2019-847 A Battery-Less Wirelessly Powered Frequency-Swept Spectroscopy Sensor

SUMMARY

UCLA researchers in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering have developed a wirelessly powered frequency-swept spectroscopy sensor.

BACKGROUND

Wireless power transfer is in increasing demand as the development of network sensors and bio-implantable devices gain popularity. Integration of a vast network of sensors with miniaturized sensor nodes is essential to power minimally intrusive medical implants. Among current energy sources, far-field electromagnetic radiation performs better than near field inductive coupling due to larger operating distances and less path loss. However, large external antennas are needed by far-field RFID which can easily exceed 10 cm2 in area, and cause interference from TX to RX. A far-field RFID systems with reduced size and improved performance is highly needed.

INNOVATION

UCLA researchers have developed a fully integrated wirelessly powered microchip with a small footprint of 2.47mm2. The chip includes an energy-harvesting front-end, a power management unit, a super-harmonic injection-locked oscillator, and on-chip receiving and transmitting antennas. The chip was successfully developed and achieved a maximum operating distance of 8cm, a 22% locking range from 4 to 5GHz, and a phase noise of -93dBc/Hz at 100Hz offset. The large locking range allowed for spectroscopy measurements on a variety of materials and fluids.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

  • Medical implants: detection of bleeding, body fluidic, cancerous tissue, etc.
  • Industrial monitoring: detection of corrosion, crack, or change in the dielectric.
  • Consumer electronics: fingerprint detection, touch sensors, objects identification, etc.

ADVANTAGES

  • Extended operating distance
  • Enhanced sensitivity
  • Reduced power consumptions from the duty cycle mode
  • Large locking range

RELATED MATERIALS 

STATE OF DEVELOPMENT

Device prototyped and characterized. Proof-of-concept spectroscopy measurements performed on various materials and fluids.

Patent Information:
For More Information:
Nikolaus Traitler
Business Development Officer (BDO)
nick.traitler@tdg.ucla.edu
Inventors:
Aydin Babakhani