Abstract: A flipping-capacitor rectifier circuit that enhances an output power of a piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH). The flipping-capacitor rectifier circuit includes a flipping capacitor, a plurality of switches, and an active rectifier. The flipping capacitor is connected in parallel with the PEH and forms at least three reconfiguration phases by turning on one or more of the switches. The active rectifier connects with the flipping capacitor in parallel and rectifies an AC voltage of the PEH. The flipping capacitor flips a voltage across a capacitor of the PEH to enhance the output power of the PEH by extracting power from the capacitor of the PEH.

Abstract: A palm-size portable ?NMR relaxometer system for performing multi-step multi-sample chemical/biological assays, comprising a PCB having a CMOS ?NMR transceiver and a DMF device integrated thereon. A portable magnet has an inner gap configured to at least partially receive the DMF device. The DMF device comprises a platform of electrodes including a sensing site and receives one or more samples for analysis at an electrode and automatically transports the one or more samples on individual paths sequentially to the sensing site, for performing sensing on each sample sequentially. A Butterfly coil disposed on the PCB and underneath the DMF device and is at least partially received in the inner gap. The Butterfly coil excites the sample at the ?NMR sensing site by transducing a magnetic field produced at the sensing site to an electrical signal which is processed by the CMOS ?NMR transceiver to produce an analytical signal.

Abstract: A flipping-capacitor rectifier circuit that enhances an output power of a piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH). The flipping-capacitor rectifier circuit includes a flipping capacitor, a plurality of switches, and an active rectifier. The flipping capacitor is connected in parallel with the PEH and forms at least three reconfiguration phases by turning on one or more of the switches. The active rectifier connects with the flipping capacitor in parallel and rectifies an AC voltage of the PEH. The flipping capacitor flips a voltage across a capacitor of the PEH to enhance the output power of the PEH by extracting power from the capacitor of the PEH.

Abstract: A portable modular NMR-DMF system for performing chemical/biological assays. The system comprises a PCB having an NMR electronic circuit thereon, wherein the NMR electronic circuit includes a figure-8 shaped RF coil generating a plane-parallel magnetic field. A planar DMF chip comprises a platform comprising an array of electrodes, the array of electrodes including a sensing site located under the figure-8 shaped RF coil. A portable magnet is disposed parallel to the DMF chip and the RF coil. The array of electrodes is configured to receive a sample under detection, move the sample along the array, mix the sample with a probe in the form of at least one droplet with target-specific nanoparticles, and move the mixed sample to the sensing site. A magnetic field corresponding to the mixed sample under detection is produced at the sensing site. The figure-8 shaped RF coil acts to transduce the magnetic field produced at the sensing site to a voltage signal.

Abstract: A palm-size portable ?NMR relaxometer system for performing multi-step multi-sample chemical/biological assays, comprising a PCB having a CMOS ?NMR transceiver and a DMF device integrated thereon. A portable magnet has an inner gap configured to at least partially receive the DMF device. The DMF device comprises a platform of electrodes including a sensing site and receives one or more samples for analysis at an electrode and automatically transports the one or more samples on individual paths sequentially to the sensing site, for performing sensing on each sample sequentially. A Butterfly coil disposed on the PCB and underneath the DMF device and is at least partially received in the inner gap. The Butterfly coil excites the sample at the ?NMR sensing site by transducing a magnetic field produced at the sensing site to an electrical signal which is processed by the CMOS ?NMR transceiver to produce an analytical signal.

Abstract: A three stage amplifier is provided and the three stage amplifier comprises a first gain stage, a second gain stage and a third gain stage wherein said first stage receives an amplifier input signal and said third gain stage outputs an amplifier output signal. The amplifier includes a feedback loop having a current buffer and a compensation capacitance provided from the output of said third gain stage to the output of the first gain stage. In addition, an active left half plane zero stage is embedded in said feedback loop for cancelling a parasitic pole of said feedback loop.

Abstract: The present invention provides an ultra-low power embedded CMOS temperature sensor based on serially connected subthreshold MOS operation particularly well suited for passive RFID food monitoring applications. Employing serially connected subthreshold MOS as sensing element enables reduced minimum supply voltage for further power reduction, which is very important in passive RFID applications. The temperature sensor may be part of a passive RFID tag and incorporates a temperature sensor core, proportional-to-absolute-temperature (PTAT) and complimentary-to-absolute-temperature (CTAT) delay generators, and a time-to-digital differential readout circuit. In one embodiment, the sensor is embedded inside a passive UHF RFID tag fabricated with a conventional 0.18 ?m 1P6M CMOS process. With the sensor core working under 0.5 V and digital interfacing under 1 V, the sensor dissipates a measured total power of 119 nW at 33 samples/s and achieves an inaccuracy of +1/?0.8° C. from ?10° C. to 30° C. after calibration.

Abstract: A three stage amplifier is provided and the three stage amplifier comprises a first gain stage, a second gain stage and a third gain stage wherein said first stage receives an amplifier input signal and said third gain stage outputs an amplifier output signal. The amplifier includes a feedback loop having a current buffer and a compensation capacitance provided from the output of said third gain stage to the output of the first gain stage. In addition, an active left half plane zero stage is embedded in said feedback loop for cancelling a parasitic pole of said feedback loop.

Abstract: An apparatus using reconfigurable integrated sensor elements with an efficient energy harvesting capability is described. Each sensor element has sensing and energy harvesting mode. In the sensing mode, the sensor element measures an environmental characteristic by generating electrical charge and outputs a time-encoded signal indicative of the measurement. In the energy harvesting mode, the sensor element itself is used to harvest energy from ambient energy source and makes it available to other sensor elements or circuit components. The sensing element is switched from the sensing mode to the energy harvesting mode when the electrical charge reaches a predetermined threshold. An image sensor device using asynchronous readout for harvesting energy from incident light while generating images is also described.

Abstract: The present invention provides an ultra-low power embedded CMOS temperature sensor based on serially connected subthreshold MOS operation particularly well suited for passive RFID food monitoring applications. Employing serially connected subthreshold MOS as sensing element enables reduced minimum supply voltage for further power reduction, which is very important in passive RFID applications. The temperature sensor may be part of a passive RFID tag and incorporates a temperature sensor core, proportional-to-absolute-temperature (PTAT) and complimentary-to-absolute-temperature (CTAT) delay generators, and a time-to-digital differential readout circuit. In one embodiment, the sensor is embedded inside a passive UHF RFID tag fabricated with a conventional 0.18 ?m 1P6M CMOS process. With the sensor core working under 0.5 V and digital interfacing under 1 V, the sensor dissipates a measured total power of 119 nW at 33 samples/s and achieves an inaccuracy of +1/?0.8° C. from ?10° C. to 30° C. after calibration.

Abstract: An apparatus using reconfigurable integrated sensor elements with an efficient energy harvesting capability is described. Each sensor element has sensing and energy harvesting mode. In the sensing mode, the sensor element measures an environmental characteristic by generating electrical charge and outputs a time-encoded signal indicative of the measurement. In the energy harvesting mode, the sensor element itself is used to harvest energy from ambient energy source and makes it available to other sensor elements or circuit components. The sensing element is switched from the sensing mode to the energy harvesting mode when the electrical charge reaches a predetermined threshold. An image sensor device using asynchronous readout for harvesting energy from incident light while generating images is also described.