Accomplished:
This week, I mainly supported the finalization of the oscillator design as Charlie completed and locked the initial implementation. On my end, I did a final round of NMOS data preparation to better organize the distributions of gm, Id, and Vth across device types, patterns, and chips, which helped provide cleaner support for Charlie’s final parameter selections and also the W/L dimensions for Ethan to fab. On the hardware side, since the core oscillator test PCB work on my end was already completed, I shifted my focus toward planning the demo PCB, including the supporting infrastructure such as regulators, routing, and other connections needed for a working demonstration setup. I also began preparing for next week’s interim demo and coordinated plans for Sunday/Monday measurements (pending Hackerfab personnel availability as they hold the chip and want to participate in measurement process as well) so that we can begin initial characterization as soon as possible.
Progress/Schedule:
I am currently on schedule for my portion of the project. The main blocker from last week was the unfinished oscillator design and the resulting uncertainty around pin assignment, but now that Charlie has finalized the initial design and Ethan has completed fabrication on Friday, that dependency has largely been completed. As a result, I can now move forward on finalizing the oscillator pin layout and integrating the chip-specific details into the PCB work that had previously been waiting on the completed design and fabrication.
Upcoming Deliverables:
For next week, my main priorities are to carry out the initial measurements and characterization work, finalize the oscillator pin and layout decisions now that the design is complete, and work with Charlie to finish the demo PCB so it can be ordered on time. Since the base test PCB work is already done, the remaining PCB effort is mainly integrating the finalized oscillator design with the additional support circuitry required for the demo platform. In addition, I will continue to help prepare for the interim demo by contributing to the presentation flow, script, and any technical summaries taken from our empirical measurements.