Abstract: The present invention discloses a gain-boosted n-path passive-mixer-first receiver. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a gain-boosted n-path passive-mixer-first receiver is provided. The receiver includes a number n of switch-capacitor (sc) sets, a resistor, and a transconductance amplifier. The sc sets connect in parallel, and the sc sets have a first node and a second node. The resistor connects to the first node. The transconductance amplifier connects to the resistor and the second node.

Abstract: According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a radio-frequency-to-baseband-function-reuse receiver with shared amplifiers for common-mode and differential-mode amplification is provided. The receiver includes two set networks connected in parallel. The set networks includes a first and a second input capacitors, a first and a second output capacitors, a first transconductance amplifier having an input terminal, a second transconductance amplifier having an input terminal, a first switch, and a second switch. The first and the second input capacitors connect to a first node. The first and the second output capacitors connect to a second node. The first transconductance amplifier connects between the first input capacitor and the first output capacitor. The second transconductance amplifier connects between the second input capacitor and the second output capacitor. The first switch connects between the input terminal of the first transconductance amplifier and the second node.

Abstract: A mixed signal controller for a power quality compensator includes an analog circuit, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and a digital circuit. The analog circuit amplifies an input signal from the power quality compensator by a gain factor and outputs an analog signal, which is converted to a digital signal by the ADC. The digital circuit receives the digital signal, calculates the reference compensating current of each phase and then generates a trigger signal via hysteresis PWM to the power quality compensator. The digital circuit includes an evaluation circuit that calculates a value of the system total harmonic distortion after the power quality compensator compensates power and adjusts the gain factor when the value of the system total harmonic distortion reaches a predetermined threshold.

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 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 complex-pole load is configured as a parallel circuit, having 4 transistors arranged in pairs. Each pair of transistors has a transistor gated by a control voltage sources, and connected in parallel with a transistor diode connected for gating by the respective input. The control voltage sources result in the circuit synthesizing a first order complex pole at a positive IF (+IF) or a negative IF (?IF) for channel selection and image rejection, offering image rejection and channel selection concurrently.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a control-engaged electrode-driving method for droplet actuation is provided. The method includes, a first voltage is provided to a first electrode for licking off a droplet. A second voltage is naturally discharged to a third voltage for maintaining a droplet movement. A fourth voltage is provided to the first electrode for accelerating the droplet. Naturally discharging from the second voltage to the third voltage and providing the fourth voltage to the first electrode are repeated. The first voltage is provided to a second electrode when a centroid of the droplet reaching a centroid of the first electrode. Naturally discharging from the second voltage to the third voltage and providing the fourth voltage to the second electrode are repeated.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a control-engaged electrode-driving method for droplet actuation is provided. The method includes, a first pulse is provided to a first electrode for kicking off a droplet till a centroid of the droplet reaching a centroid of the first electrode. A second pulse is provided to a second electrode when a leading edge of the droplet reaching the second electrode.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a digital microfluidic system is provided. The digital microfluidic system includes a device, a control electronics, a field programmed gate array (FPGA), and a computer. The device includes a droplet on an electrode array, where the electrode array includes a plurality of electrodes. The control electronics connects to the device and provides an actuation pulse to the electrodes, where the control electronics generates a capacitance-derived frequency signal. The FPGA connects to the control electronics and collects the capacitance-derived frequency signal. The computer connects to the FPGA, the computer uses a frequency of the capacitance-derived frequency signal to calculate a precise droplet position and generates a duration voltage signal.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an ultra-low voltage current reused voltage-controlled oscillator and transconductance-capacitor filter is provided. The circuit includes a voltage-controlled oscillator stacked atop a transconductance-capacitor filter. The voltage-controlled oscillator includes a node one, a node two, a node three, a node four, an inductance, a variable capacitor, a first switched element, a second switched element, a third switched element, and a fourth switched element. The transconductance-capacitor filter includes a first resistor, a second resistor, a fifth switched element, a sixth switched element, a seventh switched element, and an eighth switched element.

