## Publications

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1. Antonello Florio, Gianfranco Avitabile and Giuseppe Coviello. An experimental validation of the NaÃ¯ve Approach to Angle of Arrival Estimation for Green WSNs. In 20th IEEE Mediterranean Electrotechnical Conference, MELECON 2020 - Proceedings. 2020. DOI BibTeX

@inproceedings{Florio2020,
abstract = {{\textcopyright} 2020 IEEE. In this work, the so-called na{\"{i}}ve approach to Angle of Arrival (AoA) estimation is discussed and experimentally characterized. Mathematical evaluations are proposed for Uniform Linear Arrays antennas allowing to evaluate advantages and disadvantages coming from this method. Experiments validate the approach and give a practical proof of its limits. The great advantage of the proposed method is that it requires only a trigonometric function inversion and simple computations like multiplications. This allows using specific and classical computational complexity reduction, like CORDIC, to solve the problem and giving the possibility to employ the method in full-hardware AoA estimation systems.},
author = "Florio, Antonello and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Coviello, Giuseppe",
booktitle = "20th IEEE Mediterranean Electrotechnical Conference, MELECON 2020 - Proceedings",
doi = "10.1109/MELECON48756.2020.9140528",
isbn = 9781728152004,
keywords = "Adaptive Beamforming,Angle of Arrival,CORDIC,Internet of Things,LP-WAN,Phased Arrays",
title = {An experimental validation of the Na{\"{i}}ve Approach to Angle of Arrival Estimation for Green WSNs},
year = 2020
}

2. Giovanni Piccinni, Franco Torelli and Gianfranco Avitabile. Chaos Suppression in Forced Chaotic Systems by Innovative Sliding Mode Control. IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs, 2020. DOI BibTeX

@article{Piccinni2020b,
abstract = "This brief introduces a procedure for suppressing the chaos based on an innovative sliding mode control. The procedure forces the system trajectory to track a sliding surface by means of a continuous control law. At the same time, the control signal must be able to drive the system to reach, asymptotically, the prefixed equilibrium condition. To perform this task, a novel tracking control algorithm is exploited. The latter involves the solution of a multi-objective optimization problem with the dynamic constraint expressed by system differential equations. This optimization process is solved by an innovative computational procedure based on Lyapunov and Sensitivity theory. In order to validate the proposed method, this was applied to the Van der Pol chaotic oscillator. The simulation results demonstrated that the chaotic behavior is completely removed and the resulting system is not affected by the chattering problem.",
author = "Piccinni, Giovanni and Torelli, Franco and Avitabile, Gianfranco",
doi = "10.1109/TCSII.2019.2935228",
issn = 15583791,
journal = "IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs",
keywords = "Chaos suppression,Chaotic System,Lyapunov,Sliding Control,Van der Pol oscillator",
title = "{Chaos Suppression in Forced Chaotic Systems by Innovative Sliding Mode Control}",
year = 2020
}

3. Giovanni Piccinni, Franco Torelli and Gianfranco Avitabile. Innovative DOA Estimation Algorithm Based on Lyapunov Theory. IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs, 2020. DOI BibTeX

@article{Piccinni2020a,
abstract = "This brief introduces a novel solution to estimate the Direction of Arrival (DoA) of a radio signal received by a Uniform Linear Array. The method is based on the Lyapunov theory and its performance are comparable with those obtained with traditional algorithms, such as MUSIC or ESPRIT. The DOA is computed by means of an identification parameters process that can be performed concurrently in each array sensor. In the proposed approach the complexity doesn't depend on the number of antenna elements in the array itself but, rather, on the sampling time and the solver type used to solve the ordinary differential equations system. The proposed algorithm is experimentally validated reporting some measurements performed in an indoor environment. The results demonstrate that the proposed procedure is able to evaluate the DoA with a mean error of 7.2e-3 and a standard deviation of 4.9e-3.",
author = "Piccinni, Giovanni and Torelli, Franco and Avitabile, Gianfranco",
doi = "10.1109/TCSII.2019.2943439",
issn = 15583791,
journal = "IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs",
keywords = "Directional of arrival,Lyapunov theory,localization,phased arrays,positioning",
title = "{Innovative DOA Estimation Algorithm Based on Lyapunov Theory}",
year = 2020
}

4. Giovanni Piccinni, Gianfranco Avitabile, Giuseppe Coviello and Claudio Talarico. Real-Time Distance Evaluation System for Wireless Localization. IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Regular Papers, 2020. DOI BibTeX

