAK, J.; SEDLARIKOVA, M.; TICHY, J.; CIPIN, R. 3D Modelling and Study of Electrochemical Characteristics and Thermal Stability of Commercial Accumulator by Simulation Methods. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ELECTROCHEMICAL SCIENCE, 2016, no. 11, pp. 1-13. ISSN: 1452-3981.

Leader: Alexandr Otáhal, Ph.D.

The team explores state-of-the-art hardware technologies within the following subdomains: joint miniaturization (lead-free soldering); semiconductor chip bonding and packaging (with packages such as BGA, MCM, SoP, and BoB); printed circuit board cleaning; and, partially, the development of environmentally friendly PCB cleaning devices. Besides this main research corpus, a wide range of applications are being developed, including, for example, thermodynamic sensorics, multilayered structures with embedded passive components, and new deposition methods.

Major 4-year outputs:

• Glass substrates to enable the monitoring of the PCB cleaning procedure and its effect: a commercialized and practised patent.
• A directly heated reballing stencil for BGA assemblies: a commercialized and practised patent.
• A very high resolution dispensing printer: a commercialized and practised patent.
• A soldering station to operate at lowered pressures and in a protective atmosphere.

Leader: Prof. Lubomír Grmela

The laboratory operates a Tescan LYRA electron microscope and also AFM and SNOM (NT-MDT) scanning devices; the research is centered on the microscopy of surfaces and materials, including the analysis of elements. Using an ion beam, surfaces are microscopically machined and modified.

Major 4-year outputs:

• TALU, S.; MOROZOV, I.; SOBOLA, D.; SKARVADA, P. Multifractal Characterization of Butterfly Wings Scales. BULLETIN OF MATHEMATICAL BIOLOGY, 2018, no. 10, pp. 1-15. ISSN: 0092-8240.
• BAI, Y.; TOFEL, P.; HADAS, Z.; SMILEK, J.; LOSAK, P.; SKARVADA, P.; MACKU, R. Investigation of a cantilever structured piezoelectric energy harvester used for wearable devices with random vibration input. MECHANICAL SYSTEMS AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, 2018, vol. 106, no. 106, pp. 303-318. ISSN: 0888-3270.

Leader: Pavel Škarvada, Ph.D.

The group employs the AFM/SEM techniques and interferometry to examine material surfaces in a non-destructive and contactless manner; the central research aims consist in acquiring or performing the topography, local spectroscopy, and fluorescence of semiconductor surfaces.

Major 4-year outputs:

• Analysis of fracture surfaces (Česká zbrojovka, a. s.)
• Analysis of welds in electromagnets (IMI precision).
• TALU, S.; SOBOLA, D.; SOLAYMANI, S.; DALLAEV, R.; BRUSTLOVA, J. Scale-dependent Choice of Scanning Rate for AFM Measurements. In DEStech Transactions on Computer Science and Engineering. DEStech Transactions on Computer Science and Engineering. EStech Transactions on Computer Science and Engineering, 2018, p. 453-459. ISBN: 978-1-60595-065-5. ISSN: 2475-8841.
• ŢALU, S.; PAPEZ, N.; SOBOLA, D.; ACHOUR, A.; SOLAYMANI, S. Micromorphology investigation of GaAs solar cells: case study on statistical surface roughness parameters. JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE- MATERIALS IN ELECTRONICS, 2017, vol. 28, no. 15, pp. 1-12. ISSN: 0957-4522.
• GARCZYK, Z.; STACH, S.; TALU, S.; SOBOLA, D.; WROBEL, Z. Segmentation of Three-Dimensional Images of the Butterfly Wing Surface. In Information Technology in Biomedicine. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing. 1. Springer, Cham, 2018, pp. 111-121. ISBN: 978-3-319-91211-0. ISSN: 2194-5357.

Leader: Prof. Pavel Koktavý

The laboratory performs non-destructive diagnostics of electronic components, sensors, and electrical insulation and building materials. The group’s experts utilize support techniques such as the monitoring of transport and fluctuation processes, and they also routinely use acoustic and electromagnetic emission methods.

