Microradio Design, Manufacturing Method and Applications for the use of Microradios

• US 20070281657A1
• Filed: 01/20/2006
• Published: 12/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RadioFIDO LLC
• Original Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Incorporated (BAE Systems Plc)
• Inventors: Simonson, Peter, Brommer, Karl, Brommer, Tracey
• Granted Patent: US 8,010,048 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/334
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07756 the connection being non-galvanic, e.g. capacitive
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0044 specially adapted for holding portable devices containing batteries H02J7/0045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/40 Circuits

Abstract

A microradio (10) is provided with a hysteretic switch (16) to permit an optimum range increasing charging cycle, with the charging cycle beling long relative to the transmit cycle. Secondly, an ensemble of microradios permits an n2 power enhancement to increase range with coherent operation. Various multi-frequency techniques are used both for parasitic powering and to isolate powering and transmit cycle. Applications for microradios and specifically for ensembles of microradios include authentication, tracking, fluid flowing sensing, identification, terrain surveillance including crop health sensing and detection of improvised explosive devices, biohazard and containment breach detection, and biomedical applications including the use of microradios attached to molecular tags to destroy tagged cells when the microradios are activated. Microradio deployment includes the uses of paints or other coatings containing microradios, greases and aerosols.

Claims

1. A microradio, comprising:

a rectifier;

an oscillator;

a hysteretic switch coupled between said rectifier and said oscillator; and

,

a radiative structure coupled both to said rectifier and said oscillator.

2. The microradio of claim 1, wherein said rectifier includes a final capacitor and wherein said hysteretic switch couples said final capacitor to said oscillator for the powering thereof.

3. The microradio of claim 2, wherein said hysteretic switch is operative to switch said capacitor to said oscillator when the voltage across said final capacitor is above a predetermined level and for maintaining the connection of said capacitor to said oscillator until such time as the charging on said capacitor drops below a predetermined level.

4. The microradio of claim 3, wherein said hysteretic switch prevents the coupling of said final capacitor to said oscillator for a relatively long time compared to the time after said hysteretic switch is activated, such that charge is built up on said final capacitor over a relatively long time, whereupon said final capacitor is coupled to said oscillator to discharge through said oscillator in a relatively short period of time, such that the power built up in said final capacitor over a relatively long period of time is discharged quickly through said oscillator to allow said oscillator to produce a microburst of energy.

5. The microradio of claim 1, and further including a modulator coupled to said oscillator for controlling said oscillator to produce a modulated output.

6. The microradio of claim 5, wherein said modulator is a BFSK modulator.

7. The microradio of claim 6, wherein said modulator is a BPSK modulator.

8. The microradio of claim 1, wherein said radiative structure is a naturally radiative structure, whereby it is not necessary to provide said microradio with an antenna.

9. The microradio of claim 1, wherein said radiative structure is an antenna.

10. The microradio of claim 9, wherein said antenna includes a dipole.

11. The microradio of claim 10, wherein the length of said dipole is commensurate with the size of said microradio.

12. The microradio of claim 9, wherein said antenna includes a microcoil.

13. The microradio of claim 12, and further including a high-μ

material inserted into the coils of said microcoil.

14. The microradio of claim 13, wherein said microcoil takes on a staircase configuration having between 10 and 20 turns about said high-μ

material.

15. The microradio of claim 1, and further including a receiver interposed between said hysteretic switch and said oscillator for receiving command signals.

16. The microradio of claim 15, wherein said hysteretic switch is used first to switch the output of said final capacitor to said receiver for activating said receiver and thence to power said oscillator.

17. The microradio of claim 16, wherein said hysteretic switch powers said oscillator after receipt of command signals by said receiver.

18. The microradio of claim 1, wherein said hysteretic switch includes a first FET transistor coupled between the output of said final capacitor and ground through a pull-up resistor, the gate of said first transistor coupled to a voltage-dividing circuit coupled between the output of said final capacitor and ground, the connection between said pull-up resistor and said first transistor being coupled to the gate of a second FET transistor, said second FET transistor being coupled between the output of said final capacitor and a load, a third FET transistor coupled between the connection between said pull-up resistor and ground and to the gate of said second transistor, the gate of said third transistor being coupled to said load.

19. The microradio of claim 1, wherein said rectifier includes a voltage multiplier.

20. The microradio of claim 5, wherein said modulator includes two Colpitts oscillators, each operating at a different frequency, a Colpitts oscillator switch coupled between the outputs of said oscillators and said radiative structure, and a microcontroller, said microcontroller being coupled to said Colpitts oscillator switch to provide a BFSK modulation through the switching of said Colpitts oscillators to said antenna.

