Design of LNTA for Multi-Band WCDMA

Currently, a low cost, single-chip multi-band WCDMA/GSM transceiver is needed for the 3G segment of the cellular communication that provides backward compatibility with the 2G GSM network. In this thesis, a novel, multi-band, low noise transconductance amplifier (LNTA) is presented. The LNTA has three stages, which are the transconductance,...

Pixel ADC Design for Hybrid CMOS Image Sensors

This thesis presents the design of a pixel level analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuit for hybrid CMOS image sensors. There are several methods to increase the dynamic range of the sensor through the readout algorithm. The multiple sampling method can increase the dynamic range (DR) without a loss of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The idea is...

60GHz front-end receiver chain in 90nm CMOS technology

Operation at millimeter-wave frequency, where up to 7GHz of unlicensed bandwidth is available in the 60GHz band, provides an opportunity to meet the higher data rate demands of wireless users. Advancements in silicon technology permit one to consider exploiting the 60GHz band for commercial applications (e.g., short range, wireless HDTV...

60GHz Quadrature Voltage-Controlled Oscillator for Radar Application

A voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) is an integral part of a phase lock loop (PLL) which by itself is the core of the frequency reference in a radar system. The generation of the in-phase and quadratue signals is crucial for many radar applications. A 60GHz quadrature voltage controlled oscillator (QVCO) is presented in this thesis. The design...

A 60W Compact Highly Efficient Wideband Class-E Power Amplifier

With the rapid growth of wireless communication systems, there is more and more demand for radio frequency power amplifiers (RFPAs) in base stations to be power-efficient so as to reduce the cooling and electrical power cost. Besides the efficient requirement, wide-band working frequency and compact PCB size are also attractive for cutting more...

Light management using rough interfaces in thin-film silicon solar cells

Highly linear LNA design for base station applications

As the first stage of the amplifier chain aiming for the base station applications, a highly linear low noise amplifier (LNA) dictates very high performance for optimum coverage with a best signal quality. In today’s commercial market, the GaAs enhancement-mode pHEMT based LNA is dominant. However, a SiGe-based LNA, due to its high integration,...

Design Study on the Switched and Linear Operation of Broadband CMOS Class-E Power Amplifiers

This research work aims to gain understanding of the power amplifier (PA) operating as a linear PA under low power drive conditions and as a switch-mode PA in high power drive conditions both with the same Class-E load. Two approaches were taken here. Firstly, an analytical approach was developed to investigate the switching operation of...

Precision Current Mirror

This thesis is about an innovative technique of designing a precision current mirror which enables us to achieve a very high DC accuracy with ripple free output signal, without using an external low pass filter to suppress the unwanted ripple. The word 'precision' here means that the current mirror has an accurately defined input-to-output...

Electrical Analysis of Ultrashallow Junctions

Electrical analysis techniques are introduced to determined the type of the diodes, whether they are Schottky diodes or pn junction diodes.

Aluminum Nitride and Chromium Nitride Thin Films for Strain Gauge Application

The Optimum Driving Method of Super E-paper: The technical research complementing R:eFlex’s businessplan

With the so many available sorts of E-paper, the optimal performing and consumer friendly E-paper needs to be found in order to win the E-paper market. As result of this, researchers from the TU Delft are currently developing a technology that can replace all ordinary papers by one single device, which has outperforming characteristics compared...

Digital Cartesian feedback linearization of power amplifiers

The efficient use of the power budget in mobiles and small satellite applications is of primary importance because of the reduced size of the power sources. The limited power supply has to be spent wisely. In a transmitter, the power amplifier is the main consumer of that budget, which is why it has to be as efficient as possible. Unfortunately,...

Design and Fabrication of On-Chip Cooing Devices Based on the Peltier Effect

The aim of this thesis project is to design and fabricate a high efficiency on chip cooling device based on the Peltier effect. Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) and antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) are employed to form thermocouple for their high Seebeck coefficient and high figure of merit. The models of the devices are simulated in the software program...

Micromachined lamps for tissue spectroscopy

An implant designed to treat glioblastoma multiforme, GBM, in the brain which makes use of metronomic Photodynamic Therapy (mPDT) is being developed. A device to do spectrography is needed in this implant to monitor the evolution of the treatment. Therefore, the aim of this research is to study the viability of a micromachined lamp to do...

Design and Realization of a Digital Baseband Subsystem of Wakeup Receiver for Wireless Sensor Networks

In the development of wireless sensor networks, the lifetime of a sensor node is always a key design consideration. Since the battery in a sensor node can usually not be recharged or changed, power management is an effective way to extend the network lifetime. The wireless transceiver, also regarded as the ‘main radio’, is a relatively power...

Modeling and design of integrated tunable patch reflector array for mm-wave antennas.

Millimeter wave sensor and communication technology may prove to be one of the key technologies of the 21st century covering a broad range of applications including high-speed telecommunication, medical diagnostics and security. The ultimate (commercial) success of these systems depends on their monolithic integration which brings about...

Growth of microcrystalline silicon solar cells

The plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) method is widely used compared to other methods to deposit µc-Si:H because of the high potential to prepare high quality material uniformily on a large area substrate at low temperature. This method was used to grow µc-Si:H p- and i-layers. The effect of p– layer deposition parameters on the...