Low-Power VLSI Systems for Signal Sensing and Processing

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There are increasing demands for a better performance of the electronic systems, in terms of computation capacity, mobility, and autonomy, to expand their applications in various areas such as communications, biomedical engineering, and remote controls. Power dissipation is a critical concern in the design and implementation of VLSI systems as it limits the density of integrated circuits and the life span of battery-operating mobile/autonomous systems. Three kinds of electronic circuits are involved in a system performing signal sensing and processing. They are sensors, sensor conditioning circuits, and signal processing circuits. A sensor converts a physical variable into a current or voltage signal, and a sensor conditioning circuit is used to make the signal produced by a sensor adapt to the processing circuits. The low-power design of sensors, sensor conditioning circuits, and processing circuits leads to a reduction of the total power dissipation of the system. The overall objective of the proposed research program is to develop low-power design techniques for the three kinds of circuits. It is three-fold as presented below.1) Ultra-low level energy harvesting in sensor circuits. It is to design integrated sensors capable of collecting low level energy available in a tiny space and of using it to make the sensors self-supporting.2) Developing ultra-low-power sensor conditioning circuits. The conditioning circuits should have a high sensitivity to operate with a very low level signals, a wide dynamic range, and simple structures to achieve low-power dissipation.3) Developing energy-efficient algorithms and architectures for signal processing. The proposed low-power design techniques would aim for the implementation in standard silicon CMOS fabrication technologies. Integral to achieving the technical objective will be the inclusion and training of a large number of graduate students to become highly qualified personnel needed for the industries.