In our envisioned "Chang's Next Paradigm of New Space", Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) systems (embodying multiple COTS ICs, vis-a-vis individual COTS ICs) are employed in space applications. As the majority of COTS ICs are susceptible to radiation effects, particularly MicroSingle-Event-Latchups (mu- SELs) and SELs, COTS systems are likewise vulnerable. We had proposed a protection means involving the deployment of an AI-based mu-SEL/SEL detection on the input power rail (external to the COTS system) - hence, without needing physical modification to the COTS system. However, the input power rail's R/C/L configuration, which varies across different COTS systems, obscures mu-SEL/SEL characteristics, thereby degrading detection accuracy. In this paper, we propose an improved AI-based mu-SEL/SEL detection approach that integrates R/C/L- aware data augmentation and temporal feature extraction to improve its robustness against R/C/L-induced distortions. We achieve high (86.6%) detection accuracy across different R/C/L configurations - improving by 23.4%-73.5% over prior works. Our proposed approach is hence appropriate for space applications, facilitating our said envisioned "Chang's Next Paradigm of New Space".
This paper presents the development and validation of a compact point-of-care (POC) device that integrates homogeneous heating with fluorescence-based detection for loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) on microfluidic platforms for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). A copper thinfilm microheater controlled by a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) algorithm enables rapid heating to 65 degrees C within one minute and maintains thermal stability within +/- 1 degrees C over an hourlong period. Thermal imaging and histogram analysis confirm temperature uniformity, with over 97.6% of readings falling within 64.5-65.5 degrees C, and the system demonstrates rapid recovery when a microfluidic thermal load is applied. The fluorescence detection module, using AS7343 spectral sensors and blue light-emitting diodes (LED) for excitation, was evaluated using LAMP mixes of two gene targets, gyrA and atpE for M. tuberculosis. Fluorescence readings effectively distinguished positive and negative samples using a threshold of 469 relative fluorescence units (RFUs). The results closely match those obtained using agarose gel electrophoresis and ultraviolet (UV)-based visual inspection. By combining precise thermal control and fluorescence detection on a single electronics platform, this system offers a streamlined solution for accurate, low-cost molecular diagnostics in resource-limited or field-based settings.
This paper presents the design and measurement results for a wideband SiGe front-end module operating from 24.25 GHz to 30.5 GHz, which integrates a passive phase shifter (PS), a variable gain and phase-inversion amplifier (VGA) with low impedance and minimal phase variation, and a linear power amplifier (PA) designed for beamforming systems. The PS with the VGA provides a full 360 degrees tuning with a resolution of 5.6 degrees, while the gain control spans 17 dB in 0.5 dB increments. Measurements present a maximum gain of 27 dB, P-sat of 21 dBm, PAE(max) of 31.2% at 27 GHz. Developed with 130nm SiGe BiCMOS technology, the circuit occupies an area of 0.53mm(2) excluding pads.
This paper presents a novel adaptive equalization system integrated into the phase detector of a clock and data recovery (CDR) circuit to reduce hardware complexity. The proposed inter-symbol-interference (ISI) detector extracts equalization feedback directly from the bang-bang phase detector (BBPD) using simple bit-level logic, eliminating the need for conventional adaptation. A hybrid half-rate BBPD enables high-speed operation, while a current-mode capacitance multiplication technique reduces the filter area. The design is fabricated by TSMC 90 nm (TN90GUTM) 1P9M CMOS process with a 1.0 V supply. Operating at 5 Gb/s, the CDR achieves a 2.5 GHz recovered clock with 15.56 ps peak-to-peak jitter and 2.27 ps RMS jitter. The total power consumption is 21.9 mW, with 15.1 mW for the CDR and 6.8 mW for the adaptive equalizer (EQ). The chip area is 1.38 mm(2), and the core area is only 0.13 mm(2). This architecture achieves a compact, low-power, area-efficient solution suitable for high-speed serial receiver (Rx) and can be widely applied to channel loss conditions ranging from 0 dB to 18 dB.
Automated optimization of operational amplifiers is a complex task that demands efficient methods. This paper presents a compact, open-source reinforcement learning approach for op-amp optimization within the IHP SG13G2 process. Our approach adopts and compares the TD3 and SAC algorithms against DDPG, showcasing more reliable learning and faster progression. Using a compact MLP rather than a GNN for the agent reduces complexity and computing effort, while still achieving competitive results. The proposed framework makes use of the gm/Id design method as the primary state input for the RL agent, thereby effectively embedding well-known analog design principles to improve guidance. We also apply online normalization to the agent inputs, thus enhancing stability and significantly reducing the initial random search phase. Reward functions are specifically designed to address op-amp performance metrics. Findings from an experimental folded-cascode optimization study demonstrate that, compared to DDPG-based methods, convergence is rapid and learning rates are stable. Compared to prior GNN-based RL approaches, our lightweight framework offers improved usability, reproducibility, and accessibility as an open-source tool.
