Steve P. Beaumont

Toward a miniature wireless integrated multisensor microsystem for industrial and biomedical applications

This paper presents our work toward the integration of a multisensor microsystem with wireless communication, using system-on-chip (SoC) methodology. Four different forms of microelectronic sensors have been fabricated on two separate 5/spl times/5 mm/sup 2/ silicon chips measuring pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen concentration, and temperature. The sensors are integrated with a sensor fusion chip comprising analog circuitry for sensor operation and signal amplification prior to digital decoding and transmission. The microsystem prototype will be packaged in a miniature capsule, which measures 16 mm /spl times/55 mm including batteries and dissipates 6.3 mW for a minimal life cycle of 12 h.

Integrated micro-instrumentation for dynamic monitoring of the gastro-intestinal tract

The introduction of microsystem technology into diagnostic devices is a rapidly growing field where low form-factor can significantly improve device access or patient comfort. In this paper we present our results on a lab-in-a-pill device that uses laboratory-on-a-chip and system-on-chip technology to deliver analytical data from a range of sensors, and the methodology employed to build the device.

An integrated sensor microsystem for industrial and biomedical applications

There is considerable interest in the development of ultra-miniature and low-power sensor microsystems for use in applications such as medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring and other industrial applications. Such ultra-miniature sensor microsystems must contain a large diversity of complex electronics, including sensor interfaces, signal conditioning, a microprocessor core, digital signal processing, and wireless transmission technology. In this paper, we will describe the first steps towards the development of a System on Chip for such a sensor microsystem and the methodology employed to build such a microsystems.

An Ingestible Electronic Pill for Real Time Analytical Measurements of the Gastro-Intestinal Tract

A state-of-the-art electronic “pill” has been developed for in situ studies of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract using integrated circuit and system level integration technologies. The measurement parameters include real time analysis of temperature, pH, conductivity and dissolved oxygen.

A sensor system on chip for wireless microsystems

Recent years have seen the rapid development of microsensor technology, system on chip design, wireless technology and ubiquitous computing. When assembled into a complex microsystem the technologies become powerful tools in medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring and personal connectivity. In this paper we describe the demonstration of a silicon chip that has all the attributes required of a microsystem for use in these applications. The design methodology we have employed is a variant of the system on chip approach whereby many intellectual property blocks are integrated at a high level in the design flow. Our intellectual property blocks include the analogue sensor instrumentation for temperature and pH, a data multiplexing and conversion module, a digital platform based around an 8-bit microcontroller, data encoding for spread-spectrum wireless transmission and a RF section requiring very few off-chip components. The chip has been fully evaluated and tested by connection to external sensors. Each block has well defined interfaces so that they can be easily reused in future designs targeted to different applications

An on-chip programmable instrumentation microsystem for gastrointestinal telemetry applications

We have developed an integrated circuit microsystem instrument using a design methodology akin to that for system-on-chip microelectronics. The microsystem is optimised for low-power gastrointestinal telemetry applications and includes mixed-signal sensor circuits, programmable digital system, a feedback clock control loop and RF circuits that were integrated on a 5 mm /spl times/ 5 mm silicon chip using a 0.6 /spl mu/m, 3 V CMOS process. Unintended signal coupling between circuit components has been investigated and current injection into sensitive instrumentation nodes has been minimised. Tests show that the wireless instrument-on-chip worked as intended.

A New Approach to QPSK: Mechanism and Implementation

The work reported in this paper serves two purposes. First, an alternative comprehensive approach is proposed for the understanding of the mechanism behind QPSK. This focuses on how a QPSK modulator decides to represent each pair of to be transmitted bits by which of its four possible phase shifts. This approach is based entirely on the analysis of phasors and is completely mathematical-less. The second part of this work proposes a method by which complex modulation schemes, like QPSK, can be implemented using only first degree components in Simulink, avoiding all the hurdles of mathematically-complicated blocks. The implementation, in the second part, confirms the viability of the approach in the first part of this work. Results show that the data received on the other end of a noiseless channel exactly matches the data sent despite a slight unavoidable delay.

A New Approach to QPSK: Mechanism, Simulation and Implementation

The work reported in this paper serves two purposes. First, an alternative comprehensive approach is proposed for the understanding of the mechanism behind QPSK. This focuses on how a QPSK modulator decides to represent each pair of bits to be transmitted, by which of its four possible phase shifts. This approach is based entirely on the analysis of phasors and is completely mathematics-less. The second part of this work proposes a method by which complex modulation schemes, like QPSK, can be implemented using only first degree components in Simulink, avoiding all the hurdles of mathematically complicated blocks. The implementation, in the second part, confirms the viability of the approach in the first part of this work. Results show that the data received on the other end of a noiseless channel exactly matches the data sent despite a slight unavoidable delay. The proposed method for implementing QPSK can be used directly as a laboratory exercise for undergraduate students new to digital communication techniques.

Ballistic electron switching success

When the transistor replaced the valve (or vacuum tube) in the vast majority of electronic circuits, engineers lost interest in the use of electron beams for switching and amplifying applications. In common solid state devices electrons are scattered so frequently by impurities and distortions to the crystal lattice caused by thermal vibrations (phonons) that the concept of a solid state electron beam is largely meaningless. However, modern semiconductor technology allows special layer structures to be grown in such a way that impurity scattering is negligible. In these modulation-doped layers, at very low temperatures when phonon scattering is also much micrometers without scattering at all. In such materials we can rejuvenate an interest in solid state electron optical devices.