CAP Profiles

Bio

Academic Appointments

Honors & Awards

  • Tau Beta Pi Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Stanford University (June 2016)
  • Best Paper Award, IEEE Conference on Biomedical Wireless Technologies, Networks, and Sensing Systems (2016)
  • Best Paper Award, Progress in Electromagnetic Research Symposium (PIERS) (2015)
  • NSF CAREER Award, National Science Foundation (2015)
  • Best Paper Award, IEEE VLSI Circuits Symposium (2014)
  • Faculty Research Award, Google (2014)
  • Young Faculty Award (YFA), DARPA (2014)
  • Best Paper Award, IEEE International Conference in Ultra-Wideband (2013)
  • Hellman Faculty Scholar, Hellman Family Faculty Fund; Stanford University (2013)
  • School of Engineering Terman Fellow, Stanford University (2012)
  • Best Paper Award (2nd Place), IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Symposium (2011)
  • Jack Kilby Outstanding Student Paper Award, IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (2010)
  • Best Paper Award (2nd Place), IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits (RFIC) Symposium (2008)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

  • Associate Editor, IEEE Journal of Electromagnetics, RF and Microwaves in Medicine and Biology (2017 - Present)
  • Technical program committee (TPC), IEEE RFIC Symposium (2015 - Present)
  • Member of steering committee, IEEE RFIC Symposium (2017 - Present)

Professional Education

  • BSc, Sharif University of Technology, Electrical Engineering (2005)
  • MSc, UC Berkeley, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (2007)
  • PhD, UC Berkeley, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (2011)

Contact

Links

Research & Scholarship

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

My group's research covers circuit and system design for (1) biomedical, (2) sensing, and (3) Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

On the biomedical front we explore the design of emerging and hybrid medical imaging modalities and investigate new technologies for wireless implants, including ultrasonic power and data links.

Our work in sensing includes methods to enable next-generation interfaces (e.g., radar system design for human-computer interfaces), as well as methods of remote detection and imaging.

In the IoT area, we work on architectural solutions that enable radically miniaturized sensors for a trillion-sensor (tera-scale) future, including wireless power and wake-up radios. On the other end of the IoT space, we also work on next-generation extremely-high-throughput wireless and wireline “pipelines” that facilitate information flow on the network.

Teaching

2017-18 Courses

Stanford Advisees

Publications

All Publications

  • Wireless Data Links for Next-Generation Networked Micro-Implantables Proc. 2018 IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference Wang, M. L., Baltsavias, S., Chang, T., Weber, M. J., Arbabian, A.
  • Scaling of Ultrasound-Powered Receivers for Sub-Millimeter Wireless Implants IEEE Biomedical Circuits and Systems Conference (BioCAS) Chang, T., Weber, M. J., Charthad, J., Baltsavias, S., Arbabian, A.
  • A mm-sized wireless implantable device for electrical stimulation of peripheral nerves IEEE Trans. Biomedical Circuits and Systems Charthad, J. 2018
  • A miniaturized single-transducer implantable pressure sensor with time-multiplexed ultrasonic data and power links IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits Weber, M., Yoshihara, Y., Sawaby, A., Charthad, J., Chang, T., Arbabian, A. 2018
  • Microwave-Induced Thermoacoustic Imaging of Subcutaneous Vasculature With Near-Field RF Excitation IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES Aliroteh, M. S., Arbabian, A. 2018; 66 (1): 577–88

    View details for DOI 10.1109/TMTT.2017.2714664

    View details for Web of Science ID 000419544200052

  • Wireless Power Transfer to Millimeter-Sized Nodes Using Airborne Ultrasound IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ULTRASONICS FERROELECTRICS AND FREQUENCY CONTROL Rekhi, A. S., Khuri-Yakub, B. T., Arbabian, A. 2017; 64 (10): 1526–41

    Abstract

    We propose the use of airborne ultrasound for wireless power transfer to mm-sized nodes, with intended application in the next generation of the Internet of Things (IoT). We show through simulation that ultrasonic power transfer can deliver 50 [Formula: see text] to a mm-sized node 0.88 m away from a ~ 50-kHz, 25-cm2 transmitter array, with the peak pressure remaining below recommended limits in air, and with load power increasing with transmitter area. We report wireless power recovery measurements with a precharged capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer, demonstrating a load power of 5 [Formula: see text] at a simulated distance of 1.05 m. We present aperture efficiency, dynamic range, and bias-free operation as key metrics for the comparison of transducers meant for wireless power recovery. We also argue that long-range wireless charging at the watt level is extremely challenging with existing technology and regulations. Finally, we compare our acoustic powering system with cutting edge electromagnetically powered nodes and show that ultrasound has many advantages over RF as a vehicle for power delivery. Our work sets the foundation for further research into ultrasonic wireless power transfer for the IoT.

