A novel circuit design promoting enhanced sensitivity for electromagnetic sensing through exceptional points of degeneracy.

An innovative approach to vehicle localization and mapping using lidar and cellular LTE data, enhancing accuracy without relying on GNSS signals.

In PET imaging, patient motion, such as respiratory and cardiac motion, are a major source of blurring and motion artifacts. Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a technology designed to enhance PET imaging resolution without the need for external devices by effectively mitigating these artifacts

The DDFB laser introduces a novel feedback mechanism for enhanced frequency selectivity and stability in laser oscillation.

This technology encompasses a suite of patents for developing gyroscopes that offer both broad bandwidth and high sensitivity, suitable for a variety of challenging environments.

Sensors are used in a multitude of applications from molecular biology, chemicals detection to wireless communications. Researchers at the University of California Irvine have invented a new type of electronic circuit that utilizes exceptional points of degeneracy to improve the sensitivity of signal detection.

      Pebble bed reactors (PBRs) are an emerging advanced nuclear reactor design where fuel pebbles constantly circulate through the core, as opposed to housing static fuel assemblies, generating numerous advantages including the ability for online refueling versus expensive shutdowns. Online refueling is overall beneficial but poses an operation challenge in that the pebbles must be measured and analyzed for burnup characteristics very quickly (in under 40 seconds), without much time to cool down, challenging the high Purity Germanium (HPGe) detectors historically used for burnup measurements. HPGe detectors can normally only be operated up to tens of thousands of counts per second, far below radiation rates from freshly discharged fuel, and are therefore operated at large distances from sources, with significant shielding. Only a small fraction of detected counts comes from burnup markers, yielding high uncertainty, or can be completely masked by effects of Compton scattering within the detectors.      To overcome the challenges of using HGPe detectors to measure burnup in continuously fueled reactors, UC Berkeley researchers have developed a novel technology capable of measuring gamma rays within a fine energy ranges and without the interference of Compton scattering. The device is also significantly cheaper than HPGe detectors and offers a reduced detector footprint. Nuclides including but not limited to Np-239, Eu-156, and Zr-95 can be measured and analyzed for burnup, path information through the core, and fast and thermal fluence. Furthermore, precise measurement of the Np-239 content provides better data for reactor safeguard purposes. The technology offers meaningful improvements in measurement accuracy, footprint, and cost, for PBRs and other continuously fueled reactors, such as molten salt reactors (MSRs).

      Poorly designed healthcare environments can increase patient stress and delay recovery, particularly in pediatric settings (see, e.g., Devlin & Andrade 2017; Park et al. 2018; Jafarifiroozabadi et al. 2023). Traditional methods for gathering architectural design feedback, such as interviews, surveys, and focus groups, rely heavily on subjective user input, and often fail to capture the voices of children by relying on parent proxies. Physical mock-ups, a common alternative to traditional methods, provide a full-scale model of a room or space, often constructed from materials like cardboard or foam. While these mock-ups allow for some degree of spatial exploration, they are time-intensive, and limited in their ability to replicate real-world conditions; high-fidelity mock-ups which incorporate more realistic materials and finishes add expense and limit flexibility for testing multiple design iterations.       To overcome these challenges UC Berkeley researchers have developed an innovative participatory design methodology that leverages advanced virtual reality (VR), eye-tracking, and physiological/emotional biofeedback technologies to evaluate the design of pediatric healthcare environments. This comprehensive system is further enhanced by custom-developed workflows for creating dynamic, interactive room simulations that are randomized to ensure rigorous, unbiased data collection. The methodology is uniquely capable of gathering objective, quantifiable data on how pediatric patients and their families respond physiologically and emotionally to specific environmental design features.

      The demand for miniaturized power electronics with increased efficiency and performance motivates the exploration of piezoelectric structures as alternative passive components; piezoelectric components store energy in mechanical compliance and inertia with extremely high quality factors and energy densities significantly greater than those of magnetics at small scales. Recent magnetic-less dc-dc converter designs based on single-port piezoelectric resonators (PRs) have demonstrated power stage efficiencies of 99% and PR power handling densities of up to 5.7 kW/cm3. While marking tremendous milestones, such performance has only been achieved in non-isolated dc-dc converters with mild (2:1) voltage conversion ratios, confining the utility of piezoelectric-based power conversion to a narrow subset of applications.       Piezoelectrics may be expanded to a broader set of applications through use of multi-port piezoelectric transformers (PTs), which offer the same advantages as PRs but with the added potential for galvanic isolation and inherent voltage transformation. The present invention overcomes standing performance shortcomings in isolated magnetic-less PT-based dc-dc converters, providing a framework for high-efficiency piezoelectric transformer (PT) designs (wherein isolated PTs serve as the primary passive components in isolated dc-dc converters). One of the proposed PT designs is validated in a dc-dc power converter prototype and demonstrates a peak efficiency of 97.5%. The measured performance represents a 17x reduction in loss ratio compared to previous isolated magnetic-less PT-based dc-dc converter designs, and expands the value of piezoelectrics to applications requiring isolation.

