dr. Z. Yu

1. A Compact 10-MHz RC Frequency Reference With a Versatile Temperature Compensation Scheme
   Pan, Sining; An, Xiaomeng; Yu, Zheru; Jiang, Hui; Makinwa, Kofi A. A.;
   IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits,
   pp. 1-9, 2023. DOI: 10.1109/JSSC.2023.3322307

2. A Prototype PZT Matrix Transducer with Low-Power Integrated Receive ASIC for 3D Transesophageal Echocardiography.
   C. Chen; S. Raghunathan; Z. Yu; M. Shabanimotlag; Z. Chen; Z. Y. Chang; S. Blaak; C. Prins; J. Ponte; E. Noothout; H. J. Vos; J. G. Bosch; M. D. Verweij; N. de Jong; M. A. P. Pertijs;
   IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control,
   Volume 63, Issue 1, pp. 47‒59, January 2016. DOI: 10.1109/tuffc.2015.2496580
   
   Abstract: ...

   This paper presents the design, fabrication, and experimental evaluation of a prototype lead zirconium titanate (PZT) matrix transducer with an integrated receive ASIC, as a proof of concept for a miniature three-dimensional (3-D) transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) probe. It consists of an array of 9 × 12 piezoelectric elements mounted on the ASIC via an integration scheme that involves direct electrical connections between a bond-pad array on the ASIC and the transducer elements. The ASIC addresses the critical challenge of reducing cable count, and includes front-end amplifiers with adjustable gains and microbeamformer circuits that locally process and combine echo signals received by the elements of each 3 × 3 subarray. Thus, an order-of-magnitude reduction in the number of receive channels is achieved. Dedicated circuit techniques are employed to meet the strict space and power constraints of TEE probes. The ASIC has been fabricated in a standard 0.18-μm CMOS process and consumes only 0.44 mW/channel. The prototype has been acoustically characterized in a water tank. The ASIC allows the array to be presteered across ±37° while achieving an overall dynamic range of 77 dB. Both the measured characteristics of the individual transducer elements and the performance of the ASIC are in good agreement with expectations, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed techniques.

3. Acoustic Characterisation of a PZT Matrix With Integrated Electronics for a 3D-TEE Probe
   S. Raghunathan; C. Chen; M. Shabanimotlagh; Z. Chen; S. Blaak; Z. Yu; C. Prins; M. Pertijs; J. Bosch; N. de Jong; M. Verweij;
   In Proc. IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS),
   October 2015. (abstract).

4. Low-power receive electronics for a miniature real-time 3D ultrasound probe
   M. Pertijs; C. Chen; S. Raghunathan; Z. Yu; M. ShabaniMotlagh; Z. Chen; Z. Y. Chang; E. Noothout; S. Blaak; J. Ponte; C. Prins; H. Bosch; M. Verweij; N. de Jong;
   In Proc. IEEE International Workshop on Advances in Sensors and Interfaces (IWASI),
   IEEE, pp. 235‒238, June 2015. invited paper. DOI: 10.1109/iwasi.2015.7184963

5. Front-end receiver electronics for a matrix transducer for 3-D transesophageal echocardiography
   Z. Yu; S. Blaak; Z. Y. Chang; J. Yao; J. G. Bosch; C. Prins; C. T. Lancee; N. de Jong; M. A. P. Pertijs; G. C. M. Meijer;
   IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control,
   Volume 59, Issue 7, pp. 1500‒1512, July 2012. DOI: 10.1109/tuffc.2012.2350
   
   Abstract: ...

   There is a clear clinical need for creating 3-D images of the heart. One promising technique is the use of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). To enable 3-D TEE, we are developing a miniature ultrasound probe containing a matrix piezoelectric transducer with more than 2000 elements. Because a gastroscopic tube cannot accommodate the cables needed to connect all transducer elements directly to an imaging system, a major challenge is to locally reduce the number of channels, while maintaining a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio. This can be achieved by using front-end receiver electronics bonded to the transducers to provide appropriate signal conditioning in the tip of the probe. This paper presents the design of such electronics, realizing time-gain compensation (TGC) and micro-beamforming using simple, low-power circuits. Prototypes of TGC amplifiers and micro-beamforming cells have been fabricated in 0.35-μm CMOS technology. These prototype chips have been combined on a printed circuit board (PCB) to form an ultrasound-receiver system capable of reading and combining the signals of three transducer elements. Experimental results show that this design is a suitable candidate for 3-D TEE.

6. A 9-channel low-power receiver ASIC for 3D transesophageal echocardiography
   Z. Yu; S. Blaak; C. Prins; Z. Y. Chang; C. T. Lancée; J. G. Bosch; N. de Jong; G. C. M. Meijer; M. A. P. Pertijs;
   In Proc. IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS),
   IEEE, pp. 2063‒2066, October 2012. DOI: 10.1109/ultsym.2012.0516
   
   Abstract: ...

   This paper presents a 9-channel low-power receiver ASIC dedicated to a matrix piezoelectric ultrasound transducer for 3D Trans-Esophageal Echocardiography (TEE). It consists of 9 low-noise amplifiers (LNAs), 9 time-gain-compensation (TGC) amplifiers and a 9:1 micro-beamformer. A prototype ASIC has been implemented in 0.35 μm CMOS technology, with a core area of 0.98 mm × 1.7 mm. It is operated at a 3.3 V supply and consumes only 0.5 mW per channel. The measured channel-to-channel mismatch is within ±1 dB. Acoustic measurements proved the micro-beamforming function of the ASIC when processing real ultrasound signals from a 3 × 3 transducer array. These promising results show that this design, after layout optimization, is suitable to be scaled up to accommodate a full matrix transducer.

7. Low-power receive-electronics for a miniature 3D ultrasound probe.
   Z. Yu;
   PhD thesis, Delft University of Technology, 2012.

