Design Techniques for Remote Calibration of Passive Wireless Microsystems

无源无线微系统（PWM）从RF波中获取能量。由于没有笨重的电池，这些微系统的物理尺寸和成本最小化，并消除了维护的需要。因此，PWM可以永久嵌入产品或植入活体。由于尺寸小、无线可访问性、可编程性、低成本和免维护操作，PWM已经发现了广泛的新兴应用，包括可植入的生物MEMS压力传感器、视网膜假体装置、眼内压监测、胶囊内窥镜、用于无线动脉流表征的压力传感器、用于人体和环境监测的温度传感器、pH传感器、物流自动化中的识别标签和产品认证，仅举几例。由于PWM易受工艺扩展、电源电压波动和温度变化（PVT）的影响，因此必须在其预期操作之前对其进行校准。这些微系统的物理不可访问性要求从基站无线地进行它们的校准，以下称为远程校准。该研究项目的长期目标是开发用于医疗保健、产品认证和假冒、对象跟踪、评估管理、安全等新兴应用的PWM，并将研究成果作为技术转让给加拿大工业。本项目的短期目标是开发新的设计技术、电路拓扑结构和硅实现，用于PWM的远程校准，以确保其正常运行和与基站的可靠通信。该研究项目的目标是校准PWM的以下关键模块：功率采集、系统时钟、模数转换器、电压和电流基准以及稳压器。与电压模式或电流模式方法相比，时间模式方法具有很好的技术扩展性，并具有许多内在优势，将在这些模块的设计和校准中得到充分探索和利用。该研究项目的目标是在新兴应用中部署PWM的关键问题，特别是那些PWM无法物理访问的应用。由于待开发的技术适用于一般PWMs，因此研究结果将对科学界和工业界具有重要意义和兴趣。该项目还将为学生提供一个丰富的学习环境，让他们参与PWM的开发和设计，并大胆地集中应用。

Passive wireless microsystems (PWMs) harvest their power from RF waves. The absence of bulky batteries minimizes the physical dimension and cost of these microsystems, and removes the need for maintenance. As a result, PWMs can be embedded in products or implanted in living bodies permanently. Attributive to small size, wireless accessibility, programmability, low cost, and maintenance-free operation, PWMs have found a broad range of emerging applications including implantable bio-MEMS pressure sensors, retinal prosthetic devices, intraocular pressure monitoring, capsule endoscopy, pressure sensors for wireless arterial flow characterization, temperature sensors for human body and environmental monitoring, pH sensors, identification tags in logistics automation, and product authentication, to name a few. Because PWMs are subject to the effect of process spread, supply voltage fluctuation, and temperature variation (PVT), they must be calibrated prior to their intended operation. The physical inaccessibility of these microsystems mandates that their calibration be conducted wirelessly from the base station hereafter referred to as remote calibration. The long-term objective of this research project is to develop PWMs for emerging applications in healthcare, product authentication and counterfeiting, object tracking, assess management, security, etc. and capitalizing research findings as technology transfer to Canadian industry. The short-term objective of this prject is to develop new design techniques, circuit topology, and silicon realization for the remote calibration of PWMs so as to ensure their proper operation and reliable communications with the base station. The research project targets the calibration of the following key blocks of PWMs: power harvest, system clocks, analog-to-digital converters, voltage and current references, and voltage regulators. Time-mode approaches that scale well with technology and offer many intrinsic advantages as compared with voltage-mode or current-mode approaches will be fully explored and utilized in both the design and calibration of these blocks. This research project targets issues that are critical to the deployment of PWMs in emerging applications especially those where PWMs are physically inaccessible. As the techniques to be developed are applicable to general PWMs, the findings will be of a great importance and interest to the scientific community and industries. The project will also provide a rich learning environment for students by engaging them in the development and design of PWMs with boldly focused applications.