Researchers from UC San Diego present a fully-passive, miniaturized, flexible form factor sensor interface titled ZenseTag that uses minimal electronics to read and communicate analog sensor data, directly at radio frequencies (RF). The technology exploits the fundamental principle of resonance, where a sensor's terminal impedance becomes most sensitive to the measured stimulus at its resonant frequency. This enables ZenseTag to read out the sensor variation using only energy harvested from wireless signals. UCSD inventors further demonstrate its implementation with a 15x10mm flexible PCB that connects sensors to a printed antenna and passive RFID ICs, enabling near real-time readout through a performant GUI-enabled software. They showcase ZenseTag's versatility by interfacing commercial force, soil moisture and photodiode sensors. 

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have developed a headset (e.g., virtual reality headset) in which two imaging modalities, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO), are incorporated with automated eye tracking and optical adjustment capabilities providing a fully automated imaging system in which patients are unaware that images of the retina are being acquired. Imaging takes place while the patient watches a soothing or entertaining video.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have developed a positron emission tomography (PET) medical imaging system that allows for higher 3D position resolution, eliminates radiation background, and holds a similar production cost to existing technologies.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a haptic interface designed to aid visually impaired individuals in navigating their environment using their portable electronic devices.

      Biologics are antibodies produced by genetically engineered cells and are widely used in therapeutic applications. Examples include pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and atezolizumab (Tecentriq), both employed in cancer immunotherapy as checkpoint inhibitors to restore T- cell immune responses against tumor cells. These biologics are produced by engineered cells in bioreactors in a process that is highly sensitive to the bioreactor environment, making it essential to integrate process analytical technologies (PAT) for closed-loop, real-time adjustments. Recent trends have focused on leveraging integrated circuit (IC) solutions for system miniaturization and enhanced functionality, for example enabling a single IC that monitors O2, pH, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), temperature, and glucose levels. However, no current technology can directly and continuously quantify the concentration and quality of the produced biologics in real-time within the bioreactor. Such critical measurements still rely on off-line methods such as immunoassays and mass spectrometry, which are time-consuming and not suitable for real- time process control.       UC Berkeley researchers have developed a microsystem for real-time, in-vivo monitoring of antibody therapeutics using structure-switching aptamers by employing an integrator-based readout front-end. This approach effectively addresses the challenge of a 100× reduction in signal levels compared to the measurement of small-molecule drugs in prior works. The microsystem is also uniquely suited to the emerging paradigm of “living pharmacies.” In living pharmacies, drug-producing cells will be hosted on implantable devices, and real-time monitoring of drug production/diffusion rates based on an individual’s pharmokinetics will be crucial.

      Current clinical practice for detecting low-concentration molecular biomarkers requires sending samples to centralized labs, leading to high costs and delays. Successful point-of-care (POC) diagnostic technology exist, such as the paper-based lateral-flow assay (LFA) used for pregnancy tests and SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests, or miniaturized instruments such as the Abbot i-Stat Alinity. However, the former provides binary results or limited quantitative accuracy, and the latter is too expensive for in-home deployment. A promising approach for POC diagnostics, offering tailored circuit optimization, multiplexed detection, and significant cost and size reductions, is millimeter-sized CMOS integrated circuits coupled with microfluidics. Recent demonstrations include protein, DNA/RNA, and cell detection. The current complexity of system packaging (e.g., wire/flip-chip bonding) makes integrating microfluidics with more sophisticated functions challenging, and often-required syringe pumps and tubing are operationally unfriendly, limiting current approaches.       UC Berkeley researchers have developed a fully integrated, multi-mode POC device that requires single-step assembly and operates autonomously. Drawing inspiration from RFID technology and implantables, they have introduced inductively-coupled wireless powering and communication functionality into a CMOS bio-analyzer. With the chip being fully wireless, the die can be easily integrated into a substrate carrier, achieving a completely flat surface that allows for seamless bonding with the microfluidic module. In the final product, the device will be sealed in a pouch inside a vacuum desiccator. The user tears the pouch, adds a drop of sample, and the system automatically begins operation. The operation window can last up to 40 minutes, making the process insensitive to time delays. The present CMOS bio-analyzer integrates pH-sensing and amperometric readout circuits for both proton-based and redox-based immunoassays.

