Theoretical and Numerical Analyses on Smart-Cut Technology. Smart-cut is an innovative and effective technique for fabricating high quality silicon-on-insulator structures which are widely used in the semiconductor and microelectronics industries. The quantification of the effects of processing parameters and the optimization of smart-cut process will be conducted in this project. The results are expected to make significant contributions to reducing cost, increasing efficiency and optimizing pr ....Theoretical and Numerical Analyses on Smart-Cut Technology. Smart-cut is an innovative and effective technique for fabricating high quality silicon-on-insulator structures which are widely used in the semiconductor and microelectronics industries. The quantification of the effects of processing parameters and the optimization of smart-cut process will be conducted in this project. The results are expected to make significant contributions to reducing cost, increasing efficiency and optimizing procedure by providing a theoretical and quantitative design methodology to improve the smart-cut technique. Consequently, the outcomes and results of the project will bring many benefits to and encourage further R&D in the semiconductor and microelectronics industries in Australia.Read moreRead less
Microelectronic Applications of Improved Silicon Light Emission. While semiconductor silicon chips have been the workhorse of the microelectronics revolution, more complex semiconductor materials have driven the communications revolution. Australian developments during 2001 have largely dispelled the myth that silicon is fundamentally a poor emitter of light. This project aims to build on this work by developing silicon light emitters suitable for integration into high density integrated circu ....Microelectronic Applications of Improved Silicon Light Emission. While semiconductor silicon chips have been the workhorse of the microelectronics revolution, more complex semiconductor materials have driven the communications revolution. Australian developments during 2001 have largely dispelled the myth that silicon is fundamentally a poor emitter of light. This project aims to build on this work by developing silicon light emitters suitable for integration into high density integrated circuits, adding a new dimension to the capabilities of these circuits, driving microelectronics and the information age to the next stage of development.Read moreRead less
Design Methodology for Low- and Ultra-Low Power Integrated Circuits. This project will develop low-power and ultra low-power technology that is applicable to wide range of products and electronic devices. The results will benefit many areas, for example, wireless sensors employed in environmental monitoring, bio and life monitoring, bio-sensors to improve patient care, reduce medical costs, implantable devices and bio-interfaces that will enhance the quality of life and public health. This proje ....Design Methodology for Low- and Ultra-Low Power Integrated Circuits. This project will develop low-power and ultra low-power technology that is applicable to wide range of products and electronic devices. The results will benefit many areas, for example, wireless sensors employed in environmental monitoring, bio and life monitoring, bio-sensors to improve patient care, reduce medical costs, implantable devices and bio-interfaces that will enhance the quality of life and public health. This project will benefit Australia by developing frontier technologies with a strong potential for global impact. Bringing these solutions to the public and realizing their financial benefits will add a valuable component of economic diversity to the country in addition to positioning Australia as a leader in this field.Read moreRead less
Dynamic signal processing with currents. Today's digital computers and communications devices, such as mobile phones, contain continuous time filters as necessary and important components. We will investigate an integrated circuit design methodology for the creation of fully programmable versions of such filters. Currently these filters are redesigned for each application and are often external to the IC. This increases the size and cost of the design. Another outcome of the methodology is a cur ....Dynamic signal processing with currents. Today's digital computers and communications devices, such as mobile phones, contain continuous time filters as necessary and important components. We will investigate an integrated circuit design methodology for the creation of fully programmable versions of such filters. Currently these filters are redesigned for each application and are often external to the IC. This increases the size and cost of the design. Another outcome of the methodology is a current domain signal processor. This will be capable of modelling complex systems such as biological neurons and stock option pricing. We will build these systems and interface them with digital computers.Read moreRead less
Auditory perception in neural electronics. This project aims to develop a practical alternative to conventional electronic design. Faster and more powerful devices have resulted from placing ever more transistors on a computer chip, but this is reaching its physical limits. This project will develop a new way of designing smart electronic devices by taking inspiration from signal processing in biological brains, and applying it to the processing of audio signals. Expected outcomes are a device t ....Auditory perception in neural electronics. This project aims to develop a practical alternative to conventional electronic design. Faster and more powerful devices have resulted from placing ever more transistors on a computer chip, but this is reaching its physical limits. This project will develop a new way of designing smart electronic devices by taking inspiration from signal processing in biological brains, and applying it to the processing of audio signals. Expected outcomes are a device that recognises sounds, without needing remote computers to do the processing. These techniques can be applied to other senses, such as vision, advancing machine perception and enabling smarter devices.Read moreRead less
A Skin Detection Micro-Sensor for Face Identification using Color and Stereo Information. The objective of this research is to develop a micro-sensor for face identification, using color and stereo information. The micro-sensor chip performs a real-time search of the scene to locate human skin for subsequent face detection. This micro-sensor could also be used for gesture recognition, lip reading, monitoring driver's hypo-vigilance or tracking a person in a crowd. The chip image-recognition capa ....A Skin Detection Micro-Sensor for Face Identification using Color and Stereo Information. The objective of this research is to develop a micro-sensor for face identification, using color and stereo information. The micro-sensor chip performs a real-time search of the scene to locate human skin for subsequent face detection. This micro-sensor could also be used for gesture recognition, lip reading, monitoring driver's hypo-vigilance or tracking a person in a crowd. The chip image-recognition capabilities will spur the development of a new generation of consumer products with "intelligent eyes".
