Picosecond Radiating Integrated Circuits and Single-Chip EPR Spectrometers
Event details
| Date | 30.06.2014 |
| Hour | 17:00 |
| Speaker | Prof. Aydin Babakhani |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Historically, research in the fields of circuits and electromagnetics has been conducted within two separate communities. This separation made sense in the past as the speed of transistors was not high enough to justify the integration of radiating elements. Due to the low operating frequency of transistors, the chip size was always much smaller than the wavelength, hence it was not possible to make efficient on-chip radiators. Today’s silicon process technology allows us to implement silicon chips that are comparable to or even larger than the operating wavelength. This transition creates a new opportunity for research on implementing Large-Scale Radiating Integrated (LSRI) circuits in the mm-wave and THz regimes.
In this talk, the world’s first picosecond impulse radiating integrated circuit and the first single-chip Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectrometer will be presented.
The picosecond impulse radiator is based on an oscillator-less direct digital-to-impulse topology that radiates impulses with EIRP of 13dBm and a record pulse-width of 8psec. It is shown that the starting time of the radiated impulses can be locked to edge of the input trigger with high timing accuracy. It is demonstrated that multiple widely spaced chips can generate coherent impulses in space with timing jitter of better than 300fsec. It is also shown that the frequency stability of the radiated impulses is better than 10Hz at 220GHz. The chip is fabricated in a 130nm SiGe BiCMOS process and occupies an area of 0.55mm by 0.85mm.
The single-chip Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectrometer is implemented in a 0.13μm SiGe BiCMOS process. The chip can operate in both continuous wave (CW) and pulse modes. The frequency is tunable from 770MHz to 970MHz, corresponding to Zeeman magnetic fields from 28mT to 35mT for a free electron. The CW-EPR absorption line of a DPPH powder and various magnetic nanoparticles are acquired.
Bio: Professor Aydin Babakhani does research on mm-wave, THz, and photonics integrated circuits and their applications in wireless communications, radar, imaging, and spectroscopy. He joined the Faculty of Rice University, Houston, in 2011, where he is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Director of Rice Integrated Systems and Circuits Laboratory. He received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Caltech. He was a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech and a research scientist at IBM T. J. Watson Research Center prior to joining Rice University.
Dr. Babakhani was a co-recipient of IEEE International Microwave Symposium Best Paper Award in 2014. He received a major THz research award from Keck Foundation in 2014, an innovation award from Northrop Grumman in 2014, and a prestigious DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA) in 2012. He is a recipient of AFOSR DURIP award in 2014 and ONR DURIP award in 2012. He received the Caltech Electrical Engineering Department's Charles Wilts Best Ph.D. Thesis Prize for his work on Near-Field Direct Antenna Modulation (NFDAM). From 2006 to 2008 he was the Vice Chair of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society Metro LA/SFV Joint Sections MTT-S Chapter 17.1. He was the recipient of the Microwave Graduate Fellowship in 2007, the Grand Prize in the Stanford-Berkeley-Caltech Innovators Challenge in 2006, Analog Devices Inc. Outstanding Student Designer Award in 2005, as well as Caltech Special Institute Fellowship and Atwood Fellowship in 2003. He was also the Gold Medal winner of the National Physics Competition in 1998, and the Gold Medal winner of the 30th International Physics Olympiad in 1999, in Padova, Italy.
In this talk, the world’s first picosecond impulse radiating integrated circuit and the first single-chip Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectrometer will be presented.
The picosecond impulse radiator is based on an oscillator-less direct digital-to-impulse topology that radiates impulses with EIRP of 13dBm and a record pulse-width of 8psec. It is shown that the starting time of the radiated impulses can be locked to edge of the input trigger with high timing accuracy. It is demonstrated that multiple widely spaced chips can generate coherent impulses in space with timing jitter of better than 300fsec. It is also shown that the frequency stability of the radiated impulses is better than 10Hz at 220GHz. The chip is fabricated in a 130nm SiGe BiCMOS process and occupies an area of 0.55mm by 0.85mm.
The single-chip Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectrometer is implemented in a 0.13μm SiGe BiCMOS process. The chip can operate in both continuous wave (CW) and pulse modes. The frequency is tunable from 770MHz to 970MHz, corresponding to Zeeman magnetic fields from 28mT to 35mT for a free electron. The CW-EPR absorption line of a DPPH powder and various magnetic nanoparticles are acquired.
Bio: Professor Aydin Babakhani does research on mm-wave, THz, and photonics integrated circuits and their applications in wireless communications, radar, imaging, and spectroscopy. He joined the Faculty of Rice University, Houston, in 2011, where he is an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Director of Rice Integrated Systems and Circuits Laboratory. He received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Caltech. He was a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech and a research scientist at IBM T. J. Watson Research Center prior to joining Rice University.
Dr. Babakhani was a co-recipient of IEEE International Microwave Symposium Best Paper Award in 2014. He received a major THz research award from Keck Foundation in 2014, an innovation award from Northrop Grumman in 2014, and a prestigious DARPA Young Faculty Award (YFA) in 2012. He is a recipient of AFOSR DURIP award in 2014 and ONR DURIP award in 2012. He received the Caltech Electrical Engineering Department's Charles Wilts Best Ph.D. Thesis Prize for his work on Near-Field Direct Antenna Modulation (NFDAM). From 2006 to 2008 he was the Vice Chair of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society Metro LA/SFV Joint Sections MTT-S Chapter 17.1. He was the recipient of the Microwave Graduate Fellowship in 2007, the Grand Prize in the Stanford-Berkeley-Caltech Innovators Challenge in 2006, Analog Devices Inc. Outstanding Student Designer Award in 2005, as well as Caltech Special Institute Fellowship and Atwood Fellowship in 2003. He was also the Gold Medal winner of the National Physics Competition in 1998, and the Gold Medal winner of the 30th International Physics Olympiad in 1999, in Padova, Italy.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Organizer
- Prof. Christian Enz
Contact
- Catherine Falik