Integrated Circuit Module Research Articles

An intelligent self‐powered life jacket system integrating multiple triboelectric fiber sensors for drowning rescue

AbstractThe inherent unpredictability of the maritime environment leads to low rates of survival during accidents. Life jackets serve as a crucial safety measure in underwater environments. Nonetheless, most conventional life jackets lack the capability to monitor the wearer's underwater body movements, impeding their effectiveness in rescue operations. Here, we present an intelligent self‐powered life jacket system (SPLJ) composed of a wireless body area sensing network, a set of deep learning analytics, and a human condition detection platform. Six coaxial core‐shell structure triboelectric fiber sensors with high sensitivity, stretchability, and flexibility are integrated into this system. Additionally, a portable integrated circuit module is incorporated into the SPLJ to facilitate real‐time monitoring of the wearer's movement. Moreover, by leveraging the deep‐learning‐assisted data analytics and establishing a robust correlation between the wearer's movements and condition, we have developed a comprehensive system for monitoring drowning individuals, achieving an outstanding recognition accuracy of 100%. This groundbreaking work introduces a fresh approach to underwater intelligent survival devices, offering promising prospects for advancing underwater smart wearable devices in rescue operations and the development of ocean industry.image

Multi-longitudinal mode laser beat-frequency optical fiber vibration sensing system based on an FM radio module.

A multi-longitudinal mode (MLM) laser beat-frequency optical fiber vibration sensor using a frequency modulation (FM) radio integrated circuit module as the FM demodulation scheme is presented and demonstrated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case where a fiber-optic sensing system is combined with an FM radio module, and dynamic sensing is well achieved. As the carrier of the vibration source, the beat-frequency signal (BFS) generated by the MLM laser is transmitted to the FM radio module for FM and demodulation. The experimental results show that the system can successfully detect the vibration signal in the frequency range of 20Hz to 18kHz and accurately demodulate the waveform and amplitude of the vibration signal source. The minimum shape variable detected by the system is 20.67nm, based on the performance of the commercial FM radio module itself, which can effectively solve the problem of detecting tiny vibration. The idea of the optical fiber vibration sensing system is extremely innovative, with high sensitivity, high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), good stability, and strong resistance to electromagnetic interference.

Simulation studies of floating field plate in β-Ga2O3 power devices and modules

In this work, we present the floating field plate (FFP) that a novel structure modulates the electric field in beta gallium oxide (β-Ga2O3) power devices and integrated circuit modules. By reducing the peak electric field during reverse high-voltage operation, the FFP improves the device's performance while maintaining its forward characteristics. Compared with the traditional field plate structure, the FFP increases the power figure of merit by 34.9% with the same device parameters and reduces the dielectric material requirement by 52% as the same device blocking voltage. We also establish a relationship between different dielectric materials (SiO2, Al2O3, Si3N4, etc.) and the optimal structure size through simulation. More importantly, the FFP can be applied to β-Ga2O3 power modules and optimize the electric field distribution regionally, thereby improving the system’s robustness. This study provides a new solution for enhancing the performance of β-Ga2O3 devices and advancing β-Ga2O3 power modules.

A BCI framework for smart home automation using EEG signal

Since the first recording in 1924, modern developments in technology have enabled human electroencephalogram (EEG) acquisition as a non-invasive process, enabling a multitude of opportunities to learn about human brain dynamics. With the capability to tap into localized brain dynamics, it is possible to correlate event-related potentials such as meditation, concentration, and motor control with localized brain activities, opening up a broad spectrum for exploration and implementation in prosthetic, control, and brain computer interfaces. In this work, an attempt has been made to explore human emotions and other intelligent states that can be interpreted to automate and control electrical appliances for differently abled people. A smart home automation model has been designed and implemented using a Think Gear Application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) Module (TGAM) EEG sensor module integrated with a Bluetooth module, which serves as the core for control applications. A combination of external triggers and brain states are interpreted and forwarded to gain control of the connected appliances via a local server over the internet. Equipped with internet connectivity and Internet of Things (IoT), the system also facilitates long-distance communication and control, which can be easily translated to industrial control and automation applications. Based on a single-channel analog EEG signal acquisition module, this study details the development of a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) control and monitoring system for smart home automation with blink and attention features. The designed BCI system has a large bandwidth of 400 Hz, an easy setup, Morphological Component Analysis (MCA) based blink detection, monitoring, control of devices, and high accuracy at a low cost. Each subject completed three trials separated by one minute. The smart devices underwent testing in two states, namely on and off. The response time and accuracy of the system were recorded for each trial. The average system response time for the devices was determined to be 17.13 sec for switching ON and 20.66 sec for switching OFF, with an accuracy of 98.73% and 95.75% for ON and OFF states respectively.