21. The microradio of claim 5, wherein said modulator includes a Taub and Schilling BPSK modulator for producing a BPSK signal, said Taub and Schilling BPSK modulator including a 180-degree phase shifter or inverter under the control of a microprocessor that switches between the inverted and uninverted signals, the output of said switch constituting said BPSK signal.

22. The microradio of claim 1, wherein the timeline for the charging of said final capacitor versus the timeline for the powering of said oscillator is such that the charging time exceeds the time that said oscillator emits a signal by at least an order of magnitude.

23. The microradio of claim 22, wherein said microradio includes a receiver and wherein said timeline includes a first charging period followed by a listening period for said receiver in which the charging time is at least an order of magnitude greater than the time said receiver is powered and in which a second charging time follows the listening period for said receiver, with said oscillator being powered in a time interval that is at least an order of magnitude shorter than said second charging time.

24. The microradio of claim 23, wherein said first and second charging times are on the order of 1 second, and wherein the times for which said receiver and said oscillator operate are on the order of 1 millisecond.

25. The microradio of claim 24, wherein each of said charging times includes storage of 1 microjoule and wherein the power dissipated by said radio and said oscillator are respectively in excess of 1 milliwatt and 1 milliwatt.

26. The microradio of claim 1, and further including a filter interposed between said radiative structure and said rectifier having a first frequency such that the final capacitor of said rectifier is charged at said one frequency;

and, wherein said oscillator is configured to operate at a second frequency different from said first frequency, such that information imparted by said oscillator exists at said second frequency, whereby the response of said microradio has a listening frequency different from the charging frequency.

27. The microradio of claim 1, wherein said rectifier includes a final capacitor, and further including a plurality of antenna outputs, a like plurality of delay elements coupled to respective antenna outputs, each of said plurality of elements delaying signals at a different frequency by different amounts such that all pulses transmitted sequentially at different frequencies may be time aligned into a summing node, a summing node for summing the outputs of said detectors and means for coupling the output of said summing mode to said rectifier, such that the final capacitor of said rectifier is charged by energy at said plurality of frequencies as received by said plurality of antennas.

28. The microradio of claim 1, wherein said radiative structure includes a metal structure.

29. The microradio of claim 28, wherein said metal structure has a radiative edge.

30. The microradio of claim 29, wherein said radiative edge includes a slot in said metal structure.

31. The microradio of claim 1, said radiative structure includes animal tissue.

32. A communications system comprising an ensemble of microradios coupled to a radiative structure and parasitically powered from the environment.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein said microradios are dispersed over said radiative structure by being entrained in an aerosol that contacts said radiative structure.

34. The system of claim 32, wherein said ensemble of microradios is entrained in a paint or other coating and is dispersed by the application of said paint or other coating containing microradios to said structure.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein said paint or other coating containing microradios is projected by a paint sprayer onto said structure.

36. The system of claim 32, wherein said ensemble of microradios is entrained in a grease and wherein said microradios are dispersed by the application of said grease to said structure.

37. The system of claim 32, wherein said structure is a naturally radiative structure.

38. The system of claim 32, wherein said structure includes an antenna.

39. The system of claim 32, wherein said ensemble of microradios is dispersed in a flowing fluid.

40. The system of claim 39, and further including a non-conductive conduit, said fluid flowing within said non-conductive conduit.

41. The system of claim 40, and further including energy projected towards said microradios entrained in said fluid;

and, a receiver for detecting emissions from said microradios so as to determine the position of said microradios in said non-conductive conduit.

42. The system of claim 32, and further including means for causing said ensemble of microradios to operate in a coherent fashion.

43. The system of claim 42, and further including a multi-user detector for separating out the signals from said coherently operated ensemble of microradios.

44. The system of claim 32, wherein said microradios include nano elements.

45. The system of claim 44, wherein said nano elements include nano-resonators.

46. The system of claim 44, wherein said nano elements include electrodes, each having a nano-wire extending therefrom to function as an antenna.

47. The system of claim 44, wherein said nano elements include a multi-wall nano-tube oscillator.

48. The system of claim 44, wherein said nano elements include a doubly clamped diamond beam nano-mechanical resonator.

49. The system of claim 44, wherein said nano elements include a three-terminal nano-tube rectifier.

50. The system of claim 44, wherein said nano elements include a single-electron transmitter.

51. The system of claim 50, wherein said single-electron transmitter includes gold particles and C60 nano-particles.

52. A method of determining conditions on the ground, comprising the steps of:

dispersing an ensemble of microradios over the ground;

providing said microradios with sensors;

parasitically powering said ensemble of microradios;

receiving the emissions from said microradios; and

,

demodulating the content thereof so as to record the parameters sensed by said sensors.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein the ground is covered with crops and wherein said sensors sense crop health.

