Analog Research Center Awards Almost $3 Million
UT Dallas Faculty Win 6 of 11 Awards Given to Texas Researchers
UT Dallas researchers will significantly expand their analog technology research thanks to funding from the Texas Analog Center of Excellence (TxACE), which has awarded nearly $3 million for 11 projects by Texas researchers to develop technology that enhances public safety and security.
“With six of the 11 projects going to UT Dallas, we’ve demonstrated that the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science clearly has the expertise in analog technology necessary to compete with other top schools in performing advanced, innovative analog research,” said Mark W. Spong, dean of the Jonsson School and holder of the Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair in Electrical Engineering.
The projects funded by the grants are intended to:
- Enable a new generation of devices that can scan for harmful substances such as explosives and chemical agents (by researching 200-300-GHz silicon integrated circuits for use in spectrometers).
- Significantly lower the cost of in-vehicle radar technology that could help improve automotive safety (by researching circuit techniques that can improve manufacturing and lower test and packaging costs).
Other recipients of the three-year grants come from Texas A&M University, UT Austin, Rice University and the University of North Texas.
TxACE received 34 requests for funding. The recipients were chosen by a Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC) Industrial Advisory Board for TxACE, which consists of representatives from Advanced Micro Devices, Freescale Semiconductor, IBM, Intel and Texas Instruments.
The 11 funded projects and their principal investigators are:
- Development of CMOS Sub-Terahertz Receivers for Spectrometers
Bhaskar Banerjee, UT Dallas - Signal Generation for 200-300-GHz Spectrometers
Kenneth O, UT Dallas - Millimeter-Wave Phase-Locked Loop Design With Enhanced Tolerance to Process and Temperature Variation
Ranjit Gharpurey, UT Austin - MIMO Radar for Pixel Reduction in Millimeter-Wave Imaging
M. Saquib, UT Dallas - A Hybrid 14-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter for Broadband Applications
Jose Silva-Martinez, Texas A&M University - UxID: Unclonable Mixed-Signal Identification for Integrated Circuits
Farinaz Koushanfar, Rice University - Energy-Efficient CMOS 10-GS/s 6-Bit ADC With Embedded Equalization
Sam Palermo, Texas A&M University - Fast PVT-Tolerant Physical Design of RF IC Components
Saraju Mohanty, University of North Texas - Development of Antenna and Chip Interface Systems for Millimeter-Wave and Submillimeter-Wave Applications
Rashaunda Henderson, UT Dallas - 77-81-GHz CMOS Transceiver With Built-In Self Test and Healing
Bhaskar Banerjee, UT Dallas - Variation-Tolerant Analog Design Based on Generalized Kharitonov/Lyapunov Theory
Dian Zhou, UT Dallas
About SRC
Celebrating 27 years of collaborative research for the semiconductor industry, SRC defines industry needs and invests in and manages the research that gives its members a competitive advantage in the dynamic global marketplace. Awarded the National Medal of Technology, America’s highest recognition for contributions to technology, SRC expands the industry knowledge base and attracts premier students to help innovate and transfer semiconductor technology to the industry. For more information, visit src.org.
About TxACE
Texas Gov. Rick Perry announced the creation of TxACE last fall. Designed to create leading-edge analog technology for both traditional electronics and emerging applications, the center is a $16 million collaboration among Semiconductor Research Corp., the state through its Texas Emerging Technology Fund, Texas Instruments Inc., and the UT System and UT Dallas. Analog technology is vital for connecting digital electronics with the real world.
About the Texas Emerging Technology Fund
The $200 million Texas Emerging Technology Fund was enacted by the Texas Legislature in June 2005 to expedite the commercialization of innovations and to create and establish private sector entities that will increase high-quality jobs and increase applied research projects for Texas institutions of higher education. The ETF assists early-stage companies with the commercialization of scientific breakthroughs and matches grants for the development of emerging technologies and the acquisition of research talent for Texas institutions of higher education. The ETF was renewed at $203.5 million in the state legislature’s 2009 session.
