Chemical Current-Conveyor: a new approach in biochemical computation

Biochemical sensors that are low cost, small in size and compatible with integrated circuit technology play an essential part in the drive towards personalised healthcare and the research described in this thesis is concerned with this area of medical instrumentation. A new biochemical measurement system able to sense key properties of biochemical fluids is presented. This new integrated circuit biochemical sensor, called the Chemical Current-Conveyor, uses the ion sensitive field effect transistor as the input sensor combined with the current-conveyor, an analog building-block, to produce a range of measurement systems. The concept of the Chemical Current-Conveyor is presented together with the design and subsequent fabrication of a demonstrator integrated circuit built on conventional 0.35μm CMOS silicon technology. The silicon area of the Chemical Current-Conveyor is (92μm x 172μm) for the N-channel version and (99μm x 165μm) for the P-channel version. Power consumption for the N-channel version is 30μW and 43μW for the P-channel version with a full load of 1MΩ. The maximum sensitivity achieved for pH measurement was 46mV per pH. The potential of the Chemical Current Conveyor as a versatile biochemical integrated circuit, able to produce output information in an appropriate form for direct clinical use has been confirmed by applications including measurement of (i) pH, (ii) buffer index ( ), (iii) urea, (iv) creatinine and (v) urea:creatinine ratio. In all five cases the device has been demonstrated successfully, confirming the validity of the original aim of this research project, namely to produce a versatile and flexible analog circuit for many biochemical measurement applications. Finally, the thesis closes with discussion of another potential application area for the Chemical Current Conveyor and the main contributions can be summarised by the design and development of the first: ISFET based current-conveyor biochemical sensor, called 'Chemical Current Conveyor, CCCII+' has been designed and developed. It is a general purpose biochemical analog building-block for several biochemical measurements. Real-time buffer capacity measurement system, based on the CCCII+, which exploits the imbedded analog computation capability of the CCCII+. Real-time enzyme based CCCII+ namely, Creatinine-CCCII+ and Urea-CCCII+ for real-time monitoring system of renal system. The system can provide outputs of 3 important parameters of the renal system, namely (i) urea concentration, (ii) creatinine concentration, and (ii) urea to creatinine ratio

Design Examples For Second Generation Current Controlled Current Conveyors And Their Applications In 28nm Process

Tez (Yüksek Lisans) -- İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, 2013Thesis (M.Sc.) -- İstanbul Technical University, Institute of Science and Technology, 2013Bu çalışmada, gerilim modlu devrelere kıyasla sahip oldukları üstün yanlarından yararlanılarak akım modlu devrelerden ikinci kuşak akım kontrollü akım taşıyıcı yapılarının tasarımı ve örnek devrelerin uygulamalarının 28nm CMOS prosesinde gerçeklemeleri yapılmıştır. Çalışmaya öncelikle karmaşıklaşan haberleşme ihtiyacının meydana getirdiği sorunlar incelenerek başlanmıştır. Yeni standartlara uygun ve haberleşme alanında var olan problemlere çözüm öneren yapıların incelemesi yapılmış ve önerilecek devre yapısının sağlaması gereken özellikler belirlenmiştir. Hedeflenen özelliklerin belirlenmesinin ardından tasarımı yapılacak akım kontrollü akım taşıyıcı yapıları teorik incelemeleri ile verilmiş ve karakteristik özellikleri gözlenmiştir. Daha sonra tasarımı yapılan devre yapılarının uygulamaları olarak frekans atik filtre yapısı ile çok modlu filtre yapısı gerçeklenmiş ve benzetim sonuçları gözlenmiştir. Son olarak elde edilen yapıların serim çizimleri gerçeklenmiş ve sonuçlara etkileri gözlenmiştir. Tasarımı yapılan devreler 28nm prosesinde gerçeklenen ve önerilen aktif filtreler olması açısından önemlidir.In this study, due to their advantages over voltage mode circuits, a current mode circuit second generation current controlled current conveyors design and their applications in 28nm CMOS process realized. Initial effort was put on the investigation of current problems in communication environment and standards. With repect to literature studies and investigations, specification of the circuit to be designed defined to provide alternative sollutions. Following to this, theoretic investigations of the circuits are investigated and their characteristics are examined with the simulations. After the design of current mode circuits, frequency agile filter implementation and multi response filter implementations are selected as the application part of this study. Filter structures are realized and their characteristics observed. As the last step of this work, layout and post layout phases are executed and effects of these steps are obtained. The designed circuits and their filter applications are important since they are the first implementations in 28nm CMOS process and they provide alternative solutions to multi mode, multi response communication standards.Yüksek LisansM.Sc

