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Electronics and Microelectronics - zp234529

The Electronics and Microelectronics Research Group at the Carl and Emily Fuchs Institute for Microelectronics focuses on integrated sensor systems and mm-wave systems, led by Prof Trudi-Heleen Joubert. Key research areas include embedded signal processing systems, integrated microelectronic sensor systems, and microwave/millimetre-wave research, with applications in health, environmental monitoring, and radio astronomy. The group offers various postgraduate degrees in electronic and microelectronic engineering.

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1 views3 pages

Electronics and Microelectronics - zp234529

The Electronics and Microelectronics Research Group at the Carl and Emily Fuchs Institute for Microelectronics focuses on integrated sensor systems and mm-wave systems, led by Prof Trudi-Heleen Joubert. Key research areas include embedded signal processing systems, integrated microelectronic sensor systems, and microwave/millimetre-wave research, with applications in health, environmental monitoring, and radio astronomy. The group offers various postgraduate degrees in electronic and microelectronic engineering.

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mxolisinjikela
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Electronics and Microelectronics

The Electronics and Microelectronics Research Group is part of the Carl and Emily Fuchs
Institute for Microelectronics (CEFIM). It specialises in integrated sensor systems and mm-
wave systems.

Group Head:
Prof Trudi-Heleen Joubert

Other group members:


Prof Tinus Stander
Dr Johan Schoeman

Research focus areas

Research challenges span component development, discrete circuits and systems,


embedded systems, and mixed-mode integrated circuit chip design. It also investigates
modern additive manufacturing processing technologies for implementing next-generation
electronic systems. The research in integrated circuits, discrete analogue and digital signal
processors, and radio frequency circuits are applied to solutions in the multidisciplinary
domains of health, water, wireless communications, radio astronomy and climate sciences.

Its prominent research focus areas include the following:

Embedded signal processing systems

This research focus area has two main driving applications:

 Opto-electronics and imaging: There has been tremendous interest within the
research community to expand electro-optical systems by reducing cost and optical
complexity through the introduction of lenseless holographic imaging, as well as
developing single-pixel camera systems for very expensive sensing devices. Both
methods require advanced image reconstruction algorithms, from which further
parameters can be extracted through computer vision methods. The group’s focus is on
the development of such a system with application in atmospheric pollutant
characterisation and concentration detection, as well as in water quality monitoring
systems for rural areas. These application areas offer exciting research opportunities,
while contributing to the quality of life of all South Africans. A prototype digital inline
microscope that is capable of breaking the resolution limit set by the physical dimensions
of a sensor’s pixels has recently been demonstrated.
 High-speed digital signal processing for radio astronomy: Radio astronomy receivers
generate an unimaginable amount of digital data that is well beyond the processing
capabilities of general computing platforms. The goal is to enable radio astronomers to
make both continuum and spectral line observations over a very wide radio frequency
band. This research area’s focus is on the implementation and optimisation of high speed
digital radio astronomy algorithms on parallel computing platforms like field programmable
gate arrays (FPGAs) and graphics processing units (GPUs).

Integrated microelectronic sensor systems

Smart ubiquitous sensing requires sensitive and robust signal readout at low power and low
cost, often with wireless connectivity to the Internet of Things (IoT). The integration of
microelectronics, energy harvesting and sensor networks provide potentially powerful
solutions to challenges in this field. Microsystems research emphasises applications in the
environmental monitoring of water and air quality, precision agriculture, as well as human
and veterinary biosensing and diagnostics.

This research focus area has three main driving applications:

 Mixed-signal integrated circuit design: CMOS technology is well suited to robust


signal processing at low power and low cost at economies of scale. Many custom mixed-
mode analogue building blocks are considered, but emphasis is on electrooptical and
electro-chemical sensor readout circuits and systems.
 Printed electronics: Printing methods are investigated as digital processing
technologies that have the potential for affordable, bendable, disposable and recyclable
electronic systems. Structures and circuits’ printed paper and plastic via screen printing
and inkjet printing are studied for fine-feature printing. In addition, aerosol jetting holds
promise for high-resolution conformal printing.
 Heterogeneous integration: Additive manufacturing technologies provide flexible, small-
scale, lower cost, automated fabrication in decentralised production facilities. The system
packaging can be 3-D co-fabricated with smart functional elements. Although extrusion
printing is used, design and modelling are performed for stereolithographic printing.

Microwave and millimetre-wave research

This focus area has three main driving applications:

 Millimetre-wave microelectronics for terrestrial communications: System-in-


package (SiP), system-on-chip (SoC), and hybrid packaged devices are preferred at
millimetre-wave frequencies due to the reduced interface complexity. Research gaps in
the hybrid packaging of semiconductors in this frequency range, as well as the
performance of on-chip passive components, limit the commercial viability of these
technologies. Current research includes novel on-chip and hybrid millimetre-wave silicon
germanium (SiGe) bipolar CMOS devices and advanced techniques for passives
modelling on-chip.
 Characterisation and detection of degradation and damage in microelectronic
devices: With the ever-increasing deployment of mm-wave transceivers in a variety of
applications (5G and 6G communications, automotive RADAR, etc.), there is a need to
test these devices for performance degradation during production and in situ. Pioneering
research uses oscillation-based built-in self-testing (OBIST) to detect faults and estimate
the high frequency performance of circuits, without the need to apply test equipment.
 Radio-frequency electronics and microelectronics for radio astronomy: Research
investigates a wide range of radio-frequency electronic and microelectronic solutions for
radio astronomy. These include the development of ultra-wideband receivers with the
CMOS system-on chip integration of mid-frequency aperture array low-noise amplifiers
and analogue-to-digital converters, and low-cost mm-wave integrated precipitable water
vapour radiometry systems.

Postgraduate degrees

 BEng Hons (Electronic Engineering)


 MEng (Electronic Engineering)
 MEng (Microelectronic Engineering)
 MSc (Applied Sciences)
 PhD (Electronic Engineering)
 PhD (Electronics)

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