Digital Detection of Oxide Breakdown and Life-Time Extension in Submicron CMOS Technology

An approach is introduced to extend the lifetime of high-voltage analog circuits in CMOS technologies based on redundancy, like that known for DRAMS. A large power transistor is segmented into N smaller ones in parallel. If a sub-transistor is broken, it is removed automatically from the compound transistor. The principleis demonstrated in an RF CMOS Power Amplifier (PA) in standard 1.2V 90nm CMOS

A Radiation hard bandgap reference circuit in a standard 0.13um CMOS Technology

With ongoing CMOS evolution, the gate-oxide thickness steadily decreases, resulting in an increased radiation tolerance of MOS transistors. Combined with special layout techniques, this yields circuits with a high inherent robustness against X-rays and other ionizing radiation. In bandgap voltage references, the dominant radiation-susceptibility is then no longer associated with the MOS transistors, but is dominated by the diodes. This paper gives an analysis of radiation effects in both MOSdevices and diodes and presents a solution to realize a radiation-hard voltage reference circuit in a standard CMOS technology. A demonstrator circuit was implemented in a standard 0.13 m CMOS technology. Measurements show correct operation with supply voltages in the range from 1.4 V down to 0.85 V, a reference voltage of 405 mV 7.5 mV ( = 6mVchip-to-chip statistical spread), and a reference voltage shift of only 1.5 mV (around 0.8%) under irradiation up to 44 Mrad (Si)

Dependability investigation of wireless short range embedded systems: hardware platform oriented approach

A new direction in short-range wireless applications has appeared in the form of high-speed data communication devices for distances of hundreds meters. Behind these embedded applications, a complex heterogeneous architecture is built. Moreover, these short range communications are introduced into critical applications, where the dependability/reliability is mandatory. Thus, dependability concerns around reliability evaluation become a major challenge in these systems, and pose several questions to answer. Obviously, in such systems, the attribute reliability has to be investigated for various components and at different abstraction levels. In this paper, we discuss the investigation of dependability in wireless short range systems. We present a hardware platform for wireless system dependability analysis as an alternative for the time consuming simulation techniques. The platform is built using several instances of one of the commercial FPGA platforms available on the market place. We describe the different steps of building the wireless hardware platform for short range systems dependability analysis. Then, we show how this HW platform based dependability investigation framework can be a very interactive approach. Based on this platform we introduce a new methodology and a flow to investigate the different parts of system dependability at different abstraction levels. The benefits to use the proposed framework are three fold: first, it takes care of the whole system (HW/SW -digital part, mixed RF part, and wireless part); Second, the hardware platform enables to explore the application’s reliability under real environmental conditions taking into account the effect of the environment threats on the system; And last, the wireless platform built for dependability investigation present a fast investigation approach in comparison with the time consuming co-simulation technique

RF Circuit linearity optimization using a general weak nonlinearity model

This paper focuses on optimizing the linearity in known RF circuits, by exploring the circuit design space that is usually available in today’s deep submicron CMOS technologies. Instead of using brute force numerical optimizers we apply a generalized weak nonlinearity model that only involves AC transfer functions to derive simple equations for obtaining design insights. The generalized weak nonlinearity model is applied to three known RF circuits: a cascode common source amplifier, a common gate LNA and a CMOS attenuator. It is shown that in deep submicron CMOS technologies the cascode transistor in both the common source amplifier and in the common gate amplifier significantly contributes IM3 distortion. Some design insights are presented for reducing the cascode transistor related distortion, among which moderate inversion biasing that improves IIP3 by 10 dB up to 5 GHz in a 90 nm CMOS process. For the attenuator, a wideband IM3 cancellation technique is introduced and demonstrated using simulations

Impact of Drug Recalls on Patients in The Netherlands: A 5-Year Retrospective Data Analysis

Drug recalls occur frequently and have the potential to impact considerable numbers of patients and healthcare providers. However, in the absence of a comprehensive overview the extent of conducted recalls and their impact on patients remains unknown. To address this, we developed a comprehensive overview of drug recalls affecting patients. We compiled this overview based on the drug recall registrations from the Jeroen Bosch Hospital (JBZ), the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), and the Royal Dutch Pharmacists Association (KNMP). A retrospective data analysis was conducted to identify drug recalls that affected patients. Specifically, we defined these as drug recalls that required patients to actively switch their drug to a different batch or brand of the same drug or to switch to a drug within the same or a different class of drugs. To quantify the impact, we used real-world drug dispensing data. Between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021, we identified 48 drug recalls that necessitated patients to make active changes to their medications an estimated 855,000 times. Most of the affected patients (292,000) were required to switch to a different brand of the same drug, whereas in 95,000 cases patients had to switch to a drug from another drug class. Our study suggests that a significant number of patients are affected by drug recalls. Future efforts are needed to elucidate patients' experiences and preferences regarding drug recalls, which could provide valuable insights to aid decision-making by relevant (national) authorities concerning drug recalls

PREhabilitation of CAndidates for REnal Transplantation (PreCareTx) study:protocol for a hybrid type I, mixed method, randomised controlled trial

INTRODUCTION: Kidney transplant candidates (KTCs) need to be in optimal physical and psychological condition prior to surgery. However, KTCs often experience compromised functional capacity which can be characterised as frailty. Prehabilitation, the enhancement of a person's functional capacity, may be an effective intervention to improve the health status of KTCs. The PREhabilitation of CAndidates for REnal Transplantation (PreCareTx) study aims to examine the effectiveness of a multimodal prehabilitation programme on the health status of KTCs, and to explore the potential of implementation of prehabilitation in daily clinical practice.METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study uses a single centre, effectiveness-implementation hybrid type I study design, comprised of a randomised controlled trial and a mixed-methods study. Adult patients who are currently on the transplant waiting list or are waitlisted during the study period, at a university medical centre in The Netherlands, will be randomly assigned to either prehabilitation (n=64) or care as usual (n=64) groups. The prehabilitation group will undergo a 12-week home-based, tailored prehabilitation programme consisting of physical and/or nutritional and/or psychosocial interventions depending on the participant's deficits. This programme will be followed by a 12-week maintenance programme in order to enhance the incorporation of the interventions into daily life. The primary endpoint of this study is a change in frailty status as a proxy for health status. Secondary endpoints include changes in physical fitness, nutritional status, psychological well-being, quality of life and clinical outcomes. Tertiary endpoints include the safety, feasibility and acceptability of the prehabilitation programme, and the barriers and facilitators for further implementation.ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Medical ethical approval was granted by the Medical Ethics Committee Groningen, Netherlands (M22.421). Written informed consent will be obtained from all participants. The results will be disseminated at international conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05489432.</p