Modeling for heterogeneous objects based on X language: A modeling method of algorithm-hardware

With the development of system engineering and related technology, modeling and simulation of complex systems need to include many disciplines, modeling languages, simulation environments, etc. By using unified modeling language to build models, barriers among different fields can be broken; the efficiency of model integration can be improved. Generally, a complex system contains some integrated circuit modules, which can be used for control or calculation of the system. Compared with system model, integrated circuit model is more fine-grained and lower-level and contains logic for control and algorithms. Thus, a method that modeling integrated circuit by unified modeling language is necessary. In this paper, a unified modeling language is introduced, called X language, and a modeling method of algorithm-hardware based on the X language is proposed. First of all, the hardware characteristics of the Kalman filter algorithm are extracted by analyzing the algorithm. Second, X language models are built to describe the algorithm-hardware. Then, the X language models are converted to Very-High-Speed Integrated Circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL). Finally, the algorithm-hardware models are simulated and verified. The results show that the algorithm-hardware modeling method based on X language is feasible.

Evaluation of Double Loop IC Module for Inductive Coupled Fed RFID Tag Wire Embedded Antenna

This paper presents an evaluation on double loop integrated circuit module for inductive couple fed RFID Tag. The inductive couple feed gives advantage especially for flexible wire embedded antenna in controlling the manufacturing varians as the chip is not directly connected to the antenna. Thus electrostatic discharged effect and manufacturing errors can be minimized. An inductor loop is directly connected to the RFID chip before it is placed to indirectly coupled the energy from a meandered dipole antenna. The coupled energy should be enough to turn on the chip to communicate with the reader. The inductive coupled energy is achieved by manipulating the near field magnetic field between the antenna body and the inductor loop. To evaluate the performance, the antenna and the inductive feeding loop is designed to operate at RFID UHF band (860 MHz – 960 MHz) and simulated using CST software. The antenna body impedance is evaluated to match the impedance of the chip and the loop. It is confirmed that the double loop inductor has higher inductance values and thus should be counted in conjugate impedance between the antenna body and the chip module. The tag with overall dimension of 60 mm x 16 mm can be read at distance at least 9 meters through out the band.

Impact of CMOS Pixel and Electronic Circuitry in the Performance of a Hartmann-Shack Wavefront Sensor.

This work presents a numerical simulation of a Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor (WFS) that assesses the impact of integrated electronic circuitry on the sensor performance, by evaluating a full detection chain encompassing wavefront sampling, photodetection, electronic circuitry and wavefront reconstruction. This platform links dedicated C algorithms for WFS to a SPICE circuit simulator for integrated electronics. The complete codes can be easily replaced in order to represent different detection or reconstruction methods, while the circuit simulator employs reliable models of either off-the-shelf circuit components or custom integrated circuit modules. The most relevant role of this platform is to enable the evaluation of the applicability and constraints of the focal plane of a given wavefront sensor prior to the actual fabrication of the detector chip. In this paper, we will present the simulation results for a Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor with an orthogonal array of quad-cells (QC) integrated along with active-pixel (active-pixel sensor (APS)) circuitry and analog-to-digital converters (ADC) on a “complementary metal oxide semiconductor” (CMOS) process and deploying a modal wavefront reconstructor. This extended simulation capability for wavefront sensors enables the test and verification of different photosensitive and circuitry topologies for position-sensitive detectors combined with the simulation of sampling microlenses and reconstruction algorithms, with the goal of enhancing the accuracy in the prediction of the wavefront-sensor performance before a detector CMOS chip is actually fabricated.

A Building Block IC for Designing Emerging Hybrid and Multilevel Converters

This paper introduces a practical power management integrated circuit (IC) building block, i.e., IC module, which enables the implementation of various emerging hybrid and multilevel power converter topologies in low-power high-frequency applications, operating at switching frequencies up to 10 MHz. Compared to conventional buck- and boost-based topologies, the emerging multilevel and hybrid converters offer significant volume reduction and power processing efficiency improvements. These key factors are significant contributions for modern portable and/or small footprint electronics devices, where size is of great concern. The IC building block (ICBB) consists of two segmented half bridges as well as all the elements needed for implementing mixed-signal current programmed mode (CPM) control. Mixed-signal CPM compatibility coupled with a segmented power stage not only provide inherent current protection and simple controller implementation but also allows for dynamic efficiency optimization. Operation at high-switching frequencies and simple modular design with ICBB are enabled through the development of novel architectures for key functional blocks of the ICBB and a cost-effective solution for level shifting, providing communication between external control signals and module inputs. For example, solutions for high-frequency low-power current sensing and fast digital-to-analog conversion are introduced as well as a capacitive coupling and coding schemes for data transfer. Several identical custom-designed ICBB modules are fabricated in the 0.13- $\mu \text{m}$ CMOS process, each providing up to 2 W of output power, while operating at a switching frequency of up to 10 MHz. The versatility and proper functionality of these modules are verified through simulation and experimental results.