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Low Power Architectures for the Wavelet Transform and JPEG2000. Recently a new international standard for image compression has been proposed, JPEG2000. This new method updates the well established JPEG standard and will be incorporated into digital cameras, web pads, etc.
In this project we will investigate low power architectures for the wavelet transforms used in this standard, and combine this with an embedded processor core to deliver a complete system on a chip solution for low power JPEG ....Low Power Architectures for the Wavelet Transform and JPEG2000. Recently a new international standard for image compression has been proposed, JPEG2000. This new method updates the well established JPEG standard and will be incorporated into digital cameras, web pads, etc.
In this project we will investigate low power architectures for the wavelet transforms used in this standard, and combine this with an embedded processor core to deliver a complete system on a chip solution for low power JPEG2000.Read moreRead less
Reliable Truly Deep Sub-micron VLSI Computational Systems. The phenomenal growth of the digital integrated circuits is founded on the fundamental assumption of reliable operation of logic gates on silicon chip. In the Deep Sub-Micron domain this fundamental assumption can no longer be guaranteed. This project, in association with with Dongshin University, Korea with strong links to the semiconductor industry, will develop design techniques for the reliable computational hardware, in the presence ....Reliable Truly Deep Sub-micron VLSI Computational Systems. The phenomenal growth of the digital integrated circuits is founded on the fundamental assumption of reliable operation of logic gates on silicon chip. In the Deep Sub-Micron domain this fundamental assumption can no longer be guaranteed. This project, in association with with Dongshin University, Korea with strong links to the semiconductor industry, will develop design techniques for the reliable computational hardware, in the presence of unreliable circuit fabric. This significant research, with potential for generation of IP, will raise the profile of Australian research in integrated circuits design in the global community and will result in significant publicity for the research team and, through them, for Australian industry.Read moreRead less
MEMS Based Chip-to-Chip Optical Interconnect for Future Generation of Systems In a Package. The project will bring Australian technical known-how into the forefront of the information and communication technology revolution. The technology developed in this project will enable computers to operate at very high speeds. More information can be communicated than ever before. This has significant impact on Australian society where speed of information is increasingly important. The technical knowl ....MEMS Based Chip-to-Chip Optical Interconnect for Future Generation of Systems In a Package. The project will bring Australian technical known-how into the forefront of the information and communication technology revolution. The technology developed in this project will enable computers to operate at very high speeds. More information can be communicated than ever before. This has significant impact on Australian society where speed of information is increasingly important. The technical knowledge of how to make computers operate faster has great commercial value and would be very much sought after. Hence, its impact on the national economy. Read moreRead less
A neuromorphic binaural hearing sensor. A neuromorphic binaural hearing sensor will be created. The system includes two cochleae and targeted processing pathways in the auditory brainstem that aid in solving the Cocktail Party Problem: i.e. foreground-background sound separation, sound localisation, and sound recognition. The VLSI circuits will enable real-time implementation of complex auditory models. As we develop our VLSI binaural ear, we will experiment with afferent (feed forward) and ....A neuromorphic binaural hearing sensor. A neuromorphic binaural hearing sensor will be created. The system includes two cochleae and targeted processing pathways in the auditory brainstem that aid in solving the Cocktail Party Problem: i.e. foreground-background sound separation, sound localisation, and sound recognition. The VLSI circuits will enable real-time implementation of complex auditory models. As we develop our VLSI binaural ear, we will experiment with afferent (feed forward) and efferent (feed back) auditory signal processing that is similar to real auditory systems and that demonstrate efficient, effective, and low-power signal processing algorithms for binaural (two-sensor) hearing systems.Read moreRead less