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Low-noise current and charge sensing circuits are pivotal in a large variety of biomedical instruments, spanning from electrochemical biosensors to photodetectors for visible and gamma radiation. In this tutorial, the common electronic design challenges and guidelines will be discussed, for circuits detecting charge and current, with special focus on front-end CMOS ASICs. Key aspects of the signal readout chain will be discussed spanning from the front-end to the back-end processing for charge, current and impedance sensing. Applicative examples will focus on diagnostics, both from the (apparently opposite) perspectives of electrochemical nano-biosensors, leveraging molecular affinity (miniaturized and integrated with lab-on-chip microfluidics), monitoring single cells, as well as up to hospital-based scanners for multi-modal medical imaging.
Keywords: Impedance, low-noise, analog electronics, charge detection, lab-on-chip, bio-sensors.
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Design of experiments (DOE) is an approach to experimental work that aims to produce the best predictions in the most economical way.
The world is noisy and multifactorial. Experiments are necessary to assess reality. But experiments can have a high cost in terms of time, delay and resources. A trade-off between costs and benefits of the experimental campaign must be done. Based on statistics, DOE offers tools for academic and industrial research. It ensures that the quality of the data is adequate to answer the experimenter’s questions.
The presentation shows with two examples how DOE is implemented and the type of insight it can bring.
Keywords: Design of experiments, fractional factorial design, Plackett-Burman design, experimental variance, empirical modeling, factor interactions
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In this tutorial, the technique of impedance and dielectric spectroscopy will be described in the simplest possible terms. It will begin by describing the expected responses for the real and imaginary impedance of a wide range of material and device types. Then the conversion to three other formalisms known as admittance, electric modulus and permittivity will be used to demonstrate the detailed information that is often hidden inside of the partially analyzed data. Examples will be provided that will help not only understand the physical processes that are happening inside of the material/device but also develop an understanding of how to control the outcome. Examples ranging from materials used in insulating layers in integrated circuits and packaging materials to highly conducting materials used in solar cells and batteries will be provided. It will be shown that it is possible to relate the spectra obtained to the presence of certain key responses: charge storage, electronic conduction, surface adsorption, switching phenomena and many others. Complementary techniques that are used to corroborate the physical assignments will also be included. The tutorial will end with examples that demonstrate that this technique is exceptionally good for establishing quality control in a production environment and/or to assess service life of electronic and non-electronic components in a non-destructive way.
Keywords: dielectric spectroscopy, impedance, ieee, ims, tutorials, education, rosario gerhardt
Heartrate monitors are becoming ubiquitous and are being used by both athletes and the general public to keep track of their health. Heartrate monitors are just an example of the wearables currently available to the public; other examples include oxygen saturation monitors, activity monitors, and muscle activity monitors. Wearables are typically not used in a controlled environment; therefore, the quality of the collected signals might be questionable. Even in a controlled environment such as a hospital, deterioration in the quality of the collected signals can lead to false alarm and reduction in the quality of patient care. As the signals are used to inform users about their health, it is imperative that the signals are of acceptable quality. Signal Quality is the field of identifying and improving the quality of collected signals. Signal Quality can be divided into four categories: 1) detection; 2) identification; 3) quantification; and 4) mitigation. Detection is the acknowledgement of the presence of noise in the signal. Identification is the determination of the type of noise. Quantification is the estimation of the level of the noise. Mitigation is the reduction of the noise through noise removal techniques. This tutorial will provide a high-level overview of the different techniques in each of the Signal Quality categories.
Keywords: wearables, hospital, mohamed abdelazez, ieee, ims, signal quality, tutorials, education
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Among various industrial tomography modalities, electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) is the most mature and has been used for many challenging applications. ECT is based on measuring very small capacitance from a multi-electrode sensor and reconstructing the permittivity distribution in a cross section of an industrial process. Compared with other tomography modalities, ECT has several advantages: no radioactive, fast response, both non-intrusive and non-invasive, withstanding high temperature and high pressure and of low-cost. Because of very small capacitance to be measured (much smaller than 1 pF) and the “soft-field” nature, ECT does present challenges in capacitance measurement and solving the inverse problem. The latest AC-based ECT system can generate online images typically at 100 frames per second with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 73 dB. Examples of industrial applications include gas/oil/water flows, wet gas separation, pneumatic conveyors, cyclone separators, pharmaceutical fluidised beds, and clean use of coal by circulating fluidised bed combustion and methanol-to-olefins conversion. During this tutorial, ECT is discussed from principle to industrial applications, together with demonstration of an AC-based ECT system.
Keywords: electrical, capacitance, tomography, ieee, ims, wugiang yang, tutorials, education, applications
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This tutorial aims at revisiting the very basic concept of the measurement of magnetic behavior and magnetic permeability, as well as at providing a discussion towards possible novel magnetic materials, even with very unusual arbitrary B-H relationships. Starting from the spatial averaging of unobservable microscopic fields and the identification of the observable macroscopic fields as introduced by Lorentz, the measurement of the magnetic permeability in composite materials is discussed from its basic definition. Particular composite resonator structures are considered and it is shown how they can exhibit even negative magnetic permeability values even at industrial frequencies.
Keywords: magnetism, composite, materials, ieee, ims, bernardo tellini, measurement, tutorials, education
Autonomous systems are nowadays having an undisputed pervasiveness in the modern society. Autonomous driving cars as well as applications of service robots (e.g. cleaning robots, companion robots, intelligent healthcare solutions, tour guided systems) are becoming more and more popular and a general acceptance is now developing around such systems in the modern societies. Nonetheless, one of the major problems in building such applications relies on the capability of autonomous systems to understand their surroundings and then plan proper counteractions. The most popular solutions, which are gaining more and more attention, rely on artificial intelligence and deep learning as a means to understand the structured and complex natural environment. Nonetheless, besides the importance of such complex tools, classical concept of metrology, such as uncertainty and precision, are still unavoidable to a clear and effective application of modern autonomous systems applications.
In this tutorial, some measurement concepts will be revised in light of the autonomous systems domain. In particular, we will cover the main concepts of the statistical approach to measurements that will then be applied to:
Keywords: electrical, capacitance, tomography, ieee, ims, wuqiang yang, tutorials, education, applications
