2,601 research outputs found

    Bioelectronics for Amperometric Biosensors

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    The Discrete-to-Integrated Electronics group (D2In), at the University of Barcelona, in partnership with the Bioelectronics and Nanobioengineering Group (SICBIO), is researching Smart Self-Powered Bio-Electronic Systems. Our interest is focused on the development of custom built electronic solutions for bio-electronics applications, from discrete devices to Application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) solutions. The integration of medical and electronic technologies allows the development of biomedical devices able to diagnose and/or treat pathologies by detecting and/or monitoring pathogens, multiple ions, PH changes, and so on. Currently this integration enables advances in various areas such as microelectronics, microfluidics, microsensors and bio-compatible materials which open the door to developing human body Lab-on-a-Chip implantable devices, Pointof- Care in vitro devices, etc. In this chapter the main attention is focused on the design of instrumentation related to amperometrics biosensor: biopotentiostat amplifiers and lock-in amplifiers. A potentiostat is a useful tool in many fields of investigation and industry performing electrochemical trials [1], so the quantity and variety of them is very extensive. Since they can be used in studies and targets as different as the study of chemical metal conversions [2] or carcinogenic cells detection, neuronal activity detection or Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) recognition, their characteristics are very varied..

    A compact current-mode instrumentation amplifier for general-purpose sensor interfaces

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    The proposed amplifier architecture follows a consolidated topology based on second-generation current conveyors (CCIIs), optimized for fully-differential operation. The architecture uses gain-boosting to improve the offset and noise characteristics of a recently proposed design. Wide input and output ranges and high accuracy are obtained by designing the CCIIs according to an original two-stage architecture with local voltage feedback. Embedding of chopper switch matrices into the amplifier enables vector analysis of the input signal, expanding the application field. The main strengths of the proposed amplifier are compactness and versatility. Measurements performed on a prototype designed with a 0.18 μm CMOS process are described

    Realizing a CMOS RF Transceiver for Wireless Sensor Networks

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    Design And Implementation Of An X-Band Passive Rfid Tag

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    This research presents a novel fully integrated energy harvester, matching network, matching network,matching network, matching network,matching network, matching network, matching network, multi-stage RF-DC rectifier, mode selector, RC oscillator, LC oscillator, and X-band power amplifier implemented in IBM 0.18-µm RF CMOS technology. We investigated different matching schemes, antennas, and rectifiers with focus on the interaction between building blocks. Currently the power amplifier gives the maximum output power of 5.23 dBm at 9.1GHz. The entire RFID tag circuit was designed to operate in low power consumption. Voltage sensor circuit which generates the enable signal was designed to operate in very low current. All the test blocks of the RFID tag were tested. The smaller size and the cost of the RFID tag are critical for widespread adoption of the technology. The cost of the RFID tag can be lowered by implementing an on-chip antenna. We were able to develop, fabricate, and implement a fully integrated RFID tag in a smaller size (3 mm X 1.5 mm) than the existing tags. With further modifications, this could be used as a commercial low cost RFID tag

    Using temperature as observable of the frequency response of RF CMOS amplifiers

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    The power dissipated by the devices of an integrated circuit can be considered a signature of the circuit's performance. Without disturbing the circuit operation, this power consumption can be monitored by temperature measurements on the silicon surface. In this paper, the frequency response of a RF LNA is observed by measuring spectral components of the sensed temperature. Results prove that temperature can be used to debug and observe figures of merit of analog blocks in a RFIC. Experimental measurements have been done in a 0.25 mum CMOS process. Laser probing techniques have been used as temperature sensors; specifically, a thermoreflectometer and a Michaelson interferometer.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

    Next generation RFID telemetry design for biomedical implants.

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    The design and development of a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based pressure-sensing system to increase the range of current Intra-Ocular Pressure (IOP) sensing systems is described in this dissertation. A large number of current systems use near-field inductive coupling for the transfer of energy and data, which limits the operational range to only a few centimeters and does not allow for continuous monitoring of pressure. Increasing the powering range of the telemetry system will offer the possibility of continuous monitoring since the reader can be attached to a waist belt or put on a night stand when sleeping. The system developed as part of this research operates at Ultra-High Frequencies (UHF) and makes use of the electromagnetic far field to transfer energy and data, which increases the potential range of operation and allows for the use of smaller antennas. The system uses a novel electrically small antenna (ESA) to receive the incident RF signal. A four stage Schottky circuit rectifies and multiplies the received RF signal and provides DC power to a Colpitts oscillator. The oscillator is connected to a pressure sensor and provides an output signal frequency that is proportional to the change in pressure. The system was fabricated using a mature, inexpensive process. The performance of the system compares well with current state of the art, but uses a smaller antenna and a less expensive fabrication process. The system was able to operate over the desired range of 1 m using a half-wave dipole antenna. It was possible to power the system over a range of at least 6.4 cm when the electrically small antenna was used as the receiving antenna

    MOSFET dynamic thermal sensor for IC testing applications

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    This paper analyses how a single metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) can be employed as a thermal sensor to measure on-chip dynamic thermal signals caused by a power-dissipating circuit under test (CUT). The measurement is subjected to two low-pass filters (LPF). The first LPF depends on the thermal properties of the heat-conduction medium (i.e. silicon) and the CUT-sensor distance, whereas the second depends on the electrical properties of the sensing circuit such as the bias current and the dimensions of the MOSFET sensor. This is evaluated along the paper through theoretical models, simulations, and experimental data resulting from a chip fabricated in 0.35 mu m CMOS technology. Finally, the proposed thermal sensor and the knowledge extracted from this paper are applied to estimate the linearity of a radio-frequency (RF) amplifier. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
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