Performance assessment of wireless power transfer links for implantable microsystems

Wireless power transfer is a hot topic due to the growth of implanted device solutions which, as they get smaller and smarter, demand new solutions to power them up. These solutions need to keep the power level, namely SAR (specific absorption ratio) below a determined safety standard and to allow the device to be as small as possible. Current fabrication techniques allow the creation of ultra-small 3D antennas integrated on silicon wafers, which can lead to the miniaturization of implantable devices due to the possible reduction or even elimination of battery size. To evaluate this possibility, the antenna must be tested in conditions close to real working conditions, requiring the use of human body phantoms. This paper proposes a solution to measure the power received by an ultra-small antenna placed inside a phantom, without the use of coaxial cables attached to the device. Instead, an optoelectronic mechanism is used to route the received power to an optical fiber, and an optical spectrum analyzer is used to measure the received power.This work was supported by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology: FCT-PTDC/EEI-TEL/2881/2012, Programa Operacional Temático Fatores de Competitividade (COMPETE) and Fundo Comunitário Europeu FEDER.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Slot antenna design for a wirelessly powered implantable microcooler for neuronal applications

Implantable medical devices are becoming smaller by the day, with more efficient electronics and smaller power demands. Nevertheless, there are some applications in which power demands are inherently high, and solutions must be found in order to keep the devices as small as possible. In this paper, we propose an antenna to be used in wirelessly powering a focal brain cooling implant based on a Peltier device. This antenna is designed in order to act as a heatsink for the device with the goal of minimizing its final volume, therefore design constrains such as size limitations and geometry restrictions are considered.This work is supported by FCT with the reference project PTDC/EEI-TEL/5250/2014, by FEDER funds through Projecto 3599 - Promover a Producao Cientifica e Desenvolvimento Tecnologico e a Constituicao de Redes Tematicas (3599-PPCDT).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Performance evaluation of IB-DFE-based strategies for SC-FDMA systems

The aim of this paper is to propose and evaluate multi-user iterative block decision feedback equalization (IB-DFE) schemes for the uplink of single-carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA)-based systems. It is assumed that a set of single antenna users share the same physical channel to transmit its own information to the base station, which is equipped with an antenna array. Two space-frequency multi-user IB-DFE-based processing are considered: iterative successive interference cancellation and parallel interference cancellation. In the first approach, the equalizer vectors are computed by minimizing the mean square error (MSE) of each individual user, at each subcarrier. In the second one, the equalizer matrices are obtained by minimizing the overall MSE of all users at each subcarrier. For both cases, we propose a simple yet accurate analytical approach for obtaining the performance of the discussed receivers. The proposed schemes allow an efficient user separation, with a performance close to the one given by the matched filter bound for severely time-dispersive channels, with only a few iterations

Characterization of chip-size electrically-small antennas for smart wireless biomedical devices

The new requirements for smarter and smaller biomedical microsystems demand for new integration technologies, including antenna integration. This can be solved with the use of microfabrication technologies, allowing the fabrication of chip-size antennas that may be placed on top of silicon wafers. However, due to their ultra-small physical dimensions and special operating conditions (e.g., covered with body tissue phantoms), antenna characterization requires the use of auxiliary custom-made transitions between antenna and test equipment, which are much larger than the antennas under test. Since electrically small antennas show also very small gain, the use of test boards may carry a significant impact on the antenna's characteristics. This paper presents a methodology used to investigate the performance of chip-size 3D antennas (500x500x500 mu m(3)) designed to operate inside the human body in the frequency band 1-8 GHz.This work was supported by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology: FCT-PTDC/EEI-TEL/2881/2012, Programa Operacional Temático Fatores de Competitividade (COMPETE) and Fundo Comunitário Europeu FEDER.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A multiantenna approach to maximize wireless power transfered to implantable devices

Power delivery from an external source to implanted devices through wireless links is hindered by SAR regulations, which limit the amount of power radiated by an external source that reaches an implant. In order to increase the power delivered to the implant, we studied a solution with two transmitters and compared results with the common single transmitter link. HFSS and COMSOL have been used to show that a power increase of around 40% inside a human head model was achieved while respecting SAR limits and keeping tissue temperature under control, stabilizing at around 37.4 degrees C.- Work supported by FCT under project PTDC/EEI-TEL/5250/2014, by FEDER funds through Projeto 3599 - Promover a Producao Cientifica e Desenvolvimento Tecnologico e a Constituicao de Redes Tematicas (3599-PPCDT).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Investigation of magnetic resonance coupling circuit topologies for wireless power transmission

© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Magnetic resonance coupling circuits have four general topologies; however, there is a lack of comprehensive theoretical analysis with experimental verification for each of these topologies regarding their attractiveness for wireless power transfer (WPT). This article provides this for each of the four topologies to fully understand their differences and allow the selection of the most appropriate type based on system requirements. In addition, a problem associated with the resonance coupling method is the phenomenon of frequency splitting, which can lead to a high-power transfer efficiency but low-load power at the resonant frequency. Reasons for frequency splitting and methods of circumventing the problem will be illustrated in this article. Of the four topologies, the series-parallel (SP) (input-output) circuit configuration is the most efficient for the realization of a WPT system with a large load impedance, in terms of achieving both a high power transfer efficiency and high-load power

On-chip, efficient and small antenna array for millimeter-wave applications

The high path losses experienced by wireless applications at millimeter wavelengths may be mitigated using high gain antennas. The intrinsic small wavelengths makes very attractive to develop solutions with on-chip integrated antennas. However, due to silicon high losses, on-chip antenna elements on RFCMOS technology have reduced efficiency. This paper proposes a solution to obtain an on-chip integrated antenna array based on 3D efficient antenna elements. A 4 element antenna was designed to operate at 57.5 GHz central frequency, with maximum gain of 5.8 dB, and maximum expected efficiency of 45%.Work supported by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/63737/2009, and PTDC/ EEI-TEL/ 2881/2012, Programa Operacional Temático Fatores de Competitividade-COMPETE, and Fundo Comunitário Europeu-FEDER).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Optimal strategies in collective Parrondo games

We present a modification of the so-called Parrondo's paradox where one is allowed to choose in each turn the game that a large number of individuals play. It turns out that, by choosing the game which gives the highest average earnings at each step, one ends up with systematic loses, whereas a periodic or random sequence of choices yields a steadily increase of the capital. An explanation of this behavior is given by noting that the short-range maximization of the returns is "killing the goose that laid the golden eggs". A continuous model displaying similar features is analyzed using dynamic programming techniques from control theory.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, revised version in published for

Information and flux in a feedback controlled Brownian ratchet

We study a feedback control version of the flashing Brownian ratchet, in which the application of the flashing potential depends on the state of the particles to be controlled. Taking the view that the ratchet acts as a Maxwell's demon, we study the relationship that exists between the performance of the demon as a rectifier of random motion and the amount of information gathered by the demon through measurements. In the context of a simple measurement model, we derive analytic expressions for the flux induced by the feedback ratchet when acting on one particle and a few particles, and compare these results with those obtained with its open-loop version, which operates without information. Our main finding is that the flux in the feedback case has an upper bound proportional to the square-root of the information. Our results provide a quantitative analysis of the value of information in feedback ratchets, as well as an effective description of imperfect or noisy feedback ratchets that are relevant for experimental applications.Comment: LaTeX, 13 pages, 2 figure