Integrated 64 pixel UV image sensor and readout in a silicon carbide CMOS technology.

This work demonstrates the first on-chip UV optoelectronic integration in 4H-SiC CMOS, which includes an image sensor with 64 active pixels and a total of 1263 transistors on a 100 mm2 chip. The reported image sensor offers serial digital, analog, and 2-bit ADC outputs and operates at 0.39 Hz with a maximum power consumption of 60 µW, which are significant improvements over previous reports. UV optoelectronics have applications in flame detection, satellites, astronomy, UV photography, and healthcare. The complexity of this optoelectronic system paves the way for new applications such harsh environment microcontrollers.

High-resolution MEMS inertial sensor combining large-displacement buckling behaviour with integrated capacitive readout.

Commercially available gravimeters and seismometers can be used for measuring Earth's acceleration at resolution levels in the order of ng ∕ Hz (where g represents earth's gravity) but they are typically high-cost and bulky. In this work the design of a bulk micromachined MEMS device exploiting non-linear buckling behaviour is described, aiming for ng ∕ Hz resolution by maximising mechanical and capacitive sensitivity. High mechanical sensitivity is obtained through low structural stiffness. Near-zero stiffness is achieved through geometric design and large deformation into a region where the mechanism is statically balanced or neutrally stable. Moreover, the device has an integrated capacitive comb transducer and makes use of a high-resolution impedance readout ASIC. The sensitivity from displacement to a change in capacitance was maximised within the design and process boundaries given, by making use of a trench isolation technique and exploiting the large-displacement behaviour of the device. The measurement results demonstrate that the resonance frequency can be tuned from 8.7 Hz-18.7 Hz, depending on the process parameters and the tilt of the device. In this system, which combines an integrated capacitive transducer with a sensitivity of 2.55 aF/nm and an impedance readout chip, the theoretically achievable system resolution equals 17.02 ng ∕ Hz . The small size of the device and the use of integrated readout electronics allow for a wide range of practical applications for data collection aimed at the internet of things.