An Integrated High-Density Power Management Solution for Portable Applications Based on a Multioutput Switched-Capacitor Circuit

This paper introduces a novel power management architecture (PMA) and its on-chip implementation, designed for battery-powered portable applications. Compared to the conventional two-stage PMA, consisting of a front-end inductive converter followed by a set of point-of-load buck converters, the presented PMA has drastically improved power density. The new architecture, named multioutput switched-capacitor convertor–differential-input buck (MSC–DB) convertor, is based on a novel hybrid converter topology that combines a fixed ratio MSC and a set of DB converters, to achieve low volume and high power processing efficiency. The front-end switched-capacitor stage has a higher power density than the conventionally used inductive converters. The downstream DB converters enable tight output voltage regulation, and allow for up to four times reduction of output filter inductors without the need for increasing switching frequency, hence limiting switching losses and improving the efficiency of the system. Furthermore, the new PMA is able to balance the state-of-charge of the input battery cells, a feature not existing in conventional systems. The PMA architecture is implemented both as a discrete prototype and as an application-specific integrated circuit (IC) module. The on-chip implemented architecture is fabricated in a standard 0.13-μm CMOS process and operates at 9.3-MHz switching frequency. Experimental comparisons with a conventional two-cell battery input architecture, providing 15 W of total power in three different voltage outputs, demonstrate up to two times reduction in the inductances of the downstream converter stages and more than two times reduction in losses, equivalent to the improvement of the power processing efficiency of a 12%. Moreover, the fabricated IC module is copackaged with low-profile thin-film inductors to demonstrate the effectiveness of the introduced architecture in reducing the volume of PMAs for portable applications.

Au–Sn bonding material for the assembly of power integrated circuit module

Insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) chips are the key components in high-temperature power electronic modules, which have to efficiently convert electricity between direct and alternating current. In this study, the eutectic Au–Sn (20 wt.% Sn) is successfully used to assemble IGBT chips and direct-bond-copper substrates by using solid liquid interdiffusion (SLID) bonding. During subsequent isothermal aging at 150, 200, and 240 °C, the microstructure evolution and growth kinetics of intermetallic compounds are investigated. Excellent thermal stability and mechanical strength are observed. It is concluded that the eutectic Au–Sn solder is ideal to assemble high-temperature IGBT by using the SLID process.

Live Electrooptic Imaging Camera for Real-Time Visual Accesses to Electric Waves in GHz Range

Recent progresses in the live electrooptic imaging (LEI) technique are reviewed with emphasis on its functionality of real-time visual accesses to traveling electric waves in the GHz range. Together with the principles, configurations, and procedures for the visual observation experiments by an LEI camera system, the following results are described as examples indicating the wide application ranges of the technique; Ku-band waves on arrayed planar antennas, waves on a Gb/s-class digital circuit, W-band waves traveling both in slab-waveguide modes and aerially, backward-traveling wave along composite right/left-handed transmission line, and, waves in monolithic microwave integrated circuit module case.

Computerized Control and Operation of Rutherford Backscattering/Channeling for an in situ Ion Beam System and Its Application for Measurement of Si(001) and ZnO(001)

A computer-automated Rutherford backscattering/channeling (RBS/C) system is developed to provide in situ ion beam analysis of the accelerator-TEM system in Wuhan University. The basic system components are a PC equipped with a multichannel analyzer data acquisition board, motion control hardware including the Panmure stepping motor controller and integrated circuit modules, and a Labview programmed operating system with associated electronics. Single crystalline Si(001) and ZnO(001) implanted with Mn ions were characterized with this computerized setup. The crystalline quality χmin and channeling half angle of Si(001) were measured to be 4.65% and 0.52°, respectively, which are comparable to theoretical values 4.2% and 0.32°. The ion implantation induced damage depth profile derived from channeling and random spectrum is in reasonable agreement with the result calculated by the SRIM Monte-Carlo simulation code.