Major 4-year outputs:

• Designing and implementing an autonomous device for the field collection of electromagnetic emission data in the monitoring of processes inside rock.
• Using acoustic emission to detect loose particles in metal samples during the manufacturing proces
• SKVARENINA, L.; MACKU, R. Noise and optical spectroscopy of single junction silicon solar cell. METROL MEAS SYST, 2018, vol. 25, no. 2, p. 303-316. ISSN: 0860-8229.
• TRCKA, T.; MACKU, R.; KOKTAVY, P.; SKARVADA, P.; BARON, I.; STEMBERK, J. Field Measurement of Natural Electromagnetic Emissions near the Active Tectonic and Mass-Movement Fractures in Caves. Solid State Phenomena, 2017, vol. 258, no. 1, p. 460-464. ISSN: 1662-9779.
• MACKU, R.; KOKTAVY, P.; SEDLAK, P.; SMULKO, J.; TRAWKA, M. Analytical fluctuation enhanced sensing by resistive gas sensors. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 2015, vol. 2015, no. 213, p. 390-396. ISSN: 0925-4005.

Leader: Ing. Zdeněk Roubal, Ph.D.

Within the field of low-level electrical measurement, we focus on issues of measurement of very small currents (up to fA) and voltages (uV) near physical noise-limit. Further, an electrical charge measurements with an application on building and natural materials. These measurements will eventually find application in a specific application or the design of a special measuring instrument as well as for interdisciplinary collaboration. In the field of magnetic measurements, we perform measurements of the magnetic and electrical properties of ferromagnetic materials. Our expertise covers also the measurement of the frequency dependencies of the material's loss. Another field of our competency is the measurement of magnetic susceptibility of materials. All measurements can be combined with inverse numerical modelling using finite element methods. All measurements can be performed in an electromagnetically shielded chamber.

Main research activities:

• Development of methodology and electronics for measuring light air ions and electrical properties of the atmosphere
• Creating models of passive and active elements
• Measurement of the initial magnetization curve and the hysteresis loop of ferromagnets
• Measurement of permanent magnets
• Measurement of resistivity of technical samples
• Measuring the magnetic susceptibility of weakly magnetic substances

Main research results – practical

• Measurement of temperature magnetic and electrical dependencies of materials for SVS FEM s.r.o.
• Measurement of relative permeability of steel samples by hybrid method for MICO Shielding s.r.o
• Implementation of a non-standard solution for measuring the relative permeability of supplied samples of magnetic materials for MShield s.r.o.

Main research results – publications

• ROUBAL, Z.; HEJTMÁNEK, T.; KŘÍŽ, T. Designing a Triaxial Gaussmeter for Magnetic Impedance Tomography. In 2019 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 12TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MEASUREMENT (MEASUREMENT 2019). Bratislava, SK: Institute of Measurement Science, Slovak Academy of Science, 2019. pp. 270-273. ISBN: 978-80-972629-3-8. https://doi.org/10.23919/MEASUREMENT47340.2019.8780074
• ROUBAL, Z.; KŘÍŽ, T.; BACHOREC, T. Measurement of Frequency Dependence of Self-Inductance of Power Capacitors. In Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Measurement. 2023. pp. 131-134. ISBN: 978-80-972629-6-9. https://doi.org/10.23919/MEASUREMENT59122.2023.10164398
• BACHOREC, T.; FIALA, P.; STEINBAUER, M.; ROUBAL, Z. A Non-Destructive Impedance Method Using Resonance to Evaluate the Concentration of Steel Fibers in Concrete. Measurement Science Review, 2018, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 218-226. ISSN: 1335-8871. https://doi.org/10.1515/msr-2018-0030

Leader: Ing. Tomáš Kříž, Ph.D.

