Biomedical Instrumentation
We design and fabricate novel biomedical instrumentation to study cells and neural tissue in vitro and vivo. The design is driven by collaboration with colleagues in the school of medicine, biology, physiology and neuroscience, to name a few.
Patch-clamp amplifiers
We are the first group to fully integrate a patch-clamp measurement system for whole-cell recordings in a millimeter size. This device is used to study the physiology of living cells and to test and improve the safety of medical compounds. The device can be used in high-throughput systems to test 384 wells simultaneously. We have achieved 5 pA RMS in noise performance and a 5pF capacitance and 5 Mohms resistance compensation capabilities. A recent new version of the system also includes a leak compensation circuit, 2pA RMS noise or less, and two channels per die.
NeuroView: a voltage-sensitive dye imaging (VSDI) optical neural recording system
We have developed an implantable optical interface to animal brain to detect fluorescent signals from voltage-sensitive dyes. Our device is composed of a 1000 recording-sites, > 1000 fps image sensor array with > 13 bits of SNR and a miniaturized epi-fluorescence microscope. A recent publication is here, animal experiments are described here. We are able to operate both in the visible optical wavelengths with standard CMOS technologies and also in the UV range with our custom sensors in Silicon on Sapphire CMOS.
UWB ultra-wide-band communication circuits
We have developed a RF front-end for an UWB transmitter that can operate with sub milli-watt of power at multi-megabit rates and at micro-watts of power for kilohertz data rates. This device can be used for body area networks and sensor networks. The device uses the SOS process to optimize its operation at high-speeds and low-power consumption.
Synthetic Vision
We are developing synthetic models of the mammal visual system in hardware. Our model features mechanisms of recognition and categorization of objects, bottom-up and top-down attention, target selection, saliency. We design custom hardware that can implement these models and perform in real-time on megapixel-size cameras as well as state-of-the-art neuromorphic image sensors.
Bio-inspired object categorization
We are developing bio-inspired neuromorphic algorithms and neural procesing hardware to allow fast categorization of hundreds of objects in real time in multi-megapixel images, videos and custom event-based cameras. Applications are in robotic vision, security, monitoring and also in posture recognition, assisted living and remote care of elderly and patients.
Image Sensors for Sensor Networks
We develop custom event-based image sensors and algorithms for applications in assisted living, security networks, smart imaging and video networks for Wireless Sensor Networks. One of our success is the design of an ultra-low power temporal-difference image sensor. Using such devices, we have recently developed a fall detector for assisted living applications. See our fall detector project that has won the best paper award at IEEE ISCAS 2008. This research has been featured on ACM TechNews and Yale University.
Silicon on Sapphire
e-Lab is the leader research laboratory in silicon on sapphire (SOS) circuits and systems. See our work features in the Sapphicon brochure
e-Lab has worked on SOS device characterization, analog-to-digital converters, image sensors, ultra-wide-band radios, biomedical circuits and sensor interfaces. All our work is documented in our publications and in the 2009 book authored by E. Culurciello.
SOS Photodetectors and Image sensors
We are the first to design and test fully functional image sensors arrays in the SOS process. We have designed and tested PN photodiodes , PIN photodiodes and MOS phototransistors . We have developed a CMOS UV detector array capable of multiple 1000fps in the SOS process.
SOS Analog to digital converters
We have developed ultra-low power analog to digital converters that take advantage of the insulating substrate of SOS and deliver performance comparable to deep sub-micron processes. We use capacitors arrays that can only be fabricated in SOS/SOI substrates. We have reached FOMs of 8fJ/conv. in a 0.5um SOS process.
SOS Energy Harvesting Circuits
We have developed ultra-low voltage circuits in SOS that can extract energy from harvesting sources. We can operate band-gap references, temperature sensors, RF pulse modulators and voltage-controlled oscillators and rectifiers with a 0.5V supply and micro-watt power consumption.
3D integration on Silicon on Sapphire
We developed isolation techniques in Silicon on Sapphire that are able to exchange power and data between two parts of a die or two different dies. We use this technology for assembling multi-chip modules that are integrated in 3D. This research focuses on the design and fabrication of a fully three-dimensional image sensor and other prototypes of 3D integrated circuits.