Integrated optoelectronic oscillator.

PubMed

Tang, Jian; Hao, Tengfei; Li, Wei; Domenech, David; Baños, Rocio; Muñoz, Pascual; Zhu, Ninghua; Capmany, José; Li, Ming

2018-04-30

With the rapid development of the modern communication systems, radar and wireless services, microwave signal with high-frequency, high-spectral-purity and frequency tunability as well as microwave generator with light weight, compact size, power-efficient and low cost are increasingly demanded. Integrated microwave photonics (IMWP) is regarded as a prospective way to meet these demands by hybridizing the microwave circuits and the photonics circuits on chip. In this article, we propose and experimentally demonstrate an integrated optoelectronic oscillator (IOEO). All of the devices needed in the optoelectronic oscillation loop circuit are monolithically integrated on chip within size of 5×6cm 2 . By tuning the injection current to 44 mA, the output frequency of the proposed IOEO is located at 7.30 GHz with phase noise value of -91 dBc/Hz@1MHz. When the injection current is increased to 65 mA, the output frequency can be changed to 8.87 GHz with phase noise value of -92 dBc/Hz@1MHz. Both of the oscillation frequency can be slightly tuned within 20 MHz around the center oscillation frequency by tuning the injection current. The method about improving the performance of IOEO is carefully discussed at the end of in this article.

Smart Phase Tuning in Microwave Photonic Integrated Circuits Toward Automated Frequency Multiplication by Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nabavi, N.

2018-07-01

The author investigates the monitoring methods for fine adjustment of the previously proposed on-chip architecture for frequency multiplication and translation of harmonics by design. Digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms are utilized to create an optimized microwave photonic integrated circuit functionality toward automated frequency multiplication. The implemented DSP algorithms are formed on discrete Fourier transform and optimization-based algorithms (Greedy and gradient-based algorithms), which are analytically derived and numerically compared based on the accuracy and speed of convergence criteria.

Cascade photonic integrated circuit architecture for electro-optic in-phase quadrature/single sideband modulation or frequency conversion.

PubMed

Hasan, Mehedi; Hall, Trevor

2015-11-01

A photonic integrated circuit architecture for implementing frequency upconversion is proposed. The circuit consists of a 1×2 splitter and 2×1 combiner interconnected by two stages of differentially driven phase modulators having 2×2 multimode interference coupler between the stages. A transfer matrix approach is used to model the operation of the architecture. The predictions of the model are validated by simulations performed using an industry standard software tool. The intrinsic conversion efficiency of the proposed design is improved by 6 dB over the alternative functionally equivalent circuit based on dual parallel Mach-Zehnder modulators known in the prior art. A two-tone analysis is presented to study the linearity of the proposed circuit, and a comparison is provided over the alternative. The proposed circuit is suitable for integration in any platform that offers linear electro-optic phase modulation such as LiNbO(3), silicon, III-V, or hybrid technology.

Optoelectronic Infrastructure for Radio Frequency and Optical Phased Arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cai, Jianhong

2015-01-01

Optoelectronic integrated circuits offer radiation-hardened solutions for satellite systems in addition to improved size, weight, power, and bandwidth characteristics. ODIS, Inc., has developed optoelectronic integrated circuit technology for sensing and data transfer in phased arrays. The technology applies integrated components (lasers, amplifiers, modulators, detectors, and optical waveguide switches) to a radio frequency (RF) array with true time delay for beamsteering. Optical beamsteering is achieved by controlling the current in a two-dimensional (2D) array. In this project, ODIS integrated key components to produce common RF-optical aperture operation.

Comparison of a new integrated current source with the modified Howland circuit for EIT applications.

PubMed

Hong, Hongwei; Rahal, Mohamad; Demosthenous, Andreas; Bayford, Richard H

2009-10-01

Multi-frequency electrical impedance tomography (MF-EIT) systems require current sources that are accurate over a wide frequency range (1 MHz) and with large load impedance variations. The most commonly employed current source design in EIT systems is the modified Howland circuit (MHC). The MHC requires tight matching of resistors to achieve high output impedance and may suffer from instability over a wide frequency range in an integrated solution. In this paper, we introduce a new integrated current source design in CMOS technology and compare its performance with the MHC. The new integrated design has advantages over the MHC in terms of power consumption and area. The output current and the output impedance of both circuits were determined through simulations and measurements over the frequency range of 10 kHz to 1 MHz. For frequencies up to 1 MHz, the measured maximum variation of the output current for the integrated current source is 0.8% whereas for the MHC the corresponding value is 1.5%. Although the integrated current source has an output impedance greater than 1 MOmega up to 1 MHz in simulations, in practice, the impedance is greater than 160 kOmega up to 1 MHz due to the presence of stray capacitance.

High-Power, High-Frequency Si-Based (SiGe) Transistors Developed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ponchak, George E.

2002-01-01

Future NASA, DOD, and commercial products will require electronic circuits that have greater functionality and versatility but occupy less space and cost less money to build and integrate than current products. System on a Chip (SOAC), a single semiconductor substrate containing circuits that perform many functions or containing an entire system, is widely recognized as the best technology for achieving low-cost, small-sized systems. Thus, a circuit technology is required that can gather, process, store, and transmit data or communications. Since silicon-integrated circuits are already used for data processing and storage and the infrastructure that supports silicon circuit fabrication is very large, it is sensible to develop communication circuits on silicon so that all the system functions can be integrated onto a single wafer. Until recently, silicon integrated circuits did not function well at the frequencies required for wireless or microwave communications, but with the introduction of small amounts of germanium into the silicon to make silicon-germanium (SiGe) transistors, silicon-based communication circuits are possible. Although microwavefrequency SiGe circuits have been demonstrated, there has been difficulty in obtaining the high power from their transistors that is required for the amplifiers of a transmitter, and many researchers have thought that this could not be done. The NASA Glenn Research Center and collaborators at the University of Michigan have developed SiGe transistors and amplifiers with state-of-the-art output power at microwave frequencies from 8 to 20 GHz. These transistors are fabricated using standard silicon processing and may be integrated with CMOS integrated circuits on a single chip. A scanning electron microscope image of a typical SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistor is shown in the preceding photomicrograph. This transistor achieved a record output power of 550 mW and an associated power-added efficiency of 33 percent at 8.4 GHz, as shown. Record performance was also demonstrated at 12.6 and 18 GHz. Developers have combined these state-of-the-art transistors with transmission lines and micromachined passive circuit components, such as inductors and capacitors, to build multistage amplifiers. Currently, a 1-W, 8.4-GHz power amplifier is being built for NASA deep space communication architectures.

Package Holds Five Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mysoor, Narayan R.; Decker, D. Richard; Olson, Hilding M.

1996-01-01

Packages protect and hold monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) chips while providing dc and radio-frequency (RF) electrical connections for chips undergoing development. Required to be compact, lightweight, and rugged. Designed to minimize undesired resonances, reflections, losses, and impedance mismatches.

Wafer scale millimeter-wave integrated circuits based on epitaxial graphene in high data rate communication.

PubMed

Habibpour, Omid; He, Zhongxia Simon; Strupinski, Wlodek; Rorsman, Niklas; Zirath, Herbert

2017-02-01

In recent years, the demand for high data rate wireless communications has increased dramatically, which requires larger bandwidth to sustain multi-user accessibility and quality of services. This can be achieved at millimeter wave frequencies. Graphene is a promising material for the development of millimeter-wave electronics because of its outstanding electron transport properties. Up to now, due to the lack of high quality material and process technology, the operating frequency of demonstrated circuits has been far below the potential of graphene. Here, we present monolithic integrated circuits based on epitaxial graphene operating at unprecedented high frequencies (80-100 GHz). The demonstrated circuits are capable of encoding/decoding of multi-gigabit-per-second information into/from the amplitude or phase of the carrier signal. The developed fabrication process is scalable to large wafer sizes.

Design and status of the RF-digitizer integrated circuit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rayhrer, B.; Lam, B.; Young, L. E.; Srinivasan, J. M.; Thomas, J. B.

1991-01-01

An integrated circuit currently under development samples a bandpass-limited signal at a radio frequency in quadrature and then performs a simple sum-and-dump operation in order to filter and lower the rate of the samples. Downconversion to baseband is carried out by the sampling step itself through the aliasing effect of an appropriately selected subharmonic sampling frequency. Two complete RF digitizer circuits with these functions will be implemented with analog and digital elements on one GaAs substrate. An input signal, with a carrier frequency as high as 8 GHz, can be sampled at a rate as high as 600 Msamples/sec for each quadrature component. The initial version of the chip will sign-sample (1-bit) the input RF signal. The chip will contain a synthesizer to generate a sample frequency that is a selectable integer multiple of an input reference frequency. In addition to the usual advantages of compactness and reliability associated with integrated circuits, the single chip will replace several steps required by standard analog downconversion. Furthermore, when a very high initial sample rate is selected, the presampling analog filters can be given very large bandwidths, thereby greatly reducing phase and delay instabilities typically introduced by such filters, as well as phase and delay variation due to Doppler changes.

Wafer scale millimeter-wave integrated circuits based on epitaxial graphene in high data rate communication

PubMed Central

Habibpour, Omid; He, Zhongxia Simon; Strupinski, Wlodek; Rorsman, Niklas; Zirath, Herbert

2017-01-01

In recent years, the demand for high data rate wireless communications has increased dramatically, which requires larger bandwidth to sustain multi-user accessibility and quality of services. This can be achieved at millimeter wave frequencies. Graphene is a promising material for the development of millimeter-wave electronics because of its outstanding electron transport properties. Up to now, due to the lack of high quality material and process technology, the operating frequency of demonstrated circuits has been far below the potential of graphene. Here, we present monolithic integrated circuits based on epitaxial graphene operating at unprecedented high frequencies (80–100 GHz). The demonstrated circuits are capable of encoding/decoding of multi-gigabit-per-second information into/from the amplitude or phase of the carrier signal. The developed fabrication process is scalable to large wafer sizes. PMID:28145513

Nonlinear system analysis in bipolar integrated circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, T. F.; Whalen, J. J.

1980-01-01

Since analog bipolar integrated circuits (IC's) have become important components in modern communication systems, the study of the Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) effects in bipolar IC amplifiers is an important subject for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) engineering. The investigation has focused on using the nonlinear circuit analysis program (NCAP) to predict RF demodulation effects in broadband bipolar IC amplifiers. The audio frequency (AF) voltage at the IC amplifier output terminal caused by an amplitude modulated (AM) RF signal at the IC amplifier input terminal was calculated and compared to measured values. Two broadband IC amplifiers were investigated: (1) a cascode circuit using a CA3026 dual differential pair; (2) a unity gain voltage follower circuit using a micro A741 operational amplifier (op amp). Before using NCAP for RFI analysis, the model parameters for each bipolar junction transistor (BJT) in the integrated circuit were determined. Probe measurement techniques, manufacturer's data, and other researcher's data were used to obtain the required NCAP BJT model parameter values. An important contribution included in this effort is a complete set of NCAP BJT model parameters for most of the transistor types used in linear IC's.

A 1 GHz integrated circuit with carbon nanotube interconnects and silicon transistors.

PubMed

Close, Gael F; Yasuda, Shinichi; Paul, Bipul; Fujita, Shinobu; Wong, H-S Philip

2008-02-01

Due to their excellent electrical properties, metallic carbon nanotubes are promising materials for interconnect wires in future integrated circuits. Simulations have shown that the use of metallic carbon nanotube interconnects could yield more energy efficient and faster integrated circuits. The next step is to build an experimental prototype integrated circuit using carbon nanotube interconnects operating at high speed. Here, we report the fabrication of the first stand-alone integrated circuit combining silicon transistors and individual carbon nanotube interconnect wires on the same chip operating above 1 GHz. In addition to setting a milestone by operating above 1 GHz, this prototype is also a tool to investigate carbon nanotubes on a silicon-based platform at high frequencies, paving the way for future multi-GHz nanoelectronics.

100-GHz Phase Switch/Mixer Containing a Slot-Line Transition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaier, Todd; Wells, Mary; Dawson, Douglas

2009-01-01

A circuit that can function as a phase switch, frequency mixer, or frequency multiplier operates over a broad frequency range in the vicinity of 100 GHz. Among the most notable features of this circuit is a grounded uniplanar transition (in effect, a balun) between a slot line and one of two coplanar waveguides (CPWs). The design of this circuit is well suited to integration of the circuit into a microwave monolithic integrated circuit (MMIC) package. One CPW is located at the input end and one at the output end of the top side of a substrate on which the circuit is fabricated (see Figure 1). The input CPW feeds the input signal to antiparallel flip-chip Schottky diodes connected to the edges of the slot line. Phase switching is effected by the combination of (1) the abrupt transition from the input CPW to the slot line and (2) CPW ground tuning effected by switching of the bias on the diodes. Grounding of the slot metal to the bottom metal gives rise to a frequency cutoff in the slot. This cutoff is valuable for separating different frequency components when the circuit is used as a mixer or multiplier. Proceeding along the slot line toward the output end, one encounters the aforementioned transition, which couples the slot line to the output CPW. Impedance tuning of the transition is accomplished by use of a high-impedance section immediately before the transition.

Development of analog watch with minute repeater

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okigami, Tomio; Aoyama, Shigeru; Osa, Takashi; Igarashi, Kiyotaka; Ikegami, Tomomi

A complementary metal oxide semiconductor with large scale integration was developed for an electronic minute repeater. It is equipped with the synthetic struck sound circuit to generate natural struck sound necessary for the minute repeater. This circuit consists of an envelope curve drawing circuit, frequency mixer, polyphonic mixer, and booster circuit made by using analog circuit technology. This large scale integration is a single chip microcomputer with motor drivers and input ports in addition to the synthetic struck sound circuit, and it is possible to make an electronic system of minute repeater at a very low cost in comparison with the conventional type.

Impedance Matching Antenna-Integrated High-Efficiency Energy Harvesting Circuit

PubMed Central

Shinki, Yuharu; Shibata, Kyohei; Mansour, Mohamed

2017-01-01

This paper describes the design of a high-efficiency energy harvesting circuit with an integrated antenna. The circuit is composed of series resonance and boost rectifier circuits for converting radio frequency power into boosted direct current (DC) voltage. The measured output DC voltage is 5.67 V for an input of 100 mV at 900 MHz. Antenna input impedance matching is optimized for greater efficiency and miniaturization. The measured efficiency of this antenna-integrated energy harvester is 60% for −4.85 dBm input power and a load resistance equal to 20 kΩ at 905 MHz. PMID:28763043

Impedance Matching Antenna-Integrated High-Efficiency Energy Harvesting Circuit.

PubMed

Shinki, Yuharu; Shibata, Kyohei; Mansour, Mohamed; Kanaya, Haruichi

2017-08-01

This paper describes the design of a high-efficiency energy harvesting circuit with an integrated antenna. The circuit is composed of series resonance and boost rectifier circuits for converting radio frequency power into boosted direct current (DC) voltage. The measured output DC voltage is 5.67 V for an input of 100 mV at 900 MHz. Antenna input impedance matching is optimized for greater efficiency and miniaturization. The measured efficiency of this antenna-integrated energy harvester is 60% for -4.85 dBm input power and a load resistance equal to 20 kΩ at 905 MHz.

Nonreciprocal frequency conversion in a multimode microwave optomechanical circuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feofanov, A. K.; Bernier, N. R.; Toth, L. D.; Koottandavida, A.; Kippenberg, T. J.

Nonreciprocal devices such as isolators, circulators, and directional amplifiers are pivotal to quantum signal processing with superconducting circuits. In the microwave domain, commercially available nonreciprocal devices are based on ferrite materials. They are barely compatible with superconducting quantum circuits, lossy, and cannot be integrated on chip. Significant potential exists for implementing non-magnetic chip-scale nonreciprocal devices using microwave optomechanical circuits. Here we demonstrate a possibility of nonreciprocal frequency conversion in a multimode microwave optomechanical circuit using solely optomechanical interaction between modes. The conversion scheme and the results reflecting the actual progress on the experimental implementation of the scheme will be presented.

Microwave integrated circuit radiometer front-ends for the Push Broom Microwave Radiometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrington, R. F.; Hearn, C. P.

1982-01-01

Microwave integrated circuit front-ends for the L-band, S-band and C-band stepped frequency null-balanced noise-injection Dicke-switched radiometer to be installed in the NASA Langley airborne prototype Push Broom Microwave Radiometer (PBMR) are described. These front-ends were developed for the fixed frequency of 1.413 GHz and the variable frequencies of 1.8-2.8 GHz and 3.8-5.8 GHz. Measurements of the noise temperature of these units were made at 55.8 C, and the results of these tests are given. While the overall performance was reasonable, improvements need to be made in circuit losses and noise temperatures, which in the case of the C-band were from 1000 to 1850 K instead of the 500 K specified. Further development of the prototypes is underway to improve performance and extend the frequency range.

Empty substrate integrated waveguide technology for E plane high-frequency and high-performance circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belenguer, Angel; Cano, Juan Luis; Esteban, Héctor; Artal, Eduardo; Boria, Vicente E.

2017-01-01

Substrate integrated circuits (SIC) have attracted much attention in the last years because of their great potential of low cost, easy manufacturing, integration in a circuit board, and higher-quality factor than planar circuits. A first suite of SIC where the waves propagate through dielectric have been first developed, based on the well-known substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) and related technological implementations. One step further has been made with a new suite of empty substrate integrated waveguides, where the waves propagate through air, thus reducing the associated losses. This is the case of the empty substrate integrated waveguide (ESIW) or the air-filled substrate integrated waveguide (air-filled SIW). However, all these SIC are H plane structures, so classical H plane solutions in rectangular waveguides have already been mapped to most of these new SIC. In this paper a novel E plane empty substrate integrated waveguide (ESIW-E) is presented. This structure allows to easily map classical E plane solutions in rectangular waveguide to this new substrate integrated solution. It is similar to the ESIW, although more layers are needed to build the structure. A wideband transition (covering the frequency range between 33 GHz and 50 GHz) from microstrip to ESIW-E is designed and manufactured. Measurements are successfully compared with simulation, proving the validity of this new SIC. A broadband high-frequency phase shifter (for operation from 35 GHz to 47 GHz) is successfully implemented in ESIW-E, thus proving the good performance of this new SIC in a practical application.

Testing Fixture For Microwave Integrated Circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Romanofsky, Robert; Shalkhauser, Kurt

1989-01-01

Testing fixture facilitates radio-frequency characterization of microwave and millimeter-wave integrated circuits. Includes base onto which two cosine-tapered ridge waveguide-to-microstrip transitions fastened. Length and profile of taper determined analytically to provide maximum bandwidth and minimum insertion loss. Each cosine taper provides transformation from high impedance of waveguide to characteristic impedance of microstrip. Used in conjunction with automatic network analyzer to provide user with deembedded scattering parameters of device under test. Operates from 26.5 to 40.0 GHz, but operation extends to much higher frequencies.

Integrated Millimeter-Wave Frequency Multiplers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schoenthal, Gerhard S.; Deaver, B. S.; Crowe, T. W.; Bishop, W. L.; Saini, K.; Bradley, R. F.

2001-11-01

Many of the molecules of interest to radio astronomers and atmospheric chemists resonate at frequencies in the millimeter and submillimeter wavelength bands. To measure the spectra of these molecules scientists rely on heterodyne receivers that convert the high frequency signal to the GHz band where it is readily amplified and analyzed. One of the challenges of developing suitable receiver systems is the development of compact, reliable and affordable sources of local oscillator power at frequencies in excess of 100 GHz. One useful solution is to use GaAs Schottky diodes, in their varactor mode, to generate high frequency harmonics of lower frequency sources such as Gunn oscillators. As a part of a multi-national radio astronomy project, the Atacama Millimeter Large Array (ALMA), we have designed and fabricated a broadband frequency tripler with an output centered at 240 GHz. It is integrated on a quartz substrate to greatly reduce the parasitic capacitance and thereby improve electrical performance. The integrated circuit was designed to require no oxides or ohmic contacts, thereby easing fabrication. This talk will discuss the novel millimeter-wave integrated circuit fabrication process and the initial results.

Simulation of 100-300 GHz solid-state harmonic sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zybura, Michael F.; Jones, J. Robert; Jones, Stephen H.; Tait, Gregory B.

1995-01-01

Accurate and efficient simulations of the large-signal time-dependent characteristics of second-harmonic Transferred Electron Oscillators (TEO's) and Heterostructure Barrier Varactor (HBV) frequency triplers have been obtained. This is accomplished by using a novel and efficient harmonic-balance circuit analysis technique which facilitates the integration of physics-based hydrodynamic device simulators. The integrated hydrodynamic device/harmonic-balance circuit simulators allow TEO and HBV circuits to be co-designed from both a device and a circuit point of view. Comparisons have been made with published experimental data for both TEO's and HBV's. For TEO's, excellent correlation has been obtained at 140 GHz and 188 GHz in second-harmonic operation. Excellent correlation has also been obtained for HBV frequency triplers operating near 200 GHz. For HBV's, both a lumped quasi-static equivalent circuit model and the hydrodynamic device simulator have been linked to the harmonic-balance circuit simulator. This comparison illustrates the importance of representing active devices with physics-based numerical device models rather than analytical device models.

Radome Positioner for the RFSS (Radio Frequency Simulation System).

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-02-27

its associated circuits contained on the Motorola M68MM01A-I micro- module (See Drawing 64). This board contains the 6800 microprocessor. Ik bytes of...D 00 1~ 0 41 + C.) ) -44 208 g. Small encoder diameter achieved by using integrated circuit modules . h. Stainless steel case. U...to the 30 integrated circuits which actually comprise the heart of the-microcomputer. This dramatic reduction in parts count re- sults in a similar

Extremely Bendable, High-Performance Integrated Circuits Using Semiconducting Carbon Nanotube Networks for Digital, Analog, and Radio-Frequency Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-02-07

circuits on mechanically flexible substrates for digital, analog and radio frequency applications. The asobtained thin-film transistors ( TFTs ) exhibit... flexible substrates for digital, analog and radio frequency applications. The as- obtained thin-film transistors ( TFTs ) exhibit highly uniform device...LCD) and organic light- emitting diode ( OLED ) displays lack the transparency and flexibility and are thus unsuitable for flexible electronic

60-GHz integrated-circuit high data rate quadriphase shift keying exciter and modulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grote, A.; Chang, K.

1984-01-01

An integrated-circuit quadriphase shift keying (QPSK) exciter and modulator have demonstrated excellent performance directly modulating a carrier frequency of 60 GHz with an output phase error of less than 3 degrees and maximum amplitude error of 0.5 dB. The circuit consists of a 60-GHz Gunn VCO phase-locked to a low-frequency reference source, a 4th subharmonic mixer, and a QPSK modlator packaged into a small volume of 1.8 x 2.5 x 0.35 in. The use of microstrip has the advantages of small size, light-weight, and low-cost fabrication. The unit has the potential for multigigabit data rate applications.

Arrays of Carbon Nanotubes as RF Filters in Waveguides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoppe, Daniel; Hunt, Brian; Hoenk, Michael; Noca, Flavio; Xu, Jimmy

2003-01-01

Brushlike arrays of carbon nanotubes embedded in microstrip waveguides provide highly efficient (high-Q) mechanical resonators that will enable ultraminiature radio-frequency (RF) integrated circuits. In its basic form, this invention is an RF filter based on a carbon nanotube array embedded in a microstrip (or coplanar) waveguide, as shown in Figure 1. In addition, arrays of these nanotube-based RF filters can be used as an RF filter bank. Applications of this new nanotube array device include a variety of communications and signal-processing technologies. High-Q resonators are essential for stable, low-noise communications, and radar applications. Mechanical oscillators can exhibit orders of magnitude higher Qs than electronic resonant circuits, which are limited by resistive losses. This has motivated the development of a variety of mechanical resonators, including bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonators, surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators, and Si and SiC micromachined resonators (known as microelectromechanical systems or MEMS). There is also a strong push to extend the resonant frequencies of these oscillators into the GHz regime of state-of-the-art electronics. Unfortunately, the BAW and SAW devices tend to be large and are not easily integrated into electronic circuits. MEMS structures have been integrated into circuits, but efforts to extend MEMS resonant frequencies into the GHz regime have been difficult because of scaling problems with the capacitively-coupled drive and readout. In contrast, the proposed devices would be much smaller and hence could be more readily incorporated into advanced RF (more specifically, microwave) integrated circuits.

System-Level Integrated Circuit (SLIC) development for phased array antenna applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shalkhauser, K. A.; Raquet, C. A.

1991-01-01

A microwave/millimeter wave system-level integrated circuit (SLIC) being developed for use in phased array antenna applications is described. The program goal is to design, fabricate, test, and deliver an advanced integrated circuit that merges radio frequency (RF) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) technologies with digital, photonic, and analog circuitry that provide control, support, and interface functions. As a whole, the SLIC will offer improvements in RF device performance, uniformity, and stability while enabling accurate, rapid, repeatable control of the RF signal. Furthermore, the SLIC program addresses issues relating to insertion of solid state devices into antenna systems, such as the reduction in number of bias, control, and signal lines. Program goals, approach, and status are discussed.

System-level integrated circuit (SLIC) development for phased array antenna applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shalkhauser, K. A.; Raquet, C. A.

1991-01-01

A microwave/millimeter wave system-level integrated circuit (SLIC) being developed for use in phased array antenna applications is described. The program goal is to design, fabricate, test, and deliver an advanced integrated circuit that merges radio frequency (RF) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) technologies with digital, photonic, and analog circuitry that provide control, support, and interface functions. As a whole, the SLIC will offer improvements in RF device performance, uniformity, and stability while enabling accurate, rapid, repeatable control of the RF signal. Furthermore, the SLIC program addresses issues relating to insertion of solid state devices into antenna systems, such as the reduction in number of bias, control, and signal lines. Program goals, approach, and status are discussed.

Pneumatic oscillator circuits for timing and control of integrated microfluidics.

PubMed

Duncan, Philip N; Nguyen, Transon V; Hui, Elliot E

2013-11-05

Frequency references are fundamental to most digital systems, providing the basis for process synchronization, timing of outputs, and waveform synthesis. Recently, there has been growing interest in digital logic systems that are constructed out of microfluidics rather than electronics, as a possible means toward fully integrated laboratory-on-a-chip systems that do not require any external control apparatus. However, the full realization of this goal has not been possible due to the lack of on-chip frequency references, thus requiring timing signals to be provided from off-chip. Although microfluidic oscillators have been demonstrated, there have been no reported efforts to characterize, model, or optimize timing accuracy, which is the fundamental metric of a clock. Here, we report pneumatic ring oscillator circuits built from microfluidic valves and channels. Further, we present a compressible-flow analysis that differs fundamentally from conventional circuit theory, and we show the utility of this physically based model for the optimization of oscillator stability. Finally, we leverage microfluidic clocks to demonstrate circuits for the generation of phase-shifted waveforms, self-driving peristaltic pumps, and frequency division. Thus, pneumatic oscillators can serve as on-chip frequency references for microfluidic digital logic circuits. On-chip clocks and pumps both constitute critical building blocks on the path toward achieving autonomous laboratory-on-a-chip devices.

Theoretical analysis and modeling of a photonic integrated circuit for frequency 8-tupled and 24-tupled millimeter wave signal generation: erratum.

PubMed

Hasan, Mehedi; Guemri, Rabiaa; Maldonado-Basilio, Ramón; Lucarz, Frédéric; de Bougrenet de la Tocnaye, Jean-Louis; Hall, Trevor

2015-12-15

A novel photonic circuit design for implementing frequency 8-tupling and 24-tupling was presented [Opt. Lett.39, 6950 (2014)10.1364/OL.39.006950OPLEDP0146-9592], and although its key message remains unaltered, there were typographical errors in the equations that are corrected in this erratum.

Universal discrete Fourier optics RF photonic integrated circuit architecture.

PubMed

Hall, Trevor J; Hasan, Mehedi

2016-04-04

This paper describes a coherent electro-optic circuit architecture that generates a frequency comb consisting of N spatially separated orders using a generalised Mach-Zenhder interferometer (MZI) with its N × 1 combiner replaced by an optical N × N Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT). Advantage may be taken of the tight optical path-length control, component and circuit symmetries and emerging trimming algorithms offered by photonic integration in any platform that offers linear electro-optic phase modulation such as LiNbO_3, silicon, III-V or hybrid technology. The circuit architecture subsumes all MZI-based RF photonic circuit architectures in the prior art given an appropriate choice of output port(s) and dimension N although the principal application envisaged is phase correlated subcarrier generation for all optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. A transfer matrix approach is used to model the operation of the architecture. The predictions of the model are validated by simulations performed using an industry standard software tool. Implementation is found to be practical.

Using NCAP to predict RFI effects in linear bipolar integrated circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, T.-F.; Whalen, J. J.; Chen, G. K. C.

1980-11-01

Applications of the Nonlinear Circuit Analysis Program (NCAP) to calculate RFI effects in electronic circuits containing discrete semiconductor devices have been reported upon previously. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that the computer program NCAP also can be used to calcuate RFI effects in linear bipolar integrated circuits (IC's). The IC's reported upon are the microA741 operational amplifier (op amp) which is one of the most widely used IC's, and a differential pair which is a basic building block in many linear IC's. The microA741 op amp was used as the active component in a unity-gain buffer amplifier. The differential pair was used in a broad-band cascode amplifier circuit. The computer program NCAP was used to predict how amplitude-modulated RF signals are demodulated in the IC's to cause undesired low-frequency responses. The predicted and measured results for radio frequencies in the 0.050-60-MHz range are in good agreement.

Flexible, High-Speed CdSe Nanocrystal Integrated Circuits.

PubMed

Stinner, F Scott; Lai, Yuming; Straus, Daniel B; Diroll, Benjamin T; Kim, David K; Murray, Christopher B; Kagan, Cherie R

2015-10-14

We report large-area, flexible, high-speed analog and digital colloidal CdSe nanocrystal integrated circuits operating at low voltages. Using photolithography and a newly developed process to fabricate vertical interconnect access holes, we scale down device dimensions, reducing parasitic capacitances and increasing the frequency of circuit operation, and scale up device fabrication over 4 in. flexible substrates. We demonstrate amplifiers with ∼7 kHz bandwidth, ring oscillators with <10 μs stage delays, and NAND and NOR logic gates.

Trigger circuit forces immediate synchronization of free-running oscillator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nagano, S.

1975-01-01

Device provides positive triggering for inverter synchronization in uninterruptible power supplies. Integrated-circuit oscillator frequency may be higher, lower, or the same as that of the synch pulse and is always synchronized by first clock pulse.

Maximum Temperature Detection System for Integrated Circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frankiewicz, Maciej; Kos, Andrzej

2015-03-01

The paper describes structure and measurement results of the system detecting present maximum temperature on the surface of an integrated circuit. The system consists of the set of proportional to absolute temperature sensors, temperature processing path and a digital part designed in VHDL. Analogue parts of the circuit where designed with full-custom technique. The system is a part of temperature-controlled oscillator circuit - a power management system based on dynamic frequency scaling method. The oscillator cooperates with microprocessor dedicated for thermal experiments. The whole system is implemented in UMC CMOS 0.18 μm (1.8 V) technology.

Sol-gel zinc oxide humidity sensors integrated with a ring oscillator circuit on-a-chip.

PubMed

Yang, Ming-Zhi; Dai, Ching-Liang; Wu, Chyan-Chyi

2014-10-28

The study develops an integrated humidity microsensor fabricated using the commercial 0.18 μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The integrated humidity sensor consists of a humidity sensor and a ring oscillator circuit on-a-chip. The humidity sensor is composed of a sensitive film and branch interdigitated electrodes. The sensitive film is zinc oxide prepared by sol-gel method. After completion of the CMOS process, the sensor requires a post-process to remove the sacrificial oxide layer and to coat the zinc oxide film on the interdigitated electrodes. The capacitance of the sensor changes when the sensitive film adsorbs water vapor. The circuit is used to convert the capacitance of the humidity sensor into the oscillation frequency output. Experimental results show that the output frequency of the sensor changes from 84.3 to 73.4 MHz at 30 °C as the humidity increases 40 to 90%RH.

Circuit for monitoring temperature of high-voltage equipment

DOEpatents

Jacobs, Martin E.

1976-01-01

This invention relates to an improved circuit for measuring temperature in a region at high electric potential and generating a read-out of the same in a region at lower potential. The circuit is specially designed to combine high sensitivity, stability, and accuracy. A major portion of the circuit situated in the high-potential region can take the form of an integrated circuit. The preferred form of the circuit includes an input section which is situated in the high-potential region and comprises a temperature-compensated thermocouple circuit for sensing temperature, an oscillator circuit for generating a train of ramp voltages whose rise time varies inversely with the thermocouple output, a comparator and switching circuit for converting the oscillator output to pulses whose frequency is proportional to the thermocouple output, and a light-emitting diode which is energized by these pulses. An optical coupling transmits the light pulses generated by the diode to an output section of the circuit, situated in a region at ground. The output section comprises means for converting the transmitted pulses to electrical pulses of corresponding frequency, means for amplifying the electrical pulses, and means for displaying the frequency of the same. The preferred embodiment of the overall circuit is designed so that the frequency of the output signal in hertz and tenths of hertz is equal to the sensed temperature in degrees and tenths of degrees.

Vacuum Gap Microstrip Microwave Resonators for 2.5-D Integration in Quantum Computing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lewis, Rupert M.; Henry, Michael David; Schroeder, Katlin

We demonstrate vacuum gap λ/2 microwave resonators as a route toward higher integration in superconducting qubit circuits. The resonators are fabricated from pieces on two silicon chips bonded together with an In-Sb bond. Measurements of the devices yield resonant frequencies in good agreement with simulations. Furthermore, we discuss creating low loss circuits in this geometry.

Vacuum Gap Microstrip Microwave Resonators for 2.5-D Integration in Quantum Computing

DOE PAGES

Lewis, Rupert M.; Henry, Michael David; Schroeder, Katlin

2017-02-22

We demonstrate vacuum gap λ/2 microwave resonators as a route toward higher integration in superconducting qubit circuits. The resonators are fabricated from pieces on two silicon chips bonded together with an In-Sb bond. Measurements of the devices yield resonant frequencies in good agreement with simulations. Furthermore, we discuss creating low loss circuits in this geometry.

SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS: A reconfigurable analog baseband circuit for WLAN, WCDMA, and Bluetooth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Tong; Baoyong, Chi; Ziqiang, Wang; Ying, Zhang; Hanjun, Jiang; Zhihua, Wang

2010-05-01

A reconfigurable analog baseband circuit for WLAN, WCDMA, and Bluetooth in 0.35 μm CMOS is presented. The circuit consists of two variable gain amplifiers (VGA) in cascade and a Gm-C elliptic low-pass filter (LPF). The filter-order and the cut-off frequency of the LPF can be reconfigured to satisfy the requirements of various applications. In order to achieve the optimum power consumption, the bandwidth of the VGAs can also be dynamically reconfigured and some Gm cells can be cut off in the given application. Simulation results show that the analog baseband circuit consumes 16.8 mW for WLAN, 8.9 mW for WCDMA and only 6.5 mW for Bluetooth, all with a 3 V power supply. The analog baseband circuit could provide -10 to +40 dB variable gain, third-order low pass filtering with 1 MHz cut-off frequency for Bluetooth, fourth-order low pass filtering with 2.2 MHz cut-off frequency for WCDMA, and fifth-order low pass filtering with 11 MHz cut-off frequency for WLAN, respectively.

Low-common-mode differential amplifier

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morrison, S.

1980-01-01

Outputs of differential amplifier are excellently matched in phase and amplitude over wide range of frequencies. Common mode feedback loop offsets differences between two signal paths. Possible applications of circuit are in oscilloscopes, integrated circuit logic tester, and other self contained instruments.

Push-pull radio frequency circuit with integral transistion to waveguide output

DOEpatents

Bennett, Wilfred P.

1987-01-01

A radio frequency circuit for ICRF heating includes a resonant push-pull circuit, a double ridged rectangular waveguide, and a coupling transition which joins the waveguide to the resonant circuit. The resonant circuit includes two cylindrical conductors mounted side by side and two power vacuum tubes attached to respective ends of a cylindrical conductor. A conductive yoke is located at the other end of the cylindrical conductors to short circuit the two cylindrical conductors. The coupling transition includes two relatively flat rectangular conductors extending perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of a respective cylindrical conductor to which the flat conductor is attached intermediate the ends thereof. Conductive side covers and end covers are also provided for forming pockets in the waveguide into which the flat conductors extend when the waveguide is attached to a shielding enclosure surrounding the resonant circuit.

Comprehensive photonics-electronics convergent simulation and its application to high-speed electronic circuit integration on a Si/Ge photonic chip

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takeda, Kotaro; Honda, Kentaro; Takeya, Tsutomu; Okazaki, Kota; Hiraki, Tatsurou; Tsuchizawa, Tai; Nishi, Hidetaka; Kou, Rai; Fukuda, Hiroshi; Usui, Mitsuo; Nosaka, Hideyuki; Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi; Yamada, Koji

2015-01-01

We developed a design technique for a photonics-electronics convergence system by using an equivalent circuit of optical devices in an electrical circuit simulator. We used the transfer matrix method to calculate the response of an optical device. This method used physical parameters and dimensions of optical devices as calculation parameters to design a device in the electrical circuit simulator. It also used an intermediate frequency to express the wavelength dependence of optical devices. By using both techniques, we simulated bit error rates and eye diagrams of optical and electrical integrated circuits and calculated influences of device structure change and wavelength shift penalty.

Flexible, Photopatterned, Colloidal CdSe Semiconductor Nanocrystal Integrated Circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stinner, F. Scott

As semiconductor manufacturing pushes towards smaller and faster transistors, a parallel goal exists to create transistors which are not nearly as small. These transistors are not intended to match the performance of traditional crystalline semiconductors; they are designed to be significantly lower in cost and manufactured using methods that can make them physically flexible for applications where form is more important than speed. One of the developing technologies for this application is semiconductor nanocrystals. We first explore methods to develop CdSe nanocrystal semiconducting "inks" into large-scale, high-speed integrated circuits. We demonstrate photopatterned transistors with mobilities of 10 cm2/Vs on Kapton substrates. We develop new methods for vertical interconnect access holes to demonstrate multi-device integrated circuits including inverting amplifiers with 7 kHz bandwidths, ring oscillators with <10 micros stage delays, and NAND and NOR logic gates. In order to produce higher performance and more consistent transistors, we develop a new hybrid procedure for processing the CdSe nanocrystals. This procedure produces transistors with repeatable performance exceeding 40 cm2/Vs when fabricated on silicon wafers and 16 cm 2/vs when fabricated as part of photopatterned integrated circuits on Kapton substrates. In order to demonstrate the full potential of these transistors, methods to create high-frequency oscillators were developed. These methods allow for transistors to operate at higher voltages as well as provide a means for wirebonding to the Kapton substrate, both of which are required for operating and probing high-frequency oscillators. Simulations of this system show the potential for operation at MHz frequencies. Demonstration of these transistors in this frequency range would open the door for development of CdSe integrated circuits for high-performance sensor, display, and audio applications. To develop further applications of electronics on flexible substrates, procedures are developed for the integration of polychromatic displays on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates and a commercial near field communication (NFC) link. The device draws its power from the NFC transmitter common on smartphones and eliminates the need for a fixed battery. This allows for the mass deployment of flexible, interactive displays on product packaging.

Triple inverter pierce oscillator circuit suitable for CMOS

DOEpatents

Wessendorf,; Kurt, O [Albuquerque, NM

2007-02-27

An oscillator circuit is disclosed which can be formed using discrete field-effect transistors (FETs), or as a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit. The oscillator circuit utilizes a Pierce oscillator design with three inverter stages connected in series. A feedback resistor provided in a feedback loop about a second inverter stage provides an almost ideal inverting transconductance thereby allowing high-Q operation at the resonator-controlled frequency while suppressing a parasitic oscillation frequency that is inherent in a Pierce configuration using a "standard" triple inverter for the sustaining amplifier. The oscillator circuit, which operates in a range of 10 50 MHz, has applications for use as a clock in a microprocessor and can also be used for sensor applications.

RLE progress report no. 133, 1 January - 31 December 1990

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Jonathan; Kleppner, Daniel; Ziegler, Mary J. (Editor); Passero, Barbara (Editor)

1990-01-01

Activities of the Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT are summarized. NASA-sponsored research in the area of synthetic aperture radar image interpretation and simulation is described. Other government-sponsored and industry-sponsored studies are also described which address the following topics: microwave and millimeter wave integrated circuits, high-speed integrated circuit interconnects, Instrument Landing System/Microwave Landing System frequency management assessment, and superconducting electronics.

Development of Integrated Preamplifier for High-Frequency Ultrasonic Transducers and Low-Power Handheld Receiver

PubMed Central

Choi, Hojong; Li, Xiang; Lau, Sien-Ting; Hu, ChangHong; Zhou, Qifa; Shung, K. Kirk

2012-01-01

This paper describes the design of a front-end circuit consisting of an integrated preamplifier with a Sallen-Key Butterworth filter for very-high-frequency ultrasonic transducers and a low-power handheld receiver. This preamplifier was fabricated using a 0.18-μm 7WL SiGe bi-polar complementary metal oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) process. The Sallen-Key filter is used to increase the voltage gain of the front-end circuit for high-frequency transducers which are generally low in sensitivity. The measured peak voltage gain of the frontend circuits for the BiCMOS preamplifier with the Sallen-Key filter was 41.28 dB at 100 MHz with a −6-dB bandwidth of 91%, and the dc power consumption of the BiCMOS preamplifier was 49.53 mW. The peak voltage gain of the front-end circuits for the CMOS preamplifier with the Sallen-Key filter was 39.52 dB at 100 MHz with a −6-dB bandwidth of 108%, and the dc power consumption of the CMOS preamplifier was 43.57 mW. Pulse-echo responses and wire phantom images with a single-element ultrasonic transducer have been acquired to demonstrate the performance of the front-end circuit. PMID:23443700

T/R Multi-Chip MMIC Modules for 150 GHz

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samoska, Lorene A.; Pukala, David M.; Soria, Mary M.; Sadowy, Gregory A.

2009-01-01

Modules containing multiple monolithic microwave integrated-circuit (MMIC) chips have been built as prototypes of transmitting/receiving (T/R) modules for millimeter-wavelength radar systems, including phased-array radar systems to be used for diverse purposes that could include guidance and avoidance of hazards for landing spacecraft, imaging systems for detecting hidden weapons, and hazard-avoidance systems for automobiles. Whereas prior landing radar systems have operated at frequencies around 35 GHz, the integrated circuits in this module operate in a frequency band centered at about 150 GHz. The higher frequency (and, hence, shorter wavelength), is expected to make it possible to obtain finer spatial resolution while also using smaller antennas and thereby reducing the sizes and masses of the affected systems.

Photonic integrated circuit implementation of a sub-GHz-selectivity frequency comb filter for optical clock multiplication.

PubMed

Geng, Zihan; Xie, Yiwei; Zhuang, Leimeng; Burla, Maurizio; Hoekman, Marcel; Roeloffzen, Chris G H; Lowery, Arthur J

2017-10-30

We report a photonic integrated circuit implementation of an optical clock multiplier, or equivalently an optical frequency comb filter. The circuit comprises a novel topology of a ring-resonator-assisted asymmetrical Mach-Zehnder interferometer in a Sagnac loop, providing a reconfigurable comb filter with sub-GHz selectivity and low complexity. A proof-of-concept device is fabricated in a high-index-contrast stoichiometric silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 /SiO 2 ) waveguide, featuring low loss, small size, and large bandwidth. In the experiment, we show a very narrow passband for filters of this kind, i.e. a -3-dB bandwidth of 0.6 GHz and a -20-dB passband of 1.2 GHz at a frequency interval of 12.5 GHz. As an application example, this particular filter shape enables successful demonstrations of five-fold repetition rate multiplication of optical clock signals, i.e. from 2.5 Gpulses/s to 12.5 Gpulses/s and from 10 Gpulses/s to 50 Gpulses/s. This work addresses comb spectrum processing on an integrated platform, pointing towards a device-compact solution for optical clock multipliers (frequency comb filters) which have diverse applications ranging from photonic-based RF spectrum scanners and photonic radars to GHz-granularity WDM switches and LIDARs.

Wavelet analysis of near-resonant series RLC circuit with time-dependent forcing frequency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caccamo, M. T.; Cannuli, A.; Magazù, S.

2018-07-01

In this work, the results of an analysis of the response of a near-resonant series resistance‑inductance‑capacitance (RLC) electric circuit with time-dependent forcing frequency by means of a wavelet cross-correlation approach are reported. In particular, it is shown how the wavelet approach enables frequency and time analysis of the circuit response to be carried out simultaneously—this procedure not being possible by Fourier transform, since the frequency is not stationary in time. A series RLC circuit simulation is performed by using the Simulation Program with Integrated Circuits Emphasis (SPICE), in which an oscillatory sinusoidal voltage drive signal of constant amplitude is swept through the resonant condition by progressively increasing the frequency over a 20-second time window, linearly, from 0.32 Hz to 6.69 Hz. It is shown that the wavelet cross-correlation procedure quantifies the common power between the input signal (represented by the electromotive force) and the output signal, which in the present case is a current, highlighting not only which frequencies are present but also when they occur, i.e. providing a simultaneous time-frequency analysis. The work is directed toward graduate Physics, Engineering and Mathematics students, with the main intention of introducing wavelet analysis into their data analysis toolkit.

A flexible surface wetness sensor using a RFID technique.

PubMed

Yang, Cheng-Hao; Chien, Jui-Hung; Wang, Bo-Yan; Chen, Ping-Hei; Lee, Da-Sheng

2008-02-01

This paper presents a flexible wetness sensor whose detection signal, converted to a binary code, is transmitted through radio-frequency (RF) waves from a radio-frequency identification integrated circuit (RFID IC) to a remote reader. The flexible sensor, with a fixed operating frequency of 13.56 MHz, contains a RFID IC and a sensor circuit that is fabricated on a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) using a Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System (MEMS) process. The sensor circuit contains a comb-shaped sensing area surrounded by an octagonal antenna with a width of 2.7 cm. The binary code transmitted from the RFIC to the reader changes if the surface conditions of the detector surface changes from dry to wet. This variation in the binary code can be observed on a digital oscilloscope connected to the reader.

Millimeter-wave and terahertz integrated circuit antennas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rebeiz, Gabriel M.

1992-01-01

This paper presents a comprehensive review of integrated circuit antennas suitable for millimeter and terahertz applications. A great deal of research was done on integrated circuit antennas in the last decade and many of the problems associated with electrically thick dielectric substrates, such as substrate modes and poor radiation patterns, have been understood and solved. Several new antennas, such as the integrated horn antenna, the dielectric-filled parabola, the Fresnel plate antenna, the dual-slot antenna, and the log-periodic and spiral antennas on extended hemispherical lenses, have resulted in excellent performance at millimeter-wave frequencies, and are covered in detail in this paper. Also, a review of the efficiency definitions used with planar antennas is given in detail in the appendix.

Broadband image sensor array based on graphene-CMOS integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goossens, Stijn; Navickaite, Gabriele; Monasterio, Carles; Gupta, Shuchi; Piqueras, Juan José; Pérez, Raúl; Burwell, Gregory; Nikitskiy, Ivan; Lasanta, Tania; Galán, Teresa; Puma, Eric; Centeno, Alba; Pesquera, Amaia; Zurutuza, Amaia; Konstantatos, Gerasimos; Koppens, Frank

2017-06-01

Integrated circuits based on complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors (CMOS) are at the heart of the technological revolution of the past 40 years, enabling compact and low-cost microelectronic circuits and imaging systems. However, the diversification of this platform into applications other than microcircuits and visible-light cameras has been impeded by the difficulty to combine semiconductors other than silicon with CMOS. Here, we report the monolithic integration of a CMOS integrated circuit with graphene, operating as a high-mobility phototransistor. We demonstrate a high-resolution, broadband image sensor and operate it as a digital camera that is sensitive to ultraviolet, visible and infrared light (300-2,000 nm). The demonstrated graphene-CMOS integration is pivotal for incorporating 2D materials into the next-generation microelectronics, sensor arrays, low-power integrated photonics and CMOS imaging systems covering visible, infrared and terahertz frequencies.

Sol-Gel Zinc Oxide Humidity Sensors Integrated with a Ring Oscillator Circuit On-a-Chip

PubMed Central

Yang, Ming-Zhi; Dai, Ching-Liang; Wu, Chyan-Chyi

2014-01-01

The study develops an integrated humidity microsensor fabricated using the commercial 0.18 μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The integrated humidity sensor consists of a humidity sensor and a ring oscillator circuit on-a-chip. The humidity sensor is composed of a sensitive film and branch interdigitated electrodes. The sensitive film is zinc oxide prepared by sol-gel method. After completion of the CMOS process, the sensor requires a post-process to remove the sacrificial oxide layer and to coat the zinc oxide film on the interdigitated electrodes. The capacitance of the sensor changes when the sensitive film adsorbs water vapor. The circuit is used to convert the capacitance of the humidity sensor into the oscillation frequency output. Experimental results show that the output frequency of the sensor changes from 84.3 to 73.4 MHz at 30 °C as the humidity increases 40 to 90 %RH. PMID:25353984

Mode-locked laser with pulse interleavers in a monolithic photonic integrated circuit for millimeter wave and terahertz carrier generation.

PubMed

Lo, Mu-Chieh; Guzmán, Robinson; Gordón, Carlos; Carpintero, Guillermo

2017-04-15

This Letter presents a photonics-based millimeter wave and terahertz frequency synthesizer using a monolithic InP photonic integrated circuit composed of a mode-locked laser (MLL) and two pulse interleaver stages to multiply the repetition rate frequency. The MLL is a multiple colliding pulse MLL producing an 80 GHz repetition rate pulse train. Through two consecutive monolithic pulse interleaver structures, each doubling the repetition rate, we demonstrate the achievement of 160 and 320 GHz. The fabrication was done on a multi-project wafer run of a generic InP photonic technology platform.

An energy-efficient readout circuit for resonant sensors based on ring-down measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Z.; Pertijs, M. A. P.; Karabacak, D. M.

2013-02-01

This paper presents an energy-efficient readout circuit for resonant sensors that operates based on a transient measurement method. The resonant sensor is driven at a frequency close to its resonance frequency by an excitation source that can be intermittently disconnected, causing the sensor to oscillate at its resonance frequency with exponentially decaying amplitude. By counting the zero crossings of this ring-down response, the interface circuit can detect the resonance frequency. In contrast with oscillator-based readout, the presented readout circuit is readily able to detect quality factor (Q) of the resonator from the envelope of the ring-down response, and can be used even in the presence of large parasitic capacitors. A prototype of the readout circuit has been integrated in 0.35 μm CMOS technology, and consumes only 36 μA from a 3.3 V supply during a measurement time of 2 ms. The resonance frequency and quality factor of a micro-machined SiN resonator obtained using this prototype are in good agreement with results obtained using impedance analysis. Furthermore, a clear transient response is observed to ethanol flow using the presented readout, demonstrating the use of this technique in sensing applications.

On-clip high frequency reliability and failure test structures

DOEpatents

Snyder, Eric S.; Campbell, David V.

1997-01-01

Self-stressing test structures for realistic high frequency reliability characterizations. An on-chip high frequency oscillator, controlled by DC signals from off-chip, provides a range of high frequency pulses to test structures. The test structures provide information with regard to a variety of reliability failure mechanisms, including hot-carriers, electromigration, and oxide breakdown. The system is normally integrated at the wafer level to predict the failure mechanisms of the production integrated circuits on the same wafer.

An adjustable RF tuning element for microwave, millimeter wave, and submillimeter wave integrated circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lubecke, Victor M.; Mcgrath, William R.; Rutledge, David B.

1991-01-01

Planar RF circuits are used in a wide range of applications from 1 GHz to 300 GHz, including radar, communications, commercial RF test instruments, and remote sensing radiometers. These circuits, however, provide only fixed tuning elements. This lack of adjustability puts severe demands on circuit design procedures and materials parameters. We have developed a novel tuning element which can be incorporated into the design of a planar circuit in order to allow active, post-fabrication tuning by varying the electrical length of a coplanar strip transmission line. It consists of a series of thin plates which can slide in unison along the transmission line, and the size and spacing of the plates are designed to provide a large reflection of RF power over a useful frequency bandwidth. Tests of this structure at 1 GHz to 3 Ghz showed that it produced a reflection coefficient greater than 0.90 over a 20 percent bandwidth. A 2 GHz circuit incorporating this tuning element was also tested to demonstrate practical tuning ranges. This structure can be fabricated for frequencies as high as 1000 GHz using existing micromachining techniques. Many commercial applications can benefit from this micromechanical RF tuning element, as it will aid in extending microwave integrated circuit technology into the high millimeter wave and submillimeter wave bands by easing constraints on circuit technology.

Novel Low Loss Wide-Band Multi-Port Integrated Circuit Technology for RF/Microwave Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simons, Rainee N.; Goverdhanam, Kavita; Katehi, Linda P. B.; Burke, Thomas P. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

In this paper, novel low loss, wide-band coplanar stripline technology for radio frequency (RF)/microwave integrated circuits is demonstrated on high resistivity silicon wafer. In particular, the fabrication process for the deposition of spin-on-glass (SOG) as a dielectric layer, the etching of microvias for the vertical interconnects, the design methodology for the multiport circuits and their measured/simulated characteristics are graphically illustrated. The study shows that circuits with very low loss, large bandwidth, and compact size are feasible using this technology. This multilayer planar technology has potential to significantly enhance RF/microwave IC performance when combined with semi-conductor devices and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

Extremely high frequency RF effects on electronics.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Loubriel, Guillermo Manuel; Vigliano, David; Coleman, Phillip Dale

The objective of this work was to understand the fundamental physics of extremely high frequency RF effects on electronics. To accomplish this objective, we produced models, conducted simulations, and performed measurements to identify the mechanisms of effects as frequency increases into the millimeter-wave regime. Our purpose was to answer the questions, 'What are the tradeoffs between coupling, transmission losses, and device responses as frequency increases?', and, 'How high in frequency do effects on electronic systems continue to occur?' Using full wave electromagnetics codes and a transmission-line/circuit code, we investigated how extremely high-frequency RF propagates on wires and printed circuit boardmore » traces. We investigated both field-to-wire coupling and direct illumination of printed circuit boards to determine the significant mechanisms for inducing currents at device terminals. We measured coupling to wires and attenuation along wires for comparison to the simulations, looking at plane-wave coupling as it launches modes onto single and multiconductor structures. We simulated the response of discrete and integrated circuit semiconductor devices to those high-frequency currents and voltages, using SGFramework, the open-source General-purpose Semiconductor Simulator (gss), and Sandia's Charon semiconductor device physics codes. This report documents our findings.« less

Printed Graphene Derivative Circuits as Passive Electrical Filters

PubMed Central

Sinar, Dogan

2018-01-01

The objective of this study is to inkjet print resistor-capacitor (RC) low pass electrical filters, using a novel water-based cellulose graphene ink, and compare the voltage-frequency and transient behavior to equivalent circuits constructed from discrete passive components. The synthesized non-toxic graphene-carboxymethyl cellulose (G-CMC) ink is deposited on mechanically flexible polyimide substrates using a customized printer that dispenses functionalized aqueous solutions. The design of the printed first-order and second-order low-pass RC filters incorporate resistive traces and interdigitated capacitors. Low pass filter characteristics, such as time constant, cut-off frequency and roll-off rate, are determined for comparative analysis. Experiments demonstrate that for low frequency applications (<100 kHz) the printed graphene derivative circuits performed as well as the circuits constructed from discrete resistors and capacitors for both low pass filter and RC integrator applications. The impact of mechanical stress due to bending on the electrical performance of the flexible printed circuits is also investigated. PMID:29473890

Printed Graphene Derivative Circuits as Passive Electrical Filters.

PubMed

Sinar, Dogan; Knopf, George K

2018-02-23

The objective of this study is to inkjet print resistor-capacitor ( RC ) low pass electrical filters, using a novel water-based cellulose graphene ink, and compare the voltage-frequency and transient behavior to equivalent circuits constructed from discrete passive components. The synthesized non-toxic graphene-carboxymethyl cellulose (G-CMC) ink is deposited on mechanically flexible polyimide substrates using a customized printer that dispenses functionalized aqueous solutions. The design of the printed first-order and second-order low-pass RC filters incorporate resistive traces and interdigitated capacitors. Low pass filter characteristics, such as time constant, cut-off frequency and roll-off rate, are determined for comparative analysis. Experiments demonstrate that for low frequency applications (<100 kHz) the printed graphene derivative circuits performed as well as the circuits constructed from discrete resistors and capacitors for both low pass filter and RC integrator applications. The impact of mechanical stress due to bending on the electrical performance of the flexible printed circuits is also investigated.

Transparent megahertz circuits from solution-processed composite thin films.

PubMed

Liu, Xingqiang; Wan, Da; Wu, Yun; Xiao, Xiangheng; Guo, Shishang; Jiang, Changzhong; Li, Jinchai; Chen, Tangsheng; Duan, Xiangfeng; Fan, Zhiyong; Liao, Lei

2016-04-21

Solution-processed amorphous oxide semiconductors have attracted considerable interest in large-area transparent electronics. However, due to its relative low carrier mobility (∼10 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)), the demonstrated circuit performance has been limited to 800 kHz or less. Herein, we report solution-processed high-speed thin-film transistors (TFTs) and integrated circuits with an operation frequency beyond the megahertz region on 4 inch glass. The TFTs can be fabricated from an amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide/single-walled carbon nanotube (a-IGZO/SWNT) composite thin film with high yield and high carrier mobility of >70 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). On-chip microwave measurements demonstrate that these TFTs can deliver an unprecedented operation frequency in solution-processed semiconductors, including an extrinsic cut-off frequency (f(T) = 102 MHz) and a maximum oscillation frequency (f(max) = 122 MHz). Ring oscillators further demonstrated an oscillation frequency of 4.13 MHz, for the first time, realizing megahertz circuit operation from solution-processed semiconductors. Our studies represent an important step toward high-speed solution-processed thin film electronics.

