It is not necessary for every team member to have all of the
background indicated above. However, there should be someone on the
team with the capability to do
design work in each of the listed areas.
- Class D Audio Amplifier [Advisors: Bitar, Klein]
A class D stage uses switched control of power devices to
achieve high
efficiency compared to linear (class A, AB) control. Typical
specification goals for a class D audio
power amplifier system might be:
- Peak power: ≥ 10W (speaker impedance at team’s discretion)
- Efficiency: ≥ 90% at full load
- Distortion: ≤ 1% THD at full load
Depending on student interest, multiple teams may compete to meet
specification goals for various segments (commodity, high-end consumer,
professional, etc.) of the audio market.
Teams will have enough flexibility in other areas (cost, power source,
size) so that the design process will be rich enough in open-ended
decisions to provide a good exercise in “real-world” consumer product
design. Although single-chip solutions are available for this general
problem, advisors will encourage systems that allow the student team to
probe the internal workings of a PWM system and consider both system-
and circuit-level design issues, such as (for example):
- Modulation methods: Analog PWM, sigma-delta, all-digital
- Power MOSFET issues: choice of device, gate drive
problem, protection
- EMI issues: PCB design, common mode filtering
- Packaging issues: power dissipation, heat sinking
Interested? Go to the MQP
Application Page.
- High Efficiency Power Supply for Automotive Applications
[Advisors: Bitar,
McNeill]
As cars incorporate more electronic equipment, the need for
clean high
efficiency power supplies is of increasing importance. The emphasis on
efficiency will become even more critical for hybrid / plug-in electric
cars since lost energy directly reduces driving distance before
recharge
is necessary.
This project involves design of a high efficiency buck converter
power
supply for a typical automotive application. Specs include:
- Output: 5V at I(MAX) = 5A (?)
- Efficiency: >95% at VIN = 12V
- Load regulation: VOUT within ±2% of nominal
over 0 < IOUT < I(MAX)
- Line regulation: Maintain output within ±2% over input
range of 6V < VIN < 24V
- Robustness: Survive "load dump" up to 50V on input
Issues the design team may expect to consider include:
- Operating frequency of buck converter for maximum efficiency
- Topology: "constant on time" vs variable duty cycle vs other
- Control: Pure analog, mixed signal, mostly digital
- Power MOSFET drive: bootstrap cap vs. charge pump vs. other
alternatives
- Achieving specs with low-cost, small value (L ≤ 10µH)
magnetics
Interested? Go to the MQP
Application Page.
- "Green" Electronics Techniques: Pulse-Width-Modulation
(PWM)
Applications [Advisors: Bitar,
McNeill]
This project would involve design of application circuitry,
possibly using Texas Instruments PWM chips. The common theme is
improvement
of efficiency in power-critical applications, reducing energy
consumption and
decreasing the environmental "footprint" of electrical systems.
Possible project ideas
include the following:
- White
Light LED Drive
- Digital Power Control
- Solar Panel Peak Power Controller
- Temperature Controlled Buck/Boost Power Supply Design
- Motor Control
- Power Factor Correction
- Battery Charging Control
- Behavioral Simulation of Switchmode Power Supply
Interested? Go to the MQP
Application Page.
- Integrated Circuit Design [Advisor: McNeill]
This project would involve the design, fabrication, and test
of
an analog or mixed analog/digital CMOS integrated circuit. Possible
applications include:
- Integrated Biomedical
Instrumentation Channel Prototype
This project would involve the design, fabrication, and evaluation of a
prototype IC for general multichannel signal acquisition in biomedical
applications. The project would integrate the circuitry necessary for:
- multiplexed analog inputs with adjustable gain
- op-amp and comparator for analog portion of sigma-delta
ADC
- digital interface to PC
- CMOS Integrated Circuit
Design Techniques for Precise DC
Performance
This project would involve the design, fabrication, and evaluation of
test structures in a standard "digital" CMOS process that provide
precise DC matching performance (for example, low
offset voltage VOS.
The purpose is
to enable measurement of precise matching with production test
equipment; for example:
- microvolt offset of a differential pair would
correspond to
millivolt levels at a test structure output
- a structure for monitoring hot carrier damage would
raise a
digital flag when a certain level of damage has been reached.
This project would also investigate the effects of different types
of stress (electrical, mechanical, thermal, hot carrier) on
precision matching, as well as develop design techniques to minimize
damage.
- ESD-Resistant Circuit
Structures
Electro-static discharge (ESD) damage is one of the dominant
factors that limit the overall reliability of integrated
circuits. The problem becomes more pronounced with widespread
use of sub-micron fabrication technologies (smaller device
dimensions become more susceptible to high discharge currents),
and also with the continuing trend of integrating analog and
digital function blocks on the same chip (mixed-signal design).
A number of ESD protection strategies already exist, yet most
of the ESD protection circuits actually result in a noticeable
decrease of circuit performance - mainly due to added circuit
parasitics. This project will concentrate on the design and
development of simple, yet effective ESD protection measures,
both for on-chip and for off-chip (i.e. board-level) applications.
- Silicon Temperature Sensor.
This project would involve design and fabrication of a bandgap
or delta-VBE temperature sensor in a CMOS process.
This project would build on a previous MQP which successfully
fabricated a trimmable bandgap voltage reference in a 1.6-um
CMOS process.
Since this project would require IC fabrication,
it is essential that the project team have a background including
EE4902 (Analog IC design).
Interested? Go to the MQP
Application Page.
- RF Applications [Advisor: Ludwig]
This project would involve application of high frequency
techniques
in the transmission and/or detection of signals in the 100MHz frequency
range. Topics that may be addressed include:
- FM receiver using limiter / logarithmic amplifier
techniques
- Direct conversion techniques for translating signals
between
RF and baseband (without an intermediate frequency (IF) conversion
stage)
- Efficient techniques for RF power amplifier control
- Low-cost s-parameter measurement
- Tunable filter with parameters determined by
digital/µC
control
- Modulated signal performance test (e.g. distortion in
OFDM
system)
- System-level design to meet communication standard
Since this project would require RF circuit knowledge, it is
essential
that the project team have a background including ECE3113 (Introduction
to RF Circuit Design)
Interested? Go to the MQP
Application Page.