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Propositions de thèses


Built-in Test in Wireless Systems Using Non-Intrusive Sensors

Equipe : RMS - Thèse (PhD Thesis)

Date de début : September 1st 2012

Durée : 3 years

Profil :
Thesis supervisors: Haralampos-G. Stratigopoulos (haralampos.stratigopoulos@imag.fr), Salvador Mir (salvador.mir@imag.fr),

Location: TIMA Laboratory (CNRS – Grenoble INP – UJF), Grenoble, France

Project: ELESIS – European Library-based flow of Embedded Silicon test InstrumentS , financed by ENIAC JU for 3 years

Funding: Research contract with a gross salary of about 2500 Euro/month (a net salary of 1450 Euro/month).

In collaboration with: CEA-LETI, Presto Engineering

Context:
Integrated circuits (ICs) need to undergo thorough testing after fabrication, in order to ensure that they meet the design specifications. Testing targets the detection of defects and excessive process variation that are due to various sources of imperfection during the fabrication steps. Nowadays, testing the analog, mixed-signal, and radio-frequency (RF) functions of ICs results in a high cost that may amount up to 50% of the overall manufacturing cost. The test cost is expected to rise in the coming years as ICs include ever more functionality and as we move to smaller technology nodes for which process variations and defect density become more prevalent. Therefore, reducing the cost of testing for analog, mixed-signal, and RF circuits is an area of focus and innovation for the semiconductor industry.

This thesis envisages built-in test solutions for RF circuits that are part of wireless systems. Built-in test consists of migrating some of the test instruments into the IC, in order to facilitate and speed-up testing. For example, built-in test could consist of generating test stimuli on-chip, performing and processing measurements on-chip, etc. Built-in test can also help to diagnose the source of failure and, thereby, enhance production yield through appropriate actions. Furthermore, it can be enabled during the operation of the IC to monitor its health in safety-critical and mission-critical applications.

Specifically, this thesis envisages the development of non-intrusive sensors for performing built-in test for RF circuits. The non-intrusive property is key for RF circuits since otherwise by tapping into RF signal paths the RF performances may be seriously affected. Our group at TIMA Laboratory has acquired a lot of expertise recently on the development of such sensors. We have experimented with process sensors and temperature sensors and we have demonstrated on fabricated samples their capability for testing RF circuits. This thesis will enhance the library of sensors and will prove their operation for stand-alone RF circuits as well as for a complete RF transmitter.

Skills: The prospective student should be highly motivated and should have good background knowledge on analog circuit design and computer-aided design tools (e.g. Cadence). Knowledge on RF circuit design and analog test techniques is definitely a plus. A very good level of English is also a plus.

Personne à contacter : Haralampos Stratigopoulos (haralampos??stratigopoulos??imag??fr)
Salvador Mir (salvador??mir??imag??fr)
TIMA Laboratory, 46 Av?? Félix Viallet Viallet, 38031 Grenoble FRANCE, http://tima??imag??fr

 

 

Solutions for the self-adaptation of wireless systems

Equipe : RMS - Thèse (PhD Thesis)

Date de début : September 1st 2012

Durée : 3 years

Profil :
Thesis supervisors: Haralampos-G. Stratigopoulos (haralampos.stratigopoulos@imag.fr), Emmanuel Simeu (emmanuel.simeu@imag.fr), Salvador Mir (salvador.mir@imag.fr),

Location: TIMA Laboratory (CNRS – Grenoble INP – UJF), Grenoble, France

Project Funding: SACSO - Solutions for the self-Adaptation of Communicating Systems in Operation, financed by ANR (French National Research Agency). The student will be granted PhD funding for 3 years, via a research contract with a gross salary of about 2500 Euro/month (a net salary of 1450 Euro/month).

In collaboration with: LIRMM, NXP Semiconductors, Ophtimalia

This thesis envisages the development of self-adaptive analog circuits that are part of wireless systems. Self- adaptation can be employed in different phases during the lifetime of the circuit. After manufacturing self- adaptation can be employed to compensate for process variations induced during the several manufacturing steps. In this case, the objective is to center the performances of the circuit and correct yield loss. During the operation of the circuit, self-adaptation can be employed to moderate power consumption, to provide the required performances regardless the application mode and despite the changing and largely unforeseen environmental conditions, to recover the circuit from ageing effects that cause performance degradation, etc.
Self-adaptation requires certain sub-routines some of which are common amongst the above contexts. In particular, it is typically required that the circuit is self-testable, that is, it can determine itself the levels of performances and whether these have drifted. Moreover, to enable self-adaptation it is required to judiciously insert into the circuit a set of tuning knobs that render the design flexible and configurable. In some cases, it is also required to communicate to the circuit external parameters that reflect the noise in the wireless channel, the environmental conditions, etc. Equipping a circuit with self-adaptation capabilities is crucial for mission- critical and safety-critical applications, such as biomedical applications, avionics, automobile, wireless node networks, etc.
This thesis will focus on the moderation of power consumption while guaranteeing that the performance requirements are met. However, en route it will be possible to apply some of the developed ideas for self- healing or self-calibration purposes. There are two case studies that have been defined already in cooperation with the project consortium: a biomedical device and a near field communication device. There will be a possibility to work on either or both of them. In both case studies, the long-term objective is to achieve an efficient management of energy consumption, to increase the energy autonomy, and to prolong the life span of the device.
Skills:The prospective student should be highly motivated and should have good background knowledge on analog circuit design and computer-aided design tools (e.g. Cadence). Knowledge on RF circuit design and analog test techniques is definitely a plus. A very good level of English is also a plus.

Personne à contacter : Haralampos Stratigopoulos (haralampos??stratigopoulos??imag??fr) Emmanuel Simeu (emmanuel??simeu??imag??fr) Salvador Mir (salvador??mir??imag??fr)