@article{Piccinni2020,
abstract = "The paper describes the FPGA implementation of a novel position evaluation algorithm based on the time difference of arrival (TDOA) principle that combines the characteristics of an Orthogonal Frequency Division Modulation (OFDM) symbol with the properties of the Zadoff-Chu mathematical sequences. The resulting system is highly scalable and its characteristics are easily adaptable to different operating scenarios. The algorithm has been implemented using the Stratix IV-E EP4SGX70HF35C3 FPGA, requiring about 112k bit of memory and less than 44k logic elements of which about 16k are registers. The paper describes the algorithm and its FPGA implementation along with experimental results validating the system performance even in the presence of multipath interferences and showing precision in target position estimation that is better than 2 cm.",
author = "Piccinni, Giovanni and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Coviello, Giuseppe and Talarico, Claudio",
doi = "10.1109/TCSI.2020.2979347",
issn = 15580806,
journal = "IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Regular Papers",
title = "{Real-Time Distance Evaluation System for Wireless Localization}",
year = 2020
}

5. Giuseppe Coviello and Gianfranco Avitabile. Multiple Synchronized Inertial Measurement Unit Sensor Boards Platform for Activity Monitoring. IEEE Sensors Journal, 2020. DOI BibTeX

@article{Coviello2020a,
abstract = "The synchronization between wireless sensor nodes is a big issue in all those low-cost systems in which each node performs measurements using its own sensors and stores the measured values locally. In the absence of synchronization, it is impossible to relate all the measurements coming from the different sub-systems on a single time scale for the extraction of complex features. The importance of this issue is even bigger when the sensors' sampling rate is high as for the Inertial Measurement Unit platforms. The paper addresses the issue of managing a large multi-sensor platform for off-line activities with a reduced sensor node complexity and guaranteeing the perfect synchronization for each acquired sample. The new simple and light algorithm proposed overcomes the limits of the commonly used protocols and it is suitable for this kind of applications. The entire system consists of an Android smartphone, a master unit and several slave units. Each board has a 9 Degrees of Freedom (DoF) Inertial Measurement Unit, a micro-SD for data storage and an ARM{\textregistered} Cortex ™-M4 CPU SoC supporting the protocols for both Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5 and 2.4 GHz custom communications.",
author = "Coviello, Giuseppe and Avitabile, Gianfranco",
doi = "10.1109/JSEN.2020.2982744",
issn = 15581748,
journal = "IEEE Sensors Journal",
keywords = "Activity monitoring,IMU platform,bluetooth low energy,gait analysis,real time counter,synchronized system",
title = "{Multiple Synchronized Inertial Measurement Unit Sensor Boards Platform for Activity Monitoring}",
year = 2020
}

6. Giuseppe Coviello, Gianfranco Avitabile and Antonello Florio. The Importance of Data Synchronization in Multiboard Acquisition Systems. In 20th IEEE Mediterranean Electrotechnical Conference, MELECON 2020 - Proceedings. 2020. DOI BibTeX

@inproceedings{Coviello2020,
abstract = "{\textcopyright} 2020 IEEE. The paper experimentally demonstrates the need and the importance to have a synchronization algorithm in the receiver section of each unit in a complex multi-board sensing system designed for off-line monitoring of biometric traces. In particular, the influence of the delay introduced by the receiver while processing synchronizing messages is evaluated. The sensor network is assumed to have a star topology with a single central node that acts also as a time coordinator. Experimental data show that even in a simple scenario, the synchronization strategies adopted to reduce receiving times have a significant impact on overall performance and instrument effectiveness.",
author = "Coviello, Giuseppe and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Florio, Antonello",
booktitle = "20th IEEE Mediterranean Electrotechnical Conference, MELECON 2020 - Proceedings",
doi = "10.1109/MELECON48756.2020.9140622",
isbn = 9781728152004,
keywords = "IoMT (Internet of Medical Things),Multisensor platforms,body area network,e-health,synchronized systems,wireless sensor networks",
title = "{The Importance of Data Synchronization in Multiboard Acquisition Systems}",
year = 2020
}

7. Giuseppe Coviello, Gianfranco Avitabile and Antonello Florio. A synchronized multi-unit wireless platform for long-term activity monitoring. Electronics (Switzerland) 9(7), 2020. DOI BibTeX

