Research activities

My research interests cover analog and mixed systems of analog electronics, design of CMOS integrated circuits and design of sensor interfaces. Presently, I develop two research axes in SOC department of the LIP6 lab:

1. Synchronisation and phase synthesis in complex SOCs

Synchronisation between spacially distributed oscillators has many applications in telecommunications and in integrated architectures. We are interested in a network of oscilaltor coupled in the phase domaine: such a structure is often called "coupled PLL network" or "vector PLL". It can have an immediate use for a generation of a global clock in large and complex synchronous Systems On Chip (e.g., multiprocessor systems).
This application is studied in the frame of a French national research program, in HODISS project (Distributed clock generator for synchronous multiprocessor SOCs).

Official web site of the HODISS project - Web page of "phase synthesis" research topic 

2. Smart electronic interfaces for harvesters of parasit vibration energy

Harvesting of energy available in environment and its conversion to the electricity is one of the solutions to provide a sustainable supply to embedded microsystems.  (e.g., wireless sensors).

We are interested in electricity generators which take the energy from parasitic external vibrations. Potential applications are : sensors in aircrafts, cars, industrial machines... The harvester we study use variable capacitors to convert mechanical energy to the electrical one. Such electromechanical transducers can be fabricated in silicon technologies, but require complex conditioning electronics. Our research is focused on the architecture of the conditioning circuits, on the optimal algorithmes allowing to maximise the energy yield and on behaviouar modeling of the whole system. 

This topic is developped in close cooperation with the ESYCOM lab which contributes with design and fabrication of the MEMS resonators and transducers needed for the harvester. Together with this lab, LIP6 participates in the national research project SESAM whose goal is a design of multisource electricity generator able to make use of ambiant energies of several natures (thermical, solar, vibrational, etc...).

Official site of the project SESAM - Web page of the research topic "Energy harvesting"