Epoxy encapsulant as serendipitous dosimeters during radiological/nuclear events

The radiation response of a smart chip (embedded integrated circuit) module has been reported earlier using the technique of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). It was found that a smart chip module could be used to evaluate the personnel exposure in the accident dosimetry range. Through subsequent experiments, the radiation sensitivity of the chip module was traced to the epoxy encapsulant provided to protect the chip from the environment and physical damage and that the radiation sensitivity of the epoxy is due to the silica used as the ‘filler’ for controlling the thixotropic properties of the epoxy used for ‘glob top’ or ‘dam-and-fill’ encapsulation. It is desirable to retain the ability to use the smart chip as an accident dosimeter without requiring a modification of standard manufacturing process for which an infrastructure already exists to avoid additional costs. For this reason, we have investigated commercially available filled and unfilled epoxies both as received from the manufacturer and compared their response with epoxies to which commercial fillers are added. In this work we investigate the OSL response of various epoxies commonly used for potting of electronic circuits with and without various filler materials for their potential to be used as a casualty dosimeter in the exposure range of 0.5–10 Gy.

Fabrication tolerance analysis of an OEIC passive duplexer

A simulation method has been developed to study the fabrication tolerances of a passive duplexer on InP substrate which could be a part of an optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC) module. This method, based on a Taylor's series expansion, is fast enough to estimate the effect produced on the crossover power when a simultaneous variation of the duplexer parameters take place. It seems to be very useful, particularly during a repetitive control of the device characteristics.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Automatic layout synthesis of analog ICs using circuit recognition and constraint analysis techniques

A systematic method for automatic layout synthesis of analog integrated circuit modules is presented. This method uses analog circuit recognition and critical net analysis techniques to derive proper layout constraints for analog circuit performance optimization. These layout constraints are analyzed and prioritized according to the recognized analog circuit topologies and classified net sensitivities. The weighted constraints are then used to drive the physical layout generation process to obtain a high-quality custom circuit layout. An efficient, constraint-driven analog floorplanning technique based on a zone-sensitivity partitioning algorithm is specially developed to generate a slicing floorplan incorporating the layout constraints. This layout synthesis approach has three key advantages. First, it can produce a satisfactory analog circuit performance with negligible degradation due to the layout-introduced parasitic effects. Second, it allows a complete automation for netlist-to-layout synthesis so that the layout tool can be used by VLSI system designers. Finally, this method is quite general and can be applied to handle a wide variety of analog circuits. Experimental results in CMOS operational amplifiers and a comparator are presented.

4947105 Method and circuit for testing integrated circuit modules

4947105 Method and circuit for testing integrated circuit modules

Chaos from phase-locked loops

The chaotic dynamics observed for the second-order phase-locked loop (PLL) operating as a frequency-modulated (FM) demodulator are studied theoretically as well as experimentally. The existence of horseshoe chaos in this circuit is proved using Melnikov's method. It is demonstrated that chaos can indeed occur in a practical FM demodulator circuit made of an integrated circuit module and using realistic parameter values. Explicit expressions that specify the possible region of chaos are derived.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Noncontact Bent Pin Detection Using Laser Diffraction

The use of optical diffraction is investigated to detect bent pins on a high-density multi-chip integrated-circuit module as an intermediate step in a robotic assembly process. A fixed laser beam shines on a fixed optical array while the robot moves the pins of the module through the beam at four different orientations. (While two scans are mathematically adequate, four scans are required because of the physical characteristics of this particular module.) The optical array is continuously scanned and the resultant images are processed to detect specific abnormalities in the diffraction pattern. If a flaw is detected, software determines the approximate location of the defective pin and whether it should be straightened manually or sent back for rework (determined by the angle of bend).

An Introduction to Digital and Analog Integrated Circuits and Applications - Sanjit K. Mitra [Book Reviews

This book is intended for use in a first course on electronic circuits and systems for students at the junior level following a sophomore level course on linear circuit analysis. The author has chosen an organization of material for this single volume on electronic circuits and systems that is unique, to my knowledge. Among the topics addressed in this concise text are combinational and sequential logic design, analog and digital computation, linear amplification and filtering, nonlinear analog functions, and analog-to-digital (A/D) and digitalto- analog (D/A) conversions. The author treats modern integrated circuit (IC) modules, such as gates and op amps, as multiterminal electronic building blocks that perform specific electronic functions and have known voltage and current relationships between terminals. IC fabrication technology and internal transistor-level IC module operation are not discussed. This approach allows the author to concentrate on presenting a wide variety of analog and digital circuit function modules and many of their applications. Numerous worked analysis and design examples are included in the chapters, as are over 300 supplementary problems. Illustrations, tables, and figures are clear, easy to read, and usually close to their associated descriptions. References are included at the end of each chapter. The index is detailed and cross-referenced.The numerous worked examples and interesting homework problems are considered especially valuable and are appreciated by students who have used manuscript copies of the book in the classroom.

Microwave Integrated Circuit Module for an SHF to UHF Television Converter

The authors have developed an SHF (from 11.7 GHz to 12.2 GHz) to UHF television converter of new circuit structure using a microwave integrated circuit (MIC) module.