    View details for DOI 10.1109/TUFFC.2017.2737620

    View details for Web of Science ID 000412634700010

    View details for PubMedID 28796616

  • Exploiting spatial degrees of freedom for high data rate ultrasound communication with implantable devices APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS Wang, M. L., Arbabian, A. 2017; 111 (13)

    View details for DOI 10.1063/1.5004967

    View details for Web of Science ID 000412074000042

  • Remote sub-wavelength focusing of ultrasonically activated Lorentz current APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS Rekhi, A. S., Arbabian, A. 2017; 110 (16)

    View details for DOI 10.1063/1.4981906

    View details for Web of Science ID 000399984200068

  • Sound Technologies, Sound Bodies IEEE MICROWAVE MAGAZINE Arbabian, A., Chang, T. C., Wang, M. L., Charthad, J., Baltsavias, S., Fallahpour, M., Weber, M. J. 2016; 17 (12): 39-54

    View details for DOI 10.1109/MMM.2016.2608638

    View details for Web of Science ID 000388892900008

  • Design of Tunable Ultrasonic Receivers for Efficient Powering of Implantable Medical Devices With Reconfigurable Power Loads IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ULTRASONICS FERROELECTRICS AND FREQUENCY CONTROL Chang, T. C., Weber, M. J., Wang, M. L., Charthad, J., Khuri-Yakub, B. (., Arbabian, A. 2016; 63 (10): 1554-1562

    Abstract

    Miniaturized ultrasonic receivers are designed for efficient powering of implantable medical devices with reconfigurable power loads. Design parameters that affect the efficiency of these receivers under highly variable load conditions, including piezoelectric material, geometry, and operation frequency, are investigated. Measurements were performed to characterize electrical impedance and acoustic-to-electrical efficiency of ultrasonic receivers for off-resonance operation. Finally, we propose, analyze, and demonstrate adaptive matching and frequency tuning techniques using two different reconfigurable matching networks for typical implant loads from 10 [Formula: see text] to 1 mW. Both simulations and measurements show a significant increase in total implant efficiency (up to 50 percentage points) over this load power range when operating off-resonance with the proposed matching networks.

    View details for DOI 10.1109/TUFFC.2016.2606655

    View details for Web of Science ID 000385720000008

    View details for PubMedID 27623580

  • Loss and Dispersion Limitations in mm-Wave Dielectric Waveguides for High-Speed Links IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON TERAHERTZ SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Dolatsha, N., Chen, C., Arbabian, A. 2016; 6 (4): 637-640

    View details for DOI 10.1109/TTHZ.2016.2574326

    View details for Web of Science ID 000384913500016

  • System-Level Analysis of Far-Field Radio Frequency Power Delivery for mm-Sized Sensor Nodes IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS I-REGULAR PAPERS Charthad, J., Dolatsha, N., Rekhi, A., Arbabian, A. 2016; 63 (2): 300-311

    View details for DOI 10.1109/TCSI.2015.2512720

    View details for Web of Science ID 000372751000013

  • Fully packaged millimetre-wave dielectric waveguide with multimodal excitation ELECTRONICS LETTERS Dolatsha, N., Saiz, N., Arbabian, A. 2015; 51 (17): 1339-1340

    View details for DOI 10.1049/el.2015.2306

    View details for Web of Science ID 000359725300021

  • A mm-Sized Implantable Medical Device (IMD) With Ultrasonic Power Transfer and a Hybrid Bi-Directional Data Link IEEE JOURNAL OF SOLID-STATE CIRCUITS Charthad, J., Weber, M. J., Chang, T. C., Arbabian, A. 2015; 50 (8): 1741-1753

