Artificial intelligence developments are set to fundamentally transform mobility, whether it is mobility of weapon payloads, supply deliveries, urban commuters, warehouse goods, delivery packages, or intercontinental bulk shipments.

Enhancing the performance of GeSn p-i-n photodiodes using gold metal nanostructures.

The goal of this research project was to advance the science and technology of silicon-based photonic devices using SiGeSn heterostructures. Such devices work in mid-IR spectral range and form the foundation for mid-IR photonics that enable on-chip systems for applications ranging from vibrational spectroscopy, chem/bio sensing, medical/health uses, to environmental monitoring. This project was mostly directed toward improving GeSn detectors with the use of surface plasmons induced by carefully designed metal nanostructures. The goal was to replace the current mid-IR detectors that are usually photodiodes made from narrow bandgap III-V or II-VI semiconductor compounds such as InGaAs, InSb, HgCdTe (MCT) or type-II In-GaAs/InGaSb superlattice. These photodiodes are incompatible with the CMOS process and cannot be easily integrated with Si electronics. The GeSn mid-IR detectors developed in this project are fully compatible with the CMOS process.

The purpose of this research was to investigate non-volatile memory device technologies that could be applied to reconfigurable electronics applications to provide power reduction, radiation tolerance, smaller size, and improved reliability over existing non-volatile memory devices. The research encompasses: 1) materials and device design, and 2) fabrication and testing of the devices. The types of memory devices that were investigated are divided into three categories:

FPGAs have become an increasingly important resource for software radio systems. Programmable logic technology now offers significant advantages for implementing software radio functions such as DDCs (Digital Downconverters). Over the past few years, the functions associated with DDCs have seen a shift from being delivered in ASICs (Application-Specific ICs) to operating as IP (Intellectual Property) in FPGAs.

Mouser Electronics, Inc. (Mansfield, TX) is now stocking the MSP432 mixed-signal microcontrollers from Texas Instruments (TI). TI’s MSP432 microcontrollers are based on a powerful, 32-bit ARM® Cortex®‑M4F core with a floating point unit and memory protection management. The microcontroller includes two 16-bit timers, four 32-bit timers, and a 14-bit analog to digital converter (ADC) that converts at 1MSPS. The microcontroller also boasts four high-drive input and output (I/O) pins that can support up to 20mA. The microcontrollers support capacitive touch capability, as well as digital glitch filtering on some I/O pins.

Various research firms forecast the market for portable medical devices to be somewhere around the $20 billion-range within the next several years. Part of the increased demand is due to an aging population with more chronic conditions. These smaller portable units requires devices with smaller footprints. By the same token, smaller devices need to provide adequate levels of care to ensure patient safety and comfort. Thus, functionality cannot be sacrificed for space.