High output lamp with high brightness

DOEpatents

Kirkpatrick, Douglas A.; Bass, Gary K.; Copsey, Jesse F.; Garber, Jr., William E.; Kwong, Vincent H.; Levin, Izrail; MacLennan, Donald A.; Roy, Robert J.; Steiner, Paul E.; Tsai, Peter; Turner, Brian P.

2002-01-01

An ultra bright, low wattage inductively coupled electrodeless aperture lamp is powered by a solid state RF source in the range of several tens to several hundreds of watts at various frequencies in the range of 400 to 900 MHz. Numerous novel lamp circuits and components are disclosed including a wedding ring shaped coil having one axial and one radial lead, a high accuracy capacitor stack, a high thermal conductivity aperture cup and various other aperture bulb configurations, a coaxial capacitor arrangement, and an integrated coil and capacitor assembly. Numerous novel RF circuits are also disclosed including a high power oscillator circuit with reduced complexity resonant pole configuration, parallel RF power FET transistors with soft gate switching, a continuously variable frequency tuning circuit, a six port directional coupler, an impedance switching RF source, and an RF source with controlled frequency-load characteristics. Numerous novel RF control methods are disclosed including controlled adjustment of the operating frequency to find a resonant frequency and reduce reflected RF power, controlled switching of an impedance switched lamp system, active power control and active gate bias control.

On-clip high frequency reliability and failure test structures

DOEpatents

Snyder, E.S.; Campbell, D.V.

1997-04-29

Self-stressing test structures for realistic high frequency reliability characterizations. An on-chip high frequency oscillator, controlled by DC signals from off-chip, provides a range of high frequency pulses to test structures. The test structures provide information with regard to a variety of reliability failure mechanisms, including hot-carriers, electromigration, and oxide breakdown. The system is normally integrated at the wafer level to predict the failure mechanisms of the production integrated circuits on the same wafer. 22 figs.

Integrating Magnetics for On-Chip Power: A Perspective

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sullivan, CR; Harburg, DV; Qiu, JZ

Integration of efficient power converters requires technology for efficient, high-power on-chip inductors and transformers. Increases in switching frequency, facilitated by advances in circuit designs and silicon or wide-bandgap semiconductors, can enable miniaturization, but only if the magnetics technology works well at the higher frequencies. Technologies, geometries, and scaling of air-core and magnetic-core inductors and transformers are examined, and their potential for integration is discussed. Air-core inductors can use simpler fabrication, and increasing frequency can always be used to decrease their size, but magnetic cores can decrease the required thickness without requiring as high a frequency.

Op-amp gyrator simulates high Q inductor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sutherland, W. C.

1977-01-01

Gyrator circuit consisting of dual operational amplifier and four resistors inverts impedance of capacitor to simulate inductor. Synthetic inductor has high Q factor, good stability, wide bandwidth, and easily determined value of inductance that is independent of frequency. It readily lends itself to integrated-circuit applications, including filter networks.

670-GHz Schottky Diode-Based Subharmonic Mixer with CPW Circuits and 70-GHz IF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chattopadhyay, Goutam; Schlecht, Erich T.; Lee, Choonsup; Lin, Robert H.; Gill, John J.; Mehdi, Imran; Sin, Seth; Deal, William; Loi, Kwok K.; Nam, Peta;

Ultra Low-Voltage Energy Harvesting

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

Power PV Photovoltaic R Resistance RF Radio Frequencies S Switch SPICE Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis T Switching Cycle xiv...control experiment, a supercapacitor was connected to a photovoltaic (PV) source with a diode in between. The advantages of this circuit were a...Circuits to harvest thermal differences typically produce only 0.02 to 0.15 V, while low-power photovoltaic cells can generate 0.2 to 0.7 V and

High-Frequency Wireless Communications System: 2.45-GHz Front-End Circuit and System Integration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, M.-H.; Huang, M.-C.; Ting, Y.-C.; Chen, H.-H.; Li, T.-L.

2010-01-01

In this article, a course on high-frequency wireless communications systems is presented. With the 145-MHz baseband subsystem available from a prerequisite course, the present course emphasizes the design and implementation of the 2.45-GHz front-end subsystem as well as system integration issues. In this curriculum, the 2.45-GHz front-end…

Wide modulation bandwidth terahertz detection in 130 nm CMOS technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nahar, Shamsun; Shafee, Marwah; Blin, Stéphane; Pénarier, Annick; Nouvel, Philippe; Coquillat, Dominique; Safwa, Amr M. E.; Knap, Wojciech; Hella, Mona M.

2016-11-01

Design, manufacturing and measurements results for silicon plasma wave transistors based wireless communication wideband receivers operating at 300 GHz carrier frequency are presented. We show the possibility of Si-CMOS based integrated circuits, in which by: (i) specific physics based plasma wave transistor design allowing impedance matching to the antenna and the amplifier, (ii) engineering the shape of the patch antenna through a stacked resonator approach and (iii) applying bandwidth enhancement strategies to the design of integrated broadband amplifier, we achieve an integrated circuit of the 300 GHz carrier frequency receiver for wireless wideband operation up to/over 10 GHz. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration of low cost 130 nm Si-CMOS technology, plasma wave transistors based fast/wideband integrated receiver operating at 300 GHz atmospheric window. These results pave the way towards future large scale (cost effective) silicon technology based terahertz wireless communication receivers.

A hybrid analog-digital phase-locked loop for frequency mode non-contact scanning probe microscopy.

PubMed

Mehta, M M; Chandrasekhar, V

2014-01-01

Non-contact scanning probe microscopy (SPM) has developed into a powerful technique to image many different properties of samples. The conventional method involves monitoring the amplitude, phase, or frequency of a cantilever oscillating at or near its resonant frequency as it is scanned across the surface of a sample. For high Q factor cantilevers, monitoring the resonant frequency is the preferred method in order to obtain reasonable scan times. This can be done by using a phase-locked-loop (PLL). PLLs can be obtained as commercial integrated circuits, but these do not have the frequency resolution required for SPM. To increase the resolution, all-digital PLLs requiring sophisticated digital signal processors or field programmable gate arrays have also been implemented. We describe here a hybrid analog/digital PLL where most of the components are implemented using discrete analog integrated circuits, but the frequency resolution is provided by a direct digital synthesis chip controlled by a simple peripheral interface controller (PIC) microcontroller. The PLL has excellent frequency resolution and noise, and can be controlled and read by a computer via a universal serial bus connection.

A hybrid analog-digital phase-locked loop for frequency mode non-contact scanning probe microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehta, M. M.; Chandrasekhar, V.

2014-01-01

Non-contact scanning probe microscopy (SPM) has developed into a powerful technique to image many different properties of samples. The conventional method involves monitoring the amplitude, phase, or frequency of a cantilever oscillating at or near its resonant frequency as it is scanned across the surface of a sample. For high Q factor cantilevers, monitoring the resonant frequency is the preferred method in order to obtain reasonable scan times. This can be done by using a phase-locked-loop (PLL). PLLs can be obtained as commercial integrated circuits, but these do not have the frequency resolution required for SPM. To increase the resolution, all-digital PLLs requiring sophisticated digital signal processors or field programmable gate arrays have also been implemented. We describe here a hybrid analog/digital PLL where most of the components are implemented using discrete analog integrated circuits, but the frequency resolution is provided by a direct digital synthesis chip controlled by a simple peripheral interface controller (PIC) microcontroller. The PLL has excellent frequency resolution and noise, and can be controlled and read by a computer via a universal serial bus connection.

Scanning capacitance microscope as a tool for the characterization of integrated circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Born, A.; Wiesendanger, R.

With the decreasing size of integrated circuits (ICs), there is an increasing demand for the measurement of doping profiles with high spatial resolution. The scanning capacitance microscope (SCM) offers the possibility of measuring 2D dopant profiles with spatial resolution of less than 20 nm. A great problem of the SCM technique is the influence of previous measurements on subsequent ones. We have observed hysteresis in the SCM images and measured low-frequency C-V curves with high-frequency equipment. A theoretical model was developed to understand this phenomenon. We are now undertaking the first steps using the SCM as a standard device for the characterization of ICs.

A Low Noise CMOS Readout Based on a Polymer-Coated SAW Array for Miniature Electronic Nose

PubMed Central

Wu, Cheng-Chun; Liu, Szu-Chieh; Chiu, Shih-Wen; Tang, Kea-Tiong

2016-01-01

An electronic nose (E-Nose) is one of the applications for surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors. In this paper, we present a low-noise complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) readout application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) based on an SAW sensor array for achieving a miniature E-Nose. The center frequency of the SAW sensors was measured to be approximately 114 MHz. Because of interference between the sensors, we designed a low-noise CMOS frequency readout circuit to enable the SAW sensor to obtain frequency variation. The proposed circuit was fabricated in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) 0.18 μm 1P6M CMOS process technology. The total chip size was nearly 1203 × 1203 μm2. The chip was operated at a supply voltage of 1 V for a digital circuit and 1.8 V for an analog circuit. The least measurable difference between frequencies was 4 Hz. The detection limit of the system, when estimated using methanol and ethanol, was 0.1 ppm. Their linearity was in the range of 0.1 to 26,000 ppm. The power consumption levels of the analog and digital circuits were 1.742 mW and 761 μW, respectively. PMID:27792131

A Low Noise CMOS Readout Based on a Polymer-Coated SAW Array for Miniature Electronic Nose.

PubMed

Wu, Cheng-Chun; Liu, Szu-Chieh; Chiu, Shih-Wen; Tang, Kea-Tiong

2016-10-25

An electronic nose (E-Nose) is one of the applications for surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors. In this paper, we present a low-noise complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) readout application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) based on an SAW sensor array for achieving a miniature E-Nose. The center frequency of the SAW sensors was measured to be approximately 114 MHz. Because of interference between the sensors, we designed a low-noise CMOS frequency readout circuit to enable the SAW sensor to obtain frequency variation. The proposed circuit was fabricated in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) 0.18 μm 1P6M CMOS process technology. The total chip size was nearly 1203 × 1203 μm². The chip was operated at a supply voltage of 1 V for a digital circuit and 1.8 V for an analog circuit. The least measurable difference between frequencies was 4 Hz. The detection limit of the system, when estimated using methanol and ethanol, was 0.1 ppm. Their linearity was in the range of 0.1 to 26,000 ppm. The power consumption levels of the analog and digital circuits were 1.742 mW and 761 μW, respectively.

Integrated circuit electrometer and sweep circuitry for an atmospheric probe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zimmerman, L. E.

1971-01-01

The design of electrometer circuitry using an integrated circuit operational amplifier with a MOSFET input is described. Input protection against static voltages is provided by a dual ultra low leakage diode or a neon lamp. Factors affecting frequency response leakage resistance, and current stability are discussed, and methods are suggested for increasing response speed and for eliminating leakage resistance and current instabilities. Based on the above, two practical circuits, one having a linear response and the other a logarithmic response, were designed and evaluated experimentally. The design of a sweep circuit to implement mobility measurements using atmospheric probes is presented. A triangular voltage waveform is generated and shaped to contain a step in voltage from zero volts in both positive and negative directions.

Assessment of Durable SiC JFET Technology for +600 C to -125 C Integrated Circuit Operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neudeck, P. G.; Krasowski, M. J.; Prokop, N. F.

2011-01-01

Electrical characteristics and circuit design considerations for prototype 6H-SiC JFET integrated circuits (ICs) operating over the broad temperature range of -125 C to +600 C are described. Strategic implementation of circuits with transistors and resistors in the same 6H-SiC n-channel layer enabled ICs with nearly temperature-independent functionality to be achieved. The frequency performance of the circuits declined at temperatures increasingly below or above room temperature, roughly corresponding to the change in 6H-SiC n-channel resistance arising from incomplete carrier ionization at low temperature and decreased electron mobility at high temperature. In addition to very broad temperature functionality, these simple digital and analog demonstration integrated circuits successfully operated with little change in functional characteristics over the course of thousands of hours at 500 C before experiencing interconnect-related failures. With appropriate further development, these initial results establish a new technology foundation for realizing durable 500 C ICs for combustion engine sensing and control, deep-well drilling, and other harsh-environment applications.

Magnetic-free non-reciprocity based on staggered commutation

PubMed Central

Reiskarimian, Negar; Krishnaswamy, Harish

2016-01-01

Lorentz reciprocity is a fundamental characteristic of the vast majority of electronic and photonic structures. However, non-reciprocal components such as isolators, circulators and gyrators enable new applications ranging from radio frequencies to optical frequencies, including full-duplex wireless communication and on-chip all-optical information processing. Such components today dominantly rely on the phenomenon of Faraday rotation in magneto-optic materials. However, they are typically bulky, expensive and not suitable for insertion in a conventional integrated circuit. Here we demonstrate magnetic-free linear passive non-reciprocity based on the concept of staggered commutation. Commutation is a form of parametric modulation with very high modulation ratio. We observe that staggered commutation enables time-reversal symmetry breaking within very small dimensions (λ/1,250 × λ/1,250 in our device), resulting in a miniature radio-frequency circulator that exhibits reduced implementation complexity, very low loss, strong non-reciprocity, significantly enhanced linearity and real-time reconfigurability, and is integrated in a conventional complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor integrated circuit for the first time. PMID:27079524

Integrated CMOS photodetectors and signal processing for very low-level chemical sensing with the bioluminescent bioreporter integrated circuit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bolton, Eric K.; Sayler, Gary S.; Nivens, David E.; Rochelle, James M.; Ripp, Steven; Simpson, Michael L.

2002-01-01

We report an integrated CMOS microluminometer optimized for the detection of low-level bioluminescence as part of the bioluminescent bioreporter integrated circuit (BBIC). This microluminometer improves on previous devices through careful management of the sub-femtoampere currents, both signal and leakage, that flow in the front-end processing circuitry. In particular, the photodiode is operated with a reverse bias of only a few mV, requiring special attention to the reset circuitry of the current-to-frequency converter (CFC) that forms the front-end circuit. We report a sub-femtoampere leakage current and a minimum detectable signal (MDS) of 0.15 fA (1510 s integration time) using a room temperature 1.47 mm2 CMOS photodiode. This microluminometer can detect luminescence from as few as 5000 fully induced Pseudomonas fluorescens 5RL bacterial cells. c2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

New equivalent lumped electrical circuit for piezoelectric transformers.

PubMed

Gonnard, Paul; Schmitt, P M; Brissaud, Michel

2006-04-01

A new equivalent circuit is proposed for a contour-vibration-mode piezoelectric transformer (PT). It is shown that the usual lumped equivalent circuit derived from the conventional Mason approach is not accurate. The proposed circuit, built on experimental measurements, makes an explicit difference between the elastic energies stored respectively on the primary and secondary parts. The experimental and theoretical resonance frequencies with the secondary in open or short circuit are in good agreement as well as the output "voltage-current" characteristic and the optimum efficiency working point. This circuit can be extended to various PT configurations and appears to be a useful tool for modeling electronic devices that integrate piezoelectric transformers.

Integrated Power Adapter: Isolated Converter with Integrated Passives and Low Material Stress

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2010-09-01

ADEPT Project: CPES at Virginia Tech is developing an extremely efficient power converter that could be used in power adapters for small, lightweight laptops and other types of mobile electronic devices. Power adapters convert electrical energy into useable power for an electronic device, and they currently waste a lot of energy when they are plugged into an outlet to power up. CPES at Virginia Tech is integrating high-density capacitors, new magnetic materials, high-frequency integrated circuits, and a constant-flux transformer to create its efficient power converter. The high-density capacitors enable the power adapter to store more energy. The new magnetic materialsmore » also increase energy storage, and they can be precisely dispensed using a low-cost ink-jet printer which keeps costs down. The high-frequency integrated circuits can handle more power, and they can handle it more efficiently. And, the constant-flux transformer processes a consistent flow of electrical current, which makes the converter more efficient.« less

SiGe/Si Monolithically Integrated Amplifier Circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katehi, Linda P. B.; Bhattacharya, Pallab

1998-01-01

With recent advance in the epitaxial growth of silicon-germanium heterojunction, Si/SiGe HBTs with high f(sub max) and f(sub T) have received great attention in MMIC applications. In the past year, technologies for mesa-type Si/SiGe HBTs and other lumped passive components with high resonant frequencies have been developed and well characterized for circuit applications. By integrating the micromachined lumped passive elements into HBT fabrication, multi-stage amplifiers operating at 20 GHz have been designed and fabricated.

A low jitter PLL clock used for phase change memory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Hong; Houpeng, Chen; Zhitang, Song; Daolin, Cai; Xi, Li

2013-02-01

A fully integrated low-jitter, precise frequency CMOS phase-locked loop (PLL) clock for the phase change memory (PCM) drive circuit is presented. The design consists of a dynamic dual-reset phase frequency detector (PFD) with high frequency acquisition, a novel low jitter charge pump, a CMOS ring oscillator based voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), a 2nd order passive loop filter, and a digital frequency divider. The design is fabricated in 0.35 μm CMOS technology and consumes 20 mW from a supply voltage of 5 V. In terms of the PCM's program operation requirement, the output frequency range is from 1 to 140 MHz. For the 140 MHz output frequency, the circuit features a cycle-to-cycle jitter of 28 ps RMS and 250 ps peak-to-peak.

Integrated circuits for accurate linear analogue electric signal processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huijsing, J. H.

1981-11-01

The main lines in the design of integrated circuits for accurate analog linear electric signal processing in a frequency range including DC are investigated. A categorization of universal active electronic devices is presented on the basis of the connections of one of the terminals of the input and output ports to the common ground potential. The means for quantifying the attributes of four types of universal active electronic devices are included. The design of integrated operational voltage amplifiers (OVA) is discussed. Several important applications in the field of general instrumentation are numerically evaluated, and the design of operatinal floating amplifiers is presented.

Influence of bending strains on radio frequency characteristics of flexible microwave switches using single-crystal silicon nanomembranes on plastic substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Guoxuan; Yuan, Hao-Chih; Celler, George K.; Ma, Jianguo; Ma, Zhenqiang

2011-10-01

This letter presents radio frequency (RF) characterization of flexible microwave switches using single-crystal silicon nanomembranes (SiNMs) on plastic substrate under various uniaxial mechanical tensile bending strains. The flexible switches shows significant/negligible performance enhancement on strains under on/off states from dc to 10 GHz. Furthermore, an RF/microwave strain equivalent circuit model is developed and reveals the most influential factors, and un-proportional device parameters change with bending strains. The study demonstrates that flexible microwave single-crystal SiNM switches, as a simple circuit example towards the goal of flexible monolithic microwave integrated circuits, can be properly operated and modeled under mechanical bending conditions.

Ferrite film growth on semiconductor substrates towards microwave and millimeter wave integrated circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Z.; Harris, V. G.

2012-10-01

It is widely recognized that as electronic systems' operating frequency shifts to microwave and millimeter wave bands, the integration of ferrite passive devices with semiconductor solid state active devices holds significant advantages in improved miniaturization, bandwidth, speed, power and production costs, among others. Traditionally, ferrites have been employed in discrete bulk form, despite attempts to integrate ferrite as films within microwave integrated circuits. Technical barriers remain centric to the incompatibility between ferrite and semiconductor materials and their processing protocols. In this review, we present past and present efforts at ferrite integration with semiconductor platforms with the aim to identify the most promising paths to realizing the complete integration of on-chip ferrite and semiconductor devices, assemblies and systems.

A three-dimensional integrated nanogenerator for effectively harvesting sound energy from the environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jinmei; Cui, Nuanyang; Gu, Long; Chen, Xiaobo; Bai, Suo; Zheng, Youbin; Hu, Caixia; Qin, Yong

2016-02-01

An integrated triboelectric nanogenerator (ITNG) with a three-dimensional structure benefiting sound propagation and adsorption is demonstrated to more effectively harvest sound energy with improved output performance. With different multifunctional integrated layers working harmonically, it could generate a short-circuit current up to 2.1 mA, an open-circuit voltage up to 232 V and the maximum charging rate can reach 453 μC s-1 for a 1 mF capacitor, which are 4.6 times, 2.6 times and 7.4 times the highest reported values, respectively. Further study shows that the ITNG works well under sound in a wide range of sound intensity levels (SILs) and frequencies, and its output is sensitive to the SIL and frequency of the sound, which reveals that the ITNG can act as a self-powered active sensor for real-time noise surveillance and health care. Moreover, this generator can be used to directly power the Fe(OH)3 sol electrophoresis and shows great potential as a wireless power supply in the electrochemical industry.An integrated triboelectric nanogenerator (ITNG) with a three-dimensional structure benefiting sound propagation and adsorption is demonstrated to more effectively harvest sound energy with improved output performance. With different multifunctional integrated layers working harmonically, it could generate a short-circuit current up to 2.1 mA, an open-circuit voltage up to 232 V and the maximum charging rate can reach 453 μC s-1 for a 1 mF capacitor, which are 4.6 times, 2.6 times and 7.4 times the highest reported values, respectively. Further study shows that the ITNG works well under sound in a wide range of sound intensity levels (SILs) and frequencies, and its output is sensitive to the SIL and frequency of the sound, which reveals that the ITNG can act as a self-powered active sensor for real-time noise surveillance and health care. Moreover, this generator can be used to directly power the Fe(OH)3 sol electrophoresis and shows great potential as a wireless power supply in the electrochemical industry. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr09087c

Micro and nano devices in passive millimetre wave imaging systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Appleby, R.

2013-06-01

The impact of micro and nano technology on millimetre wave imaging from the post war years to the present day is reviewed. In the 1950s whisker contacted diodes in mixers and vacuum tubes were used to realise both radiometers and radars but required considerable skill to realise the performance needed. Development of planar semiconductor devices such as Gunn and Schottky diodes revolutionised mixer performance and provided considerable improvement. The next major breakthrough was high frequency transistors based on gallium arsenide which were initially used at intermediate frequencies but later after further development at millimeter wave frequencies. More recently Monolithic Microwave Integrated circuits(MMICs) offer exceptional performance and the opportunity for innovative design in passive imaging systems. In the future the use of micro and nano technology will continue to drive system performance and we can expect to see integration of antennae, millimetre wave and sub millimetre wave circuits and signal processing.

Measurements of complex impedance in microwave high power systems with a new bluetooth integrated circuit.

PubMed

Roussy, Georges; Dichtel, Bernard; Chaabane, Haykel

2003-01-01

By using a new integrated circuit, which is marketed for bluetooth applications, it is possible to simplify the method of measuring the complex impedance, complex reflection coefficient and complex transmission coefficient in an industrial microwave setup. The Analog Devices circuit AD 8302, which measures gain and phase up to 2.7 GHz, operates with variable level input signals and is less sensitive to both amplitude and frequency fluctuations of the industrial magnetrons than are mixers and AM crystal detectors. Therefore, accurate gain and phase measurements can be performed with low stability generators. A mechanical setup with an AD 8302 is described; the calibration procedure and its performance are presented.

Novel high-gain, improved-bandwidth, finned-ladder V-band Traveling-Wave Tube slow-wave circuit design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kory, Carol L.; Wilson, Jeffrey D.

1994-01-01

The V-band frequency range of 59-64 GHz is a region of the millimeter-wave spectrum that has been designated for inter-satellite communications. As a first effort to develop a high-efficiency V-band Traveling-Wave Tube (TWT), variations on a ring-plane slow-wave circuit were computationally investigated to develop an alternative to the more conventional ferruled coupled-cavity circuit. The ring-plane circuit was chosen because of its high interaction impedance, large beam aperture, and excellent thermal dissipation properties. Despite these advantages, however, low bandwidth and high voltage requirements have, until now, prevented its acceptance outside the laboratory. In this paper, the three-dimensional electrodynamic simulation code MAFIA (solution of MAxwell's Equation by the Finite-Integration-Algorithm) is used to investigate methods of increasing the bandwidth and lowering the operating voltage of the ring-plane circuit. Calculations of frequency-phase dispersion, beam on-axis interaction impedance, attenuation and small-signal gain per wavelength were performed for various geometric variations and loading distributions of the ring-plane TWT slow-wave circuit. Based on the results of the variations, a circuit termed the finned-ladder TWT slow-wave circuit was designed and is compared here to the scaled prototype ring-plane and a conventional ferruled coupled-cavity TWT circuit over the V-band frequency range. The simulation results indicate that this circuit has a much higher gain, significantly wider bandwidth, and a much lower voltage requirement than the scaled ring-plane prototype circuit, while retaining its excellent thermal dissipation properties. The finned-ladder circuit has a much larger small-signal gain per wavelength than the ferruled coupled-cavity circuit, but with a moderate sacrifice in bandwidth.

Adaptive control system for line-commutated inverters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dolland, C. R.; Bailey, D. A. (Inventor)

1983-01-01

A control system for a permanent magnet motor driven by a multiphase line commutated inverter is provided with integration for integrating the back EMF of each phase of the motor. This is used in generating system control signals for an inverter gate logic using a sync and firing angle (alpha) control generator connected to the outputs of the integrators. A precision full wave rectifier provides a speed control feedback signal to a phase delay rectifier via a gain and loop compensation circuit and to the integrators for adaptive control of the attenuation of low frequencies by the integrators as a function of motor speed. As the motor speed increases, the attenuation of low frequency components by the integrators is increased to offset the gain of the integrators to spurious low frequencies.

Analysis of shielded CPW discontinuities with air-bridges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dib, N. I.; Katehi, P. B.; Ponchak, George E.

1992-01-01

The effect of air-bridges on the performance of various coplanar waveguides (CPW) discontinuities is studied. Specifically, the coupled open-end CPW's and the short-end shunt CPW stub discontinuities are considered. The high frequency effect of the air-bridge is evaluated using a hybrid technique. At first, the frequency dependent equivalent circuit of the planar discontinuity without the air-bridge is derived using the Space Domain Integral Equation (SDIE) method. Then, the circuit is modified by incorporating the air-bridge's parasitic inductance and capacitance which are evaluated using a simple quasi-static model. The frequency response of each discontinuity with and without the air-bridge is studied and the scattering parameters are plotted in the frequency range 30-50 GHz for typical CPW dimensions.

Compensating Level-Dependent Frequency Representation in Auditory Cortex by Synaptic Integration of Corticocortical Input

PubMed Central

Happel, Max F. K.; Ohl, Frank W.

2017-01-01

Robust perception of auditory objects over a large range of sound intensities is a fundamental feature of the auditory system. However, firing characteristics of single neurons across the entire auditory system, like the frequency tuning, can change significantly with stimulus intensity. Physiological correlates of level-constancy of auditory representations hence should be manifested on the level of larger neuronal assemblies or population patterns. In this study we have investigated how information of frequency and sound level is integrated on the circuit-level in the primary auditory cortex (AI) of the Mongolian gerbil. We used a combination of pharmacological silencing of corticocortically relayed activity and laminar current source density (CSD) analysis. Our data demonstrate that with increasing stimulus intensities progressively lower frequencies lead to the maximal impulse response within cortical input layers at a given cortical site inherited from thalamocortical synaptic inputs. We further identified a temporally precise intercolumnar synaptic convergence of early thalamocortical and horizontal corticocortical inputs. Later tone-evoked activity in upper layers showed a preservation of broad tonotopic tuning across sound levels without shifts towards lower frequencies. Synaptic integration within corticocortical circuits may hence contribute to a level-robust representation of auditory information on a neuronal population level in the auditory cortex. PMID:28046062

Highly integrated optical heterodyne phase-locked loop with phase/frequency detection.

PubMed

Lu, Mingzhi; Park, Hyunchul; Bloch, Eli; Sivananthan, Abirami; Bhardwaj, Ashish; Griffith, Zach; Johansson, Leif A; Rodwell, Mark J; Coldren, Larry A

2012-04-23

A highly-integrated optical phase-locked loop with a phase/frequency detector and a single-sideband mixer (SSBM) has been proposed and demonstrated for the first time. A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) has been designed, fabricated and tested, together with an electronic IC (EIC). The PIC integrates a widely-tunable sampled-grating distributed-Bragg-reflector laser, an optical 90 degree hybrid and four high-speed photodetectors on the InGaAsP/InP platform. The EIC adds a single-sideband mixer, and a digital phase/frequency detector, to provide single-sideband heterodyne locking from -9 GHz to 7.5 GHz. The loop bandwith is 400 MHz. © 2012 Optical Society of America

Nonlinear silicon photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borghi, M.; Castellan, C.; Signorini, S.; Trenti, A.; Pavesi, L.

2017-09-01

Silicon photonics is a technology based on fabricating integrated optical circuits by using the same paradigms as the dominant electronics industry. After twenty years of fervid development, silicon photonics is entering the market with low cost, high performance and mass-manufacturable optical devices. Until now, most silicon photonic devices have been based on linear optical effects, despite the many phenomenologies associated with nonlinear optics in both bulk materials and integrated waveguides. Silicon and silicon-based materials have strong optical nonlinearities which are enhanced in integrated devices by the small cross-section of the high-index contrast silicon waveguides or photonic crystals. Here the photons are made to strongly interact with the medium where they propagate. This is the central argument of nonlinear silicon photonics. It is the aim of this review to describe the state-of-the-art in the field. Starting from the basic nonlinearities in a silicon waveguide or in optical resonator geometries, many phenomena and applications are described—including frequency generation, frequency conversion, frequency-comb generation, supercontinuum generation, soliton formation, temporal imaging and time lensing, Raman lasing, and comb spectroscopy. Emerging quantum photonics applications, such as entangled photon sources, heralded single-photon sources and integrated quantum photonic circuits are also addressed at the end of this review.

Analog Binaural Circuits for Detecting and Locating Leaks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartley, Frank T.

2003-01-01

Very-large-scale integrated (VLSI) analog binaural signal-processing circuits have been proposed for use in detecting and locating leaks that emit noise in the ultrasonic frequency range. These circuits would be designed to function even in the presence of intense lower-frequency background noise that could include sounds associated with flow and pumping. Each of the proposed circuits would include the approximate electronic equivalent of a right and a left cochlea plus correlator circuits. A pair of transducers (microphones or accelerometers), corresponding to right and left ears, would provide the inputs to their respective cochleas from different locations (e.g., from different positions along a pipe). The correlation circuits plus some additional external circuits would determine the difference between the times of arrival of a common leak sound at the two transducers. Then the distance along the pipe from either transducer to the leak could be estimated from the time difference and the speed of sound along the pipe. If three or more pairs of transducers and cochlear/correlator circuits were available and could suitably be positioned, it should be possible to locate a leak in three dimensions by use of sound propagating through air.

Theoretical analysis and modeling of a photonic integrated circuit for frequency 8-tupled and 24-tupled millimeter wave signal generation.

PubMed

Hasan, Mehedi; Guemri, Rabiaa; Maldonado-Basilio, Ramón; Lucarz, Frédéric; de Bougrenet de la Tocnaye, Jean-Louis; Hall, Trevor

2014-12-15

A photonic circuit design for implementing frequency 8-tupling and 24-tupling is proposed. The front- and back-end of the circuit comprises 4×4 MMI couplers enclosing an array of four pairs of phase modulators and 2×2 MMI couplers. The proposed design for frequency multiplication requires no optical or electrical filters, the operation is not limited to carefully adjusted modulation indexes, and the drift originated from static DC bias is mitigated by making use of the intrinsic phase relations of multi-mode interference couplers. A transfer matrix approach is used to represent the main building blocks of the design and hence to describe the operation of the frequency 8-tupling and 24-tupling. The concept is theoretically developed and demonstrated by simulations. Ideal and imperfect power imbalances in the multi-mode interference couplers, as well as ideal and imperfect phases of the electric drives to the phase modulators, are analyzed.

Characterization of 6H-SiC JFET Integrated Circuits Over A Broad Temperature Range from -150 C to +500 C

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neudeck, Philip G.; Krasowski, Michael J.; Chen, Liang-Yu; Prokop, Norman F.

2009-01-01

The NASA Glenn Research Center has previously reported prolonged stable operation of simple prototype 6H-SiC JFET integrated circuits (logic gates and amplifier stages) for thousands of hours at +500 C. This paper experimentally investigates the ability of these 6H-SiC JFET devices and integrated circuits to also function at cold temperatures expected to arise in some envisioned applications. Prototype logic gate ICs experimentally demonstrated good functionality down to -125 C without changing circuit input voltages. Cascaded operation of gates at cold temperatures was verified by externally wiring gates together to form a 3-stage ring oscillator. While logic gate output voltages exhibited little change across the broad temperature range from -125 C to +500 C, the change in operating frequency and power consumption of these non-optimized logic gates as a function of temperature was much larger and tracked JFET channel conduction properties.

Experimental observation of sub-terahertz backward-wave amplification in a multi-level microfabricated slow-wave circuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baik, Chan-Wook; Ahn, Ho Young; Kim, Yongsung; Lee, Jooho; Hong, Seogwoo; Lee, Sang Hun; Choi, Jun Hee; Kim, Sunil; Jeon, So-Yeon; Yu, SeGi; Collins, George; Read, Michael E.; Lawrence Ives, R.; Kim, Jong Min; Hwang, Sungwoo

2015-11-01

In our earlier paper dealing with dispersion retrieval from ultra-deep, reactive-ion-etched, slow-wave circuits on silicon substrates, it was proposed that splitting high-aspect-ratio circuits into multilevels enabled precise characterization in sub-terahertz frequency regime. This achievement prompted us to investigate beam-wave interaction through a vacuum-sealed integration with a 15-kV, 85-mA, thermionic, electron gun. Our experimental study demonstrates sub-terahertz, backward-wave amplification driven by an external oscillator. The measured output shows a frequency downshift, as well as power amplification, from beam loading even with low beam perveance. This offers a promising opportunity for the development of terahertz radiation sources, based on silicon technologies.

Experimental observation of sub-terahertz backward-wave amplification in a multi-level microfabricated slow-wave circuit

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baik, Chan-Wook, E-mail: cw.baik@samsung.com; Ahn, Ho Young; Kim, Yongsung

2015-11-09

In our earlier paper dealing with dispersion retrieval from ultra-deep, reactive-ion-etched, slow-wave circuits on silicon substrates, it was proposed that splitting high-aspect-ratio circuits into multilevels enabled precise characterization in sub-terahertz frequency regime. This achievement prompted us to investigate beam-wave interaction through a vacuum-sealed integration with a 15-kV, 85-mA, thermionic, electron gun. Our experimental study demonstrates sub-terahertz, backward-wave amplification driven by an external oscillator. The measured output shows a frequency downshift, as well as power amplification, from beam loading even with low beam perveance. This offers a promising opportunity for the development of terahertz radiation sources, based on silicon technologies.

Towards Terahertz MMIC Amplifiers: Present Status and Trends

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samoska, Lorene

2006-01-01

This viewgraph presentation surveys the fastest Monolithic Millimeter-wave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) amplifiers to date; summarize previous solid state power amp results to date; reviews examples of MMICs, reviews Power vs. Gate periphery and frequency; Summarizes previous LNA results to date; reviews Noise figure results and trends toward higher frequency

CMOS Integrated Lock-in Readout Circuit for FET Terahertz Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domingues, Suzana; Perenzoni, Daniele; Perenzoni, Matteo; Stoppa, David

2017-06-01

In this paper, a switched-capacitor readout circuit topology integrated with a THz antenna and field-effect transistor detector is analyzed, designed, and fabricated in a 0.13-μm standard CMOS technology. The main objective is to perform amplification and filtering of the signal, as well as subtraction of background in case of modulated source, in order to avoid the need for an external lock-in amplifier, in a compact implementation. A maximum responsivity of 139.7 kV/W, and a corresponding minimum NEP of 2.2 nW/√Hz, was obtained with a two-stage readout circuit at 1 kHz modulation frequency. The presented switched-capacitor circuit is suitable for implementation in pixel arrays due to its compact size and power consumption (0.014 mm2 and 36 μW).

Smaller-loss planar SPP transmission line than conventional microstrip in microwave frequencies.

PubMed

Zhang, Hao Chi; Zhang, Qian; Liu, Jun Feng; Tang, Wenxuan; Fan, Yifeng; Cui, Tie Jun

2016-03-17

Transmission line is a basic component in all passive devices, integrated circuits, and systems. Microstrip is the most popular transmission line in the microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies, and has been widely used in current electronic devices, circuits, and systems. One of the important issues to be solved in such applications is the relatively large transmission loss of microstrip. Here, we propose a method to reduce the loss of microwave transmission line based on the designable wavenumber of spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Using this characteristic, we analyze and experimentally demonstrate the low-loss feature of the SPP transmission line through the perturbation method and S-parameter measurements, respectively. Both simulation and experimental results show that the SPP transmission line has much smaller transmission loss than traditional microstrip with the same size in the microwave frequencies. Hence, the spoof SPP transmission line may make a big step forward in the low-loss circuits and systems.

Cycles of self-pulsations in a photonic integrated circuit.

PubMed

Karsaklian Dal Bosco, Andreas; Kanno, Kazutaka; Uchida, Atsushi; Sciamanna, Marc; Harayama, Takahisa; Yoshimura, Kazuyuki

2015-12-01

We report experimentally on the bifurcation cascade leading to the appearance of self-pulsation in a photonic integrated circuit in which a laser diode is subjected to delayed optical feedback. We study the evolution of the self-pulsing frequency with the increase of both the feedback strength and the injection current. Experimental observations show good qualitative accordance with numerical results carried out with the Lang-Kobayashi rate equation model. We explain the mechanism underlying the self-pulsations by a phenomenon of beating between successive pairs of external cavity modes and antimodes.

Apparatus for millimeter-wave signal generation

DOEpatents

Vawter, G. Allen; Hietala, Vincent M.; Zolper, John C.; Mar, Alan; Hohimer, John P.

1999-01-01

An opto-electronic integrated circuit (OEIC) apparatus is disclosed for generating an electrical signal at a frequency .gtoreq.10 GHz. The apparatus, formed on a single substrate, includes a semiconductor ring laser for generating a continuous train of mode-locked lasing pulses and a high-speed photodetector for detecting the train of lasing pulses and generating the electrical signal therefrom. Embodiments of the invention are disclosed with an active waveguide amplifier coupling the semiconductor ring laser and the high-speed photodetector. The invention has applications for use in OEICs and millimeter-wave monolithic integrated circuits (MMICs).

Silicon MOS inductor

DOEpatents

Balberg, Isaac

1981-01-01

A device made of amorphous silicon which exhibits inductive properties at certain voltage biases and in certain frequency ranges in described. Devices of the type described can be made in integrated circuit form.

Scaling of graphene integrated circuits.

PubMed

Bianchi, Massimiliano; Guerriero, Erica; Fiocco, Marco; Alberti, Ruggero; Polloni, Laura; Behnam, Ashkan; Carrion, Enrique A; Pop, Eric; Sordan, Roman

2015-05-07

The influence of transistor size reduction (scaling) on the speed of realistic multi-stage integrated circuits (ICs) represents the main performance metric of a given transistor technology. Despite extensive interest in graphene electronics, scaling efforts have so far focused on individual transistors rather than multi-stage ICs. Here we study the scaling of graphene ICs based on transistors from 3.3 to 0.5 μm gate lengths and with different channel widths, access lengths, and lead thicknesses. The shortest gate delay of 31 ps per stage was obtained in sub-micron graphene ROs oscillating at 4.3 GHz, which is the highest oscillation frequency obtained in any strictly low-dimensional material to date. We also derived the fundamental Johnson limit, showing that scaled graphene ICs could be used at high frequencies in applications with small voltage swing.

A wide-range programmable frequency synthesizer based on a finite state machine filter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alser, Mohammed H.; Assaad, Maher M.; Hussin, Fawnizu A.

2013-11-01

In this article, an FPGA-based design and implementation of a fully digital wide-range programmable frequency synthesizer based on a finite state machine filter is presented. The advantages of the proposed architecture are that, it simultaneously generates a high frequency signal from a low frequency reference signal (i.e. synthesising), and synchronising the two signals (signals have the same phase, or a constant difference) without jitter accumulation issue. The architecture is portable and can be easily implemented for various platforms, such as FPGAs and integrated circuits. The frequency synthesizer circuit can be used as a part of SERDES devices in intra/inter chip communication in system-on-chip (SoC). The proposed circuit is designed using Verilog language and synthesized for the Altera DE2-70 development board, with the Cyclone II (EP2C35F672C6) device on board. Simulation and experimental results are included; they prove the synthesizing and tracking features of the proposed architecture. The generated clock signal frequency of a range from 19.8 MHz to 440 MHz is synchronized to the input reference clock with a frequency step of 0.12 MHz.

Integrated Radial Probe Transition From MMIC to Waveguide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samoska, Lorene; Chattopadhyay, Goutam

2007-01-01

A radial probe transition between a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) and a waveguide has been designed for operation at frequency of 340 GHz and to be fabricated as part of a monolithic unit that includes the MMIC. Integrated radial probe transitions like this one are expected to be essential components of future MMIC amplifiers operating at frequencies above 200 GHz. While MMIC amplifiers for this frequency range have not yet been widely used because they have only recently been developed, there are numerous potential applications for them-- especially in scientific instruments, test equipment, radar, and millimeter-wave imaging systems for detecting hidden weapons.

Design and Performance Analysis of an Intrinsically Safe Ultrasonic Ranging Sensor

PubMed Central

Zhang, Hongjuan; Wang, Yu; Zhang, Xu; Wang, Dong; Jin, Baoquan

2016-01-01

In flammable or explosive environments, an ultrasonic sensor for distance measurement poses an important engineering safety challenge, because the driving circuit uses an intermediate frequency transformer as an impedance transformation element, in which the produced heat or spark is available for ignition. In this paper, an intrinsically safe ultrasonic ranging sensor is designed and implemented. The waterproof piezoelectric transducer with integrated transceiver is chosen as an energy transducing element. Then a novel transducer driving circuit is designed based on an impedance matching method considering safety spark parameters to replace an intermediate frequency transformer. Then, an energy limiting circuit is developed to achieve dual levels of over-voltage and over-current protection. The detail calculation and evaluation are executed and the electrical characteristics are analyzed to verify the intrinsic safety of the driving circuit. Finally, an experimental platform of the ultrasonic ranging sensor system is constructed, which involves short-circuit protection. Experimental results show that the proposed ultrasonic ranging sensor is excellent in both ranging performance and intrinsic safety. PMID:27304958

Design and Performance Analysis of an Intrinsically Safe Ultrasonic Ranging Sensor.

PubMed

Zhang, Hongjuan; Wang, Yu; Zhang, Xu; Wang, Dong; Jin, Baoquan

2016-06-13

In flammable or explosive environments, an ultrasonic sensor for distance measurement poses an important engineering safety challenge, because the driving circuit uses an intermediate frequency transformer as an impedance transformation element, in which the produced heat or spark is available for ignition. In this paper, an intrinsically safe ultrasonic ranging sensor is designed and implemented. The waterproof piezoelectric transducer with integrated transceiver is chosen as an energy transducing element. Then a novel transducer driving circuit is designed based on an impedance matching method considering safety spark parameters to replace an intermediate frequency transformer. Then, an energy limiting circuit is developed to achieve dual levels of over-voltage and over-current protection. The detail calculation and evaluation are executed and the electrical characteristics are analyzed to verify the intrinsic safety of the driving circuit. Finally, an experimental platform of the ultrasonic ranging sensor system is constructed, which involves short-circuit protection. Experimental results show that the proposed ultrasonic ranging sensor is excellent in both ranging performance and intrinsic safety.

SiNOI and AlGaAs-on-SOI nonlinear circuits for continuum generation in Si photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Dirani, Houssein; Monat, Christelle; Brision, Stéphane; Olivier, Nicolas; Jany, Christophe; Letartre, Xavier; Pu, Minhao; Girouard, Peter D.; Hagedorn Frandsen, Lars; Semenova, Elizaveta; Katsuo Oxenløwe, Leif; Yvind, Kresten; Sciancalepore, Corrado

2018-02-01

In this communication, we report on the design, fabrication, and testing of Silicon Nitride on Insulator (SiNOI) and Aluminum-Gallium-Arsenide (AlGaAs) on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) nonlinear photonic circuits for continuum generation in Silicon (Si) photonics. As recently demonstrated, the generation of frequency continua and supercontinua can be used to overcome the intrinsic limitations of nowadays silicon photonics notably concerning the heterogeneous integration of III-V on SOI lasers for datacom and telecom applications. By using the Kerr nonlinearity of monolithic silicon nitride and heterointegrated GaAs-based alloys on SOI, the generation of tens or even hundreds of new optical frequencies can be obtained in dispersion tailored waveguides, thus providing an all-optical alternative to the heterointegration of hundreds of standalone III-V on Si lasers. In our work, we present paths to energy-efficient continua generation on silicon photonics circuits. Notably, we demonstrate spectral broadening covering the full C-band via Kerrbased self-phase modulation in SiNOI nanowires featuring full process compatibility with Si photonic devices. Moreover, AlGaAs waveguides are heterointegrated on SOI in order to dramatically reduce (x1/10) thresholds in optical parametric oscillation and in the power required for supercontinuum generation under pulsed pumping. The manufacturing techniques allowing the monolithic co-integration of nonlinear functionalities on existing CMOS-compatible Si photonics for both active and passive components will be shown. Experimental evidence based on self-phase modulation show SiNOI and AlGaAs nanowires capable of generating wide-spanning frequency continua in the C-Band. This will pave the way for low-threshold power-efficient Kerr-based comb- and continuum- sources featuring compatibility with Si photonic integrated circuits (Si-PICs).

33 Years of Continuous Solar Radio Flux Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monstein, Christian

2015-10-01

In 1982, after development and testing of several analog receiver concepts, I started continuous solar radio flux observations at 230 MHz. My instruments for the observations were based on cheap commercial components out of consumer TV electronics. The main components included a TV-tuner (at that time analog), intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier and video-detector taken from used TV sets. The 5.5 MHz wide video signal was fed into an integrating circuit, in fact a low pass filter, followed by dc-offset circuit and dc-amplifier built with four ua741 and CA3140 operational amplifier integrated circuits. At that time the signal was recorded with a Heathkit stripchart recorder and ink pen; an example is shown in figure 1.

Spectrophone stabilized laser with line center offset frequency control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kavaya, M. J.; Menzies, R. T. (Inventor)

1984-01-01

Continuous offset tuning of a frequency stabilized CW gas laser is achieved by using a spectrophone filled with the same gas as the laser for sensing a dither modulation, detecting a first or second derivative of the spectrophone output with a lock-in amplifier, the detected output of which is integrated, and applying the integrator output as a correction signal through a circuit which adds to the dither signal from an oscillator a dc offset that is adjusted with a potentiometer to a frequency offset from the absorption line center of the gas, but within the spectral linewidth of the gas. Tuning about that offset frequency is achieved by adding a dc value to the detected output of the dither modulation before integration using a potentiometer.

Electromagnetic Modelling of MMIC CPWs for High Frequency Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinulingga, E. P.; Kyabaggu, P. B. K.; Rezazadeh, A. A.

2018-02-01

Realising the theoretical electrical characteristics of components through modelling can be carried out using computer-aided design (CAD) simulation tools. If the simulation model provides the expected characteristics, the fabrication process of Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) can be performed for experimental verification purposes. Therefore improvements can be suggested before mass fabrication takes place. This research concentrates on development of MMIC technology by providing accurate predictions of the characteristics of MMIC components using an improved Electromagnetic (EM) modelling technique. The knowledge acquired from the modelling and characterisation process in this work can be adopted by circuit designers for various high frequency applications.

A New Mirroring Circuit for Power MOS Current Sensing Highly Immune to EMI

PubMed Central

Aiello, Orazio; Fiori, Franco

2013-01-01

This paper deals with the monitoring of power transistor current subjected to radio-frequency interference. In particular, a new current sensor with no connection to the power transistor drain and with improved performance with respect to the existing current-sensing schemes is presented. The operation of the above mentioned current sensor is discussed referring to time-domain computer simulations. The susceptibility of the proposed circuit to radio-frequency interference is evaluated through time-domain computer simulations and the results are compared with those obtained for a conventional integrated current sensor. PMID:23385408

Parallel-Processing Equalizers for Multi-Gbps Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gray, Andrew; Ghuman, Parminder; Hoy, Scott; Satorius, Edgar H.

2004-01-01

Architectures have been proposed for the design of frequency-domain least-mean-square complex equalizers that would be integral parts of parallel- processing digital receivers of multi-gigahertz radio signals and other quadrature-phase-shift-keying (QPSK) or 16-quadrature-amplitude-modulation (16-QAM) of data signals at rates of multiple gigabits per second. Equalizers as used here denotes receiver subsystems that compensate for distortions in the phase and frequency responses of the broad-band radio-frequency channels typically used to convey such signals. The proposed architectures are suitable for realization in very-large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuitry and, in particular, complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) application- specific integrated circuits (ASICs) operating at frequencies lower than modulation symbol rates. A digital receiver of the type to which the proposed architecture applies (see Figure 1) would include an analog-to-digital converter (A/D) operating at a rate, fs, of 4 samples per symbol period. To obtain the high speed necessary for sampling, the A/D and a 1:16 demultiplexer immediately following it would be constructed as GaAs integrated circuits. The parallel-processing circuitry downstream of the demultiplexer, including a demodulator followed by an equalizer, would operate at a rate of only fs/16 (in other words, at 1/4 of the symbol rate). The output from the equalizer would be four parallel streams of in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) samples.

A Role of Phase-Resetting in Coordinating Large Scale Neural Networks During Attention and Goal-Directed Behavior

PubMed Central

Voloh, Benjamin; Womelsdorf, Thilo

2016-01-01

Short periods of oscillatory activation are ubiquitous signatures of neural circuits. A broad range of studies documents not only their circuit origins, but also a fundamental role for oscillatory activity in coordinating information transfer during goal directed behavior. Recent studies suggest that resetting the phase of ongoing oscillatory activity to endogenous or exogenous cues facilitates coordinated information transfer within circuits and between distributed brain areas. Here, we review evidence that pinpoints phase resetting as a critical marker of dynamic state changes of functional networks. Phase resets: (1) set a “neural context” in terms of narrow band frequencies that uniquely characterizes the activated circuits; (2) impose coherent low frequency phases to which high frequency activations can synchronize, identifiable as cross-frequency correlations across large anatomical distances; (3) are critical for neural coding models that depend on phase, increasing the informational content of neural representations; and (4) likely originate from the dynamics of canonical E-I circuits that are anatomically ubiquitous. These multiple signatures of phase resets are directly linked to enhanced information transfer and behavioral success. We survey how phase resets re-organize oscillations in diverse task contexts, including sensory perception, attentional stimulus selection, cross-modal integration, Pavlovian conditioning, and spatial navigation. The evidence we consider suggests that phase-resets can drive changes in neural excitability, ensemble organization, functional networks, and ultimately, overt behavior. PMID:27013986

Experimental Verification of Guided-Wave Lumped Circuits Using Waveguide Metamaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yue; Zhang, Zhijun

2018-04-01

Through the construction and characterization in microwave frequencies, we experimentally demonstrate our recently developed theory of waveguide lumped circuits, i.e., waveguide metatronics [Sci. Adv. 2, e1501790 (2016), 10.1126/sciadv.1501790], as a method to design subwavelength-scaled analog circuits. In the paradigm of waveguide metatronics, numbers of lumped inductors and capacitors are easily integrated functionally inside the waveguide, which is an irreplaceable transmission line in millimeter-wave and terahertz systems with the advantages of low radiation loss and low crosstalk. An example of multiple-ordered metatronic filters with layered structures is fabricated utilizing the technique of substrate integrated waveguides, which can be easily constructed by the printed-circuit-board process. The materials used in the construction are also typical microwave materials with positive permittivity, low loss, and negligible dispersion, imitating the plasmonic materials with negative permittivity in the optical domain. The results verify the theory of waveguide metatronics, which provides an efficient platform of functional lumped circuit design for guided-wave processing.

Demodulation Radio Frequency Interference Effects in Operational Amplifier Circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutu, Yue-Hong

A series of investigations have been carried out to determine RFI effects in analog circuits using monolithic integrated operational amplifiers (op amps) as active devices. The specific RFI effect investigated is how amplitude-modulated (AM) RF signals are demodulated in op amp circuits to produce undesired low frequency responses at AM-modulation frequency. The undesired demodulation responses were shown to be characterized by a second-order nonlinear transfer function. Four representative op amp types investigated were the 741 bipolar op amp, the LM10 bipolar op amp, the LF355 JFET-Bipolar op amp, and the CA081 MOS-Bipolar op amp. Two op amp circuits were investigated. The first circuit was a noninverting unity voltage gain buffer circuit. The second circuit was an inverting op amp configuration. In the second circuit, the investigation includes the effects of an RFI suppression capacitor in the feedback path. Approximately 30 units of each op amp type were tested to determine the statistical variations of RFI demodulation effects in the two op amp circuits. The Nonlinear Circuit Analysis Program, NCAP, was used to simulate the demodulation RFI response. In the simulation, the op amp was replaced with its incremental macromodel. Values of macromodel parameters were obtained from previous investigations and manufacturer's data sheets. Some key results of this work are: (1) The RFI demodulation effects are 10 to 20 dB lower in CA081 and LF355 FET-bipolar op amp than in 741 and LM10 bipolar op amp except above 40 MHz where the LM10 RFI response begins to approach that of CA081. (2) The experimental mean values for 30 741 op amps show that RFI demodulation responses in the inverting amplifier with a 27 pF feedback capacitor were suppressed from 10 to 35 dB over the RF frequency range 0.1 to 150 MHz except at 0.15 MHz where only 3.5 dB suppression was observed. (3) The NCAP program can predict RFI demodulation responses in 741 and LF355 unity gain buffer circuits within 6 and 7 dB respectively for RF frequencies 0.1 to 400 MHz except near the resonant frequencies for the LF355 circuit. (4) The NCAP simulations suggest that the resonances of the LF355 unity gain buffer circuit are related to small parasitic capacitance values of the order of 1 to 5 pF. (5) The NCAP sensitivity analysis indicates that variations in a second-order transfer function are sensitive to some macromodel parameters.

The Quartz Analog Watch: A Wonder Machine.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crane, H. Richard, Ed.

1993-01-01

Summarizes how a quartz watch works. Discusses the quartz crystal, its form, and how its frequency is set to a standard; the integrated circuit chip that drives the crystal in vibration, scales its frequency down, and forms pulses that turn the motor; and the motor that drives the gear train that turns the hands. (ZWH)

High-efficiency piezoelectric micro harvester for collecting low-frequency mechanical energy.

PubMed

Li, Xin; Song, Jinhui; Feng, Shuanglong; Xie, Xiong; Li, Zhenhu; Wang, Liang; Pu, Yayun; Soh, Ai Kah; Shen, Jun; Lu, Wenqiang; Liu, Shuangyi

2016-12-02

A single-layer zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod array-based micro energy harvester was designed and integrated with a piezoelectric metacapacitor. The device presents outstanding low-frequency (1-10 Hz) mechanical energy harvesting capabilities. When compared with conventional pristine ZnO nanostructured piezoelectric harvesters or generators, both open-circuit potential and short-circuit current are significantly enhanced (up to 3.1 V and 124 nA cm -2 ) for a single mechanical knock (∼34 kPa). Higher electromechanical conversion efficiency (1.3 pC/Pa) is also observed. The results indicate that the integration of the piezoelectric metacapacitor is a crucial factor for improving the low-frequency energy harvesting performance. A double piezoelectric-driven mechanism is proposed to explain current higher output power, in which the metacapacitor plays the multiple roles of charge pumping, storing and transferring. An as-fabricated prototype device for lighting an LED demonstrates high power transference capability, with over 95% transference efficiency to the external load.

Study of Ni Metallization in Macroporous Si Using Wet Chemistry for Radio Frequency Cross-Talk Isolation in Mixed Signal Integrated Circuits

PubMed Central

Zhang, Xi; Xu, Chengkun; Chong, Kyuchul; Tu, King-Ning; Xie, Ya-Hong

2011-01-01

A highly conductive moat or Faraday cage of through-the-wafer thickness in Si substrate was proposed to be effective in shielding electromagnetic interference thereby reducing radio frequency (RF) cross-talk in high performance mixed signal integrated circuits. Such a structure was realized by metallization of selected ultra-high-aspect-ratio macroporous regions that were electrochemically etched in p− Si substrates. The metallization process was conducted by means of wet chemistry in an alkaline aqueous solution containing Ni2+ without reducing agent. It is found that at elevated temperature during immersion, Ni2+ was rapidly reduced and deposited into macroporous Si and a conformal metallization of the macropore sidewalls was obtained in a way that the entire porous Si framework was converted to Ni. A conductive moat was as a result incorporated into p− Si substrate. The experimentally measured reduction of crosstalk in this structure is 5~18 dB at frequencies up to 35 GHz. PMID:28879960

Study of Ni Metallization in Macroporous Si Using Wet Chemistry for Radio Frequency Cross-Talk Isolation in Mixed Signal Integrated Circuits.

PubMed

Zhang, Xi; Xu, Chengkun; Chong, Kyuchul; Tu, King-Ning; Xie, Ya-Hong

2011-05-25

A highly conductive moat or Faraday cage of through-the-wafer thickness in Si substrate was proposed to be effective in shielding electromagnetic interference thereby reducing radio frequency (RF) cross-talk in high performance mixed signal integrated circuits. Such a structure was realized by metallization of selected ultra-high-aspect-ratio macroporous regions that were electrochemically etched in p - Si substrates. The metallization process was conducted by means of wet chemistry in an alkaline aqueous solution containing Ni 2+ without reducing agent. It is found that at elevated temperature during immersion, Ni 2+ was rapidly reduced and deposited into macroporous Si and a conformal metallization of the macropore sidewalls was obtained in a way that the entire porous Si framework was converted to Ni. A conductive moat was as a result incorporated into p - Si substrate. The experimentally measured reduction of crosstalk in this structure is 5~18 dB at frequencies up to 35 GHz.

