UNIVERSITÀ DI PISA

Radio-Frequency & Microwave Integrated Circuits Laboratory

 

 

 


Research Activities

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If we consider both the past of electromagnetism and electronics, from the perfect formalism of the James Clerk Maxwell`s equations (1873) until to the experiments on fields propagation carried out by Guglielmo Marconi in 1901 and those of Jack Kilby on first integrated circuits in 1958, and the future of next generations of wireless sensor distributed networks, then we realize that the words stated almost four centuries ago by Galileo Galilei resound like surprising truths. As fact of matter, even if the approach to the research is changed during such a long time, in the field of electronics (and perhaps in all the others) it has still to overcome a large number of important scientific frontiers, as well as those economic, social and ethical. The integration of as much as possible devices into the same microchip realized with a low cost technology could be a unifying factor for the success in all the aforementioned future challenges.
 

Topics

 

Our research activity is focused on two fields of interest:

 

1. radio-frequency (RFIC) and monolithic microwave (MMIC) integrated circuits on standard silicon technologies (SiGe-CMOS and CMOS);

 

2. microwave integrated circuits (MIC).

 

As far as RFIC and MMIC are concerned, the most efforts are oriented toward the realization of fully integrated solutions according to two different directions: low-power and high-frequency front-ends. As for the former, we are focused on low-power radio design for radio-frequency identification devices (RFID), wireless personal area (WPAN) and sensor networks applications. As for the latter, we are focused on millimiter-wave front-end design for high data-rate WLANs, radiometry for civil and environmental safeguard, UWB short-range radar for automotive and medical applications. As far as MIC is concerned, we are mainly applied on design of hybrid electronic circuits for communication systems.

  

                                   Thesis

 

Open Projects

 

“Ultra-Wide-Band Micro-Power Pulse Radar” for wearable wireless sensors applied to cardiovascular deseases detection. This research is carried out in cooperation with the Interdipartimental Research Center "E. Piaggio" and the "Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna", within the framework of the EU project ProeTex.

 

Silicon Integrated Short-range Radar design” for medical imaging and for vehicular applications.

 

“Millimeter-wave Radiometer designfor civil and environmental safeguard.

 

"Millimeter-wave front-end designfor high data-rate Wireless Local area Networks (WLAN).

 

Silicon Integrated Low-power Radio design for Radio-frequency Identification (RFID), Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN) and Wireless Sensor Networks. 
 

Recent Projects

“Integrated Radiometer for Fire Prevention and Civil and Environmental Protection – in the framework of the research project of national interest ( namely, “Progetti di ricerca di Interesse Nazionale”, or PRIN) funded by Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (namely, “Ministero dell’Istruzione, della università e della ricerca”, or MIUR);
Design of LNAs, antenna switches, Voltage Controlled Oscillators (VCO), mixers and detectors, amplifier at intermediate frequency for fully integrated RF front-end on standard CMOS technology for 13-GHz radiometric applications, in cooperation with italian universities of Parma, Perugia, Modena and Reggio Emilia, 2006-2007.

 

"X Band range-gated pulse doppler radar molule" - A ultra wide band (10KHz - 10GHz) multichip module implementing a 13-tap transversal equalizer for chromatic dispersion compensation in 10 Gb/s fiber networks.

 

10 KHz-10 GHz ultra wide band (UWB) tunable filter for pulse shaping in optical fibers for the compensation of the chromatic dispersion in long haul 10.709 Gbit/s communication systems.

 

"Ultra Wide Band (3.1 - 10.6 GHz) antennas and baluns" for an integrated cardio pulmunary monitoring UWB radar.

 

Design, realization and characterization of hybrid MIC Low Noise Block (LNB) at 2 GHz for polarization alignment of an Earth station antenna in satellite communications.

 

"GPS receiver front-end with integrated antenna printed on PCB"

 

Closed Projects

 

Design, realization and characterization of a hybrid microwave front-end at 40 GHz for the measurement and compensation of polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) in optical fibers by using Stokes’ parameters method, 2003-2004.

 

Design, Modeling and Experimental Characterization of RF and Microwave Devices and Subsystems” – in the framework of the european Network of Excellence in Wireless Communications (NEWCom). The research activity is developed in cooperation with the european universities of Bilkent (Turkey), Uppsala (Sweden), Ilmenau (Germany), Chalmers (Sweden), Barcelona (Spain), et al.

 

Multi-standard Radio Transceiver for 5-6 GHz Domotic WLAN” – in the framework of the research project of national interest ( namely, “Progetti di ricerca di Interesse Nazionale”, or PRIN) funded by Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (namely, “Ministero dell’Istruzione, della università e della ricerca”, or MIUR);
Design of LNAs, antenna switches, image reject mixers and power amplifier for fully integrated RF front-ends on standard Bi-CMOS technology for 5-6 GHz WLAN applications, in cooperation with italian universities of Parma, Perugia, Modena and Reggio Emilia, Ancona, 2003-2004.


High Q Digitally Tunable LNA for WLAN” – in the framework of the IBM SiGe Contest;
Modelling and design of fully integrated and self-calibrated tunable LNAs for high-image rejection RF front-ends on standard Bi-CMOS technology for 5-6 GHz WLAN applications, in cooperation with Berkeley University of California (USA), 2003.


RF IC Front-ends for Automotive applications” – in the framework of the projects Dante, Kondorito, Run-Time Measurements of Austriamicrosystems.
Design of LNAs and antenna switches for fully integrated RF front-ends on standard Bi-CMOS technology for 2.4 GHz applications, in cooperation with Austriamicrosystems (Drive Unit, Graz, Austria), 2001-2002.


Integrated Radio Transceiver for WLANs Systems” - in the framework of the finalized research project  MADESS II;
Design of LNAs and image reject mixers on standard silicon bipolar technology for Bluetooth (2.4 GHz) and 5-6 GHz WLANs applications, in cooperation with University of Catania (Advanced Design Group, directed by Professor Palmisano) and RF Group division of ST Microelectronics (Catania, Italy), 2000-2001.

 

RF IC Front-end for Mobile Communication Systems” – in the framework of the finalized research project  MADESS II;
Design of high-Q active equivalent inductors (namely Boot-Strapped Inductor”) and selective LNAs on standard silicon bipolar technology (for 1.8 and 2.44 GHz front-ends, in cooperation with University of Catania (Advanced Design Group) and RF Group division of ST Microelectronics (Catania, Italy), 1998-2000.