54. The method of claim 52, wherein the sensors sense improvised explosive devices on the ground, whereby overflying the ground to parasitically power said microradios and receiving the outputs therefrom determines the presence of improvised explosive devices.

55. The method of claim 52, and further including the step of causing the ensemble of microradios to operate coherently so as to afford an n² power advantage.

56. The method of claim 55, and further including overflying the ground with a satellite and detecting signals from said microradios at satellite heights, whereby satellite surveillance of the ground is achieved when using coherent processes.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein said ensemble of microradios is parasitically powered by naturally-occurring energy in the environment.

58. The method of claim 52, and further including the step of projecting energy towards said ensemble of microradios from a low-flying vehicle, thereby to assist in the parasitic powering of said microradios.

59. The method of claim 52, and further including the step of coating each of said microradios with a conductive adhesive coating.

60. The method of claim 52, and further including the step of providing groups of said ensemble of microradios with a coding system such that the microradios respond to different codes, and further including the step of transmitting to said ensemble of microradios an access code that addresses selected groups of microradios according to the code.

61. The method of claim 60, and further including the step of providing batches of said microradios with a predetermined serial number, thus to identify a microradio when it transmits after having been parasitically powered.

62. A method for authenticating an article, comprising the steps of:

coating the article with an ensemble of parasitically powered microradios, each ensemble having a predetermined code associated therewith;

modulating the signal from the ensemble of microradios such that the information relating to the code is transmitted; and

,

demodulating the transmission from the parasitically powered microradios.

63. The method of claim 62, and further including storing the serial number of an ensemble of microradios relating to a particular article, whereby probing the article and receiving the predetermined code for the article authenticates the article.

64. The method of claim 62, and further including the step of providing the microradios in aerosol form;

housing the aerosol within a container; and

probing the area surrounding the container by parasitically injecting energy into the area and determining by microradio emission if any other object in the area is coated with microradios having a predetermined code, whereby articles containing the aerosol that are breached result in the emergence of the aerosol containing microradios away from the container, wherein they attach to other surfaces, including human or animal surfaces, thus to identify the individual or object breaching the container.

65. A method for determining fluid flow within a non-conductive pipe, comprising the steps of:

entraining microradios within the flowing fluid;

parasitically powering the microradios entrained within the fluid;

detecting emissions from the microradios; and

,

locating the positions of the detected microradios, whereby knowing the positions and time permits calculation of fluid flow parameters.

66. The method of claim 65, wherein each of the microradios includes a fluid characteristic sensor;

modulating each of the modules with information from the associated sensor; and

demodulating the emissions from the microradios entrained in the fluid to recover the sensor data, whereby characteristics of the fluid can be ascertained.

67. The method of claim 65, wherein the fluid is a bodily fluid, and further including the step of containing the fluid in a vessel, whereby vascular flow can be sensed outside the human or animal body, the human or animal body functioning as a naturally radiative surface.

68. The method of claim 67, wherein the bodily fluid is blood in a blood vessel.

69. A method for treating biologic material comprising the steps of attaching microradios to molecular tags;

supplying the microradios with receivers that respond to control signals;

projecting control signals to the microradios; and

causing the microradios to emit current responsive to the receipt of the control signals such that biologic materials in the vicinity of the tag are subjected to the current for the purpose of deleteriously affecting the biologic material, thereby to effectuate treatment.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein the tag attaches to a predetermined cell such that activation by the control signal of the corresponding microradios injects current to kill the cell to which the tag is attached.

71. The method of claim 70, wherein the tags target cancer cells and wherein the current destroys the tagged cancer cells.

72. A method for identifying articles, comprising the steps of:

embedding ensembles of microradios in the article, with the microradios having associated codes; and

,

parasitically powering the microradios such that the microradios emit signals incorporating the codes, whereby articles are identified through the embedding of the ensembles of microradios.

73. An anti-piracy method for establishing the authenticity of an article, comprising the steps of:

attaching microradios onto an article, the microradios having a predetermined code transmitted by the microradios upon parasitic powering;

parasitically powering the microradios on the article;

detecting the emissions from the ensemble of microradios to establish the existence of the code; and

,

authenticating the article through the existence or non-existence of any code detected upon parasitic powering, whereby articles that have not been provided with microradios, upon parasitic powering emit no radiation, thus indicating a pirated or fake article.

