Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Mixed-signal approach to integrated circuit (IC) design, where digital and analog logic share the same semiconductor die and seamlessly work together, has been employed by both industry and academia for a number of years now. In recent years, however, the main focus of mixed-signal IC research and development has shifted towards architectures and systems inspired by biological organisms and biomedical applications, where the traditional telecommunication circuitry, which is providing data-link path, now represents minority within the overall system. Moreover, either internal IC functions are being implemented and optimized so that operations of biological organisms are being mimicked, or the overall IC specifications are targeted for applications related to, for example, medical implants and biomedical research. Some of IC specifications which are nowadays assumed, include ultra-low-power of operation, small physical dimensions and self-power capability, for example by means of power scavenging or wireless power transfer. Research being proposed deals specifically with mixed-signal integrated circuit theory, design and implementation issues which are overlapping with other disciplines such as biomedical engineering, physics, robotics, earth and space sciences. Emerging fields such as neuroprosthetic and brain-computer interface (BCI), bionics and genetic algorithms, with support of material sciences, such as nanotechnology, open a large number of possibilities for interdisciplinary research and further advances of science. It is goal of this research to further explore the novel possibilities at the borderlines between the field of integrated circuit design and the above fields. The objective is to contribute to improvements in electronic systems which are meant to enhance human lives and well-being in general.