    View details for DOI 10.1109/JSSC.2015.2427336

    View details for Web of Science ID 000358618500002

  • A Power-Harvesting Pad-Less Millimeter-Sized Radio IEEE JOURNAL OF SOLID-STATE CIRCUITS Tabesh, M., Dolatsha, N., Arbabian, A., Niknejad, A. M. 2015; 50 (4): 962-977

    View details for DOI 10.1109/JSSC.2014.2384034

    View details for Web of Science ID 000352156000013

  • Non-contact thermoacoustic detection of embedded targets using airborne-capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS Nan, H., Boyle, K. C., Apte, N., Aliroteh, M. S., Bhuyan, A., Nikoozadeh, A., Khuri-Yakub, B. T., Arbabian, A. 2015; 106 (8)

    View details for DOI 10.1063/1.4909508

    View details for Web of Science ID 000350546600091

  • Stepped-frequency continuous-wave microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS Nan, H., Arbabian, A. 2014; 104 (22)

    View details for DOI 10.1063/1.4879841

    View details for Web of Science ID 000337161700093

  • Frequency-modulated magneto-acoustic detection and imaging ELECTRONICS LETTERS Aliroteh, M. S., Scott, G., Arbabian, A. 2014; 50 (11): 790-791

    View details for DOI 10.1049/el.2014.0997

    View details for Web of Science ID 000337911200006

  • mm-Wave Silicon: Smarter, Faster, and Cheaper Communication and Imaging. Frequency References, Power Management for SoC, and Smart Wireless Interfaces Niknejad, Ali, M., Arbabian, A., Callender, S., Chen, J., Chien, J., Kang, S. Springer International Publishing. 2014: 281–295
  • Segmentation and Artifact Removal in Microwave-Induced Thermoacoustic Imaging 36th Annual International Conference of the IEEE-Engineering-in-Medicine-and-Biology-Society (EMBC) Nan, H., Chou, T., Arbabian, A. IEEE. 2014: 4747–4750

    Abstract

    Microwave-induced thermoacoustic (TA) imaging combines the soft-tissue dielectric contrast of microwave excitation with the resolution of ultrasound for the goal of a safe, high resolution, and possibly portable imaging technique. However, the hybrid nature of this method introduces new image-reconstruction challenges in enabling sufficient accuracy and segmentation. In this paper, we propose a segmentation technique based on the polarity characteristic of TA signals. A wavelet analysis based method is proposed to identify reflection artifacts as well. The time-frequency feature of the signal is used to assist differentiating artifacts. Ex vivo verification with experimental data is also provided.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000350044704184

    View details for PubMedID 25571053

  • A 135GHz SiGe Transmitter With A Dielectric Rod Antenna-In-Package For High EIRP/Channel Arrays 36th Annual IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference (CICC) - The Showcase for Integrated Circuit Design in the Heart of Silicon Valley Saiz, N., Dolatsha, N., Arbabian, A. IEEE. 2014

    View details for Web of Science ID 000349122300144

  • A mm-Sized Implantable Device with Ultrasonic Energy Transfer and RF Data Uplink for High-Power Applications 36th Annual IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference (CICC) - The Showcase for Integrated Circuit Design in the Heart of Silicon Valley Charthad, J., Weber, M. J., Chang, T. C., Saadat, M., Arbabian, A. IEEE. 2014

    View details for Web of Science ID 000349122300093

  • A 94 GHz mm-Wave-to-Baseband Pulsed-Radar Transceiver with Applications in Imaging and Gesture Recognition Symposium on VLSI Circuits held its 26th Meeting on State-of-the-Art Topics important to VLSI Circuit and System Designers, as well as Device and Process Technology Experts Arbabian, A., Callender, S., Kang, S., Rangwala, M., Niknejad, A. M. IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC. 2013: 1055–71