Unconventional Circuit Elements for Ladder Filter Design

Kmitočtové filtry jsou lineární elektrické obvody, které jsou využívány v různých oblastech elektroniky. Současně tvoří základní stavební bloky pro analogové zpracování signálů. V poslední dekádě bylo zavedeno množství aktivních stavebních bloků pro analogové zpracování signálů. Stále však existuje potřeba vývoje nových aktivních součástek, které by poskytovaly nové možnosti a lepší parametry. V práci jsou diskutovány různé aspekty obvodů pracujících v napěťovém, proudovém a smíšném módu. Práce reaguje na dnešní potřebu nízkovýkonových a nízkonapěťových aplikací pro přenosné přístroje a mobilní komunikační systémy a na problémy jejich návrhu. Potřeba těchto výkonných nízkonapěťových zařízení je výzvou návrhářů k hledání nových obvodových topologií a nových nízkonapěťových technik. V práci je popsána řada aktivních prvků, jako například operační transkonduktanční zesilovač (OTA), proudový konvejor II. generace (CCII) a CDTA (Current Differencing Transconductance Amplifier). Dále jsou navrženy nové prvky, jako jsou VDTA (Voltage Differencing Transconductance Amplifier) a VDVTA (Voltage Differencing Voltage Transconductance Amplifier). Všechny tyto prvky byly rovněž implementovány pomocí "bulk-driven" techniky CMOS s cílem realizace nízkonapěťových aplikací. Tato práce je rovněž zaměřena na náhrady klasických induktorů syntetickými induktory v pasivních LC příčkových filtrech. Tyto náhrady pak mohou vést k syntéze aktivních filtrů se zajímavými vlastnostmi.Frequency filters are linear electric circuits that are used in wide area of electronics. They are also the basic building blocks in analogue signal processing. In the last decade, a huge number of active building blocks for analogue signal processing was introduced. However, there is still the need to develop new active elements that offer new possibilities and better parameters. The current-, voltage-, or mixed-mode analog circuits and their various aspects are discussed in the thesis. This work reflects the trend of low-power (LP) low-voltage (LV) circuits for portable electronic and mobile communication systems and the problems of their design. The need for high-performance LV circuits encourages the analog designers to look for new circuit architectures and new LV techniques. This thesis presents various active elements such as Operational Transconductance Amplifier (OTA), Current Conveyor of Second Generation (CCII), and Current Differencing Transconductance Amplifier (CDTA), and introduces novel ones, such as Voltage Differencing Transconductance Amplifier (VDTA) and Voltage Differencing Voltage Transconductance Amplifier (VDVTA). All the above active elements were also designed in CMOS bulk-driven technology for LP LV applications. This thesis is also focused on replacement of conventional inductors by synthetic ones in passive LC ladder filters. These replacements can lead to the synthesis of active filters with interesting parameters.