8. Low-Power Receive-Electronics for a Miniature 3D Ultrasound Probe
   Zili Yu;
   PhD thesis, Delft University of Technology, April 2012.
   document

9. Ultrasound beamformer using pipeline-operated S/H delay stages and charge-mode summation
   Z. Yu; M. A. P. Pertijs; G. C. M. Meijer;
   Electronics Letters,
   Volume 47, Issue 18, pp. 1011‒1012, September 2011. DOI: 10.1049/el.2011.1786
   
   Abstract: ...

   The proposed ultrasound beamformer is based on the delay-and-sum beamforming principle. The circuit consists of several programmable delay lines. Each delay line is constructed by pipeline-operated sample-and-hold (S/H) stages with digitally-assisted delay control, which ensure delay-independent gain and good timing accuracy. The summation is realised in the charge domain using the charge-averaging method, which consumes virtually no extra die area or power. A prototype beamformer has been fabricated in a 0.35 m CMOS process to interface nine transducer elements. Measurement results show that this circuit consumes much less power and chip area than the prior art, while maintaining good accuracy and flexibility.

10. Imaging the Heart with Ultrasound: Interface Electronics Design for 3D Transesophageal Echocardiography
    Z. Yu;
    In The Sense of Contact 13,
    Sense of Contact 2009, pp. -, 2011.

11. Design of a Beamformer for an Ultrasonic Matrix Transducer for 3D Transesophageal Echocardiography
    Z. Yu; S. Blaak; G. C. M. Meijer; M. A. P. Pertijs; C. T. Lancée; J. G. Bosch; C. Prins; N. de Jong;
    In Annual Sensor Technology Workshop Sense of Contact,
    The Netherlands, April 2010. (Best Poster Award).

12. A programmable analog delay line for Micro-beamforming in a transesophageal ultrasound probe
    Z. Yu; M. A. P. Pertijs; G. C. M. Meijer;
    In Proc. IEEE International Conference on Solid-State and Integrated Circuit Technology (ICSICT),
    IEEE, pp. 299‒301, November 2010. DOI: 10.1109/icsict.2010.5667749

13. Design of a low power time-gain-compensation amplifier for a 2D piezoelectric ultrasound transducer
    J. Yao; Z. Yu; M. A. P. Pertijs; G. C. M. Meijer; C. T. Lancee; J. G. Bosch; N. de Jong;
    In Proc. IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium (IUS),
    IEEE, pp. 841‒844, October 2010. DOI: 10.1109/ultsym.2010.5935775
    
    Abstract: ...

    In this paper, a programmable time-gain compensation amplifier dedicated to a 2D piezoelectric ultrasound transducer is presented. It uses an open-loop amplifier structure consisting of a voltage-to-current converter and a current-to-voltage converter. The circuit has been designed in a standard 0.35-μm CMOS process. Simulation and measurement results show that gains of 0dB, 12dB, 26dB and 40dB can be achieved for input signals centered at 6MHz with 80dB dynamic range (100μV to 1V). The measured gain errors at 6MHz are below 1dB for all gain settings. The amplifier consumes only 130μW when driving a 250fF load.

14. Design of a micro beamformer for a 2D piezoelectric ultrasound transducer
    S. Blaak; Z. Yu; G.C.M. Meijer; C.T. Lancee; J.G. Bosch; N. de Jong;
    In M Pappalardo (Ed.), Proceedings 2009 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium,
    IEEE, pp. 1338-1341, 2009. NEO.

15. Project pieken in de delta, heart in three dimensions interface electronics, design progress report V
    Z. Yu;
    Delft University of Technology, , 2008.

16. Project pieken in de delta, heart in three dimensions interface electronics, design progress report III
    Z. Yu;
    Delft University of Technology, , 2008.

17. Project pieken in de delta, heart in three dimensions interface electronics, design progress report IV
    Z. Yu;
    Delft University of Technology, , 2008.

18. Project pieken in de delta, Heart in three dimensions interface electronics, design progress report 1
    Z. Yu;
    Delft University of Technology, , 2008.

19. Project pieken in de delta, heart in three dimensions interface electronics, design progress report III
    Z. Yu;
    Delft University of Technology, , 2008.

20. Design constraints of the interface electronics for an ultrasonic matrix transducer for 3D transesophageal echocardiography
    Z. Yu; G.C.M. Meijer; C.A. Prins; N. de Jong; H. van den Bosch;
    In s.n. (Ed.), Proceedings of sense of contact X,
    Sense of Contact 2009, pp. 1-4, 2008.

21. A programmable time-gain-compensation (TGC) amplifier for medical ultrasonic echo signal processing
    Z. Yu; G.C.M. Meijer;
    In s.n. (Ed.), Proceedings of ICSICT,
    ICSIST, pp. 1-4, 2008.

22. The interface electronics for an ultrasonic matrix transducer for 3D transephageal echocardiography
    Z. Yu; G.C.M. Meijer;
    In s.n. (Ed.), Proceedings of Electronics-ET 2008,
    Electronics 2008, pp. 19-22, 2008.

23. A precision band-gap reference in CMOS technology
    Z. Yu;
    PhD thesis, Delft University of Technology, 2007.

24. band-gap reference (NP60751) measurement report
    Z. Yu;
    PhD thesis, Delft University of Technology, 2007.

25. A 2nd order sigma-delta ADC as an interface circuit for SOI accelerometers
    Y. Yu; S. Butselaar; K.A.A. Makinwa;
    In s.n. (Ed.), Proceedings of ProRISC 2005, 16th Annual Workshop on Circuits, Systems and Signal Processing,
    Dutch Technology Foundation, pp. 316-319, 2005. Editor onbekend, JH/STW.

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