    View details for DOI 10.1109/JSSC.2013.2239004

    View details for Web of Science ID 000316810500017

  • Analysis and Design of a Multi-mode Dielectric Waveguide Interconnect with Planar Excitation Dolatsha, N., Arbabian, A. 2013
  • Dielectric Waveguide with Planar Multi-Mode Excitation for High Data-Rate Chip-to-Chip Interconnects Dolatsha, N., Arbabian, A. 2013
  • A Three-Stage Cascaded Distributed Amplifier with GBW Exceeding 1.5THz IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium (RFIC) Arbabian, A., Niknejad, A. 2012: 211-214
  • A 94GHz mm-wave to baseband pulsed-radar for imaging and gesture recognition. In VLSI Circuits (VLSIC) Arbabian, A., Kang, S., Callender, S., Chien, J., Afshar, B., Niknejad, A. 2012: 56-57
  • 60GHz Low-Loss Compact Phase Shifters Using A Lumped Element Hybrid CICC Tabesh, M., Arbabian, A., Niknejad, A. 2011
  • Time-Domain Ultra-Wideband Synthetic Imager (TUSI) in Silicon 33rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering-in-Medicine-and-Biology-Society (EMBS) Arbabian, A., Niknejad, A. M. IEEE. 2011: 505–511

    Abstract

    This paper introduces a silicon-based imaging array for remote measurements of complex permittivity of tissue. Using a coherent pulsed measurement approach, this time-frequency resolved technique recovers the three dimensional mapping of electrical properties of the subject in the microwave/millimeter-wave frequency spectrum. Some of the major challenges in the design of the system are described. Initial measurement results from the prototype high-resolution transmitter fabricated in a 0.13 μm SiGe process are described. The transmitter achieves pulse widths suitable for millimeter-level accuracy imaging.

    View details for Web of Science ID 000298810000122

    View details for PubMedID 22254359

  • A 90GHz Pulsed-Transmitter with Near-Field/Far-Field Energy Cancellation using a Dual-Loop Antenna Arbabian, A., Kang, S., Callender, S., Afshar, B., Chien, J., Niknejad, A. 2011
  • A 90 GHz Hybrid Switching Pulsed-Transmitter for Medical Imaging IEEE JOURNAL OF SOLID-STATE CIRCUITS Arbabian, A., Callender, S., Kang, S., Afshar, B., Chien, J., Niknejad, A. M. 2010; 45 (12): 2667-2681

    View details for DOI 10.1109/JSSC.2010.2077150

    View details for Web of Science ID 000285052300016

  • A 90GHz Carrier 30GHz Bandwidth Hybrid Switching Transmitter with Integrated Antenna ISSCC 2010 Digest of Teach. Arbabian, et. al., A. 2010: 420-421
  • A 90nm CMOS Low-Power 60GHz Transceiver with Integrated Baseband Circuitry IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits Marcu, C., Chowdhury, D., Thakkar, C., Park, J., Kong, L., Tabesh, M., Arbabian, A. 2009; 44 (12): 3434-3447
  • A 90nm CMOS Low-Power 60GH Transceiver with Integrated Baseband Circuitry ISSCC 2010 Digest of Tech. Papers Marcu, C., Chowdhury, D., Thakkar, C., Kong, L., Tabesh, M., Park, J., Arbabian, A. 2009: 314-315
  • Design of a CMOS Tapered Cascaded Multistage Distributed Amplifier IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques Arbabian, A., Niknejad, A., M. 2009; 57 (4): 938-947
  • A Tapered Cascaded Multi-Stage Distributed Amplifier with 370GHz GBW in 90nm CMOS Arbabian, A., Niknejad, A., M. 2008
  • A Broadband Distributed Amplifier with Internal Feedback Providing 660GHz GBW in 90nm CMOS ISSCC 2008 Digest of Tech. Papers Arbabian, A., Niknejad, A., M. 2008: 196-197
  • A 60-GHz 90- nm CMOS Cascode Amplifier with Interstage Matching Heydari, B., Reynaert, P., Adabi, E., Bohsali, M., Afshar, B., Arbabian, A. 2007
  • Internal Unilaterization Technique for CMOS mm-Wave Amplifiers Heydari, B., Adabi, E., Bohsali, M., Afshar, B., Arbabian, A., Niknejad, A., M. 2007
  • The Optimizations of PRF Staggering in a MTI Radar Arbabian, A., Bastani, M., H., Tabesh, M. 2005
  • Rural Telecommunications in Iran: A Hybrid Solution Tabesh, M., Arbabian, A., Javaheri, H., Jalali, A. 2005