CAREER: Toward hybrid energy-harvesting image sensors

本研究的目的是开发和应用电路集成和压缩传感理论的进步，设计下一代的能量采集图像传感器。压缩感知是一种新的信号获取理论框架。在拟议的项目中，压缩传感为图像质量和收获的能量之间的权衡提供了一种解决方案。具体来说，这些图像传感器将具有可重新配置的像素，可以用作光传感器或微型太阳能电池。根据环境条件，可以将更多或更少的像素重新配置为任一模态。该研究提出了一种新的传感模式，特别适合于传感器网络和能量受限的传感应用。它还介绍了一种新的方法，基于分形几何，以提高效率的片上太阳能电池。该项目将通过提供硬件解决方案和实用的编码技术来推进压缩传感领域。模拟数字转换器，可以共同执行量化和熵编码的任务也包括在这个项目中，拟议的研究将导致低成本的图像传感器适用于监视，空间探索和监控应用。这些传感器可以收集环境能量，因此可以长时间无人值守。此外，所提出的分形光电二极管可以用来改善太阳能电池的设计。拟议的教育活动将加强密苏里大学堪萨斯城分校的课程设置。将举办一次设计竞赛和一次讲习班，以增加代表性不足的学生对研究活动的参与，并丰富外联工作。

The objective of this research is to develop and to apply advances in circuit integration and Compressive Sensing theory to the design of next generation of energy-harvesting image sensors. Compressive Sensing is a new theoretical framework for signal acquisition. In the proposed project, Compressive Sensing provides a solution for the trade-off between image quality and harvested energy. Specifically, these image sensors will have reconfigurable pixels that can work as light sensors or as tiny solar cells. Depending on the environmental conditions more or less pixels can be reconfigured to either modality. The proposed research introduces a new sensing paradigm especially suited to sensor networks and energy-constrained sensing applications. It also introduces a new approach based on fractal geometry to increase the efficiency of on-chip solar cells. The project will advance the field of Compressive Sensing by providing hardware solutions and practical encoding techniques. Analog-to-digital converters that can jointly perform the tasks of quantization and entropy encoding are also included in this project.The proposed research will result in low-cost image sensors suitable for surveillance, space exploration, and monitoring applications. These sensors can harvest ambient energy and, thus, can operate unattended for extended periods of time. Moreover, the proposed fractal photodiodes can be employed to improve solar cell design. The proposed educational activities will enhance the curricula of courses taught at University of Missouri-Kansas City. A design competition and a workshop will be implemented to increase the participation of underrepresented students in research activities and to enrich outreach efforts.