Electrochemical biosensors and logic devices based on aptamers

Aptamers are molecular recognition elements with high specificity that are selected from deoxyribonucleic acid/ribonucleic acid (DNA/RNA) library. Compared with the traditional protein recognition elements,aptamers have excellent properties such as cost-effective,stable,easy for synthesis and modification. In recent years,electrochemistry plays an important role in biosensor field because of its high sensitivity,high stability, fast response and easy miniaturization. Through the combination of these two technologies and our rational design,we constructed a series of biosensors and biochips that are simple,fast,cheap and miniaturized. Firstly,we designed an adenosine triphosphate (ATP) electrochemical biosensor based on the strand displacement strategy. We can detect as low as 10 nmol/L of ATP both in pure solution and complicated cell lysates. Secondly,we creatively split the aptamers into two fragments and constructed the sandwich assay platform only based on single aptamer sequence. We successfully transferred this design on biochips with multiple micro electrodes (6×6) and accomplished multiplex detection. In the fields of biochips and biocomputers,we designed several DNA logic gates with electric (electrochemical) signal as output which paves a new way for the development of DNA computer.

Logic devices based on nucleic acid self-assembly

Nucleic acids are natural macromolecules with the ability to store and transmit information based on the strict base-pairing principle.Beyond the natural nucleic acid double helixes,various DNA/RNA nanostructures with customized geometries and functionalities have been fabricated.Featured with programmability and sequence-dependent responsiveness,DNA/RNA nanostructures have been employed for the rational design and construction of logic devices.When stimulated by internal molecular triggers and/or external stimuli,these logic gate devices can operate at nanoscale level in complex biological environments,performing logic operations and producing corresponding outputs.In this minireview,we summarize the recent advances of nucleic acid logic devices,which are responsive to various stimuli,including DNA/RNA strands,metal ions,small molecules,peptides,proteins,photo-irradiation,pH changes,and so forth.The applications of these devices in biosensing and biofunction regulation are also included.In the last part of the present study,we discuss the remaining challenges and perspectives of nucleic acid logic devices.

A driving pulse edge modulation technique and its complex programming logic devices implementation

With the continual increase in switching speed and rating of power semiconductors, the switching voltage spike becomes a serious problem. This paper describes a new technique of driving pulse edge modulation for insulated gate bipolar transistors(IGBTs). By modulating the density and width of the pulse trains, without regulating the hardware circuit, the slope of the gate driving voltage is controlled to change the switching speed. This technique is used in the driving circuit based on complex programmable logic devices(CPLDs), and the switching voltage spike of IGBTs can be restrained through software, which is easier and more flexible to adjust. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and practicability of the proposed method.

Review on plasmon induced transparency based on metal-dielectric-metal waveguides

Plasmon induced transparency(PIT)in the transparent window provides new insights into the design of optical filters,switches and storage,and integrated optics.The slow light effect makes PIT applicable to both sensors and slow light devices.Besides,PIT can overcome the diffraction limit of light,which makes it possible to manipulate light on a half-wavelength scale and brings good news to the miniaturization of optical devices.In this paper,we first summarize the researches of PIT phenomenon based on metal-dielectric-metal(MDM)waveguide systems and analyze the physical mechanisms of PIT including bright-dark mode interactions and phase-coupling-induced transparency.Then,we review the applications of PIT in optical sensing,optical filtering,optical switching,slow light devices and optical logic devices.At last,we outline important challenges that need to be addressed,provide corresponding solutions and predict important directions for future research in this area.

Test system for miniature pulse-powered photoelectric invert switch based on CPLD

For electronic piezo gauge used for testing gun chamber pressure, its internal miniature pulse-powered photoelectric invert switch cannot often be powered up normally. To solve this problem, a test system for invert switch is presented to verify the reliability of the invert switch. The test system uses complex programmable logic device （CPLD） to control data acquisition of A/D converter and data storage of external flash memory, and then transmits the acquired data to a computer for data analysis and processing. The test system can provide the required sampling frequency of the signal in high temperature, normal temperature and low temperature environments, and the reliability of the invert switch can be verified according to the signal parameters. The results show that the test system has high precision and the tested invert switch has low power consumption and high reliability.

REVIEW OF ADVANCED FPGA ARCHITECTURES AND TECHNOLOGIES

Field Programmable Gate Array(FPGA) is an efficient reconfigurable integrated circuit platform and has become a core signal processing microchip device of digital systems over the last decade. With the rapid development of semiconductor technology, the performance and system integration of FPGA devices have been significantly progressed, and at the same time new challenges arise. The design of FPGA architecture is required to evolve to meet these challenges, while also taking advantage of ever increased microchip density. This survey reviews the recent development of advanced FPGA architectures, including improvement of the programming technologies, logic blocks, interconnects, and embedded resources. Moreover, some important emerging design issues of FPGA architectures, such as novel memory based FPGAs and 3D FPGAs, are also presented to provide an outlook for future FPGA development.

