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Smart Sensor Interface Circuits and Systems
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Smart Sensor Interface Circuits and Systems

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Physical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2016) | Viewed by 51978

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Pak Kwong Chan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
Interests: sensor interface ICs; smart sensor systems; low-energy low-noise circuit design; sensor power management ICs; PVT-insensitive circuits and systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Holden King-Ho Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
Interests: MEMS sensors; MOEMS sensors; CMOS-MEMS integration; sensor reliability and long term performance; sensor design for manufacturability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Smart Sensors and Internet-of-Things (IoT) are the key driving forces that push sensor interface circuits and systems to address smart functions, as well as to overcome the potential obstacles arising from specific specifications, applications, and/or technologies. An interface sensor system may include smart power management unit, flexible or adaptable front-end interface architectures, performance-aware circuit design for intelligent readout circuits, cost-effective signal-condoning circuits and digital interfaces, energy-aware wireless communication block, and so on. On top of that, other performance metrics, such as low energy, low noise, low voltage, small area, and high signal-to-noise become the usual sensor circuit agenda items. In addition, the employment of advanced nanometer CMOS technologies for sensor circuits has caused a significant paradigm shift on the circuit-design approach against non-idealities, such as leakage current, finite output resistance of devices, process-supply-temperature (PVT) variations, reliability, and so on. All of these design concerns impose severe design challenges on designers or researchers in the emerging field. The objective of this Special Issue is to explore the potential solutions to tackle the stated issues or problems in smart sensor interface circuits and systems.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Application-specific readout circuits
  • Reconfigurable sensor architectures
  • Smart design techniques for sensing building blocks
  • Sensor power management
  • Low-voltage, low-energy circuit design techniques for sensors
  • Small-area circuits for sensors
  • Variation-aware circuits for sensors
  • Smart energy harvesting electronics
  • Application-specific data converters
  • Low-energy wireless communication circuits and systems
  • Sensory system-on-chip

Smart Interface Circuits and Systems is a popular topic in the field of sensor research. This Special Issue aims to highlight the recent advances in developments. Both review articles and original research articles are welcome. Review articles should provide an overview and up-to-date information. Research articles should address the originality, as well as practical aspects and implementation, of the work to the field.

Dr. Pak Kwong Chan
Dr. Holden King-Ho Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Sensor Interfaces
  • Sensor Transducers
  • Readout Circuits
  • Smart Sensory Systems
  • Power Management
  • Systems-on-Chips
  • PVT-Insensitive Circuits
  • Low-Energy Low-Voltage Sensor Circuits
  • Data Converters
  • Wireless Communication Circuits