@article{Coviello2020c,
abstract = "{\textcopyright} 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. One of the objectives of the medicine is to modify patients' ways of living. In this context, a key role is played by the diagnosis. When dealing with acquisition systems consisting of multiple wireless devices located in different parts of the body, it becomes fundamental to ensure synchronization between the individual units. This task is truly a challenge, so one aims to limit the complexity of the calculation and ensure long periods of operation. In fact, in the absence of synchronization, it is impossible to relate all the measurements coming from the different subsystems on a single time scale for the extraction of complex characteristics. In this paper, we first analyze in detail all the possible causes that lead to have a system that is not synchronous and therefore not usable. Then, we propose a firmware implementation strategy and a simple but effective protocol that guarantees perfect synchrony between the devices while keeping computational complexity low. The employed network has a star topology with a master/slave architecture. In this paper a new approach to the synchronization problem is introduced to guarantee a precise but not necessarily accurate synchronization between the units. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed solution, a platform consisting of two different types of units has been designed and built. In particular, a nine Degrees of Freedom (DoF) Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) is used in one unit while a nine-DoF IMU and all circuits for the analysis of the superficial Electromyography (sEMG) are present on the other unit. The system is completed by an Android app that acts as a user interface for starting and stopping the logging operations. The paper experimentally demonstrates that the proposed solution overcomes all the limits set out and it guarantees perfect synchronization of the single measurement, even during long-duration acquisitions. In fact, a less than 30 µs time mismatch has been registered for a 24 h test, and the possibility to perform complex post-processing on the acquired data with a simple and effective system has been proven.",
author = "Coviello, Giuseppe and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Florio, Antonello",
doi = "10.3390/electronics9071118",
issn = 20799292,
journal = "Electronics (Switzerland)",
keywords = "Body area network,Gait analysis,IMU,Internet of Medical Things,Long-term monitoring,MIMU,Multi-unit,SEMG,Time synchronization",
number = 7,
title = "{A synchronized multi-unit wireless platform for long-term activity monitoring}",
volume = 9,
year = 2020
}

8. Giuseppe Coviello, Gianfranco Avitabile, Antonello Florio and Claudio Talarico. A Study on IMU Sampling Rate Mismatch for a Wireless Synchronized Platform. In Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems 2020-Augus. 2020. DOI BibTeX

@inproceedings{Coviello2020b,
abstract = "{\textcopyright} 2020 IEEE. The paper presents a study on the effects of the timing error sources in Multi IMU (MIMU) synchronized systems. In fact, the use of the IMU internal FIFO or the IMU interrupt feature for gathering new data, lead to incomplete or completely incorrect results. The paper addresses the issue of guaranteeing the perfect synchronization for each acquired sample. The proposed sensor network has a star topology with a single master that acts as a time coordinator for the slaves of its subnetwork. A system composed by a master and eight slaves is used for the experiments. The obtained results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed solution; the perfect synchronization between the slaves and the right sampling is achieved in a long time acquisition.",
author = "Coviello, Giuseppe and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Florio, Antonello and Talarico, Claudio",
booktitle = "Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems",
doi = "10.1109/MWSCAS48704.2020.9184531",
isbn = 9781538629161,
issn = 15483746,
keywords = "IMU,Internet of Medical Things (IoMT),MEMS,MIMU,Synchronized Systems,Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN),e-Health",
title = "{A Study on IMU Sampling Rate Mismatch for a Wireless Synchronized Platform}",
volume = "2020-Augus",
year = 2020
}

9. Giovanni Piccinni, Claudio Talarico, Gianfranco Avitabile and Giuseppe Coviello. Innovative strategy for mixer design optimization based on gm/ID methodology. Electronics (Switzerland), 2019. DOI BibTeX

@article{Piccinni2019a,
abstract = "This work introduces a process to optimize the design of a down-conversion mixer using an innovative strategy based on the gm/ID methodology. The proposed process relies on a set of technology-oriented lookup tables to optimize the trade-off between gain, power dissipation, noise, and distortion. The design is implemented using a 0.13 µm CMOS technology, and to the best of our knowledge, it possesses the best (post-layout simulation) figure of merit (FOM) among the works presented in literature. The FOM is defined as the product of gain and third-order intercept divided the product between average noise figure and power dissipation. Finally, the core of the mixer takes only 31 µm by 28 µm and it draws a current of 1 mA from the 1.5 V DC supply.",
author = "Piccinni, Giovanni and Talarico, Claudio and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Coviello, Giuseppe",
doi = "10.3390/electronics8090954",
issn = 20799292,
journal = "Electronics (Switzerland)",
keywords = "Gilbert's cell,Gm over ID,Mixer,Optimized design strategy",
title = "{Innovative strategy for mixer design optimization based on gm/ID methodology}",
year = 2019
}