Beyond CMOS: heterogeneous integration of III–V devices, RF MEMS and other dissimilar materials/devices with Si CMOS to create intelligent microsystems

PubMed Central

Kazior, Thomas E.

2014-01-01

Advances in silicon technology continue to revolutionize micro-/nano-electronics. However, Si cannot do everything, and devices/components based on other materials systems are required. What is the best way to integrate these dissimilar materials and to enhance the capabilities of Si, thereby continuing the micro-/nano-electronics revolution? In this paper, I review different approaches to heterogeneously integrate dissimilar materials with Si complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. In particular, I summarize results on the successful integration of III–V electronic devices (InP heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) and GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs)) with Si CMOS on a common silicon-based wafer using an integration/fabrication process similar to a SiGe BiCMOS process (BiCMOS integrates bipolar junction and CMOS transistors). Our III–V BiCMOS process has been scaled to 200 mm diameter wafers for integration with scaled CMOS and used to fabricate radio-frequency (RF) and mixed signals circuits with on-chip digital control/calibration. I also show that RF microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) can be integrated onto this platform to create tunable or reconfigurable circuits. Thus, heterogeneous integration of III–V devices, MEMS and other dissimilar materials with Si CMOS enables a new class of high-performance integrated circuits that enhance the capabilities of existing systems, enable new circuit architectures and facilitate the continued proliferation of low-cost micro-/nano-electronics for a wide range of applications. PMID:24567473

Beyond CMOS: heterogeneous integration of III-V devices, RF MEMS and other dissimilar materials/devices with Si CMOS to create intelligent microsystems.

PubMed

Kazior, Thomas E

2014-03-28

Advances in silicon technology continue to revolutionize micro-/nano-electronics. However, Si cannot do everything, and devices/components based on other materials systems are required. What is the best way to integrate these dissimilar materials and to enhance the capabilities of Si, thereby continuing the micro-/nano-electronics revolution? In this paper, I review different approaches to heterogeneously integrate dissimilar materials with Si complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. In particular, I summarize results on the successful integration of III-V electronic devices (InP heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) and GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs)) with Si CMOS on a common silicon-based wafer using an integration/fabrication process similar to a SiGe BiCMOS process (BiCMOS integrates bipolar junction and CMOS transistors). Our III-V BiCMOS process has been scaled to 200 mm diameter wafers for integration with scaled CMOS and used to fabricate radio-frequency (RF) and mixed signals circuits with on-chip digital control/calibration. I also show that RF microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) can be integrated onto this platform to create tunable or reconfigurable circuits. Thus, heterogeneous integration of III-V devices, MEMS and other dissimilar materials with Si CMOS enables a new class of high-performance integrated circuits that enhance the capabilities of existing systems, enable new circuit architectures and facilitate the continued proliferation of low-cost micro-/nano-electronics for a wide range of applications.

Implementation of an integrated op-amp based chaotic neuron model and observation of its chaotic dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jung, Jinwoo; Lee, Jewon; Song, Hanjung

2011-03-15

This paper presents a fully integrated circuit implementation of an operational amplifier (op-amp) based chaotic neuron model with a bipolar output function, experimental measurements, and analyses of its chaotic behavior. The proposed chaotic neuron model integrated circuit consists of several op-amps, sample and hold circuits, a nonlinear function block for chaotic signal generation, a clock generator, a nonlinear output function, etc. Based on the HSPICE (circuit program) simulation results, approximated empirical equations for analyses were formulated. Then, the chaotic dynamical responses such as bifurcation diagrams, time series, and Lyapunov exponent were calculated using these empirical equations. In addition, we performedmore » simulations about two chaotic neuron systems with four synapses to confirm neural network connections and got normal behavior of the chaotic neuron such as internal state bifurcation diagram according to the synaptic weight variation. The proposed circuit was fabricated using a 0.8-{mu}m single poly complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology. Measurements of the fabricated single chaotic neuron with {+-}2.5 V power supplies and a 10 kHz sampling clock frequency were carried out and compared with the simulated results.« less

A High-Voltage Integrated Circuit Engine for a Dielectrophoresis-based Programmable Micro-Fluidic Processor

PubMed Central

Current, K. Wayne; Yuk, Kelvin; McConaghy, Charles; Gascoyne, Peter R. C.; Schwartz, Jon A.; Vykoukal, Jody V.; Andrews, Craig

2010-01-01

A high-voltage (HV) integrated circuit has been demonstrated to transport droplets on programmable paths across its coated surface. This chip is the engine for a dielectrophoresis (DEP)-based micro-fluidic lab-on-a-chip system. This chip creates DEP forces that move and help inject droplets. Electrode excitation voltage and frequency are variable. With the electrodes driven with a 100V peak-to-peak periodic waveform, the maximum high-voltage electrode waveform frequency is about 200Hz. Data communication rate is variable up to 250kHz. This demonstration chip has a 32×32 array of nominally 100V electrode drivers. It is fabricated in a 130V SOI CMOS fabrication technology, dissipates a maximum of 1.87W, and is about 10.4 mm × 8.2 mm. PMID:23989241

125 GHz sine wave gating InGaAs/InP single-photon detector with a monolithically integrated readout circuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Wen-Hao; Liu, Jian-Hong; Liu, Yin; Jin, Ge; Zhang, Jun; Pan, Jian-Wei

2017-12-01

InGaAs/InP single-photon detectors (SPDs) are the key devices for applications requiring near-infrared single-photon detection. Gating mode is an effective approach to synchronous single-photon detection. Increasing gating frequency and reducing module size are important challenges for the design of such detector system. Here we present for the first time an InGaAs/InP SPD with 1.25 GHz sine wave gating using a monolithically integrated readout circuit (MIRC). The MIRC has a size of 15 mm * 15 mm and implements the miniaturization of avalanche extraction for high-frequency sine wave gating. In the MIRC, low-pass filters and a low-noise radio frequency amplifier are integrated based on the technique of low temperature co-fired ceramic, which can effectively reduce the parasitic capacitance and extract weak avalanche signals. We then characterize the InGaAs/InP SPD to verify the functionality and reliability of MIRC, and the SPD exhibits excellent performance with 27.5 % photon detection efficiency, 1.2 kcps dark count rate, and 9.1 % afterpulse probability at 223 K and 100 ns hold-off time. With this MIRC, one can further design miniaturized high-frequency SPD modules that are highly required for practical applications.

HEMT Amplifiers and Equipment for their On-Wafer Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fung, King man; Gaier, Todd; Samoska, Lorene; Deal, William; Radisic, Vesna; Mei, Xiaobing; Lai, Richard

2008-01-01

Power amplifiers comprising InP-based high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) in coplanar-waveguide (CPW) circuits designed for operation at frequencies of hundreds of gigahertz, and a test set for onwafer measurement of their power levels have been developed. These amplifiers utilize an advanced 35-nm HEMT monolithic microwave integrated-circuit (MMIC) technology and have potential utility as local-oscillator drivers and power sources in future submillimeter-wavelength heterodyne receivers and imaging systems. The test set can reduce development time by enabling rapid output power characterization, not only of these and similar amplifiers, but also of other coplanar-waveguide power circuits, without the necessity of packaging the circuits.

A fully integrated oven controlled microelectromechanical oscillator -- Part I. Design and fabrication

DOE PAGES

Wojciechowski, Kenneth E.; Baker, Michael S.; Clews, Peggy J.; ...

2015-06-24

Our paper reports the design and fabrication of a fully integrated oven controlled microelectromechanical oscillator (OCMO). This paper begins by describing the limits on oscillator frequency stability imposed by the thermal drift and electronic properties (Q, resistance) of both the resonant tank circuit and feedback electronics required to form an electronic oscillator. An OCMO is presented that takes advantage of high thermal isolation and monolithic integration of both micromechanical resonators and electronic circuitry to thermally stabilize or ovenize all the components that comprise an oscillator. This was achieved by developing a processing technique where both silicon-on-insulator complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuitrymore » and piezoelectric aluminum nitride, AlN, micromechanical resonators are placed on a suspended platform within a standard CMOS integrated circuit. Operation at microscale sizes achieves high thermal resistances (~10 °C/mW), and hence thermal stabilization of the oscillators at very low-power levels when compared with the state-of-the-art ovenized crystal oscillators, OCXO. This constant resistance feedback circuit is presented that incorporates on platform resistive heaters and temperature sensors to both measure and stabilize the platform temperature. Moreover, the limits on temperature stability of the OCMO platform and oscillator frequency imposed by the gain of the constant resistance feedback loop, placement of the heater and temperature sensing resistors, as well as platform radiative and convective heat losses are investigated.« less

System for RFID-Enabled Information Collection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kennedy, Timothy F. (Inventor); Fink, Patrick W. (Inventor); Lin, Gregory Y. (Inventor); Ngo, Phong H. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

A sensor and system provide for radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled information collection. The sensor includes a ring-shaped element and an antenna. The ring-shaped element includes a conductive ring and an RFID integrated circuit. The antenna is spaced apart from the ring-shaped element and defines an electrically-conductive path commensurate in size and shape to at least a portion of the conductive ring. The system may include an interrogator for energizing the ring-shaped element and receiving a data transmission from the RFID integrated circuit that has been energized for further processing by a processor.

Mutual Injection Locking of Monolithically Integrated Coupled-Cavity DBR Lasers

DOE PAGES

Tauke-Pedretti, Anna; Vawter, G. Allen; Skogen, Erik J.; ...

2011-07-01

We present a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) composed of two strongly coupled distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) lasers. This PIC utilizes the dynamics of mutual injection locking to increase the relaxation resonance frequency from 3 GHz to beyond 30 GHz. Mutual injection-locking and external injection-locking operation are then compared.

An analog integrated circuit beamformer for high-frequency medical ultrasound imaging.

PubMed

Gurun, Gokce; Zahorian, Jaime S; Sisman, Alper; Karaman, Mustafa; Hasler, Paul E; Degertekin, F Levent

2012-10-01

We designed and fabricated a dynamic receive beamformer integrated circuit (IC) in 0.35-μm CMOS technology. This beamformer IC is suitable for integration with an annular array transducer for high-frequency (30-50 MHz) intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging. The beamformer IC consists of receive preamplifiers, an analog dynamic delay-and-sum beamformer, and buffers for 8 receive channels. To form an analog dynamic delay line we designed an analog delay cell based on the current-mode first-order all-pass filter topology, as the basic building block. To increase the bandwidth of the delay cell, we explored an enhancement technique on the current mirrors. This technique improved the overall bandwidth of the delay line by a factor of 6. Each delay cell consumes 2.1-mW of power and is capable of generating a tunable time delay between 1.75 ns to 2.5 ns. We successfully integrated the fabricated beamformer IC with an 8-element annular array. Experimental test results demonstrated the desired buffering, preamplification and delaying capabilities of the beamformer.

Flexible RF filter using a nonuniform SCISSOR.

PubMed

Zhuang, Leimeng

2016-03-15

This work presents a flexible radiofrequency (RF) filter using an integrated microwave photonic circuit that comprises a nonuniform side-coupled integrated spaced sequence of resonators (N-SCISSOR). The filter passband can be reconfigured by varying the N-SCISSOR parameters. When employing a dual-parallel Mach-Zechnder modulator, the filter is also able to perform frequency down-conversion. In the experiment, various filter response shapes are shown, ranging from a flat-top band-pass filter to a total opposite high-rejection (>40  dB) notch filter, with a frequency coverage of greater than two octaves. The frequency down-conversion function is also demonstrated.

Microwave processed NiMg ferrite: Studies on structural and magnetic properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandra Babu Naidu, K.; Madhuri, W.

2016-12-01

Ferrites are magnetic semiconductors realizing an important role in electrical and electronic circuits where electrical and magnetic property coupling is required. Though ferrite materials are known for a long time, there is a large scope in the improvement of their properties (vice sintering and frequency dependence of electrical and magnetic properties) with the current technological trends. Forth coming technology is aimed at miniaturization and smart gadgets, electrical components like inductors and transformers cannot be included in integrated circuits. These components are incorporated into the circuit as surface mount devices whose fabrication involves low temperature co-firing of ceramics and microwave monolithic integrated circuits technologies. These technologies demand low temperature sinter-ability of ferrites. This article presents low temperature microwave sintered Ni-Mg ferrites of general chemical formula Ni1-xMgxFe2O4 (x=0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, 1) for potential applications as transformer core materials. The series of ferrites are characterized using X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared and vibrating sample magnetometer for investigating structural, morphological and magnetic properties respectively. The initial permeability is studied with magnesium content, temperature and frequency in the temperature range of 308 K-873 K and 42 Hz-5 MHz.

Photonics-based microwave frequency measurement using a double-sideband suppressed-carrier modulation and an InP integrated ring-assisted Mach-Zehnder interferometer filter.

PubMed

Fandiño, Javier S; Muñoz, Pascual

2013-11-01

A photonic system capable of estimating the unknown frequency of a CW microwave tone is presented. The core of the system is a complementary optical filter monolithically integrated in InP, consisting of a ring-assisted Mach-Zehnder interferometer with a second-order elliptic response. By simultaneously measuring the different optical powers produced by a double-sideband suppressed-carrier modulation at the outputs of the photonic integrated circuit, an amplitude comparison function that depends on the input tone frequency is obtained. Using this technique, a frequency measurement range of 10 GHz (5-15 GHz) with a root mean square value of frequency error lower than 200 MHz is experimentally demonstrated. Moreover, simulations showing the impact of a residual optical carrier on system performance are also provided.

Cross-guide Moreno directional coupler in empty substrate integrated waveguide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miralles, E.; Belenguer, A.; Esteban, H.; Boria, V.

2017-05-01

Substrate integrated waveguides (SIWs) combine the advantages of rectangular waveguides (low losses) and planar circuits (low cost and low profile). Empty substrate integrated waveguide (ESIW) has been proposed as a novel configuration in SIWs recently. This technology significantly reduces the losses of conventional SIW by removing its inner dielectric. The cross-guide directional coupler is a well-known low-profile design for having a broadband waveguide coupler. In this paper a cross-guide coupler with ESIW technique is proposed. In such a manner, the device can be integrated with microwave circuits and other printed circuit board components. It is the first time that a cross-guide coupler is implemented in ESIW technology. The designed, fabricated, and measured device presents good results as a matter of insertion loss of 1 dB (including transitions), reflection under 20 dB, coupling between 19.5 and 21.5 dB, and directivity higher than 15 dB over targeted frequency range from 12.4 GHz to 18 GHz. The coupler implemented in ESIW improves the directivity when compared to similar solutions in other empty substrate integrated waveguide solutions.

Wideband Isolation by Frequency Conversion in a Josephson-Junction Transmission Line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranzani, Leonardo; Kotler, Shlomi; Sirois, Adam J.; DeFeo, Michael P.; Castellanos-Beltran, Manuel; Cicak, Katarina; Vale, Leila R.; Aumentado, José

2017-11-01

Nonreciprocal transmission and isolation at microwave frequencies are important in many practical applications. In particular, compact isolators are useful in protecting sensitive quantum circuits operating at cryogenic temperatures from amplifier backaction and other environmental noise such as black-body radiation from higher temperature stages. However, the size of commercial cryogenic isolators limits the ability to measure multiple quantum circuits because of space constraints in typical dilution refrigerator systems. Furthermore, isolators usually require the use of ferrite components that cannot be integrated at the chip level and, since they also need large biasing magnetic fields, are incompatible with superconducting quantum circuits. In this work we show one way to accomplish isolation in a superconducting chip-scale device, a traveling-wave unidirectional frequency converter based on a parametrically pumped superconducting Josephson-junction transmission line, demonstrating better than 4.8 dB of inferred signal isolation from 6.6 to 11.4 GHz, with a maximum of 12 dB at 9.5 GHz. By using frequency diplexing techniques a conventional isolator could be implemented over this bandwidth.

Flow control using audio tones in resonant microfluidic networks: towards cell-phone controlled lab-on-a-chip devices.

PubMed

Phillips, Reid H; Jain, Rahil; Browning, Yoni; Shah, Rachana; Kauffman, Peter; Dinh, Doan; Lutz, Barry R

2016-08-16

Fluid control remains a challenge in development of portable lab-on-a-chip devices. Here, we show that microfluidic networks driven by single-frequency audio tones create resonant oscillating flow that is predicted by equivalent electrical circuit models. We fabricated microfluidic devices with fluidic resistors (R), inductors (L), and capacitors (C) to create RLC networks with band-pass resonance in the audible frequency range available on portable audio devices. Microfluidic devices were fabricated from laser-cut adhesive plastic, and a "buzzer" was glued to a diaphragm (capacitor) to integrate the actuator on the device. The AC flowrate magnitude was measured by imaging oscillation of bead tracers to allow direct comparison to the RLC circuit model across the frequency range. We present a systematic build-up from single-channel systems to multi-channel (3-channel) networks, and show that RLC circuit models predict complex frequency-dependent interactions within multi-channel networks. Finally, we show that adding flow rectifying valves to the network creates pumps that can be driven by amplified and non-amplified audio tones from common audio devices (iPod and iPhone). This work shows that RLC circuit models predict resonant flow responses in multi-channel fluidic networks as a step towards microfluidic devices controlled by audio tones.

Micro-miniature radio frequency transmitter for communication and tracking applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Crutcher, R.I.; Emery, M.S.; Falter, K.G.

1996-12-31

A micro-miniature radio frequency (rf) transmitter has been developed and demonstrated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The objective of the rf transmitter development was to maximize the transmission distance while drastically shrinking the overall transmitter size, including antenna. Based on analysis and testing, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) with a 16-GHz gallium arsenide (GaAs) oscillator and integrated on-chip antenna was designed and fabricated using microwave monolithic integrated circuit (MMIC) technology. Details of the development and the results of various field tests will be discussed. The rf transmitter is applicable to covert surveillance and tracking scenarios due to its smallmore » size of 2.2 x 2.2 mm, including the antenna. Additionally, the 16-GHz frequency is well above the operational range of consumer-grade radio scanners, providing a degree of protection from unauthorized interception. Variations of the transmitter design have been demonstrated for tracking and tagging beacons, transmission of digital data, and transmission of real-time analog video from a surveillance camera. Preliminary laboratory measurements indicate adaptability to direct-sequence spread-spectrum transmission, providing a low probability of intercept and/or detection. Concepts related to law enforcement applications will be presented.« less

Design and evaluation of a flow-to-frequency converter circuit with thermal feedback

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pawlowski, Eligiusz

2017-05-01

A novel thermal flow sensor with a frequency output is presented. The sensor provides a pulse-train output whose frequency is related to the fluid flow rate around a self-heating thermistor. The integrating properties of the temperature sensor have been used, which allowed for realization of the pulse frequency modulator with a thermal feedback loop, stabilizing the temperature of the sensor placed in the flowing medium. The system assures a balance of the amount of heat supplied in the impulses to the sensor and the heat given up by the sensor in a continuous way to the flowing medium. Therefore the frequency of output pulse-train is proportional to the medium flow velocity around the sensor. The special feature of the presented solution is the total integration of the thermal sensor with the measurement signal conditioning system. i.e. the sensor and conditioning system are not separate elements of the measurement circuit, but constitute a whole in the form of a thermal heat-balance mode flow-to-frequency converter. The frequency signal from the converter may be directly connected to the microprocessor digital input, which with use of the standard built-in counters may convert the frequency into a numerical value of high precision. The sensor has been experimentally characterized as a function of the average flow velocity of air at room temperature.

Broadband Characterization of a 100 to 180 GHz Amplifier

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kangaslahti, Pekka; Deal, W. R.; Mei, X. B.; Lai, R.

2007-01-01

Atmospheric science and weather forecasting require measurements of the temperature and humidity vs. altitude. These sounding measurements are obtained at frequencies close to the resonance frequencies of oxygen (118 GHz) and water (183 GHz) molecules. We have characterized a broadband amplifier that will increase the sensitivity of sounding and other instruments at these frequencies. This study demonstrated for the first t1me continuous low noise amplification from 100 to 180 GHz. The measured InP monolithic millimeter-wave Integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifier had more than 18 dB of gain from 100 to 180 GHz and 15 dB of gain up to 220 GHz. This is the widest bandwidth low noise amplifier result at these frequencies to date. The circuit was fabricated in Northrop Grumman Corporation 35 nm InP high electron mobility transistor (HEMT).

Widely Tunable On-Chip Microwave Circulator for Superconducting Quantum Circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapman, Benjamin J.; Rosenthal, Eric I.; Kerckhoff, Joseph; Moores, Bradley A.; Vale, Leila R.; Mates, J. A. B.; Hilton, Gene C.; Lalumière, Kevin; Blais, Alexandre; Lehnert, K. W.

2017-10-01

We report on the design and performance of an on-chip microwave circulator with a widely (GHz) tunable operation frequency. Nonreciprocity is created with a combination of frequency conversion and delay, and requires neither permanent magnets nor microwave bias tones, allowing on-chip integration with other superconducting circuits without the need for high-bandwidth control lines. Isolation in the device exceeds 20 dB over a bandwidth of tens of MHz, and its insertion loss is small, reaching as low as 0.9 dB at select operation frequencies. Furthermore, the device is linear with respect to input power for signal powers up to hundreds of fW (≈103 circulating photons), and the direction of circulation can be dynamically reconfigured. We demonstrate its operation at a selection of frequencies between 4 and 6 GHz.

A high-efficiency low-voltage class-E PA for IoT applications in sub-1 GHz frequency range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Chenyi; Lu, Zhenghao; Gu, Jiangmin; Yu, Xiaopeng

2017-10-01

We present and propose a complete and iterative integrated-circuit and electro-magnetic (EM) co-design methodology and procedure for a low-voltage sub-1 GHz class-E PA. The presented class-E PA consists of the on-chip power transistor, the on-chip gate driving circuits, the off-chip tunable LC load network and the off-chip LC ladder low pass filter. The design methodology includes an explicit design equation based circuit components values' analysis and numerical derivation, output power targeted transistor size and low pass filter design, and power efficiency oriented design optimization. The proposed design procedure includes the power efficiency oriented LC network tuning, the detailed circuit/EM co-simulation plan on integrated circuit level, package level and PCB level to ensure an accurate simulation to measurement match and first pass design success. The proposed PA is targeted to achieve more than 15 dBm output power delivery and 40% power efficiency at 433 MHz frequency band with 1.5 V low voltage supply. The LC load network is designed to be off-chip for the purpose of easy tuning and optimization. The same circuit can be extended to all sub-1 GHz applications with the same tuning and optimization on the load network at different frequencies. The amplifier is implemented in 0.13 μm CMOS technology with a core area occupation of 400 μm by 300 μm. Measurement results showed that it provided power delivery of 16.42 dBm at antenna with efficiency of 40.6%. A harmonics suppression of 44 dBc is achieved, making it suitable for massive deployment of IoT devices. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 61574125) and the Industry Innovation Project of Suzhou City of China (No. SYG201641).

OBIST methodology incorporating modified sensitivity of pulses for active analogue filter components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khade, R. H.; Chaudhari, D. S.

2018-03-01

In this paper, oscillation-based built-in self-test method is used to diagnose catastrophic and parametric faults in integrated circuits. Sallen-Key low pass filter and high pass filter circuits with different gains are used to investigate defects. Variation in seven parameters of operational amplifier (OP-AMP) like gain, input impedance, output impedance, slew rate, input bias current, input offset current, input offset voltage and catastrophic as well as parametric defects in components outside OP-AMP are introduced in the circuit and simulation results are analysed. Oscillator output signal is converted to pulses which are used to generate a signature of the circuit. The signature and pulse count changes with the type of fault present in the circuit under test (CUT). The change in oscillation frequency is observed for fault detection. Designer has flexibility to predefine tolerance band of cut-off frequency and range of pulses for which circuit should be accepted. The fault coverage depends upon the required tolerance band of the CUT. We propose a modification of sensitivity of parameter (pulses) to avoid test escape and enhance yield. Result shows that the method provides 100% fault coverage for catastrophic faults.

Low-frequency noise behavior of polysilicon emitter bipolar junction transistors: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deen, M. Jamal; Pascal, Fabien

2003-05-01

For many analog integrated circuit applications, the polysilicon emitter bipolar junction transistor (PE-BJT) is still the preferred choice because of its higher operational frequency and lower noise performance characteristics compared to MOS transistors of similar active areas and at similar biasing currents. In this paper, we begin by motivating the reader with reasons why bipolar transistors are still of great interest for analog integrated circuits. This motivation includes a comparison between BJT and the MOSFET using a simple small-signal equivalent circuit to derive important parameters that can be used to compare these two technologies. An extensive review of the popular theories used to explain low frequency noise results is presented. However, in almost all instances, these theories have not been fully tested. The effects of different processing technologies and conditions on the noise performance of PE-BJTs is reviewed and a summary of some of the key technological steps and device parameters and their effects on noise is discussed. The effects of temperature and emitter geometries scaling is reviewed. It is shown that dispersion of the low frequency noise in ultra-small geometries is a serious issue since the rate of increase of the noise dispersion is faster than the noise itself as the emitter geometry is scaled to smaller values. Finally, some ideas for future research on PE-BJTs, some of which are also applicable to SiGe heteorjunction bipolar transistors and MOSFETs, are presented after the conclusions.

Electrical Performance of a High Temperature 32-I/O HTCC Alumina Package

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Liang-Yu; Neudeck, Philip G.; Spry, David J.; Beheim, Glenn M.; Hunter, Gary W.

2016-01-01

A high temperature co-fired ceramic (HTCC) alumina material was previously electrically tested at temperatures up to 550 C, and demonstrated improved dielectric performance at high temperatures compared with the 96% alumina substrate that we used before, suggesting its potential use for high temperature packaging applications. This paper introduces a prototype 32-I/O (input/output) HTCC alumina package with platinum conductor for 500 C low-power silicon carbide (SiC) integrated circuits. The design and electrical performance of this package including parasitic capacitance and parallel conductance of neighboring I/Os from 100 Hz to 1 MHz in a temperature range from room temperature to 550 C are discussed in detail. The parasitic capacitance and parallel conductance of this package in the entire frequency and temperature ranges measured does not exceed 1.5 pF and 0.05 microsiemens, respectively. SiC integrated circuits using this package and compatible printed circuit board have been successfully tested at 500 C for over 3736 hours continuously, and at 700 C for over 140 hours. Some test examples of SiC integrated circuits with this packaging system are presented. This package is the key to prolonged T greater than or equal to 500 C operational testing of the new generation of SiC high temperature integrated circuits and other devices currently under development at NASA Glenn Research Center.

Entropy Flow Through Near-Critical Quantum Junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedan, Daniel

2017-05-01

This is the continuation of Friedan (J Stat Phys, 2017. doi: 10.1007/s10955-017-1752-8). Elementary formulas are derived for the flow of entropy through a circuit junction in a near-critical quantum circuit close to equilibrium, based on the structure of the energy-momentum tensor at the junction. The entropic admittance of a near-critical junction in a bulk-critical circuit is expressed in terms of commutators of the chiral entropy currents. The entropic admittance at low frequency, divided by the frequency, gives the change of the junction entropy with temperature—the entropic "capacitance". As an example, and as a check on the formalism, the entropic admittance is calculated explicitly for junctions in bulk-critical quantum Ising circuits (free fermions, massless in the bulk), in terms of the reflection matrix of the junction. The half-bit of information capacity per end of critical Ising wire is re-derived by integrating the entropic "capacitance" with respect to temperature, from T=0 to T=∞.

Analog Ranging Modem Code Processor and Generator

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1974-05-01

The report details technical development efforts to implement an analog ranging modem using recently developed linear integrated circuits where possible. The breadboard hardware is capable of acquiring frequency and phase of a weak signal in a high n...

A digital optical phase-locked loop for diode lasers based on field programmable gate array.

PubMed

Xu, Zhouxiang; Zhang, Xian; Huang, Kaikai; Lu, Xuanhui

2012-09-01

We have designed and implemented a highly digital optical phase-locked loop (OPLL) for diode lasers in atom interferometry. The three parts of controlling circuit in this OPLL, including phase and frequency detector (PFD), loop filter and proportional integral derivative (PID) controller, are implemented in a single field programmable gate array chip. A structure type compatible with the model MAX9382∕MCH12140 is chosen for PFD and pipeline and parallelism technology have been adapted in PID controller. Especially, high speed clock and twisted ring counter have been integrated in the most crucial part, the loop filter. This OPLL has the narrow beat note line width below 1 Hz, residual mean-square phase error of 0.14 rad(2) and transition time of 100 μs under 10 MHz frequency step. A main innovation of this design is the completely digitalization of the whole controlling circuit in OPLL for diode lasers.

A digital optical phase-locked loop for diode lasers based on field programmable gate array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Zhouxiang; Zhang, Xian; Huang, Kaikai; Lu, Xuanhui

2012-09-01

We have designed and implemented a highly digital optical phase-locked loop (OPLL) for diode lasers in atom interferometry. The three parts of controlling circuit in this OPLL, including phase and frequency detector (PFD), loop filter and proportional integral derivative (PID) controller, are implemented in a single field programmable gate array chip. A structure type compatible with the model MAX9382/MCH12140 is chosen for PFD and pipeline and parallelism technology have been adapted in PID controller. Especially, high speed clock and twisted ring counter have been integrated in the most crucial part, the loop filter. This OPLL has the narrow beat note line width below 1 Hz, residual mean-square phase error of 0.14 rad2 and transition time of 100 μs under 10 MHz frequency step. A main innovation of this design is the completely digitalization of the whole controlling circuit in OPLL for diode lasers.

Prototype Parts of a Digital Beam-Forming Wide-Band Receiver

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaplan, Steven B.; Pylov, Sergey V.; Pambianchi, Michael

2003-01-01

Some prototype parts of a digital beamforming (DBF) receiver that would operate at multigigahertz carrier frequencies have been developed. The beam-forming algorithm in a DBF receiver processes signals from multiple antenna elements with appropriate time delays and weighting factors chosen to enhance the reception of signals from a specific direction while suppressing signals from other directions. Such a receiver would be used in the directional reception of weak wideband signals -- for example, spread-spectrum signals from a low-power transmitter on an Earth-orbiting spacecraft or other distant source. The prototype parts include superconducting components on integrated-circuit chips, and a multichip module (MCM), within which the chips are to be packaged and connected via special inter-chip-communication circuits. The design and the underlying principle of operation are based on the use of the rapid single-flux quantum (RSFQ) family of logic circuits to obtain the required processing speed and signal-to-noise ratio. RSFQ circuits are superconducting circuits that exploit the Josephson effect. They are well suited for this application, having been proven to perform well in some circuits at frequencies above 100 GHz. In order to maintain the superconductivity needed for proper functioning of the RSFQ circuits, the MCM must be kept in a cryogenic environment during operation.

Heterogeneous integration of lithium niobate and silicon nitride waveguides for wafer-scale photonic integrated circuits on silicon.

PubMed

Chang, Lin; Pfeiffer, Martin H P; Volet, Nicolas; Zervas, Michael; Peters, Jon D; Manganelli, Costanza L; Stanton, Eric J; Li, Yifei; Kippenberg, Tobias J; Bowers, John E

2017-02-15

An ideal photonic integrated circuit for nonlinear photonic applications requires high optical nonlinearities and low loss. This work demonstrates a heterogeneous platform by bonding lithium niobate (LN) thin films onto a silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) waveguide layer on silicon. It not only provides large second- and third-order nonlinear coefficients, but also shows low propagation loss in both the Si₃N₄ and the LN-Si₃N₄ waveguides. The tapers enable low-loss-mode transitions between these two waveguides. This platform is essential for various on-chip applications, e.g., modulators, frequency conversions, and quantum communications.

Conception et realisation d'un echantillonneur de grande vitesse en technologie HIGFET (transistor a effet de champ avec heterostructure et grille isolee)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tazlauanu, Mihai

The research work reported in this thesis details a new fabrication technology for high speed integrated circuits in the broadest sense, including original contributions to device modeling, circuit simulation, integrated circuit design, wafer fabrication, micro-physical and electrical characterization, process flow and final device testing as part of an electrical system. The primary building block of this technology is the heterostructure insulated gate field effect transistor, HIGFET. We used an InP/InGaAs epitaxial heterostructure to ensure a high charge carrier mobility and hence obtain a higher operating frequency than that currently possible for silicon devices. We designed and built integrated circuits with two system architectures. The first architecture integrates the clock signal generator with the sample and hold circuitry on the InP die, while the second is a hybrid architecture of an InP sample and hold assembled with an external clock signal generator made with ECL circuits on GaAs. To generate the clock signals on the same die with the sample and hold circuits, we developed a digital circuit family based on an original inverter, appropriate for depletion mode NMOS technology. We used this circuit to design buffer amplifiers and ring oscillators. Four mask sets produced in a Cadence environment, have permitted the fabrication of test and working devices. Each new mask generation has reflected the previous achievements and has implemented new structures and circuit techniques. The fabrication technology has undergone successive modifications and refinements to optimize device manufacturing. Particular attention has been paid to the technological robustness. The plasma enhanced etching process (RIE) had been used for an exhaustive study for the statistical simulation of the technological steps. Electrical measurements, performed on the experimental samples, have permitted the modeling of the devices, technological processing to be adjusted and circuit design improved. Electrical measurements performed on dedicated test structures, during the fabrication cycle, allowed the identification and correction of some technological problems (ohmic contacts, current leakage, interconnection integrity, and thermal instabilities). Feedback corrections were validated by dedicated experiments with the experimental effort optimized by statistical techniques (factorial fractional design). (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

High accuracy digital aging monitor based on PLL-VCO circuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuejun, Zhang; Zhidi, Jiang; Pengjun, Wang; Xuelong, Zhang

2015-01-01

As the manufacturing process is scaled down to the nanoscale, the aging phenomenon significantly affects the reliability and lifetime of integrated circuits. Consequently, the precise measurement of digital CMOS aging is a key aspect of nanoscale aging tolerant circuit design. This paper proposes a high accuracy digital aging monitor using phase-locked loop and voltage-controlled oscillator (PLL-VCO) circuit. The proposed monitor eliminates the circuit self-aging effect for the characteristic of PLL, whose frequency has no relationship with circuit aging phenomenon. The PLL-VCO monitor is implemented in TSMC low power 65 nm CMOS technology, and its area occupies 303.28 × 298.94 μm2. After accelerating aging tests, the experimental results show that PLL-VCO monitor improves accuracy about high temperature by 2.4% and high voltage by 18.7%.

Optical probing of electric fields with an electro-acoustic effect toward integrated circuit diagnosis.

PubMed

Jin, Ru-Long; Yang, Han; Zhao, Di; Chen, Qi-Dai; Yan, Zhao-Xu; Yi, Mao-Bin; Sun, Hong-Bo

2010-02-15

Electro-optic probing of electric fields has been considered as a promising approach for integrated circuit diagnosis. However, the method is subject to relatively weak voltage sensitivity. In this Letter, we solve the problems with electro-acoustic effect. In contrast to the general electro-optic effect, the light phase modulation induced by the acoustic effect is 2 orders of magnitude stronger at its resonant frequency, as we observed in a GaAs thin film probe. Furthermore, this what we believe to be a novel method shows a highly reproducible linearity between the detected signals and the input voltages, which facilitates the voltage calibration.

Optoelectronic cross-injection locking of a dual-wavelength photonic integrated circuit for low-phase-noise millimeter-wave generation.

PubMed

Kervella, Gaël; Van Dijk, Frederic; Pillet, Grégoire; Lamponi, Marco; Chtioui, Mourad; Morvan, Loïc; Alouini, Mehdi

2015-08-01

We report on the stabilization of a 90-GHz millimeter-wave signal generated from a fully integrated photonic circuit. The chip consists of two DFB single-mode lasers whose optical signals are combined on a fast photodiode to generate a largely tunable heterodyne beat note. We generate an optical comb from each laser with a microwave synthesizer, and by self-injecting the resulting signal, we mutually correlate the phase noise of each DFB and stabilize the beatnote on a multiple of the frequency delivered by the synthesizer. The performances achieved beat note linewidth below 30 Hz.

Method and apparatus to debug an integrated circuit chip via synchronous clock stop and scan

DOEpatents

Bellofatto, Ralph E [Ridgefield, CT; Ellavsky, Matthew R [Rochester, MN; Gara, Alan G [Mount Kisco, NY; Giampapa, Mark E [Irvington, NY; Gooding, Thomas M [Rochester, MN; Haring, Rudolf A [Cortlandt Manor, NY; Hehenberger, Lance G [Leander, TX; Ohmacht, Martin [Yorktown Heights, NY

2012-03-20

An apparatus and method for evaluating a state of an electronic or integrated circuit (IC), each IC including one or more processor elements for controlling operations of IC sub-units, and each the IC supporting multiple frequency clock domains. The method comprises: generating a synchronized set of enable signals in correspondence with one or more IC sub-units for starting operation of one or more IC sub-units according to a determined timing configuration; counting, in response to one signal of the synchronized set of enable signals, a number of main processor IC clock cycles; and, upon attaining a desired clock cycle number, generating a stop signal for each unique frequency clock domain to synchronously stop a functional clock for each respective frequency clock domain; and, upon synchronously stopping all on-chip functional clocks on all frequency clock domains in a deterministic fashion, scanning out data values at a desired IC chip state. The apparatus and methodology enables construction of a cycle-by-cycle view of any part of the state of a running IC chip, using a combination of on-chip circuitry and software.

Integrated Cryogenic Electronics Testbed (ICE-T) for Evaluation of Superconductor and Cryo-Semiconductor Integrated Circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dotsenko, V. V.; Sahu, A.; Chonigman, B.; Tang, J.; Lehmann, A. E.; Gupta, V.; Talalevskii, A.; Ruotolo, S.; Sarwana, S.; Webber, R. J.; Gupta, D.

2017-02-01

Research and development of cryogenic application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), such as high-frequency (tens of GHz) semiconductor and superconductor mixed-signal circuits and large-scale (>10,000 Josephson Junctions) superconductor digital circuits, have long been hindered by the absence of specialized cryogenic test apparatus. During their iterative development phase, most ASICs require many additional input-output lines for applying independent bias controls, injecting test signals, and monitoring outputs of different sub-circuits. We are developing a full suite of modular test apparatus based on cryocoolers that do not consume liquid helium, and support extensive electrical interfaces to standard and custom test equipment. Our design separates the cryogenics from electrical connections, allowing even inexperienced users to conduct testing by simply mounting their ASIC on a removable electrical insert. Thermal connections between the cold stages and the inserts are made with robust thermal links. ICE-T accommodates two independent electrical inserts at the same time. We have designed various inserts, such as universal ones with all 40 or 80 coaxial cables and those with customized wiring and temperature-controlled stages. ICE-T features fast thermal cycling for rapid testing, enables detailed testing over long periods (days to months, if necessary), and even supports automated testing of digital ICs with modular additions.

Monolithically Integrated Flexible Black Phosphorus Complementary Inverter Circuits.

PubMed

Liu, Yuanda; Ang, Kah-Wee

2017-07-25

Two-dimensional (2D) inverters are a fundamental building block for flexible logic circuits which have previously been realized by heterogeneously wiring transistors with two discrete channel materials. Here, we demonstrate a monolithically integrated complementary inverter made using a homogeneous black phosphorus (BP) nanosheet on flexible substrates. The digital logic inverter circuit is demonstrated via effective threshold voltage tuning within a single BP material, which offers both electron and hole dominated conducting channels with nearly symmetric pinch-off and current saturation. Controllable electron concentration is achieved by accurately modulating the aluminum (Al) donor doping, which realizes BP n-FET with a room-temperature on/off ratio >10 3 . Simultaneously, work function engineering is employed to obtain a low Schottky barrier contact electrode that facilities hole injection, thus enhancing the current density of the BP p-FET by 9.4 times. The flexible inverter circuit shows a clear digital logic voltage inversion operation along with a larger-than-unity direct current voltage gain, while exhibits alternating current dynamic signal switching at a record high frequency up to 100 kHz and remarkable electrical stability upon mechanical bending with a radii as small as 4 mm. Our study demonstrates a practical monolithic integration strategy for achieving functional logic circuits on one material platform, paving the way for future high-density flexible electronic applications.

STICAP: A linear circuit analysis program with stiff systems capability. Volume 1: Theory manual. [network analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooke, C. H.

1975-01-01

STICAP (Stiff Circuit Analysis Program) is a FORTRAN 4 computer program written for the CDC-6400-6600 computer series and SCOPE 3.0 operating system. It provides the circuit analyst a tool for automatically computing the transient responses and frequency responses of large linear time invariant networks, both stiff and nonstiff (algorithms and numerical integration techniques are described). The circuit description and user's program input language is engineer-oriented, making simple the task of using the program. Engineering theories underlying STICAP are examined. A user's manual is included which explains user interaction with the program and gives results of typical circuit design applications. Also, the program structure from a systems programmer's viewpoint is depicted and flow charts and other software documentation are given.

Coherent photonic beamformer for a Ka-band phased array antenna receiver implemented in silicon photonic integrated circuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duarte, V. C.; Peczek, A.; Drummond, M. V.; Nogueira, R. N.; Winzer, G.; Petousi, D.; Zimmermann, L.

2017-09-01

The generation of satellite communications with flexible and efficient transmission of radio signals requires a large number of low interfering beams and a maximum exploitation of the available frequency spectrum.

A 20-GHz IMPATT transmitter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chan, J. L.; Sun, C.

1983-01-01

The engineering development of a solid state transmitter amplifier operating in the 20 GHz frequency band. The development effort involved a variety of disciplines including IMPATT device development, circulator design, simple and multiple diode circuits designs, and amplifier integration and test.

1.25  GHz sine wave gating InGaAs/InP single-photon detector with a monolithically integrated readout circuit.

PubMed

Jiang, Wen-Hao; Liu, Jian-Hong; Liu, Yin; Jin, Ge; Zhang, Jun; Pan, Jian-Wei

2017-12-15

InGaAs/InP single-photon detectors (SPDs) are the key devices for applications requiring near-infrared single-photon detection. The gating mode is an effective approach to synchronous single-photon detection. Increasing gating frequency and reducing the module size are important challenges for the design of such a detector system. Here we present for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, an InGaAs/InP SPD with 1.25 GHz sine wave gating (SWG) using a monolithically integrated readout circuit (MIRC). The MIRC has a size of 15  mm×15  mm and implements the miniaturization of avalanche extraction for high-frequency SWG. In the MIRC, low-pass filters and a low-noise radio frequency amplifier are integrated based on the technique of low temperature co-fired ceramic, which can effectively reduce the parasitic capacitance and extract weak avalanche signals. We then characterize the InGaAs/InP SPD to verify the functionality and reliability of the MIRC, and the SPD exhibits excellent performance with 27.5% photon detection efficiency, a 1.2 kcps dark count rate, and 9.1% afterpulse probability at 223 K and 100 ns hold-off time. With this MIRC, one can further design miniaturized high-frequency SPD modules that are highly required for practical applications.

Electromechanical modeling of a honeycomb core integrated vibration energy converter with increased specific power for energy harvesting applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandrasekharan, Nataraj

Innovation in integrated circuit technology along with improved manufacturing processes has resulted in considerable reduction in power consumption of electromechanical devices. Majority of these devices are currently powered by batteries. However, the issues posed by batteries, including the need for frequent battery recharge/replacement has resulted in a compelling need for alternate energy to achieve self-sufficient device operation or to supplement battery power. Vibration based energy harvesting methods through piezoelectric transduction provides with a promising potential towards replacing or supplementing battery power source. However, current piezoelectric energy harvesters generate low specific power (power-to-weight ratio) when compared to batteries that the harvesters seek to replace or supplement. In this study, the potential of integrating lightweight cellular honeycomb structures with existing piezoelectric device configurations (bimorph) to achieve higher specific power is investigated. It is shown in this study that at low excitation frequency ranges, replacing the solid continuous substrate of a conventional piezoelectric bimorph with honeycomb structures of the same material results in a significant increase in power-to-weight ratio of the piezoelectric harvester. In order to maximize the electrical response of vibration based power harvesters, the natural frequency of these harvesters is designed to match the input driving frequency. The commonly used technique of adding a tip mass is employed to lower the natural frequency (to match driving frequency) of both, solid and honeycomb substrate bimorphs. At higher excitation frequency, the natural frequency of the traditional solid substrate bimorph can only be altered (to match driving frequency) through a change in global geometric design parameters, typically achieved by increasing the thickness of the harvester. As a result, the size of the harvester is increased and can be disadvantageous especially if the application imposes a space/size constraint. Moreover, the bimorph with increased thickness will now require a larger mechanical force to deform the structure which can fall outside the input ambient excitation amplitude range. In contrast, the honeycomb core bimorph offers an advantage in terms of preserving the global geometric dimensions. The natural frequency of the honeycomb core bimorph can be altered by manipulating honeycomb cell design parameters, such as cell angle, cell wall thickness, vertical cell height and inclined cell length. This results in a change in the mass and stiffness properties of the substrate and hence the bimorph, thereby altering the natural frequency of the harvester. Design flexibility of honeycomb core bimorphs is demonstrated by varying honeycomb cell parameters to alter mass and stiffness properties for power harvesting. The influence of honeycomb cell parameters on power generation is examined to evaluate optimum design to attain highest specific power. In addition, the more compliant nature of a honeycomb core bimorph decreases susceptibility towards fatigue and can increase the operating lifetime of the harvester. The second component of this dissertation analyses an uncoupled equivalent circuit model for piezoelectric energy harvesting. Open circuit voltage developed on the piezoelectric materials can be easily computed either through analytical or finite element models. The efficacy of a method to determine power developed across a resistive load, by representing the coupled piezoelectric electromechanical problem with an external load as an open circuit voltage driven equivalent circuit, is evaluated. The lack of backward feedback at finite resistive loads resulting from such an equivalent representation is examined by comparing the equivalent circuit model to the governing equations of a fully coupled circuit model for the electromechanical problem. It is found that the backward feedback is insignificant for weakly coupled systems typically seen in micro electromechanical systems and other energy harvesting device configurations with low coupling. For moderate to high coupling systems, a correction factor based on a calibrated resistance is presented which can be used to evaluate power generation at a specific resistive load.

Power control electronics for cryogenic instrumentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Biswajit; Gerber, Scott S.; Patterson, Richard L.; Myers, Ira T.

1995-01-01

In order to achieve a high-efficiency high-density cryogenic instrumentation system, the power processing electronics should be placed in the cold environment along with the sensors and signal-processing electronics. The typical instrumentation system requires low voltage dc usually obtained from processing line frequency ac power. Switch-mode power conversion topologies such as forward, flyback, push-pull, and half-bridge are used for high-efficiency power processing using pulse-width modulation (PWM) or resonant control. This paper presents several PWM and multiresonant power control circuits, implemented using commercially available CMOS and BiCMOS integrated circuits, and their performance at liquid-nitrogen temperature (77 K) as compared to their room temperature (300 K) performance. The operation of integrated circuits at cryogenic temperatures results in an improved performance in terms of increased speed, reduced latch-up susceptibility, reduced leakage current, and reduced thermal noise. However, the switching noise increased at 77 K compared to 300 K. The power control circuits tested in the laboratory did successfully restart at 77 K.

Thin glass based packaging and photonic single-mode waveguide integration by ion-exchange technology on board and module level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brusberg, Lars; Lang, Günter; Schröder, Henning

2011-01-01

The proposed novel packaging approach merges micro-system packaging and glass integrated optics. It provides 3D optical single-mode intra system links to bridge the gap between novel photonic integrated circuits and the glass fibers for inter system interconnects. We introduce our hybrid 3D photonic packaging approach based on thin glass substrates with planar integrated optical single-mode waveguides for fiber-to-chip and chip-to-chip links. Optical mirrors and lenses provide optical mode matching for photonic IC assemblies and optical fiber interconnects. Thin glass is commercially available in panel and wafer formats and characterizes excellent optical and high-frequency properties as reviewed in the paper. That makes it perfect for micro-system packaging. The adopted planar waveguide process based on ion-exchange technology is capable for high-volume manufacturing. This ion-exchange process and the optical propagation are described in detail for thin glass substrates. An extensive characterization of all basic circuit elements like straight and curved waveguides, couplers and crosses proves the low attenuation of the optical circuit elements.

Subwavelength hybrid terahertz waveguides.

PubMed

Nam, Sung Hyun; Taylor, Antoinette J; Efimov, Anatoly

2009-12-07

We introduce and present general properties of hybrid terahertz waveguides. Weakly confined Zenneck waves on a metal-dielectric interface at terahertz frequencies can be transformed to a strongly confined yet low-loss subwavelength mode through coupling with a photonic mode of a nearby high-index dielectric strip. We analyze confinement, attenuation, and dispersion properties of this mode. The proposed design is suitable for planar integration and allows easy fabrication on chip scale. The superior waveguiding properties at terahertz frequencies could enable the hybrid terahertz waveguides as building blocks for terahertz integrated circuits.

Directly writing resistor, inductor and capacitor to composite functional circuits: a super-simple way for alternative electronics.

PubMed

Gao, Yunxia; Li, Haiyan; Liu, Jing

2013-01-01

The current strategies for making electronic devices are generally time, water, material and energy consuming. Here, the direct writing of composite functional circuits through comprehensive use of GaIn10-based liquid metal inks and matching material is proposed and investigated, which is a rather easy going and cost effective electronics fabrication way compared with the conventional approaches. Owing to its excellent adhesion and electrical properties, the liquid metal ink was demonstrated as a generalist in directly making various basic electronic components such as planar resistor, inductor and capacitor or their combination and thus composing circuits with expected electrical functions. For a precise control of the geometric sizes of the writing, a mask with a designed pattern was employed and demonstrated. Mechanisms for justifying the chemical components of the inks and the magnitudes of the target electronic elements so as to compose various practical circuits were disclosed. Fundamental tests on the electrical components including capacitor and inductor directly written on paper with working time up to 48 h and elevated temperature demonstrated their good stability and potential widespread adaptability especially when used in some high frequency circuits. As the first proof-of-concept experiment, a typical functional oscillating circuit including an integrated chip of 74HC04 with a supply voltage of 5 V, a capacitor of 10 nF and two resistors of 5 kΩ and 1 kΩ respectively was directly composed on paper through integrating specific electrical elements together, which presented an oscillation frequency of 8.8 kHz. The present method significantly extends the roles of the metal ink in recent works serving as only a single electrical conductor or interconnecting wires. It opens the way for directly writing out complex functional circuits or devices on different substrates. Such circuit composition strategy has generalized purpose and can be extended to more areas, even daily pervasive electronics.

Directly Writing Resistor, Inductor and Capacitor to Composite Functional Circuits: A Super-Simple Way for Alternative Electronics

PubMed Central

Gao, Yunxia; Li, Haiyan; Liu, Jing

2013-01-01

Background The current strategies for making electronic devices are generally time, water, material and energy consuming. Here, the direct writing of composite functional circuits through comprehensive use of GaIn10-based liquid metal inks and matching material is proposed and investigated, which is a rather easy going and cost effective electronics fabrication way compared with the conventional approaches. Methods Owing to its excellent adhesion and electrical properties, the liquid metal ink was demonstrated as a generalist in directly making various basic electronic components such as planar resistor, inductor and capacitor or their combination and thus composing circuits with expected electrical functions. For a precise control of the geometric sizes of the writing, a mask with a designed pattern was employed and demonstrated. Mechanisms for justifying the chemical components of the inks and the magnitudes of the target electronic elements so as to compose various practical circuits were disclosed. Results Fundamental tests on the electrical components including capacitor and inductor directly written on paper with working time up to 48 h and elevated temperature demonstrated their good stability and potential widespread adaptability especially when used in some high frequency circuits. As the first proof-of-concept experiment, a typical functional oscillating circuit including an integrated chip of 74HC04 with a supply voltage of 5 V, a capacitor of 10 nF and two resistors of 5 kΩ and 1 kΩ respectively was directly composed on paper through integrating specific electrical elements together, which presented an oscillation frequency of 8.8 kHz. Conclusions The present method significantly extends the roles of the metal ink in recent works serving as only a single electrical conductor or interconnecting wires. It opens the way for directly writing out complex functional circuits or devices on different substrates. Such circuit composition strategy has generalized purpose and can be extended to more areas, even daily pervasive electronics. PMID:23936349

Effects of BOX engineering on analogue/RF and circuit performance of InGaAs-OI-Si MOSFET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maity, Subir Kr.; Pandit, Soumya

2017-11-01

InGaAs is an attractive choice as alternate channel material in n-channel metal oxide semiconductor transistor for high-performance applications. However, electrostatic integrity of such device is poor. In this paper, we present a comprehensive technology computer-aided design simulation-based study of the effect of scaling the thickness of the buried oxide (BOX) region and varying the dielectric constant of BOX material on the electrostatic integrity, analogue/radio frequency (RF) performance and circuit performance of InGaAs-on-Insulator device. Device with thin BOX layer gives better drain-induced barrier lowering performance which enhances output resistance. The carrier mobility remains almost constant with thinning of BOX layer up to certain value. By lowering the dielectric constant of the BOX material, it is further possible to improve the analogue and RF performance. Effect of BOX thickness scaling and role of BOX dielectric material on gain-frequency response of common source amplifier is also studied. It is observed that frequency response of the amplifier improves for thin BOX and with low dielectric constant-based material.

A Mathematical Model of a Simple Amplifier Using a Ferroelectric Transistor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sayyah, Rana; Hunt, Mitchell; MacLeod, Todd C.; Ho, Fat D.

2009-01-01

This paper presents a mathematical model characterizing the behavior of a simple amplifier using a FeFET. The model is based on empirical data and incorporates several variables that affect the output, including frequency, load resistance, and gate-to-source voltage. Since the amplifier is the basis of many circuit configurations, a mathematical model that describes the behavior of a FeFET-based amplifier will help in the integration of FeFETs into many other circuits.

Non-Contact Circuit for Real-Time Electric and Magnetic Field Measurements

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-01

addresses these needs, and additionally has “smart” features that adjust integrated circuits ( ICs ) on the sensor during start-up based upon the...Hall effect sensors, the datasheet information on the MLX91205 gives a dynamic range of 66 to 96 dB for frequencies of 10 Hz and 10 kHz, respectively...Electric Field Sensors. 18 August 2009. 4. Melexis. IMC-Hall Current Sensor, MLX91205 Datasheet . June. 2012 5. Vinci SJ, Hull DM. Electrostatic

Experimental study of an adaptive elastic metamaterial controlled by electric circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, R.; Chen, Y. Y.; Barnhart, M. V.; Hu, G. K.; Sun, C. T.; Huang, G. L.

2016-01-01

The ability to control elastic wave propagation at a deep subwavelength scale makes locally resonant elastic metamaterials very relevant. A number of abilities have been demonstrated such as frequency filtering, wave guiding, and negative refraction. Unfortunately, few metamaterials develop into practical devices due to their lack of tunability for specific frequencies. With the help of multi-physics numerical modeling, experimental validation of an adaptive elastic metamaterial integrated with shunted piezoelectric patches has been performed in a deep subwavelength scale. The tunable bandgap capacity, as high as 45%, is physically realized by using both hardening and softening shunted circuits. It is also demonstrated that the effective mass density of the metamaterial can be fully tailored by adjusting parameters of the shunted electric circuits. Finally, to illustrate a practical application, transient wave propagation tests of the adaptive metamaterial subjected to impact loads are conducted to validate their tunable wave mitigation abilities in real-time.

A synthetic mammalian electro-genetic transcription circuit.

PubMed

Weber, Wilfried; Luzi, Stefan; Karlsson, Maria; Sanchez-Bustamante, Carlota Diaz; Frey, Urs; Hierlemann, Andreas; Fussenegger, Martin

2009-03-01

Electric signal processing has evolved to manage rapid information transfer in neuronal networks and muscular contraction in multicellular organisms and controls the most sophisticated man-built devices. Using a synthetic biology approach to assemble electronic parts with genetic control units engineered into mammalian cells, we designed an electric power-adjustable transcription control circuit able to integrate the intensity of a direct current over time, to translate the amplitude or frequency of an alternating current into an adjustable genetic readout or to modulate the beating frequency of primary heart cells. Successful miniaturization of the electro-genetic devices may pave the way for the design of novel hybrid electro-genetic implants assembled from electronic and genetic parts.

A synthetic mammalian electro-genetic transcription circuit

PubMed Central

Weber, Wilfried; Luzi, Stefan; Karlsson, Maria; Sanchez-Bustamante, Carlota Diaz; Frey, Urs; Hierlemann, Andreas; Fussenegger, Martin

2009-01-01

Electric signal processing has evolved to manage rapid information transfer in neuronal networks and muscular contraction in multicellular organisms and controls the most sophisticated man-built devices. Using a synthetic biology approach to assemble electronic parts with genetic control units engineered into mammalian cells, we designed an electric power-adjustable transcription control circuit able to integrate the intensity of a direct current over time, to translate the amplitude or frequency of an alternating current into an adjustable genetic readout or to modulate the beating frequency of primary heart cells. Successful miniaturization of the electro-genetic devices may pave the way for the design of novel hybrid electro-genetic implants assembled from electronic and genetic parts. PMID:19190091

MMIC devices for active phased array antennas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mittra, R.

1986-01-01

The use of finlines for microwave monolithic integrated circuit application in the 20 to 40 GHz frequency range. Other wave guiding structures, are also examined from a comparative point of view and some sonclusions are drawn on the basis of the results.

A three-dimensional integrated nanogenerator for effectively harvesting sound energy from the environment.