Design of operation parameters of a high speed TDI CCD line scan camera

This paper analyzes the operation parameters of the time delay and integration (TDI) line scan CCD camera, such as resolution, line rate, clock frequency, etc. and their mathematical relationship is deduced. By analyzing and calculating these parameters, the working clocks of the TDI CCD line scan camera are designed, which guarantees the synchronization of the line scan rate and the camera movement speed. The IL-E2 TDI CCD of DALSA Co. is used as the sensor of the camera in the paper. The working clock generator used for the TDI CCD sensor is realized by using the programmable logic device (PLD). The experimental results show that the working clock generator circuit satisfies the requirement of high speed TDI CCD line scan camera.

Novel Distributed Fiber Bragg Grating Sensing System Based on M-Z Interferometer

One of the problems in using grating sensors is how to measure a small Bragg wavelength shift accurately. Nowadays demodulation techniques are mainly based on the edge filter, tunable filter, or interferometric scanning methods. Interferometric demodulation is widely accepted as the technology which can provide the high sensitivity. An interrogation system using the interferometric scanning method is presented, in which an unbalanced fiber M-Z interferometer is used as the wavelength scanner for temperature measurement. A novel fiber Bragg grating sensor system based on M-Z interferometric demodulation technique is presented in this paper. The temperature sensitivity measured in the experiment is almost consistent with that obtained from the theoretic calculation.

THE DESIGN OF VMEBUS BRIDGE CONTROLLER WITH SHARC BUS

Targeting at the high expense and inflexibility to realize VMEbus bridge controller by professional Integrated Circuit (IC), this paper presents a scheme of adopting CPLD/FPGA (Complicated Programmable Logic Device/Field Programmable Gate Array) to design bridge controller between VMEbus and local bus. SHARC DSP (Digital Signal Processor) bus is an example. It has functions of nearly entire master/slave interface of VMEbus, and can act as DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller and perform block transfer in DMA or master processor initiative way without length limit. External circuit of the design is very simple. In comparison with special ICs, it has high performance to price ratio and can be easily applied to local buses of other processors with quite a little modification.

A Versatile High-speed Image Processing System Based on DSP and CPLD

In this paper, we present an optimized design method for high-speed embedded image processing system using 32 bit floating-point Digital Signal Processor （DSP） and Complex Programmable Logic Device （CPLD）. The DSP acts as the main processor of the system： executes digital image processing algorithms and operates other devices such as image sensor and CPLD. The CPLD is used to acquire images and achieve complex logic control of the whole system. Some key technologies are introduced to enhance the performance of our system. In particular, the use of DSP/BIOS tool to develop DSP applications makes our program run much more efficiently. As a result, this system can provide an excellent computing platform not only for executing complex image processing algorithms, but also for other digital signal processing or multi-channel data collection by choosing different sensors or Analog-to-Digital （A/D） converters.

Reliability analysis of magnetic logic interconnect wire subjected to magnet edge imperfections

Nanomagnet logic（NML） devices have been proposed as one of the best candidates for the next generation of integrated circuits thanks to its substantial advantages of nonvolatility, radiation hardening and potentially low power. In this article, errors of nanomagnetic interconnect wire subjected to magnet edge imperfections have been evaluated for the purpose of reliable logic propagation. The missing corner defects of nanomagnet in the wire are modeled with a triangle, and the interconnect fabricated with various magnetic materials is thoroughly investigated by micromagnetic simulations under different corner defect amplitudes and device spacings. The results show that as the defect amplitude increases, the success rate of logic propagation in the interconnect decreases. More results show that from the interconnect wire fabricated with materials, iron demonstrates the best defect tolerance ability among three representative and frequently used NML materials, also logic transmission errors can be mitigated by adjusting spacing between nanomagnets. These findings can provide key technical guides for designing reliable interconnects.

Polarization-induced photocurrent switching effect in heterojunction photodiodes

The unipolar photocurrent in conventional photodiodes(PDs)based on photovoltaic effect limits the output modes and potential versatility of these devices in photodetection.Bipolar photodiodes with photocurrent switching are emerging as a promising solution for obtaining photoelectric devices with unique and attractive functions,such as optical logic operation.Here,we design an all-solid-state chip-scale ultraviolet(UV)PD based on a hybrid GaN heterojunction with engineered bipolar polarized electric field.By introducing the polarization-induced photocurrent switching effect,the photocurrent direction can be switched in response to the wavelength of incident light at 0 V bias.In particular,the photocurrent direction exhibits negative when the irradiation wavelength is less than 315 nm,but positive when the wavelength is longer than 315 nm.The device shows a responsivity of up to−6.7 mA/W at 300 nm and 5.3 mA/W at 340 nm,respectively.In particular,three special logic gates in response to different dual UV light inputs are demonstrated via a single bipolar PD,which may be beneficial for future multifunctional UV photonic integrated devices and systems.