10. Giovanni Piccinni, Francesco Torelli and Gianfranco Avitabile. Distance Estimation Algorithm for Wireless Localization Systems Based on Lyapunov Sensitivity Theory. IEEE Access, 2019. DOI BibTeX

@article{Piccinni2019,
abstract = "The paper describes a novel distance evaluation algorithm based on the time-difference of arrival (TDOA) principle. The proposed method solves the distance estimation problem applying the Lyapunov theory. To perform this task, the distance evaluation problem is converted to a parameters identification process exploiting the sensing signal peculiarities. This latter combines the properties of the Frank-Zadoff-Chu (FZC) sequences with the Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) modulation scheme. The resulting signal can be used to improve accuracy and precision in distance estimation using a reduced signal bandwidth. The system was modeled considering either an additive white noise Gaussian channel and a moderate multipath model. The simulation results demonstrate that the system achieves an accuracy and a precision better than 10 cm considering SNR equal to 0 dB and signal bandwidths of only 125 MHz.",
author = "Piccinni, Giovanni and Torelli, Francesco and Avitabile, Gianfranco",
doi = "10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2947015",
issn = 21693536,
journal = "IEEE Access",
title = "{Distance Estimation Algorithm for Wireless Localization Systems Based on Lyapunov Sensitivity Theory}",
year = 2019
}

11. Gianfranco Avitabile, Antonello Florio and Giovanni Piccinni. A Hybrid Hardware Estimation of the Angle of Arrival for Industrial IoT purposes. In Proceedings - 2019 International SoC Design Conference, ISOCC 2019. 2019. DOI BibTeX

@inproceedings{Avitabile2019,
abstract = "{\textcopyright} 2019 IEEE. In this work we present a very simple yet powerful full hardware architecture for Angle of Arrival estimation based on a comparative approach. This kind of system can be used in the field of Industrial IoT for tracking products or connect wireless sensors. The Angle of Arrival information can be used to perform conformal beamforming. First experimental results are reported to validate its performance.",
author = "Avitabile, Gianfranco and Florio, Antonello and Piccinni, Giovanni",
booktitle = "Proceedings - 2019 International SoC Design Conference, ISOCC 2019",
doi = "10.1109/ISOCC47750.2019.9027688",
isbn = 9781728124780,
keywords = "Angle of Arrival,Beamforming,Industrial IoT,Phased Arrays",
title = "{A Hybrid Hardware Estimation of the Angle of Arrival for Industrial IoT purposes}",
year = 2019
}

12. Giulio D'Amato, Gianfranco Avitabile, Giuseppe Coviello and Claudio Talarico. DDS-PLL Phase Shifter Architectures for Phased Arrays: Theory and Techniques. IEEE Access, 2019. DOI BibTeX

@article{DAmato2019,
abstract = "The main purpose of this paper is to review the framework behind direct digital synthesizer phase-locked loops (DDS-PLLs), as well as to provide a set of novel techniques that can be used during the development and the deployment of phased arrays based on local oscillator (LO) phase shifting approaches. A beam steering transmitter prototype employing our revised DDS-PLL architecture and the experimental results obtained during its characterization are presented. The main contribution of the proposed implementation consists in showing that the output phase increments of the DDS-PLL are unaffected by the frequency multiplication operated by the PLL. The proposed prototype is centered at 3.350 GHz and allows to independently set the phase of its four LOs at 2.453 GHz with an 8-bit resolution. The DDS-PLL architecture is frequency-independent, and the modular structure of its phase control units allows to achieve different phase resolutions with a very small redesign effort.",
author = "D'Amato, Giulio and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Coviello, Giuseppe and Talarico, Claudio",
doi = "10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2895388",
issn = 21693536,
journal = "IEEE Access",
keywords = "Beam steering transmitter,DDS-PLL,direct digital synthesizer (DDS),phase shifter,phase-locked loop (PLL)",
title = "{DDS-PLL Phase Shifter Architectures for Phased Arrays: Theory and Techniques}",
year = 2019
}

