A Software Defined Modem for Underwater Communication
The UW-STREAM is developing a remote platform to test various modulation techniques in realistic sea conditions. The objective is to reach 10s of kilobits per second for a minimum range of 2 km. The reliability of the system relies on the combination of multiple-input multiple-output technology with an adaptive signal processing platform. The algorithm in implemented and tested on Xilinx's Zybo board.
Integration of a sensor font-end on CMOS 65-nm technology
To enable adaptive underwater sensors that can be deployed for several months, highly integrated platforms include the digital signal processing and analog front-end on a low-cost semiconductor platform. We are currently developing the voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), a channel selection filter, and a delta-sigma analog-to-digital converter for ultra-sonic/magnetic field sensors applied to the ocean industry. A picture of the VCO die is shown below (note that the tiling hides the active circuit, but the capacitors to enable the active inductors can be recognized).