      Integrating microelectronics with microfluidics, especially those implemented in silicon-based CMOS technology, has driven the next generation of in vitro diagnostics. CMOS/microfluidics platforms offer (1) close interfaces between electronics and biological samples, and (2) tight integration of readout circuits with multi-channel microfluidics, both of which are crucial factors in achieving enhanced sensitivity and detection throughput. Conventionally bulky benchtop instruments are now being transformed into millimeter-sized form factors at low cost, making the deployment for Point-of-Care (PoC) applications feasible. However, conventional CMOS/microfluidics integration suffers from significant misalignment between the microfluidics and the sensing transducers on the chip, especially when the transducer sizes are reduced or the microfluidic channel width shrinks, due to limitations of current fabrication methods.       UC Berkeley researchers have developed a novel methodology for fabricating microfluidics platforms closely embedded within a silicon chip implemented in CMOS technology. The process utilizes a one-step approach to create fluidic channels directly within the CMOS technology and avoids the previously cited misalignment. Three types of structures are presented in a TSMC 180-nm CMOS chip: (1) passive microfluidics in the form of a micro-mixer and a 1:64 splitter, (2) fluidic channels with embedded ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) and Hall sensors, and (3) integrated on-chip impedance-sensing readout circuits including voltage drivers and a fully differential transimpedance amplifier (TIA). Sensors and transistors are functional pre- and post-etching with minimal changes in performance. Tight integration of fluidics and electronics is achieved, paving the way for future small-size, high-throughput lab-on-chip (LOC) devices.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a technology that provides a novel method for decoding biosignals into speech, enhancing communication for individuals with speech impairments.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a technology that offers a sophisticated solution for collecting and measuring gas emissions from surfaces, particularly skin, with high sensitivity and specificity.

In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, the detection of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals is achieved using radiofrequency, or RF, coils. RF coils are often equivalently called “resonance coils” due to their circuitry being engineered for resonance at a single frequency being received, for low-noise voltage gain and performance. However, such coils are therefore limited to a small bandwidth around the center frequency, restricting MRI systems from imaging more than one type of nucleus at a time (typically just hydrogen-1, or H1), at one magnetic field strength.To overcome the inherent restriction without sacrificing performance, UC Berkeley researchers have developed an MRI coil that can perform low-noise voltage gain at arbitrary relevant frequencies. These frequencies can be programmably chosen and can include magnetic resonance signals from any of various nuclei (e.g., 1H, 13C, 23Na, 31P, etc.), at any magnetic field strength (e.g., 50 mT, 1.5T, 3T, etc.). The multi-frequency resonance can be performed in a single system. The invention has further advantages in terms of resilience due to its decoupled response relative to other coils and system elements.

      The demand for power electronics with smaller volumes, lighter weights, and lower cost has motivated ongoing investigation into alternative power passive component technologies. Miniaturization of power converters is bottlenecked by magnetics, whose power densities fundamentally reduce at small scales. Capacitors exhibit much more favorable densities at small sizes, but efficient voltage regulation and galvanic isolation are difficult to achieve without magnetics. Therefore piezoelectric components have emerged as compelling alternative passive components for power electronics. However,  their high-performance capabilities have been limited to applications of high load impedance due to the high characteristic of piezoelectric resonators (PRs) themselves.       To overcome this challenge, UC Berkeley researchers have developed novel piezoelectric resonator (PR) designs based on overtones, with enhanced power densities and reduced optimal load impedances. The overtone PRs have been demonstrated to have comparable efficiency to fundamental-mode PRs, while their capabilities for power handling density and lower optimal load impedances are increased. Use of overtone PRs can expand the utility of piezoelectrics to a wider scope of power electronics.

      Goniophotometers measure the luminance distribution of light emitted or reflected from a point in space or a material sample. Increasingly there is a need for such measurements in real-time, and in real-world situations, for example, for daylight monitoring or harvesting in commercial and residential buildings, design and optimization of greenhouses, and testing laser and display components for AR/VR and autonomous vehicles, to name a few. However, current goniophotometers are ill-suited for real-time measurements; mechanical scanning goniophotometers have a large form factor and slow acquisition times. Parallel goniophotometers take faster measurements but suffer from complexity, expense, and limited angular view ranges (dioptric angular mapping systems) or strict form factor and sample positioning requirements (catadioptric angular mapping systems). Overall, current goniophotometers are therefore limited to in-lab environments.      To overcome these challenges, UC Berkeley researchers have invented an optical sensor  for parallel goniophotometry that is compact, cost-effective, and capable of real-time daylight monitoring. The novel optical design addresses key size and flexibility constraints of current state-of-the-art catadioptric angular mapping systems, while maximizing the view angle measurement at 90°. This camera-like, angular mapping device could be deployed at many points within a building to measure reflected light from fenestrations, in agricultural greenhouses or solar farms for real-time monitoring, and in any industry benefitting from real-time daylight data.

      Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis (PSHA) has become a foundational method for determining seismic design levels and conducting regional seismic risk analyses for insurance risk analysis, governmental hazard mapping, critical infrastructure planning, and more. PSHA traditionally relies on two computationally intensive approaches: Riemann Sum and conventional Monte Carlo (MC) integration. The former requires fine slices across magnitude, distance, and ground motion, and the latter demands extensive synthetic earthquake catalogs. Both approaches become notably resource intensive for low-probability seismic hazards, where achieving a COV of 1% for a 10−4 annual hazard probability may require 108 MC samples.       UC Berkeley researchers have developed an Adaptive Importance Sampling (AIS) PSHA, a novel framework to approximate optimal importance sampling (IS) distributions and dramatically reduce the number of MC samples to estimate hazards. Efficiency and accuracy of the proposed framework have been validated against Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) PSHA benchmarks covering various seismic sources, including areal, vertical, and dipping faults, as well as combined types. Seismic hazards are calculated up to 3.7×104 and 7.1×103 times faster than Riemann Sum and traditional MC methods, respectively. Coefficients of variation (COVs) are below 1%. Enhanced “smart” AIS PSHA variants are also available that outperform “smart” implementations of Riemann Sum by a factor of up to 130.

Optical atomic clocks have taken a giant leap in recent years, with several experiments reaching uncertainties at the 10−18 level. The development of synchronized clock networks and transportable clocks that operate in extreme and distant environments would allow clocks based on different atomic standards or placed in separate locations to be compared. Such networks would enable relativistic geodesy, tests of fundamental physics, dark matter searches, and more. However, the leading neutral-atom optical clocks operate on wavelengths of 698 nm (Sr) and 578 nm (Yb). Light at these wavelengths is strongly attenuated in optical fibers, posing a challenge to long-distance time transfer. Those wavelengths are also inconvenient for constructing the ultrastable lasers that are an essential component of optical clocks. To address this problem, UC Berkeley researchers have developed a new, laser-cooled neutral atom optical atomic clock that operates in the telecommunication wavelength band. The leveraged atomic transitions are narrow and exhibit much smaller black body radiation shifts than those in alkaline earth atoms, as well as small quadratic Zeeman shifts. Furthermore, the transition wavelengths are in the low-loss S, C, and L-bands of fiber-optic telecommunication standards, allowing the clocks to be integrated with robust laser technology and optical amplifiers. Additionally, the researchers have identified magic trapping wavelengths via extensive studies and have proposed approaches to overcome magnetic dipole-dipole interactions. Together, these features support the development of fiber-linked terrestrial clock networks over continental distances.

This e-nose sensor applies odorant receptor proteins fused to ion channels within a lipid bilayer, combined with semiconducting materials, to detect the binding of target molecules through changes in electrical conductance. Designed for sensitivity at the molecular level, it can identify a wide range of substances by mimicking the olfactory capabilities of living organisms.

         Recent advancements in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy have underscored the need for novel instrumentation, but current commercial instrumentation performs well primarily for pre-existing, mainstream applications. Modalities involving, in particular, integrated electron-nuclear spin control, dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), and non-traditional NMR pulse sequences would benefit greatly from more flexible and capable hardware and software. Advances in these areas would allow many innovative NMR methodologies to reach the market in the coming years.          To address this opportunity, UC Berkeley researchers have developed a novel high-speed, high-memory NMR spectrometer and hyperpolarizer. The device is compact, rack-mountable and cost-effective compared to existing spectrometers. Furthermore, the spectrometer features robust, high-speed NMR transmit and receive functions, synthesizing and receiving signals at the Larmor frequency and up to 2.7GHz. The spectrometer features on-board, phase-sensitive detection and windowed acquisition that can be carried out over extended periods and across millions of pulses. These and additional features are tailored for integrated electron-nuclear spin control and DNP. The invented spectrometer/hyperpolarizer opens up new avenues for NMR pulse control and DNP, including closed-loop feedback control, electron decoupling, 3D spin tracking, and potential applications in quantum sensing.