M. Nance Ericson

Datasheet Driven Silicon Carbide Power MOSFET Model

A compact model for SiC Power MOSFETs is presented. The model features a physical description of the channel current and internal capacitances and has been validated for dc, CV, and switching characteristics with measured data from a 1200-V, 20-A SiC power MOSFET in a temperature range of 25°C to 225°C. The peculiar variation of on-state resistance with temperature for SiC power MOSFETs has also been demonstrated through measurements and accounted for in the developed model. In order to improve the user experience with the model, a new datasheet driven parameter extraction strategy has been presented which requires only data available in device datasheets, to enable quick parameter extraction for off-the-shelf devices. Excellent agreement is shown between measurement and simulation using the presented model over the entire temperature range.

Development of a battery‐operated portable synchronous luminescence spectrofluorometer

A battery‐operated portable synchronous luminescence spectrofluorometer was developed for on‐site analysis of groundwater or hazardous waste sites. The instrument is capable of either emission, excitation, or synchronous fluorescence measurements. The instrument is suited for trace analysis of important pollutants such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons, creosotes, and polychlorinated biphenyls in complex mixtures. The ability to perform synchronous luminescence measurements on these samples can reduce the complexity of fluorescence spectra and help in rapid field site characterization. A description of the instrumental components is given and an evaluation of the instrument using anthracene and several oil samples is provided to illustrate the usefulness of the instrument.

Optofluidic phantom mimicking optical properties of porcine livers.

One strategy for assessing efficacy of a liver transplant is to monitor perfusion and oxygenation after transplantation. An implantable optical sensor is being developed to overcome inadequacies of current monitoring approaches. To facilitate sensor design while minimizing animal use, a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based liver phantom was developed to mimic the optical properties of porcine liver in the 630-1000 nm wavelength range and the anatomical geometry of liver parenchyma. Using soft lithography to construct microfluidic channels in pigmented elastomer enabled the 2D approximation of hexagonal liver lobules with 15mm sinusoidal channels, which will allow perfusion with blood-mimicking fluids to facilitate the development of the liver perfusion and oxygenation monitoring system.

Vertically aligned carbon nanofiber as nano-neuron interface for monitoring neural function

UNLABELLED Neural chips, which are capable of simultaneous multisite neural recording and stimulation, have been used to detect and modulate neural activity for almost thirty years. As neural interfaces, neural chips provide dynamic functional information for neural decoding and neural control. By improving sensitivity and spatial resolution, nano-scale electrodes may revolutionize neural detection and modulation at cellular and molecular levels as nano-neuron interfaces. We developed a carbon-nanofiber neural chip with lithographically defined arrays of vertically aligned carbon nanofiber electrodes and demonstrated its capability of both stimulating and monitoring electrophysiological signals from brain tissues in vitro and monitoring dynamic information of neuroplasticity. This novel nano-neuron interface may potentially serve as a precise, informative, biocompatible, and dual-mode neural interface for monitoring of both neuroelectrical and neurochemical activity at the single-cell level and even inside the cell. FROM THE CLINICAL EDITOR The authors demonstrate the utility of a neural chip with lithographically defined arrays of vertically aligned carbon nanofiber electrodes. The new device can be used to stimulate and/or monitor signals from brain tissue in vitro and for monitoring dynamic information of neuroplasticity both intracellularly and at the single cell level including neuroelectrical and neurochemical activities.

A photospectrometer realized in a standard integrated circuit process

A photospectrometer has been realized in a standard integrated circuit (IC) process. Only the masks, materials, and fabrication steps inherent to this IC process were used (i.e., no post processing to add mechanical or optical devices for filtering). The spectrometer was composed of a set of 18 photodetectors with independent spectral responses. The responses of these devices were weighted and summed to form outputs proportional to the input optical power in discrete wavelength bands in the region from ∼400 to ∼1100 nm . With the solution space restricted to a 60 nm band, this instrument could resolve Gaussian input spectra (σ=5 nm ) with a peak-to-peak spacing of less than 15 nm. This device could easily be integrated with additional analog, digital, or wireless circuits to realize a true laboratory instrument on-a-chip.

