UC San Diego

Blood alcohol measurement plays an important role in laboratory medicine and

forensic medicine. It is a critical tool in alcohol treatment and helpful in preventing relapse. Conventional methods for blood alcohol measurement are inaccurate, time-consuming, and complex to perform.

The work presented here develops technologies to accurately and continuously measure drugs of abuse, with a focus on alcohol. Due to its portability, low cost, and potential for fabrication, the injectable biosensor is extremely effective in blood alcohol and pH determination.

This thesis presents a systematic design methodology which addresses unique design challenges posed by the extreme densities, form factors, power budgets and wireless powering and data communication. Notable innovations include: 1) Multi-sensor microsystem which hosts alcohol and pH biosensors simultaneously; 2) Ultra low power architecture with total power consumption of 931 nW; 3) First fully on-chip wireless biosensor for tracking body alcohol; 4) Demonstration of simultaneous wireless power and data transfer over a 900 MHz inductive link; 5) Electrochemical cell design for integrated pH and alcohol biosensor. Simulation results are presented to back the performance of each block within the architecture. This work was designed and taped out in a 65 nm CMOS technology.