PubMed

Liu, Jinmei; Cui, Nuanyang; Gu, Long; Chen, Xiaobo; Bai, Suo; Zheng, Youbin; Hu, Caixia; Qin, Yong

2016-03-07

An integrated triboelectric nanogenerator (ITNG) with a three-dimensional structure benefiting sound propagation and adsorption is demonstrated to more effectively harvest sound energy with improved output performance. With different multifunctional integrated layers working harmonically, it could generate a short-circuit current up to 2.1 mA, an open-circuit voltage up to 232 V and the maximum charging rate can reach 453 μC s(-1) for a 1 mF capacitor, which are 4.6 times, 2.6 times and 7.4 times the highest reported values, respectively. Further study shows that the ITNG works well under sound in a wide range of sound intensity levels (SILs) and frequencies, and its output is sensitive to the SIL and frequency of the sound, which reveals that the ITNG can act as a self-powered active sensor for real-time noise surveillance and health care. Moreover, this generator can be used to directly power the Fe(OH)3 sol electrophoresis and shows great potential as a wireless power supply in the electrochemical industry.

Experimental demonstration of subwavelength domino plasmon devices for compact high-frequency circuit.

PubMed

Ma, Y G; Lan, L; Zhong, S M; Ong, C K

2011-10-24

In optical frequency, surface plasmons of metal provide us a prominent way to build compact photonic devices or circuits with non-diffraction limit. It is attributed by their extraordinary electromagnetic confining effect. But in the counterpart of lower frequencies, plasmonics behavior of metal is screened by eddy current induced in a certain skin depth. To amend this, spoof plasmons engineered by artificial structures have been introduced to mimic surface plasmons in these frequencies. But it is less useful for practical application due to their weak field confinement as manifested by large field decaying length in the upper dielectric space. Recently, a new type of engineered plasmons, domino plasmon was theoretically proposed to produce unusual field confinement and waveguiding capabilities that make them very attractive for ultra-compact device applications [Opt. Exp. 18, 754-764 (2010)]. In this work, we implemented these ideas and built three waveguiding devices based on domino plasmons. Their strong capabilities to produce versatile and ultra-compact devices with multiple electromagnetic functions have been experimentally verified in microwaves. And that can be extended to THz regime to pave the way for a new class of integrated wave circuits. © 2011 Optical Society of America

Erbium-doped zinc-oxide waveguide amplifiers for hybrid photonic integrated circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Neal, Lawrence; Anthony, Deion; Bonner, Carl; Geddis, Demetris

2016-02-01

CMOS logic circuits have entered the sub-100nm regime, and research is on-going to investigate the quantum effects that are apparent at this dimension. To avoid some of the constraints imposed by fabrication, entropy, energy, and interference considerations for nano-scale devices, many have begun designing hybrid and/or photonic integrated circuits. These circuits consist of transistors, light emitters, photodetectors, and electrical and optical waveguides. As attenuation is a limiting factor in any communications system, it is advantageous to integrate a signal amplifier. There are numerous examples of electrical amplifiers, but in order to take advantage of the benefits provided by optically integrated systems, optical amplifiers are necessary. The erbium doped fiber amplifier is an example of an optical amplifier which is commercially available now, but the distance between the amplifier and the device benefitting from amplification can be decreased and provide greater functionality by providing local, on-chip amplification. Zinc oxide is an attractive material due to its electrical and optical properties. Its wide bandgap (≍3.4 eV) and high refractive index (≍2) make it an excellent choice for integrated optics systems. Moreover, erbium doped zinc oxide (Er:ZnO) is a suitable candidate for optical waveguide amplifiers because of its compatibility with semiconductor processing technology, 1.54 μm luminescence, transparency, low resistivity, and amplification characteristics. This research presents the characterization of radio frequency magnetron sputtered Er:ZnO, the design and fabrication of integrated waveguide amplifiers, and device analysis.

Selective Dirac voltage engineering of individual graphene field-effect transistors for digital inverter and frequency multiplier integrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sul, Onejae; Kim, Kyumin; Jung, Yungwoo; Choi, Eunsuk; Lee, Seung-Beck

2017-09-01

The ambipolar band structure of graphene presents unique opportunities for novel electronic device applications. A cycle of gate voltage sweep in a conventional graphene transistor produces a frequency-doubled output current. To increase the frequency further, we used various graphene doping control techniques to produce Dirac voltage engineered graphene channels. The various surface treatments and substrate conditions produced differently doped graphene channels that were integrated on a single substrate and multiple Dirac voltages were observed by applying a single gate voltage sweep. We applied the Dirac voltage engineering techniques to graphene field-effect transistors on a single chip for the fabrication of a frequency multiplier and a logic inverter demonstrating analog and digital circuit application possibilities.

Selective Dirac voltage engineering of individual graphene field-effect transistors for digital inverter and frequency multiplier integrations.

PubMed

Sul, Onejae; Kim, Kyumin; Jung, Yungwoo; Choi, Eunsuk; Lee, Seung-Beck

2017-09-15

The ambipolar band structure of graphene presents unique opportunities for novel electronic device applications. A cycle of gate voltage sweep in a conventional graphene transistor produces a frequency-doubled output current. To increase the frequency further, we used various graphene doping control techniques to produce Dirac voltage engineered graphene channels. The various surface treatments and substrate conditions produced differently doped graphene channels that were integrated on a single substrate and multiple Dirac voltages were observed by applying a single gate voltage sweep. We applied the Dirac voltage engineering techniques to graphene field-effect transistors on a single chip for the fabrication of a frequency multiplier and a logic inverter demonstrating analog and digital circuit application possibilities.

Frequency-agile electromagnetically induced transparency analogue in terahertz metamaterials.

PubMed

Xu, Quan; Su, Xiaoqiang; Ouyang, Chunmei; Xu, Ningning; Cao, Wei; Zhang, Yuping; Li, Quan; Hu, Cong; Gu, Jianqiang; Tian, Zhen; Azad, Abul K; Han, Jiaguang; Zhang, Weili

2016-10-01

Recently reported active metamaterial analogues of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) are promising in developing novel optical components, such as active slow light devices. However, most of the previous works have focused on manipulating the EIT resonance strength at a fixed characteristic frequency and, therefore, realized on-to-off switching responses. To further extend the functionalities of the EIT effect, here we present a frequency tunable EIT analogue in the terahertz regime by integrating photoactive silicon into the metamaterial unit cell. A tuning range from 0.82 to 0.74 THz for the EIT resonance frequency is experimentally observed by optical pump-terahertz probe measurements, allowing a frequency tunable group delay of the terahertz pulses. This straightforward approach delivers frequency agility of the EIT resonance and may enable novel ultrafast tunable devices for integrated plasmonic circuits.

Temporal integration and 1/f power scaling in a circuit model of cerebellar interneurons.

PubMed

Maex, Reinoud; Gutkin, Boris

2017-07-01

Inhibitory interneurons interconnected via electrical and chemical (GABA A receptor) synapses form extensive circuits in several brain regions. They are thought to be involved in timing and synchronization through fast feedforward control of principal neurons. Theoretical studies have shown, however, that whereas self-inhibition does indeed reduce response duration, lateral inhibition, in contrast, may generate slow response components through a process of gradual disinhibition. Here we simulated a circuit of interneurons (stellate and basket cells) of the molecular layer of the cerebellar cortex and observed circuit time constants that could rise, depending on parameter values, to >1 s. The integration time scaled both with the strength of inhibition, vanishing completely when inhibition was blocked, and with the average connection distance, which determined the balance between lateral and self-inhibition. Electrical synapses could further enhance the integration time by limiting heterogeneity among the interneurons and by introducing a slow capacitive current. The model can explain several observations, such as the slow time course of OFF-beam inhibition, the phase lag of interneurons during vestibular rotation, or the phase lead of Purkinje cells. Interestingly, the interneuron spike trains displayed power that scaled approximately as 1/ f at low frequencies. In conclusion, stellate and basket cells in cerebellar cortex, and interneuron circuits in general, may not only provide fast inhibition to principal cells but also act as temporal integrators that build a very short-term memory. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The most common function attributed to inhibitory interneurons is feedforward control of principal neurons. In many brain regions, however, the interneurons are densely interconnected via both chemical and electrical synapses but the function of this coupling is largely unknown. Based on large-scale simulations of an interneuron circuit of cerebellar cortex, we propose that this coupling enhances the integration time constant, and hence the memory trace, of the circuit. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Planar Submillimeter-Wave Mixer Technology with Integrated Antenna

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chattopadhyay, Gautam; Mehdi, Imran; Gill, John J.; Lee, Choonsup; lombart, Muria L.; Thomas, Betrand

2010-01-01

High-performance mixers at terahertz frequencies require good matching between the coupling circuits such as antennas and local oscillators and the diode embedding impedance. With the availability of amplifiers at submillimeter wavelengths and the need to have multi-pixel imagers and cameras, planar mixer architecture is required to have an integrated system. An integrated mixer with planar antenna provides a compact and optimized design at terahertz frequencies. Moreover, it leads to a planar architecture that enables efficient interconnect with submillimeter-wave amplifiers. In this architecture, a planar slot antenna is designed on a thin gallium arsenide (GaAs) membrane in such a way that the beam on either side of the membrane is symmetric and has good beam profile with high coupling efficiency. A coplanar waveguide (CPW) coupled Schottky diode mixer is designed and integrated with the antenna. In this architecture, the local oscillator (LO) is coupled through one side of the antenna and the RF from the other side, without requiring any beam sp litters or diplexers. The intermediate frequency (IF) comes out on a 50-ohm CPW line at the edge of the mixer chip, which can be wire-bonded to external circuits. This unique terahertz mixer has an integrated single planar antenna for coupling both the radio frequency (RF) input and LO injection without any diplexer or beamsplitters. The design utilizes novel planar slot antenna architecture on a 3- mthick GaAs membrane. This work is required to enable future multi-pixel terahertz receivers for astrophysics missions, and lightweight and compact receivers for planetary missions to the outer planets in our solar system. Also, this technology can be used in tera hertz radar imaging applications as well as for testing of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs).

WIDE BAND REGENERATIVE FREQUENCY DIVIDER AND MULTIPLIER

DOEpatents

Laine, E.F.

1959-11-17

A regenerative frequency divider and multiplier having wide band input characteristics is presented. The circuit produces output oscillations having frequencies related by a fixed ratio to input oscillations over a wide band of frequencies. In accomplishing this end, the divider-multiplier includes a wide band input circuit coupled by mixer means to a wide band output circuit having a pass band related by a fixed ratio to that of the input circuit. A regenerative feedback circuit derives a fixed frequency ratio feedback signal from the output circuit and applies same to the mixer means in proper phase relation to sustain fixed frequency ratio oscillations in the output circuit.

Multi-resonant piezoelectric shunting induced by digital controllers for subwavelength elastic wave attenuation in smart metamaterial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Gang; Cheng, Jianqing; Chen, Jingwei; He, Yunze

2017-02-01

Instead of analog electronic circuits and components, digital controllers that are capable of active multi-resonant piezoelectric shunting are applied to elastic metamaterials integrated with piezoelectric patches. Thanks to recently introduced digital control techniques, shunting strategies are possible now with transfer functions that can hardly be realized with analog circuits. As an example, the ‘pole-zero’ method is developed to design single- or multi-resonant bandgaps by adjusting poles and zeros in the transfer function of piezoelectric shunting directly. Large simultaneous attenuations in up to three frequency bands at deep subwavelength scale (with normalized frequency as low as 0.077) are achieved. The underlying physical mechanism is attributable to the negative group velocity of the flexural wave within bandgaps. As digital controllers can be readily adapted via wireless broadcasting, the bandgaps can be tuned easily unlike the electric components in analog shunting circuits, which must be tuned one by one manually. The theoretical results are verified experimentally with the measured vibration transmission properties, where large insulations of up to 20 dB in low-frequency ranges are observed.

Characteristics of Radio-Frequency Circuits Utilizing Ferroelectric Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eskridge, Michael; Gui, Xiao; MacLeod, Todd; Ho, Fat D.

2011-01-01

Ferroelectric capacitors, most commonly used in memory circuits and variable components, were studied in simple analog radio-frequency circuits such as the RLC resonator and Colpitts oscillator. The goal was to characterize the RF circuits in terms of frequency of oscillation, gain, etc, using ferroelectric capacitors. Frequencies of oscillation of both circuits were measured and studied a more accurate resonant frequency can be obtained using the ferroelectric capacitors. Many experiments were conducted and data collected. A model to simulate the experimental results will be developed. Discrepancies in gain and frequency in these RF circuits when conventional capacitors are replaced with ferroelectric ones were studied. These results will enable circuit designers to anticipate the effects of using ferroelectric components in their radio- frequency applications.

Integrated P-channel MOS gyrator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hochmair, E. S. (Inventor)

1974-01-01

A gyrator circuit is described which is of the conventional configuration of two amplifiers in a circular loop, one producing zero phase shift and the other producing 180 phase reversal, in a circuit having medium Q composed of all field effect transistors of the same conductivity type. The current source to each gyrator amplifier comprises an amplifier which responds to changes in current, with the amplified signals feed back so as to limit current. The feedback amplifier has a large capacitor connected to bypass high frequency components, thereby stabilizing the output. The design makes possible fabrication of circuits with transistors of only one conductivity type, providing economies in manufacture and use.

Modelling of optoelectronic circuits based on resonant tunneling diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rei, João. F. M.; Foot, James A.; Rodrigues, Gil C.; Figueiredo, José M. L.

2017-08-01

Resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs) are the fastest pure electronic semiconductor devices at room temperature. When integrated with optoelectronic devices they can give rise to new devices with novel functionalities due to their highly nonlinear properties and electrical gain, with potential applications in future ultra-wide-band communication systems (see e.g. EU H2020 iBROW Project). The recent coverage on these devices led to the need to have appropriated simulation tools. In this work, we present RTD based optoelectronic circuits simulation packages to provide circuit signal level analysis such as transient and frequency responses. We will present and discuss the models, and evaluate the simulation packages.

Modified Coaxial Probe Feeds for Layered Antennas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fink, Patrick W.; Chu, Andrew W.; Dobbins, Justin A.; Lin, Greg Y.

2006-01-01

In a modified configuration of a coaxial probe feed for a layered printed-circuit antenna (e.g., a microstrip antenna), the outer conductor of the coaxial cable extends through the thickness of at least one dielectric layer and is connected to both the ground-plane conductor and a radiator-plane conductor. This modified configuration simplifies the incorporation of such radio-frequency integrated circuits as power dividers, filters, and low-noise amplifiers. It also simplifies the design and fabrication of stacked antennas with aperture feeds.

MIMIC For Millimeter Wave Integrated Circuit Radars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seashore, C. R.

1987-09-01

A significant program is currently underway in the U.S. to investigate, develop and produce a variety of GaAs analog circuits for use in microwave and millimeter wave sensors and systems. This represents a "new wave" of RF technology which promises to significantly change system engineering thinking relative to RF Architectures. At millimeter wave frequencies, we look forward to a relatively high level of critical component integration based on MESFET and HEMT device implementations. These designs will spawn more compact RF front ends with colocated antenna/transceiver functions and innovative packaging concepts which will survive and function in a typical military operational environment which includes challenging temperature, shock and special handling requirements.

Frequency discriminator/phase detector

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crow, R. B.

1974-01-01

Circuit provides dual function of frequency discriminator/phase detector which reduces frequency acquisition time without adding to circuit complexity. Both frequency discriminators, in evaluated frequency discriminator/phase detector circuits, are effective two decades above and below center frequency.

Monolithically integrated solid state laser and waveguide using spin-on glass

DOEpatents

Ashby, C.I.H.; Hohimer, J.P.; Neal, D.R.; Vawter, G.A.

1995-10-31

A monolithically integrated photonic circuit is disclosed combining a semiconductor source of excitation light with an optically active waveguide formed on the substrate. The optically active waveguide is preferably formed of a spin-on glass to which are added optically active materials which can enable lasing action, optical amplification, optical loss, or frequency conversion in the waveguide, depending upon the added material. 4 figs.

Wideband monolithically integrated front-end subsystems and components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mruk, Joseph Rene

This thesis presents the analysis, design, and measurements of passive, monolithically integrated, wideband recta-coax and printed circuit board front-end components. Monolithic fabrication of antennas, impedance transformers, filters, and transitions lowers manufacturing costs by reducing assembly time and enhances performance by removing connectors and cabling between the devices. Computational design, fabrication, and measurements are used to demonstrate the capabilities of these front-end assemblies. Two-arm wideband planar log-periodic antennas fed using a horizontal feed that allows for filters and impedance transformers to be readily fabricated within the radiating region of the antenna are demonstrated. At microwave frequencies, low-cost printed circuit board processes are typically used to produce planar devices. A 1.8 to 11 GHz two-arm planar log-periodic antenna is designed with a monolithically integrated impedance transformer. Band rejection methods based on modifying the antenna aperture, use of an integrated filter, and the application of both methods are investigated with realized gain suppressions of over 25 dB achieved. The ability of standard circuit board technology to fabricate millimeter-wave devices up to 110 GHz is severely limited. Thin dielectrics are required to prevent the excitation of higher order modes in the microstrip substrate. Fabricating the thin line widths required for the antenna aperture also becomes prohibitively challenging. Surface micro-machining typically used in the fabrication of MEMS devices is capable of producing the extremely small features that can be used to fabricate antennas extending through W-band. A directly RF fed 18 to 110 GHz planar log-periodic antenna is developed. The antenna is fabricated with an integrated impedance transformer and additional transitions for measurement characterization. Singly terminated low-loss wideband millimeter-wave filters operating over V- and W- band are developed. High quality performance of an 18 to 100 GHz front-end is realized by dividing the single instantaneous antenna into two apertures operating from 18 to 50 and 50 to 100 GHz. Each channel features an impedance transformer, low-pass (low-frequency) or band-pass (high-frequency) filter, and grounded CPW launch. This dual-aperture front-end demonstrates that micromachining technology is now capable of fabricating broadband millimeter-wave components with a high degree of integration.

Applying analog integrated circuits for HERO protection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Willis, Kenneth E.; Blachowski, Thomas J.

1994-01-01

One of the most efficient methods for protecting electro-explosive devices (EED's) from HERO and ESD is to shield the EED in a conducting shell (Faraday cage). Electrical energy is transferred to the bridge by means of a magnetic coupling which passes through a portion of the conducting shell that is made from a magnetically permeable but electrically conducting material. This technique was perfected by ML Aviation, a U.K. company, in the early 80's, and was called a Radio Frequency Attenuation Connector (RFAC). It is now in wide use in the U.K. Previously, the disadvantage of RFAC over more conventional methods was its relatively high cost, largely driven by a thick film hybrid circuit used to switch the primary of the transformer. Recently, through a licensing agreement, this technology has been transferred to the U.S. and significant cost reductions and performance improvements have been achieved by the introduction of analog integrated circuits. An integrated circuit performs the following functions: (1) Chops the DC input to a signal suitable for driving the primary of the transformer; (2) Verifies the input voltage is above a threshold; (3) Verifies the input voltage is valid for a pre set time before enabling the device; (4) Provides thermal protection of the circuit; and (5) Provides an external input for independent logic level enabling of the power transfer mechanism. This paper describes the new RFAC product and its applications.

A microfluidic microprocessor: controlling biomimetic containers and cells using hybrid integrated circuit/microfluidic chips.

PubMed

Issadore, David; Franke, Thomas; Brown, Keith A; Westervelt, Robert M

2010-11-07

We present an integrated platform for performing biological and chemical experiments on a chip based on standard CMOS technology. We have developed a hybrid integrated circuit (IC)/microfluidic chip that can simultaneously control thousands of living cells and pL volumes of fluid, enabling a wide variety of chemical and biological tasks. Taking inspiration from cellular biology, phospholipid bilayer vesicles are used as robust picolitre containers for reagents on the chip. The hybrid chip can be programmed to trap, move, and porate individual living cells and vesicles and fuse and deform vesicles using electric fields. The IC spatially patterns electric fields in a microfluidic chamber using 128 × 256 (32,768) 11 × 11 μm(2) metal pixels, each of which can be individually driven with a radio frequency (RF) voltage. The chip's basic functions can be combined in series to perform complex biological and chemical tasks and can be performed in parallel on the chip's many pixels for high-throughput operations. The hybrid chip operates in two distinct modes, defined by the frequency of the RF voltage applied to the pixels: Voltages at MHz frequencies are used to trap, move, and deform objects using dielectrophoresis and voltages at frequencies below 1 kHz are used for electroporation and electrofusion. This work represents an important step towards miniaturizing the complex chemical and biological experiments used for diagnostics and research onto automated and inexpensive chips.

338-GHz Semiconductor Amplifier Module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samoska, Lorene A.; Gaier, Todd C.; Soria, Mary M.; Fung, King Man; Rasisic, Vesna; Deal, William; Leong, Kevin; Mei, Xiao Bing; Yoshida, Wayne; Liu, Po-Hsin;

Nanoconstriction spin-Hall oscillator with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Divinskiy, B.; Demidov, V. E.; Kozhanov, A.; Rinkevich, A. B.; Demokritov, S. O.; Urazhdin, S.

2017-07-01

We experimentally study spin-Hall nano-oscillators based on [Co/Ni] multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. We show that these devices exhibit single-frequency auto-oscillations at current densities comparable to those for in-plane magnetized oscillators. The demonstrated oscillators exhibit large magnetization precession amplitudes, and their oscillation frequency is highly tunable by the electric current. These features make them promising for applications in high-speed integrated microwave circuits.

A digital optical phase-locked loop for diode lasers based on field programmable gate array

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu Zhouxiang; Zhang Xian; Huang Kaikai

2012-09-15

We have designed and implemented a highly digital optical phase-locked loop (OPLL) for diode lasers in atom interferometry. The three parts of controlling circuit in this OPLL, including phase and frequency detector (PFD), loop filter and proportional integral derivative (PID) controller, are implemented in a single field programmable gate array chip. A structure type compatible with the model MAX9382/MCH12140 is chosen for PFD and pipeline and parallelism technology have been adapted in PID controller. Especially, high speed clock and twisted ring counter have been integrated in the most crucial part, the loop filter. This OPLL has the narrow beat notemore » line width below 1 Hz, residual mean-square phase error of 0.14 rad{sup 2} and transition time of 100 {mu}s under 10 MHz frequency step. A main innovation of this design is the completely digitalization of the whole controlling circuit in OPLL for diode lasers.« less

Rapidly reconfigurable high-fidelity optical arbitrary waveform generation in heterogeneous photonic integrated circuits.

PubMed

Feng, Shaoqi; Qin, Chuan; Shang, Kuanping; Pathak, Shibnath; Lai, Weicheng; Guan, Binbin; Clements, Matthew; Su, Tiehui; Liu, Guangyao; Lu, Hongbo; Scott, Ryan P; Ben Yoo, S J

2017-04-17

This paper demonstrates rapidly reconfigurable, high-fidelity optical arbitrary waveform generation (OAWG) in a heterogeneous photonic integrated circuit (PIC). The heterogeneous PIC combines advantages of high-speed indium phosphide (InP) modulators and low-loss, high-contrast silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs) so that high-fidelity optical waveform syntheses with rapid waveform updates are possible. The generated optical waveforms spanned a 160 GHz spectral bandwidth starting from an optical frequency comb consisting of eight comb lines separated by 20 GHz channel spacing. The Error Vector Magnitude (EVM) values of the generated waveforms were approximately 16.4%. The OAWG module can rapidly and arbitrarily reconfigure waveforms upon every pulse arriving at 2 ns repetition time. The result of this work indicates the feasibility of truly dynamic optical arbitrary waveform generation where the reconfiguration rate or the modulator bandwidth must exceed the channel spacing of the AWG and the optical frequency comb.

Vortex spin-torque oscillator stabilized by phase locked loop using integrated circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kreissig, Martin; Lebrun, R.; Protze, F.; Merazzo-Jaimes, K.; Hem, J.; Vila, L.; Ferreira, R.; Cyrille, M.-C.; Ellinger, F.; Cros, V.; Ebels, U.; Bortolotti, P.

2017-05-01

Spin-torque nano-oscillators (STO) are candidates for the next technological implementation of spintronic devices in commercial electronic systems. For use in microwave applications, improving the noise figures by efficient control of their phase dynamics is a mandatory requirement. In order to achieve this, we developed a compact phase locked loop (PLL) based on custom integrated circuits (ICs) and demonstrate that it represents an efficient way to reduce the phase noise level of a vortex based STO. The advantage of our approach to phase stabilize STOs is that our compact system is highly reconfigurable e.g. in terms of the frequency divider ratio N, RF gain and loop gain. This makes it robust against device to device variations and at the same time compatible with a large range of STOs. Moreover, by taking advantage of the natural highly non-isochronous nature of the STO, the STO frequency can be easily controlled by e.g. changing the divider ratio N.

Multiple piezo-patch energy harvesters integrated to a thin plate with AC-DC conversion: analytical modeling and numerical validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aghakhani, Amirreza; Basdogan, Ipek; Erturk, Alper

2016-04-01

Plate-like components are widely used in numerous automotive, marine, and aerospace applications where they can be employed as host structures for vibration based energy harvesting. Piezoelectric patch harvesters can be easily attached to these structures to convert the vibrational energy to the electrical energy. Power output investigations of these harvesters require accurate models for energy harvesting performance evaluation and optimization. Equivalent circuit modeling of the cantilever-based vibration energy harvesters for estimation of electrical response has been proposed in recent years. However, equivalent circuit formulation and analytical modeling of multiple piezo-patch energy harvesters integrated to thin plates including nonlinear circuits has not been studied. In this study, equivalent circuit model of multiple parallel piezoelectric patch harvesters together with a resistive load is built in electronic circuit simulation software SPICE and voltage frequency response functions (FRFs) are validated using the analytical distributedparameter model. Analytical formulation of the piezoelectric patches in parallel configuration for the DC voltage output is derived while the patches are connected to a standard AC-DC circuit. The analytic model is based on the equivalent load impedance approach for piezoelectric capacitance and AC-DC circuit elements. The analytic results are validated numerically via SPICE simulations. Finally, DC power outputs of the harvesters are computed and compared with the peak power amplitudes in the AC output case.

Optical Characterization of Tissue Phantoms Using a Silicon Integrated fdNIRS System on Chip.

PubMed

Sthalekar, Chirag C; Miao, Yun; Koomson, Valencia Joyner

2017-04-01

An interface circuit with signal processing and digitizing circuits for a high frequency, large area avalanche photodiode (APD) has been integrated in a 130 nm BiCMOS chip. The system enables the absolute oximetry of tissue using frequency domain Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fdNIRS). The system measures the light absorbed and scattered by the tissue by measuring the reduction in the amplitude of signal and phase shift introduced between the light source and detector which are placed a finite distance away from each other. The received 80 MHz RF signal is downconverted to a low frequency and amplified using a heterodyning scheme. The front-end transimpedance amplifier has a 3-level programmable gain that increases the dynamic range to 60 dB. The phase difference between an identical reference channel and the optical channel is measured with a 0.5° accuracy. The detectable current range is [Formula: see text] and with a 40 A/W reponsivity using the APD, power levels as low as 500 pW can be detected. Measurements of the absorption and reduced scattering coefficients of solid tissue phantoms using this system are compared with those using a commercial instrument with differences within 30%. Measurement of a milk based liquid tissue phantom show an increase in absorption coefficient with addition of black ink. The miniaturized circuit serves as an efficiently scalable system for multi-site detection for applications in neonatal cerebral oximetry and optical mammography.

Performance and characterization of new micromachined high-frequency linear arrays.

PubMed

Lukacs, Marc; Yin, Jianhua; Pang, Guofeng; Garcia, Richard C; Cherin, Emmanuel; Williams, Ross; Mehi, Jim; Foster, F Stuart

2006-10-01

A new approach for fabricating high frequency (> 20 MHz) linear array transducers, based on laser micromachining, has been developed. A 30 MHz, 64-element, 74-microm pitch, linear array design is presented. The performance of the device is demonstrated by comparing electrical and acoustic measurements with analytical, equivalent circuit, and finite-element analysis (FEA) simulations. All FEA results for array performance have been generated using one global set of material parameters. Each fabricated array has been integrated onto a flex circuit for ease of handling, and the flex has been integrated onto a custom printed circuit board test card for ease of testing. For a fully assembled array, with an acoustic lens, the center frequency was 28.7 MHz with a one-way -3 dB and -6 dB bandwidth of 59% and 83%, respectively, and a -20 dB pulse width of -99 ns. The per-element peak acoustic power, for a +/- 30 V single cycle pulse, measured at the 10 mm focal length of the lens was 590 kPa with a -6 dB directivity span of about 30 degrees. The worst-case total cross talk of the combined array and flex assembly is for nearest neighboring elements and was measured to have an average level -40 dB across the -6 dB bandwidth of the device. Any significant deviation from simulation can be explained through limitations in apparatus calibration and in device packaging.

Low-cost FM oscillator for capacitance type of blade tip clearance measurement system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barranger, John P.

1987-01-01

The frequency-modulated (FM) oscillator described is part of a blade tip clearance measurement system that meets the needs of a wide class of fans, compressors, and turbines. As a result of advancements in the technology of ultra-high-frequency operational amplifiers, the FM oscillator requires only a single low-cost integrated circuit. Its carrier frequency is 42.8 MHz when it is used with an integrated probe and connecting cable assembly consisting of a 0.81 cm diameter engine-mounted capacitance probe and a 61 cm long hermetically sealed coaxial cable. A complete circuit analysis is given, including amplifier negative resistance characteristics. An error analysis of environmentally induced effects is also derived, and an error-correcting technique is proposed. The oscillator can be calibrated in the static mode and has a negative peak frequency deviation of 400 kHz for a rotor blade thickness of 1.2 mm. High-temperature performance tests of the probe and 13 cm of the adjacent cable show good accuracy up to 600 C, the maximum permissible seal temperature. The major source of error is the residual FM oscillator noise, which produces a clearance error of + or - 10 microns at a clearance of 0.5 mm. The oscillator electronics accommodates the high rotor speeds associated with small engines, the signals from which may have frequency components as high as 1 MHz.

An integrated signal conditioner for high-frequency inductive position sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahal, Mohamad; Demosthenous, Andreas

2010-01-01

This paper describes the design, implementation and evaluation of a signal conditioner application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for high-frequency inductive non-contact position sensors. These sensors employ a radio frequency technology based on an antenna planar arrangement and a resonant target, have a high inherent resolution (0.1% of antenna length) and can measure target position over a wide distance range (<0.1 mm to >10 m). However, due to the relatively high-frequency excitation (1 MHz typically) and to the specific layouts of these sensors, there is unwanted capacitive coupling between the transmitter and receiver coils; this type of distortion reduces linearity and resolution. The ASIC, which is the first generation of its kind for this type of sensor, employs a differential mixer topology which suppresses the capacitive coupling offsets. The system architecture and circuit details are presented. The ASIC was fabricated in a 0.6 µm high-voltage CMOS technology occupying an area of 8 mm2. It dissipates about 30 mA from a 24 V power supply. The ASIC was tested with a high-frequency inductive position sensor (with an antenna length of 10.8 cm). The measured input-referred offset due to transmitter crosstalk is on average about 22 µV over a wide phase difference variation (-99° to +117°) between the transmitter and demodulating signals.

Mass sensing based on a circuit cavity electromechanical system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Cheng; Chen, Bin; Li, Jin-Jin; Zhu, Ka-Di

2011-10-01

We present a scheme for mass sensing based on a circuit cavity electromechanical system where a free-standing, flexible aluminium membrane is capacitively coupled to a superconducting microwave cavity. Integration with the microwave cavity enables capacitive readout of the mechanical resonance directly on the chip. A microwave pump field and a second probe field are simultaneously applied to the cavity. The accreted mass landing on the membrane can be measured conveniently by tracking the mechanical resonance frequency shifts due to mass changes in the probe transmission spectrum. The mass responsivity for the membrane is 0.72 Hz/ag and we demonstrate that frequency shifts induced by adsorption of one hundred 1587 bp DNA molecules can be well resolved in the probe transmission spectrum.

SiGe Integrated Circuit Developments for SQUID/TES Readout

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prêle, D.; Voisin, F.; Beillimaz, C.; Chen, S.; Piat, M.; Goldwurm, A.; Laurent, P.

2018-03-01

SiGe integrated circuits dedicated to the readout of superconducting bolometer arrays for astrophysics have been developed since more than 10 years at APC. Whether for Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) observations with the QUBIC ground-based experiment (Aumont et al. in astro-ph.IM, 2016. arXiv:1609.04372) or for the Hot and Energetic Universe science theme with the X-IFU instrument on-board of the ATHENA space mission (Barret et al. in SPIE 9905, space telescopes & instrumentation 2016: UV to γ Ray, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2232432), several kinds of Transition Edge Sensor (TES) (Irwin and Hilton, in ENSS (ed) Cryogenic particle detection, Springer, Berlin, 2005) arrays have been investigated. To readout such superconducting detector arrays, we use time or frequency domain multiplexers (TDM, FDM) (Prêle in JINST 10:C08015, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/10/08/C08015) with Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices (SQUID). In addition to the SQUID devices, low-noise biasing and amplification are needed. These last functions can be obtained by using BiCMOS SiGe technology in an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). ASIC technology allows integration of highly optimised circuits specifically designed for a unique application. Moreover, we could reach very low-noise and wide band amplification using SiGe bipolar transistor either at room or cryogenic temperatures (Cressler in J Phys IV 04(C6):C6-101, 1994. https://doi.org/10.1051/jp4:1994616). This paper discusses the use of SiGe integrated circuits for SQUID/TES readout and gives an update of the last developments dedicated to the QUBIC telescope and to the X-IFU instrument. Both ASIC called SQmux128 and AwaXe are described showing the interest of such SiGe technology for SQUID multiplexer controls.

A Physics-Based Engineering Methodology for Calculating Soft Error Rates of Bulk CMOS and SiGe Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor Integrated Circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fulkerson, David E.

2010-02-01

This paper describes a new methodology for characterizing the electrical behavior and soft error rate (SER) of CMOS and SiGe HBT integrated circuits that are struck by ions. A typical engineering design problem is to calculate the SER of a critical path that commonly includes several circuits such as an input buffer, several logic gates, logic storage, clock tree circuitry, and an output buffer. Using multiple 3D TCAD simulations to solve this problem is too costly and time-consuming for general engineering use. The new and simple methodology handles the problem with ease by simple SPICE simulations. The methodology accurately predicts the measured threshold linear energy transfer (LET) of a bulk CMOS SRAM. It solves for circuit currents and voltage spikes that are close to those predicted by expensive 3D TCAD simulations. It accurately predicts the measured event cross-section vs. LET curve of an experimental SiGe HBT flip-flop. The experimental cross section vs. frequency behavior and other subtle effects are also accurately predicted.

Microwave radiometer for subsurface temperature measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porter, R. A.; Bechis, K. P.

1976-01-01

A UHF radiometer, operating at a frequency of 800 MHz, was modified to provide an integral, three frequency voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) circuit in the radio frequency (RF) head. The VSWR circuit provides readings of power transmission at the antenna-material interface with an accuracy of plus or minus 5 percent. The power transmission readings are numerically equal to the emissivity of the material under observation. Knowledge of material emissivity is useful in the interpretation of subsurface apparent temperatures obtained on phantom models of biological tissue. The emissivities of phantom models consisting of lean beefsteak were found to lie in the range 0.623 to 0.779, depending on moisture content. Radiometric measurements performed on instrumented phantoms showed that the radiometer was capable of sensing small temperature changes occurring at depths of at least 19 to 30 mm. This is consistent with previously generated data which showed that the radiometer could sense temperatures at a depth of 38 mm.

Radio frequency analog electronics based on carbon nanotube transistors

PubMed Central

Kocabas, Coskun; Kim, Hoon-sik; Banks, Tony; Rogers, John A.; Pesetski, Aaron A.; Baumgardner, James E.; Krishnaswamy, S. V.; Zhang, Hong

2008-01-01

The potential to exploit single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in advanced electronics represents a continuing, major source of interest in these materials. However, scalable integration of SWNTs into circuits is challenging because of difficulties in controlling the geometries, spatial positions, and electronic properties of individual tubes. We have implemented solutions to some of these challenges to yield radio frequency (RF) SWNT analog electronic devices, such as narrow band amplifiers operating in the VHF frequency band with power gains as high as 14 dB. As a demonstration, we fabricated nanotube transistor radios, in which SWNT devices provide all of the key functions, including resonant antennas, fixed RF amplifiers, RF mixers, and audio amplifiers. These results represent important first steps to practical implementation of SWNTs in high-speed analog circuits. Comparison studies indicate certain performance advantages over silicon and capabilities that complement those in existing compound semiconductor technologies. PMID:18227509

Vibration energy harvester with sustainable power based on a single-crystal piezoelectric cantilever array.

PubMed

Kim, Moonkeun; Lee, Sang-Kyun; Ham, Yong-Hyun; Yang, Yil Suk; Kwon, Jong-Kee; Kwon, Kwang-Ho

2012-08-01

We designed and fabricated a bimorph cantilever array for sustainable power with an integrated Cu proof mass to obtain additional power and current. We fabricated a cantilever system using single-crystal piezoelectric material and compared the calculations for single and arrayed cantilevers to those obtained experimentally. The vibration energy harvester had resonant frequencies of 60.4 and 63.2 Hz for short and open circuits, respectively. The damping ratio and quality factor of the cantilever device were 0.012 and 41.66, respectively. The resonant frequency at maximum average power was 60.8 Hz. The current and highest average power of the harvester array were found to be 0.728 mA and 1.61 mW, respectively. The sustainable maximum power was obtained after slightly shifting the short-circuit frequency. In order to improve the current and power using an array of cantilevers, we also performed energy conversion experiments.

Laser dynamics: The system dynamics and network theory of optoelectronic integrated circuit design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarng, Tom Shinming-T. K.

Laser dynamics is the system dynamics, communication and network theory for the design of opto-electronic integrated circuit (OEIC). Combining the optical network theory and optical communication theory, the system analysis and design for the OEIC fundamental building blocks is considered. These building blocks include the direct current modulation, inject light modulation, wideband filter, super-gain optical amplifier, E/O and O/O optical bistability and current-controlled optical oscillator. Based on the rate equations, the phase diagram and phase portrait analysis is applied to the theoretical studies and numerical simulation. The OEIC system design methodologies are developed for the OEIC design. Stimulating-field-dependent rate equations are used to model the line-width narrowing/broadening mechanism for the CW mode and frequency chirp of semiconductor lasers. The momentary spectra are carrier-density-dependent. Furthermore, the phase portrait analysis and the nonlinear refractive index is used to simulate the single mode frequency chirp. The average spectra of chaos, period doubling, period pulsing, multi-loops and analog modulation are generated and analyzed. The bifurcation-chirp design chart with modulation depth and modulation frequency as parameters is provided for design purpose.

Design of a CMOS integrated on-chip oscilloscope for spin wave characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Egel, Eugen; Meier, Christian; Csaba, György; Breitkreutz-von Gamm, Stephan

2017-05-01

Spin waves can perform some optically-inspired computing algorithms, e.g. the Fourier transform, directly than it is done with the CMOS logic. This article describes a new approach for on-chip characterization of spin wave based devices. The readout circuitry for the spin waves is simulated with 65-nm CMOS technology models. Commonly used circuits for Radio Frequency (RF) receivers are implemented to detect a sinusoidal ultra-wideband (5-50 GHz) signal with an amplitude of at least 15 μV picked up by a loop antenna. First, the RF signal is amplified by a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA). Then, it is down-converted by a mixer to Intermediate Frequency (IF). Finally, an Operational Amplifier (OpAmp) brings the IF signal to higher voltages (50-300 mV). The estimated power consumption and the required area of the readout circuit is approximately 55.5 mW and 0.168 mm2, respectively. The proposed On-Chip Oscilloscope (OCO) is highly suitable for on-chip spin wave characterization regarding the frequency, amplitude change and phase information. It offers an integrated low power alternative to current spin wave detecting systems.

Novel WSi/Au T-shaped gate GaAs metal-semiconductor field-effect-transistor fabrication process for super low-noise microwave monolithic integrated circuit amplifiers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Takano, H.; Hosogi, K.; Kato, T.

1995-05-01

A fully ion-implanted self-aligned T-shaped gate Ga As metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MESFET) with high frequency and extremely low-noise performance has been successfully fabricated for super low-noise microwave monolithic integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifiers. A subhalf-micrometer gate structure composed of WSi/Ti/Mo/Au is employed to reduce gate resistance effectively. This multilayer gate structure is formed by newly developed dummy SiON self-alignment technology and a photoresist planarization process. At an operating frequency of 12 GHz, a minimum noise figure of 0.87 dB with an associated gain of 10.62 dB has been obtained. Based on the novel FET process, a low-noise single-stage MMIC amplifier withmore » an excellent low-noise figure of 1.2 dB with an associated gain of 8 dB in the 14 GHz band has been realized. This is the lowest noise figure ever reported at this frequency for low-noise MMICs based on ion-implanted self-aligned gate MESFET technology. 14 refs., 9 figs.« less

Wireless multichannel biopotential recording using an integrated FM telemetry circuit.

PubMed

Mohseni, Pedram; Najafi, Khalil; Eliades, Steven J; Wang, Xiaoqin

2005-09-01

This paper presents a four-channel telemetric microsystem featuring on-chip alternating current amplification, direct current baseline stabilization, clock generation, time-division multiplexing, and wireless frequency-modulation transmission of microvolt- and millivolt-range input biopotentials in the very high frequency band of 94-98 MHz over a distance of approximately 0.5 m. It consists of a 4.84-mm2 integrated circuit, fabricated using a 1.5-microm double-poly double-metal n-well standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor process, interfaced with only three off-chip components on a custom-designed printed-circuit board that measures 1.7 x 1.2 x 0.16 cm3, and weighs 1.1 g including two miniature 1.5-V batteries. We characterize the microsystem performance, operating in a truly wireless fashion in single-channel and multichannel operation modes, via extensive benchtop and in vitro tests in saline utilizing two different micromachined neural recording microelectrodes, while dissipating approximately 2.2 mW from a 3-V power supply. Moreover, we demonstrate successful wireless in vivo recording of spontaneous neural activity at 96.2 MHz from the auditory cortex of an awake marmoset monkey at several transmission distances ranging from 10 to 50 cm with signal-to-noise ratios in the range of 8.4-9.5 dB.

Characteristics of Monolithically Integrated InGaAs Active Pixel Imager Array

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Q.; Cunningham, T. J.; Pain, B.; Lange, M. J.; Olsen, G. H.

2000-01-01

Switching and amplifying characteristics of a newly developed monolithic InGaAs Active Pixel Imager Array are presented. The sensor array is fabricated from InGaAs material epitaxially deposited on an InP substrate. It consists of an InGaAs photodiode connected to InP depletion-mode junction field effect transistors (JFETs) for low leakage, low power, and fast control of circuit signal amplifying, buffering, selection, and reset. This monolithically integrated active pixel sensor configuration eliminates the need for hybridization with silicon multiplexer. In addition, the configuration allows the sensor to be front illuminated, making it sensitive to visible as well as near infrared signal radiation. Adapting the existing 1.55 micrometer fiber optical communication technology, this integration will be an ideal system of optoelectronic integration for dual band (Visible/IR) applications near room temperature, for use in atmospheric gas sensing in space, and for target identification on earth. In this paper, two different types of small 4 x 1 test arrays will be described. The effectiveness of switching and amplifying circuits will be discussed in terms of circuit effectiveness (leakage, operating frequency, and temperature) in preparation for the second phase demonstration of integrated, two-dimensional monolithic InGaAs active pixel sensor arrays for applications in transportable shipboard surveillance, night vision, and emission spectroscopy.

Hybrid integration of laser source on silicon photonic integrated circuit for low-cost interferometry medical device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duperron, Matthieu; Carroll, Lee; Rensing, Marc; Collins, Sean; Zhao, Yan; Li, Yanlu; Baets, Roel; O'Brien, Peter

2017-02-01

The cost-effective integration of laser sources on Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuits (Si-PICs) is a key challenge to realizing the full potential of on-chip photonic solutions for telecommunication and medical applications. Hybrid integration can offer a route to high-yield solutions, using only known-good laser-chips, and simple freespace micro-optics to transport light from a discrete laser-diode to a grating-coupler on the Si-PIC. In this work, we describe a passively assembled micro-optical bench (MOB) for the hybrid integration of a 1550nm 20MHz linewidth laser-diode on a Si-PIC, developed for an on-chip interferometer based medical device. A dual-lens MOB design minimizes aberrations in the laser spot transported to the standard grating-coupler (15 μm x 12 μm) on the Si-PIC, and facilitates the inclusion of a sub-millimeter latched-garnet optical-isolator. The 20dB suppression from the isolator helps ensure the high-frequency stability of the laser-diode, while the high thermal conductivity of the AlN submount (300/W=m.°C), and the close integration of a micro-bead thermistor, ensure the stable and efficient thermo-electric cooling of the laser-diode, which helps minimise low-frequency drift during the approximately 15s of operation needed for the point-of-care measurement. The dual-lens MOB is compatible with cost-effective passively-aligned mass-production, and can be optimised for alternative PIC-based applications.

Defense Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR), Volume 4, Defense Agencies Abstracts of Phase 1 Awards 1991

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

EXPERIENCE IN DEVELOPING INTEGRATED OPTICAL DEVICES, NONLINEAR MAGNETIC-OPTIC MATERIALS, HIGH FREQUENCY MODULATORS, COMPUTER-AIDED MODELING AND SOPHISTICATED... HIGH -LEVEL PRESENTATION AND DISTRIBUTED CONTROL MODELS FOR INTEGRATING HETEROGENEOUS MECHANICAL ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS AND TOOLS. THE DESIGN IS FOCUSED...STATISTICALLY ACCURATE WORST CASE DEVICE MODELS FOR CIRCUIT SIMULATION. PRESENT METHODS OF WORST CASE DEVICE DESIGN ARE AD HOC AND DO NOT ALLOW THE

LEOPACK The integrated services communications system based on LEO satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Negoda, A.; Bunin, S.; Bushuev, E.; Dranovsky, V.

LEOPACK is yet another LEO satellite project which provides global integrated services for 'business' communications. It utilizes packet rather then circuit switching in both terrestrial and satellite chains as well as cellular approach for frequencies use. Original multiple access protocols and decentralized network control make it possible to organize regionally or logically independent and world-wide networks. Relatively small number of satellites (28) provides virtually global network coverage.

Wireless Low-Power Integrated Basal-Body-Temperature Detection Systems Using Teeth Antennas in the MedRadio Band.

PubMed

Yang, Chin-Lung; Zheng, Gou-Tsun

2015-11-20

This study proposes using wireless low power thermal sensors for basal-body-temperature detection using frequency modulated telemetry devices. A long-term monitoring sensor requires low-power circuits including a sampling circuit and oscillator. Moreover, temperature compensated technologies are necessary because the modulated frequency might have additional frequency deviations caused by the varying temperature. The temperature compensated oscillator is composed of a ring oscillator and a controlled-steering current source with temperature compensation, so the output frequency of the oscillator does not drift with temperature variations. The chip is fabricated in a standard Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) 0.18-μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process, and the chip area is 0.9 mm². The power consumption of the sampling amplifier is 128 µW. The power consumption of the voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) core is less than 40 µW, and the output is -3.04 dBm with a buffer stage. The output voltage of the bandgap reference circuit is 1 V. For temperature measurements, the maximum error is 0.18 °C with a standard deviation of ±0.061 °C, which is superior to the required specification of 0.1 °C.

Wide tracking range, auto ranging, low jitter phase lock loop for swept and fixed frequency systems

DOEpatents

Kerner, Thomas M.

2001-01-01

The present invention provides a wide tracking range phase locked loop (PLL) circuit that achieves minimal jitter in a recovered clock signal, regardless of the source of the jitter (i.e. whether it is in the source or the transmission media). The present invention PLL has automatic harmonic lockout detection circuitry via a novel lock and seek control logic in electrical communication with a programmable frequency discriminator and a code balance detector. (The frequency discriminator enables preset of a frequency window of upper and lower frequency limits to derive a programmable range within which signal acquisition is effected. The discriminator works in combination with the code balance detector circuit to minimize the sensitivity of the PLL circuit to random data in the data stream). In addition, the combination of a differential loop integrator with the lock and seek control logic obviates a code preamble and guarantees signal acquisition without harmonic lockup. An adaptive cable equalizer is desirably used in combination with the present invention PLL to recover encoded transmissions containing a clock and/or data. The equalizer automatically adapts to equalize short haul cable lengths of coaxial and twisted pair cables or wires and provides superior jitter performance itself. The combination of the equalizer with the present invention PLL is desirable in that such combination permits the use of short haul wires without significant jitter.

BAW sensor readout circuit based on Pierce oscillator architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Yang; Yin, Xi-Yang; Han, Bin; Wang, Yu-Hang

2017-10-01

Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonators (BAWRs) have been well developed both as filters and as high sensitivity sensors in recent years. In contrast to traditional megahertz quartz resonators, BAWRs offer significant increases in resonant frequency, typically operating in gigahertz regimes. This translates into a potential sensitivity increase of more than three orders of magnitude over traditional QCM (Quartz Crystal Microbalance) devices. Given the micrometer-scale size of BAW sensor-head, read-out circuitry can monolithic integrated with this GHz transducer is urgently needed to produce small, robust, and inexpensive sensor systems. A BAW sensor read-out circuit prototype based on Pierce oscillator architecture is fulfilled in this paper. Based on the differential measurement scheme, two uniform BAWRs are used to constitute two BAW oscillators as a reference and a measurement branch respectively. The resonant frequency shift caused by the measurand is obtained by mixing and filtering the two oscillator signals. Then, the intermediate signal is amplified, shaped and converted to a digital one. And a FPGA is used for frequency detection. Taking 2 GHz BAW mass sensor as a case study, deign procedure are given in details. Simulation and experimental results reveal a 0-99 MHz frequency shift measurement range. Main factors affecting phase noise of the BAW oscillator (i.e. mainly frequency stability of the BAW sensor readout circuit) are also discussed for further optimizations.

A Wide Range Temperature Sensor Using SOI Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patterson, Richard L.; Elbuluk, Malik E.; Hammoud, Ahmad

2009-01-01

Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology is becoming widely used in integrated circuit chips for its advantages over the conventional silicon counterpart. The decrease in leakage current combined with lower power consumption allows electronics to operate in a broader temperature range. This paper describes the performance of an SOIbased temperature sensor under extreme temperatures and thermal cycling. The sensor comprised of a temperature-to-frequency relaxation oscillator circuit utilizing an SOI precision timer chip. The circuit was evaluated under extreme temperature exposure and thermal cycling between -190 C and +210 C. The results indicate that the sensor performed well over the entire test temperature range and it was able to re-start at extreme temperatures.

Underdamped long Josephson junction coupled to overdamped single-flux-quantum circuits

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Y.M.; Borzenets, V.; Kaplunenko, V.K.

1997-09-01

We report a circuit that integrates an underdamped long Josephson junction with overdamped single-flux-quantum (SFQ) circuits. We confirm that the resonant soliton modes in the long junction are not affected by SFQ cells coupled to the junction, and demonstrate that the radiation frequency and linewidth of the soliton resonances can be measured with SFQ T-flip-flops. Our experimental results also show that a 4{pi} quantum mechanical phase leap at the end of the long junction, which is due to the reflection of a soliton, creates two single flux quanta propagating in the overdamped Josephson transmission line. {copyright} {ital 1997 American Institutemore » of Physics.}« less

Method for reworkable packaging of high speed, low electrical parasitic power electronics modules through gate drive integration

DOEpatents

Passmore, Brandon; Cole, Zach; Whitaker, Bret; Barkley, Adam; McNutt, Ty; Lostetter, Alexander

2016-08-02

A multichip power module directly connecting the busboard to a printed-circuit board that is attached to the power substrate enabling extremely low loop inductance for extreme environments such as high temperature operation. Wire bond interconnections are taught from the power die directly to the busboard further enabling enable low parasitic interconnections. Integration of on-board high frequency bus capacitors provide extremely low loop inductance. An extreme environment gate driver board allows close physical proximity of gate driver and power stage to reduce overall volume and reduce impedance in the control circuit. Parallel spring-loaded pin gate driver PCB connections allows a reliable and reworkable power module to gate driver interconnections.

Monolithic integration of GMR sensors for standard CMOS-IC current sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Marcellis, A.; Reig, C.; Cubells-Beltrán, M.-D.; Madrenas, J.; Santos, J. D.; Cardoso, S.; Freitas, P. P.

2017-09-01

In this work we report on the development of Giant Magnetoresistive (GMR) sensors for off-line current measurements in standard integrated circuits. An ASIC has been specifically designed and fabricated in the well-known AMS-0.35 μm CMOS technology, including the electronic circuitry for sensor interfacing. It implements an oscillating circuit performing a voltage-to-frequency conversion. Subsequently, a fully CMOS-compatible low temperature post-process has been applied for depositing the GMR sensing devices in a full-bridge configuration onto the buried current straps. Sensitivity and resolution of these sensors have been investigated achieving experimental results that show a detection sensitivity of about 100 Hz/mA, with a resolution of about 5 μA.

A Q-band low noise GaAs pHEMT MMIC power amplifier for pulse electron spin resonance spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitnikov, A.; Kalabukhova, E.; Oliynyk, V.; Kolisnichenko, M.

2017-05-01

We present the design and development of a single stage pulse power amplifier working in the frequency range 32-38 GHz based on a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC). We have designed the MMIC power amplifier by using the commercially available packaged GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor. The circuit fabrication and assembly process includes the elaboration of the matching networks for the MMIC power amplifier and their assembling as well as the topology outline and fabrication of the printed circuit board of the waveguide-microstrip line transitions. At room ambient temperature, the measured peak output power from the prototype amplifier is 35.5 dBm for 16.6 dBm input driving power, corresponding to 19 dB gain. The measured rise/fall time of the output microwave signal modulated by a high-speed PIN diode was obtained as 5-6 ns at 20-250 ns pulse width with 100 kHz pulse repetition rate frequency.

A Q-band low noise GaAs pHEMT MMIC power amplifier for pulse electron spin resonance spectrometer.

PubMed

Sitnikov, A; Kalabukhova, E; Oliynyk, V; Kolisnichenko, M

2017-05-01

We present the design and development of a single stage pulse power amplifier working in the frequency range 32-38 GHz based on a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC). We have designed the MMIC power amplifier by using the commercially available packaged GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor. The circuit fabrication and assembly process includes the elaboration of the matching networks for the MMIC power amplifier and their assembling as well as the topology outline and fabrication of the printed circuit board of the waveguide-microstrip line transitions. At room ambient temperature, the measured peak output power from the prototype amplifier is 35.5 dBm for 16.6 dBm input driving power, corresponding to 19 dB gain. The measured rise/fall time of the output microwave signal modulated by a high-speed PIN diode was obtained as 5-6 ns at 20-250 ns pulse width with 100 kHz pulse repetition rate frequency.

18-THz-wide optical frequency comb emitted from monolithic passively mode-locked semiconductor quantum-well laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lo, Mu-Chieh; Guzmán, Robinson; Ali, Muhsin; Santos, Rui; Augustin, Luc; Carpintero, Guillermo

2017-10-01

We report on an optical frequency comb with 14nm (~1.8 THz) spectral bandwidth at -3 dB level that is generated using a passively mode-locked quantum-well (QW) laser in photonic integrated circuits (PICs) fabricated through an InP generic photonic integration technology platform. This 21.5-GHz colliding-pulse mode-locked laser cavity is defined by on-chip reflectors incorporating intracavity phase modulators followed by an extra-cavity SOA as booster amplifier. A 1.8-THz-wide optical comb spectrum is presented with ultrafast pulse that is 0.35-ps-wide. The radio frequency beat note has a 3-dB linewidth of 450 kHz and 35-dB SNR.

Resonant circuit which provides dual-frequency excitation for rapid cycling of an electromagnet

DOEpatents

Praeg, W.F.

1982-03-09

Disclosed is a novel ring-magnet control circuit that permits synchrotron repetition rates much higher than the frequency of the sinusoidal guide field of the ring magnet during particle acceleration. The control circuit generates sinusoidal excitation currents of different frequencies in the half waves. During radio-frequency acceleration of the synchrotron, the control circuit operates with a lower frequency sine wave and, thereafter, the electromagnets are reset with a higher-frequency half sine wave.

Progress in MMIC technology for satellite communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haugland, Edward J.; Leonard, Regis F.

1987-01-01

NASA's Lewis Research Center is actively involved in the development of monolithic microwave and millimeter-wave integrated circuits (MMICs). The approach of the program is to support basic research under grant or in-house, while MMIC development is done under contract, thereby facilitating the transfer of technology to users. Preliminary thrusts of the program have been the extension of technology to higher frequencies (60 GHz), degrees of complexity, and performance (power, efficiency, noise figure) by utilizing novel circuit designs, processes, and materials. A review of the progress made so far is presented.

Characterization of quantum well structures using a photocathode electron microscope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spencer, Michael G.; Scott, Craig J.

1989-01-01

Present day integrated circuits pose a challenge to conventional electronic and mechanical test methods. Feature sizes in the submicron and nanometric regime require radical approaches in order to facilitate electrical contact to circuits and devices being tested. In addition, microwave operating frequencies require careful attention to distributed effects when considering the electrical signal paths within and external to the device under test. An alternative testing approach which combines the best of electrical and optical time domain testing is presented, namely photocathode electron microscope quantitative voltage contrast (PEMQVC).

Milliwatt dc/dc Inverter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mclyman, C. W.

1983-01-01

Compact dc/dc inverter uses single integrated-circuit package containing six inverter gates that generate and amplify 100-kHz square-wave switching signal. Square-wave switching inverts 10-volt local power to isolated voltage at another desired level. Relatively high operating frequency reduces size of filter capacitors required, resulting in small package unit.

