This paper proposes a low-power design method and a low-noise phase offset calibration technique for a gated ring-oscillator time-to-digital converter (GRO-TDC), which normally consumes a large percentage of most all-digital phase-locked loop (ADPLL) power. A single coarse counter logic structure along with time-interleaved even/odd paths significantly reduces the complexity and speed of the TDC logic. The proposed TDC consumes only 0.44 to 24 mW for 0.077 to 24.42 ns of detection range. The multi-path GRO accelerates the oscillation speed and achieves approximately 6.2 ps of time resolution. The GRO-TDC shows -1.43 to 1.35 least-significant bits (LSB) of differential non-linearity (DNL) and -1.32 to 1.96 LSB of integral non-linearity (INL) over a 11-bit dynamic range (DR). The entire ADPLL including the proposed TDC has been fabricated in a 65 nm CMOS process and occupies 0.67 mm2 of active area. The prototype ADPLL consumes 12.22 mW from 1.2 V supply and the TDC consumes only 0.65 mW for a 50-phase offset code. A modified integrating structure in the subsequent digital loop filter (DLF) has been developed to mitigate dithering noise on Vctrl code and the measured reference spur is -69.38 dBc at 3.6 GHz center frequency. The tuning range of the implemented ADPLL is 3.5 to 4.7 GHz by using 2-bit band switching and 5-bit coarse control, while maintaining low-KDCO values to suppress in-band quantization noise. The measured root-mean-square (RMS) jitter is 0.94 ps and 0.99 ps at 3.6 GHz integer-mode and 3.60743 GHz fractional-mode respectively.

Deep core temperature is the most basic and important information about health conditions. Non-contact infrared thermometers are widely used for human body temperature measurement. However, infrared thermometers are not suitable for deep core temperature measurement. To overcome this limitation, measuring deep core temperature with a microwave radiometer is gaining attention. In this study, we propose a dual-band on-body near-field antenna for measuring deep core temperature with a microwave radiometer application. The proposed antenna has a compact size of 20 mm $\times30$ mm $\times1.52$ mm. The negative (−) radiator is located at the top of the substrate and the positive (+) radiator is located at the bottom of the substrate. The dual-band is proposed for high temperature resolution and is achieved by a meander slot on the radiator. The antenna is fabricated on a high dielectric substrate and the stubs are proposed to reduce the size of the proposed antenna so that it can be used on various human body parts.

Human deep core temperature is a vital health condition parameter. Human body temperature change begins from the deep core followed by change in skin temperature. Measuring deep core temperature is the first action for rapid detection of health condition. Infrared thermometer can measure temperature; however, the only measures the skin temperature. The use of microwave radiometer for measuring deep core temperature has garnered attention. The antenna, an important component of the microwave radiometer, has rarely been focused upon in studies on measurement of deep core temperature. This study proposed compact dual-band on-body near field antenna with a reflector for measuring deep core temperature using a microwave radiometer. The proposed antenna size is 13 mm × 13 mm with a 20 mm × 20 mm reflector 3 mm above the radiator. The proposed antenna was simulated and designed on a full 3D body model and simplified flat phantom and measured on real human wrist. It achieved sufficient bandwidth and volume loss density can be used in microwave radiometers for measuring deep core temperature.

In this study, a hybrid bipolar arc plasma stimulation (BAPS) and dual pulse electroporation (DPEP) technique was used to form microchannels, and the effect of highly efficient transformation drug delivery (TDD) on the skin was analyzed. The BAPS technique was applied to pig skin to form a microchannel as a biological sample to measure and observe the plasma as a micropore. During the BAPS, an output voltage of 1 kVpp at 40 kHz was applied at duty rates of 20%, 40%, and 60%. The BAPS technique was applied to the keratin skin layer, and microchannels with an average size of 30 μm × 30 μm and up to 77 μm × 55 μm were formed only in the keratin layer without any damage to the dermal layer. Next, DPEP was stimulated to increase the permeability of the endothelial membrane in the structure with the microchannels. The proposed hybrid technique effectively introduces TDD deeper into the employed 20 female subjects skin test with average age of 44 years, and the results in the absorption rate increase about 418%.

Body-contouring devices deliver controlled thermal energy to treat cellulite, reduce localized fat, and improve skin elasticity. Since the thermal effect is closely related to the delivered RF output power, precise control of the output power is critical for both efficacy and safety. In this study, we propose a 2.4 GHz CMOS pulse-mode transmitter for body-contouring device applications, featuring precise control of the average power delivered to the body. The transmitter comprises a fully integrated phase-locked loop (PLL) synthesizer, pulse modulator (PM), and 10 mW power amplifier (PA). It is fabricated in a 65 nm CMOS with a compact die area of 3.75 mm². The PA provides four-level continuous-mode output control from −0.3 dBm to 11.1 dBm, and the PM performs programmable PA switching for pulse-mode operation of the PA with a wide range of pulse rates and duty ratios. By combining the continuous-mode output power control and pulse-mode on–off time regulation, the average output power delivered to the skin is finely controlled, managing the delivered power within a safe skin temperature below 65 °C. The PLL loop filter is fully integrated with a wide programmability, improving the form factor and bill of materials for the target devices. Measurement results confirm that the designed transmitter can accurately control both the average output power and pulse profile across the 2.4 GHz ISM band, demonstrating its suitability for compact home-use RF body-contouring devices.

This paper presents a highly integrated radio frequency (RF) CMOS receiver module for monitoring the core body temperature thermometer, which operates in the dual band 1.35 and 2.75 GHz ranges. The RF receiver IC, such as a Dicke radiometer, includes the full receiver circuits, RF switch and modulator, and duty calibrating circuit using a 65 nm CMOS process. With the proposed duty cycle modulation, accurate temperature sensing is achievable even with a receiver gain mismatch and fluctuation. The measured temperature ranges from 22 to 47.3°C, and the measured voltage slope is 2.97 mV/ms·°C, and the temperature error is less than 0.9°C in 1.35 GHz band. The radiometric RF CMOS IC has a size of 1.6 × 2.3 mm ² and the current consumption of 52 mW. Unlike the general skin temperature measurement of existing infrared (IR) sensors, the RF microwave core body thermometer equipped with an RF receiver IC that measures core body temperature inside a human body will be used in various fields as a digital healthcare and medical device.