STMicroelectronics

About: STMicroelectronics is a company organization based out in Geneva, Switzerland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Signal & Transistor. The organization has 17172 authors who have published 29543 publications receiving 300766 citations. The organization is also known as: SGS-Thomson & STM.

A parallel 32×32 time-to-digital converter array fabricated in a 130 nm imaging CMOS technology

Abstract: We report on the design and characterization of a 32 × 32 time-to-digital converter (TDC) array implemented in a 130 nm imaging CMOS technology. The 10-bit TDCs exhibit a timing resolution of 119 ps with a timing uniformity across the entire array of less than 2 LSBs. The differential- and integral non-linearity (DNL and INL) were measured at ± 0.4 and ±1.2 LSBs respectively. The TDC array was fabricated with a pitch of 50µm in both directions and with a total TDC area of less than 2000µm2. The characteristics of the array make it an excellent candidate for in-pixel TDC in time-resolved imagers for applications such as 3-D imaging and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM).

Autonomous Energy-Efficient Wireless Sensor Network Platform for Home/Office Automation

Abstract: Smart homes/offices based on wireless sensor networks (WSNs) can provide an assisted living and working environment to the users. In these applications, the distributed network nodes are made up of low-power low-cost high-energy-efficient electronic platforms equipped with sensors, microcontroller, radio, and antenna, able to periodically sense, receive, store, pre-process, and transmit ambient data to a remote host station. Conventional nodes are usually supplied by batteries, resulting in a significant limitation to the lifetime and to the maximum number of deployable devices. To meet the demand of the next Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications, requiring a vast plurality of interconnected wireless network nodes, this paper presents the design and implementation of a WSN platform whose nodes are energetically autonomous thanks to an embedded photovoltaic panel associated to a rechargeable battery and a power-efficient design with optimized power-management strategy. The implemented node is able to harvest indoor ambient light starting from 100 lux and, according to the available energy, adaptively sets the sensors acquisition and RF transmission rate. Moreover, it provides long-distance data transmission with air data rate from 1 to 500 kbps. The WSN node device is implemented on an $8.6\times 5.4$ cm2 flexible PCB, being therefore amenable to conform even to curved surfaces. Comparison with the commercial IoT nodes reveals a significant improvement in the state of the art.

Polymeric microneedles based enzymatic electrodes for electrochemical biosensing of glucose and lactic acid

Abstract: Polymeric microneedles (MNs) based working electrodes are fabricated by standard photolithography of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) doped by enzyme, redox mediator and photoinitiator. This flexible device acts as working electrode in electrochemical detection of glucose and lactic acid in solution when glucose oxidase (GOx) and lactose oxidase (LOx) enzymes, respectively, are used. Biosensor showed a linear response in the ranges from 0 to 4 mM and from 0 to 1 mM, for glucose and lactic acid, respectively. A limit of detection equal to 1 μM is found. The developed technology has been patented.

High-voltage-resistant MOS transistor, and corresponding manufacturing process

Abstract: A MOS transistor capable of withstanding relatively high voltages is of a type integrated on a region included in a substrate of semiconductor material, having conductivity of a first type and comprising a channel region intermediate between a first active region of source and a second active region of drain. Both these source and drain regions have conductivity of a second type and extend from a first surface of the substrate. The transistor also has a gate which includes at least a first polysilicon layer overlying the first surface of at least the channel region, to which it is coupled capacitively through a gate oxide layer. According to the invention, the first polysilicon layer includes a mid-portion which only overlies the channel region and has a first total conductivity of the first type, and a peripheral portion with a second total conductivity differentiated from the first total conductivity. The peripheral portion partly overlies the source and drain active regions toward the channel region.

A Reconfigurable Baseband Platform Based on an Asynchronous Network-on-Chip

Abstract: In order to face the inherent complexity of new radio access technologies and to address the development of multi-standard devices, an innovative reconfigurable baseband architecture based on a distributed control and communication framework is proposed. This architecture is tailored to the possibilities and limitations of next-generation CMOS nanotechnologies in terms of leakage and timing closure. A combination of technology features, message passing control model, network-on-chip, asynchronous implementation, clocking and power reduction policies is used. The 79.5 mm 2 chip was manufactured in a 130 nm CMOS technology and is integrated in a prototyping platform to perform real-time experimentation of advanced MIMO OFDM based telecom techniques. It is composed of 23 functional units, such as computing intensive IPs, channel coding blocks, programmable DMA engines, an ARM946ES core, and an Ethernet interface. These elements are interconnected via an asynchronous layered Network-on-Chip using an interface that controls the communication and configuration parameters during application scheduling.