ECE Seminar with Valencia Koomson

Optoelectronic Integrated Circuits for High Resolution Imaging of Biological Structures With Dr. Valencia Joyner Koomson, Tufts University Visiting Researcher, Boston University Faculty Host: Thomas Little Refreshments will be served outside Room 339 at 3:45 p.m. Abstract: This talk will present research conducted by the Tufts Advanced Integrated Circuits and Systems Lab on the design of optoelectronic VLSI systems combining photonic and nanoelectronic silicon devices in a system-on-chip approach to achieve new levels of performance in biomedical imaging. Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is emerging as a promising non-invasive imaging tool for fundamental studies of biological processes and structures, offering greater biochemical specificity, high temporal resolution, potential for concurrent intracellular and intravascular event measurement, and portability. Time-resolved NIR techniques allow explicit separation of optical absorption and scattering parameters related to biological structures, such as tissue, and (in theory) provide functional and metabolic information based on spectral and spatial imaging information. However, the visibility of superficial and deep structures remains fairly poor due to the lack of imaging sensor technology combining high-resolution spatial mapping, fast pixel response time, and broad spectral response. We will present an overview of optical sensor design requirements for NIR biomedical imaging and discuss several novel imaging sensor architectures implemented in advanced silicon processing technologies. Experimental results on custom chip implementations in a 180nm CMOS process will be described. About the Speaker: Dr. Koomson completed the B.S. and M.Eng. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1998 and 1999, respectively. She received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Cambridge, UK in 2003. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Tufts University. Her research interests are in the design of silicon-based mixed-mode VLSI systems (analog, digital, RF, optical), analog signal processing, and optoelectronic system-on-chip modeling and integration for applications in biomedical imaging and free-space optical networking. Dr. Koomson is a 2010 recipient of the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award. She is a former Marshall Scholar, Intel Foundation Scholar and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. She is a member of Analog Signal Processing Technical Program Committee for the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society and a member of the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society and IEEE Photonics Society.