Low Voltage Low Power Analogue Circuits Design

Disertační práce je zaměřena na výzkum nejběžnějších metod, které se využívají při návrhu analogových obvodů s využití nízkonapěťových (LV) a nízkopříkonových (LP) struktur. Tyto LV LP obvody mohou být vytvořeny díky vyspělým technologiím nebo také využitím pokročilých technik návrhu. Disertační práce se zabývá právě pokročilými technikami návrhu, především pak nekonvenčními. Mezi tyto techniky patří využití prvků s řízeným substrátem (bulk-driven - BD), s plovoucím hradlem (floating-gate - FG), s kvazi plovoucím hradlem (quasi-floating-gate - QFG), s řízeným substrátem s plovoucím hradlem (bulk-driven floating-gate - BD-FG) a s řízeným substrátem s kvazi plovoucím hradlem (quasi-floating-gate - BD-QFG). Práce je také orientována na možné způsoby implementace známých a moderních aktivních prvků pracujících v napěťovém, proudovém nebo mix-módu. Mezi tyto prvky lze začlenit zesilovače typu OTA (operational transconductance amplifier), CCII (second generation current conveyor), FB-CCII (fully-differential second generation current conveyor), FB-DDA (fully-balanced differential difference amplifier), VDTA (voltage differencing transconductance amplifier), CC-CDBA (current-controlled current differencing buffered amplifier) a CFOA (current feedback operational amplifier). Za účelem potvrzení funkčnosti a chování výše zmíněných struktur a prvků byly vytvořeny příklady aplikací, které simulují usměrňovací a induktanční vlastnosti diody, dále pak filtry dolní propusti, pásmové propusti a také univerzální filtry. Všechny aktivní prvky a příklady aplikací byly ověřeny pomocí PSpice simulací s využitím parametrů technologie 0,18 m TSMC CMOS. Pro ilustraci přesného a účinného chování struktur je v disertační práci zahrnuto velké množství simulačních výsledků.The dissertation thesis is aiming at examining the most common methods adopted by analog circuits' designers in order to achieve low voltage (LV) low power (LP) configurations. The capability of LV LP operation could be achieved either by developed technologies or by design techniques. The thesis is concentrating upon design techniques, especially the non–conventional ones which are bulk–driven (BD), floating–gate (FG), quasi–floating–gate (QFG), bulk–driven floating–gate (BD–FG) and bulk–driven quasi–floating–gate (BD–QFG) techniques. The thesis also looks at ways of implementing structures of well–known and modern active elements operating in voltage–, current–, and mixed–mode such as operational transconductance amplifier (OTA), second generation current conveyor (CCII), fully–differential second generation current conveyor (FB–CCII), fully–balanced differential difference amplifier (FB–DDA), voltage differencing transconductance amplifier (VDTA), current–controlled current differencing buffered amplifier (CC–CDBA) and current feedback operational amplifier (CFOA). In order to confirm the functionality and behavior of these configurations and elements, they have been utilized in application examples such as diode–less rectifier and inductance simulations, as well as low–pass, band–pass and universal filters. All active elements and application examples have been verified by PSpice simulator using the 0.18 m TSMC CMOS parameters. Sufficient numbers of simulated plots are included in this thesis to illustrate the precise and strong behavior of structures.

A Photoplethysmography System Optimised for Pervasive Cardiac Monitoring

Photoplethysmography is a non-invasive sensing technique which infers instantaneous cardiac function from an optical measurement of blood vessels. This thesis presents a photoplethysmography based sensor system that has been developed speci fically for the requirements of a pervasive healthcare monitoring system. Continuous monitoring of patients requires both the size and power consumption of the chosen sensor solution to be minimised to ensure the patients will be willing to use the device. Pervasive sensing also requires that the device be scalable for manufacturing in high volume at a build cost that healthcare providers are willing to accept. System level choice of both electronic circuits and signal processing techniques are based on their sensitivity to cardiac biosignals, robustness against noise inducing artefacts and simplicity of implementation. Numerical analysis is used to justify the implementation of a technique in hardware. Circuit prototyping and experimental data collection is used to validate a technique's application. The entire signal chain operates in the discrete-time domain which allows all of the signal processing to be implemented in firmware on an embedded processor which minimised the number of discrete components while optimising the trade-off between power and bandwidth in the analogue front-end. Synchronisation of the optical illumination and detection modules enables high dynamic range rejection of both AC and DC independent light sources without compromising the biosignal. Signal delineation is used to reduce the required communication bandwidth as it preserves both amplitude and temporal resolution of the non-stationary photoplethysmography signals allowing more complicated analytical techniques to be performed at the other end of communication channel. The complete sensing system is implemented on a single PCB using only commercial-off -the-shelf components and consumes less than 7.5mW of power. The sensor platform is validated by the successful capture of physiological data in a harsh optical sensing environment

