ICS Seminar: Prof. Ricketts

Posted on October 13, 2011

Prof. David Ricketts
Carnegie Mellon University
Oct. 20th, 5:00pm, ACE 2.402

RF devices, circuits & systems: from nanometers to kilometers

In this talk I will discuss three research projects that leverage several areas of physics to solve new problems in radio frequency applications.  The first part of my talk begins in circuits with the millimeter scale and discusses our research aimed at significantly increase the speed, power output and efficiency of mm-wave power amplifiers (PA). Current state-of-the-art Si PAs above 20 GHz suffer from low power-added-efficiency (PAE) and output power, typically < 20% and < 0.5W. I will present our recent results in the development of high PAE (20% – 50%) PAs above 45 GHz using SiGe and 45 nm CMOS and also our work on the development of novel power combiners.  The second part of my talk will present a non-line-of-sight position location system using low frequency magnetoquasistatic fields (l~1 km). Our initial application is in tracking an American football during a game, which is extremely difficult due to the constant obstruction of the ball by the players. We circumvent this problem by using magnetoquasistatic fields, which are not perturbed by the presence of human bodies, to develop a novel tracking system.  I will present our recent research results in collaboration with Disney/ESPN that show the ability to track a football across a football field with approximately 1 ft average error.  In the final part of my talk I will discuss our work using nanoscale devices for RF signal generation and detection.  I will briefly cover our recent work on STM-tip based fabrication of metal-insulator-metal diodes for rectenna applications and our newly evolving work using spin-torque oscillators and diodes in RF applications.

ICS Seminar: Prof. Kim

Posted on October 13, 2011

Prof. Chris Kim
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
Tuesday, October 18th, 3:30pm, ACE Avaya Auditorium

Circuit Techniques for Combating CMOS Reliability and Variability Effects

In order to continue CMOS scaling towards the physical limit, care must be taken to account for each obstacle that is currently impeding our progress. The impact of Process-Voltage-Temperature (PVT) variations on circuit performance has increased with device scaling. Reliability issues such as Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI), Hot Carrier Injection (HCI) and dielectric breakdown have become serious problems degrading the long term yield of high performance systems. Increased power consumption and faster current transients have deteriorated on-chip power supply integrity.  The need for a robust high-density on-chip memory will continue to grow in future multicore processors. In this talk, I will introduce some of the on-going research activities in the VLSI design group at the University of Minnesota concerning low voltage digital, mixed-signal, and memory circuit design in the nanometer regime.  Topics will range from on-chip reliability monitors and supply noise mitigation techniques to practical demonstrations of low voltage SRAM and DRAM as well as future prospects on spin-torque-transfer RAM.

ICS Seminar: Prof. Sylvester

Posted on September 13, 2011

Prof. Dennis Sylvester
University of Michigan
Wednesday, Sep. 14th, 6:30pm, ENS 306

Enabling Millimeter-Scale Computing

Ubiquitous computing, particularly as it relates to miniaturized sensor nodes (e.g., smart dust), remains science fiction despite continued hype.  Why?  Simply put it is very challenging to create what are essentially invisible networked computers that can operate for months, years, or decades.  Despite Moore’s Law, this combination of form factor and lifetime constraints remain beyond the capabilities of modern integrated circuit design techniques.  This talk describes new integrated circuit building blocks to make this vision a reality.  Results from our own efforts in this space point to mm-scale systems as a new class of computing that will enable exciting new applications and promise to continue the information revolution well beyond PCs and handsets. 

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