e-CAT - Circuits i Transductors Electrònics

 

Recerca i disseny de nous circuits electrònics per a transductors, tant per al processament del senyal com de l’energia, amb la finalitat de desenvolupar sensors intel·ligents energèticament autònoms amb aplicació transversal. Posem l'èmfasi en circuits de consum i cost reduïts i basats en microcontrolador, i en noves tècniques i mètodes per a maximitzar l'energia captada (òptica/solar, mecànica, tèrmica, de radiofreqüència, etc.). Aplicació de sensors autònoms en aplicacions de bioenginyeria i enginyeria aeroespacial.

Investigación y diseño de nuevos circuitos electrónicos para transductores, tanto para el procesamiento de la señal como de la energía, con la finalidad de desarrollar sensores inteligentes energéticamente autónomos y de aplicación transversal. Ponemos el énfasis en circuitos de consumo y coste reducidos y basados en microcontrolador, y en nuevas técnicas y métodos para maximizar la energía captada (óptica/solar, mecánica, térmica, de radiofrecuencia, etc). Complementariamente, se tratarán otros temas, como las redes de sensores inalámbricas energéticamente eficientes y aspectos de instrumentación y medida.

Research and design of new electronic circuits applied to transducers, for signal and power processing, with the aim of developing energy-autonomous smart sensors with application to any field. Emphasis will be focused on low-power and low-cost microcontroller-based circuits and on new techniques and methods for maximizing the harvested energy (optical/solar, mechanical, thermal, radiofrequency). In addition, other topics such as energy-efficient wireless sensor network and instrumentation and measurement subjects will be tackled.

Research and design of new electronic circuits applied to transducers, for signal and power processing, with the aim of developing energy-autonomous smart sensors with application to any field. Emphasis will be focused on low-power and low-cost microcontroller-based circuits and on new techniques and methods for maximizing the harvested energy (optical/solar, mechanical, thermal, radiofrequency). In addition, other topics such as energy-efficient wireless sensor network and instrumentation and measurement subjects will be tackled.

Recent Submissions

  • A novel general-purpose theorem for the analysis of linear circuits 

    Reverter Cubarsí, Ferran; Gasulla Forner, Manuel (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2021-01-01)
    Article
    Open Access
    A novel general-purpose theorem for the analysis of linear circuits is stated and proven in this brief. When applying the proposed theorem, any current (voltage) of interest is determined by finding first an equivalent ...

  • A Simple direct microcontroller interface for capacitively-coupled resistive sensors 

    Areekath, Lakshmi; George, Boby; Reverter Cubarsí, Ferran (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2020)
    Conference report
    Restricted access - publisher's policy
    A novel approach to interface capacitively-coupled resistive sensors directly to a microcontroller is presented in this paper. The existing schemes for the measurement of the resistance of a sensing element ...

  • Using a digital timer to demodulate AM triangular signals for sensor applications 

    Reverter Cubarsí, Ferran; Gasulla Forner, Manuel (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2020)
    Conference report
    Restricted access - publisher's policy
    A timer-based demodulator for low-frequency amplitude-modulated (AM) triangular signals coming from sensor circuits is presented in this work. The proposed circuit does not require a rectifier/mixer, a ...

  • On measuring power efficiency in DC-DC converters at light load currents 

    Gasulla Forner, Manuel; Reverter Cubarsí, Ferran (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2020)
    Conference report
    Restricted access - publisher's policy
    This paper tackles the problematic issue of measuring the efficiency at DC-DC converters operating in PFM mode, which are used for light loads such as sensor nodes. Such converters present a pulsed input current, which ...

  • A closed-loop capacitance-to-frequency converter for single-element and differential capacitive sensors 

    Areekath, Lakshmi; George, Boby; Reverter Cubarsí, Ferran (2020-11-01)
    Article
    Restricted access - publisher's policy
    A novel closed-loop switched-capacitor(SC) capacitance-to-frequency converter (CFC) is presentedin this paper. The proposed CFC is capable of measuring from either a single-element or a differential capacitive sensor, ...

  • LED-Based Wake-Up circuit for microcontrollers 

    Ripoll Vercellone, Edgar; Reverter Cubarsí, Ferran; Gasulla Forner, Manuel (2020-07-15)
    Article
    Open Access
    This article proposes, analyzes, and tests a wake-up circuit for a microcontroller (MCU) that uses a light-emitting diode (LED), operating as a photodetector, illuminated by a smartphone flashlight. The wake-up circuit ...

  • Optimum MPPT strategy for low-power pendulum-type wave energy converters 

    Carandell Widmer, Matias; Toma, Daniel; Río Fernandez, Joaquín del; Gasulla Forner, Manuel (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2020)
    Conference lecture
    Restricted access - publisher's policy
    Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) techniques for low-power pendulum-type Wave Energy Converters were evaluated. A Kinetic Energy Harvester previously designed, together with a Power Management Unit, were tested on a ...

  • Demodulating AM square signals via a digital timer for sensor applications 

    Reverter Cubarsí, Ferran; Gasulla Forner, Manuel (2020-05-01)
    Article
    Restricted access - publisher's policy
    This paper evaluates theoretically and experimentally the performance of a timer-based demodulator applied to low-frequency amplitude-modulated (AM) square signals coming from sensor circuits. The demodulator extracts the ...

  • Toward non-CPU activity in low-power MCU-Based measurement systems 

    Reverter Cubarsí, Ferran (2020-01-01)
    Article
    Open Access
    This article evaluates the benefits of having peripheral-triggered peripherals in a microcontroller unit (MCU) intended for low-power sensor applications. In such an architecture, the functionality is moved from the central ...

  • Analysis of the optimum gain of a high-pass l-matching network for rectennas 

    Gasulla Forner, Manuel; Jordana Barnils, José; Robert Sanxis, Francesc Josep; Berenguer Sau, Jordi (MDPI AG, 2017-07-25)
    Article
    Open Access
    Rectennas, which mainly consist of an antenna, matching network, and rectifier, are used to harvest radiofrequency energy in order to power tiny sensor nodes, e.g., the nodes of the Internet of Things. This paper demonstrates ...

  • Cooperative work and continuous assessment in an electronic systems laboratory course in a telecommunication engineering degree 

    Jordana Barnils, José; Sánchez Robert, Francesc Josep (2010)
    Conference report
    Open Access

  • Thermal phase lag heterodyne infrared imaging for current tracking in radio frequency integrated circuits 

    Perpiñà Gilabet, Xavier; León, Javier; Altet Sanahujes, Josep; Vellvehi, Miquel; Reverter Cubarsí, Ferran; Barajas Ojeda, Enrique; Jordà, Xavier (2017-02-27)
    Article
    Open Access
    With thermal phase lag measurements, current paths are tracked in a Class A radio frequency (RF) power amplifier at 2 GHz. The amplifier is heterodynally driven at 440 MHz and 2 GHz, and its resulting thermal field was ...

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