It is widely accepted that high-speed communications will remain one of the major fields of studies in the foreseeable future. Communications (wireless or wireline) are affected by many parameters, but it is essentially the limitations of the physical layer that determine its speed and flexibility. While a large amount of effort has been dedicated to development of new substrates and techniques at the physical layer, high speed and low power communication systems and circuits are facing the physical limitations of the devices and substrates used. This is particularly the case, in integrated systems and circuits, where non-dominant effects of the past are becoming dominant to haunt Moore's law for high-speed circuits. While the number of on-chip transistor increases, the inevitable limitations of the scaling process are creating limitations that cannot be easily remedied. These effects have completely changed the design space and have made it more difficult to substantially increase the bandwidth and the speed of such systems using the conventional design techniques. These limitations are partly due to the levels of abstraction defined to facilitate the design process in the past, that have unfortunately lost their effectiveness in the light of the new constraints. Still the silicon-based technologies are the most promising technology for the next generation of ultra-high speed communication systems operating at tens of gigaherz. However, before this promise is realized in a practical system, a set of key research challenges need to be addressed. In this proposal, the PI plans to investigate several of the system, circuit, device, and simulation challenges, as well as the general impact of the integration of communication systems.
During the five year span of this proposal, he will continue to study many aspects of ultra high-speed silicon-based integrated circuits, emphasizing both their relevance to the practical integrated communication systems and circuits that will be developed in the near future, as well as their ability to develop new science and knowledge with implications beyond the initial problem. The main topics to be studied include: 1. noise processes in integrated communication systems, 2. distributed circuits for ultra high-speed wireless and wireline communications, 3. new transceiver architectures and concepts, 4. new device structures.
The PI joined academia because of his strong belief that education is perhaps the only real long-term solution to the primary problems faced by human society. Education is one of the primary human activities making learning and teaching two sides of the same coin. Thus, as an educator, whether in the classroom, solving theoretical research problems with graduate students, or in the laboratory helping a student create her complicated setup, the PI has had and will have the opportunity to teach and learn, and to broaden the vision and horizons of, and create new possibilities for, both his students and himself. His philosophy towards his career primarily as an educator is that every form of human interactions can and should be viewed as an opportunity to learn and educate. He has been and will continue to be able to make a broader impact by training and preparing students for their future careers, so that they may take on leadership roles and contribute to society at large. The primary reason for his joining Caltech is the unique opportunity to be a part of the strong link between its tradition in research and an extremely active and energetic student body. Caltech's excellence as a research institution, as well as its unwavering commitment to undergraduate education, make it an excellent place for such an endeavor. Also, the vigor and strength of its undergraduate body combined with the Institute's courage to challenge boundaries make it a perfect place to experiment with difficult and progressive approaches to teaching and education.
The main objectives of his educational plan are: 1. to continue teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses, emphasizing the fundamental concepts, encouraging creativity, and focusing on fundamental engineering trade-offs, 2. to continue curriculum development for all levels, trying to address as large an audience as possible, considering the needs of the department, institute, and society at large, 3. continue undergraduate and graduate advising by empowering students to realize their full capabilities.
