In line with the thrust of the government to make the Philippines a powerhouse in integrated circuits (IC) design industry, the Microelectronics Laboratory of the Electrical/Electronics/Computer Engineering (EECE) Department conducted a series of trainings to support the said advocacy. With the partnership of Philippine Institute for Integrated Circuits (PIIC) and support from the Institute of Electronics Engineers of the Philippines (IECEP) – Iligan Bay Chapter, the training is now on its 2nd phase (Operational Amplifier IC Design). These continuous efforts were participated by different universities across Mindanao to learn and experience IC Design.
The 5-day training was conducted at the Microelectronics Laboratory of the College of Engineering last January 18-22, 2015. It was joined and attended by the faculty members from Mindanao University of Science and Technology and Xavier University – Cagayan de Oro City, La Salle University – Ozamis City, Jose Rizal Memorial State University – Dapitan City, Ateneo de Davao University and University of Mindanao – Davao City, and Notre Dame University – Cotabato. The lecturers and trainers are the faculty members and students (undergraduate and graduate) of the EECE Department.
The 1st phase of the training which was held last July 27-31, 2015 provided the faculty trainees with the basic understanding of MOS transistor characteristics and operations. The second phase of the training tackles on Analog IC design specifically on Operational Amplifiers.
The MSU-IIT participants dominated the stage in the 10th Analog Devices Technical Symposium held at Conference Hall of the Summit Ridge Hotel in Tagaytay City on May 19-20, 2015.
The top 10 papers from various fields in Microelectronics were selected out of the hundred papers submitted. Seven (7) were from Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, one (1) from UP-Diliman, one (1) from Batangas State University and one (1) from the University of San Carlos.
Of the seven (7) MSU-IIT entries, five (5) came from the Microelectronics Lab of Electronics Engineering and two (2) were from the Electronics Engineering Technology Department.
The papers that were presented were: “Variable Frequency, Variable Amplitude, Low-EMI SPWM Generation Method for Inverter Applications” by Hareez M. Villaruz and Wan-Rone Liou; 2.) On-Chip Indoor Light Energy Harvester for Ultra-Low-Power Applications Implemented in 90 nm CMOS Process Technology by Meriyssa A. Mayormita, John Raul Rebollos and Jefferson A. Hora; 3.) “Multi-Channel Constant Current LED Driver with PWM Boost Converter” by Nieva Mapula 4.) “Asynchronous Dual-Mode Buck Converter Design with Protection Circuits in 0.13um CMOS Process for Battery Applications” by Jhon Ray M. Esic, Wan-RoneLiou and Jefferson A. Hora; 5.) “Overstress-Free Charge Pump White LED Driver” by Allenn Dela Cerna Lowaton, Hong-Yi Huang and Darryl Dave G. Ditucalan; 6.) “A Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Interface Circuit Using Negative Voltage Converter with Active Diode and DC-DC Buck Converter” by Qadier Idris Jilluh and Allenn Dela Cerna Lowaton; 7.) “On the Fly Computation Method in FPGA Hardware for ADC Linearity Test” by Darwin C. Mangca, Anne Loraine Luna and Jefferson A. Hora. Each of the finalists received 5,000 pesos cash and the best paper received a 30,000 pesos cash prize.
The paper entitled “Overstress-Free Charge Pump White LED Driver” by Prof. Allenn dela Cerna Lowaton, Hong-Yi Huang and Darryl Dave G. Ditucalan was awarded the best paper in the symposium. This paper was written by Prof. Lowaton and was presented by Darryl Dave G. Ditucalan, a senior ECE student.
LED driver is one of the product lines of Analog Devices in which issues regarding reliability are a main concern. The paper aims to increase the consistency and reliability of the device during operation and such one reliability problem discovered in the circuit is that of gate-oxide overstress. The judges and audience were amazed by this update regarding gate-oxide overstress and the innovation presented by the solution offered by the design and paper.
Aside from the technical symposium, MSU – IIT participated in the Analog Devices Demo Booth on May 20, 2015 at Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay City in which participants from other top universities were also invited to share their researches and inventions through demos and personal conversations with the experts and Analog Devices’ top management. The delegates from MSU– IIT has proven its dominance in the field of microelectronics by being the largest delegation and for winning the ADTS Best Paper for the Academic Category.
Analog Devices Technical Symposium (ADTS) is a yearly event organized by the Analog Devices Philippines where local and foreign engineers from the different groups of the company come together to celebrate the company’s achievements for the year.
Analog Devices (ADGT), a world leader in analog, mixed signal and digital signal processing (DSP) integrated circuits solution provider is located at General Trias, Cavite.