Advanced capability RFID system

DOEpatents

Gilbert, Ronald W.; Steele, Kerry D.; Anderson, Gordon A.

2007-09-25

A radio-frequency transponder device having an antenna circuit configured to receive radio-frequency signals and to return modulated radio-frequency signals via continuous wave backscatter, a modulation circuit coupled to the antenna circuit for generating the modulated radio-frequency signals, and a microprocessor coupled to the antenna circuit and the modulation circuit and configured to receive and extract operating power from the received radio-frequency signals and to monitor inputs on at least one input pin and to generate responsive signals to the modulation circuit for modulating the radio-frequency signals. The microprocessor can be configured to generate output signals on output pins to associated devices for controlling the operation thereof. Electrical energy can be extracted and stored in an optional electrical power storage device.

3-D printed 2.4 GHz rectifying antenna for wireless power transfer applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skinner, Matthew

In this work, a 3D printed rectifying antenna that operates at the 2.4GHz WiFi band was designed and manufactured. The printed material did not have the same properties of bulk material, so the printed materials needed to be characterized. The antenna and rectifying circuit was printed out of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) filament and a conductive silver paste, with electrical components integrated into the circuit. Before printing the full rectifying antenna, each component was printed and evaluated. The printed antenna operated at the desired frequency with a return loss of -16 dBm with a bandwidth of 70MHz. The radiation pattern was measured in an anechoic chamber with good matching to the model. The rectifying circuit was designed in Ansys Circuit Simulation using Schottky diodes to enable the circuit to operate at lower input power levels. Two rectifying circuits were manufactured, one by printing the conductive traces with silver ink, and one with traces made from copper. The printed silver ink is less conductive than the bulk copper and therefore the output voltage of the printed rectifier was lower than the copper circuit. The copper circuit had an efficiency of 60% at 0dBm and the printed silver circuit had an efficiency of 28.6% at 0dBm. The antenna and rectifying circuits were then connected to each other and the performance was compared to a fully printed integrated rectifying antenna. The rectifying antennas were placed in front of a horn antenna while changing the power levels at the antenna. The efficiency of the whole system was lower than the individual components but an efficiency of 11% at 10dBm was measured.

Réalisation de circuits intégrés I^2L à base de transistors bipolaires a double hétérojonction GaAlAs/GaAs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vannel, J. P.; Camps, T.; Ferreira, A. S.; Tasselh, J.; Cazarré, A.; Marty, A.; Bailbé, J. P.

1991-04-01

GaAlAs/GaAs double heterojunction bipolar transistors (DHBT's) have a number of advantages for I^2L (integrated injection logic) high speed integrated circuits concerning the interchangeability between the emitter and the collector and a high design flexibility due to the use of two heterojunctions. We present the fabrication process of an I^2L integrated circuit including a frequency divider-by-two and a ring oscillator which presents a propagation delay time of 1.2 ns for a power consumption of 8 mW. Les transistors bipolaires à double hétérojonction GaAlAs/GaAs (TBDH) présentent de nombreux avantages pour leur application dans des circuits intégrés de logique I^2L (logique à injection intégrée), dont en particulier l'interchangeabilité entre émetteur et collecteur, et la liberté de conception résultant de l'utilisation de deux hétérojonctions. Dans ce cadre nous décrivons les principales étapes technologiques de fabrication d'un circuit intégré I^2L comportant un diviseur de fréquence par 2 et un oscillateur en anneau. Ce demier présente un temps de propagation de 1,2 ns pour une puissance dissipée de 8 mW.

Alumina or Semiconductor Ribbon Waveguides at 30 to 1,000 GHz

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yeh, Cavour; Rascoe, Daniel; Shimabukuro, Fred; Tope, Michael; Siegel, Peter

2005-01-01

Ribbon waveguides made of alumina or of semiconductors (Si, InP, or GaAs) have been proposed as low-loss transmission lines for coupling electronic components and circuits that operate at frequencies from 30 to 1,000 GHz. In addition to low losses (and a concomitant ability to withstand power levels higher than would otherwise be possible), the proposed ribbon waveguides would offer the advantage of compatibility with the materials and structures now commonly incorporated into integrated circuits. Heretofore, low-loss transmission lines for this frequency range have been unknown, making it necessary to resort to designs that, variously, place circuits and components to be coupled in proximity of each other and/or provide for coupling via free space through bulky and often lossy optical elements. Even chip-to-chip interconnections have been problematic in this frequency range. Metal wave-guiding structures (e.g., microstriplines and traditional waveguides) are not suitable for this frequency range because the skin depths of electromagnetic waves in this frequency range are so small as to give rise to high losses. Conventional rod-type dielectric waveguide structures are also not suitable for this frequency range because dielectric materials, including ones that exhibit ultralow losses at lower frequencies, exhibit significant losses in this frequency range. Unlike microstripline structures or metallic waveguides, the proposed ribbon waveguides would be free of metal and would therefore not be subject to skin-depth losses. Moreover, although they would be made of materials that are moderately lossy in the frequency range of interest, the proposed ribbon waveguides would cause the propagating electromagnetic waves to configure themselves in a manner that minimizes losses.

Multifunctional and multispectral biosensor devices and methods of use

DOEpatents

Vo-Dinh, Tuan

2004-06-01

An integrated biosensor system for the simultaneously detection of a plurality of different types of targets includes at least one sampling platform, the sampling platform including a plurality of receptors for binding to the targets. The plurality of receptors include at least one protein receptor and at least one nucleic acid receptor. At least one excitation source of electromagnetic radiation at a first frequency is provided for irradiating the receptors, wherein electromagnetic radiation at a second frequency different from the first frequency is emitted in response to irradiating when at least one of the different types of targets are bound to the receptor probes. An integrated circuit detector system having a plurality of detection channels is also provided for detecting electromagnetic radiation at said second frequency, the detection channels each including at least one detector.

Optical isolation based on space-time engineered asymmetric photonic band gaps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chamanara, Nima; Taravati, Sajjad; Deck-Léger, Zoé-Lise; Caloz, Christophe

2017-10-01

Nonreciprocal electromagnetic devices play a crucial role in modern microwave and optical technologies. Conventional methods for realizing such systems are incompatible with integrated circuits. With recent advances in integrated photonics, the need for efficient on-chip magnetless nonreciprocal devices has become more pressing than ever. This paper leverages space-time engineered asymmetric photonic band gaps to generate optical isolation. It shows that a properly designed space-time modulated slab is highly reflective/transparent for opposite directions of propagation. The corresponding design is magnetless, accommodates low modulation frequencies, and can achieve very high isolation levels. An experimental proof of concept at microwave frequencies is provided.

Integrated optical modulator for signal up-conversion over radio-on-fiber link.

PubMed

Kim, Woo-Kyung; Kwon, Soon-Woo; Jeong, Woo-Jin; Son, Geun-Sik; Lee, Kwang-Hyun; Choi, Woo-Young; Yang, Woo-Seok; Lee, Hyung-Man; Lee, Han-Young

2009-02-16

An integrated optical modulator, which consists of a dual-sideband suppressed carrier (DSB-SC) modulator cascaded with a single-sideband (SSB) modulator, is proposed for signal up-conversion over Radio-on-Fiber. Utilizing a single-drive domain inverted structure in both modulators, balanced modulations were obtained without complicated radio frequency (RF) driving circuits and delicate RF phase adjustments. Intermediate frequency (IF) band signal was up-conversed to 60GHz band by using the fabricated device and was transmitted over optical fiber. Experiment results show that the proposed device enables millimeter wave generation and signal transmission without any power penalty caused by chromatic dispersion.

THz-circuits driven by photo-thermoelectric, gate-tunable graphene-junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brenneis, Andreas; Schade, Felix; Drieschner, Simon; Heimbach, Florian; Karl, Helmut; Garrido, Jose A.; Holleitner, Alexander W.

2016-10-01

For future on-chip communication schemes, it is essential to integrate nanoscale materials with an ultrafast optoelectronic functionality into high-frequency circuits. The atomically thin graphene has been widely demonstrated to be suitable for photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices because of its broadband optical absorption and its high electron mobility. Moreover, the ultrafast relaxation of photogenerated charge carriers has been verified in graphene. Here, we show that dual-gated graphene junctions can be functional parts of THz-circuits. As the underlying optoelectronic process, we exploit ultrafast photo-thermoelectric currents. We describe an immediate photo-thermoelectric current of the unbiased device following a femtosecond laser excitation. For a picosecond time-scale after the optical excitation, an additional photo-thermoelectric contribution shows up, which exhibits the fingerprint of a spatially inverted temperature profile. The latter can be understood by the different time-constants and thermal coupling mechanisms of the electron and phonon baths within graphene to the substrate and the metal contacts. The interplay of the processes gives rise to ultrafast electromagnetic transients in high-frequency circuits, and it is equally important for a fundamental understanding of graphene-based ultrafast photodetectors and switches.

THz-circuits driven by photo-thermoelectric, gate-tunable graphene-junctions

PubMed Central

Brenneis, Andreas; Schade, Felix; Drieschner, Simon; Heimbach, Florian; Karl, Helmut; Garrido, Jose A.; Holleitner, Alexander W.

2016-01-01

For future on-chip communication schemes, it is essential to integrate nanoscale materials with an ultrafast optoelectronic functionality into high-frequency circuits. The atomically thin graphene has been widely demonstrated to be suitable for photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices because of its broadband optical absorption and its high electron mobility. Moreover, the ultrafast relaxation of photogenerated charge carriers has been verified in graphene. Here, we show that dual-gated graphene junctions can be functional parts of THz-circuits. As the underlying optoelectronic process, we exploit ultrafast photo-thermoelectric currents. We describe an immediate photo-thermoelectric current of the unbiased device following a femtosecond laser excitation. For a picosecond time-scale after the optical excitation, an additional photo-thermoelectric contribution shows up, which exhibits the fingerprint of a spatially inverted temperature profile. The latter can be understood by the different time-constants and thermal coupling mechanisms of the electron and phonon baths within graphene to the substrate and the metal contacts. The interplay of the processes gives rise to ultrafast electromagnetic transients in high-frequency circuits, and it is equally important for a fundamental understanding of graphene-based ultrafast photodetectors and switches. PMID:27762291

THz-circuits driven by photo-thermoelectric, gate-tunable graphene-junctions.

PubMed

Brenneis, Andreas; Schade, Felix; Drieschner, Simon; Heimbach, Florian; Karl, Helmut; Garrido, Jose A; Holleitner, Alexander W

2016-10-20

For future on-chip communication schemes, it is essential to integrate nanoscale materials with an ultrafast optoelectronic functionality into high-frequency circuits. The atomically thin graphene has been widely demonstrated to be suitable for photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices because of its broadband optical absorption and its high electron mobility. Moreover, the ultrafast relaxation of photogenerated charge carriers has been verified in graphene. Here, we show that dual-gated graphene junctions can be functional parts of THz-circuits. As the underlying optoelectronic process, we exploit ultrafast photo-thermoelectric currents. We describe an immediate photo-thermoelectric current of the unbiased device following a femtosecond laser excitation. For a picosecond time-scale after the optical excitation, an additional photo-thermoelectric contribution shows up, which exhibits the fingerprint of a spatially inverted temperature profile. The latter can be understood by the different time-constants and thermal coupling mechanisms of the electron and phonon baths within graphene to the substrate and the metal contacts. The interplay of the processes gives rise to ultrafast electromagnetic transients in high-frequency circuits, and it is equally important for a fundamental understanding of graphene-based ultrafast photodetectors and switches.

A megahertz-frequency tunable piecewise-linear electromechanical resonator realized via nonlinear feedback

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bajaj, Nikhil; Chiu, George T.-C.; Rhoads, Jeffrey F.

2018-07-01

Vibration-based sensing modalities traditionally have relied upon monitoring small shifts in natural frequency in order to detect structural changes (such as those in mass or stiffness). In contrast, bifurcation-based sensing schemes rely on the detection of a qualitative change in the behavior of a system as a parameter is varied. This can produce easy-to-detect changes in response amplitude with high sensitivity to structural change, but requires resonant devices with specific dynamic behavior which is not always easily reproduced. Desirable behavior for such devices can be produced reliably via nonlinear feedback circuitry, but has in past efforts been largely limited to sub-MHz operation, partially due to the time delay limitations present in certain nonlinear feedback circuits, such as multipliers. This work demonstrates the design and implementation of a piecewise-linear resonator realized via diode- and integrated circuit-based feedback electronics and a quartz crystal resonator. The proposed system is fabricated and characterized, and the creation and selective placement of the bifurcation points of the overall electromechanical system is demonstrated by tuning the circuit gains. The demonstrated circuit operates at 16 MHz. Preliminary modeling and analysis is presented that qualitatively agrees with the experimentally-observed behavior.

Characterization of embroidered inductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roh, Jung-Sim; Chi, Yong-Seung; Lee, Jae-Hee; Nam, Sangwook; Kang, Tae Jin

2010-11-01

As the demand for wearable intelligent textile systems continues to expand, it is now essential to achieve a high-level of electronic circuit integration into textiles. By applying a commercial yarn manufacturing technique and a computer numerical control (CNC) embroidery process, metal composite embroidery yarns (MCEYs) comprised of three strands of fine metal filaments and polyester filaments, and embroidered circuits have been successfully produced. Using MCEYs, circular and square spiral inductors were embroidered on a textile substrate. Their inductive characteristics, i.e. inductance, self-resonance frequency, and quality factor, were investigated under three different environments, i.e. in free space, on a human body, and with a metal fabric ground. Their inductive characteristics could be easily modified by adjusting the circuit design. The validity of the MCEY inductors was demonstrated with Wheeler's formula and design equations for the MCEY inductors were proposed. When in contact with the human body, the self-resonance frequency of the circuit decreased but the inductance was not affected. Although the inductance and maximum quality factor decreased with a metal ground, the inductor gave a stable performance irrespective of the environment. The results also suggest that MCEY embroidery is a simple and eco-friendly process for producing flexible, light-weight, wearable circuitries in various designs.

Fast frequency divider circuit using combinational logic

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Helinski, Ryan

The various technologies presented herein relate to performing on-chip frequency division of an operating frequency of a ring oscillator (RO). Per the various embodiments herein, a conflict between RO size versus operational frequency can be addressed by dividing the output frequency of the RO to a frequency that can be measured on-chip. A frequency divider circuit (comprising NOR gates and latches, for example) can be utilized in conjunction with the RO on the chip. In an embodiment, the frequency divider circuit can include a pair of latches coupled to the RO to facilitate dividing the oscillating frequency of the ROmore » by 2. In another embodiment, the frequency divider circuit can include four latches (operating in pairs) coupled to the RO to facilitate dividing the oscillating frequency of the RO by 4. A plurality of ROs can be MUXed to the plurality of ROs by a single oscillation-counting circuit.« less

Graphene integrated circuits: new prospects towards receiver realisation.

PubMed

Saeed, Mohamed; Hamed, Ahmed; Wang, Zhenxing; Shaygan, Mehrdad; Neumaier, Daniel; Negra, Renato

2017-12-21

This work demonstrates a design approach which enables the fabrication of fully integrated radio frequency (RF) and millimetre-wave frequency direct-conversion graphene receivers by adapting the frontend architecture to exploit the state-of-the-art performance of the recently reported wafer-scale CVD metal-insulator-graphene (MIG) diodes. As a proof-of-concept, we built a fully integrated microwave receiver in the frequency range 2.1-2.7 GHz employing the strong nonlinearity and the high responsivity of MIG diodes to successfully receive and demodulate complex, digitally modulated communication signals at 2.45 GHz. In addition, the fabricated receiver uses zero-biased MIG diodes and consumes zero dc power. With the flexibility to be fabricated on different substrates, the prototype receiver frontend is fabricated on a low-cost, glass substrate utilising a custom-developed MMIC process backend which enables the high performance of passive components. The measured performance of the prototype makes it suitable for Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems for medical and communication applications.

Capacitive Micro Pressure Sensor Integrated with a Ring Oscillator Circuit on Chip

PubMed Central

Dai, Ching-Liang; Lu, Po-Wei; Chang, Chienliu; Liu, Cheng-Yang

2009-01-01

The study investigates a capacitive micro pressure sensor integrated with a ring oscillator circuit on a chip. The integrated capacitive pressure sensor is fabricated using the commercial CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) process and a post-process. The ring oscillator is employed to convert the capacitance of the pressure sensor into the frequency output. The pressure sensor consists of 16 sensing cells in parallel. Each sensing cell contains a top electrode and a lower electrode, and the top electrode is a sandwich membrane. The pressure sensor needs a post-CMOS process to release the membranes after completion of the CMOS process. The post-process uses etchants to etch the sacrificial layers, and to release the membranes. The advantages of the post-process include easy execution and low cost. Experimental results reveal that the pressure sensor has a high sensitivity of 7 Hz/Pa in the pressure range of 0–300 kPa. PMID:22303167

Capacitive micro pressure sensor integrated with a ring oscillator circuit on chip.

PubMed

Dai, Ching-Liang; Lu, Po-Wei; Chang, Chienliu; Liu, Cheng-Yang

2009-01-01

The study investigates a capacitive micro pressure sensor integrated with a ring oscillator circuit on a chip. The integrated capacitive pressure sensor is fabricated using the commercial CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) process and a post-process. The ring oscillator is employed to convert the capacitance of the pressure sensor into the frequency output. The pressure sensor consists of 16 sensing cells in parallel. Each sensing cell contains a top electrode and a lower electrode, and the top electrode is a sandwich membrane. The pressure sensor needs a post-CMOS process to release the membranes after completion of the CMOS process. The post-process uses etchants to etch the sacrificial layers, and to release the membranes. The advantages of the post-process include easy execution and low cost. Experimental results reveal that the pressure sensor has a high sensitivity of 7 Hz/Pa in the pressure range of 0-300 kPa.

Highly localized distributed Brillouin scattering response in a photonic integrated circuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zarifi, Atiyeh; Stiller, Birgit; Merklein, Moritz; Li, Neuton; Vu, Khu; Choi, Duk-Yong; Ma, Pan; Madden, Stephen J.; Eggleton, Benjamin J.

2018-03-01

The interaction of optical and acoustic waves via stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) has recently reached on-chip platforms, which has opened new fields of applications ranging from integrated microwave photonics and on-chip narrow-linewidth lasers, to phonon-based optical delay and signal processing schemes. Since SBS is an effect that scales exponentially with interaction length, on-chip implementation on a short length scale is challenging, requiring carefully designed waveguides with optimized opto-acoustic overlap. In this work, we use the principle of Brillouin optical correlation domain analysis to locally measure the SBS spectrum with high spatial resolution of 800 μm and perform a distributed measurement of the Brillouin spectrum along a spiral waveguide in a photonic integrated circuit. This approach gives access to local opto-acoustic properties of the waveguides, including the Brillouin frequency shift and linewidth, essential information for the further development of high quality photonic-phononic waveguides for SBS applications.

Oscillatory integration windows in neurons

PubMed Central

Gupta, Nitin; Singh, Swikriti Saran; Stopfer, Mark

2016-01-01

Oscillatory synchrony among neurons occurs in many species and brain areas, and has been proposed to help neural circuits process information. One hypothesis states that oscillatory input creates cyclic integration windows: specific times in each oscillatory cycle when postsynaptic neurons become especially responsive to inputs. With paired local field potential (LFP) and intracellular recordings and controlled stimulus manipulations we directly test this idea in the locust olfactory system. We find that inputs arriving in Kenyon cells (KCs) sum most effectively in a preferred window of the oscillation cycle. With a computational model, we show that the non-uniform structure of noise in the membrane potential helps mediate this process. Further experiments performed in vivo demonstrate that integration windows can form in the absence of inhibition and at a broad range of oscillation frequencies. Our results reveal how a fundamental coincidence-detection mechanism in a neural circuit functions to decode temporally organized spiking. PMID:27976720

UHF front-end feeding RFID-based body sensor networks by exploiting the reader signal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasca, M.; Colella, R.; Catarinucci, L.; Tarricone, L.; D'Amico, S.; Baschirotto, A.

2016-05-01

This paper presents an integrated, high-sensitivity UHF radio frequency identification (RFID) power management circuit for body sensor network applications. The circuit consists of a two-stage RF-DC Dickson's rectifier followed by an integrated five-stage DC-DC Pelliconi's charge pump driven by an ultralow start-up voltage LC oscillator. The DC-DC charge pump interposed between the RF-DC rectifier and the output load provides the RF to load isolation avoiding losses due to the diodes reverse saturation current. The RF-DC rectifier has been realized on FR4 substrate, while the charge pump and the oscillator have been realized in 180 nm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Outdoor measurements demonstrate the ability of the power management circuit to provide 400 mV output voltage at 14 m distance from the UHF reader, in correspondence of -25 dBm input signal power. As demonstrated in the literature, such output voltage level is suitable to supply body sensor network nodes.

Design of a 32-Channel EEG System for Brain Control Interface Applications

PubMed Central

Wang, Ching-Sung

2012-01-01

This study integrates the hardware circuit design and the development support of the software interface to achieve a 32-channel EEG system for BCI applications. Since the EEG signals of human bodies are generally very weak, in addition to preventing noise interference, it also requires avoiding the waveform distortion as well as waveform offset and so on; therefore, the design of a preamplifier with high common-mode rejection ratio and high signal-to-noise ratio is very important. Moreover, the friction between the electrode pads and the skin as well as the design of dual power supply will generate DC bias which affects the measurement signals. For this reason, this study specially designs an improved single-power AC-coupled circuit, which effectively reduces the DC bias and improves the error caused by the effects of part errors. At the same time, the digital way is applied to design the adjustable amplification and filter function, which can design for different EEG frequency bands. For the analog circuit, a frequency band will be taken out through the filtering circuit and then the digital filtering design will be used to adjust the extracted frequency band for the target frequency band, combining with MATLAB to design man-machine interface for displaying brain wave. Finally the measured signals are compared to the traditional 32-channel EEG signals. In addition to meeting the IFCN standards, the system design also conducted measurement verification in the standard EEG isolation room in order to demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of this system design. PMID:22778545

Design of a 32-channel EEG system for brain control interface applications.

PubMed

Wang, Ching-Sung

2012-01-01

This study integrates the hardware circuit design and the development support of the software interface to achieve a 32-channel EEG system for BCI applications. Since the EEG signals of human bodies are generally very weak, in addition to preventing noise interference, it also requires avoiding the waveform distortion as well as waveform offset and so on; therefore, the design of a preamplifier with high common-mode rejection ratio and high signal-to-noise ratio is very important. Moreover, the friction between the electrode pads and the skin as well as the design of dual power supply will generate DC bias which affects the measurement signals. For this reason, this study specially designs an improved single-power AC-coupled circuit, which effectively reduces the DC bias and improves the error caused by the effects of part errors. At the same time, the digital way is applied to design the adjustable amplification and filter function, which can design for different EEG frequency bands. For the analog circuit, a frequency band will be taken out through the filtering circuit and then the digital filtering design will be used to adjust the extracted frequency band for the target frequency band, combining with MATLAB to design man-machine interface for displaying brain wave. Finally the measured signals are compared to the traditional 32-channel EEG signals. In addition to meeting the IFCN standards, the system design also conducted measurement verification in the standard EEG isolation room in order to demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of this system design.

Frequency control circuit for all-digital phase-lock loops

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, T. O.

1973-01-01

Phase-lock loop references all its operations to fixed high-frequency service clock operating at highest speed which digital circuits permit. Wide-range control circuit provides linear control of frequency of reference signal. It requires only two counters in combination with control circuit consisting only of flip-flop and gate.

High frequency characteristic of a monolithic 500 °C OpAmp-RC integrator in SiC bipolar IC technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Ye; Zetterling, Carl-Mikael

2017-09-01

This paper presents a comprehensive investigation of the frequency response of a monolithic OpAmp-RC integrator implemented in a 4H-SiC bipolar IC technology. The circuits and devices have been measured and characterized from 27 to 500 °C. The devices have been modelled to identify that the substrate capacitance is a dominant factor affecting the OpAmp's high-frequency response. Large Miller compensation capacitors of more than 540 pF are required to ensure stability of the internal OpAmp. The measured unit-gain-bandwidth product of the OpAmp is ∼1.1 MHz at 27 °C, and decreases to ∼0.5 MHz at 500 °C mainly due to the reduction of the transistor's current gain. On the other hand, it is not necessary to compensate the integrator in a relatively wide bandwidth ∼0.7 MHz over the investigated temperature range. At higher frequencies, the integrator's frequency response has been identified to be significantly affected by that of the OpAmp and load impedance. This work demonstrates the potential of this technology for high temperature applications requiring bandwidths of several megahertz.

Waveform selectivity at the same frequency.

PubMed

Wakatsuchi, Hiroki; Anzai, Daisuke; Rushton, Jeremiah J; Gao, Fei; Kim, Sanghoon; Sievenpiper, Daniel F

2015-04-13

Electromagnetic properties depend on the composition of materials, i.e. either angstrom scales of molecules or, for metamaterials, subwavelength periodic structures. Each material behaves differently in accordance with the frequency of an incoming electromagnetic wave due to the frequency dispersion or the resonance of the periodic structures. This indicates that if the frequency is fixed, the material always responds in the same manner unless it has nonlinearity. However, such nonlinearity is controlled by the magnitude of the incoming wave or other bias. Therefore, it is difficult to distinguish different incoming waves at the same frequency. Here we present a new concept of circuit-based metasurfaces to selectively absorb or transmit specific types of waveforms even at the same frequency. The metasurfaces, integrated with schottky diodes as well as either capacitors or inductors, selectively absorb short or long pulses, respectively. The two types of circuit elements are then combined to absorb or transmit specific waveforms in between. This waveform selectivity gives us another degree of freedom to control electromagnetic waves in various fields including wireless communications, as our simulation reveals that the metasurfaces are capable of varying bit error rates in response to different waveforms.

RF to millimeter wave integration and module technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vähä-Heikkilä, T.

2015-04-01

Radio Frequency (RF) consumer applications have boosted silicon integrated circuits (IC) and corresponding technologies. More and more functions are integrated to ICs and their performance is also increasing. However, RF front-end modules with filters and switches as well as antennas still need other way of integration. This paper focuses to RF front-end module and antenna developments as well as to the integration of millimeter wave radios. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed both Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics (LTCC) and Integrated Passive Devices (IPD) integration platforms for RF and millimeter wave integrated modules. In addition to in-house technologies, VTT is using module and component technologies from other commercial sources.

Signal Digitizer and Cross-Correlation Application Specific Integrated Circuit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baranauskas, Gytis (Inventor); Lim, Boon H. (Inventor); Baranauskas, Dalius (Inventor); Zelenin, Denis (Inventor); Kangaslahti, Pekka (Inventor); Tanner, Alan B. (Inventor)

2017-01-01

According to one embodiment, a cross-correlator comprises a plurality of analog front ends (AFEs), a cross-correlation circuit and a data serializer. Each of the AFEs comprises a variable gain amplifier (VGA) and a corresponding analog-to-digital converter (ADC) in which the VGA receives and modifies a unique analog signal associates with a measured analog radio frequency (RF) signal and the ADC produces digital data associated with the modified analog signal. Communicatively coupled to the AFEs, the cross-correlation circuit performs a cross-correlation operation on the digital data produced from different measured analog RF signals. The data serializer is communicatively coupled to the summing and cross-correlating matrix and continuously outputs a prescribed amount of the correlated digital data.

High-speed logic integrated circuits with solution-processed self-assembled carbon nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Shu-Jen; Tang, Jianshi; Kumar, Bharat; Falk, Abram; Farmer, Damon; Tulevski, George; Jenkins, Keith; Afzali, Ali; Oida, Satoshi; Ott, John; Hannon, James; Haensch, Wilfried

2017-09-01

As conventional monolithic silicon technology struggles to meet the requirements for the 7-nm technology node, there has been tremendous progress in demonstrating the scalability of carbon nanotube field-effect transistors down to the size that satisfies the 3-nm node and beyond. However, to date, circuits built with carbon nanotubes have overlooked key aspects of a practical logic technology and have stalled at simple functionality demonstrations. Here, we report high-performance complementary carbon nanotube ring oscillators using fully manufacturable processes, with a stage switching frequency of 2.82 GHz. The circuit was built on solution-processed, self-assembled carbon nanotube arrays with over 99.9% semiconducting purity, and the complementary feature was achieved by employing two different work function electrodes.

High-speed logic integrated circuits with solution-processed self-assembled carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Han, Shu-Jen; Tang, Jianshi; Kumar, Bharat; Falk, Abram; Farmer, Damon; Tulevski, George; Jenkins, Keith; Afzali, Ali; Oida, Satoshi; Ott, John; Hannon, James; Haensch, Wilfried

2017-09-01

As conventional monolithic silicon technology struggles to meet the requirements for the 7-nm technology node, there has been tremendous progress in demonstrating the scalability of carbon nanotube field-effect transistors down to the size that satisfies the 3-nm node and beyond. However, to date, circuits built with carbon nanotubes have overlooked key aspects of a practical logic technology and have stalled at simple functionality demonstrations. Here, we report high-performance complementary carbon nanotube ring oscillators using fully manufacturable processes, with a stage switching frequency of 2.82 GHz. The circuit was built on solution-processed, self-assembled carbon nanotube arrays with over 99.9% semiconducting purity, and the complementary feature was achieved by employing two different work function electrodes.

Accelerometer having integral fault null

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bozeman, Richard J., Jr.

1995-08-01

An improved accelerometer is introduced. It comprises a transducer responsive to vibration in machinery which produces an electrical signal related to the magnitude and frequency of the vibration; and a decoding circuit responsive to the transducer signal which produces a first fault signal to produce a second fault signal in which ground shift effects are nullified.

Accelerometer having integral fault null

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bozeman, Richard J., Jr. (Inventor)

1995-01-01

An improved accelerometer is introduced. It comprises a transducer responsive to vibration in machinery which produces an electrical signal related to the magnitude and frequency of the vibration; and a decoding circuit responsive to the transducer signal which produces a first fault signal to produce a second fault signal in which ground shift effects are nullified.

Compact, Single-Stage MMIC InP HEMT Amplifier

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pukala, David; Samoska, Lorene; Fung, King Man; Gaier, Todd; Deal, W. R.; Mei, Gerry; Radisic, Vesna; Lai, Richard

2008-01-01

A monolithic micro - wave integrated-circuit (MMIC) singlestage amplifier containing an InP-based high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) plus coplanar-waveguide (CPW) transmission lines for impedance matching and input and output coupling, all in a highly miniaturized layout as needed for high performance at operating frequencies of hundreds of gigahertz is described.

77 FR 67833 - Certain Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits and Devices Containing Same; Notice of Commission...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-14

... Determination Terminating the Investigation in its Entirety AGENCY: U.S. International Trade Commission. ACTION.... 9) granting the complainant's unopposed motion to terminate the investigation in its entirety based... Peregrine filed an unopposed motion pursuant to Commission Rule 210.21(a)(1) to terminate the investigation...

A method for polycrystalline silicon delineation applicable to a double-diffused MOS transistor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halsor, J. L.; Lin, H. C.

1974-01-01

Method is simple and eliminates requirement for unreliable special etchants. Structure is graded in resistivity to prevent punch-through and has very narrow channel length to increase frequency response. Contacts are on top to permit planar integrated circuit structure. Polycrystalline shield will prevent creation of inversion layer in isolated region.

MMIC Amplifier Produces Gain of 10 dB at 235 GHz

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dawson, Douglas; Fung, King Man; Lee, Karen; Samoska, Lorene; Wells, Mary; Gaier, Todd; Kangaslahti, Pekka; Grundbacher, Ronald; Lai, Richard; Raja, Rohit;

77 FR 29689 - Receipt of Amended Complaint; Solicitation of Comments Relating to the Public Interest

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-18

... complaint entitled Certain Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits and Devices Containing Same, DN 2877; the... of the complaint can be accessed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc... viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov . Hearing-impaired persons...

77 FR 10556 - Receipt of Complaint; Solicitation of Comments Relating to the Public Interest

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-22

... Certain Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits and Devices Containing Same, DN 2877; the Commission is... accessed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov , and will be available for....gov ). The public record for this investigation may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket...

Crossed SMPS MOSFET-based protection circuit for high frequency ultrasound transceivers and transducers

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The ultrasonic transducer is one of the core components of ultrasound systems, and the transducer’s sensitivity is significantly related the loss of electronic components such as the transmitter, receiver, and protection circuit. In an ultrasonic device, protection circuits are commonly used to isolate the electrical noise between an ultrasound transmitter and transducer and to minimize unwanted discharged pulses in order to protect the ultrasound receiver. However, the performance of the protection circuit and transceiver obviously degrade as the operating frequency or voltage increases. We therefore developed a crossed SMPS (Switching Mode Power Supply) MOSFET-based protection circuit in order to maximize the sensitivity of high frequency transducers in ultrasound systems. The high frequency pulse signals need to trigger the transducer, and high frequency pulse signals must be received by the transducer. We therefore selected the SMPS MOSFET, which is the main component of the protection circuit, to minimize the loss in high frequency operation. The crossed configuration of the protection circuit can drive balanced bipolar high voltage signals from the pulser and transfer the balanced low voltage echo signals from the transducer. Methods The equivalent circuit models of the SMPS MOSFET-based protection circuit are shown in order to select the proper device components. The schematic diagram and operation mechanism of the protection circuit is provided to show how the protection circuit is constructed. The P-Spice circuit simulation was also performed in order to estimate the performance of the crossed MOSFET-based protection circuit. Results We compared the performance of our crossed SMPS MOSFET-based protection circuit with a commercial diode-based protection circuit. At 60 MHz, our expander and limiter circuits have lower insertion loss than the commercial diode-based circuits. The pulse-echo test is typical method to evaluate the sensitivity of ultrasonic transducers. Therefore, we performed a pulse-echo test using a single element transducer in order to utilize the crossed SMPS MOSFET-based protection circuit in an ultrasound system. Conclusions The SMPS-based protection circuit could be a viable alternative that provides better sensitivity, especially for high frequency ultrasound applications. PMID:24924595

Crossed SMPS MOSFET-based protection circuit for high frequency ultrasound transceivers and transducers.

PubMed

Choi, Hojong; Shung, K Kirk

2014-06-12

The ultrasonic transducer is one of the core components of ultrasound systems, and the transducer's sensitivity is significantly related the loss of electronic components such as the transmitter, receiver, and protection circuit. In an ultrasonic device, protection circuits are commonly used to isolate the electrical noise between an ultrasound transmitter and transducer and to minimize unwanted discharged pulses in order to protect the ultrasound receiver. However, the performance of the protection circuit and transceiver obviously degrade as the operating frequency or voltage increases. We therefore developed a crossed SMPS (Switching Mode Power Supply) MOSFET-based protection circuit in order to maximize the sensitivity of high frequency transducers in ultrasound systems.The high frequency pulse signals need to trigger the transducer, and high frequency pulse signals must be received by the transducer. We therefore selected the SMPS MOSFET, which is the main component of the protection circuit, to minimize the loss in high frequency operation. The crossed configuration of the protection circuit can drive balanced bipolar high voltage signals from the pulser and transfer the balanced low voltage echo signals from the transducer. The equivalent circuit models of the SMPS MOSFET-based protection circuit are shown in order to select the proper device components. The schematic diagram and operation mechanism of the protection circuit is provided to show how the protection circuit is constructed. The P-Spice circuit simulation was also performed in order to estimate the performance of the crossed MOSFET-based protection circuit. We compared the performance of our crossed SMPS MOSFET-based protection circuit with a commercial diode-based protection circuit. At 60 MHz, our expander and limiter circuits have lower insertion loss than the commercial diode-based circuits. The pulse-echo test is typical method to evaluate the sensitivity of ultrasonic transducers. Therefore, we performed a pulse-echo test using a single element transducer in order to utilize the crossed SMPS MOSFET-based protection circuit in an ultrasound system. The SMPS-based protection circuit could be a viable alternative that provides better sensitivity, especially for high frequency ultrasound applications.

Progress in integrated-circuit horn antennas for receiver applications. Part 2: A 90 GHz quasi-integrated horn antenna receiver

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ali-Ahmad, Walid Y.; Eleftheriades, George V.; Rebeiz, Gabriel M.

1992-01-01

A receiver belonging to the family of integrated planar receivers has been developed at 90 GHz. It consists of a planar Schottky-diode placed at the feed of a dipole-probe suspended inside an integrated horn antenna. The measured planar mixer single-sideband conversion loss at 91.2 GHz (LO) with a 200 MHz IF frequency is 8.3dB plus or minus 0.3dB. The low cost of fabrication and simplicity of this design makes it ideal for millimeter and submillimeter-wave receivers.

Wireless neural recording with single low-power integrated circuit.

PubMed

Harrison, Reid R; Kier, Ryan J; Chestek, Cynthia A; Gilja, Vikash; Nuyujukian, Paul; Ryu, Stephen; Greger, Bradley; Solzbacher, Florian; Shenoy, Krishna V

2009-08-01

We present benchtop and in vivo experimental results from an integrated circuit designed for wireless implantable neural recording applications. The chip, which was fabricated in a commercially available 0.6- mum 2P3M BiCMOS process, contains 100 amplifiers, a 10-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC), 100 threshold-based spike detectors, and a 902-928 MHz frequency-shift-keying (FSK) transmitter. Neural signals from a selected amplifier are sampled by the ADC at 15.7 kSps and telemetered over the FSK wireless data link. Power, clock, and command signals are sent to the chip wirelessly over a 2.765-MHz inductive (coil-to-coil) link. The chip is capable of operating with only two off-chip components: a power/command receiving coil and a 100-nF capacitor.

Signals and circuits in the purkinje neuron.

PubMed

Abrams, Zéev R; Zhang, Xiang

2011-01-01

Purkinje neurons (PN) in the cerebellum have over 100,000 inputs organized in an orthogonal geometry, and a single output channel. As the sole output of the cerebellar cortex layer, their complex firing pattern has been associated with motor control and learning. As such they have been extensively modeled and measured using tools ranging from electrophysiology and neuroanatomy, to dynamic systems and artificial intelligence methods. However, there is an alternative approach to analyze and describe the neuronal output of these cells using concepts from electrical engineering, particularly signal processing and digital/analog circuits. By viewing the PN as an unknown circuit to be reverse-engineered, we can use the tools that provide the foundations of today's integrated circuits and communication systems to analyze the Purkinje system at the circuit level. We use Fourier transforms to analyze and isolate the inherent frequency modes in the PN and define three unique frequency ranges associated with the cells' output. Comparing the PN to a signal generator that can be externally modulated adds an entire level of complexity to the functional role of these neurons both in terms of data analysis and information processing, relying on Fourier analysis methods in place of statistical ones. We also re-describe some of the recent literature in the field, using the nomenclature of signal processing. Furthermore, by comparing the experimental data of the past decade with basic electronic circuitry, we can resolve the outstanding controversy in the field, by recognizing that the PN can act as a multivibrator circuit.

Modeling the frequency response of microwave radiometers with QUCS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zonca, A.; Roucaries, B.; Williams, B.; Rubin, I.; D'Arcangelo, O.; Meinhold, P.; Lubin, P.; Franceschet, C.; Jahn, S.; Mennella, A.; Bersanelli, M.

2010-12-01

Characterization of the frequency response of coherent radiometric receivers is a key element in estimating the flux of astrophysical emissions, since the measured signal depends on the convolution of the source spectral emission with the instrument band shape. Laboratory Radio Frequency (RF) measurements of the instrument bandpass often require complex test setups and are subject to a number of systematic effects driven by thermal issues and impedance matching, particularly if cryogenic operation is involved. In this paper we present an approach to modeling radiometers bandpasses by integrating simulations and RF measurements of individual components. This method is based on QUCS (Quasi Universal Circuit Simulator), an open-source circuit simulator, which gives the flexibility of choosing among the available devices, implementing new analytical software models or using measured S-parameters. Therefore an independent estimate of the instrument bandpass is achieved using standard individual component measurements and validated analytical simulations. In order to automate the process of preparing input data, running simulations and exporting results we developed the Python package python-qucs and released it under GNU Public License. We discuss, as working cases, bandpass response modeling of the COFE and Planck Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) radiometers and compare results obtained with QUCS and with a commercial circuit simulator software. The main purpose of bandpass modeling in COFE is to optimize component matching, while in LFI they represent the best estimation of frequency response, since end-to-end measurements were strongly affected by systematic effects.

Silicon photonic integrated circuit for fast and precise dual-comb distance metrology.

PubMed

Weimann, C; Lauermann, M; Hoeller, F; Freude, W; Koos, C

2017-11-27

We demonstrate an optical distance sensor integrated on a silicon photonic chip with a footprint of well below 1 mm 2 . The integrated system comprises a heterodyne receiver structure with tunable power splitting ratio and on-chip photodetectors. The functionality of the device is demonstrated in a synthetic-wavelength interferometry experiment using frequency combs as optical sources. We obtain accurate and fast distance measurements with an unambiguity range of 3.75 mm, a root-mean-square error of 3.4 µm and acquisition times of 14 µs.

Design of 5.8 GHz Integrated Antenna on 180nm Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Razak, A. H. A.; Shamsuddin, M. I. A.; Idros, M. F. M.; Halim, A. K.; Ahmad, A.; Junid, S. A. M. Al

2018-03-01

This project discusses the design and simulation performances of integrated loop antenna. Antenna is one of the main parts in any wireless radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC). Naturally, antenna is the bulk in any RFIC design. Thus, this project aims to implement an integrated antenna on a single chip making the end product more compact. This project targets 5.8 GHz as the operating frequency of the integrated antenna for a transceiver module based on Silterra CMOS 180nm technology. The simulation of the antenna was done by using High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS). This software is industrial standard software that been used to simulate all electromagnetic effect including antenna simulation. This software has ability to simulate frequency at range of 100 MHz to 4 THz. The simulation set up in 3 dimension structure with driven terminal. The designed antenna has 1400um of diameter and placed on top metal layer. Loop configuration of the antenna has been chosen as the antenna design. From the configuration, it is able to make the chip more compact. The simulation shows that the antenna has single frequency band at center frequency 5.8 GHz with -48.93dB. The antenna radiation patterns shows, the antenna radiate at omnidirectional. From the simulation result, it could be concluded that the antenna have a good radiation pattern and propagation for wireless communication.

Study of G-S/D underlap for enhanced analog performance and RF/circuit analysis of UTB InAs-OI-Si MOSFET using NQS small signal model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maity, Subir Kumar; Pandit, Soumya

2017-01-01

InGaAs (and its variant) appears to be a promising channel material for high-performance, low-power scaled CMOS applications due to its excellent carrier transport properties. However, MOS transistors made of this suffer from poor electrostatic integrity. In this work, we consider an underlap ultra thin body (UTB) InAs-on-Insulator n-channel MOS transistor, and study the effect of varying the gate-source/drain (G-S/D) underlap length on the analog performance of the device with the help of technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulation, calibrated with Schrodinger-Poisson solver and experimental results. The underlap technique improves the gate electrostatic integrity which in turn improves the analog performance. We develop a non-quasi-static (NQS) small signal equivalent circuit model of the device which is used for study of the RF performance. With increase of the underlap length, the unity gain cut-off frequency degrades and the maximum oscillation frequency improves beyond a certain value of the underlap length. We further study the gain-frequency response of a common source amplifier using the NQS model, through SPICE simulation and observe that the voltage gain and the gain bandwidth improves.

Multi-layer topological transmissions of spoof surface plasmon polaritons.

PubMed

Pan, Bai Cao; Zhao, Jie; Liao, Zhen; Zhang, Hao Chi; Cui, Tie Jun

2016-03-04

Spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in microwave frequency provide a high field confinement in subwavelength scale and low-loss and flexible transmissions, which have been widely used in novel transmission waveguides and functional devices. To play more important roles in modern integrated circuits and systems, it is necessary and helpful for the SPP modes to propagate among different layers of devices and chips. Owing to the highly confined property and organized near-field distribution, we show that the spoof SPPs could be easily transmitted from one layer into another layer via metallic holes and arc-shaped transitions. Such designs are suitable for both the ultrathin and flexible single-strip SPP waveguide and double-strip SPP waveguide for active SPP devices. Numerical simulations and experimental results demonstrate the broadband and high-efficiency multi-layer topological transmissions with controllable absorption that is related to the superposition area of corrugated metallic strips. The transmission coefficient of single-strip SPP waveguide is no worse than -0.8 dB within frequency band from 2.67 GHz to 10.2 GHz while the transmission of double-strip SPP waveguide keeps above -1 dB within frequency band from 2.26 GHz to 11.8 GHz. The proposed method will enhance the realizations of highly complicated plasmonic integrated circuits.

Three Dimensional Integration and On-Wafer Packaging for Heterogeneous Wafer-Scale Circuit Architectures

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-11-01

Chip Level CMOS Chip High resistivity Si Metal Interconnect 25μm 24GHz fully integrated receiver CMOS transimpedance Amplifier (13GHz BW, 52dBΩ...power of a high-resistivity SiGe power amplifier chip with the wide operating frequency range and compactness of a CMOS mixed signal chip operating...With good RF channel selectivity, system specifications such as the linearity of the low noise amplifier (LNA), the phase noise of the voltage

Investigation of Microwave Monolithic Integrated Circuit (MMIC) Non-Reciprocal Millimeterwave Components

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-09-01

nickel zinc ferrite films and (2) sputtering of barium hexaferrites with C-axis oriented normally to the film plane. The SSP tech- nique potential for...M-Wave, Components, Ferrites, Films , Yig, Nickel, Zinc , Hexagonal, R96E Measurements, Frequency, Magnetic, Barium Ferrite 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION...techniques to integrate millimeter-wave ferrite devices with GaAs VI&Cs. APPROACH Our approach was to deposit ferrite thin films on GaAs sub- strates in a

Stable integrated hyper-parametric oscillator based on coupled optical microcavities.

PubMed

Armaroli, Andrea; Feron, Patrice; Dumeige, Yannick

2015-12-01

We propose a flexible scheme based on three coupled optical microcavities that permits us to achieve stable oscillations in the microwave range, the frequency of which depends only on the cavity coupling rates. We find that the different dynamical regimes (soft and hard excitation) affect the oscillation intensity, but not their periods. This configuration may permit us to implement compact hyper-parametric sources on an integrated optical circuit with interesting applications in communications, sensing, and metrology.

A Thermally Powered ISFET Array for On-Body pH Measurement.

PubMed

Douthwaite, Matthew; Koutsos, Ermis; Yates, David C; Mitcheson, Paul D; Georgiou, Pantelis

2017-12-01

Recent advances in electronics and electrochemical sensors have led to an emerging class of next generation wearables, detecting analytes in biofluids such as perspiration. Most of these devices utilize ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) as a detection method; however, ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) offer a solution with improved integration and a low power consumption. This work presents a wearable, thermoelectrically powered system composed of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), two commercial power management integrated circuits and a network of commercial thermoelectric generators (TEGs). The ASIC is fabricated in 0.35 m CMOS and contains an ISFET array designed to read pH as a current, a processing module which averages the signal to reduce noise and encodes it into a frequency, and a transmitter. The output frequency has a measured sensitivity of 6 to 8 kHz/pH for a pH range of 7-5. It is shown that the sensing array and processing module has a power consumption 6 W and, therefore, can be entirely powered by body heat using a TEG. Array averaging is shown to reduce noise at these low power levels to 104 V (input referred integrated noise), reducing the minimum detectable limit of the ASIC to 0.008 pH units. The work forms the foundation and proves the feasibility of battery-less, on-body electrochemical for perspiration analysis in sports science and healthcare applications.

Resonant circuit which provides dual frequency excitation for rapid cycling of an electromagnet

DOEpatents

Praeg, Walter F.

1984-01-01

Disclosed is a ring magnet control circuit that permits synchrotron repetition rates much higher than the frequency of the cosinusoidal guide field of the ring magnet during particle acceleration. the control circuit generates cosinusoidal excitation currents of different frequencies in the half waves. During radio frequency acceleration of the particles in the synchrotron, the control circuit operates with a lower frequency cosine wave and thereafter the electromagnets are reset with a higher frequency half cosine wave. Flat-bottom and flat-top wave shaping circuits maintain the magnetic guide field in a relatively time-invariant mode during times when the particles are being injected into the ring magnets and when the particles are being ejected from the ring magnets.

Heterogeneous Silicon III-V Mode-Locked Lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davenport, Michael Loehrlein

Mode-locked lasers are useful for a variety of applications, such as sensing, telecommunication, and surgical instruments. This work focuses on integrated-circuit mode-locked lasers: those that combine multiple optical and electronic functions and are manufactured together on a single chip. While this allows production at high volume and lower cost, the true potential of integration is to open applications for mode-locked laser diodes where solid state lasers cannot fit, either due to size and power consumption constraints, or where small optical or electrical paths are needed for high bandwidth. Unfortunately, most high power and highly stable mode-locked laser diode demonstrations in scientific literature are based on the Fabry-Perot resonator design, with cleaved mirrors, and are unsuitable for use in integrated circuits because of the difficulty of producing integrated Fabry-Perot cavities. We use silicon photonics and heterogeneous integration with III-V gain material to produce the most powerful and lowest noise fully integrated mode-locked laser diode in the 20 GHz frequency range. If low noise and high peak power are required, it is arguably the best performing fully integrated mode-locked laser ever demonstrated. We present the design methodology and experimental pathway to realize a fully integrated mode-locked laser diode. The construction of the device, beginning with the selection of an integration platform, and proceeding through the fabrication process to final optimization, is presented in detail. The dependence of mode-locked laser performance on a wide variety of design parameters is presented. Applications for integrated circuit mode-locked lasers are also discussed, as well as proposed methods for using integration to improve mode-locking performance to beyond the current state of the art.

A Point-process Response Model for Spike Trains from Single Neurons in Neural Circuits under Optogenetic Stimulation

PubMed Central

Luo, X.; Gee, S.; Sohal, V.; Small, D.

2015-01-01

Optogenetics is a new tool to study neuronal circuits that have been genetically modified to allow stimulation by flashes of light. We study recordings from single neurons within neural circuits under optogenetic stimulation. The data from these experiments present a statistical challenge of modeling a high frequency point process (neuronal spikes) while the input is another high frequency point process (light flashes). We further develop a generalized linear model approach to model the relationships between two point processes, employing additive point-process response functions. The resulting model, Point-process Responses for Optogenetics (PRO), provides explicit nonlinear transformations to link the input point process with the output one. Such response functions may provide important and interpretable scientific insights into the properties of the biophysical process that governs neural spiking in response to optogenetic stimulation. We validate and compare the PRO model using a real dataset and simulations, and our model yields a superior area-under-the- curve value as high as 93% for predicting every future spike. For our experiment on the recurrent layer V circuit in the prefrontal cortex, the PRO model provides evidence that neurons integrate their inputs in a sophisticated manner. Another use of the model is that it enables understanding how neural circuits are altered under various disease conditions and/or experimental conditions by comparing the PRO parameters. PMID:26411923

Correlation Between Material Properties of Ferroelectric Thin Films and Design Parameters for Microwave Device Applications: Modeling Examples and Experimental Verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miranda, Felix A.; VanKeuls, Fred W.; Subramanyam, Guru; Mueller, Carl H.; Romanofsky, Robert R.; Rosado, Gerardo

2000-01-01

The application of thin ferroelectric films for frequency and phase agile components is the topic of interest of many research groups worldwide. Consequently, proof-of-concepts (POC) of different tunable microwave components using either (HTS, metal)/ferroelectric thin film/dielectric heterostructures or (thick, thin) film "flip-chip" technology have been reported. Either as ferroelectric thin film characterization tools or from the point of view of circuit implementation approach, both configurations have their respective advantages and limitations. However, we believe that because of the progress made so far using the heterostructure (i.e., multilayer) approach, and due to its intrinsic features such as planar configuration and monolithic integration, a study on the correlation of circuit geometry aspects and ferroelectric material properties could accelerate the insertion of this technology into working systems. In this paper, we will discuss our study performed on circuits based on microstrip lines at frequencies above 10 GHz, where the multilayer configuration offers greater ease of insertion due to circuit's size reduction. Modeled results of relevant circuit parameters such as the characteristic impedance, effective dielectric constant, and attenuation as a function of ferroelectric film's dielectric constant, tans, and thickness, will be presented for SrTiO3 and Ba(x)Sr(1-x)TiO3 ferroelectric films. A comparison between the modeled and experimental data for some of these parameters will be presented.

High Frequency PIN-Diode Switches for Radiometer Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montes, Oliver; Dawson, Douglas E.; Kangaslahti, Pekka; Reising, Steven C.

2011-01-01

Internally calibrated radiometers are needed for ocean topography and other missions. Typically internal calibration is achieved with Dicke switching as one of the techniques. We have developed high frequency single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switches in the form of monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMIC) that can be easily integrated into Dicke switched radiometers that utilize microstrip technology. In particular, the switches we developed can be used for a radiometer such as the one proposed for the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Satellite Mission whose three channels at 92, 130, and 166 GHz would allow for wet-tropospheric path delay correction near coastal zones and over land. This feat is not possible with the current Jason-class radiometers due to their lower frequency signal measurement and thus lower resolution. The MMIC chips were fabricated at NGST using their InP PIN diode process and measured at JPL using high frequency test equipment. Measurement and simulation results will be presented.

Design of high-speed burst mode clock and data recovery IC for passive optical network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Minhui; Hong, Xiaobin; Huang, Wei-Ping; Hong, Jin

2005-09-01

Design of a high bit rate burst mode clock and data recovery (BMCDR) circuit for gigabit passive optical networks (GPON) is described. A top-down design flow is established and some of the key issues related to the behavioural level modeling are addressed in consideration for the complexity of the BMCDR integrated circuit (IC). Precise implementation of Simulink behavioural model accounting for the saturation of frequency control voltage is therefore developed for the BMCDR, and the parameters of the circuit blocks can be readily adjusted and optimized based on the behavioural model. The newly designed BMCDR utilizes the 0.18um standard CMOS technology and is shown to be capable of operating at bit rate of 2.5Gbps, as well as the recovery time of one bit period in our simulation. The developed behaviour model is verified by comparing with the detailed circuit simulation.

A lumped parameter mathematical model for simulation of subsonic wind tunnels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krosel, S. M.; Cole, G. L.; Bruton, W. M.; Szuch, J. R.

1986-01-01

Equations for a lumped parameter mathematical model of a subsonic wind tunnel circuit are presented. The equation state variables are internal energy, density, and mass flow rate. The circuit model is structured to allow for integration and analysis of tunnel subsystem models which provide functions such as control of altitude pressure and temperature. Thus the model provides a useful tool for investigating the transient behavior of the tunnel and control requirements. The model was applied to the proposed NASA Lewis Altitude Wind Tunnel (AWT) circuit and included transfer function representations of the tunnel supply/exhaust air and refrigeration subsystems. Both steady state and frequency response data are presented for the circuit model indicating the type of results and accuracy that can be expected from the model. Transient data for closed loop control of the tunnel and its subsystems are also presented, demonstrating the model's use as a control analysis tool.

Time-Domain Computation Of Electromagnetic Fields In MMICs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lansing, Faiza S.; Rascoe, Daniel L.

1995-01-01

Maxwell's equations solved on three-dimensional, conformed orthogonal grids by finite-difference techniques. Method of computing frequency-dependent electrical parameters of monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) involves time-domain computation of propagation of electromagnetic field in response to excitation by single pulse at input terminal, followed by computation of Fourier transforms to obtain frequency-domain response from time-domain response. Parameters computed include electric and magnetic fields, voltages, currents, impedances, scattering parameters, and effective dielectric constants. Powerful and efficient means for analyzing performance of even complicated MMIC.

Silicon Technologies Adjust to RF Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinecke Taub, Susan; Alterovitz, Samuel A.

1994-01-01

Silicon (Si), although not traditionally the material of choice for RF and microwave applications, has become a serious challenger to other semiconductor technologies for high-frequency applications. Fine-line electron- beam and photolithographic techniques are now capable of fabricating silicon gate sizes as small as 0.1 micron while commonly-available high-resistivity silicon wafers support low-loss microwave transmission lines. These advances, coupled with the recent development of silicon-germanium (SiGe), arm silicon integrated circuits (ICs) with the speed required for increasingly higher-frequency applications.

Characterization of 720 and 940 MHz Oscillators with Chip Antenna for Wireless Sensors from Room Temperature to 200 and 250 deg C

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scardelletti, Maximilian C.; Ponchak, George E.

2011-01-01

Oscillators that operate at 720 and 940 MHz and characterized over a temperature range of 25 C to 200 C and 250 C, respectively, are presented. The oscillators are designed on alumina substrates with typical integrated circuit fabrication techniques. Cree SiC MESFETs, thin film metal-insulator-metal capacitors and spiral inductors, and Johanson miniature chip antennas make-up the circuits. The output power and phase noise are presented as a function of temperature and frequency. Index Terms MESFETS, chip antennas, oscillators SiC alumina.

