This week I was mainly focused on demo PCB development and supporting the next oscillator iteration using the team’s latest characterization results. A large portion of my work involved coordinating with Jim on the demo PCB design and integrating the oscillator into the broader test and demonstration platform. In particular, I worked through schematic-level design details, including supporting connections, component choices, and the calculation and selection of capacitor values needed for the PCB implementation, and particularly making custom Capacitors for potential oscillation performance testing.
At the same time, the latest empirical measurements from the fabricated chip helped clarify the behavior of the design and provided useful direction for Ethan’s upcoming V2 iteration. By the end of the week, we finalized the demo PCB schematic, so the remaining work is now focused on physical layout, packaging, and submitting the board order by next Tuesday along with the final supporting materials. Overall, the schedule remains tight, but the project is now in a much better position because the design has moved into a more concrete stage of measurement-informed refinement and hardware integration.