13. Giulio D'Amato, Giovanni Piccinni, Gianfranco Avitabile, Giuseppe Coviello and Claudio Talarico. An integrated phase shifting frequency synthesizer for active electronically scanned arrays. In Proceedings - 21st IEEE International Symposium on Design and Diagnostics of Electronic Circuits and Systems, DDECS 2018. 2018. DOI BibTeX

@inproceedings{DAmato2018,
abstract = "This paper presents the design of an integrated phase shifting frequency synthesizer for active electronically scanned arrays. The proposed frequency synthesizer, implements a 3-channel beam steering unit based on a local oscillator (LO) phase shifting approach that relies on the joint use of external loop filters and voltage-controlled oscillators. The design has been fabricated using AMS 0.35-$\mu$m SiGe BiCMOS process and it takes a die area of 9.38-mm2. Based on a frequency independent architecture and targeting space and weight constrained applications, the integrated circuit (IC) allows to program, its output channels, with a 10-bit precision 0° to 360° mutual phase shifts.",
author = "D'Amato, Giulio and Piccinni, Giovanni and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Coviello, Giuseppe and Talarico, Claudio",
booktitle = "Proceedings - 21st IEEE International Symposium on Design and Diagnostics of Electronic Circuits and Systems, DDECS 2018",
doi = "10.1109/DDECS.2018.00023",
isbn = 9781538657546,
keywords = "Active electronically scanned-arrays (AESA),Beam steering unit,Frequency synthesizer,LO phase shifting,Phase shifter",
title = "{An integrated phase shifting frequency synthesizer for active electronically scanned arrays}",
year = 2018
}

14. Giovanni Piccinni, Gianfranco Avitabile, Giuseppe Coviello and Claudio Talarico. Analysis and Modeling of a Novel SDR-Based High-Precision Positioning System. In SMACD 2018 - 15th International Conference on Synthesis, Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Methods and Applications to Circuit Design. 2018. DOI BibTeX

@inproceedings{Piccinni2018,
abstract = "This paper presents a novel Software Defined Radio (SDR) architecture for the design of a high-precision positioning system to be used in medical applications. The proposed architecture is composed of a single mobile transmitter and four fixed receivers using a non-coherent demodulation scheme. The transmitted signal consists of a 100 MHZ 64-length OFDM symbol representing the coefficients of a Frank-Zadoff-Chu (FCZ) sequence. The proposed design has been validated in presence of severe multipath interferences. The accuracy achieved in evaluating the position of the target is always within 1.2 cm with a mean error of 6 mm and a standard deviation of 2.2 mm.",
author = "Piccinni, Giovanni and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Coviello, Giuseppe and Talarico, Claudio",
booktitle = "SMACD 2018 - 15th International Conference on Synthesis, Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Methods and Applications to Circuit Design",
doi = "10.1109/SMACD.2018.8434872",
isbn = 9781538651520,
keywords = "Frank-Zadoff-Chu (FCZ) sequence,Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM),Positioning Systems,Software Defined Radio (SDR)",
title = "{Analysis and Modeling of a Novel SDR-Based High-Precision Positioning System}",
year = 2018
}

15. Giulio D'Amato, Gianfranco Avitabile, Giuseppe Coviello and Claudio Talarico. An FPGA-based beam steering transceiver prototype for narrowband IoT communications. In ACM International Conference Proceeding Series. 2017. DOI BibTeX

@inproceedings{DAmato2017,
abstract = "This work presents the design and implementation of a beam steering transceiver prototype targeting narrowband IoT communications. The proposed architecture, integrating an open-source 8051 processor IP-core and a revised 4-channel DDS-PLL phase shifter, has been validated using an FPGA evaluation board, a custom PCB with four PLLs centered at 2.453-GHz and a custom frontend board for signal up-And down-conversion as well as actual transmission and reception through antennas.",
author = "D'Amato, Giulio and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Coviello, Giuseppe and Talarico, Claudio",
booktitle = "ACM International Conference Proceeding Series",
doi = "10.1145/3123779.3123806",
isbn = 9781450348430,
keywords = "Beam steering transceiver,Field programmable gate array (FPGA),Internet-of-Things (IoT),Narrowband communications",
title = "{An FPGA-based beam steering transceiver prototype for narrowband IoT communications}",
year = 2017
}

16. Giovanni Piccinni, Gianfranco Avitabile, Claudio Talarico and Giuseppe Coviello. UWB distributed amplifier design using lookup tables and gm over ID methodology. Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing, 2017. DOI BibTeX