A Photoplethysmography System Optimised for Pervasive Cardiac Monitoring

Photoplethysmography is a non-invasive sensing technique which infers instantaneous cardiac function from an optical measurement of blood vessels. This thesis presents a photoplethysmography based sensor system that has been developed speci fically for the requirements of a pervasive healthcare monitoring system. Continuous monitoring of patients requires both the size and power consumption of the chosen sensor solution to be minimised to ensure the patients will be willing to use the device. Pervasive sensing also requires that the device be scalable for manufacturing in high volume at a build cost that healthcare providers are willing to accept. System level choice of both electronic circuits and signal processing techniques are based on their sensitivity to cardiac biosignals, robustness against noise inducing artefacts and simplicity of implementation. Numerical analysis is used to justify the implementation of a technique in hardware. Circuit prototyping and experimental data collection is used to validate a technique's application. The entire signal chain operates in the discrete-time domain which allows all of the signal processing to be implemented in firmware on an embedded processor which minimised the number of discrete components while optimising the trade-off between power and bandwidth in the analogue front-end. Synchronisation of the optical illumination and detection modules enables high dynamic range rejection of both AC and DC independent light sources without compromising the biosignal. Signal delineation is used to reduce the required communication bandwidth as it preserves both amplitude and temporal resolution of the non-stationary photoplethysmography signals allowing more complicated analytical techniques to be performed at the other end of communication channel. The complete sensing system is implemented on a single PCB using only commercial-off -the-shelf components and consumes less than 7.5mW of power. The sensor platform is validated by the successful capture of physiological data in a harsh optical sensing environment

Integrinių analoginių filtrų belaidžio ryšio sistemoms kūrimas

Disertacijoje nagrinėjami konfigūruojami analoginiai filtrai su savaiminio derinimo grandynais, jų projektavimo ir įgyvendinimo būdai, kurie pritaikomi integrinių grandynų gamybos technologijoms. Iškeliama ir įrodoma hipotezė, teigianti, kad savaiminio derinimo grandynų taikymas įgalina gauti integrinių analoginių aktyviųjų rezistorių kondensatorių (RC) filtrų parametrus reikalau¬jamu tikslumu. Darbo tikslas – sukurti savaiminio derinimo grandynus, skirtus konfigūruojamų integrinių analoginių aktyviųjų RC filtrų parametrų gavybai reikalaujamu tikslumu. Darbe išspręsti uždaviniai: ištirtos integrinių analoginių aktyviųjų RC filtrų struktūros ir sukurti jų derinimo grandynų modeliai, pasiūlytas integrinių analoginių aktyviųjų RC filtrų derinimo matricų projektavimo būdas, sukurtas ir ištirtas konfigūruojamas integrinis analoginis aktyvusis RC filtras su diskrečiu ir tolydžiu savaiminio derinimo grandynais. Disertaciją sudaro įvadas, trys skyriai, bendrosios išvados, naudotos literatū¬ros ir autoriaus publikacijų disertacijos tema sąrašai ir penki priedai. Įvadiniame skyriuje aptariama tiriamoji problema, darbo aktualumas, aprašomas tyrimų objektas, formuluojamas darbo tikslas bei uždaviniai, aprašoma tyrimų metodika, darbo mokslinis naujumas, darbo rezultatų praktinė reikšmė, ginamieji teiginiai, disertacijos struktūra. Pirmame skyriuje apžvelgiamos integrinių analoginių filtrų struktūros, pagrindiniai parametrai bei įvardijamos parametrų verčių svyravimo priežastys, analizuojamos savaiminio derinimosi grandynų struktūros ir jų veikimo principai. Skyriaus pabaigoje, remiantis atlikta analize ir sudarytomis išvadomis suformuluojami disertacijos uždaviniai. Antrajame skyriuje sudaroma konfigūruojamo integrinio analoginio filtro struktūra, skirta programine įranga valdomam radijui, sudaromi diskretaus ir tolydaus derinimo matricų modeliai, juos sudarančių elementų verčių parinkimo algoritmai, atliekami modelių ir algoritmų kompiuteriniai skaičiavimai. Trečiajame skyriuje, pasinaudojus sukurtais modeliais ir algoritmais, suprojektuojamas filtras su diskrečiu ir tolydžių savaiminio derinimo grandynais, naudojant eksperimentinius ir kompiuterinius skaičiavimo metodus atliekamas suprojektuotų diskrečiai ir tolydžiai valdomų integrinių analoginių RC filtrų parametrų bei jų savaiminio derinimo grandynų tyrimas. Disertacijos tema yra atspausdinti 7 moksliniai straipsniai: du – mokslo žurnaluose, įtrauktuose į Thomson Reuters Web of Science duomenų bazę, vienas – tarptautinių konferencijų medžiagoje, įtrauktoje į Thomson Reuters Proceedings duomenų bazę, keturi – mokslo žurnaluose, referuojamose kitose tarptautinėse duomenų bazėse. Disertacijoje atliktų tyrimų rezultatai buvo pristatyti septyniose mokslinėse konferencijose Lietuvoje ir užsienyje