Abstract: According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a radio-frequency-to-baseband-function-reuse receiver with shared amplifiers for common-mode and differential-mode amplification is provided. The receiver includes two set networks connected in parallel. The set networks includes a first and a second input capacitors, a first and a second output capacitors, a first transconductance amplifier having an input terminal, a second transconductance amplifier having an input terminal, a first switch, and a second switch. The first and the second input capacitors connect to a first node. The first and the second output capacitors connect to a second node. The first transconductance amplifier connects between the first input capacitor and the first output capacitor. The second transconductance amplifier connects between the second input capacitor and the second output capacitor. The first switch connects between the input terminal of the first transconductance amplifier and the second node.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a gain-boosted n-path passive-mixer-first receiver. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a gain-boosted n-path passive-mixer-first receiver is provided. The receiver includes a number n of switch-capacitor (sc) sets, a resistor, and a transconductance amplifier. The sc sets connect in parallel, and the sc sets have a first node and a second node. The resistor connects to the first node. The transconductance amplifier connects to the resistor and the second node.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an ultra-low voltage current reused voltage-controlled oscillator and transconductance-capacitor filter is provided. The circuit includes a voltage-controlled oscillator stacked atop a transconductance-capacitor filter. The voltage-controlled oscillator includes a node one, a node two, a node three, a node four, an inductance, a variable capacitor, a first switched element, a second switched element, a third switched element, and a fourth switched element. The transconductance-capacitor filter includes a first resistor, a second resistor, a fifth switched element, a sixth switched element, a seventh switched element, and an eighth switched element.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a gain-boosted N-path SC bandpass filter (GB-BPF) with a number of sought features. It is based on a transconductance amplifier (Gm) with an N-path SC branch as its feedback network, offering 1) double RF filtering at the input and output of the Gm in one step; 2) customized passband gain and bandwidth with input-impedance match, and 3) reduced physical capacitance thanks to the loop gain offered by Gm. All have been examined using a RLC model of the SC branch before applying the linear periodically time-variant (LPTV) analysis to derive the R, L and C expressions and analytically study the harmonic selectivity, harmonic folding and noise. The latter reveals that: 1) the noise due to the switches is notched at the output, allowing smaller switches to save the LO power; and 2) the noises due to the source resistance and Gm are narrowband at the output, reducing the folded noise during harmonic mixing.

Abstract: A single-ended-input current-reuse wideband receiver comprising (1) a stacked Radio Frequency to Baseband (RF-to-BB) front-end with an 8-path active mixer realizing RF amplification, harmonic-recombination (HR) down-conversion, and BB filtering in the current domain for better linearity and power efficiency; (2) a feedforward 8-path passive mixer enabling LO-defined input impedance matching without external components, while offering frequency-translated bandpass filtering and noise cancelling; (3) a single-MOS pole-zero lowpass filter (LPF) permitting both RF and BB filtering at low voltage headroom consumption, while easing the tradeoff between the in-/out-of-band linearity; and (4) a BB-only two-stage HR amplifier boosting the 3rd and 5th harmonic rejection ratios (HRR3,5) with low hardware intricacy.

Abstract: An IF-noise-shaping transistorized current-mode lowpass filter is applied to quadrature in a balanced circuit. A first pair of transistors receiving current inputs from a mixer are connected so that each of the first pair of transistors has its gate cross coupled to the output of the other of the first pair of transistors. A second pair of transistors are connected in series with respected outputs of respective ones of the first pair of transistors and having gates connected to a first common voltage node, and a capacitance is used to connect the current inputs of one of the first and second pairs of transistors. An active inductive load is connected between the current inputs of one of the first and second pairs of transistors.

Abstract: A single-MOS pole-zero lowpass filter for use in a single-ended-input current-reuse wideband receiver having a stacked RF-to-BB front end adapted to receive and process an RF signal to generate an N-phase BB signal, the lowpass filter being adapted to filter the N-phase BB signal, the lowpass filter having a lowpass input impedance for high stopband rejection at low voltage headroom consumption. The lowpass filter is arranged with one active MOS MLPF and one self-biased MOS ML; MLPF creates complex poles and two stopband zeros to boost the stopband rejection; ML provides BB current-to-voltage conversion and common-mode feedback to alleviate tradeoff between voltage headband and BB gain; and ML is diode-connected to enable the generated BB signal to be copied to a next HR stage.

Abstract: A unified balun low noise amplifier (LNA) and I/Q mixer is provided as a single-chip design, and includes a passive/active gain-boosted balun-LNA-I/Q-mixer (blixer), a filter section and a buffer amplifier. The filter section includes an IF-noise-shaping transistorized current-mode lowpass filter sharing a common power supply with the blixer, which allows the blixer and lowpass filter to draw a single bias current. The filter section also includes a complex-pole load providing image rejection and channel selection.

Abstract: A wideband driver amplifier with embedded passive filtering and gain peaking is described. The wideband driver amplifier comprises a voltage to current circuit, a passive band-selection filter, and a current to voltage circuit. The driver amplifier features an Embedded CLC-Ladder band-selection filter and thereby immune to process variations.

Abstract: A complex-pole load is configured as a parallel circuit, having 4 transistors arranged in pairs. Each pair of transistors has a transistor gated by a control voltage sources, and connected in parallel with a transistor diode connected for gating by the respective input. The control voltage sources result in the circuit synthesizing a first order complex pole at a positive IF (+IF) or a negative IF (?IF) for channel selection and image rejection, offering image rejection and channel selection concurrently.