@article{Piccinni2017b,
abstract = "This paper introduces a synthesis procedure for designing Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) Distributed amplifiers (DA) based on lookup tables exploiting the gm over ID methodology. In order to validate the proposed approach, two conventional DAs with different number of stages were synthetized. The two DAs were implemented using the IHP 0.13 µm SiGe process and both achieve power gain of 11 dB, bandwidth of 10.6 GHz and DC-power consumption of 26 mW with a 1.2 supply voltage. The post-layout simulations validate both the accuracy and effectiveness of the procedure proposed for optimizing the DA performances. Additionally, the four-stage DA configuration, designed with the proposed approach achieves input/output matching return losses better than 16/18 dB. To the authors knowledge, these values are the best input/output return losses ever reported in literature for a conventional DA designed for UWB applications.",
author = "Piccinni, Giovanni and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Talarico, Claudio and Coviello, Giuseppe",
doi = "10.1007/s10470-016-0889-8",
issn = 15731979,
keywords = "Distributed amplifier,UWB amplifier,gm over ID",
title = "{UWB distributed amplifier design using lookup tables and gm over ID methodology}",
year = 2017
}

17. Giovanni Piccinni, Gianfranco Avitabile, Giuseppe Coviello and Claudio Talarico. Gilbert cell mixer design based on a novel systematic approach for nanoscale technologies. In 2017 IEEE 18th Wireless and Microwave Technology Conference, WAMICON 2017. 2017. DOI BibTeX

@inproceedings{Piccinni2017a,
abstract = "The paper presents a systematic methodology for designing a CMOS down-conversion mixer based on a conventional double balanced Gilbert cell. The design flow exploits the gm/ID methodology in order to optimize the size of the transistors that allow achieving the best tradeoff between conversion gain, noise figure, third-order intercept and power DC consumption of the entire system. The mixer was designed using a 0.13 $\mu$m process from IHP Microelectronics, and it exhibits a final conversion gain of 10.3 dB @ 0 dBm local oscillator power. The average noise figure is about 12 dB and the input third-order intercept is 0 dBm. Finally, the chip-core without bonding pads measures only 0.028 mm × 0.034 mm and it dissipates 4.4 mW with 1.5 V supply.",
author = "Piccinni, Giovanni and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Coviello, Giuseppe and Talarico, Claudio",
booktitle = "2017 IEEE 18th Wireless and Microwave Technology Conference, WAMICON 2017",
doi = "10.1109/WAMICON.2017.7930249",
isbn = 9781509043750,
keywords = "Double balanced mixer,Down-conversion mixer,Gilbert cell,gm over id",
title = "{Gilbert cell mixer design based on a novel systematic approach for nanoscale technologies}",
year = 2017
}

18. Giovanni Piccinni, Gianfranco Avitabile and Giuseppe Coviello. Narrowband distance evaluation technique for indoor positioning systems based on Zadoff-Chu sequences. In International Conference on Wireless and Mobile Computing, Networking and Communications. 2017. DOI BibTeX

@inproceedings{Piccinni2017,
abstract = "A rugged method for distance estimation based on an OFDM signal combined with the Zadoff-Chu sequences is introduced. A software algorithm extracts a coarse distance in time domain exploiting the Zadoff-Chu properties. The distance, then, is fine adjusted evaluating the time offset from the subcarriers phase. Several tests were performed in laboratory considering a very harsh indoor environment and using a pair of Right-Hand circularly polarized helical antennas in order to demonstrate the technique effectiveness. The system is able to estimate the distance with a very good level of precision and accuracy with only 50 MHz of signal bandwidth. In fact, the results show a maximum error of 1.23 cm, in distance estimation, and a maximum standard deviation of 0.8 cm. The proposed technique can be used in the implementation of indoor positioning systems.",
author = "Piccinni, Giovanni and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Coviello, Giuseppe",
booktitle = "International Conference on Wireless and Mobile Computing, Networking and Communications",
doi = "10.1109/WiMOB.2017.8115766",
isbn = 9781538638392,
issn = 21619654,
keywords = "Distance measurement,Indoor Localization,OFDM modulation,Positioning system,Zadoff-Chu sequence",
title = "{Narrowband distance evaluation technique for indoor positioning systems based on Zadoff-Chu sequences}",
year = 2017
}

