Multi-Partner Project: Smart Sensor Analog Front-Ends Powered by Emerging Reconfigurable Devices (SENSOTERIC)

This work introduces SENSOTERIC, a multi-partner project that aims at leveraging the properties of emerging Reconfigurable Field Effect Transistors (RFETs) to develop a sensor platform. RFETs will be used for a generic sensor interface and for a dedicated transducer element. In the first case, our goal is to develop an analog front-end interface that can be tuned at runtime to adapt to different environmental conditions and be used in a broad spectrum of applications. This feature shall be enabled by the polarity-control and negative differential resistance characteristics of the reconfigurable devices employed, that are co-integrable on industrial CMOS processes such as 22 nm FDSOI. In the second case, we want to exploit the intrinsic nature of these doping-free devices to yield better 1/f noise performances when compared to classic CMOS transducers. Moreover, the presence of un-gated areas on top of the channel of these devices makes them the perfect candidates to be functionalized. In this early-stage overview of the project, we will introduce the key features and the vision that make SENSOTERIC a unique contribution towards smart sensing solutions in environmental monitoring and healthcare.