Millimeter-wave silicon-based ultra-wideband automotive radar transceivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, Vipul

Since the invention of the integrated circuit, the semiconductor industry has revolutionized the world in ways no one had ever anticipated. With the advent of silicon technologies, consumer electronics became light-weight and affordable and paved the way for an Information-Communication-Entertainment age. While silicon almost completely replaced compound semiconductors from these markets, it has been unable to compete in areas with more stringent requirements due to technology limitations. One of these areas is automotive radar sensors, which will enable next-generation collision-warning systems in automobiles. A low-cost implementation is absolutely essential for widespread use of these systems, which leads us to the subject of this dissertation---silicon-based solutions for automotive radars. This dissertation presents architectures and design techniques for mm-wave automotive radar transceivers. Several fully-integrated transceivers and receivers operating at 22-29 GHz and 77-81 GHz are demonstrated in both CMOS and SiGe BiCMOS technologies. Excellent performance is achieved indicating the suitability of silicon technologies for automotive radar sensors. The first CMOS 22-29-GHz pulse-radar receiver front-end for ultra-wideband radars is presented. The chip includes a low noise amplifier, I/Q mixers, quadrature voltage-controlled oscillators, pulse formers and variable-gain amplifiers. Fabricated in 0.18-mum CMOS, the receiver achieves a conversion gain of 35-38.1 dB and a noise figure of 5.5-7.4 dB. Integration of multi-mode multi-band transceivers on a single chip will enable next-generation low-cost automotive radar sensors. Two highly-integrated silicon ICs are designed in a 0.18-mum BiCMOS technology. These designs are also the first reported demonstrations of mm-wave circuits with high-speed digital circuits on the same chip. The first mm-wave dual-band frequency synthesizer and transceiver, operating in the 24-GHz and 77-GHz bands, are demonstrated. All circuits except the oscillators are shared between the two bands. A multi-functional injection-locked circuit is used after the oscillators to reconfigure the division ratio inside the phase-locked loop. The synthesizer is suitable for integration in automotive radar transceivers and heterodyne receivers for 94-GHz imaging applications. The transceiver chip includes a dual-band low noise amplifier, a shared downconversion chain, dual-band pulse formers, power amplifiers, a dual-band frequency synthesizer and a high-speed programmable baseband pulse generator. Radar functionality is demonstrated using loopback measurements.

Discriminator Stabilized Superconductor/Ferroelectric Thin Film Local Oscillator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Romanofsky, Robert R. (Inventor); Miranda, Felix A. (Inventor)

2000-01-01

A tunable local oscillator with a tunable circuit that includes a resonator and a transistor as an active element for oscillation. Tuning of the circuit is achieved with an externally applied dc bias across coupled lines on the resonator. Preferably the resonator is a high temperature superconductor microstrip ring resonator with integral coupled lines formed over a thin film ferroelectric material. A directional coupler samples the output of the oscillator which is fed into a diplexer for determining whether the oscillator is performing at a desired frequency. The high-pass and lowpass outputs of the diplexer are connected to diodes respectively for inputting the sampled signals into a differential operational amplifier. The amplifier compares the sampled signals and emits an output signal if there is a difference between the resonant and crossover frequencies. Based on the sampled signal, a bias supplied to the ring resonator is either increased or decreased for raising or lowering the resonant frequency by decreasing or increasing, respectively, the dielectric constant of the ferroelectric.

Low frequency ac waveform generator

DOEpatents

Bilharz, O.W.

1983-11-22

Low frequency sine, cosine, triangle and square waves are synthesized in circuitry which allows variation in the waveform amplitude and frequency while exhibiting good stability and without requiring significant stablization time. A triangle waveform is formed by a ramped integration process controlled by a saturation amplifier circuit which produces the necessary hysteresis for the triangle waveform. The output of the saturation circuit is tapped to produce the square waveform. The sine waveform is synthesized by taking the absolute value of the triangular waveform, raising this absolute value to a predetermined power, multiplying the raised absolute value of the triangle wave with the triangle wave itself and properly scaling the resultant waveform and subtracting it from the triangular waveform to a predetermined power and adding the squared waveform raised to the predetermined power with a DC reference and subtracting the squared waveform therefrom, with all waveforms properly scaled. The resultant waveform is then multiplied with a square wave in order to correct the polarity and produce the resultant cosine waveform.

Programmable dispersion on a photonic integrated circuit for classical and quantum applications.

PubMed

Notaros, Jelena; Mower, Jacob; Heuck, Mikkel; Lupo, Cosmo; Harris, Nicholas C; Steinbrecher, Gregory R; Bunandar, Darius; Baehr-Jones, Tom; Hochberg, Michael; Lloyd, Seth; Englund, Dirk

2017-09-04

We demonstrate a large-scale tunable-coupling ring resonator array, suitable for high-dimensional classical and quantum transforms, in a CMOS-compatible silicon photonics platform. The device consists of a waveguide coupled to 15 ring-based dispersive elements with programmable linewidths and resonance frequencies. The ability to control both quality factor and frequency of each ring provides an unprecedented 30 degrees of freedom in dispersion control on a single spatial channel. This programmable dispersion control system has a range of applications, including mode-locked lasers, quantum key distribution, and photon-pair generation. We also propose a novel application enabled by this circuit - high-speed quantum communications using temporal-mode-based quantum data locking - and discuss the utility of the system for performing the high-dimensional unitary optical transformations necessary for a quantum data locking demonstration.

An Electronic-Nose Sensor Node Based on a Polymer-Coated Surface Acoustic Wave Array for Wireless Sensor Network Applications

PubMed Central

Tang, Kea-Tiong; Li, Cheng-Han; Chiu, Shih-Wen

2011-01-01

This study developed an electronic-nose sensor node based on a polymer-coated surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor array. The sensor node comprised an SAW sensor array, a frequency readout circuit, and an Octopus II wireless module. The sensor array was fabricated on a large K2 128° YX LiNbO3 sensing substrate. On the surface of this substrate, an interdigital transducer (IDT) was produced with a Cr/Au film as its metallic structure. A mixed-mode frequency readout application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) was fabricated using a TSMC 0.18 μm process. The ASIC output was connected to a wireless module to transmit sensor data to a base station for data storage and analysis. This sensor node is applicable for wireless sensor network (WSN) applications. PMID:22163865

An electronic-nose sensor node based on a polymer-coated surface acoustic wave array for wireless sensor network applications.

PubMed

Tang, Kea-Tiong; Li, Cheng-Han; Chiu, Shih-Wen

2011-01-01

This study developed an electronic-nose sensor node based on a polymer-coated surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor array. The sensor node comprised an SAW sensor array, a frequency readout circuit, and an Octopus II wireless module. The sensor array was fabricated on a large K(2) 128° YX LiNbO3 sensing substrate. On the surface of this substrate, an interdigital transducer (IDT) was produced with a Cr/Au film as its metallic structure. A mixed-mode frequency readout application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) was fabricated using a TSMC 0.18 μm process. The ASIC output was connected to a wireless module to transmit sensor data to a base station for data storage and analysis. This sensor node is applicable for wireless sensor network (WSN) applications.

Investigation of the Frequency Shift of a SAD Circuit Loop and the Internal Micro-Cantilever in a Gas Sensor

PubMed Central

Guan, Liu; Zhao, Jiahao; Yu, Shijie; Li, Peng; You, Zheng

2010-01-01

Micro-cantilever sensors for mass detection using resonance frequency have attracted considerable attention over the last decade in the field of gas sensing. For such a sensing system, an oscillator circuit loop is conventionally used to actuate the micro-cantilever, and trace the frequency shifts. In this paper, gas experiments are introduced to investigate the mechanical resonance frequency shifts of the micro-cantilever within the circuit loop(mechanical resonance frequency, MRF) and resonating frequency shifts of the electric signal in the oscillator circuit (system working frequency, SWF). A silicon beam with a piezoelectric zinc oxide layer is employed in the experiment, and a Self-Actuating-Detecting (SAD) circuit loop is built to drive the micro-cantilever and to follow the frequency shifts. The differences between the two resonating frequencies and their shifts are discussed and analyzed, and a coefficient α related to the two frequency shifts is confirmed. PMID:22163588

Inverter circuits on freestanding flexible substrate using ZnO nanoparticles for cost-efficient electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidor, Fábio F.; Meyers, Thorsten; Müller, Kathrin; Wirth, Gilson I.; Hilleringmann, Ulrich

2017-11-01

Driven by the Internet of Things (IoT), flexible and transparent smart systems have been intensively researched by the scientific community and by several companies. This technology is already available for consumers in a wide range of innovative products, e.g., flexible displays, radio-frequency identification tags and wearable electronic skins which, for instance, collect and analyze data for medical applications. For these systems, thin-film transistors (TFTs) are the key elements responsible for the driving currents. Solution-based materials such as nanoparticle dispersions avail the fabrication on large-area substrates with high throughput processes. In this study, we discuss the integration of ZnO nanoparticle thin-film transistors and inverter circuits on freestanding polymeric substrates enclosing the main issues concerning the transfer of the integration process from a rigid substrate to a flexible one. The TFTs depict VON between -0.2 and 1 V, ION/IOFF > 104 and field-effect mobility >0.5 cm2 V-1 s-1. Additionally, in order to enhance the transistors and inverters performance, an adaptation on the device configuration, from an inverted coplanar to an inverted staggered setup, was conducted and analyzed. By employing the inverted staggered setup a considerable increase in the contact quality between the semiconductor and the drain and source electrodes was observed. As the integrated devices depict electrical characteristics which enable the fabrication of electronic circuits for the low-cost sector, inverters were fabricated and characterized, evaluating the circuit's gain as function of the applied supply voltage and circuit's geometric ratio.

Electronically controlled spoof localized surface plasmons on the corrugated ring with a shorting pin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Chao; Zhou, Yong Jin

2018-07-01

We have demonstrated that spoof localized surface plasmons (LSPs) can be controlled by loading a shorting pin into the corrugated ring resonator in the microwave and terahertz (THz) frequencies. Electronical switchability and tunability of spoof LSPs have been achieved by mounting Schottky barrier diodes and varactor diodes across the slit around the shorting pin in the ground plane. An electronically tunable band-pass filter has been demostrated in the microwave frequencies. Such electronically controlled spoof LSPs devices can find more applications for highly integrated plasmonic circuits in microwave and THz frequencies.

Note: An approach to measurement of low frequency oscillation amplitude of discharge current of in-orbit Hall thruster.

PubMed

Han, Liang; Ding, Yongjie; Wei, Liqiu; Yu, Daren

2014-06-01

This paper provides a method to measure the amplitude of low frequency oscillation under the on-track working condition, and realizes the sampling by means of adding the circuit design of sampling, low pass filtering by 3 dB at 48.2 kHz, detection and integrating in the filtering unit. The experimental results prove that the measuring device of merely 0.8 g can quantitatively reflect the amplitude of low frequency oscillation in Hall thruster and the maximum deviation of experiment data and theory data is 10% FS.

A closed-loop system for frequency tracking of piezoresistive cantilever sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wasisto, Hutomo Suryo; Zhang, Qing; Merzsch, Stephan; Waag, Andreas; Peiner, Erwin

2013-05-01

A closed loop circuit capable of tracking resonant frequencies for MEMS-based piezoresistive cantilever resonators is developed in this work. The proposed closed-loop system is mainly based on a phase locked loop (PLL) circuit. In order to lock onto the resonant frequency of the resonator, an actuation signal generated from a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) is locked to the phase of the input reference signal of the cantilever sensor. In addition to the PLL component, an instrumentation amplifier and an active low pass filter (LPF) are connected to the system for gaining the amplitude and reducing the noise of the cantilever output signals. The LPF can transform a rectangular signal into a sinusoidal signal with voltage amplitudes ranging from 5 to 10 V which are sufficient for a piezoactuator input (i.e., maintaining a large output signal of the cantilever sensor). To demonstrate the functionality of the system, a self-sensing silicon cantilever resonator with a built-in piezoresistive Wheatstone bridge is fabricated and integrated with the circuit. A piezoactuator is utilized for actuating the cantilever into resonance. Implementation of this closed loop system is used to track the resonant frequency of a silicon cantilever-based sensor resonating at 9.4 kHz under a cross-sensitivity test of ambient temperature. The changes of the resonant frequency are interpreted using a frequency counter connected to the system. From the experimental results, the temperature sensitivity and coefficient of the employed sensor are 0.3 Hz/°C and 32.8 ppm/°C, respectively. The frequency stability of the system can reach up to 0.08 Hz. The development of this system will enable real-time nanoparticle monitoring systems and provide a miniaturization of the instrumentation modules for cantilever-based nanoparticle detectors.

Rectenna for high-voltage applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Epp, Larry W. (Inventor); Khan, Abdur R. (Inventor)

2002-01-01

An energy transfer system is disclosed. The system includes patch elements, shielding layers, and energy rectifying circuits. The patch elements receive and couple radio frequency energy. The shielding layer includes at least one opening that allows radio frequency energy to pass through. The openings are formed and positioned to receive the radio frequency energy and to minimize any re-radiating back toward the source of energy. The energy rectifying circuit includes a circuit for rectifying the radio frequency energy into dc energy. A plurality of energy rectifying circuits is arranged in an array to provide a sum of dc energy generated by the energy rectifying circuit.

Millimeter-wave monolithic integrated circuit characterization by a picosecond optoelectronic technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hung, Hing-Loi A.; Smith, Thane; Huang, Ho C.; Polak-Dingels, Penny; Webb, Kevin J.

1989-08-01

The characterization of microwave and millimeter-wave monolithic integrated circits (MIMICs) using picosecond pulse-sampling techniques is developed with emphasis on improving broadband coverage and measurement accuracy. GaAs photoconductive swithces are used for signal generation and sampling operations. The measured time-domain response allows the spectral transfer function of the MIMIC to be obtained. This measurement technique is verified by characterization of the frequency response (magnitude and phase) of a reference 50-ohm microstrip line and a two-stage Ka-band MIMIC amplifier. The measured broadband results agree with those obtained from conventional frequency-domain measurements using a network analyzer. The application of this optical technique to on-wafer MIMIC characterization is described.

A self-adaptive metamaterial beam with digitally controlled resonators for subwavelength broadband flexural wave attenuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiaopeng; Chen, Yangyang; Hu, Gengkai; Huang, Guoliang

2018-04-01

Designing lightweight materials and/or structures for broadband low-frequency noise/vibration mitigation is an issue of fundamental importance both practically and theoretically. In this paper, by leveraging the concept of frequency-dependent effective stiffness control, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate, for the first time, a self-adaptive metamaterial beam with digital circuit controlled mechanical resonators for strong and broadband flexural wave attenuation at subwavelength scales. The digital controllers that are capable of feedback control of piezoelectric shunts are integrated into mechanical resonators in the metamaterial, and the transfer function is semi-analytically determined to realize an effective bending stiffness in a quadratic function of the wave frequency for adaptive band gaps. The digital as well as analog control circuits as the backbone of the system are experimentally realized with the guarantee stability of the whole electromechanical system in whole frequency regions, which is the most challenging problem so far. Our experimental results are in good agreement with numerical predictions and demonstrate the strong wave attenuation in almost a three times larger frequency region over the bandwidth of a passive metamaterial. The proposed metamaterial could be applied in a range of applications in the design of elastic wave control devices.

Millimeter And Submillimeter-Wave Integrated Circuits On Quartz

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehdi, Imran; Mazed, Mohammad; Siegel, Peter; Smith, R. Peter

1995-01-01

Proposed Quartz substrate Upside-down Integrated Device (QUID) relies on UV-curable adhesive to bond semiconductor with quartz. Integrated circuits including planar GaAs Schottky diodes and passive circuit elements (such as bandpass filters) fabricated on quartz substrates. Circuits designed to operate as mixers in waveguide circuit at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. Integrated circuits mechanically more robust, larger, and easier to handle than planar Schottky diode chips. Quartz substrate more suitable for waveguide circuits than GaAs substrate.

Equivalent circuit modeling of a piezo-patch energy harvester on a thin plate with AC-DC conversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bayik, B.; Aghakhani, A.; Basdogan, I.; Erturk, A.

2016-05-01

As an alternative to beam-like structures, piezoelectric patch-based energy harvesters attached to thin plates can be readily integrated to plate-like structures in automotive, marine, and aerospace applications, in order to directly exploit structural vibration modes of the host system without mass loading and volumetric occupancy of cantilever attachments. In this paper, a multi-mode equivalent circuit model of a piezo-patch energy harvester integrated to a thin plate is developed and coupled with a standard AC-DC conversion circuit. Equivalent circuit parameters are obtained in two different ways: (1) from the modal analysis solution of a distributed-parameter analytical model and (2) from the finite-element numerical model of the harvester by accounting for two-way coupling. After the analytical modeling effort, multi-mode equivalent circuit representation of the harvester is obtained via electronic circuit simulation software SPICE. Using the SPICE software, electromechanical response of the piezoelectric energy harvester connected to linear and nonlinear circuit elements are computed. Simulation results are validated for the standard AC-AC and AC-DC configurations. For the AC input-AC output problem, voltage frequency response functions are calculated for various resistive loads, and they show excellent agreement with modal analysis-based analytical closed-form solution and with the finite-element model. For the standard ideal AC input-DC output case, a full-wave rectifier and a smoothing capacitor are added to the harvester circuit for conversion of the AC voltage to a stable DC voltage, which is also validated against an existing solution by treating the single-mode plate dynamics as a single-degree-of-freedom system.

Soldering Tool for Integrated Circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Takahashi, Ted H.

1987-01-01

Many connections soldered simultaneously in confined spaces. Improved soldering tool bonds integrated circuits onto printed-circuit boards. Intended especially for use with so-called "leadless-carrier" integrated circuits.

Etching and Growth of GaAs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seabaugh, A. C.; Mattauch, R., J.

1983-01-01

In-place process for etching and growth of gallium arsenide calls for presaturation of etch and growth melts by arsenic source crystal. Procedure allows precise control of thickness of etch and newly grown layer on substrate. Etching and deposition setup is expected to simplify processing and improve characteristics of gallium arsenide lasers, high-frequency amplifiers, and advanced integrated circuits.

The present situation and forecasts of semiconductor elements performance within the microwave range, 1970-1985

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peterson, B.

1978-01-01

The present situation and possible developments over the period 1970-1985 for active semiconductor elements in the microwave range are outlined. After a short historical survey of FT techniques, the following are discussed: Generation, power amplification, amplification of small signals, frequency conversion, detection, electronic signal control and integrated microwave circuits.

Integrated Circuit Wear out Prediction and Recycling Detection using Radio Frequency Distinct Native Attribute Features

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-22

105 A.1 Main Loop ... loop monitoring for preventative maintenance rather than early replacement based on statistical projections or replacement-after- failure schemes. IC...estimates, RF-DNA may provide a means to track an IC’s physical degradation during actual use. Monitoring an IC’s degradation in a closed loop fashion

Resonance Frequency Readout Circuit for a 900 MHz SAW Device

PubMed Central

Liu, Heng; Zhang, Chun; Weng, Zhaoyang; Guo, Yanshu; Wang, Zhihua

2017-01-01

A monolithic resonance frequency readout circuit with high resolution and short measurement time is presented for a 900 MHz RF surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor. The readout circuit is composed of a fractional-N phase-locked loop (PLL) as the stimulus source to the SAW device and a phase-based resonance frequency detecting circuit using successive approximation (SAR). A new resonance frequency searching strategy has been proposed based on the fact that the SAW device phase-frequency response crosses zero monotonically around the resonance frequency. A dedicated instant phase difference detecting circuit is adopted to facilitate the fast SAR operation for resonance frequency searching. The readout circuit has been implemented in 180 nm CMOS technology with a core area of 3.24 mm2. In the experiment, it works with a 900 MHz SAW resonator with a quality factor of Q = 130. Experimental results show that the readout circuit consumes 7 mW power from 1.6 V supply. The frequency resolution is 733 Hz, and the relative accuracy is 0.82 ppm, and it takes 0.48 ms to complete one measurement. Compared to the previous results in the literature, this work has achieved the shortest measurement time with a trade-off between measurement accuracy and measurement time. PMID:28914799

Resonance Frequency Readout Circuit for a 900 MHz SAW Device.

PubMed

Liu, Heng; Zhang, Chun; Weng, Zhaoyang; Guo, Yanshu; Wang, Zhihua

2017-09-15

A monolithic resonance frequency readout circuit with high resolution and short measurement time is presented for a 900 MHz RF surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor. The readout circuit is composed of a fractional-N phase-locked loop (PLL) as the stimulus source to the SAW device and a phase-based resonance frequency detecting circuit using successive approximation (SAR). A new resonance frequency searching strategy has been proposed based on the fact that the SAW device phase-frequency response crosses zero monotonically around the resonance frequency. A dedicated instant phase difference detecting circuit is adopted to facilitate the fast SAR operation for resonance frequency searching. The readout circuit has been implemented in 180 nm CMOS technology with a core area of 3.24 mm². In the experiment, it works with a 900 MHz SAW resonator with a quality factor of Q = 130. Experimental results show that the readout circuit consumes 7 mW power from 1.6 V supply. The frequency resolution is 733 Hz, and the relative accuracy is 0.82 ppm, and it takes 0.48 ms to complete one measurement. Compared to the previous results in the literature, this work has achieved the shortest measurement time with a trade-off between measurement accuracy and measurement time.

Novel matched amplifiers with low noise positive feedback. Part II: Resistive-capacitive feedback

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruck, Y.; Zakharenko, V.

2010-02-01

This article is a continuation of consideration for an amplifier with resistive positive feedback (RPF) (Bruck (2008), 'Novel Matched LNA with Low Noise Positive Feedback. Part 1: General Features and Resistive Feedback', International Journal of Electronics, 95, 441-456). We propose here new configuration schematics of a transformer-less selective LNA with resistive-capacitive positive feedback (RCPF). A circuit of an amplifier with a transistor connected into a circuit with a common base (CB) configuration is analysed in detail. RCPF and RPF circuits are compared. It is shown that the LNA RCPF provides any pass-band, a good level of input and output matching, a minimum noise temperature which is significantly lower than that of the LNA RPF, a rather high linearity, and stability of amplification. The simulation results and some experimental data for the amplifiers intended for use in the LOFAR radiotelescope (Konovalenko et al. (2003), 'Thirty Element Array Antenna as a Prototype of a Huge Low-Frequency Radio Telescope,' Experimental Astronomy, 16, 149-164; Konovalenko (2007), 'Ukrainian Contribution to LOFAR', A scientific workshop, organised by LOFAR/ASTRON' Emmen, Netherlands, 23-27. http://www.lofar.org/workshop) are given. It is assumed that such devices are of a special interest for high-frequency integral circuits (IC).

Wireless-powered electroactive soft microgripper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheong, Hau Ran; Teo, Choon Yee; Leow, Pei Ling; Lai, Koon Chun; Chee, Pei Song

2018-05-01

This paper presents a wireless powered single active finger ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) based microgripper that is operated using external radio-frequency (RF) magnetic field for biological cell manipulation application. A unimorph-like active finger is fabricated by integrating the IPMC actuator to the planar resonant LC receiver and DC rectifier circuits (made of flexible double-sided copper clad polyimide). The finger activated when the device is exposed to the external magnetic field generated by transmitter circuit that matches the resonant frequency of LC receiver circuit, ∼13.6 MHz in magnetic resonant coupling power transfer mechanism. The fabricated prototype shows a maximum IPMC deflection of 0.765 mm (activation force of 0.17 mN) at the RF power of 0.65 W with 3.5 VDC supplied from the LC receiver circuit. Three repeated ON-OFF wireless activation cycle was performed with the reported cumulative deflection of 0.57 mm. The cumulative deflection was increased to 1.17 mm, 1.19 mm and 1.24 mm for three different samples respectively at 5 VDC supplied. As a proof of concept, fish egg was used to represent the biological cell manipulation operation. The microgripper successfully gripped the fish egg sample without any damages. The experiments result validates the effectiveness of wireless RF soft microgripper towards the target application.

670-GHz Down- and Up-Converting HEMT-Based Mixers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schlecht, Enrich T.; Chattopadhyay, Goutam; Lin, Robert H.; Sin, Seth; Deal, William; Rodriquez, Bryan; Bayuk, Brian; Leong, Kevin; Mei, Gerry

2012-01-01

A large category of scientific investigation takes advantage of the interactions of signals in the frequency range from 300 to 1,000 GHz and higher. This includes astronomy and atmospheric science, where spectral observations in this frequency range give information about molecular abundances, pressures, and temperatures of small-sized molecules such as water. Additionally, there is a minimum in the atmospheric absorption at around 670 GHz that makes this frequency useful for terrestrial imaging, radar, and possibly communications purposes. This is because 670 GHz is a good compromise for imaging and radar applications between spatial resolution (for a given antenna size) that favors higher frequencies, and atmospheric losses that favor lower frequencies. A similar trade-off applies to communications link budgets: higher frequencies allow smaller antennas, but incur a higher loss. All of these applications usually require converting the RF (radio frequency) signal at 670 GHz to a lower IF (intermediate frequency) for processing. Further, transmitting for communication and radar generally requires up-conversion from IF to the RF. The current state-of-the-art device for performing the frequency conversion is based on Schottky diode mixers for both up and down conversion in this frequency range for room-temperature operation. Devices that can operate at room temperature are generally required for terrestrial, military, and planetary applications that cannot tolerate the mass, bulk, and power consumption of cryogenic cooling. The technology has recently advanced to the point that amplifiers in the region up to nearly 1,000 GHz are feasible. Almost all of these have been based on indium phosphide pseudomorphic high-electron mobility transistors (pHEMTs), in the form of monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs). Since the processing of HEMT amplifiers is quite differ en t from that of Schottky diodes, use of Schottky mixers requires separate MMICs for the mixers and amplifiers. Fabrication of all the down-/up-conversion circuitry on single MMICs, using a ll-HEMT circuits, would constitute a major advance in circuit simplicity.

Low-loss terahertz ribbon waveguides.

PubMed

Yeh, Cavour; Shimabukuro, Fred; Siegel, Peter H

2005-10-01

The submillimeter wave or terahertz (THz) band (1 mm-100 microm) is one of the last unexplored frontiers in the electromagnetic spectrum. A major stumbling block hampering instrument deployment in this frequency regime is the lack of a low-loss guiding structure equivalent to the optical fiber that is so prevalent at the visible wavelengths. The presence of strong inherent vibrational absorption bands in solids and the high skin-depth losses of conductors make the traditional microstripline circuits, conventional dielectric lines, or metallic waveguides, which are common at microwave frequencies, much too lossy to be used in the THz bands. Even the modern surface plasmon polariton waveguides are much too lossy for long-distance transmission in the THz bands. We describe a concept for overcoming this drawback and describe a new family of ultra-low-loss ribbon-based guide structures and matching components for propagating single-mode THz signals. For straight runs this ribbon-based waveguide can provide an attenuation constant that is more than 100 times less than that of a conventional dielectric or metallic waveguide. Problems dealing with efficient coupling of power into and out of the ribbon guide, achieving low-loss bends and branches, and forming THz circuit elements are discussed in detail. One notes that active circuit elements can be integrated directly onto the ribbon structure (when it is made with semiconductor material) and that the absence of metallic structures in the ribbon guide provides the possibility of high-power carrying capability. It thus appears that this ribbon-based dielectric waveguide and associated components can be used as fundamental building blocks for a new generation of ultra-high-speed electronic integrated circuits or THz interconnects.

Thermally-isolated silicon-based integrated circuits and related methods

DOEpatents

Wojciechowski, Kenneth; Olsson, Roy H.; Clews, Peggy J.; Bauer, Todd

2017-05-09

Thermally isolated devices may be formed by performing a series of etches on a silicon-based substrate. As a result of the series of etches, silicon material may be removed from underneath a region of an integrated circuit (IC). The removal of the silicon material from underneath the IC forms a gap between remaining substrate and the integrated circuit, though the integrated circuit remains connected to the substrate via a support bar arrangement that suspends the integrated circuit over the substrate. The creation of this gap functions to release the device from the substrate and create a thermally-isolated integrated circuit.

Fiber-Coupled Planar Light-Wave Circuit for Seed Laser Control in High Spectral Resolution Lidar Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cook, Anthony; McNeil, Shirley; Switzer, Gregg; Battle, Philip

2010-01-01

Precise laser remote sensing of aerosol extinction and backscatter in the atmosphere requires a high-power, pulsed, frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser that is wavelength- stabilized to a narrow absorption line such as found in iodine vapor. One method for precise wavelength control is to injection seed the Nd:YAG laser with a low-power CW laser that is stabilized by frequency converting a fraction of the beam to 532 nm, and to actively frequency-lock it to an iodine vapor absorption line. While the feasibility of this approach has been demonstrated using bulk optics in NASA Langley s Airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) program, an ideal, lower cost solution is to develop an all-waveguide, frequency-locked seed laser in a compact, robust package that will withstand the temperature, shock, and vibration levels associated with airborne and space-based remote sensing platforms. A key technology leading to this miniaturization is the integration of an efficient waveguide frequency doubling element, and a low-voltage phase modulation element into a single, monolithic, planar light-wave circuit (PLC). The PLC concept advances NASA's future lidar systems due to its compact, efficient and reliable design, thus enabling use on small aircraft and satellites. The immediate application for this technology is targeted for NASA Langley's HSRL system for aerosol and cloud characterization. This Phase I effort proposes the development of a potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) waveguide phase modulator for future integration into a PLC. For this innovation, the proposed device is the integration of a waveguide-based frequency doubler and phase modulator in a single, fiber pigtail device that will be capable of efficient second harmonic generation of 1,064-nm light and subsequent phase modulation of the 532 nm light at 250 MHz, providing a properly spectrally formatted beam for HSRL s seed laser locking system. Fabrication of the integrated PLC chip for NASA Langley, planned for the Phase II effort, will require full integration and optimization of the waveguide components (SHG waveguide, splitters, and phase modulator) onto a single, monolithic device. The PLC will greatly reduce the size and weight, improve electrical- to-optical efficiency, and significantly reduce the cost of NASA Langley s current stabilized HSRL seed laser system built around a commercial off-the-shelf seed laser that is free-space coupled to a bulk doubler and bulk phase modulator.

Wireless Neural Recording With Single Low-Power Integrated Circuit

PubMed Central

Harrison, Reid R.; Kier, Ryan J.; Chestek, Cynthia A.; Gilja, Vikash; Nuyujukian, Paul; Ryu, Stephen; Greger, Bradley; Solzbacher, Florian; Shenoy, Krishna V.

2010-01-01

We present benchtop and in vivo experimental results from an integrated circuit designed for wireless implantable neural recording applications. The chip, which was fabricated in a commercially available 0.6-μm 2P3M BiCMOS process, contains 100 amplifiers, a 10-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC), 100 threshold-based spike detectors, and a 902–928 MHz frequency-shift-keying (FSK) transmitter. Neural signals from a selected amplifier are sampled by the ADC at 15.7 kSps and telemetered over the FSK wireless data link. Power, clock, and command signals are sent to the chip wirelessly over a 2.765-MHz inductive (coil-to-coil) link. The chip is capable of operating with only two off-chip components: a power/command receiving coil and a 100-nF capacitor. PMID:19497825

Demonstration of a Submillimeter-Wave HEMT Oscillator Module at 330 GHz

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Radisic, Vesna; Deal, W. R.; Mei, X. B.; Yoshida, Wayne; Liu, P. H.; Uyeda, Jansen; Lai, Richard; Samoska, Lorene; Fung, King Man; Gaier, Todd;

Use of a Frequency Divider to Evaluate an SOI NAND Gate Device, Type CHT-7400, for Wide Temperature Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patterson, Richard L.; Hammoud, Ahmad

2010-01-01

Frequency dividers constitute essential elements in designing phase-locked loop circuits and microwave systems. In addition, they are used in providing required clocking signals to microprocessors and can be utilized as digital counters. In some applications, particularly space missions, electronics are often exposed to extreme temperature conditions. Therefore, it is required that circuits designed for such applications incorporate electronic parts and devices that can tolerate and operate efficiently in harsh temperature environments. While present electronic circuits employ COTS (commercial-off- the-shelf) parts that necessitate and are supported with some form of thermal control systems to maintain adequate temperature for proper operation, it is highly desirable and beneficial if the thermal conditioning elements are eliminated. Amongst these benefits are: simpler system design, reduced weight and size, improved reliability, simpler maintenance, and reduced cost. Devices based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology, which utilizes the addition of an insulation layer in the device structure to reduce leakage currents and to minimize parasitic junctions, are well suited for high temperatures due to reduced internal heating as compared to the conventional silicon devices, and less power consumption. In addition, SOI electronic integrated circuits display good tolerance to radiation by virtue of introducing barriers or lengthening the path for penetrating particles and/or providing a region for trapping incident ionization. The benefits of these parts make them suitable for use in deep space and planetary exploration missions where extreme temperatures and radiation are encountered. Although designed for high temperatures, very little data exist on the operation of SOI devices and circuits at cryogenic temperatures. In this work, the performance of a divide-by-two frequency divider circuit built using COTS SOI logic gates was evaluated over a wide temperature range and thermal cycling to determine suitability for use in space exploration missions and terrestrial fields under extreme temperature conditions.

A novel integrated structure with a radial displacement sensor and a permanent magnet biased radial magnetic bearing.

PubMed

Sun, Jinji; Zhang, Yin

2014-01-24

In this paper, a novel integrated structure is proposed in order to reduce the axial length of the high speed of a magnetically suspended motor (HSMSM) to ensure the maximum speed, which combines radial displacement sensor probes and the permanent magnet biased radial magnetic bearing in HSMSM. The sensor probes are integrated in the magnetic bearing, and the sensor preamplifiers are placed in the control system of the HSMSM, separate from the sensor probes. The proposed integrated structure can save space in HSMSMs, improve the working frequency, reduce the influence of temperature on the sensor circuit, and improve the stability of HSMSMs.

Synthesizing genetic sequential logic circuit with clock pulse generator.

PubMed

Chuang, Chia-Hua; Lin, Chun-Liang

2014-05-28

Rhythmic clock widely occurs in biological systems which controls several aspects of cell physiology. For the different cell types, it is supplied with various rhythmic frequencies. How to synthesize a specific clock signal is a preliminary but a necessary step to further development of a biological computer in the future. This paper presents a genetic sequential logic circuit with a clock pulse generator based on a synthesized genetic oscillator, which generates a consecutive clock signal whose frequency is an inverse integer multiple to that of the genetic oscillator. An analogous electronic waveform-shaping circuit is constructed by a series of genetic buffers to shape logic high/low levels of an oscillation input in a basic sinusoidal cycle and generate a pulse-width-modulated (PWM) output with various duty cycles. By controlling the threshold level of the genetic buffer, a genetic clock pulse signal with its frequency consistent to the genetic oscillator is synthesized. A synchronous genetic counter circuit based on the topology of the digital sequential logic circuit is triggered by the clock pulse to synthesize the clock signal with an inverse multiple frequency to the genetic oscillator. The function acts like a frequency divider in electronic circuits which plays a key role in the sequential logic circuit with specific operational frequency. A cascaded genetic logic circuit generating clock pulse signals is proposed. Based on analogous implement of digital sequential logic circuits, genetic sequential logic circuits can be constructed by the proposed approach to generate various clock signals from an oscillation signal.

Polypyrrole Porous Micro Humidity Sensor Integrated with a Ring Oscillator Circuit on Chip

PubMed Central

Yang, Ming-Zhi; Dai, Ching-Liang; Lu, De-Hao

2010-01-01

This study presents the design and fabrication of a capacitive micro humidity sensor integrated with a five-stage ring oscillator circuit on chip using the complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The area of the humidity sensor chip is about 1 mm2. The humidity sensor consists of a sensing capacitor and a sensing film. The sensing capacitor is constructed from spiral interdigital electrodes that can enhance the sensitivity of the sensor. The sensing film of the sensor is polypyrrole, which is prepared by the chemical polymerization method, and the film has a porous structure. The sensor needs a post-CMOS process to coat the sensing film. The post-CMOS process uses a wet etching to etch the sacrificial layers, and then the polypyrrole is coated on the sensing capacitor. The sensor generates a change in capacitance when the sensing film absorbs or desorbs vapor. The ring oscillator circuit converts the capacitance variation of the sensor into the oscillation frequency output. Experimental results show that the sensitivity of the humidity sensor is about 99 kHz/%RH at 25 °C. PMID:22163459

Polypyrrole porous micro humidity sensor integrated with a ring oscillator circuit on chip.

PubMed

Yang, Ming-Zhi; Dai, Ching-Liang; Lu, De-Hao

2010-01-01

This study presents the design and fabrication of a capacitive micro humidity sensor integrated with a five-stage ring oscillator circuit on chip using the complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The area of the humidity sensor chip is about 1 mm(2). The humidity sensor consists of a sensing capacitor and a sensing film. The sensing capacitor is constructed from spiral interdigital electrodes that can enhance the sensitivity of the sensor. The sensing film of the sensor is polypyrrole, which is prepared by the chemical polymerization method, and the film has a porous structure. The sensor needs a post-CMOS process to coat the sensing film. The post-CMOS process uses a wet etching to etch the sacrificial layers, and then the polypyrrole is coated on the sensing capacitor. The sensor generates a change in capacitance when the sensing film absorbs or desorbs vapor. The ring oscillator circuit converts the capacitance variation of the sensor into the oscillation frequency output. Experimental results show that the sensitivity of the humidity sensor is about 99 kHz/%RH at 25 °C.

Integration of Low-Power ASIC and MEMS Sensors for Monitoring Gastrointestinal Tract Using a Wireless Capsule System.

PubMed

Arefin, Md Shamsul; Redoute, Jean-Michel; Yuce, Mehmet Rasit

2018-01-01

This paper presents a wireless capsule microsystem to detect and monitor the pH, pressure, and temperature of the gastrointestinal tract in real time. This research contributes to the integration of sensors (microfabricated capacitive pH, capacitive pressure, and resistive temperature sensors), frequency modulation and pulse width modulation based interface IC circuits, microcontroller, and transceiver with meandered conformal antenna for the development of a capsule system. The challenges associated with the system miniaturization, higher sensitivity and resolution of sensors, and lower power consumption of interface circuits are addressed. The layout, PCB design, and packaging of a miniaturized wireless capsule, having diameter of 13 mm and length of 28 mm, have successfully been implemented. A data receiver and recorder system is also designed to receive physiological data from the wireless capsule and to send it to a computer for real-time display and recording. Experiments are performed in vitro using a stomach model and minced pork as tissue simulating material. The real-time measurements also validate the suitability of sensors, interface circuits, and meandered antenna for wireless capsule applications.

Multilevel photonic modules for millimeter-wave phased-array antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paolella, Arthur C.; Bauerle, Athena; Joshi, Abhay M.; Wright, James G.; Coryell, Louis A.

2000-09-01

Millimeter wave phased array systems have antenna element sizes and spacings similar to MMIC chip dimensions by virtue of the operating wavelength. Designing modules in traditional planar packaing techniques are therefore difficult to implement. An advantageous way to maintain a small module footprint compatible with Ka-Band and high frequency systems is to take advantage of two leading edge technologies, opto- electronic integrated circuits (OEICs) and multilevel packaging technology. Under a Phase II SBIR these technologies are combined to form photonic modules for optically controlled millimeter wave phased array antennas. The proposed module, consisting of an OEIC integrated with a planar antenna array will operate on the 40GHz region. The OEIC consists of an InP based dual-depletion PIN photodetector and distributed amplifier. The multi-level module will be fabricated using an enhanced circuit processing thick film process. Since the modules are batch fabricated using an enhanced circuit processing thick film process. Since the modules are batch fabricated, using standard commercial processes, it has the potential to be low cost while maintaining high performance, impacting both military and commercial communications systems.

A G-band terahertz monolithic integrated amplifier in 0.5-μm InP double heterojunction bipolar transistor technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ou-Peng, Li; Yong, Zhang; Rui-Min, Xu; Wei, Cheng; Yuan, Wang; Bing, Niu; Hai-Yan, Lu

2016-05-01

Design and characterization of a G-band (140-220 GHz) terahertz monolithic integrated circuit (TMIC) amplifier in eight-stage common-emitter topology are performed based on the 0.5-μm InGaAs/InP double heterojunction bipolar transistor (DHBT). An inverted microstrip line is implemented to avoid a parasitic mode between the ground plane and the InP substrate. The on-wafer measurement results show that peak gains are 20 dB at 140 GHz and more than 15-dB gain at 140-190 GHz respectively. The saturation output powers are -2.688 dBm at 210 GHz and -2.88 dBm at 220 GHz, respectively. It is the first report on an amplifier operating at the G-band based on 0.5-μm InP DHBT technology. Compared with the hybrid integrated circuit of vacuum electronic devices, the monolithic integrated circuit has the advantage of reliability and consistency. This TMIC demonstrates the feasibility of the 0.5-μm InGaAs/InP DHBT amplifier in G-band frequencies applications. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61501091) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Ministry of Education of China (Grant Nos. ZYGX2014J003 and ZYGX2013J020).

19 CFR 10.14 - Fabricated components subject to the exemption.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... assembled, such as transistors, diodes, integrated circuits, machinery parts, or precut parts of wearing..., or integrated circuit wafers containing individual integrated circuit dice which have been scribed or... resulted in a substantial transformation of the foreign copper ingots. Example 2. An integrated circuit...

The Superconducting Cavity Stabilized Oscillator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turneaure, J. P.; Buchman, Saps; Lipa, John

1997-01-01

Superconducting Cavity Stabilized Oscillators (SCSOs) have produced the most stable clocks to date for integration times between 10(exp 2) and 10(exp 3) seconds, achieving a fractional frequency stability of 2 x 10(exp -16) for a sampling time of 100 s. The principal contributors to cavity frequency variations are: (1) acceleration effects due to gravity and vibrations; (2) temperature variations; (3) variations in the energy stored in the cavity; and (4) noise introduced by the frequency stabilization circuit. We discuss the prospects for improvements in all these areas for both ground-based and space-based SCSOs, which may lead to SCSOs with fractional frequency stabilities below 10(exp -17). SCSOs of this frequency stability will be useful for testing fundamental physical principles.

High-speed photodiodes for InP-based photonic integrated circuits.

PubMed

Rouvalis, E; Chtioui, M; Tran, M; Lelarge, F; van Dijk, F; Fice, M J; Renaud, C C; Carpintero, G; Seeds, A J

2012-04-09

We demonstrate the feasibility of monolithic integration of evanescently coupled Uni-Traveling Carrier Photodiodes (UTC-PDs) having a bandwidth exceeding 100 GHz with Multimode Interference (MMI) couplers. This platform is suitable for active-passive, butt-joint monolithic integration with various Multiple Quantum Well (MQW) devices for narrow linewidth millimeter-wave photomixing sources. The fabricated devices achieved a high 3-dB bandwidth of up to 110 GHz and a generated output power of more than 0 dBm (1 mW) at 120 GHz with a flat frequency response over the microwave F-band (90-140 GHz).

Fast and High Dynamic Range Imaging with Superconducting Tunnel Junction Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsuo, Hiroshi

2014-08-01

We have demonstrated a combined test of the submillimeter-wave SIS photon detectors and GaAs-JFET cryogenic integrated circuits. A relatively large background photo-current can be read out by fast-reset integrating amplifiers. An integration time of 1 ms enables fast frame rate readout and large dynamic range imaging, with an expected dynamic range of 8,000 in 1 ms. Ultimate fast and high dynamic range performance of superconducting tunnel junction detectors (STJ) will be obtained when photon counting capabilities are employed. In the terahertz frequencies, when input photon rate of 100 MHz is measured, the photon bunching gives us enough timing resolution to be used as phase information of intensity fluctuation. Application of photon statistics will be a new tool in the terahertz frequency region. The design parameters of STJ terahertz photon counting detectors are discussed.

A low-power integrated humidity CMOS sensor by printing-on-chip technology.

PubMed

Lee, Chang-Hung; Chuang, Wen-Yu; Cowan, Melissa A; Wu, Wen-Jung; Lin, Chih-Ting

2014-05-23

A low-power, wide-dynamic-range integrated humidity sensing chip is implemented using a printable polymer sensing material with an on-chip pulse-width-modulation interface circuit. By using the inkjet printing technique, poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene)/polystyrene sulfonate that has humidity sensing features can be printed onto the top metal layer of a 0.35 μm CMOS IC. The developed printing-on-chip humidity sensor achieves a heterogeneous three dimensional sensor system-on-chip architecture. The humidity sensing of the implemented printing-on-chip sensor system is experimentally tested. The sensor shows a sensitivity of 0.98% to humidity in the atmosphere. The maximum dynamic range of the readout circuit is 9.8 MΩ, which can be further tuned by the frequency of input signal to fit the requirement of the resistance of printed sensor. The power consumption keeps only 154 μW. This printing-on-chip sensor provides a practical solution to fulfill an ultra-small integrated sensor for the applications in miniaturized sensing systems.

Measurement of the Boltzmann constant by Johnson noise thermometry using a superconducting integrated circuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urano, C.; Yamazawa, K.; Kaneko, N.-H.

2017-12-01

We report on our measurement of the Boltzmann constant by Johnson noise thermometry (JNT) using an integrated quantum voltage noise source (IQVNS) that is fully implemented with superconducting integrated circuit technology. The IQVNS generates calculable pseudo white noise voltages to calibrate the JNT system. The thermal noise of a sensing resistor placed at the temperature of the triple point of water was measured precisely by the IQVNS-based JNT. We accumulated data of more than 429 200 s in total (over 6 d) and used the Akaike information criterion to estimate the fitting frequency range for the quadratic model to calculate the Boltzmann constant. Upon detailed evaluation of the uncertainty components, the experimentally obtained Boltzmann constant was k=1.380 6436× {{10}-23} J K-1 with a relative combined uncertainty of 10.22× {{10}-6} . The value of k is relatively -3.56× {{10}-6} lower than the CODATA 2014 value (Mohr et al 2016 Rev. Mod. Phys. 88 035009).

A Low-Power Integrated Humidity CMOS Sensor by Printing-on-Chip Technology

PubMed Central

Lee, Chang-Hung; Chuang, Wen-Yu; Cowan, Melissa A.; Wu, Wen-Jung; Lin, Chih-Ting

2014-01-01

A low-power, wide-dynamic-range integrated humidity sensing chip is implemented using a printable polymer sensing material with an on-chip pulse-width-modulation interface circuit. By using the inkjet printing technique, poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene)/polystyrene sulfonate that has humidity sensing features can be printed onto the top metal layer of a 0.35 μm CMOS IC. The developed printing-on-chip humidity sensor achieves a heterogeneous three dimensional sensor system-on-chip architecture. The humidity sensing of the implemented printing-on-chip sensor system is experimentally tested. The sensor shows a sensitivity of 0.98% to humidity in the atmosphere. The maximum dynamic range of the readout circuit is 9.8 MΩ, which can be further tuned by the frequency of input signal to fit the requirement of the resistance of printed sensor. The power consumption keeps only 154 μW. This printing-on-chip sensor provides a practical solution to fulfill an ultra-small integrated sensor for the applications in miniaturized sensing systems. PMID:24859027

A simple structure wavelet transform circuit employing function link neural networks and SI filters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mu, Li; Yigang, He

2016-12-01

Signal processing by means of analog circuits offers advantages from a power consumption viewpoint. Implementing wavelet transform (WT) using analog circuits is of great interest when low-power consumption becomes an important issue. In this article, a novel simple structure WT circuit in analog domain is presented by employing functional link neural network (FLNN) and switched-current (SI) filters. First, the wavelet base is approximated using FLNN algorithms for giving a filter transfer function that is suitable for simple structure WT circuit implementation. Next, the WT circuit is constructed with the wavelet filter bank, whose impulse response is the approximated wavelet and its dilations. The filter design that follows is based on a follow-the-leader feedback (FLF) structure with multiple output bilinear SI integrators and current mirrors as the main building blocks. SI filter is well suited for this application since the dilation constant across different scales of the transform can be precisely implemented and controlled by the clock frequency of the circuit with the same system architecture. Finally, to illustrate the design procedure, a seventh-order FLNN-approximated Gaussian wavelet is implemented as an example. Simulations have successfully verified that the designed simple structure WT circuit has low sensitivity, low-power consumption and litter effect to the imperfections.

47 CFR 2.925 - Identification of equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... sections assembled in a common enclosure, on a common chassis or circuit board, and with common frequency controlling circuits. Devices to which a single FCC Identifier has been assigned shall be identified pursuant... circuit boards with independent frequency controlling circuits. The FCC Identifier assigned to any...

47 CFR 2.925 - Identification of equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... common chassis or circuit board, and with common frequency controlling circuits. Devices to which a... common enclosure, but constructed on separate sub-units or circuit boards with independent frequency controlling circuits. The FCC Identifier assigned to any transmitter section shall be preceded by the term TX...

47 CFR 2.925 - Identification of equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... common chassis or circuit board, and with common frequency controlling circuits. Devices to which a... common enclosure, but constructed on separate sub-units or circuit boards with independent frequency controlling circuits. The FCC Identifier assigned to any transmitter section shall be preceded by the term TX...

47 CFR 2.925 - Identification of equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... common chassis or circuit board, and with common frequency controlling circuits. Devices to which a... common enclosure, but constructed on separate sub-units or circuit boards with independent frequency controlling circuits. The FCC Identifier assigned to any transmitter section shall be preceded by the term TX...

47 CFR 2.925 - Identification of equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... common chassis or circuit board, and with common frequency controlling circuits. Devices to which a... common enclosure, but constructed on separate sub-units or circuit boards with independent frequency controlling circuits. The FCC Identifier assigned to any transmitter section shall be preceded by the term TX...

Transport properties of silicon complementary-metal-oxide semiconductor quantum well field-effect transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naquin, Clint Alan

Introducing explicit quantum transport into silicon (Si) transistors in a manner compatible with industrial fabrication has proven challenging, yet has the potential to transform the performance horizons of large scale integrated Si devices and circuits. Explicit quantum transport as evidenced by negative differential transconductances (NDTCs) has been observed in a set of quantum well (QW) n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) transistors fabricated using industrial silicon complementary MOS processing. The QW potential was formed via lateral ion implantation doping on a commercial 45 nm technology node process line, and measurements of the transfer characteristics show NDTCs up to room temperature. Detailed gate length and temperature dependence characteristics of the NDTCs in these devices have been measured. Gate length dependence of NDTCs shows a correlation of the interface channel length with the number of NDTCs formed as well as with the gate voltage (VG) spacing between NDTCs. The VG spacing between multiple NDTCs suggests a quasi-parabolic QW potential profile. The temperature dependence is consistent with partial freeze-out of carrier concentration against a degenerately doped background. A folding amplifier frequency multiplier circuit using a single QW NMOS transistor to generate a folded current-voltage transfer function via a NDTC was demonstrated. Time domain data shows frequency doubling in the kHz range at room temperature, and Fourier analysis confirms that the output is dominated by the second harmonic of the input. De-embedding the circuit response characteristics from parasitic cable and contact impedances suggests that in the absence of parasitics the doubling bandwidth could be as high as 10 GHz in a monolithic integrated circuit, limited by the transresistance magnitude of the QW NMOS. This is the first example of a QW device fabricated by mainstream Si CMOS technology being used in a circuit application and establishes the feasibility of scalable CMOS circuits that exploit explicit quantum transport. Ongoing quantum transport simulations based off of the spatial dopant distribution suggests a quasi-parabolic potential profile. Energy spacings between resonant transmission states are not consistent with experimental data, suggesting that either the assumed transport model is incomplete, or scattering mechanisms significantly mix the quasi-bound states and broaden the energy spacings.

Optically-switched submillimeter-wave oscillator and radiator having a switch-to-switch propagation delay

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spencer, Michael G. (Inventor); Maserjian, Joseph (Inventor)

1995-01-01

A submillimeter wave-generating integrated circuit includes an array of N photoconductive switches biased across a common voltage source and an optical path difference from a common optical pulse of repetition rate f sub 0 providing a different optical delay to each of the switches. In one embodiment, each incoming pulse is applied to successive ones of the N switches with successive delays. The N switches are spaced apart with a suitable switch-to-switch spacing so as to generate at the output load or antenna radiation of a submillimeter wave frequency f on the order of N f sub 0. Preferably, the optical pulse has a repetition rate of at least 10 GHz and N is of the order of 100, so that the circuit generates radiation of frequency of the order of or greater than 1 Terahertz.

TDR method for determine IC's parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Timoshenkov, V.; Rodionov, D.; Khlybov, A.

2016-12-01

Frequency domain simulation is a widely used approach for determine integrated circuits parameters. This approach can be found in most of software tools used in IC industry. Time domain simulation approach shows intensive usage last years due to some advantages. In particular it applicable for analysis of nonlinear and nonstationary systems where frequency domain is inapplicable. Resolution of time domain systems allow see heterogeneities on distance 1mm, determine it parameters and properties. Authors used approach based on detecting reflected signals from heterogeneities - time domain reflectometry (TDR). Field effect transistor technology scaling up to 30-60nm gate length and 10nm gate dielectric, heterojunction bi-polar transistors with 10-30nm base width allows fabricate digital IC's with 20GHz clock frequency and RF-IC's with tens GHz bandwidth. Such devices and operation speed suppose transit signal by use microwave lines. There are local heterogeneities can be found inside of the signal path due to connections between different parts of signal lines (stripe line-RF-connector pin, stripe line - IC package pin). These heterogeneities distort signals that cause bandwidth decrease for RF-devices. Time domain research methods of transmission and reflected signals give the opportunities to determine heterogeneities, it properties, parameters and built up equivalent circuits. Experimental results are provided and show possibility for inductance and capacitance measurement up to 25GHz. Measurements contains result of signal path research on IC and printed circuit board (PCB) used for 12GHz RF chips. Also dielectric constant versus frequency was measured up to 35GHz.

Bistability in a complementary metal oxide semiconductor inverter circuit.

PubMed

Carroll, Thomas L

2005-09-01

Radiofrequency signals can disrupt the operation of low frequency circuits. A digital inverter circuit would seem to be immune to such disruption, because its output state usually jumps abruptly between 0 and 5 V. Nevertheless, when driven with a high frequency signal, the inverter can have two coexisting stable states (which are not at 0 and 5 V). Slow switching between these states (by changing the rf signal) will produce a low frequency signal. I demonstrate the bistability in a circuit experiment and in a simple model of the circuit.

Cryogenic Pound Circuits for Cryogenic Sapphire Oscillators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dick, G. John; Wang, Rabi

2006-01-01

Two modern cryogenic variants of the Pound circuit have been devised to increase the frequency stability of microwave oscillators that include cryogenic sapphire-filled cavity resonators. The original Pound circuit is a microwave frequency discriminator that provides feedback to stabilize a voltage-controlled microwave oscillator with respect to an associated cavity resonator. In the present cryogenic Pound circuits, the active microwave devices are implemented by use of state-of-the-art commercially available tunnel diodes that exhibit low flicker noise (required for high frequency stability) and function well at low temperatures and at frequencies up to several tens of gigahertz. While tunnel diodes are inherently operable as amplitude detectors and amplitude modulators, they cannot, by themselves, induce significant phase modulation. Therefore, each of the present cryogenic Pound circuits includes passive circuitry that transforms the AM into the required PM. Each circuit also contains an AM detector that is used to sample the microwave signal at the input terminal of the high-Q resonator for the purpose of verifying the desired AM null at this point. Finally, each circuit contains a Pound signal detector that puts out a signal, at the modulation frequency, having an amplitude proportional to the frequency error in the input signal. High frequency stability is obtained by processing this output signal into feedback to a voltage-controlled oscillator to continuously correct the frequency error in the input signal.

Asymmetric resonance response analysis of a thermally excited silicon microcantilever for mass-sensitive nanoparticle detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bertke, Maik; Hamdana, Gerry; Wu, Wenze; Wasisto, Hutomo Suryo; Peiner, Erwin

2017-06-01

The asymmetric resonance responses of a thermally actuated silicon microcantilever of a portable, cantilever-based nanoparticle detector (Cantor) is analysed. For airborne nanoparticle concentration measurements, the cantilever is excited in its first in-plane bending mode by an integrated p-type heating actuator. The mass-sensitive nanoparticle (NP) detection is based on the resonance frequency (f0) shifting due to the deposition of NPs. A homemade phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit is developed for tracking of f0. For deflection sensing the cantilever contains an integrated piezo-resistive Wheatstone bridge (WB). A new fitting function based on the Fano resonance is proposed for analysing the asymmetric resonance curves including a method for calculating the quality factor Q from the fitting parameters. To obtain a better understanding, we introduce an electrical equivalent circuit diagram (ECD) comprising a series resonant circuit (SRC) for the cantilever resonator and voltage sources for the parasitics, which enables us to simulate the asymmetric resonance response and discuss the possible causes. Furthermore, we compare the frequency response of the on-chip thermal excitation with an external excitation using an in-plane piezo actuator revealing parasitic heating of the WB as the origin of the asymmetry. Moreover, we are able to model the phase component of the sensor output using the ECD. Knowing and understanding the phase response is crucial to the design of the PLL and thus the next generation of Cantor.

A Generalized Fast Frequency Sweep Algorithm for Coupled Circuit-EM Simulations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rockway, J D; Champagne, N J; Sharpe, R M

2004-01-14

Frequency domain techniques are popular for analyzing electromagnetics (EM) and coupled circuit-EM problems. These techniques, such as the method of moments (MoM) and the finite element method (FEM), are used to determine the response of the EM portion of the problem at a single frequency. Since only one frequency is solved at a time, it may take a long time to calculate the parameters for wideband devices. In this paper, a fast frequency sweep based on the Asymptotic Wave Expansion (AWE) method is developed and applied to generalized mixed circuit-EM problems. The AWE method, which was originally developed for lumped-loadmore » circuit simulations, has recently been shown to be effective at quasi-static and low frequency full-wave simulations. Here it is applied to a full-wave MoM solver, capable of solving for metals, dielectrics, and coupled circuit-EM problems.« less

Low phase noise oscillator using two parallel connected amplifiers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kleinberg, Leonard L.

1987-01-01

A high frequency oscillator is provided by connecting two amplifier circuits in parallel where each amplifier circuit provides the other amplifier circuit with the conditions necessary for oscillation. The inherent noise present in both amplifier circuits causes the quiescent current, and in turn, the generated frequency, to change. The changes in quiescent current cause the transconductance and the load impedance of each amplifier circuit to vary, and this in turn results in opposing changes in the input susceptance of each amplifier circuit. Because the changes in input susceptance oppose each other, the changes in quiescent current also oppose each other. The net result is that frequency stability is enhanced.

