Potentiostat Overview

During my time at Santa Clara University, I worked on a portable potentiostat called Aquasift. Aquasift was designed to be low powered and linked to a cell phone with a USB cable for field use. Also, desktop software was designed for more detailed tests and analysis. Aquasift was designed to support both binary and ASCII data transfers. Aquasift can be used not only with its custom software but can also be used with any terminal software as its output data stream can be formatted as a MATLAB script. The aquasift has three methods for connecting to test cells. First, there are banana connectors for standard test leads. Second, There are pads on the PCB for an optional screw terminal connector. Third, there is a clamp on the bottom of the PCB designed for DropSens printed electrodes.

Potentiostat Pictures

Potentiostat Schematics

The Potentiostat PCBs were designed using Express PCB.

Potentiostat PCB Design

Potentiostat Enclosure

The Potentiostat enclosure was designed in Free CAD.

Potentiostat Desktop Software

The desktop software for the Aquasift was written in C# and developed using Visual Studios. The desktop software was designed to run on Windows computers.

Potentiostat Documentation

I created some basic instructions for operating the potentiostat along with a technical overview. Also, I created documentation showing the binary data stream and how to interpret it. This document was intended to help people interfacing with the device parse the incoming data.

Potentiostat Firmware

The firmware for the Aquasift was written in C++ and developed using Atmel Studios.