December 12, 2012

Director's Greetings: Welcome to a New Research Group for Analog and RF IC and Antenna Research

Welcome to the first newsletter of MICS (multifuctional integrated circuits and systems) group. The MICS group with four faculty members (Dong Ha, Kwang-Jin Koh, Majid Manteghi, and Sanjay Raman) was created officially on September 28, 2012. It is indeed exciting to start a new research group focusing on analog and RF ICs and antennas.

Analog IC Lab: The research thrust of analog IC lab is analog and mixed-signal IC design and system prototyping. Current research activities include energy harvesting, a wireless motion sensor for fall prevention, high speed fiber optic communications, and power line communications. The analog IC lab designs and favricates test chips and prototypes systems with off-the-shelf components as well as our own chips.

AntennaLab: The research thrust of antenna lab is antenna and feeding network theory, design, prototyping, and measurement. Current research activities include but not limited to: electromagnetics theory, ultra-wideband and impulse radiating antennas, electrically small antennas, nonlinear time-variant antennas, reconfigurable antennas, phased arrays, wireless power transfer, space-time-frequency target identification techniques, conventional and chipless RFID.

RF IC Lab: The research thrust of RF lab is integrated circuits and systems design for wireless and wireline communications ranging from RF to microwave, millimeter-wave and sub-millimeter wave frequency regimes. Recent research efforts include integrated radar systems on a silicon chip for passive and active imaging and remote sensing applications. We are also pursuing digitally-enhanced RF design techniques to improve performance, power efficiency, and multi-functionality.

The MICS Group curretnly has three separate labs, antenna lab, analog IC lab, and RF IC lab, located in Whittemore fourth and sixth floors. The ECE Department has allocated a new lab space of 1400 square feet to MICS to establish a large contiguous measurement lab in the fourth floor of Whittemore Hall.

Read More

Research Trend: Research Trend and Technical Challenges on Samll Scale Energy Harvesting

Harvesting small scale energy from otherwise wasted ambient energy sources has attracted immense research efforts for applications such as wireless sensor networks for environmental and habitat monitoring, implantable devices and biosensors, nano-robotics, and micro-electromechanical systems. Replacing or recharging betteries from those applications is incovenient, expensive, or impractical. Energy harvesting from ambient sources offers a promising solution to the problem.

Read More

Inaugural MICS Day was Held Successfully on September 28, 2012

The MICS group held inaugural "MICS Day" with industry guests, VT faculty, and MICS students and faculty on September 28, 2012, and the formation of the MICS group was annouced officially at the event.

Read More

MICS Holds Bi-Weekly Seminars

The MICS group has started bi-weekly seminars from Fall 2012. MICS seminars intend to disseminate research findings of MICS research group and keep abreast of new research trends and technologies. MICS students and faculty, ECE graduate students, and ECE faculty members are invited to MICS seminars.

Read More

Industry Affliated Program: Lockheed Martin becomes the first Industry Affilicated member

Lockheed Martin (LM) becomes the first member of the MICS Industry Affiliated Program (IAP). The IAP will ebable LM and MICS to develop a long term comprehensive technology program to benefit both parties.

MICS, in partnership with ECE faculty members, offers a series of advanced course sequences for students in a circuits and systems track and an antenna track in addition to core courses on circuit design and microwave engineering. These curricula are especially tailored to the interests and needs of both graduate students and industry. We are currently developing and planning to offer more advanced analog and mixed-mode IC design courses in the upcoming academic year.

Read More

Publications in 2012

In 2012 MICS group has published 9 quality journal papers and 6 conference papers on a broad range of academic spectrum from power electronics; RF, analog and millimeter-wave integrated circuits; MEMS and packaging; antenna and optical technology. Abstracts of the journal papers are provided in the following link.