Novel microwave photonic fractional Hilbert transformer using a ring resonator-based optical all-pass filter.

PubMed

Zhuang, Leimeng; Khan, Muhammad Rezaul; Beeker, Willem; Leinse, Arne; Heideman, René; Roeloffzen, Chris

2012-11-19

We propose and demonstrate a novel wideband microwave photonic fractional Hilbert transformer implemented using a ring resonator-based optical all-pass filter. The full programmability of the ring resonator allows variable and arbitrary fractional order of the Hilbert transformer. The performance analysis in both frequency and time domain validates that the proposed implementation provides a good approximation to an ideal fractional Hilbert transformer. This is also experimentally verified by an electrical S₂₁ response characterization performed on a waveguide realization of a ring resonator. The waveguide-based structure allows the proposed Hilbert transformer to be integrated together with other building blocks on a photonic integrated circuit to create various system-level functionalities for on-chip microwave photonic signal processors. As an example, a circuit consisting of a splitter and a ring resonator has been realized which can perform on-chip phase control of microwave signals generated by means of optical heterodyning, and simultaneous generation of in-phase and quadrature microwave signals for a wide frequency range. For these functionalities, this simple and on-chip solution is considered to be practical, particularly when operating together with a dual-frequency laser. To our best knowledge, this is the first-time on-chip demonstration where ring resonators are employed to perform phase control functionalities for optical generation of microwave signals by means of optical heterodyning.

77 FR 35426 - Certain Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits and Devices Containing Same; Institution of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-13

... U.S.C. 1337, on behalf of Peregrine Semiconductor Corporation of San Diego, California. Supplements... alleges that an industry in the United States exists as required by subsection (a)(2) of section 337. The...; and claims 1, 3, 5, and 6 of the `499 patent, and whether an industry in the United States exists as...

A periodic piezoelectric smart structure with the integrated passive/active vibration-reduction performances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yuxi; Niu, Shengkai; Hu, Yuantai

2017-06-01

The paper proposes a new piezoelectric smart structure with the integrated passive/active vibration-reduction performances, which is made of a series of periodic structural units. Every structural unit is made of two layers, one is an array of piezoelectric bimorphs (PBs) and one is an array of metal beams (MBs), both are connected as a whole by a metal plate. Analyses show that such a periodic smart structure possesses two aspects of vibration-reduction performance: one comes from its phonon crystal characteristics which can isolate those vibrations with the driving frequency inside the band gap(s). The other one comes from the electromechanical conversion of bent PBs, which is actively aimed at those vibrations with the driving frequency outside the band gap(s). By adjusting external inductance, the equivalent circuit of the proposed structure can be forced into parallel resonance such that most of the vibration energy is converted into electrical energy for dissipation by a resistance. Thus, an external circuit under the parallel resonance state is equivalent to a strong damping to the interrelated vibrating structure, which is just the action mechanism of the active vibration reduction performance of the proposed smart structure.

High-performance packaging for monolithic microwave and millimeter-wave integrated circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shalkhauser, K. A.; Li, K.; Shih, Y. C.

1992-01-01

Packaging schemes were developed that provide low-loss, hermetic enclosure for advanced monolithic microwave and millimeter-wave integrated circuits (MMICs). The package designs are based on a fused quartz substrate material that offers improved radio frequency (RF) performance through 44 gigahertz (GHz). The small size and weight of the packages make them appropriate for a variety of applications, including phased array antenna systems. Packages were designed in two forms; one for housing a single MMIC chip, the second in the form of a multi-chip phased array module. The single chip array module was developed in three separate sizes, for chips of different geometry and frequency requirements. The phased array module was developed to address packaging directly for antenna applications, and includes transmission line and interconnect structures to support multi-element operation. All packages are fabricated using fused quartz substrate materials. As part of the packaging effort, a test fixture was developed to interface the single chip packages to conventional laboratory instrumentation for characterization of the packaged devices. The package and test fixture designs were both developed in a generic sense, optimizing performance for a wide range of possible applications and devices.

Integrated mixed signal control IC for 500-kHz switching frequency buck regulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Keng; Zhang, Hong

2015-12-01

The main purpose for this work is to study the challenges of designing a digital buck regulator using pipelined analog to digital converter (ADC). Although pipelined ADC can achieve high sampling speed, it will introduce additional phase lag to the buck circuit. Along with the latency brought by processing time of additional digital circuits, as well as the time delay associated with the switching frequency, the closed loop will be unstable; moreover, raw ADC outputs have low signal-to-noise ratio, which usually need back-end calibration. In order to compensate these phase lag and make control loop unconditional stable, as well as boost up signal-to-noise ratio of the ADC block with cost-efficient design, a finite impulse response filter followed by digital proportional-integral-derivative blocks were designed. All these digital function blocks were optimised with processing speed. In the system simulation, it can be found that this controller achieved output regulation within 10% of nominal 5 V output voltage under 1 A/µs load transient condition; moreover, with the soft-start method, there is no turn-on overshooting. The die size of this controller is controlled within 3 mm2 by using 180 nm CMOS technology.

A study on thermal characteristics analysis model of high frequency switching transformer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoo, Jin-Hyung; Jung, Tae-Uk

2015-05-01

Recently, interest has been shown in research on the module-integrated converter (MIC) in small-scale photovoltaic (PV) generation. In an MIC, the voltage boosting high frequency transformer should be designed to be compact in size and have high efficiency. In response to the need to satisfy these requirements, this paper presents a coupled electromagnetic analysis model of a transformer connected with a high frequency switching DC-DC converter circuit while considering thermal characteristics due to the copper and core losses. A design optimization procedure for high efficiency is also presented using this design analysis method, and it is verified by the experimental result.

The resonant body transistor.

PubMed

Weinstein, Dana; Bhave, Sunil A

2010-04-14

This paper introduces the resonant body transistor (RBT), a silicon-based dielectrically transduced nanoelectromechanical (NEM) resonator embedding a sense transistor directly into the resonator body. Combining the benefits of FET sensing with the frequency scaling capabilities and high quality factors (Q) of internal dielectrically transduced bar resonators, the resonant body transistor achieves >10 GHz frequencies and can be integrated into a standard CMOS process for on-chip clock generation, high-Q microwave circuits, fundamental quantum-state preparation and observation, and high-sensitivity measurements. An 11.7 GHz bulk-mode RBT is demonstrated with a quality factor Q of 1830, marking the highest frequency acoustic resonance measured to date on a silicon wafer.

Design of an Integrated Thermoelectric Generator Power Converter for Ultra-Low Power and Low Voltage Body Energy Harvesters aimed at EEG/ECG Active Electrodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ataei, Milad; Robert, Christian; Boegli, Alexis; Farine, Pierre-André

2014-11-01

This paper describes a design procedure for an efficient body thermal energy harvesting integrated power converter. This procedure is based on loss examination for a selfpowered medical device. All optimum system parameters are calculated respecting the transducer constraints and the application form factor. It is found that it is possible to optimize converter's working frequency with proper design of its pulse generator circuit. At selected frequency, it has been demonstrated that wide area voltage doubler can be eliminated at the expense of wider switches. With this method, more than 60% efficiency is achieved in simulation for just 20mV transducer output voltage and 30% of entire chip area is saved.

Demonstration of a Sub-Millimeter Wave Integrated Circuit (S-MMIC) using InP HEMT with a 35-nm Gate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deal, W. R.; Din, S.; Padilla, J.; Radisic, V.; Mei, G.; Yoshida, W.; Liu, P. S.; Uyeda, J.; Barsky, M.; Gaier, T.;

A More Accurate and Efficient Technique Developed for Using Computational Methods to Obtain Helical Traveling-Wave Tube Interaction Impedance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kory, Carol L.

1999-01-01

The phenomenal growth of commercial communications has created a great demand for traveling-wave tube (TWT) amplifiers. Although the helix slow-wave circuit remains the mainstay of the TWT industry because of its exceptionally wide bandwidth, until recently it has been impossible to accurately analyze a helical TWT using its exact dimensions because of the complexity of its geometrical structure. For the first time, an accurate three-dimensional helical model was developed that allows accurate prediction of TWT cold-test characteristics including operating frequency, interaction impedance, and attenuation. This computational model, which was developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center, allows TWT designers to obtain a more accurate value of interaction impedance than is possible using experimental methods. Obtaining helical slow-wave circuit interaction impedance is an important part of the design process for a TWT because it is related to the gain and efficiency of the tube. This impedance cannot be measured directly; thus, conventional methods involve perturbing a helical circuit with a cylindrical dielectric rod placed on the central axis of the circuit and obtaining the difference in resonant frequency between the perturbed and unperturbed circuits. A mathematical relationship has been derived between this frequency difference and the interaction impedance (ref. 1). However, because of the complex configuration of the helical circuit, deriving this relationship involves several approximations. In addition, this experimental procedure is time-consuming and expensive, but until recently it was widely accepted as the most accurate means of determining interaction impedance. The advent of an accurate three-dimensional helical circuit model (ref. 2) made it possible for Lewis researchers to fully investigate standard approximations made in deriving the relationship between measured perturbation data and interaction impedance. The most prominent approximations made in the analysis were addressed and fully investigated for their accuracy by using the three-dimensional electromagnetic simulation code MAFIA (Solution of Maxwell's Equations by the Finite Integration Algorithm) (refs. 3 and 4). We found that several approximations introduced significant error (ref. 5).

Vacuum Microelectronic Field Emission Array Devices for Microwave Amplification.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mancusi, Joseph Edward

This dissertation presents the design, analysis, and measurement of vacuum microelectronic devices which use field emission to extract an electron current from arrays of silicon cones. The arrays of regularly-spaced silicon cones, the field emission cathodes or emitters, are fabricated with an integrated gate electrode which controls the electric field at the tip of the cone, and thus the electron current. An anode or collector electrode is placed above the array to collect the emission current. These arrays, which are fabricated in a standard silicon processing facility, are developed for use as high power microwave amplifiers. Field emission has been studied extensively since it was first characterized in 1928, however due to the large electric fields required practical field emission devices are difficult to make. With the development of the semiconductor industry came the development of fabrication equipment and techniques which allow for the manufacture of the precision micron-scale structures necessary for practical field emission devices. The active region of a field emission device is a vacuum, therefore the electron travel is ballistic. This analysis of field emission devices includes electric field and electron emission modeling, development of a device equivalent circuit, analysis of the parameters in the equivalent circuit, and device testing. Variations in device structure are taken into account using a statistical model based upon device measurements. Measurements of silicon field emitter arrays at DC and RF are presented and analyzed. In this dissertation, the equivalent circuit is developed from the analysis of the device structure. The circuit parameters are calculated from geometrical considerations and material properties, or are determined from device measurements. It is necessary to include the emitter resistance in the equivalent circuit model since relatively high resistivity silicon wafers are used. As is demonstrated, the circuit model accurately predicts the magnitude of the emission current at a number of typical bias current levels when the device is operating at frequencies within the range of 10 MHz to 1 GHz. At low frequencies and at high frequencies within this range, certain parameters are negligible, and simplifications may be made in the equivalent circuit model.

Synthesizing genetic sequential logic circuit with clock pulse generator

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Rhythmic clock widely occurs in biological systems which controls several aspects of cell physiology. For the different cell types, it is supplied with various rhythmic frequencies. How to synthesize a specific clock signal is a preliminary but a necessary step to further development of a biological computer in the future. Results This paper presents a genetic sequential logic circuit with a clock pulse generator based on a synthesized genetic oscillator, which generates a consecutive clock signal whose frequency is an inverse integer multiple to that of the genetic oscillator. An analogous electronic waveform-shaping circuit is constructed by a series of genetic buffers to shape logic high/low levels of an oscillation input in a basic sinusoidal cycle and generate a pulse-width-modulated (PWM) output with various duty cycles. By controlling the threshold level of the genetic buffer, a genetic clock pulse signal with its frequency consistent to the genetic oscillator is synthesized. A synchronous genetic counter circuit based on the topology of the digital sequential logic circuit is triggered by the clock pulse to synthesize the clock signal with an inverse multiple frequency to the genetic oscillator. The function acts like a frequency divider in electronic circuits which plays a key role in the sequential logic circuit with specific operational frequency. Conclusions A cascaded genetic logic circuit generating clock pulse signals is proposed. Based on analogous implement of digital sequential logic circuits, genetic sequential logic circuits can be constructed by the proposed approach to generate various clock signals from an oscillation signal. PMID:24884665

Hybrid circuit achieves pulse regeneration with low power drain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cancro, C. A.

1965-01-01

Hybrid tunnel diode-transistor circuit provides a solid-state, low power drain pulse regenerator, frequency limiter, or gated oscillator. When the feedback voltage exceeds the input voltage, the circuit functions as a pulse normalizer or a frequency limiter. If the circuit is direct coupled, it functions as a gated oscillator.

Ultrastable automatic frequency control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sabourin, D. J.; Furiga, A.

1981-01-01

Center frequency of wideband AFC circuit drifts only hundredths of percent per day. Since circuit responds only to slow frequency drifts and modulation signal has high-pass characteristics, AFC does not interfere with normal FM operation. Stable oscillator, reset circuit, and pulse generator constitute time-averaging discriminator; digital counter in pulse generator replaces usual monostable multivibrator.

Note: A calibration method to determine the lumped-circuit parameters of a magnetic probe.

PubMed

Li, Fuming; Chen, Zhipeng; Zhu, Lizhi; Liu, Hai; Wang, Zhijiang; Zhuang, Ge

2016-06-01

This paper describes a novel method to determine the lumped-circuit parameters of a magnetic inductive probe for calibration by using Helmholtz coils with high frequency power supply (frequency range: 10 kHz-400 kHz). The whole calibration circuit system can be separated into two parts: "generator" circuit and "receiver" circuit. By implementing the Fourier transform, two analytical lumped-circuit models, with respect to these separated circuits, are constructed to obtain the transfer function between each other. Herein, the precise lumped-circuit parameters (including the resistance, inductance, and capacitance) of the magnetic probe can be determined by fitting the experimental data to the transfer function. Regarding the fitting results, the finite impedance of magnetic probe can be used to analyze the transmission of a high-frequency signal between magnetic probes, cables, and acquisition system.

225-255-GHz InP DHBT Frequency Tripler MMIC Using Complementary Split-Ring Resonator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiao; Zhang, Yong; Li, Oupeng; Sun, Yan; Lu, Haiyan; Cheng, Wei; Xu, Ruimin

2017-02-01

In this paper, a novel design of frequency tripler monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) using complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR) is proposed based on 0.5-μm InP DHBT process. The CSRR-loaded microstrip structure is integrated in the tripler as a part of impedance matching network to suppress the fundamental harmonic, and another frequency tripler based on conventional band-pass filter is presented for comparison. The frequency tripler based on CSRR-loaded microstrip generates an output power between -8 and -4 dBm from 228 to 255 GHz when the input power is 6 dBm. The suppression of fundamental harmonic is better than 20 dBc at 77-82 GHz input frequency within only 0.15 × 0.15 mm2 chip area of the CSRR structure on the ground layer. Compared with the frequency tripler based on band-pass filter, the tripler using CSRR-loaded microstrip obtains a similar suppression level of unwanted harmonics and higher conversion gain within a much smaller chip area. To our best knowledge, it is the first time that CSRR is used for harmonic suppression of frequency multiplier at such high frequency band.

Ferroresonant flux coupled battery charger

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McLyman, Colonel W. T. (Inventor)

1987-01-01

A battery charger for incorporation into an electric-powered vehicle is disclosed. The charger includes a ferroresonant voltage-regulating circuit for providing an output voltage proportional to the frequency of an input AC voltage. A high frequency converter converts a DC voltage supplied, for example, from a rectifier connected to a standard AC outlet, to a controlled frequency AC voltage which is supplied to the input of the ferroresonant circuit. The ferroresonant circuit includes an output, a saturable core transformer connected across the output, and a first linear inductor and a capacitor connected in series across the saturable core transformer and tuned to resonate at the third harmonic of the AC voltage from the high frequency converter. The ferroresonant circuit further includes a second linear inductor connected between the input of the ferroresonant circuit and the saturable core transformer. The output voltage from the ferroresonant circuit is rectified and applied across a pair of output terminals adapted to be connected to the battery to be charged. A feedback circuit compares the voltage across the output terminals with a reference voltage and controls the frequency of the AC voltage produced by the high frequency converter to maintain the voltage across the output terminals at a predetermined value. The second linear inductor provides a highly reactive load in the event of a fault across the output terminals to render the charger short-circuit proof.

Simulation Model of A Ferroelectric Field Effect Transistor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

MacLeod, Todd C.; Ho, Fat Duen; Russell, Larry W. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

An electronic simulation model has been developed of a ferroelectric field effect transistor (FFET). This model can be used in standard electrical circuit simulation programs to simulate the main characteristics of the FFET. The model uses a previously developed algorithm that incorporates partial polarization as a basis for the design. The model has the main characteristics of the FFET, which are the current hysterisis with different gate voltages and decay of the drain current when the gate voltage is off. The drain current has values matching actual FFET's, which were measured experimentally. The input and output resistance in the model is similar to that of the FFET. The model is valid for all frequencies below RF levels. A variety of different ferroelectric material characteristics can be modeled. The model can be used to design circuits using FFET'S with standard electrical simulation packages. The circuit can be used in designing non-volatile memory circuits and logic circuits and is compatible with all SPICE based circuit analysis programs. The model is a drop in library that integrates seamlessly into a SPICE simulation. A comparison is made between the model and experimental data measured from an actual FFET.

Micropower circuits for bidirectional wireless telemetry in neural recording applications.

PubMed

Neihart, Nathan M; Harrison, Reid R

2005-11-01

State-of-the art neural recording systems require electronics allowing for transcutaneous, bidirectional data transfer. As these circuits will be implanted near the brain, they must be small and low power. We have developed micropower integrated circuits for recovering clock and data signals over a transcutaneous power link. The data recovery circuit produces a digital data signal from an ac power waveform that has been amplitude modulated. We have also developed an FM transmitter with the lowest power dissipation reported for biosignal telemetry. The FM transmitter consists of a low-noise biopotential amplifier and a voltage controlled oscillator used to transmit amplified neural signals at a frequency near 433 MHz. All circuits were fabricated in a standard 0.5-microm CMOS VLSI process. The resulting chip is powered through a wireless inductive link. The power consumption of the clock and data recovery circuits is measured to be 129 microW; the power consumption of the transmitter is measured to be 465 microW when using an external surface mount inductor. Using a parasitic antenna less than 2 mm long, a received power level was measured to be -59.73 dBm at a distance of one meter.

An integrated microfluidic analysis microsystems with bacterial capture enrichment and in-situ impedance detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hai-Tao; Wen, Zhi-Yu; Xu, Yi; Shang, Zheng-Guo; Peng, Jin-Lan; Tian, Peng

2017-09-01

In this paper, an integrated microfluidic analysis microsystems with bacterial capture enrichment and in-situ impedance detection was purposed based on microfluidic chips dielectrophoresis technique and electrochemical impedance detection principle. The microsystems include microfluidic chip, main control module, and drive and control module, and signal detection and processing modulet and result display unit. The main control module produce the work sequence of impedance detection system parts and achieve data communication functions, the drive and control circuit generate AC signal which amplitude and frequency adjustable, and it was applied on the foodborne pathogens impedance analysis microsystems to realize the capture enrichment and impedance detection. The signal detection and processing circuit translate the current signal into impendence of bacteria, and transfer to computer, the last detection result is displayed on the computer. The experiment sample was prepared by adding Escherichia coli standard sample into chicken sample solution, and the samples were tested on the dielectrophoresis chip capture enrichment and in-situ impedance detection microsystems with micro-array electrode microfluidic chips. The experiments show that the Escherichia coli detection limit of microsystems is 5 × 104 CFU/mL and the detection time is within 6 min in the optimization of voltage detection 10 V and detection frequency 500 KHz operating conditions. The integrated microfluidic analysis microsystems laid the solid foundation for rapid real-time in-situ detection of bacteria.

Quad-channel beam switching WR3-band transmitter MMIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Daniel; Eren, Gülesin; Wagner, Sandrine; Tessmann, Axel; Leuther, Arnulf; Zwick, Thomas; Kallfass, Ingmar

2017-05-01

Millimeter wave radar systems offer several advantages such as the combination of high resolution and the penetration of adverse atmosphere like smoke, dust or rain. This paper presents a monolithic millimeter wave integrated circuit (MMIC) transmitter which offers four channel beam steering capabilities and can be used as a radar or communication system transmitter. At the local oscillator input, in order to simplify packaging, a frequency tripler is used to multiply the 76.6 - 83.3 GHz input signal to the intended 230 - 250 GHz output frequency range. A resistive mixer is used for the conversion of the intermediate frequency signal into the RF domain. The actual beam steering network is realized using an active single pole quadruple throw (SP4T) switch, which is connected to a integrated Butler matrix. The MMIC was fabricated in a 35 nm InGaAs mHEMT process and has a size of 4.0 mm × 1.5 mm

Design and Application of a Circuit for Measuring Frequency and Duty Cycle of Stimulated Bioelectrical Signal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Li-Ming; Chang, Ben-Kang; Liu, Tie-Bing; Wu, Min; Ling, Gang

2002-12-01

To design a new type of circuit for measuring frequency & duty cycle of stimulated bioelectrical signal for the project of 'the map of neuron-threshold in human brain and its clinical application'. This circuit was designed according to the character of stimulated bioelectrical signals. It was tested and improved and then used in the neuron -threshold stimulator. The circuit was found to be very accurate for measuring frequency and the error for measuring duty cycle was below 0.2%. This circuit is well-designed, simple, easy to use, and can be applied in many systems.

Plasmonic nanopatch array for optical integrated circuit applications.

PubMed

Qu, Shi-Wei; Nie, Zai-Ping

2013-11-08

Future plasmonic integrated circuits with the capability of extremely high-speed data processing at optical frequencies will be dominated by the efficient optical emission (excitation) from (of) plasmonic waveguides. Towards this goal, plasmonic nanoantennas, currently a hot topic in the field of plasmonics, have potential to bridge the mismatch between the wave vector of free-space photonics and that of the guided plasmonics. To manipulate light at will, plasmonic nanoantenna arrays will definitely be more efficient than isolated nanoantennas. In this article, the concepts of microwave antenna arrays are applied to efficiently convert plasmonic waves in the plasmonic waveguides into free-space optical waves or vice versa. The proposed plasmonic nanoantenna array, with nanopatch antennas and a coupled wedge plasmon waveguide, can also act as an efficient spectrometer to project different wavelengths into different directions, or as a spatial filter to absorb a specific wavelength at a specified incident angle.

Electronic circuits and systems: A compilation. [including integrated circuits, logic circuits, varactor diode circuits, low pass filters, and optical equipment circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Technological information is presented electronic circuits and systems which have potential utility outside the aerospace community. Topics discussed include circuit components such as filters, converters, and integrators, circuits designed for use with specific equipment or systems, and circuits designed primarily for use with optical equipment or displays.

Design of 2.4Ghz CMOS Floating Active Inductor LNA using 130nm Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muhamad, M.; Soin, N.; Ramiah, H.

2018-03-01

This paper presents about design and optimization of CMOS active inductor integrated circuit. This active inductor implements using Silterra 0.13μm technology and simulated using Cadence Virtuoso and Spectre RF. The center frequency for this active inductor is at 2.4 GHz which follow IEEE 802.11 b/g/n standard. To reduce the chip size of silicon, active inductor is used instead of passive inductor at low noise amplifier LNA circuit. This inductor test and analyse by low noise amplifier circuit. Comparison between active with passive inductor based on LNA circuit has been performed. Result shown that the active inductor has significantly reduce the chip size with 73 % area without sacrificing the noise figure and gain of LNA which is the most important criteria in LNA. The best low noise amplifier provides a power gain (S21) of 20.7 dB with noise figure (NF) of 2.1dB.

Optimization study on inductive-resistive circuit for broadband piezoelectric energy harvesters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Ting; Yan, Zhimiao

2017-03-01

The performance of cantilever-beam piezoelectric energy harvester is usually analyzed with pure resistive circuit. The optimal performance of such a vibration-based energy harvesting system is limited by narrow bandwidth around its modified natural frequency. For broadband piezoelectric energy harvesting, series and parallel inductive-resistive circuits are introduced. The electromechanical coupled distributed parameter models for such systems under harmonic base excitations are decoupled with modified natural frequency and electrical damping to consider the coupling effect. Analytical solutions of the harvested power and tip displacement for the electromechanical decoupled model are confirmed with numerical solutions for the coupled model. The optimal performance of piezoelectric energy harvesting with inductive-resistive circuits is revealed theoretically as constant maximal power at any excitation frequency. This is achieved by the scenarios of matching the modified natural frequency with the excitation frequency and equating the electrical damping to the mechanical damping. The inductance and load resistance should be simultaneously tuned to their optimal values, which may not be applicable for very high electromechanical coupling systems when the excitation frequency is higher than their natural frequencies. With identical optimal performance, the series inductive-resistive circuit is recommended for relatively small load resistance, while the parallel inductive-resistive circuit is suggested for relatively large load resistance. This study provides a simplified optimization method for broadband piezoelectric energy harvesters with inductive-resistive circuits.

Compact Receiver Front Ends for Submillimeter-Wave Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehdi, Imran; Chattopadhyay, Goutam; Schlecht, Erich T.; Lin, Robert H.; Sin, Seth; Peralta, Alejandro; Lee, Choonsup; Gill, John J.; Gulkis, Samuel; Thomas, Bertrand C.

2012-01-01

The current generation of submillimeter-wave instruments is relatively mass and power-hungry. The receiver front ends (RFEs) of a submillimeter instrument form the heart of the instrument, and any mass reduction achieved in this subsystem is propagated through the instrument. In the current implementation, the RFE consists of different blocks for the mixer and LO circuits. The motivation for this work is to reduce the mass of the RFE by integrating the mixer and LO circuits in one waveguide block. The mixer and its associated LO chips will all be packaged in a single waveguide package. This will reduce the mass of the RFE and also provide a number of other advantages. By bringing the mixer and LO circuits close together, losses in the waveguide will be reduced. Moreover, the compact nature of the block will allow for better thermal control of the block, which is important in order to reduce gain fluctuations. A single waveguide block with a 600- GHz RFE functionality (based on a subharmonically pumped Schottky diode pair) has been demonstrated. The block is about 3x3x3 cubic centimeters. The block combines the mixer and multiplier chip in a single package. 3D electromagnetic simulations were carried out to design the waveguide circuit around the mixer and multiplier chip. The circuit is optimized to provide maximum output power and maximum bandwidth. An integrated submillimeter front end featuring a 520-600-GHz sub-harmonic mixer and a 260-300-GHz frequency tripler in a single cavity was tested. Both devices used GaAs MMIC membrane planar Schottky diode technology. The sub-harmonic mixer/tripler circuit has been tested using conventional metal-machined blocks. Measurement results on the metal block give best DSB (double sideband) mixer noise temperature of 2,360 K and conversion losses of 7.7 dB at 520 GHz. The LO input power required to pump the integrated tripler/sub-harmonic mixer is between 30 and 50 mW.

Low frequency AC waveform generator

DOEpatents

Bilharz, Oscar W.

1986-01-01

Low frequency sine, cosine, triangle and square waves are synthesized in circuitry which allows variation in the waveform amplitude and frequency while exhibiting good stability and without requiring significant stabilization time. A triangle waveform is formed by a ramped integration process controlled by a saturation amplifier circuit which produces the necessary hysteresis for the triangle waveform. The output of the saturation circuit is tapped to produce the square waveform. The sine waveform is synthesized by taking the absolute value of the triangular waveform, raising this absolute value to a predetermined power, multiplying the raised absolute value of the triangle wave with the triangle wave itself and properly scaling the resultant waveform and subtracting it from the triangular waveform itself. The cosine is synthesized by squaring the triangular waveform, raising the triangular waveform to a predetermined power and adding the squared waveform raised to the predetermined power with a DC reference and subtracting the squared waveform therefrom, with all waveforms properly scaled. The resultant waveform is then multiplied with a square wave in order to correct the polarity and produce the resultant cosine waveform.

Automatic visual inspection system for microelectronics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Micka, E. Z. (Inventor)

1975-01-01

A system for automatically inspecting an integrated circuit was developed. A device for shining a scanning narrow light beam at an integrated circuit to be inspected and another light beam at an accepted integrated circuit was included. A pair of photodetectors that receive light reflected from these integrated circuits, and a comparing system compares the outputs of the photodetectors.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wojciechowski, Kenneth; Olsson, Roy; Clews, Peggy J.

Thermally isolated devices may be formed by performing a series of etches on a silicon-based substrate. As a result of the series of etches, silicon material may be removed from underneath a region of an integrated circuit (IC). The removal of the silicon material from underneath the IC forms a gap between remaining substrate and the integrated circuit, though the integrated circuit remains connected to the substrate via a support bar arrangement that suspends the integrated circuit over the substrate. The creation of this gap functions to release the device from the substrate and create a thermally-isolated integrated circuit.

Design structure for in-system redundant array repair in integrated circuits

DOEpatents

Bright, Arthur A.; Crumley, Paul G.; Dombrowa, Marc; Douskey, Steven M.; Haring, Rudolf A.; Oakland, Steven F.; Quellette, Michael R.; Strissel, Scott A.

2008-11-25

A design structure for repairing an integrated circuit during operation of the integrated circuit. The integrated circuit comprising of a multitude of memory arrays and a fuse box holding control data for controlling redundancy logic of the arrays. The design structure provides the integrated circuit with a control data selector for passing the control data from the fuse box to the memory arrays; providing a source of alternate control data, external of the integrated circuit; and connecting the source of alternate control data to the control data selector. The design structure further passes the alternate control data from the source thereof, through the control data selector and to the memory arrays to control the redundancy logic of the memory arrays.

Laser Integration on Silicon Photonic Circuits Through Transfer Printing

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-10

AFRL-AFOSR-UK-TR-2017-0019 Laser integration on silicon photonic circuits through transfer printing Gunther Roelkens UNIVERSITEIT GENT VZW Final...TYPE Final 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 15 Sep 2015 to 14 Sep 2016 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Laser integration on silicon photonic circuits through...parallel integration of III-V lasers on silicon photonic integrated circuits. The report discusses the technological process that has been developed as

A Novel Integrated Structure with a Radial Displacement Sensor and a Permanent Magnet Biased Radial Magnetic Bearing

PubMed Central

Sun, Jinji; Zhang, Yin

2014-01-01

In this paper, a novel integrated structure is proposed in order to reduce the axial length of the high speed of a magnetically suspended motor (HSMSM) to ensure the maximum speed, which combines radial displacement sensor probes and the permanent magnet biased radial magnetic bearing in HSMSM. The sensor probes are integrated in the magnetic bearing, and the sensor preamplifiers are placed in the control system of the HSMSM, separate from the sensor probes. The proposed integrated structure can save space in HSMSMs, improve the working frequency, reduce the influence of temperature on the sensor circuit, and improve the stability of HSMSMs. PMID:24469351

Millimeter wave complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor on-chip hexagonal nano-ferrite circulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chao, Liu; Oukacha, Hassan; Fu, Enjin; Koomson, Valencia Joyner; Afsar, Mohammed N.

2015-05-01

Hexagonal ferrites such as M-type BaFe12O19 and SrFe12O19 have strong uniaxial anisotropic magnetic field and remanent magnetism. The nano-sized ferrite powder exhibits high compatibility and processability in composite material. New magnetic devices using the M-type ferrite materials can work in the tens of GHz frequency range from microwave to millimeter wave without the application of strong external magnetic field. The micro- and nano-sized hexagonal ferrite can be conveniently utilized to fabricate magnetic components integrated in CMOS integrated circuits as thin as several micrometers. The micro-fabrication method of such nano ferrite device is presented in this paper. A circulator working at 60 GHz is designed and integrated into the commercial CMOS process. The circulator exhibits distinct circulation properties in the frequency range from 56 GHz to 58 GHz.

Equivalent circuit parameters of nickel/metal hydride batteries from sparse impedance measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelatury, Sudarshan Rao; Singh, Pritpal

In a recent communication, a method for extracting the equivalent circuit parameters of a lead acid battery from sparse (only three) impedance spectroscopy observations at three different frequencies was proposed. It was based on an equivalent circuit consisting of a bulk resistance, a reaction resistance and a constant phase element (CPE). Such a circuit is a very appropriate model of a lead-acid cell at high state of charge (SOC). This paper is a sequel to it and presents an application of it in case of nickel/metal hydride (Ni/MH) batteries, which also at high SOC are represented by the same circuit configuration. But when the SOC of a Ni/MH battery under interrogation goes low, The EIS curve has a positive slope at the low frequency end and our technique yields complex values for the otherwise real circuit parameters, suggesting the need for additional elements in the equivalent circuit and a definite relationship between parameter consistency and SOC. To improvise the previous algorithm, in order that it works reasonably well at both high and low SOCs, we propose three more measurements—two at very low frequencies to include the Warburg response and one at a high frequency to model the series inductance, in addition to the three in the mid frequency band—totally six measurements. In most of the today's instrumentation, it is the user who should choose the circuit configuration and the number of frequencies where impedance should be measured and the accompanying software performs data fitting by complex nonlinear least squares. The proposed method has built into it an SOC-based decision-making capability—both to choose the circuit configuration and to estimate the values of the circuit elements.

Frequency Up-Converted Low Frequency Vibration Energy Harvester Using Trampoline Effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ju, S.; Chae, S. H.; Choi, Y.; Jun, S.; Park, S. M.; Lee, S.; Lee, H. W.; Ji, C.-H.

2013-12-01

This paper presents a non-resonant vibration energy harvester based on magnetoelectric transduction mechanism and mechanical frequency up-conversion using trampoline effect. The harvester utilizes a freely movable spherical permanent magnet which bounces off the aluminum springs integrated at both ends of the cavity, achieving frequency up-conversion from low frequency input vibration. Moreover, bonding method of magnetoelectric laminate composite has been optimized to provide higher strain to piezoelectric material and thus obtain a higher output voltage. A proof-of-concept energy harvesting device has been fabricated and tested. Maximum open-circuit voltage of 11.2V has been obtained and output power of 0.57μW has been achieved for a 50kΩ load, when the fabricated energy harvester was hand-shaken.

Monolithically integrated bacteriorhodopsin/semiconductor opto-electronic integrated circuit for a bio-photoreceiver.

PubMed

Xu, J; Bhattacharya, P; Váró, G

2004-03-15

The light-sensitive protein, bacteriorhodopsin (BR), is monolithically integrated with an InP-based amplifier circuit to realize a novel opto-electronic integrated circuit (OEIC) which performs as a high-speed photoreceiver. The circuit is realized by epitaxial growth of the field-effect transistors, currently used semiconductor device and circuit fabrication techniques, and selective area BR electro-deposition. The integrated photoreceiver has a responsivity of 175 V/W and linear photoresponse, with a dynamic range of 16 dB, with 594 nm photoexcitation. The dynamics of the photochemical cycle of BR has also been modeled and a proposed equivalent circuit simulates the measured BR photoresponse with good agreement.

80-GHz MMIC HEMT Voltage-Controlled Oscillator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samoska, Lorene; Radisic, Vesna; Micovic, Miro; Hu, Ming; Janke, Paul; Ngo, Catherine; Nguyen, Loi

2003-01-01

A voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) that operates in the frequency range from 77.5 to 83.5 GHz has been constructed in the form of a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) that includes high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs). This circuit is a prototype of electronically tunable signal sources in the 75-to-110-GHz range, needed for communication, imaging, and automotive radar applications, among others. This oscillator (see Figure 1) includes two AlInAs/GaInAs/InP HEMTs. One HEMT serves mainly as an oscillator gain element. The other HEMT serves mainly as a varactor for controlling the frequency: the frequency-control element is its gate-to-source capacitance, which is varied by changing its gate supply voltage. The gain HEMT is biased for class-A operation (meaning that current is conducted throughout the oscillation cycle). Grounded coplanar waveguides are used as impedance-matching transmission lines, the input and output matching being chosen to sustain oscillation and maximize output power. Air bridges are placed at discontinuities to suppress undesired slot electromagnetic modes. A high density of vias is necessary for suppressing a parallel-plate electromagnetic mode that is undesired because it can propagate energy into the MMIC substrate. Previous attempts at constructing HEMT-based oscillators yielded circuits with relatively low levels of output power and narrow tuning ranges. For example, one HEMT VCO reported in the literature had an output power of 7 dBm (.5 mW) and a tuning range 2-GHz wide centered approximately at a nominal frequency of 77 GHz. In contrast, as shown in Figure 2, the present MMIC HEMT VCO puts out a power of 12.5 dBm (.18 mW) or more over the 6-GHz-wide frequency range from 77.5 to 83.5 GHz

Review on analog/radio frequency performance of advanced silicon MOSFETs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Passi, Vikram; Raskin, Jean-Pierre

2017-12-01

Aggressive gate-length downscaling of the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) has been the main stimulus for the growth of the integrated circuit industry. This downscaling, which has proved beneficial to digital circuits, is primarily the result of the need for improved circuit performance and cost reduction and has resulted in tremendous reduction of the carrier transit time across the channel, thereby resulting in very high cut-off frequencies. It is only in recent decades that complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) field-effect transistor (FET) has been considered as the radio frequency (RF) technology of choice. In this review, the status of the digital, analog and RF figures of merit (FoM) of silicon-based FETs is presented. State-of-the-art devices with very good performance showing low values of drain-induced barrier lowering, sub-threshold swing, high values of gate transconductance, Early voltage, cut-off frequencies, and low minimum noise figure, and good low-frequency noise characteristic values are reported. The dependence of these FoM on the device gate length is also shown, helping the readers to understand the trends and challenges faced by shorter CMOS nodes. Device performance boosters including silicon-on-insulator substrates, multiple-gate architectures, strain engineering, ultra-thin body and buried-oxide and also III-V and 2D materials are discussed, highlighting the transistor characteristics that are influenced by these boosters. A brief comparison of the two main contenders in continuing Moore’s law, ultra-thin body buried-oxide and fin field-effect transistors are also presented. The authors would like to mention that despite extensive research carried out in the semiconductor industry, silicon-based MOSFET will continue to be the driving force in the foreseeable future.

AIM Photonics: Tomorrow’s Technology at the Speed of Light

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

design automation companies AIM Photonics Tomorrow’s Technology at the Speed of Light Michael Liehr Defense AT&L: September-October 2010 386...in speed and complexity will increase cost, power consumption and heat too much to allow further, practical miniaturization. Light propagates...Integrated microwave photonic circuits (using light to transmit and process optical signals encoded with ana- log information at frequencies in the

Electrically Tuneable EBG Integrated Circuits

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-01

Surface Wave Propagation Along a Modulated Microstrip -Line-Based High Impedance Surface,‖ IEEE Trans. Antennas and Propagat., Vol. 56, No. 8, August...Heimlich, “Reconfigurable half- width microstrip leaky-wave antenna for fixed-frequency beam scanning”, Proceedings of 7th IEEE European Conference...patches, the structure would be an ideal microstrip configuration. Tuning is accomplished by using a pair of RF/microwave switches at opposite ends

Microchannel cooling of face down bonded chips

DOEpatents

Bernhardt, Anthony F.

1993-01-01

Microchannel cooling is applied to flip-chip bonded integrated circuits, in a manner which maintains the advantages of flip-chip bonds, while overcoming the difficulties encountered in cooling the chips. The technique is suited to either multichip integrated circuit boards in a plane, or to stacks of circuit boards in a three dimensional interconnect structure. Integrated circuit chips are mounted on a circuit board using flip-chip or control collapse bonds. A microchannel structure is essentially permanently coupled with the back of the chip. A coolant delivery manifold delivers coolant to the microchannel structure, and a seal consisting of a compressible elastomer is provided between the coolant delivery manifold and the microchannel structure. The integrated circuit chip and microchannel structure are connected together to form a replaceable integrated circuit module which can be easily decoupled from the coolant delivery manifold and the circuit board. The coolant supply manifolds may be disposed between the circuit boards in a stack and coupled to supplies of coolant through a side of the stack.

Microchannel cooling of face down bonded chips

DOEpatents

Bernhardt, A.F.

1993-06-08

Microchannel cooling is applied to flip-chip bonded integrated circuits, in a manner which maintains the advantages of flip-chip bonds, while overcoming the difficulties encountered in cooling the chips. The technique is suited to either multi chip integrated circuit boards in a plane, or to stacks of circuit boards in a three dimensional interconnect structure. Integrated circuit chips are mounted on a circuit board using flip-chip or control collapse bonds. A microchannel structure is essentially permanently coupled with the back of the chip. A coolant delivery manifold delivers coolant to the microchannel structure, and a seal consisting of a compressible elastomer is provided between the coolant delivery manifold and the microchannel structure. The integrated circuit chip and microchannel structure are connected together to form a replaceable integrated circuit module which can be easily decoupled from the coolant delivery manifold and the circuit board. The coolant supply manifolds may be disposed between the circuit boards in a stack and coupled to supplies of coolant through a side of the stack.

Reliable inverter systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nagano, S.

1979-01-01

Base driver with common-load-current feedback protects paralleled inverter systems from open or short circuits. Circuit eliminates total system oscillation that can occur in conventional inverters because of open circuit in primary transformer winding. Common feedback signal produced by functioning modules forces operating frequency of failed module to coincide with clock drive so module resumes normal operating frequency in spite of open circuit.

LOGARITHMIC AMPLIFIER

DOEpatents

De Shong, J.A. Jr.

1957-12-31

A logarithmic current amplifier circuit having a high sensitivity and fast response is described. The inventor discovered the time constant of the input circuit of a system utilizing a feedback amplifier, ionization chamber, and a diode, is inversely proportional to the input current, and that the amplifier becomes unstable in amplifying signals in the upper frequency range when the amplifier's forward gain time constant equals the input circuit time constant. The described device incorporates impedance networks having low frequency response characteristic at various points in the circuit to change the forward gain of the amplifler at a rate of 0.7 of the gain magnitude for every two times increased in frequency. As a result of this improvement, the time constant of the input circuit is greatly reduced at high frequencies, and the amplifier response is increased.

Frequency Control of Single Quantum Emitters in Integrated Photonic Circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidgall, Emma R.; Chakravarthi, Srivatsa; Gould, Michael; Christen, Ian R.; Hestroffer, Karine; Hatami, Fariba; Fu, Kai-Mei C.

2018-02-01

Generating entangled graph states of qubits requires high entanglement rates, with efficient detection of multiple indistinguishable photons from separate qubits. Integrating defect-based qubits into photonic devices results in an enhanced photon collection efficiency, however, typically at the cost of a reduced defect emission energy homogeneity. Here, we demonstrate that the reduction in defect homogeneity in an integrated device can be partially offset by electric field tuning. Using photonic device-coupled implanted nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in a GaP-on-diamond platform, we demonstrate large field-dependent tuning ranges and partial stabilization of defect emission energies. These results address some of the challenges of chip-scale entanglement generation.

Frequency Control of Single Quantum Emitters in Integrated Photonic Circuits.

PubMed

Schmidgall, Emma R; Chakravarthi, Srivatsa; Gould, Michael; Christen, Ian R; Hestroffer, Karine; Hatami, Fariba; Fu, Kai-Mei C

2018-02-14

Generating entangled graph states of qubits requires high entanglement rates with efficient detection of multiple indistinguishable photons from separate qubits. Integrating defect-based qubits into photonic devices results in an enhanced photon collection efficiency, however, typically at the cost of a reduced defect emission energy homogeneity. Here, we demonstrate that the reduction in defect homogeneity in an integrated device can be partially offset by electric field tuning. Using photonic device-coupled implanted nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in a GaP-on-diamond platform, we demonstrate large field-dependent tuning ranges and partial stabilization of defect emission energies. These results address some of the challenges of chip-scale entanglement generation.

Testbed Experiment for SPIDER: A Photonic Integrated Circuit-based Interferometric imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badham, K.; Duncan, A.; Kendrick, R. L.; Wuchenich, D.; Ogden, C.; Chriqui, G.; Thurman, S. T.; Su, T.; Lai, W.; Chun, J.; Li, S.; Liu, G.; Yoo, S. J. B.

The Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center (LM ATC) and the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) are developing an electro-optical (EO) imaging sensor called SPIDER (Segmented Planar Imaging Detector for Electro-optical Reconnaissance) that seeks to provide a 10x to 100x size, weight, and power (SWaP) reduction alternative to the traditional bulky optical telescope and focal-plane detector array. The substantial reductions in SWaP would reduce cost and/or provide higher resolution by enabling a larger-aperture imager in a constrained volume. Our SPIDER imager replaces the traditional optical telescope and digital focal plane detector array with a densely packed interferometer array based on emerging photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technologies that samples the object being imaged in the Fourier domain (i.e., spatial frequency domain), and then reconstructs an image. Our approach replaces the large optics and structures required by a conventional telescope with PICs that are accommodated by standard lithographic fabrication techniques (e.g., complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication). The standard EO payload integration and test process that involves precision alignment and test of optical components to form a diffraction limited telescope is, therefore, replaced by in-process integration and test as part of the PIC fabrication, which substantially reduces associated schedule and cost. In this paper we describe the photonic integrated circuit design and the testbed used to create the first images of extended scenes. We summarize the image reconstruction steps and present the final images. We also describe our next generation PIC design for a larger (16x area, 4x field of view) image.

Temporal Interactions between Cortical Rhythms

PubMed Central

Roopun, Anita K.; Kramer, Mark A.; Carracedo, Lucy M.; Kaiser, Marcus; Davies, Ceri H.; Traub, Roger D.; Kopell, Nancy J.; Whittington, Miles A.

2008-01-01

Multiple local neuronal circuits support different, discrete frequencies of network rhythm in neocortex. Relationships between different frequencies correspond to mechanisms designed to minimise interference, couple activity via stable phase interactions, and control the amplitude of one frequency relative to the phase of another. These mechanisms are proposed to form a framework for spectral information processing. Individual local circuits can also transform their frequency through changes in intrinsic neuronal properties and interactions with other oscillating microcircuits. Here we discuss a frequency transformation in which activity in two co-active local circuits may combine sequentially to generate a third frequency whose period is the concatenation sum of the original two. With such an interaction, the intrinsic periodicity in each component local circuit is preserved – alternate, single periods of each original rhythm form one period of a new frequency – suggesting a robust mechanism for combining information processed on multiple concurrent spatiotemporal scales. PMID:19225587

RF lockout circuit for electronic locking system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker, Earl M., Jr.; Miller, Allen

1991-02-01

An electronics lockout circuit was invented that includes an antenna adapted to receive radio frequency signals from a transmitter, and a radio frequency detector circuit which converts the radio frequency signals into a first direct current voltage indicative of the relative strength of the field resulting from the radio frequency signals. The first direct current voltage is supplied to a trigger circuit which compares this direct current voltage to an adjustable direct current reference voltage. This provides a second direct current voltage at the output whenever the amplitude of the first direct current voltage exceeds the amplitude of the reference voltage provided by the comparator circuit. This is supplied to a disconnect relay circuit which, upon receiving a signal from the electronic control unit of an electronic combination lock during the time period at which the second direct current voltage is present, isolates the door strike coil of a security door from the electronic control unit. This prevents signals falsely generated by the electronic control unit because of radio frequency signals in the vicinity of the electronic control unit energizing the door strike coil and accidentally opening a security door.

Topological Properties of Some Integrated Circuits for Very Large Scale Integration Chip Designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swanson, S.; Lanzerotti, M.; Vernizzi, G.; Kujawski, J.; Weatherwax, A.

2015-03-01

This talk presents topological properties of integrated circuits for Very Large Scale Integration chip designs. These circuits can be implemented in very large scale integrated circuits, such as those in high performance microprocessors. Prior work considered basic combinational logic functions and produced a mathematical framework based on algebraic topology for integrated circuits composed of logic gates. Prior work also produced an historically-equivalent interpretation of Mr. E. F. Rent's work for today's complex circuitry in modern high performance microprocessors, where a heuristic linear relationship was observed between the number of connections and number of logic gates. This talk will examine topological properties and connectivity of more complex functionally-equivalent integrated circuits. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.

A simple device for long-term radar cross section recordings.

PubMed

Eskelinen, Pekka; Ruoskanen, Jukka; Peltonen, Jouni

2009-05-01

A sample and hold circuit with settable delay can be used for recording of radar echo amplitude variations having time scales up to 100 s at the selected range bin in systems utilizing short rf pulses. The design is based on two integrated circuits and gives 1% uncertainty for 70 ns pulses. The key benefit is a real-time display of lengthy amplitude variations because the sample rate is defined by the radar pulse repetition frequency. Additionally we get a reduction in file size at least by the inverse of the radar's duty cycle. Examples of 10 and 100 s recordings with a Ka-band short pulse radar are described.

Designing a 25-kilowatt high frequency series resonant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robson, R. R.

1984-01-01

The feasibility of processing 25 kW of power with a single, transistorized, 20 kHz, series resonant converter stage has been demonstrated by the successful design, development, fabrication, and testing of such a device. It employs four Westinghouse D7ST transistors in a full-bridge configuration and operates from a 250-to-350-Vdc input bus. The unit has an overall worst-case efficiency of 93.5% at its full rated output of 1000 V and 25 A dc. A solid-state dc input circuit breaker and output-transient-current limiters are included in and integrated into the design. Circuit details of the converter are presented along with test data.

Single-Pole Double-Throw MMIC Switches for a Microwave Radiometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montes, Oliver; Dawson, Douglas E.; Kangaslahti, Pekka P.

2012-01-01

In order to reduce the effect of gain and noise instabilities in the RF chain of a microwave radiometer, a Dicke radiometer topology is often used, as in the case of the proposed surface water and ocean topography (SWOT) radiometer instrument. For this topology, a single-pole double-throw (SPDT) microwave switch is needed, which must have low insertion loss at the radiometer channel frequencies to minimize the overall receiver noise figure. Total power radiometers are limited in accuracy due to the continuous variation in gain of the receiver. High-frequency SPDT switches were developed in the form of monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) using 75 micron indium phosphide (InP) PIN-diode technology. These switches can be easily integrated into Dicke switched radiometers that utilize microstrip technology.

SiGe:C Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors: From Materials Research to Chip Fabrication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruecker, H.; Heinemann, B.; Knoll, D.; Ehwald, K.-E.

Incorporation of substitutional carbon ( ~10^20 cm^-3) into the SiGe region of a heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) strongly reduces boron diffusion during device processing. We describe the physical mechanism behind the suppression of B diffusion in C-rich Si and SiGe, and explain how the increased thermal stability of doping profiles in SiGe:C HBTs can be used to improve device performance. Manufacturability of SiGe:C HBTs with transit frequencies of 100 GHz and maximum oscillation frequencies of 130 GHz is demonstrated in a BiCMOS technology capable of fabricating integrated circuits for radio frequencies with high yield.

A Vibration-Based MEMS Piezoelectric Energy Harvester and Power Conditioning Circuit

PubMed Central

Yu, Hua; Zhou, Jielin; Deng, Licheng; Wen, Zhiyu

2014-01-01

This paper presents a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) piezoelectric power generator array for vibration energy harvesting. A complete design flow of the vibration-based energy harvester using the finite element method (FEM) is proposed. The modal analysis is selected to calculate the resonant frequency of the harvester, and harmonic analysis is performed to investigate the influence of the geometric parameters on the output voltage. Based on simulation results, a MEMS Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) cantilever array with an integrated large Si proof mass is designed and fabricated to improve output voltage and power. Test results show that the fabricated generator, with five cantilever beams (with unit dimensions of about 3 × 2.4 × 0.05 mm3) and an individual integrated Si mass dimension of about 8 × 12.4 × 0.5 mm3, produces a output power of 66.75 μW, or a power density of 5.19 μW·mm−3·g−2 with an optimal resistive load of 220 kΩ from 5 m/s2 vibration acceleration at its resonant frequency of 234.5 Hz. In view of high internal impedance characteristic of the PZT generator, an efficient autonomous power conditioning circuit, with the function of impedance matching, energy storage and voltage regulation, is then presented, finding that the efficiency of the energy storage is greatly improved and up to 64.95%. The proposed self-supplied energy generator with power conditioning circuit could provide a very promising complete power supply solution for wireless sensor node loads. PMID:24556670

A vibration-based MEMS piezoelectric energy harvester and power conditioning circuit.

PubMed

Yu, Hua; Zhou, Jielin; Deng, Licheng; Wen, Zhiyu

2014-02-19

This paper presents a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) piezoelectric power generator array for vibration energy harvesting. A complete design flow of the vibration-based energy harvester using the finite element method (FEM) is proposed. The modal analysis is selected to calculate the resonant frequency of the harvester, and harmonic analysis is performed to investigate the influence of the geometric parameters on the output voltage. Based on simulation results, a MEMS Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) cantilever array with an integrated large Si proof mass is designed and fabricated to improve output voltage and power. Test results show that the fabricated generator, with five cantilever beams (with unit dimensions of about 3 × 2.4 × 0.05 mm3) and an individual integrated Si mass dimension of about 8 × 12.4 × 0.5 mm3, produces a output power of 66.75 μW, or a power density of 5.19 μW∙mm-3∙g-2 with an optimal resistive load of 220 kΩ from 5 m/s2 vibration acceleration at its resonant frequency of 234.5 Hz. In view of high internal impedance characteristic of the PZT generator, an efficient autonomous power conditioning circuit, with the function of impedance matching, energy storage and voltage regulation, is then presented, finding that the efficiency of the energy storage is greatly improved and up to 64.95%. The proposed self-supplied energy generator with power conditioning circuit could provide a very promising complete power supply solution for wireless sensor node loads.

30-100-GHz inductors and transformers for millimeter-wave (Bi)CMOS integrated circuits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dickson, T. O.; Lacroix, M.-A.; Boret, S.; Gloria, D.; Beerkens, R.; Voinigescu, S. P.

2005-01-01

Silicon planar and three-dimensional inductors and transformers were designed and characterized on-wafer up to 100 GHz. Self-resonance frequencies (SRFs) beyond 100 GHz were obtained, demonstrating for the first time that spiral structures are suitable for applications such as 60-GHz wireless local area network and 77-GHz automotive RADAR. Minimizing area over substrate is critical to achieving high SRF. A stacked transformer is reported with S21 of -2.5 dB at 50 GHz, and which offers improved performance and less area (30 μm × 30 μm) than planar transformers or microstrip couplers. A compact inductor model is described, along with a methodology for extracting model parameters from simulated or measured y-parameters. Millimeter-wave SiGe BiCMOS mixer and voltage-controlled-oscillator circuits employing spiral inductors are presented with better or comparable performance to previously reported transmission-line-based circuits.

Theoretical analysis and simulation study of low-power CMOS electrochemical impedance spectroscopy biosensor in 55 nm deeply depleted channel technology for cell-state monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itakura, Keisuke; Kayano, Keisuke; Nakazato, Kazuo; Niitsu, Kiichi

2018-01-01

We present an impedance-detection complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) biosensor circuit for cell-state observation. The proposed biosensor can measure the expected impedance values encountered by a cell-state observation measurement system within a 0.1-200 MHz frequency range. The proposed device is capable of monitoring the intracellular conditions necessary for real-time cell-state observation, and can be fabricated using a 55 nm deeply depleted channel CMOS process. Operation of the biosensor circuit with 0.9 and 1.7 V supply voltages is verified via a simulated program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) simulation. The power consumption is 300 µW. Further, the standby power consumption is 290 µW, indicating that this biosensor is a low-power instrument suitable for use in Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Ethanol Microsensors with a Readout Circuit Manufactured Using the CMOS-MEMS Technique

PubMed Central

Yang, Ming-Zhi; Dai, Ching-Liang

2015-01-01

The design and fabrication of an ethanol microsensor integrated with a readout circuit on-a-chip using the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-microelectro-mechanical system (MEMS) technique are investigated. The ethanol sensor is made up of a heater, a sensitive film and interdigitated electrodes. The sensitive film is tin dioxide that is prepared by the sol-gel method. The heater is located under the interdigitated electrodes, and the sensitive film is coated on the interdigitated electrodes. The sensitive film needs a working temperature of 220 °C. The heater is employed to provide the working temperature of sensitive film. The sensor generates a change in capacitance when the sensitive film senses ethanol gas. A readout circuit is used to convert the capacitance variation of the sensor into the output frequency. Experiments show that the sensitivity of the ethanol sensor is 0.9 MHz/ppm. PMID:25594598

Complex modulation using tandem polarization modulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasan, Mehedi; Hall, Trevor

2017-11-01

A novel photonic technique for implementing frequency up-conversion or complex modulation is proposed. The proposed circuit consists of a sandwich of a quarter-wave plate between two polarization modulators, driven, respectively, by an in-phase and quadrature-phase signals. The operation of the circuit is modelled using a transmission matrix method. The theoretical prediction is then validated by simulation using an industry-standard software tool. The intrinsic conversion efficiency of the architecture is improved by 6 dB over a functionally equivalent design based on dual parallel Mach-Zehnder modulators. Non-ideal scenarios such as imperfect alignment of the optical components and power imbalances and phase errors in the electric drive signals are also analysed. As light travels, along one physical path, the proposed design can be implemented using discrete components with greater control of relative optical path length differences. The circuit can further be integrated in any material platform that offers electro-optic polarization modulators.

Interconnect-free parallel logic circuits in a single mechanical resonator

PubMed Central

Mahboob, I.; Flurin, E.; Nishiguchi, K.; Fujiwara, A.; Yamaguchi, H.

