II-NEW: Probe Station to Characterize Body Area Network Sensor ICs for Cyber Physical Systems Applications

North Dakota State University Fargo, Fargo ND

Investigators

Abstract

This research infrastructure will enable North Dakota State University (NDSU) to pursue a wide area of research topics: System-on-Chip (SoC) integrated silicon-based CMOS/Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) Radio Frequency (RF) and millimeter-wave Integrated Circuits (ICs) for high data rate (Gb/s) wireless body/personal area network (WBAN, WPAN) communication involving humans and computers, communication radar and sensors for detection applications ranging from hand-held scanners for bio-medical imaging to portable/wearable weapon scanners for military applications, asynchronous logic circuits for ultra-low power computer chips, extreme environment ICs for use in outer space and high temperature power electronic applications, side-channel attack resistant ICs, RF nanotechnology, and developing sub-millimeter wave and Terahertz frequency ICs. These research topics are very crucial and play a significant role in bolstering the leading position of the United States in research and development related to wireless communication, information technology, and IC design, which will strengthen our country's defense and security. State-of-the-Art research instrumentation is essential. This instrumentation will enable precise characterization of devices and circuits to understand their behavior in order to be able to successfully design new classes of ultra-low-power BAN sensors ICs that are adaptable to dynamic changes based on body movements or environmental changes for Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) applications. This will further significantly aid faculty and students to conduct fundamental research, which will directly benefit the research community from the tests and analysis enabled by the probe station equipment. In addition to facilitating cutting-edge research, this probe station will provide a variety of undergraduate and graduate students the ability to be trained on state-of-the-art industry-standard equipment, affording them a tremendous competitive advantage in the job market. The system offer broad opportunities for general Electromagnetics, Computer Communication Networks, Biomedical Engineering, and Material Characterization Research.