19. Giulio D'Amato, Gianfranco Avitabile, Giuseppe Coviello and Claudio Talarico. Toward a novel architecture for beam steering of active phased-array antennas. In 2016 IEEE 59th International Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems (MWSCAS). October 2016, 1â€“4. URL, DOI BibTeX

@inproceedings{DAmato2016,
author = "D'Amato, Giulio and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Coviello, Giuseppe and Talarico, Claudio",
booktitle = "2016 IEEE 59th International Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems (MWSCAS)",
doi = "10.1109/MWSCAS.2016.7870074",
isbn = "978-1-5090-0916-9",
month = "oct",
pages = "1--4",
publisher = "IEEE",
title = "{Toward a novel architecture for beam steering of active phased-array antennas}",
url = "http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7870074/",
year = 2016
}

20. Giuseppe Coviello, Gianfranco Avitabile, Giovanni Piccinni and Nicola Margiotta. A 10 bits three channels 0.35 um SiGe phase shifter. International Journal of Circuits, Systems and Signal Processing, 2016. BibTeX

@article{Coviello2016a,
abstract = "The paper describes an active module for phase control in Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) realized in 0.35 $\mu$m SiGe BiCMOS technology provided by the AustriaMicroSystem. The system is composed by a digital Phase Control Block (PCB) which generates the three channel square waves with a minimum phase shift of 0.3515° and an output frequency of 1.953MHz, and the PLLs with external VCOs. The system clock is equal to 2GHz. As expected from the simulations, the maximum phase error is less than 0.1° and the rms phase error is less than 0.06°. The complete system has been tested at 2.45 GHz and 3.8 GHz with almost the same maximum phase error and rms from the theory confirming the validity of the architecture.",
author = "Coviello, Giuseppe and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Piccinni, Giovanni and Margiotta, Nicola",
issn = 19984464,
journal = "International Journal of Circuits, Systems and Signal Processing",
keywords = "Integrated circuit,PLL,Phase shifter,Phased arrays,VCO",
title = "{A 10 bits three channels 0.35 um SiGe phase shifter}",
year = 2016
}

21. Giuseppe Coviello, Gianfranco Avitabile, Giovanni Piccinni, Giulio D'Amato and Claudio Talarico. Effects on phased arrays radiation pattern due to phase error distribution in the phase shifter operation. In MATEC Web of Conferences. 2016. DOI BibTeX

@inproceedings{Coviello2016,
abstract = "A comprehensive study on the role of the phase errors distribution on the performances of the phased array systems has been produced. The analysis is brought out using a complete and behavioural model for radiation-pattern characteristics. The study has shown how the phase errors distribution actually affects the performances demonstrating that the rms phase error is a valuable figure of merit of phased array systems but it is not sufficient to completely describe the behaviour of a real system. The paper demonstrates that the antennas array beam shape is depending by the actual error phase distribution and that a good phase shifter has to have the phase errors as constant as possible and with a low rms value.",
author = "Coviello, Giuseppe and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Piccinni, Giovanni and D'Amato, Giulio and Talarico, Claudio",
booktitle = "MATEC Web of Conferences",
doi = "10.1051/matecconf/20167603002",
issn = "2261236X",
title = "{Effects on phased arrays radiation pattern due to phase error distribution in the phase shifter operation}",
year = 2016
}

22. Giovanni Piccinni, Gianfranco Avitabile, Giuseppe Coviello and Claudio Talarico. Distributed amplifier design for UWB positioning systems using the gm over id methodology. In 2016 13th International Conference on Synthesis, Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Methods and Applications to Circuit Design, SMACD 2016. 2016. DOI BibTeX

@inproceedings{Piccinni2016,
abstract = "In this paper we exploit the gm over ID methodology to optimize the design of a four stage conventional Distributed Amplifier (DA) for an Ultra-Wide Band positioning system. The W/L ratio and the DC-biasing of the amplifier's transistors are determined according to the gm over ID methodology by using a series of lookup tables generated starting from the model of the devices. The DA was designed using the IHP 0.13 $\mu$m SiGe process and provides a 14 dB gain over a bandwidth of 10.6 GHz. The input/output return loss of the amplifier is lower than -17 dB over the entire bandwidth, with an average noise figure of 1.95 dB and a 26 mW DC-power consumption.",
author = "Piccinni, Giovanni and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Coviello, Giuseppe and Talarico, Claudio",
booktitle = "2016 13th International Conference on Synthesis, Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Methods and Applications to Circuit Design, SMACD 2016",
doi = "10.1109/SMACD.2016.7520739",
isbn = 9781509004904,
keywords = "Distributed Amplifier,UWB applications,gm over id,positioning systems",
title = "{Distributed amplifier design for UWB positioning systems using the gm over id methodology}",
year = 2016
}