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

7394 KiB  
Article
A 11 mW 2.4 GHz 0.18 µm CMOS Transceivers for Wireless Sensor Networks
by Bing Hou, Hua Chen, Zhiyu Wang, Jiongjiong Mo, Junli Chen, Faxin Yu and Wenbo Wang
Sensors 2017, 17(2), 223; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17020223 - 24 Jan 2017
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 6096
Abstract
In this paper, a low power transceiver for wireless sensor networks (WSN) is proposed. The system is designed with fully functional blocks including a receiver, a fractional-N frequency synthesizer, and a class-E transmitter, and it is optimized with a good balance among output [...] Read more.
In this paper, a low power transceiver for wireless sensor networks (WSN) is proposed. The system is designed with fully functional blocks including a receiver, a fractional-N frequency synthesizer, and a class-E transmitter, and it is optimized with a good balance among output power, sensitivity, power consumption, and silicon area. A transmitter and receiver (TX-RX) shared input-output matching network is used so that only one off-chip inductor is needed in the system. The power and area efficiency-oriented, fully-integrated frequency synthesizer is able to provide programmable output frequencies in the 2.4 GHz range while occupying a small silicon area. Implemented in a standard 0.18 μm RF Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology, the whole transceiver occupies a chip area of 0.5 mm2 (1.2 mm2 including bonding pads for a QFN package). Measurement results suggest that the design is able to work at amplitude shift keying (ASK)/on-off-keying (OOK) and FSK modes with up to 500 kbps data rate. With an input sensitivity of −60 dBm and an output power of 3 dBm, the receiver, transmitter and frequency synthesizer consumes 2.3 mW, 4.8 mW, and 3.9 mW from a 1.8 V supply voltage, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Sensor Interface Circuits and Systems)
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2984 KiB  
Article
A Low Power Low Phase Noise Oscillator for MICS Transceivers
by Dawei Li, Dongsheng Liu, Chaojian Kang and Xuecheng Zou
Sensors 2017, 17(1), 140; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17010140 - 12 Jan 2017
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 7325
Abstract
A low-power, low-phase-noise quadrature oscillator for Medical Implantable Communications Service (MICS) transceivers is presented. The proposed quadrature oscillator generates 349~689 MHz I/Q (In-phase and Quadrature) signals covering the MICS band. The oscillator is based on a differential pair with positive feedback. Each delay [...] Read more.
A low-power, low-phase-noise quadrature oscillator for Medical Implantable Communications Service (MICS) transceivers is presented. The proposed quadrature oscillator generates 349~689 MHz I/Q (In-phase and Quadrature) signals covering the MICS band. The oscillator is based on a differential pair with positive feedback. Each delay cell consists of a few transistors enabling lower voltage operation. Since the oscillator is very sensitive to disturbances in the supply voltage and ground, a self-bias circuit for isolating the voltage disturbance is proposed to achieve bias voltages which can track the disturbances from the supply and ground. The oscillation frequency, which is controlled by the bias voltages, is less sensitive to the supply and ground noise, and a low phase noise is achieved. The chip is fabricated in the UMC (United Microelectronics Corporation) 0.18 μm CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) process; the core just occupies a 28.5 × 22 μm2 area. The measured phase noise is −108.45 dBc/Hz at a 1 MHz offset with a center frequency of 540 MHz. The gain of the oscillator is 0.309 MHz/mV with a control voltage from 0 V to 1.1 V. The circuit can work with a supply voltage as low as 1.2 V and the power consumption is only 0.46 mW at a 1.8 V supply voltage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Sensor Interface Circuits and Systems)
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4606 KiB  
Article
A Wirelessly Powered Smart Contact Lens with Reconfigurable Wide Range and Tunable Sensitivity Sensor Readout Circuitry
by Jin-Chern Chiou, Shun-Hsi Hsu, Yu-Chieh Huang, Guan-Ting Yeh, Wei-Ting Liou and Cheng-Kai Kuei
Sensors 2017, 17(1), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/s17010108 - 7 Jan 2017
Cited by 53 | Viewed by 13034
Abstract
This study presented a wireless smart contact lens system that was composed of a reconfigurable capacitive sensor interface circuitry and wirelessly powered radio-frequency identification (RFID) addressable system for sensor control and data communication. In order to improve compliance and reduce user discomfort, a [...] Read more.
This study presented a wireless smart contact lens system that was composed of a reconfigurable capacitive sensor interface circuitry and wirelessly powered radio-frequency identification (RFID) addressable system for sensor control and data communication. In order to improve compliance and reduce user discomfort, a capacitive sensor was embedded on a soft contact lens of 200 μm thickness using commercially available bio-compatible lens material and a standard manufacturing process. The results indicated that the reconfigurable sensor interface achieved sensitivity and baseline tuning up to 120 pF while consuming only 110 μW power. The range and sensitivity tuning of the readout circuitry ensured a reliable operation with respect to sensor fabrication variations and independent calibration of the sensor baseline for individuals. The on-chip voltage scaling allowed the further extension of the detection range and prevented the implementation of large on-chip elements. The on-lens system enabled the detection of capacitive variation caused by pressure changes in the range of 2.25 to 30 mmHg and hydration level variation from a distance of 1 cm using incident power from an RFID reader at 26.5 dBm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Sensor Interface Circuits and Systems)
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3143 KiB  
Article
An Improved Zero Potential Circuit for Readout of a Two-Dimensional Resistive Sensor Array
by Jian-Feng Wu, Feng Wang, Qi Wang, Jian-Qing Li and Ai-Guo Song
Sensors 2016, 16(12), 2070; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16122070 - 6 Dec 2016
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5772
Abstract
With one operational amplifier (op-amp) in negative feedback, the traditional zero potential circuit could access one element in the two-dimensional (2-D) resistive sensor array with the shared row-column fashion but it suffered from the crosstalk problem for the non-scanned elements’ bypass currents, which [...] Read more.