74. The method of claim 73, wherein the microradios are spray-painted on a finished article.

75. The method of claim 73, wherein a finished article is provided with indicia having microradios embedded therein;

76. The method of claim 73, wherein the article includes a container and wherein microradios are contained within an aerosol in the container, breach of the container causing the microradios to be dispersed outside the container, and further including the step of providing conductive adhesive about each of the microradios such that as they escape the container, they attach to a surface, thus to leave a trail to be able to track the location of the container.

77. The method of claim 76, and further including projecting energy to parasitically power the microradios over an area sufficient to detect the presence of microradios that might have attached to surfaces;

plotting the position of the microradios making transmissions; and

generating a track of the positions of the microradios making the transmissions so as to establish the present position of the container that original contained the microradios.

78. A method for tracking an animal, comprising the steps of:

embedding a parasitically powered ensemble of microradios in the animal;

parasitically powering the microradios embedded in the animal; and

,

detecting emissions from the parasitically powered microradios to establish the position of the animal.

79. The method of claim 78, and further including developing a track of the animal based on the emissions from the ensemble of microradios.

80. The method of claim 78, and further including the step of providing each ensemble of microradios embedded in the animal with a code identifying the particular animal;

having the transmitters emit the code upon parasitic powering; and

detecting the identity of the animal from the emissions from the ensemble of microradios.

81. A method of tracking a container, comprising the steps of:

providing an ensemble of microradios on the surface of the container;

parasitically powering the microradios;

detecting the emissions from the parasitically powered microradios; and

,

determining the position of the container based on the detected emissions from the microradios.

82. The method of claim 81, and further including the steps of providing a unique identifier code for each ensemble of microradios;

modulating the output of the ensembles of microradios with information reflecting the code; and

demodulating the code from the signals emitted from the microradios, whereby the identity of the container as well as its location can be ascertained.

83. A method for tracking a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

providing an ensemble of microradios at the vehicle;

parasitically powering the ensemble of microradios;

detecting the emissions from the microradios, thus to establish the presence of the vehicle through the emissions from the microradios.

84. The method of claim 83, and further including the step of providing an antenna along the road utilized by the vehicle that projects energy for parasitically powering the ensemble of microradios and for detecting emissions from the microradios.

85. The method of claim 84, wherein the antennas establish a limited range such that only microradios on vehicles within a predetermined distance from the antenna will be parasitically powered, thus to establish the location of the vehicle relative to the antenna.

86. The method of claim 85, and further providing a plurality of antennas at spaced locations along the road, and further including the step of ascertaining the close proximity of the vehicle as it passes by the spaced antennas, thus to provide an indication of the position, direction of travel and speed of the vehicle.

87. The method of claim 86, and further including the steps of locating the antennas ahead of a checkpoint;

and, alerting personnel at the checkpoint of the existence and speed of the vehicle having the microradios located thereon.

88. The method of claim 83, and further including the step of encoding the transmissions from the ensemble of microradios with a code identifying the vehicle, whereby the approach of a predetermined vehicle can be ascertained.

89. A method for manufacturing a micro radio comprising the steps of:

cutting a wafer of silicon into a plurality of components;

coating each of said components with a conductive adhesive.

90. The method of claim 89, wherein the wafer is cut into at least about 10,000 components.

91. The method of claim 90, wherein the coated components are dissolved in a dilute grease or an aerosol.

92. The method of claim 89, wherein the components reach a spherical shape due to surface tension.

93. The method of claim 89, wherein each component has an antenna.

94. A method for tracking an animal or object comprising the step of attaching a microradio to an animal or object and then monitoring positions of said animal or object.

95. A method for tracking metal objects comprising the step of attaching a microradio to a metal object and then monitoring positions of said metal object.

96. A method for measuring flow in a non-metallic pipe or in humans or animals by detecting movement of microradios in said non-metallic pipes or in people or animals.

97. A method for authentication comprising the step of positioning a microradio on or in an object to be authenticated.

98. An apparatus comprising a sensor and a microradio positioned on or embedded in an object, wherein the microradio is charged by external energy, reads the sensor and transmits to an interrogator.

99. A method for treating cancer in a human or animal comprising the steps of injecting a microradio and a receptor molecule into a body:

establishing a wireless link between the microradio and a control element outside the body;

allowing the receptor molecule to attach to the malignant protein on a malignant tumor; and

using the control element to cause the microradio to discharge an electrical current into a malignant tumor.