Farabi Ibne Jamal

A Review on Passive and Integrated Near-Field Microwave Biosensors

In this paper we review the advancement of passive and integrated microwave biosensors. The interaction of microwave with biological material is discussed in this paper. Passive microwave biosensors are microwave structures, which are fabricated on a substrate and are used for sensing biological materials. On the other hand, integrated biosensors are microwave structures fabricated in standard semiconductor technology platform (CMOS or BiCMOS). The CMOS or BiCMOS sensor technology offers a more compact sensing approach which has the potential in the future for point of care testing systems. Various applications of the passive and the integrated sensors have been discussed in this review paper.

A Newly Developed mm-Wave Sensor for Detecting Plaques of Arterial Vessels

Background Microcalcifications within the fibrous cap of the arteriosclerotic plaques lead to the accrual of plaque‐destabilizing mechanical stress. New techniques for plaque screening with small detectors and the ability to differentiate between the smooth and hard elements of plaque formation are necessary. Method Vascular plaque formations are characterized as calcium phosphate containing structures organized as hydroxylapatite resembling the mineral whitlockite. In transmission and reflexion studies with a simple millimeter wave (mm‐wave)‐demonstrator, we found that there is a narrow window for plaque detection in arterial vessels because of the tissue water content, the differentiation to fatty tissue, and the dielectric property of air or water, respectively. Result The new sensor is based on a sensing oscillator working around 27 GHz. The open‐stub capacitance determines the operating frequency of the sensor oscillator. The capacitance depends on the dielectric properties of the surrounding material. The sensor components were completely built up in surface mount technique. Conclusion Completed with a catheter, the sensor based on microwave technology appears as a robust tool ready for further clinical use.

Design and Fabrication of a BiCMOS Dielectric Sensor for Viscosity Measurements: A Possible Solution for Early Detection of COPD

The viscosity variation of sputum is a common symptom of the progression of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Since the hydration of the sputum defines its viscosity level, dielectric sensors could be used for the characterization of sputum samples collected from patients for early diagnosis of COPD. In this work, a CMOS-based dielectric sensor for the real-time monitoring of sputum viscosity was designed and fabricated. A proper packaging for the ESD-protection and short-circuit prevention of the sensor was developed. The performance evaluation results show that the radio frequency sensor is capable of measuring dielectric constant of biofluids with an accuracy of 4.17%. Integration of this sensor into a portable system will result in a hand-held device capable of measuring viscosity of sputum samples of COPD-patients for diagnostic purposes.

A low-power 190–255 GHz frequency quadrupler in SiGe BiCMOS technology for on-chip spectroscopic applications

This paper presents the design of a wide-band frequency quadrupler in the 240 GHz frequency regime fabricated in a 0.13 μm SiGe BiCMOS process. Frequency multiplication is performed in two stages: in the first stage, two push-push doublers with quadrature input double the input frequency and in the second stage, a bootstrapped Gilbert-cell doubler delivers quadrupled signal at the output. A Marchand balun and a polyphase filter (PPF) transform the single-ended input into a differential quadrature signal. The differential output has been converted into a single-ended signal using a rat-race coupler. The quadrupler shows a 3-dB bandwidth of 29.2 % (190–255 GHz) and the maximum output power is −16.4 dBm. The chip is 0.45 mm2 and consumes 48 mW power. As a wide-band quadrupler, this chip is a useful building block for on-chip low-power dielectric spectroscopy.

A 60 GHz wideband Variable Gain Amplifier in 130nm SiGe BiCMOS for dielectric spectroscopy

This paper presents the design, implementation, layout and measured results of a single stage 60 GHz Variable Gain Amplifier (VGA). The VGA has been implemented in 0.13 µm SiGe BiCMOS technology with ft/fmax = 250/340 GHz. It provides a tunable gain of −15 to 7 dB. The circuit consumes 32.25 mW of power from 2.5 V supply. It occupies an area of 0.6 mm2 and it is intended to be deployed in miniaturized dielectric sensing applications.

Integrated 240 GHz dielectric sensor with DC readout circuit in THz lab-on-chip measurements

This paper presents a highly selective integrated dielectric sensor with read-out circuit at 240 GHz in SiGe BiCMOS and back-side etching technology. The sensor features with a resonator to perform bandpass frequency response which varied in accordance to the dielectric change of the sample under test. This variation can be sensed and recorded as the change of output voltage of an integrated 240 GHz IQ receiver. The demonstration of aforementioned function is verified by measuring the output of mixer when a sample is placed over the resonator.

Application of microwave sensor technology in cardiovascular disease for plaque detection

Abstract Arteriosclerosis and associated cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality. Improved methods for vascular plaque detection allow early diagnose and better therapeutic options. Present diagnostic tools require intense technical expenditure and diminish value of modern screening methods. Our group developed an microwave sensor for on-site detection of plaque formation in arterial vessels. The sensor is an oscillator working around 27 GHz which is coupled to a microstrip stub line. The final flexible polyimid interposer has a length of 38 cm, a width of 1.2 mm and a thickness of 200 μm. Because of its minimal size the interposer completed a catheter with a diameter of 8F ready for further clinical use in cardiology and heart surgery.

Packaging of a BiCMOS Sensor on a catheter tip for the characterisation of atherosclerotic plaque

The paper deals with a new technique for deviation of atherosclerotic plaque. There are two plaque types: The yellow and white plaque. The white plaque is hard, fibrous and dimensionally stable. The yellow plaque is soft with high-cholesterol ratio and dimensionally instable. Every hit with a medical tool can generate a critical medical case, because the plaque can be rapture and the plaque particles could cause in a stroke. A catheter with a BiCMOS microwave sensor was developed in the latest research. For a stable function and a high reliability a suitable electronic packaging has to be fulfill. The development starting with the sensor design up to a complete electronic packaging which allows a measurement in different liquids and tissues is discussed in this paper.