With one operational amplifier (op-amp) in negative feedback, the traditional zero potential circuit could access one element in the two-dimensional (2-D) resistive sensor array with the shared row-column fashion but it suffered from the crosstalk problem for the non-scanned elements’ bypass currents, which were injected into array’s non-scanned electrodes from zero potential. Firstly, for suppressing the crosstalk problem, we designed a novel improved zero potential circuit with one more op-amp in negative feedback to sample the total bypass current and calculate the precision resistance of the element being tested (EBT) with it. The improved setting non-scanned-electrode zero potential circuit (S-NSE-ZPC) was given as an example for analyzing and verifying the performance of the improved zero potential circuit. Secondly, in the S-NSE-ZPC and the improved S-NSE-ZPC, the effects of different parameters of the resistive sensor arrays and their readout circuits on the EBT’s measurement accuracy were simulated with the NI Multisim 12. Thirdly, part features of the improved circuit were verified with the experiments of a prototype circuit. Followed, the results were discussed and the conclusions were given. The experiment results show that the improved circuit, though it requires one more op-amp, one more resistor and one more sampling channel, can access the EBT in the 2-D resistive sensor array more accurately. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Sensor Interface Circuits and Systems)
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1773 KiB  
Article
A Multifunctional Sensor in Ternary Solution Using Canonical Correlations for Variable Links Assessment
by Dan Liu, Qisong Wang, Xin Liu, Ruixin Niu, Yan Zhang and Jinwei Sun
Sensors 2016, 16(10), 1661; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16101661 - 21 Oct 2016
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5073
Abstract
Accurately measuring the oil content and salt content of crude oil is very important for both estimating oil reserves and predicting the lifetime of an oil well. There are some problems with the current methods such as high cost, low precision, and difficulties [...] Read more.
Accurately measuring the oil content and salt content of crude oil is very important for both estimating oil reserves and predicting the lifetime of an oil well. There are some problems with the current methods such as high cost, low precision, and difficulties in operation. To solve these problems, we present a multifunctional sensor, which applies, respectively, conductivity method and ultrasound method to measure the contents of oil, water, and salt. Based on cross sensitivity theory, these two transducers are ideally integrated for simplifying the structure. A concentration test of ternary solutions is carried out to testify its effectiveness, and then Canonical Correlation Analysis is applied to evaluate the data. From the perspective of statistics, the sensor inputs, for instance, oil concentration, salt concentration, and temperature, are closely related to its outputs including output voltage and time of flight of ultrasound wave, which further identify the correctness of the sensing theory and the feasibility of the integrated design. Combined with reconstruction algorithms, the sensor can realize the content measurement of the solution precisely. The potential development of the proposed sensor and method in the aspect of online test for crude oil is of important reference and practical value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Sensor Interface Circuits and Systems)
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7734 KiB  
Article
A Readout IC Using Two-Step Fastest Signal Identification for Compact Data Acquisition of PET Systems
by Sung-Jin Jung, Seong-Kwan Hong and Oh-Kyong Kwon
Sensors 2016, 16(10), 1748; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16101748 - 20 Oct 2016
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 6724
Abstract
A readout integrated circuit (ROIC) using two-step fastest signal identification (FSI) is proposed to reduce the number of input channels of a data acquisition (DAQ) block with a high-channel reduction ratio. The two-step FSI enables the proposed ROIC to filter out useless input [...] Read more.
A readout integrated circuit (ROIC) using two-step fastest signal identification (FSI) is proposed to reduce the number of input channels of a data acquisition (DAQ) block with a high-channel reduction ratio. The two-step FSI enables the proposed ROIC to filter out useless input signals that arise from scattering and electrical noise without using complex and bulky circuits. In addition, an asynchronous fastest signal identifier and a self-trimmed comparator are proposed to identify the fastest signal without using a high-frequency clock and to reduce misidentification, respectively. The channel reduction ratio of the proposed ROIC is 16:1 and can be extended to 16 × N:1 using N ROICs. To verify the performance of the two-step FSI, the proposed ROIC was implemented into a gamma photon detector module using a Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode with a lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate array. The measured minimum detectable time is 1 ns. The difference of the measured energy and timing resolution between with and without the two-step FSI are 0.8% and 0.2 ns, respectively, which are negligibly small. These measurement results show that the proposed ROIC using the two-step FSI reduces the number of input channels of the DAQ block without sacrificing the performance of the positron emission tomography (PET) systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Sensor Interface Circuits and Systems)
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2641 KiB  
Article
Portable System for Monitoring the Microclimate in the Footwear-Foot Interface
by José De Jesús Sandoval-Palomares, Javier Yáñez-Mendiola, Alfonso Gómez-Espinosa and José Martin López-Vela
Sensors 2016, 16(7), 1059; https://doi.org/10.3390/s16071059 - 8 Jul 2016
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 6531
Abstract
A new, continuously-monitoring portable device that monitors the diabetic foot has shown to help in reduction of diabetic foot complications. Persons affected by diabetic foot have shown to be particularly sensitive in the plantar surface; this sensitivity coupled with certain ambient conditions may [...] Read more.
A new, continuously-monitoring portable device that monitors the diabetic foot has shown to help in reduction of diabetic foot complications. Persons affected by diabetic foot have shown to be particularly sensitive in the plantar surface; this sensitivity coupled with certain ambient conditions may cause dry skin. This dry skin leads to the formation of fissures that may eventually result in a foot ulceration and subsequent hospitalization. This new device monitors the micro-climate temperature and humidity areas between the insole and sole of the footwear. The monitoring system consists of an array of ten sensors that take readings of relative humidity within the range of 100% ± 2% and temperature within the range of −40 °C to 123.8 ± 0.3 °C. Continuous data is collected using embedded C software and the recorded data is processed in Matlab. This allows for the display of data; the implementation of the iterative Gauss-Newton algorithm method was used to display an exponential response curve. Therefore, the aim of our system is to obtain feedback data and provide the critical information to various footwear manufacturers. The footwear manufactures will utilize this critical information to design and manufacture diabetic footwear that reduce the risk of ulcers in diabetic feet. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Sensor Interface Circuits and Systems)
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