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MCP N

anos

cale

IC D

evel

oper

s

Senio

r Des

ign E

xpo

04/27/2

012

Kenneth CorbettEndowment

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Problem Definition

Design an optical communication Integrated Circuit (IC) chip that will allow full-duplex transmission of wireless data at a bandwidth of 100kbit/s over a distance of several meters using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) interface.

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MCP Nano Design Team

Undergraduate Seniors pursuing a B.S.E.E.

Markus Geiger

Chris Goodale

Pin-Jen Wang

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Consulting Faculty

Consulting Faculty

Dr. Ken Noren Dr. Suat Ay

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Presentation Outline

Product applications Technical constraints and design goals Simplified block diagram General design considerations Major design decisions Integrated Circuit Design FPGA interface Final Product Demonstration platform Specifications Project cost Future work References

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Product Viability & Applications

Directional, highly secure wireless transmission Control/monitor sensitive

information/infrastructure eg. wireless traffic monitoring, wireless money transfer via cellphone, etc.

Alternative to WiFi (Wireless Fidelity), which is based on the IEEE 802.11 standard Electro Magnetic (EM) safe Unregulated wireless spectrum

Wireless sensor networks

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Transmitter (TX) requirements▪ Pdp_max = 500mW▪ V_bias = 1.5V (+/- 100mV)

Receiver (RX) requirements▪ Pdp_typ = 100mW▪ V_bias = -5V

Transmission distance through air▪ limited by power output of light-emitting

diode (LED) and beam half angle▪ Power decreases through air with

Technical Constraints

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Design Goals

Preliminary Specifications: 100kbit/s signal transmission Range of 2+ meters Custom transmission protocol Total power dissipation of TX circuitry <

500mW Total power dissipation of RX circuitry <

10mW 5V single-ended power supply

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Simplified Block Diagram

Light emitting element

(transmitter)

Photo sensitive element

(receiver)

use

r in

terf

ace

High gain trans

impedance amplifier

(TIA)

Comparator to

digitize the signal

Decoder that processes

binary input according to a communication

standard

Common Drain amplifier to provide sufficient

current

Encoder that processes the

received signal

FPGA MCPnano Transceiver IC

Free

space

Use

r

Receiver

Transmitter

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General Design Considerations Off the shelf components

LED to transmit data (IR or visible light) Photo-diode to receive data (PIN or Avalanche)

MCPnano Integrated Circuit (IC) Design Amplifier / Comparator stages for the receiver

circuit Transmitter circuitry consisting of repeaters and

FET System integration/interface with FPGA

Connectivity/User-interface Encoding/Decoding schemes

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Decisions: LED

INFRARED (IR) LEDVISIBLE LIGHT LED

Wavelength: 390nm to 780nm

Very susceptible to interference from ambient light (need for a versatile filter system & noise cancellation system)

May use solid-state lighting (more compact system, ease of deployment)

Wavelength: 780 nm to 950 nm

limits interference due to ambient light

Need for separate transmission circuitry

Vishay High Speed IR LED 890nm:

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fff

Decisions: Receiver

PHOTO TRANSISTOR

PIN PHOTO-DIODE

Slow response time (~500ns+ rise & fall)

Not feasible for our com. System

Inherent gain of the NPN transistor

Low cost (50c/piece)

AVALANCHE PHOTO-DIODE

Fast rise/fall times (5 to 50ns typ.)

5V typ. rev. bias

Low cost (eg. 50c/piece)

Osram Photo diode 900nm

Fast rise/fall times (1ns typ.)

Highly sensitive High gain (self

multiplication ‘avalanche’ mechanism)

40V typ. rev. bias

High cost ($50+/piece)

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Spectral Response Matching

PIN PHOTODIODE IR LED

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Integrated Circuit (IC) design

Design environment: Cadence 6.1.5 Process: ONSemi’s 0.5mm process

(C5) Tapeout Date: November 28th, 2011 Cost:$960 IC Design Effort

Receiver design (TIA, comparator) Transmitter design (LED driver)

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IC Design considerations

Bias voltages to be set externally (adjustability) Allows use of different diodes Debugging

Feedback resistor/potentiometer located off chip impractical to implement 5MOhm resistor on-chip Flexibility, various distances possible

Reference current set through off-chip variable resistor (adjustable gain of opamp if needed)

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Integrated Circuit (IC) Schematic

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Integrated Circuit (IC) Micrograph

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Dual Inline Package (DIP-40)

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FPGA interface

Custom VHDL code that implements the following protocol

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BASYS2 FPGA board

Special Thanks to Dr. James Frenzel (aka Dr. J) for supplying us with two Digilent BASYS2 boards

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Final Product

back front

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Demonstration platform

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Transmission of letter A (“00011100”)

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Specifications

Specifications: 100kbit/s signal transmission Maximum range of 3 meters Custom transmission protocol (FPGA in

VHDL) Total power dissipation of TX < 500mW Total power dissipation of RX < 10mW 5V single-ended power supply (battery

pack)

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Project Deliverables

Compact IC transceiver unit on a PCB Datasheet/Documentation of

transceiver TX: LED RX: Photo-diode IC: TIA, Comparator, LED driver Discrete level shifter Custom Communication Protocol (VHDL)

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Budget Breakdown

Parts   $ 180.00

Fabrication and packaging – 20 parts (11/28/11)   $ 960.00

Poster for presentation   $ 100.00

Total cost $ 1,240.00

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Future work

Incorporate the transmission protocol (using shift registers, etc.) onto the Integrated Circuit VHDL description may be used to create

the layout using automated place & route tools

Improve the comparator design on the IC (accomplish hysteresis)

Design for higher speed transmission (500kbit/s +)

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Reference Information

FSO applications / outlook into the future http://

www.bu.edu/smartlighting/files/pdf/May808_slides_Little_FSO_Commun1.pdf

IR vs. RF https://www.audiolinks.com/articles/rfvsir/

Vishay High Speed IR LED 890nm: http

://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=%2fjqivxn91cfAnyW9i5Zlpg%3d%3d

Osram Photo diode 900nm: http

://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Osram-Opto-Semiconductor/SFH-2500-FA-Z/?qs=K5ta8V%252bWhtarQtPwL45qKw%3d%3d