Phase-selective fluorescence of doped Ge_2Sb_2Te_5 phase-change memory thin films

In this Letter, new concepts of fluorescence phase-change materials and fluorescence phase-change multilevel recording are proposed. High-contrast fluorescence between the amorphous and crystalline states is achieved in nickel- or bismuth-doped Ge;Sb;Te;phase-change memory thin films. Opposite phase-selective fluorescence effects are observed when different doping ions are used. The fluorescence intensity is sensitive to the crystallization degree of the films. This characteristic can be applied in reconfigurable multi-state memory and other logic devices. It also has likely applications in display and data visualization.

Tunable thermo-optic switch based on fluid-filled photo-nic crystal fibers

A tunable thermo-optic intensity-modulated switch is investigated theoretically and numerically. It is based on the infiltration of temperature-sensitive mixture liquids into index-guiding photonic crystal fibers （PCFs）. The switching function attributes to the thermo-optic effect of the effective refractive index of the cladding. The simulation illustrates that the switch presents a tunable transition point according to the concentration of the mixture liquids, and the on-off switching functionality can be realized within a narrow temperature range of 2 ℃. The switches have wide application for innovative all-in-fiber optical communication and logic devices.

All-optical amplitude-shift keying and differential phase-shift keying to differential phase amplitude-shift keying format combination in highly nonlinear fiber

We propose an all-optical modulation formats combination scheme that merges an amplitude-shift keying （ASK） signal and a differential phase-shift keying （DPSK） signal into a single differential phase amplitude- shift keying （DPASK） signal based on parametric amplification in a highly nonlinear fiber. By optimizing the power of the ASK channel, formats combination of ASK and DPSK to DPASK signal is successfully demonstrated by computational simulation. The demodulation process of the generated DPASK pulses is investigated and the relationship between optical signal-to-noise ratio （OSNR） penalty and the input ASK power is presented. The proposed scheme may be used for increasing spectral efficiency and all-optical logic device.

Design of Quaternary ECL Q Gate

A new explanation of quaternary Q gate expression in Post algebra is given in this paper by using transmission function theory proposed in [1] and the quaternary ECL Q gate circuit is de- signed.The SPICE2 simulation to this circuit has confirmed that it has desired logical function and is totally compatible with various quaternary ECL circuits proposed before.

Perpendicular magnetic clusters with configurable domain structures via dipole-dipole interactions

Magnetic single-domain islands based on in-plane anisotropy （usually, shape anisotropy） and their dipole-dipole interactions have been investigated extensively in recent years. This has been driven by potential applications in magnetic recording, spintronics, magneto-biology, etc. Here, we propose a concept of out- of-plane magnetic dusters with configurable domain structures （multi-flux states） via dipole-dipole interactions. Their flux stages can be switched through an external magnetic field. The concept has been successfully demonstrated by patterned [Co/Pd] islands. A [Co/Pd] multilayer exhibits a large perpendicular anisotropy, a strong physical separation, and uniform intrinsic properties after being patterned into individual islands by electron beam lithography. A three- island cluster with six stable flux states has been realized by optimizing island size, thickness, gap, anisotropy, saturation magnetization, etc. Using [Co/Pd] multilayers, we have optimized the island structure by tuning magnetic properties （saturation magnetization and perpendicular anisotropy） using Landau-Liftshitz- Gilbert （LLG） simulation/calculation. Potential applications have been proposed, including a flexi-programmable logic device with AND, OR, NAND, and NOR functionalities and a magnetic domino, which can propagate magnetic current as far as 1 μm down from the surface via vertical dipole-dipole interactions.

Implementation of Dynamic Matrix Control on Field Programmable Gate Array

High performance computer is often required by model predictive control(MPC) systems due to the heavy online computation burden.To extend MPC to more application cases with low-cost computation facilities, the implementation of MPC controller on field programmable gate array(FPGA) system is studied.For the dynamic matrix control(DMC) algorithm,the main design idea and the implemental strategy of DMC controller are introduced based on a FPGA’s embedded system.The performance tests show that both the computation efficiency and the accuracy of the proposed controller can be satisfied due to the parallel computing capability of FPGA.