Body Dust: Remote Powering of Drinkable CMOS Diagnostics

**** Master Project ****

 

Contact: Dr. MER Sandro Carrara, Senior Scientist, EPFL-IC-IINFCOM-LSI
                Prof. Ralph Etienne-Cummings, Professor, Johns Hopkins University


This master project will be conducted in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD

 

In recent years, nanostructured microelectrode arrays have been shown to enhance the sensitivity of electrochemical techniques. Along this pathway, the next step is to investigate the limits imposed by extreme smaller sizes of a body dust for diagnostics: kind of drinkable CMOS electronics capable to sense from inside the human’ body and provide telemetry of his main metabolic parameters. Of course, in the micro-size, no batteries are allowed on board of the CMOS electronics. Therefore, smart and extremely miniaturized coils have to be developed in order to provide power to the CMOS circuits.

Goal of the project is the design and simulation of series optimum geometries of micro-coils into silicon substrates for the fabrication of CMOS sensing biochip with so small sizes to envisage the possibility to drink them for in-vivo metabolism monitoring.

Project Tasks

  • Design of micro-coils embedded in silicon substrate with the CMOS technology in order to investigate limits and features of possible coil geometries
  • Simulation of the performance of the different designed geometries of CMOS coils with the email to check the performance in receiving power.
  • Critical evaluation of the micro-coils performance by simulations with the goal to estimate the minimum possible coil size that allow the remote powering of drinkable electronics in deep regions of the human’ body.

Eligibility Requirements

  • Basic knowledge on CADENCE design and simulations
  • Basic knowledge of lithography and microfabrication
  • Interest and motivation