Wireless Monitoring of Liver Hemodynamics In Vivo

Liver transplants have their highest technical failure rate in the first two weeks following surgery. Currently, there are limited devices for continuous, real-time monitoring of the graft. In this work, a three wavelengths system is presented that combines near-infrared spectroscopy and photoplethysmography with a processing method that can uniquely measure and separate the venous and arterial oxygen contributions. This strategy allows for the quantification of tissue oxygen consumption used to study hepatic metabolic activity and to relate it to tissue stress. The sensor is battery operated and communicates wirelessly with a data acquisition computer which provides the possibility of implantation provided sufficient miniaturization. In two in vivo porcine studies, the sensor tracked perfusion changes in hepatic tissue during vascular occlusions with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.135 mL/min/g of tissue. We show the possibility of using the pulsatile wave to measure the arterial oxygen saturation similar to pulse oximetry. The signal is also used to extract the venous oxygen saturation from the direct current (DC) levels. Arterial and venous oxygen saturation changes were measured with an RMSE of 2.19% and 1.39% respectively when no vascular occlusions were induced. This error increased to 2.82% and 3.83% when vascular occlusions were induced during hypoxia. These errors are similar to the resolution of a commercial oximetry catheter used as a reference. This work is the first realization of a wireless optical sensor for continuous monitoring of hepatic hemodynamics.

Intestinal perfusion monitoring using photoplethysmography

Abstract. In abdominal trauma patients, monitoring intestinal perfusion and oxygen consumption is essential during the resuscitation period. Photoplethysmography is an optical technique potentially capable of monitoring these changes in real time to provide the medical staff with a timely and quantitative measure of the adequacy of resuscitation. The challenges for using optical techniques in monitoring hemodynamics in intestinal tissue are discussed, and the solutions to these challenges are presented using a combination of Monte Carlo modeling and theoretical analysis of light propagation in tissue. In particular, it is shown that by using visible wavelengths (i.e., 470 and 525 nm), the perfusion signal is enhanced and the background contribution is decreased compared with using traditional near-infrared wavelengths leading to an order of magnitude enhancement in the signal-to-background ratio. It was further shown that, using the visible wavelengths, similar sensitivity to oxygenation changes could be obtained (over 50% compared with that of near-infrared wavelengths). This is mainly due to the increased contrast between tissue and blood in that spectral region and the confinement of the photons to the thickness of the small intestine. Moreover, the modeling results show that the source to detector separation should be limited to roughly 6 mm while using traditional near-infrared light, with a few centimeters source to detector separation leads to poor signal-to-background ratio. Finally, a visible wavelength system is tested in an in vivo porcine study, and the possibility of monitoring intestinal perfusion changes is showed.

A sige BiCMOS instrumentation channel for extreme environment applications

A instrumentation channel has been designed, implemented and tested in a 0.5-mum SiGe BiCMOS process. The circuit features a reconfigurable Wheatstone bridge network that interfaces a range of external sensors to signal processing circuits. Also, analog sampling has been implemented in the channel using a flying capacitor configuration. Measurement results show the instrumentation channel supports input signals up to 200 Hz.

Performance assessment of an opto-fluidic phantom mimicking porcine liver parenchyma

An implantable, optical oxygenation and perfusion sensor to monitor liver transplants during the two-week period following the transplant procedure is currently being developed. In order to minimize the number of animal experiments required for this research, a phantom that mimics the optical, anatomical, and physiologic flow properties of liver parenchyma is being developed as well. In this work, the suitability of this phantom for liver parenchyma perfusion research was evaluated by direct comparison of phantom perfusion data with data collected from in vivo porcine studies, both using the same prototype perfusion sensor. In vitro perfusion and occlusion experiments were performed on a single-layer and on a three-layer phantom perfused with a dye solution possessing the absorption properties of oxygenated hemoglobin. While both phantoms exhibited response patterns similar to the liver parenchyma, the signal measured from the multilayer phantom was three times higher than the single layer phantom and approximately 21 percent more sensitive to in vitro changes in perfusion. Although the multilayer phantom replicated the in vivo flow patterns more closely, the data suggests that both phantoms can be used in vitro to facilitate sensor design.

Quantifying tissue mechanical properties using photoplethysmography

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is a non-invasive optical method that can be used to detect blood volume changes in the microvascular bed of tissue. The PPG signal comprises two components; a pulsatile waveform (AC) attributed to changes in the interrogated blood volume with each heartbeat, and a slowly varying baseline (DC) combining low frequency fluctuations mainly due to respiration and sympathetic nervous system activity. In this report, we investigate the AC pulsatile waveform of the PPG pulse for ultimate use in extracting information regarding the biomechanical properties of tissue and vasculature. By analyzing the rise time of the pulse in the diastole period, we show that PPG is capable of measuring changes in the Youngs Modulus of tissue mimicking phantoms with a resolution of 4 KPa in the range of 12 to 61 KPa. In addition, the shape of the pulse can potentially be used to diagnose vascular complications by differentiating upstream from downstream complications. A Windkessel model was used to model changes in the biomechanical properties of the circulation and to test the proposed concept. The modeling data confirmed the response seen in vitro and showed the same trends in the PPG rise and fall times with changes in compliance and vascular resistance.