2011-01-01

In conventional computers, wiring between transistors is required to enable the execution of Boolean logic functions. This has resulted in processors in which billions of transistors are physically interconnected, which limits integration densities, gives rise to huge power consumption and restricts processing speeds. A method to eliminate wiring amongst transistors by condensing Boolean logic into a single active element is thus highly desirable. Here, we demonstrate a novel logic architecture using only a single electromechanical parametric resonator into which multiple channels of binary information are encoded as mechanical oscillations at different frequencies. The parametric resonator can mix these channels, resulting in new mechanical oscillation states that enable the construction of AND, OR and XOR logic gates as well as multibit logic circuits. Moreover, the mechanical logic gates and circuits can be executed simultaneously, giving rise to the prospect of a parallel logic processor in just a single mechanical resonator. PMID:21326230

Interconnect-free parallel logic circuits in a single mechanical resonator.

PubMed

Mahboob, I; Flurin, E; Nishiguchi, K; Fujiwara, A; Yamaguchi, H

2011-02-15

In conventional computers, wiring between transistors is required to enable the execution of Boolean logic functions. This has resulted in processors in which billions of transistors are physically interconnected, which limits integration densities, gives rise to huge power consumption and restricts processing speeds. A method to eliminate wiring amongst transistors by condensing Boolean logic into a single active element is thus highly desirable. Here, we demonstrate a novel logic architecture using only a single electromechanical parametric resonator into which multiple channels of binary information are encoded as mechanical oscillations at different frequencies. The parametric resonator can mix these channels, resulting in new mechanical oscillation states that enable the construction of AND, OR and XOR logic gates as well as multibit logic circuits. Moreover, the mechanical logic gates and circuits can be executed simultaneously, giving rise to the prospect of a parallel logic processor in just a single mechanical resonator.

Ethanol microsensors with a readout circuit manufactured using the CMOS-MEMS technique.

PubMed

Yang, Ming-Zhi; Dai, Ching-Liang

2015-01-14

The design and fabrication of an ethanol microsensor integrated with a readout circuit on-a-chip using the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-microelectro -mechanical system (MEMS) technique are investigated. The ethanol sensor is made up of a heater, a sensitive film and interdigitated electrodes. The sensitive film is tin dioxide that is prepared by the sol-gel method. The heater is located under the interdigitated electrodes, and the sensitive film is coated on the interdigitated electrodes. The sensitive film needs a working temperature of 220 °C. The heater is employed to provide the working temperature of sensitive film. The sensor generates a change in capacitance when the sensitive film senses ethanol gas. A readout circuit is used to convert the capacitance variation of the sensor into the output frequency. Experiments show that the sensitivity of the ethanol sensor is 0.9 MHz/ppm.

Reduction of radiation loss at small-radius bend using spoof surface plasmon polariton transmission line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Wen Xuan; Zhang, Hao Chi; Liu, Jun Feng; Xu, Jie; Cui, Tie Jun

2017-01-01

Spoof surface plasmon polariton (SPP) has been realized at low frequencies through corrugated metallic structures. As two-dimensional application, the ultrathin SPP transmission lines (TLs) have been proposed with great potentials for microwave compact circuits due to the strong field confinement and enhancement, as well as controllable dispersive properties. In this paper, we examine the radiation loss at small-radius bend, which may cause severe crosstalk in highly-integrated circuits or systems, for the SPP TLs. We theoretically analyze that the SPP TL has essential merit of low radiation loss, and show better performance of SPP TL than the conventional microstrip line through numerical simulations and experiments. Both simulated and measured results demonstrate that the new type of transmission line can efficiently suppress the radiation loss at small-radius bend, and hence reduce the crosstalk in circuits and systems.

Josephson Parametric Reflection Amplifier with Integrated Directionality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westig, M. P.; Klapwijk, T. M.

2018-06-01

A directional superconducting parametric amplifier in the GHz frequency range is designed and analyzed, suitable for low-power read-out of microwave kinetic inductance detectors employed in astrophysics and when combined with a nonreciprocal device at its input also for circuit quantum electrodynamics. It consists of a one-wavelength-long nondegenerate Josephson parametric reflection amplifier circuit. The device has two Josephson-junction oscillators, connected via a tailored impedance to an on-chip passive circuit which directs the in- to the output port. The amplifier provides a gain of 20 dB over a bandwidth of 220 MHz on the signal as well as on the idler portion of the amplified input and the total photon shot noise referred to the input corresponds to maximally approximately 1.3 photons per second per Hertz of bandwidth. We predict a factor of 4 increase in dynamic range compared to conventional Josephson parametric amplifiers.

Switching circuit to improve the frequency modulation difference-intensity THz quantum cascade laser imaging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Saat, N. K.; Dean, P.; Khanna, S. P.

2015-04-24

We demonstrate new switching circuit for difference-intensity THz quantum cascade laser (QCL) imaging by amplitude modulation and lock in detection. The switching circuit is designed to improve the frequency modulation so that it can stably lock the amplitude modulation of the QCL and the detector output. The combination of a voltage divider and a buffer in switching circuit to quickly switch the amplitude of the QCL biases of 15.8 V and 17.2 V is successfully to increase the frequency modulation up to ∼100 Hz.

Localized radio frequency communication using asynchronous transfer mode protocol

DOEpatents

Witzke, Edward L [Edgewood, NM; Robertson, Perry J [Albuquerque, NM; Pierson, Lyndon G [Albuquerque, NM

2007-08-14

A localized wireless communication system for communication between a plurality of circuit boards, and between electronic components on the circuit boards. Transceivers are located on each circuit board and electronic component. The transceivers communicate with one another over spread spectrum radio frequencies. An asynchronous transfer mode protocol controls communication flow with asynchronous transfer mode switches located on the circuit boards.

Review of Millimeter-Wave Integrated Circuits With Low Power Consumption for High Speed Wireless Communications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellinger, Frank; Fritsche, David; Tretter, Gregor; Leufker, Jan Dirk; Yodprasit, Uroschanit; Carta, C.

2017-01-01

In this paper we review high-speed radio-frequency integrated circuits operating up to 210 GHz and present selected state-of-the-art circuits with leading-edge performance, which we have designed at our chair. The following components are discussed employing bipolar complementary metal oxide semiconductors (BiCMOS) technologies: a 200 GHz amplifier with 17 dB gain and around 9 dB noise figure consuming only 18 mW, a 200 GHz down mixer with 5.5 dB conversion gain and 40 mW power consumption, a 190 GHz receiver with 47 dB conversion gain and 11 dB noise figure and a 60 GHz power amplifier with 24.5 dBm output power and 12.9 % power added efficiency (PAE). Moreover, we report on a single-core flash CMOS analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) with 3 bit resolution and a speed of 24 GS/s. Finally, we discuss a 60 GHz on-off keying (OOK) BiCMOS transceiver chip set. The wireless transmission of data with 5 Gb/s at 42 cm distance between transmitter and receiver was verified by experiments. The complete transceiver consumes 396 mW.

Integrating perspectives on vocal performance and consistency

PubMed Central

Sakata, Jon T.; Vehrencamp, Sandra L.

2012-01-01

SUMMARY Recent experiments in divergent fields of birdsong have revealed that vocal performance is important for reproductive success and under active control by distinct neural circuits. Vocal consistency, the degree to which the spectral properties (e.g. dominant or fundamental frequency) of song elements are produced consistently from rendition to rendition, has been highlighted as a biologically important aspect of vocal performance. Here, we synthesize functional, developmental and mechanistic (neurophysiological) perspectives to generate an integrated understanding of this facet of vocal performance. Behavioral studies in the field and laboratory have found that vocal consistency is affected by social context, season and development, and, moreover, positively correlated with reproductive success. Mechanistic investigations have revealed a contribution of forebrain and basal ganglia circuits and sex steroid hormones to the control of vocal consistency. Across behavioral, developmental and mechanistic studies, a convergent theme regarding the importance of vocal practice in juvenile and adult songbirds emerges, providing a basis for linking these levels of analysis. By understanding vocal consistency at these levels, we gain an appreciation for the various dimensions of song control and plasticity and argue that genes regulating the function of basal ganglia circuits and sex steroid hormones could be sculpted by sexual selection. PMID:22189763

New equivalent-electrical circuit model and a practical measurement method for human body impedance.

PubMed

Chinen, Koyu; Kinjo, Ichiko; Zamami, Aki; Irei, Kotoyo; Nagayama, Kanako

2015-01-01

Human body impedance analysis is an effective tool to extract electrical information from tissues in the human body. This paper presents a new measurement method of impedance using armpit electrode and a new equivalent circuit model for the human body. The lowest impedance was measured by using an LCR meter and six electrodes including armpit electrodes. The electrical equivalent circuit model for the cell consists of resistance R and capacitance C. The R represents electrical resistance of the liquid of the inside and outside of the cell, and the C represents high frequency conductance of the cell membrane. We propose an equivalent circuit model which consists of five parallel high frequency-passing CR circuits. The proposed equivalent circuit represents alpha distribution in the impedance measured at a lower frequency range due to ion current of the outside of the cell, and beta distribution at a high frequency range due to the cell membrane and the liquid inside cell. The calculated values by using the proposed equivalent circuit model were consistent with the measured values for the human body impedance.

Method of forming through substrate vias (TSVs) and singulating and releasing die having the TSVs from a mechanical support substrate

DOEpatents

Okandan, Murat; Nielson, Gregory N

2014-12-09

Accessing a workpiece object in semiconductor processing is disclosed. The workpiece object includes a mechanical support substrate, a release layer over the mechanical support substrate, and an integrated circuit substrate coupled over the release layer. The integrated circuit substrate includes a device layer having semiconductor devices. The method also includes etching through-substrate via (TSV) openings through the integrated circuit substrate that have buried ends at or within the release layer including using the release layer as an etch stop. TSVs are formed by introducing one or more conductive materials into the TSV openings. A die singulation trench is etched at least substantially through the integrated circuit substrate around a perimeter of an integrated circuit die. The integrated circuit die is at least substantially released from the mechanical support substrate.

A 90 GHz Amplifier Assembled Using a Bump-Bonded InP-Based HEMT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinsukanjana, Paul R.; Samoska, Lorene A.; Gaier, Todd C.; Smith, R. Peter; Ksendzov, Alexander; Fitzsimmons, Michael J.; Martin, Suzanne C.

1998-01-01

We report on the performance of a novel W-band amplifier fabricated utilizing very compact bump bonds. We bump-bonded a high-speed, low-noise InP high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) onto a separately fabricated passive circuit having a GaAs substrate. The compact bumps and small chip size were used for efficient coupling and maximum circuit design flexibility. This new quasi-monolithic millimeter-wave integrated circuit (Q-MMIC) amplifier exhibits a peak gain of 5.8 dB at approx. 90 GHz and a 3 dB bandwidth of greater than 25%. To our knowledge, this is the highest frequency amplifier assembled using bump-bonded technology. Our bump-bonding technique is a useful alternative to the high cost of monolithic millimeter-wave integrated circuits (MMIC's). Effects of the bumps on the circuit appear to be minimal. We used the simple matching circuit for demonstrating the technology - future circuits would have all of the elements (resistors, via holes, bias lines, etc.) included 'in conventional MMIC's. Our design in different from other investigators' efforts in that the bumps are only 8 microns thick by 15 microns wide. The bump sizes were sufficiently small that the devices, originally designed for W-band hybrid circuits, could be bonded without alteration. Figure 3 shows the measured and simulated magnitude of S-parameters from 85-120 GHz, of the InP HEMT bump-bonded to the low noise amplifier (LNA) passive. The maximum gain is 5.8 dB at approx. 90 GHz, and gain extends to 117 GHz. Measurement of a single device (without matching networks) shows approx. 1 dB of gain at 90 GHz. The measured gain of the amplifier agrees well with the design in the center of the measurement band, and the agreement falls off at the band edges. Since no accommodation for the bump-bonding parasitics was made in the design, the result implies that the parasitic elements associated with the bonding itself do not dominate the performance of the LNA circuit. It should be noted that this amplifier was designed for good noise performance, which is why the input and output return losses are poorer than one would expect for an amplifier simply matched for gain. However, noise performance has not been measured at this time. While the agreement between modeled vs. experimental data is not exact, the data prove that bump-bonded technology can be used for amplifiers at frequencies at least as high as 100 GHz. JPL is pursuing this technology as a way to economically and quickly incorporate the best available HEMTs into a circuit with all of the reliability and circuit design flexibility offered by MMIC technology. We are currently using the technology to fabricate 4-stage, wide-band, W-band LNA's. We have also performed pull and shear tests which show that the bump bonds are sufficiently robust for any anticipated application.

Electro-optical Probing Of Terahertz Integrated Circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhasin, K. B.; Romanofsky, R.; Whitaker, J. F.; Valdmanis, J. A.; Mourou, G.; Jackson, T. A.

1990-01-01

Electro-optical probe developed to perform noncontact, nondestructive, and relatively noninvasive measurements of electric fields over broad spectrum at millimeter and shorter wavelengths in integrated circuits. Manipulated with conventional intregrated-circuit-wafer-probing equipment and operated without any special preparation of integrated circuits. Tip of probe small electro-optical crystal serving as proximity electric-field sensor.

Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits Based on GaAs Mesfet Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahl, Inder J.

Advanced military microwave systems are demanding increased integration, reliability, radiation hardness, compact size and lower cost when produced in large volume, whereas the microwave commercial market, including wireless communications, mandates low cost circuits. Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) technology provides an economically viable approach to meeting these needs. In this paper the design considerations for several types of MMICs and their performance status are presented. Multifunction integrated circuits that advance the MMIC technology are described, including integrated microwave/digital functions and a highly integrated transceiver at C-band.

System and Method for Detecting Cracks and their Location

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodward, Stanley E. (Inventor); Shams, Qamar A. (Inventor)

2007-01-01

A system and method are provided for detecting cracks and their location in a structure. A circuit coupled to a structure has capacitive strain sensors coupled sequentially and in parallel to one another. When excited by a variable magnetic field, the circuit has a resonant frequency that is different for unstrained and strained states. In terms of strained states, the resonant frequency is indicative of a region of the circuit that is experiencing strain induced by strain in a region of the structure in proximity to the region of the circuit. An inductor is electrically coupled to one end of each circuit. A magnetic field response recorder wirelessly transmits the variable magnetic field to the inductor and senses the resonant frequency of the circuit so-excited by the variable magnetic field.

Wide-band polarization controller for Si photonic integrated circuits.

PubMed

Velha, P; Sorianello, V; Preite, M V; De Angelis, G; Cassese, T; Bianchi, A; Testa, F; Romagnoli, M

2016-12-15

A circuit for the management of any arbitrary polarization state of light is demonstrated on an integrated silicon (Si) photonics platform. This circuit allows us to adapt any polarization into the standard fundamental TE mode of a Si waveguide and, conversely, to control the polarization and set it to any arbitrary polarization state. In addition, the integrated thermal tuning allows kilohertz speed which can be used to perform a polarization scrambler. The circuit was used in a WDM link and successfully used to adapt four channels into a standard Si photonic integrated circuit.

Superconducting resonators as beam splitters for linear-optics quantum computation.

PubMed

Chirolli, Luca; Burkard, Guido; Kumar, Shwetank; Divincenzo, David P

2010-06-11

We propose and analyze a technique for producing a beam-splitting quantum gate between two modes of a ring-resonator superconducting cavity. The cavity has two integrated superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) that are modulated by applying an external magnetic field. The gate is accomplished by applying a radio frequency pulse to one of the SQUIDs at the difference of the two mode frequencies. Departures from perfect beam splitting only arise from corrections to the rotating wave approximation; an exact calculation gives a fidelity of >0.9992. Our construction completes the toolkit for linear-optics quantum computing in circuit quantum electrodynamics.

Frequency-multiplexed bias and readout of a 16-pixel superconducting nanowire single-photon detector array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doerner, S.; Kuzmin, A.; Wuensch, S.; Charaev, I.; Boes, F.; Zwick, T.; Siegel, M.

2017-07-01

We demonstrate a 16-pixel array of microwave-current driven superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors with an integrated and scalable frequency-division multiplexing architecture, which reduces the required number of bias and readout lines to a single microwave feed line. The electrical behavior of the photon-sensitive nanowires, embedded in a resonant circuit, as well as the optical performance and timing jitter of the single detectors is discussed. Besides the single pixel measurements, we also demonstrate the operation of a 16-pixel array with a temporal, spatial, and photon-number resolution.

General technique for the integration of MIC/MMIC'S with waveguides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Geller, Bernard D. (Inventor); Zaghloul, Amir I. (Inventor)

1987-01-01

A technique for packaging and integrating of a microwave integrated circuit (MIC) or monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) with a waveguide uses a printed conductive circuit pattern on a dielectric substrate to transform impedance and mode of propagation between the MIC/MMIC and the waveguide. The virtually coplanar circuit pattern lies on an equipotential surface within the waveguide and therefore makes possible single or dual polarized mode structures.

Large Scale Integrated Circuits for Military Applications.

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-05-01

economic incentive for riarrowing this gap is examined, y (U)^wo"categories of cost are analyzed: the direct life cycle cost of the integrated circuit...dependence of these costs on the physical charac- teristics of the integrated circuits is discussed. (U) The economic and physical characteristics of... economic incentive for narrowing this gap is examined. Two categories of cost are analyzed: the direct life cycle cost of the integrated circuit

Low-Power Analog Processing for Sensing Applications: Low-Frequency Harmonic Signal Classification

PubMed Central

White, Daniel J.; William, Peter E.; Hoffman, Michael W.; Balkir, Sina

2013-01-01

A low-power analog sensor front-end is described that reduces the energy required to extract environmental sensing spectral features without using Fast Fouriér Transform (FFT) or wavelet transforms. An Analog Harmonic Transform (AHT) allows selection of only the features needed by the back-end, in contrast to the FFT, where all coefficients must be calculated simultaneously. We also show that the FFT coefficients can be easily calculated from the AHT results by a simple back-substitution. The scheme is tailored for low-power, parallel analog implementation in an integrated circuit (IC). Two different applications are tested with an ideal front-end model and compared to existing studies with the same data sets. Results from the military vehicle classification and identification of machine-bearing fault applications shows that the front-end suits a wide range of harmonic signal sources. Analog-related errors are modeled to evaluate the feasibility of and to set design parameters for an IC implementation to maintain good system-level performance. Design of a preliminary transistor-level integrator circuit in a 0.13 μm complementary metal-oxide-silicon (CMOS) integrated circuit process showed the ability to use online self-calibration to reduce fabrication errors to a sufficiently low level. Estimated power dissipation is about three orders of magnitude less than similar vehicle classification systems that use commercially available FFT spectral extraction. PMID:23892765

Low-noise heterodyne receiver for electron cyclotron emission imaging and microwave imaging reflectometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tobias, B.; Domier, C. W.; Luhmann, N. C.; Luo, C.; Mamidanna, M.; Phan, T.; Pham, A.-V.; Wang, Y.

2016-11-01

The critical component enabling electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) and microwave imaging reflectometry (MIR) to resolve 2D and 3D electron temperature and density perturbations is the heterodyne imaging array that collects and downconverts radiated emission and/or reflected signals (50-150 GHz) to an intermediate frequency (IF) band (e.g. 0.1-18 GHz) that can be transmitted by a shielded coaxial cable for further filtering and detection. New circuitry has been developed for this task, integrating gallium arsenide (GaAs) monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) mounted on a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) substrate. The improved topology significantly increases electromagnetic shielding from out-of-band interference, leads to 10× improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio, and dramatic cost savings through integration. The current design, optimized for reflectometry and edge radiometry on mid-sized tokamaks, has demonstrated >20 dB conversion gain in upper V-band (60-75 GHz). Implementation of the circuit in a multi-channel electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) array will improve the diagnosis of edge-localized modes and fluctuations of the high-confinement, or H-mode, pedestal.

Low-noise heterodyne receiver for electron cyclotron emission imaging and microwave imaging reflectometry.

PubMed

Tobias, B; Domier, C W; Luhmann, N C; Luo, C; Mamidanna, M; Phan, T; Pham, A-V; Wang, Y

2016-11-01

The critical component enabling electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) and microwave imaging reflectometry (MIR) to resolve 2D and 3D electron temperature and density perturbations is the heterodyne imaging array that collects and downconverts radiated emission and/or reflected signals (50-150 GHz) to an intermediate frequency (IF) band (e.g. 0.1-18 GHz) that can be transmitted by a shielded coaxial cable for further filtering and detection. New circuitry has been developed for this task, integrating gallium arsenide (GaAs) monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) mounted on a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) substrate. The improved topology significantly increases electromagnetic shielding from out-of-band interference, leads to 10× improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio, and dramatic cost savings through integration. The current design, optimized for reflectometry and edge radiometry on mid-sized tokamaks, has demonstrated >20 dB conversion gain in upper V-band (60-75 GHz). Implementation of the circuit in a multi-channel electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) array will improve the diagnosis of edge-localized modes and fluctuations of the high-confinement, or H-mode, pedestal.

Equivalent circuit for the characterization of the resonance mode in piezoelectric systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández-Afonso, Y.; García-Zaldívar, O.; Calderón-Piñar, F.

2015-12-01

The impedance properties in polarized piezoelectric can be described by electric equivalent circuits. The classic circuit used in the literature to describe real systems is formed by one resistor (R), one inductance (L) and one capacitance C connected in series and one capacity (C0) connected in parallel with the formers. Nevertheless, the equation that describe the resonance and anti-resonance frequencies depends on a complex manner of R, L, C and C0. In this work is proposed a simpler model formed by one inductance (L) and one capacity (C) in series; one capacity (C0) in parallel; one resistor (RP) in parallel and one resistor (RS) in series with other components. Unlike the traditional circuit, the equivalent circuit elements in the proposed model can be simply determined by knowing the experimental values of the resonance frequency fr, anti-resonance frequency fa, impedance module at resonance frequency |Zr|, impedance module at anti-resonance frequency |Za| and low frequency capacitance C0, without fitting the impedance experimental data to the obtained equation.

Integrated circuits, and design and manufacture thereof

DOEpatents

Auracher, Stefan; Pribbernow, Claus; Hils, Andreas

2006-04-18

A representation of a macro for an integrated circuit layout. The representation may define sub-circuit cells of a module. The module may have a predefined functionality. The sub-circuit cells may include at least one reusable circuit cell. The reusable circuit cell may be configured such that when the predefined functionality of the module is not used, the reusable circuit cell is available for re-use.

CONTROL AND FAULT DETECTOR CIRCUIT

DOEpatents

Winningstad, C.N.

1958-04-01

A power control and fault detectcr circuit for a radiofrequency system is described. The operation of the circuit controls the power output of a radio- frequency power supply to automatically start the flow of energizing power to the radio-frequency power supply and to gradually increase the power to a predetermined level which is below the point where destruction occurs upon the happening of a fault. If the radio-frequency power supply output fails to increase during such period, the control does not further increase the power. On the other hand, if the output of the radio-frequency power supply properly increases, then the control continues to increase the power to a maximum value. After the maximumn value of radio-frequency output has been achieved. the control is responsive to a ''fault,'' such as a short circuit in the radio-frequency system being driven, so that the flow of power is interrupted for an interval before the cycle is repeated.

22 W coherent GaAlAs amplifier array with 400 emitters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krebs, D.; Herrick, R.; No, K.; Harting, W.; Struemph, F.

1991-01-01

Greater than 22 W of optical power has been demonstrated from a multiple-emitter, traveling-wave semiconductor amplifier, with approximately 87 percent of the output at the frequency of the injection source. The device integrates, in AlGaAs graded-index separate-confinement heterostructure single quantum well (GRINSCH-SQW) epitaxy, 400 ridge waveguide amplifiers with a coherent optical signal distribution circuit on a 12 x 6 mm chip.

Modeling, Simulation and Design of Plasmonic Interconnects for On-Chip Signal Processing

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-14

integration and computation can be achieved by using the photonic detection devices such as the ultrafast photodectors and nanowire field transistors... infrared to optical frequencies, and their FDTD simulation results are shown in the middle diagram. In the right most diagram, the HSPICE simulation...FDTD simulation. The results tally very well to affirm that plasmonic nanowires can be simulated using circuit simulators like HSPICE to combine the

2D Electrically Tuneable EBG Integrated Circuits

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

Controlling the Bandlimits of TE-Surface Wave Propagation Along a Modulated Microstrip -Line-Based High Impedance Surface,‖ IEEE Trans. Antennas and Propagat...Esselle, L. Matekovits, M. Heimlich, “Reconfigurable half- width microstrip leaky-wave antenna for fixed-frequency beam scanning”, Proceedings of 7th...EBG effect (Figure 1). In the absence of the patches, the structure would be an ideal microstrip configuration. Tuning is accomplished by using a

High-Frequency, 6.2 Angstrom pN Heterojunction Diodes

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

this paper were grown by solid- source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Here, the use of a lower- case letter (p) for the narrow bandgap layer and upper...electron and hole mobilities. High electron mobil- ity transistors ( HEMTs ) fabricated from these materials have shown good operating characteristics [1,2...Furthermore, the first monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) fabricated using 6.1 Å based HEMTs have been demonstrated [3]. New mate- rials

Phase comparator apparatus and method

DOEpatents

Coffield, F.E.

1985-02-01

This invention finds especially useful application for interferometer measurements made in plasma fusion devices (e.g., for measuring the line integral of electron density in the plasma). Such interferometers typically use very high intermediate frequencies (e.g., on the order of 10 to 70 MHz) and therefore the phase comparison circuitry should be a high speed circuit with a linear transfer characteristic so as to accurately differentiate between small fractions of interference fringes.

Mitigating Oscillator Pulling Due To Magnetic Coupling in Monolithic Mixed-Signal Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sobering, Ian David

2014-01-01

An analysis of frequency pulling in a varactor-tuned LC VCO under coupling from an on-chip PA is presented. The large-signal behavior of the VCO's inversion-mode MOS varactors is outlined, and the susceptibility of the VCO to frequency pulling from PA aggressor signals with various modulation schemes is discussed. We show that if the aggressor signal is aperiodic, band-limited, or amplitude-modulated, the varactor-tuned LC VCO will experience frequency pulling due to time-modulation of the varactor capacitance. However, if the aggressor signal has constant-envelope phase modulation, VCO pulling can be eliminated, even in the presence of coupling, through careful choice of VCOmore » frequency and divider ratio. Additional mitigation strategies, including new inductor topologies and system-level architectural choices, are also examined.« less

Wide-band operation of quasi-optical distributed superconductor/insulator/superconductor mixers with epitaxial NbN/AlN/NbN junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohjiro, S.; Shitov, S. V.; Wang, Z.; Uzawa, Y.; Miki, S.; Kawakami, A.; Shoji, A.

2004-05-01

For the optimum design of integrated receivers operating above the gap frequency of Nb, we have designed, fabricated and tested NbN-based quasi-optical superconductor/insulator/superconductor (SIS) mixers. The mixer chip incorporates a resonant half-wavelength epitaxial NbN/AlN/NbN junction, a twin-slot antenna and their coupling circuits. We adopted two kinds of coupling circuit between the antenna and the SIS junction: one is an in-phase feed with a length of 95 µm and the other is an anti-phase feed of 30 µm length. It was found that the anti-phase mixer reveals a 3 dB bandwidth of 43% of the centre frequency; the uncorrected double-sideband receiver noise temperature TRX = 691 K at 0.91 THz and TRX = 844 K at 0.80 THz, while 17% and TRX = 1250 K at 0.79 THz for the in-phase version. Possible reasons for this difference are discussed, which could be transmission loss and its robustness with respect to the variation of junction parameters. These experimental results suggest the NbN-based distributed mixer with the anti-phase feed is a better candidate for wide-band integrated receivers operating above 0.7 THz.

Design and implementation of a RF powering circuit for RFID tags or other batteryless embedded devices.

PubMed

Liu, Dongsheng; Wang, Rencai; Yao, Ke; Zou, Xuecheng; Guo, Liang

2014-08-13

A RF powering circuit used in radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and other batteryless embedded devices is presented in this paper. The RF powering circuit harvests energy from electromagnetic waves and converts the RF energy to a stable voltage source. Analysis of a NMOS gate-cross connected bridge rectifier is conducted to demonstrate relationship between device sizes and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the rectifier. A rectifier with 38.54% PCE under normal working conditions is designed. Moreover, a stable voltage regulator with a temperature and voltage optimizing strategy including adoption of a combination resistor is developed, which is able to accommodate a large input range of 4 V to 12 V and be immune to temperature variations. Latch-up prevention and noise isolation methods in layout design are also presented. Designed with the HJTC 0.25 μm process, this regulator achieves 0.04 mV/°C temperature rejection ratio (TRR) and 2.5 mV/V voltage rejection ratio (VRR). The RF powering circuit is also fabricated in the HJTC 0.25 μm process. The area of the RF powering circuit is 0.23 × 0.24 mm². The RF powering circuit is successfully integrated with ISO/IEC 15693-compatible and ISO/IEC 14443-compatible RFID tag chips.

Design and Implementation of a RF Powering Circuit for RFID Tags or Other Batteryless Embedded Devices

PubMed Central

Liu, Dongsheng; Wang, Rencai; Yao, Ke; Zou, Xuecheng; Guo, Liang

2014-01-01

A RF powering circuit used in radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and other batteryless embedded devices is presented in this paper. The RF powering circuit harvests energy from electromagnetic waves and converts the RF energy to a stable voltage source. Analysis of a NMOS gate-cross connected bridge rectifier is conducted to demonstrate relationship between device sizes and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the rectifier. A rectifier with 38.54% PCE under normal working conditions is designed. Moreover, a stable voltage regulator with a temperature and voltage optimizing strategy including adoption of a combination resistor is developed, which is able to accommodate a large input range of 4 V to 12 V and be immune to temperature variations. Latch-up prevention and noise isolation methods in layout design are also presented. Designed with the HJTC 0.25 μm process, this regulator achieves 0.04 mV/°C temperature rejection ratio (TRR) and 2.5 mV/V voltage rejection ratio (VRR). The RF powering circuit is also fabricated in the HJTC 0.25 μm process. The area of the RF powering circuit is 0.23 × 0.24 mm2. The RF powering circuit is successfully integrated with ISO/IEC 15693-compatible and ISO/IEC 14443-compatible RFID tag chips. PMID:25123466

Convergence of circuit dysfunction in ASD: a common bridge between diverse genetic and environmental risk factors and common clinical electrophysiology.

PubMed

Port, Russell G; Gandal, Michael J; Roberts, Timothy P L; Siegel, Steven J; Carlson, Gregory C

2014-01-01

Most recent estimates indicate that 1 in 68 children are affected by an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Though decades of research have uncovered much about these disorders, the pathological mechanism remains unknown. Hampering efforts is the seeming inability to integrate findings over the micro to macro scales of study, from changes in molecular, synaptic and cellular function to large-scale brain dysfunction impacting sensory, communicative, motor and cognitive activity. In this review, we describe how studies focusing on neuronal circuit function provide unique context for identifying common neurobiological disease mechanisms of ASD. We discuss how recent EEG and MEG studies in subjects with ASD have repeatedly shown alterations in ensemble population recordings (both in simple evoked related potential latencies and specific frequency subcomponents). Because these disease-associated electrophysiological abnormalities have been recapitulated in rodent models, studying circuit differences in these models may provide access to abnormal circuit function found in ASD. We then identify emerging in vivo and ex vivo techniques, focusing on how these assays can characterize circuit level dysfunction and determine if these abnormalities underlie abnormal clinical electrophysiology. Such circuit level study in animal models may help us understand how diverse genetic and environmental risks can produce a common set of EEG, MEG and anatomical abnormalities found in ASD.

Design of a 16 gray scales 320 × 240 pixels OLED-on-silicon driving circuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ran, Huang; Xiaohui, Wang; Wenbo, Wang; Huan, Du; Zhengsheng, Han

2009-01-01

A 320×240 pixel organic-light-emitting-diode-on-silicon (OLEDoS) driving circuit is implemented using the standard 0.5 μm CMOS process of CSMC. It gives 16 gray scales with integrated 4 bit D/A converters. A three-transistor voltage-programmed OLED pixel driver is proposed, which can realize the very small current driving required for the OLEDoS microdisplay. Both the D/A converter and the pixel driver are implemented with pMOS devices. The pass-transistor and capacitance in the OLED pixel driver can be used to sample the output of the D/A converter. An additional pMOS is added to OLED pixel driver, which is used to control the D/A converter operating only when one row is on. This can reduce the circuit's power consumption. This driving circuit can work properly in a frame frequency of 50 Hz, and the final layout of this circuit is given. The pixel area is 28.4 × 28.4 μm2 and the display area is 10.7 × 8.0 mm2 (the diagonal is about 13 mm). The measured pixel gray scale voltage shows that the function of the driver circuit is correct, and the power consumption of the chip is about 350 mW.

Silicon photonics integrated circuits: a manufacturing platform for high density, low power optical I/O's.

PubMed

Absil, Philippe P; Verheyen, Peter; De Heyn, Peter; Pantouvaki, Marianna; Lepage, Guy; De Coster, Jeroen; Van Campenhout, Joris

2015-04-06

Silicon photonics integrated circuits are considered to enable future computing systems with optical input-outputs co-packaged with CMOS chips to circumvent the limitations of electrical interfaces. In this paper we present the recent progress made to enable dense multiplexing by exploiting the integration advantage of silicon photonics integrated circuits. We also discuss the manufacturability of such circuits, a key factor for a wide adoption of this technology.

Development of integrated photoplethysmographic recording circuit for trans-nail pulse-wave monitoring system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qian, Zhengyang; Takezawa, Yoshiki; Shimokawa, Kenji; Kino, Hisashi; Fukushima, Takafumi; Kiyoyama, Koji; Tanaka, Tetsu

2018-04-01

Health monitoring and self-management have become increasingly more important because of health awareness improvement, the aging of population, and other reasons. In general, pulse waves are among the most useful physiological signals that can be used to calculate several parameters such as heart rate and blood pressure for health monitoring and self-management. To realize an automatic and real-time pulse-wave monitoring system that can be used in daily life, we have proposed a trans-nail pulse-wave monitoring system that was placed on the fingernail to detect photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals as pulse waves. In this study, we designed a PPG recording circuit that was composed of a 600 × 600 µm2 photodiode (PD), an LED driver with pulse wave modulation (PWM) and a low-frequency ring oscillator (RING), and a PPG signal readout circuit. The proposed circuit had a very small area of 2.2 × 1.1 mm2 designed with 0.18 µm CMOS technology. The proposed circuit was used to detect pulse waves on the human fingernail in both the reflection and transmission modes. Electrical characteristics of the prototype system were evaluated precisely and PPG waveforms were obtained successfully.

Eight-Channel Continuous Timer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cole, Steven

2004-01-01

A custom laboratory electronic timer circuit measures the durations of successive cycles of nominally highly stable input clock signals in as many as eight channels, for the purpose of statistically quantifying the small instabilities of these signals. The measurement data generated by this timer are sent to a personal computer running software that integrates the measurements to form a phase residual for each channel and uses the phase residuals to compute Allan variances for each channel. (The Allan variance is a standard statistical measure of instability of a clock signal.) Like other laboratory clock-cycle-measuring circuits, this timer utilizes an externally generated reference clock signal having a known frequency (100 MHz) much higher than the frequencies of the input clock signals (between 100 and 120 Hz). It counts the number of reference-clock cycles that occur between successive rising edges of each input clock signal of interest, thereby affording a measurement of the input clock-signal period to within the duration (10 ns) of one reference clock cycle. Unlike typical prior laboratory clock-cycle-measuring circuits, this timer does not skip some cycles of the input clock signals. The non-cycle-skipping feature is an important advantage because in applications that involve integration of measurements over long times for characterizing nominally highly stable clock signals, skipping cycles can degrade accuracy. The timer includes a field-programmable gate array that functions as a 20-bit counter running at the reference clock rate of 100 MHz. The timer also includes eight 20-bit latching circuits - one for each channel - at the output terminals of the counter. Each transition of an input signal from low to high causes the corresponding latching circuit to latch the count at that instant. Each such transition also sets a status flip-flop circuit to indicate the presence of the latched count. A microcontroller reads the values of all eight status flipflops and then reads the latched count for each channel for which the flip-flop indicates the presence of a count. Reading the count for each channel automatically causes the flipflop of that channel to be reset. The microcontroller places the counts in time order, identifies the channel number for each count, and transmits these data to the personal computer.

Direct current superconducting quantum interference device spectrometer for pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance and nuclear quadrupole resonance at frequencies up to 5 MHz

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

TonThat, D.M.; Clarke, J.

1996-08-01

A spectrometer based on a dc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) has been developed for the direct detection of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) or nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) at frequencies up to 5 MHz. The sample is coupled to the input coil of the niobium-based SQUID via a nonresonant superconducting circuit. The flux locked loop involves the direct offset integration technique with additional positive feedback in which the output of the SQUID is coupled directly to a low-noise preamplifier. Precession of the nuclear quadrupole spins is induced by a magnetic field pulse with the feedback circuit disabled; subsequently, flux lockedmore » operation is restored and the SQUID amplifies the signal produced by the nuclear free induction signal. The spectrometer has been used to detect {sup 27}Al NQR signals in ruby (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}[Cr{sup 3+}]) at 359 and 714 kHz. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}« less

Coupling Between CPW and Slotline Modes in Finite Ground CPW with Unequal Ground Plane Widths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ponchak, George E.; Papapolymerou, John; Williams, W. D. (Technical Monitor); Tentzeris, Emmanouil M.

2002-01-01

The coupling between the desired CPW mode and the unwanted, slotline, mode is presented for finite ground coplanar waveguides with unequal ground plane widths. Measurements, quasi-static conformal mapping, and Method of Moment analysis are performed to determine the dependence of the slotline mode excitation on the physical dimensions of the FGC line and on the frequency range of operation. Introduction: Finite ground coplanar waveguide (FGC) is often used in low cost Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMICs) because of its many advantages over microstrip and conventional CoPlanar Waveguide (CPW). It is uniplanar, which facilitates easy connection of series and shunt elements without via holes, supports a low loss, quasi-TEM mode over a wide frequency band, and since the ground planes are electrically and physically narrow, typically less than lambda/5 wide where lambda is the guided wavelength, they reduce the circuit size and the influence of higher order modes. However, they still support the parasitic slotline mode that plagues all CPW transmission lines.

Corrugated metal surface with pillars for terahertz surface plasmon polariton waveguide components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ying; Xu, Yuehong; Tian, Chunxiu; Xu, Quan; Zhang, Xueqian; Li, Yanfeng; Zhang, Xixiang; Han, Jiaguang; Zhang, Weili

2018-01-01

In the terahertz regime, due to perfect conductivity of most metals, it is hard to realize a strong confinement of Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) although a propagation loss could be sufficiently low. We experimentally demonstrated a structure with periodic pillars arranged on a thin metal surface that supports bound modes of spoof SPPs at terahertz (THz) frequencies. By using scanning near-field THz microscopy, the electric field distribution above the metal surface within a distance of 130 μm was mapped. The results proved that this structure could guide spoof SPPs propagating along subwavelength waveguides, and at the same time reduce field expansion into free space. Further, for the development of integrated optical circuits, several components including straight waveguide, S-bend, Y-splitter and directional couplers were designed and characterized by the same method. We believe that the waveguide components proposed here will pave a new way for the development of flexible, wideband and compact photonic circuits operating at THz frequencies.

Reusable vibration resistant integrated circuit mounting socket

DOEpatents

Evans, Craig N.

1995-01-01

This invention discloses a novel form of socket for integrated circuits to be mounted on printed circuit boards. The socket uses a novel contact which is fabricated out of a bimetallic strip with a shape which makes the end of the strip move laterally as temperature changes. The end of the strip forms a barb which digs into an integrated circuit lead at normal temperatures and holds it firmly in the contact, preventing loosening and open circuits from vibration. By cooling the contact containing the bimetallic strip the barb end can be made to release so that the integrated circuit lead can be removed from the socket without damage either to the lead or to the socket components.

Macromodels of digital integrated circuits for program packages of circuit engineering design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrenko, A. I.; Sliusar, P. B.; Timchenko, A. P.

1984-04-01

Various aspects of the generation of macromodels of digital integrated circuits are examined, and their effective application in program packages of circuit engineering design is considered. Three levels of macromodels are identified, and the application of such models to the simulation of circuit outputs is discussed.

Design optimization of high frequency transformer with controlled leakage inductance for current fed dual active bridge converter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Tae-Uk; Kim, Myung-Hwan; Yoo, Jin-Hyung

2018-05-01

Current fed dual active bridge converters for photovoltaic generation may typically require a given leakage or extra inductance in order to provide proper control of the currents. Therefore, the many researches have been focused on the leakage inductance control of high frequency transformer to integrate an extra inductor. In this paper, an asymmetric winding arrangement to get the controlled leakage inductance for the high frequency transformer is proposed to improve the efficiency of the current fed dual active bridge converter. In order to accurate analysis, a coupled electromagnetic analysis model of transformer connected with high frequency switching circuit is used. A design optimization procedure for high efficiency is also presented using design analysis model, and it is verified by the experimental result.

Analysis of high-frequency oscillations in mutually-coupled nano-lasers.

PubMed

Han, Hong; Shore, K Alan

2018-04-16

The dynamics of mutually coupled nano-lasers has been analyzed using rate equations which include the Purcell cavity-enhanced spontaneous emission factor F and the spontaneous emission coupling factor β. It is shown that in the mutually-coupled system, small-amplitude oscillations with frequencies of order 100 GHz are generated and are maintained with remarkable stability. The appearance of such high-frequency oscillations is associated with the effective reduction of the carrier lifetime for larger values of the Purcell factor, F, and spontaneous coupling factor, β. In mutually-coupled nano-lasers the oscillation frequency changes linearly with the frequency detuning between the lasers. For non-identical bias currents, the oscillation frequency of mutually-coupled nano-lasers also increases with bias current. The stability of the oscillations which appear in mutually coupled nano-lasers offers opportunities for their practical applications and notably in photonic integrated circuits.

Design of a MEMS-Based Oscillator Using 180nm CMOS Technology.

PubMed

Roy, Sukanta; Ramiah, Harikrishnan; Reza, Ahmed Wasif; Lim, Chee Cheow; Ferrer, Eloi Marigo

2016-01-01

Micro-electro mechanical system (MEMS) based oscillators are revolutionizing the timing industry as a cost effective solution, enhanced with more features, superior performance and better reliability. The design of a sustaining amplifier was triggered primarily to replenish MEMS resonator's high motion losses due to the possibility of their 'system-on-chip' integrated circuit solution. The design of a sustaining amplifier observing high gain and adequate phase shift for an electrostatic clamp-clamp (C-C) beam MEMS resonator, involves the use of an 180nm CMOS process with an unloaded Q of 1000 in realizing a fixed frequency oscillator. A net 122dBΩ transimpedance gain with adequate phase shift has ensured 17.22MHz resonant frequency oscillation with a layout area consumption of 0.121 mm2 in the integrated chip solution, the sustaining amplifier draws 6.3mW with a respective phase noise of -84dBc/Hz at 1kHz offset is achieved within a noise floor of -103dBC/Hz. In this work, a comparison is drawn among similar design studies on the basis of a defined figure of merit (FOM). A low phase noise of 1kHz, high figure of merit and the smaller size of the chip has accredited to the design's applicability towards in the implementation of a clock generative integrated circuit. In addition to that, this complete silicon based MEMS oscillator in a monolithic solution has offered a cost effective solution for industrial or biomedical electronic applications.

Integrated coherent matter wave circuits

DOE PAGES

Ryu, C.; Boshier, M. G.

2015-09-21

An integrated coherent matter wave circuit is a single device, analogous to an integrated optical circuit, in which coherent de Broglie waves are created and then launched into waveguides where they can be switched, divided, recombined, and detected as they propagate. Applications of such circuits include guided atom interferometers, atomtronic circuits, and precisely controlled delivery of atoms. We report experiments demonstrating integrated circuits for guided coherent matter waves. The circuit elements are created with the painted potential technique, a form of time-averaged optical dipole potential in which a rapidly moving, tightly focused laser beam exerts forces on atoms through theirmore » electric polarizability. Moreover, the source of coherent matter waves is a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC). Finally, we launch BECs into painted waveguides that guide them around bends and form switches, phase coherent beamsplitters, and closed circuits. These are the basic elements that are needed to engineer arbitrarily complex matter wave circuitry.« less

The Development of Si and SiGe Technologies for Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Integrated Circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ponchak, George E.; Alterovitz, Samuel A.; Katehi, Linda P. B.; Bhattacharya, Pallab K.

1997-01-01

Historically, microwave technology was developed by military and space agencies from around the world to satisfy their unique radar, communication, and science applications. Throughout this development phase, the sole goal was to improve the performance of the microwave circuits and components comprising the systems. For example, power amplifiers with output powers of several watts over broad bandwidths, low noise amplifiers with noise figures as low as 3 dB at 94 GHz, stable oscillators with low noise characteristics and high output power, and electronically steerable antennas were required. In addition, the reliability of the systems had to be increased because of the high monetary and human cost if a failure occurred. To achieve these goals, industry, academia and the government agencies supporting them chose to develop technologies with the greatest possibility of surpassing the state of the art performance. Thus, Si, which was already widely used for digital circuits but had material characteristics that were perceived to limit its high frequency performance, was bypassed for a progression of devices starting with GaAs Metal Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MESFETs) and ending with InP Pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistors (PHEMTs). For each new material or device structure, the electron mobility increased, and therefore, the high frequency characteristics of the device were improved. In addition, ultra small geometry lithographic processes were developed to reduce the gate length to 0.1 pm which further increases the cutoff frequency. The resulting devices had excellent performance through the millimeter-wave spectrum.

A finite state machine read-out chip for integrated surface acoustic wave sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakshit, Sambarta; Iliadis, Agis A.

2015-01-01

A finite state machine based integrated sensor circuit suitable for the read-out module of a monolithically integrated SAW sensor on Si is reported. The primary sensor closed loop consists of a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), a peak detecting comparator, a finite state machine (FSM), and a monolithically integrated SAW sensor device. The output of the system oscillates within a narrow voltage range that correlates with the SAW pass-band response. The period of oscillation is of the order of the SAW phase delay. We use timing information from the FSM to convert SAW phase delay to an on-chip 10 bit digital output operating on the principle of time to digital conversion (TDC). The control inputs of this digital conversion block are generated by a second finite state machine operating under a divided system clock. The average output varies with changes in SAW center frequency, thus tracking mass sensing events in real time. Based on measured VCO gain of 16 MHz/V our system will convert a 10 kHz SAW frequency shift to a corresponding mean voltage shift of 0.7 mV. A corresponding shift in phase delay is converted to a one or two bit shift in the TDC output code. The system can handle alternate SAW center frequencies and group delays simply by adjusting the VCO control and TDC delay control inputs. Because of frequency to voltage and phase to digital conversion, this topology does not require external frequency counter setups and is uniquely suitable for full monolithic integration of autonomous sensor systems and tags.

Micromechanical Switches on GaAs for Microwave Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Randall, John N.; Goldsmith, Chuck; Denniston, David; Lin, Tsen-Hwang

1995-01-01

In this presentation, we describe the fabrication of micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) devices, in particular, of low-frequency multi-element electrical switches using SiO2 cantilevers. The switches discussed are related to micromechanical membrane structures used to perform switching of optical signals on silicon substrates. These switches use a thin metal membrane which is actuated by an electrostatic potential, causing the switch to make or break contact. The advantages include: superior isolation, high power handling capabilities, high radiation hardening, very low power operations, and the ability to integrate onto GaAs monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) chips.

Broadband piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting using a nonlinear energy sink

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Liuyang; Tang, Lihua; Liu, Kefu; Mace, Brian R.

2018-05-01

A piezoelectric vibration energy harvester (PVEH) is capable of converting waste or undesirable ambient vibration energy into useful electric energy. However, conventional PVEHs typically work in a narrow frequency range, leading to low efficiency in practical application. This work proposes a PVEH based on the principle of the nonlinear energy sink (NES) to achieve broadband energy harvesting. An alternating current circuit with a resistive load is first considered in the analysis of the dynamic properties and electric performance of the NES-based PEVH. Then, a standard rectifying direct current (DC) interface circuit is developed to evaluate the DC power from the PVEH. To gain insight into the NES mechanism involved, approximate analysis of the proposed PVEH systems under harmonic excitation is sought using the mixed multi-scale and harmonic balance method and the Newton–Raphson harmonic balance method. In addition, an equivalent circuit model (ECM) of the electromechanical system is derived and circuit simulations are conducted to explore and validate the energy harvesting and vibration absorption performance of the proposed NES-based PVEH. The response is also compared with that obtained by direct numerical integration of the equations of motion. Finally, the optimal resistance to obtain the maximum DC power is determined based on the Newton–Raphson harmonic balance method and validated by the ECM. In general, the NES-based PVEH can absorb the vibration from the primary structure and collect electric energy within a broad frequency range effectively.

Low-power wireless ECG acquisition and classification system for body sensor networks.

PubMed

Lee, Shuenn-Yuh; Hong, Jia-Hua; Hsieh, Cheng-Han; Liang, Ming-Chun; Chang Chien, Shih-Yu; Lin, Kuang-Hao

2015-01-01

A low-power biosignal acquisition and classification system for body sensor networks is proposed. The proposed system consists of three main parts: 1) a high-pass sigma delta modulator-based biosignal processor (BSP) for signal acquisition and digitization, 2) a low-power, super-regenerative on-off keying transceiver for short-range wireless transmission, and 3) a digital signal processor (DSP) for electrocardiogram (ECG) classification. The BSP and transmitter circuits, which are the body-end circuits, can be operated for over 80 days using two 605 mAH zinc-air batteries as the power supply; the power consumption is 586.5 μW. As for the radio frequency receiver and DSP, which are the receiving-end circuits that can be integrated in smartphones or personal computers, power consumption is less than 1 mW. With a wavelet transform-based digital signal processing circuit and a diagnosis control by cardiologists, the accuracy of beat detection and ECG classification are close to 99.44% and 97.25%, respectively. All chips are fabricated in TSMC 0.18-μm standard CMOS process.

Active shunt capacitance cancelling oscillator circuit

DOEpatents

Wessendorf, Kurt O.

2003-09-23

An oscillator circuit is disclosed which can be used to produce oscillation using a piezoelectric crystal, with a frequency of oscillation being largely independent of any shunt capacitance associated with the crystal (i.e. due to electrodes on the surfaces of the crystal and due to packaging and wiring for the crystal). The oscillator circuit is based on a tuned gain stage which operates the crystal at a frequency, f, near a series resonance frequency, f.sub.S. The oscillator circuit further includes a compensation circuit that supplies all the ac current flow through the shunt resistance associated with the crystal so that this ac current need not be supplied by the tuned gain stage. The compensation circuit uses a current mirror to provide the ac current flow based on the current flow through a reference capacitor that is equivalent to the shunt capacitance associated with the crystal. The oscillator circuit has applications for driving piezoelectric crystals for sensing of viscous, fluid or solid media by detecting a change in the frequency of oscillation of the crystal and a resonator loss which occur from contact of an exposed surface of the crystal by the viscous, fluid or solid media.

Thermal heat-balance mode flow-to-frequency converter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pawlowski, Eligiusz

2016-11-01

This paper presents new type of thermal flow converter with the pulse frequency output. The integrating properties of the temperature sensor have been used, which allowed for realization of pulse frequency modulator with thermal feedback loop, stabilizing temperature of sensor placed in the flowing medium. The system assures balancing of heat amount supplied in impulses to the sensor and heat given up by the sensor in a continuous way to the flowing medium. Therefore the frequency of output impulses is proportional to the heat transfer coefficient from sensor to environment. According to the King's law, the frequency of those impulses is a function of medium flow velocity around the sensor. The special feature of presented solution is total integration of thermal sensor with the measurement signal conditioning system. Sensor and conditioning system are not the separate elements of the measurement circuit, but constitute a whole in form of thermal heat-balance mode flow-to-frequency converter. The advantage of such system is easiness of converting the frequency signal to the digital form, without using any additional analogue-to-digital converters. The frequency signal from the converter may be directly connected to the microprocessor input, which with use of standard built-in counters may convert the frequency into numerical value of high precision. Moreover, the frequency signal has higher resistance to interference than the voltage signal and may be transmitted to remote locations without the information loss.

Automatic oscillator frequency control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, S. F. (Inventor)

1985-01-01

A frequency control system makes an initial correction of the frequency of its own timing circuit after comparison against a frequency of known accuracy and then sequentially checks and corrects the frequencies of several voltage controlled local oscillator circuits. The timing circuit initiates the machine cycles of a central processing unit which applies a frequency index to an input register in a modulo-sum frequency divider stage and enables a multiplexer to clock an accumulator register in the divider stage with a cyclical signal derived from the oscillator circuit being checked. Upon expiration of the interval, the processing unit compares the remainder held as the contents of the accumulator against a stored zero error constant and applies an appropriate correction word to a correction stage to shift the frequency of the oscillator being checked. A signal from the accumulator register may be used to drive a phase plane ROM and, with periodic shifts in the applied frequency index, to provide frequency shift keying of the resultant output signal. Interposition of a phase adder between the accumulator register and phase plane ROM permits phase shift keying of the output signal by periodic variation in the value of a phase index applied to one input of the phase adder.

Millimeter-wave signal generation for a wireless transmission system based on on-chip photonic integrated circuit structures.

PubMed

Guzmán, R; Carpintero, G; Gordon, C; Orbe, L

2016-10-15

We demonstrate and compare two different photonic-based signal sources for generating the carrier wave in a wireless communication link operating in the millimeter-wave range. The first signal source uses the optical heterodyne technique to generate a 113 GHz carrier wave frequency, while the second employs a different technique based on a pulsed mode-locked source with 100 GHz repetition rate frequency. The two optical sources were fabricated in a multi-project wafer run from an active/passive generic integration platform process using standardized building blocks, including multimode interference reflectors which allow us to define the structures on chip, without the need for cleaved facet mirrors. We highlight the superior performance of the mode-locked sources over an optical heterodyne technique. Error-free transmission was achieved in this experiment.

Design and Implementation of a New Real-Time Frequency Sensor Used as Hardware Countermeasure

PubMed Central

Jiménez-Naharro, Raúl; Gómez-Galán, Juan Antonio; Sánchez-Raya, Manuel; Gómez-Bravo, Fernando; Pedro-Carrasco, Manuel

2013-01-01

A new digital countermeasure against attacks related to the clock frequency is –presented. This countermeasure, known as frequency sensor, consists of a local oscillator, a transition detector, a measurement element and an output block. The countermeasure has been designed using a full-custom technique implemented in an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), and the implementation has been verified and characterized with an integrated design using a 0.35 μm standard Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology (Very Large Scale Implementation—VLSI implementation). The proposed solution is configurable in resolution time and allowed range of period, achieving a minimum resolution time of only 1.91 ns and an initialization time of 5.84 ns. The proposed VLSI implementation shows better results than other solutions, such as digital ones based on semi-custom techniques and analog ones based on band pass filters, all design parameters considered. Finally, a counter has been used to verify the good performance of the countermeasure in avoiding the success of an attack. PMID:24008285

SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS 8.64-11.62 GHz CMOS VCO and divider in a zero-IF 802.11a/b/g WLAN and Bluetooth application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Sun; Niansong, Mei; Bo, Lu; Yumei, Huang; Zhiliang, Hong

2010-10-01

A fully integrated VCO and divider implemented in SMIC 0.13-μm RFCMOS 1P8M technology with a 1.2 V supply voltage is presented. The frequency of the VCO is tuning from 8.64 to 11.62 GHz while the quadrature LO signals for 802.11a WLAN in 5.8 GHz band or for 802.11b/g WLAN and Bluetooth in 2.4 GHz band can be obtained by a frequency division by 2 or 4, respectively. A 6 bit switched capacitor array is applied for precise tuning of all necessary frequency bands. The testing results show that the VCO has a phase noise of—113 dBc @ 1 MHz offset from the carrier of 5.5 GHz by dividing VCO output by two and the VCO core consumes 3.72 mW. The figure-of-merit for the tuning-range (FOMT) of the VCO is -192.6 dBc/Hz.

Band-Pass Amplifier Without Discrete Reactance Elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kleinberg, L.

1984-01-01

Inherent or "natural" device capacitance exploited. Band-Pass Circuit has input impedance of equivalent circuit at frequencies much greater than operational-amplifier rolloff frequency. Apparent inductance and capacitance arise from combined effects of feedback and reactive component of amplifier gain in frequency range.

A novel power-efficient high-speed clock management unit using quantum-dot cellular automata

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abutaleb, M. M.

2017-04-01

Quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) is one of the most attractive alternatives for complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology. The QCA widely supports a new paradigm in the field of nanotechnology that has the potential for high density, low power, and high speed. The clock manager is an essential building block in the new microwave and radio frequency integrated circuits. This paper describes a novel QCA-based clock management unit (CMU) that provides innovative clocking capabilities. The proposed CMU is achieved by utilizing edge-triggered D-type flip-flops (D-FFs) in the design of frequency synthesizer and phase splitter. Edge-triggered D-FF structures proposed in this paper have the successful QCA implementation and simulation with the least complexity and power dissipation as compared to earlier structures. The frequency synthesizer is used to generate new clock frequencies from the reference clock frequency based on a combination of power-of-two frequency dividers. The phase splitter is integrated with the frequency synthesizer to generate four clock signals that are 90o out of phase with each other. This paper demonstrates that the proposed QCA CMU structure has a superior performance. Furthermore, the proposed CMU is straightforwardly scalable due to the use of modular component architecture.

PRECISION TIME-DELAY CIRCUIT

DOEpatents

Creveling, R.

1959-03-17

A tine-delay circuit which produces a delay time in d. The circuit a capacitor, an te back resistance, connected serially with the anode of the diode going to ground. At the start of the time delay a negative stepfunction is applied to the series circuit and initiates a half-cycle transient oscillatory voltage terminated by a transient oscillatory voltage of substantially higher frequency. The output of the delay circuit is taken at the junction of the inductor and diode where a sudden voltage rise appears after the initiation of the higher frequency transient oscillations.