Wireless sensing and communication utilizing RF transmissions from microdischarges
First Claim
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1. A system capable of RF communication, the system comprising:
- a supply to produce an electrical supply signal;
a device coupled to the supply to receive the electrical supply signal and comprising a plurality of microfabricated electrodes spaced to generate an electrical microdischarge in a medium and in response to the supply signal, wherein the generated electrical microdischarge generates an RF transmission in response to variations in one or both of (i) the supply signal and (ii) characteristics of the medium; and
,an antenna to receive the RF transmission from the electrical microdischarge to enable the RF communication,wherein the microfabricated electrodes of the device form a sensor of the device, the sensor having a state such that the RF transmission generated by the electrical microdischarge is indicative of the sensor state, and wherein the sensor indicates whether a chemical species is present in the medium via a modification of a characteristic of the RF transmission resulting from an interaction between the electrical microdischarge and the chemical species.
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are systems and devices capable of wireless communications based on RF transmissions from discharges. A transmitting device includes a discharge generator having a plurality of electrodes spaced to support generation of the discharge, and a circuit coupled to the plurality of spaced electrodes to control a supply for the discharge generator. In some embodiments, controlling the supply for the discharge generator modifies a property of the discharge to modulate the RF transmission such that the resulting RF transmission is indicative of the device state or other information to be communicated.
35 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A system capable of RF communication, the system comprising:
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a supply to produce an electrical supply signal; a device coupled to the supply to receive the electrical supply signal and comprising a plurality of microfabricated electrodes spaced to generate an electrical microdischarge in a medium and in response to the supply signal, wherein the generated electrical microdischarge generates an RF transmission in response to variations in one or both of (i) the supply signal and (ii) characteristics of the medium; and
,an antenna to receive the RF transmission from the electrical microdischarge to enable the RF communication, wherein the microfabricated electrodes of the device form a sensor of the device, the sensor having a state such that the RF transmission generated by the electrical microdischarge is indicative of the sensor state, and wherein the sensor indicates whether a chemical species is present in the medium via a modification of a characteristic of the RF transmission resulting from an interaction between the electrical microdischarge and the chemical species. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of transmitting data from a device, the method comprising:
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providing, from a supply, a supply signal indicative of the data to spaced microfabricated electrodes of the device to generate an electrical microdischarge between the spaced microfabricated electrodes; generating, from the electrical microdischarge generated between the spaced microfabricated electrodes, an RF transmission, wherein the microfabricated electrodes of the device form a sensor, the sensor having a state such that the RF transmission generated by the electrical microdischarge is indicative of the sensor state in a medium; modifying the supply signal to modify a property of the electrical microdischarge to modulate the RF transmission such that the RF transmission is indicative of the data, for being received by an antenna of an external device to enable RF communication between the device generating the RF transmission and the external device; and sensing whether a chemical species is present in the medium via a modification of a characteristic of the RF transmission resulting from an interaction between the electrical microdischarge and the chemical species, the data indicating information on the chemical species. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of transmitting information from a device, the method comprising:
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providing, from a supply, a supply signal to spaced microfabricated electrodes of the device; generating, in response to changes in conditions between the space microfabricated electrodes, an electrical microdischarge between the spaced microfabricated electrodes of the device, wherein the microfabricated electrodes form a Geiger counter to detect whether a species is present, wherein the electrical microdischarge from the spaced microfabricated electrodes generates an RF transmission having a frequency spectrum dependent on the presence of the species ionized in the Geiger counter; transmitting the generated RF transmission from the Geiger counter to a receiver; receiving, at the receiver, the RF transmission resulting from the electrical microdischarge; and
,analyzing the frequency spectrum of the RF transmission to determine the information. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A system capable of RF communication, the system comprising:
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a supply to produce an electrical supply signal; a device coupled to the supply to receive the electrical supply signal and comprising a plurality of microfabricated electrodes spaced to generate an electrical microdischarge in a medium and in response to the supply signal, wherein the generated electrical microdischarge generates an RF transmission in response to variations in one or both of (i) the supply signal and (ii) characteristics of the medium; and
,an antenna to receive the RF transmission from the electrical microdischarge to enable the RF communication, wherein the microfabricated electrodes of the device form a sensor of the device, the sensor having a state such that the RF transmission generated by the electrical microdischarge is indicative of the sensor state, and wherein the sensor state is responsive to a beta particle interaction with the sensor such that the RF transmission is indicative of whether a beta particle has been detected.
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Specification