23. Francesco Cannone, Gianfranco Avitabile, Giuseppe Coviello and Giovanni Piccini. High Precision Digital Based 3.8GHz Phase Shifter. In Proceedings - 2015 IEEE 18th International Symposium on Design and Diagnostics of Electronic Circuits and Systems, DDECS 2015. 2015. DOI BibTeX

@inproceedings{Cannone2015b,
abstract = "The paper reports a highly repeatable 10-bits 3.8 GHz phase shifter implemented in a standard 0.35 $\mu$m SiGe technology for high precision applications. The prototype principle of operations and design are thoroughly described and demonstrated. The generated 0.35° phase step exhibits a rms error lower than 0.32°, mainly determined by the PLL inserted in the architecture.",
author = "Cannone, Francesco and Avitabile, Gianfranco and Coviello, Giuseppe and Piccini, Giovanni",
booktitle = "Proceedings - 2015 IEEE 18th International Symposium on Design and Diagnostics of Electronic Circuits and Systems, DDECS 2015",
doi = "10.1109/DDECS.2015.22",
isbn = 9781479967803,
keywords = "Phase shifter,Phased Locked Loop,antennas array",
title = "{High Precision Digital Based 3.8GHz Phase Shifter}",
year = 2015
}

24. Francesco Cannone and Gianfranco Avitabile. A 12-bit track and hold amplifier for giga-sample applications. Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing, 2015. DOI BibTeX

@article{Cannone2015a,
abstract = "The paper presents a track-and-hold amplifier (THA), based on the switched emitter follower topology, suitable for emerging receivers architectures and data acquisition systems. The THA exploits four concurrent techniques, all described in the paper, which allow to reduce the hold-mode feedthrough; to attenuate the differential droop rate; to improve the linearity of the input buffer; and to optimize the third order harmonic distortion for RF sampling operation. The effectiveness of this novel approach is demonstrated using a low cost 0.35 $\mu$m SiGe technology. The THA core draws about 145 mA from 3.5 V supply. The THA provides a spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) better than 72 dB when it is used for sampling an incoming signal of 0.9 Vpp centered around 925 MHz at a sampling rate of 0.5 GS/s. The THA allows a max sampling frequency equal to 6 GS/s and a max input frequency equal to 2.5 GHz and provides a SFDR better than 50 dB in all the available working conditions.",
author = "Cannone, Francesco and Avitabile, Gianfranco",
doi = "10.1007/s10470-015-0556-5",
issn = 15731979,
keywords = "Microwave circuits,RF sampling,SiGe,Switched emitter follower,Track and hold amplifier",
title = "{A 12-bit track and hold amplifier for giga-sample applications}",
year = 2015
}

25. Francesco Cannone and Gianfranco Avitabile. Analysis and design of wideband distributed VCOs based on switched-cells tuning technique. Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing, 2015. DOI BibTeX

@article{Cannone2015,
abstract = "The paper discusses a VCO belonging to the class of Distributed-VCOs (DVCOs) designed for wide tuning range operations. The trade-off between wide bandwidth and phase noise is central to the proposed design and the paper covers the DVCO topology and discusses its operations in detail, starting by the general conditions of oscillation and covering the applied tuning techniques. In particular the paper reports a description of the so called “switched-cells tuning technique”. The design of a fully integrated DVCO is reported. It is based on the “switched-cells tuning technique” and provides the following measured tuning ranges over four sub-bands: 219 MHz around 900, 291 MHz around 1.5 GHz, 392 MHz around 1.8 GHz and 199 MHz around 2.4 GHz. The DVCO performances are discussed and compared with other similar implementation reported in the recent literature showing the potentialities of the proposed approach. According to the reported theory, the results show the applicability of the proposed Distributed VCOs for wide bandwidth applications.",
author = "Cannone, Francesco and Avitabile, Gianfranco",
doi = "10.1007/s10470-015-0555-6",
issn = 15731979,
keywords = "Distributed amplifier,Microwave circuits,Switched circuits,Voltage-controlled oscillators",
title = "{Analysis and design of wideband distributed VCOs based on switched-cells tuning technique}",
year = 2015
}