We deal with modelling of electromagnetic fields in the low and high frequency region, we solve temperature problems including flow and coupled (electromagnetic + temperature) problems. In the low-frequency domain, we focus on solving problems in quasi-stationary or harmonic steady state (electromagnets, actuators, sensors or clamping systems) and also on solving transient processes in components or devices. In the high-frequency area, we focus on the design of planar structures, excitation coils used in spectroscopy or the design of saddle coils used in nuclear magnetic resonance. In thermal calculations, we deal with the heating of devices due to Joule or electromagnetic losses and their cooling, heat transfer from solid structures to liquids or gases (heat exchangers, water heaters).

The most important solved projects:

• EMC analysis and assessment of a multi-cell low-floor tramway 35T – Chemnitz, from 26. 3. 2018 to 14. 12. 2018
• GA17-00607S, Complex Artificial Electromagnetic Structures and Nanostructures, from 1. 1. 2017, to 31. 12. 2019

The most important publications:

• ZUKAL, J.; SZABÓ, Z.; KŘÍŽ, T.; KADLEC, R.; DĚDKOVÁ, J.; FIALA, P. A Robust Generator-Harvester for Independent Sensor Systems. Applied Sciences - Basel, 2024, vol. 14, no. 3, p. 1-16. ISSN: 2076-3417.
• DREXLER, P.; NEŠPOR, D.; KADLEC, R.; KŘÍŽ, T.; NEBOJSA, A. Simulation and Characterization of Nanostructured Electromagnetic Scatterers for Information Encoding. Electronics (MDPI), 2022, vol. 11, no. 20, p. 1-12. ISSN: 2079-9292.
• HANZELKA, M.; DAN, J.; FIALA, P.; DOHNAL, P. Human Psychophysiology Is Influenced by Low-Level Magnetic Fields: Solar Activity as the Cause. Atmosphere, 2021, vol. 12, no. 12, p. 1-10. ISSN: 2073-4433.
• DREXLER, P.; FIALA, P.; KADLEC, R.; LONDÁK, P.; MÁDROVÁ, T.; KLÍMA, M.; ZUKAL, J. Numerical modeling and experimental verification of a low fluid flow inductive flowmeter. FLOW MEASUREMENT AND INSTRUMENTATION, 2021, vol. 78, no. 1, p. 1-12. ISSN: 0955-5986.
• ZUKAL, J.; FIALA, P.; SZABÓ, Z.; DĚDKOVÁ, J.; PERNICA, R. Coupled Numerical Model of Vibration-Based Harvester. Applied Sciences - Basel, 2020, vol. 10, no. 8, p. 1-25. ISSN: 2076-3417.
• SZABÓ, Z.; FIALA, P.; ZUKAL, J.; DĚDKOVÁ, J.; DOHNAL, P. Optimal Structural Design of a Magnetic Circuit for Vibration Harvesters Applicable in MEMS. Symmetry, 2020, vol. 12, no. 1, p. 1-18. ISSN: 2073-8994.

Leader: doc. Ing. Petr Drexler, Ph.D.

Our research focuses on the applications of electromagnetic structures in physics, with a particular emphasis on plasma sources. We specialize in radio frequency and microwave resonators, leveraging their potential for low-pressure plasma excitation. Our group collaborates extensively with companies on applied research and development activities, specifically within the domains of laboratory plasma sources and space technologies.

Main research activities

• Design, manufacture and optimization of high-frequency resonators
• Low-pressure plasma sources and their analysis
• Development of diagnostic methods

The most significant results

• JUŘÍK, K.; STARÝ, J.; DREXLER, P. Design and Fabrication of Birdcage Resonators for Low-pressure Plasma Excitation. Radioengineering, 2022, roč. 32, č. 1, s. 44-50. ISSN: 1210-2512.
• DREXLER, P.; FIALA, P.; STEINBAUER, M.; FRIEDL, M.: Set of high frequency broadband amplifiers and attenuation cells. TES, a.s. Třebíč IČ: 45477973. (functional sample)
• DREXLER, P.; ČÁP, M.; NEŠPOR, D.: Two channel birdcage resonator. DTEEE FEEC BUT. (functional sample)