CMOS foveal image sensor chip

Science.gov (United States)

Bandera, Cesar (Inventor); Scott, Peter (Inventor); Sridhar, Ramalingam (Inventor); Xia, Shu (Inventor)

2002-01-01

A foveal image sensor integrated circuit comprising a plurality of CMOS active pixel sensors arranged both within and about a central fovea region of the chip. The pixels in the central fovea region have a smaller size than the pixels arranged in peripheral rings about the central region. A new photocharge normalization scheme and associated circuitry normalizes the output signals from the different size pixels in the array. The pixels are assembled into a multi-resolution rectilinear foveal image sensor chip using a novel access scheme to reduce the number of analog RAM cells needed. Localized spatial resolution declines monotonically with offset from the imager's optical axis, analogous to biological foveal vision.

A CMOS analog front-end chip for amperometric electrochemical sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Zhichao; Chen Min; Xiao Jingbo; Chen Jie; Liu Yuntao

2015-01-01

This paper reports a complimentary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) analog front-end chip for amperometric electrochemical sensors. The chip includes a digital configuration circuit, which can communicate with an external microcontroller by employing an I 2 C interface bus, and thus is highly programmable. Digital correlative double samples technique and an incremental sigma–delta analog to digital converter (Σ–Δ ADC) are employed to achieve a new proposed system architecture with double samples. The chip has been fabricated in a standard 0.18-μm CMOS process with high-precision and high-linearity performance occupying an area of 1.3 × 1.9 mm 2 . Sample solutions with various phosphate concentrations have been detected with a step concentration of 0.01 mg/L. (paper)

Fabrication of pseudo-spin-MOSFETs using a multi-project wafer CMOS chip

Science.gov (United States)

Nakane, R.; Shuto, Y.; Sukegawa, H.; Wen, Z. C.; Yamamoto, S.; Mitani, S.; Tanaka, M.; Inomata, K.; Sugahara, S.

2014-12-01

We demonstrate monolithic integration of pseudo-spin-MOSFETs (PS-MOSFETs) using vendor-made MOSFETs fabricated in a low-cost multi-project wafer (MPW) product and lab-made magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) formed on the topmost passivation film of the MPW chip. The tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) ratio of the fabricated MTJs strongly depends on the surface roughness of the passivation film. Nevertheless, after the chip surface was atomically flattened by SiO2 deposition on it and successive chemical-mechanical polish (CMP) process for the surface, the fabricated MTJs on the chip exhibits a sufficiently large TMR ratio (>140%) adaptable to the PS-MOSFET application. The implemented PS-MOSFETs show clear modulation of the output current controlled by the magnetization configuration of the MTJs, and a maximum magnetocurrent ratio of 90% is achieved. These magnetocurrent behaviour is quantitatively consistent with those predicted by HSPICE simulations. The developed integration technique using a MPW CMOS chip would also be applied to monolithic integration of CMOS devices/circuits and other various functional devices/materials, which would open the door for exploring CMOS-based new functional hybrid circuits.

Radiation imaging detectors made by wafer post-processing of CMOS chips

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blanco Carballo, V.M.

2009-01-01

In this thesis several wafer post-processing steps have been applied to CMOS chips. Amplification gas strucutures are built on top of the microchips. A complete radiation imaging detector is obtained this way. Integrated Micromegas-like and GEM-like structures were fabricated on top of Timepix CMOS

A 24 GHz CMOS oscillator transmitter with an inkjet printed on-chip antenna

KAUST Repository

Ghaffar, Farhan A.

2016-08-15

CMOS based RF circuits have demonstrated efficient performance over the decades. However, one bottle neck with this technology is its lossy nature for passive components such as inductors, antennas etc. Due to this drawback, passives are either implemented off chip or the designers work with the inefficient passives. This problem can be alleviated by using inkjet printing as a post process on CMOS chip. In this work, we demonstrate inkjet printing of a patterned polymer (SU8) layer on a 24 GHz oscillator chip to isolate the lossy Si substrate from the passives which are inkjet printed on top of the SU8 layer. As a proof of concept, a monopole antenna is printed on top of the SU8 layer integrating it with the oscillator through the exposed RF pads to realize an oscillator transmitter. The proposed hybrid fabrication technique can be extended to multiple dielectric and conductive printed layers to demonstrate complete RF systems on CMOS chips which are efficient, cost-effective and above all small in size. © 2016 IEEE.

Optical and Electric Multifunctional CMOS Image Sensors for On-Chip Biosensing Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiyotaka Sasagawa

2010-12-01

Full Text Available In this review, the concept, design, performance, and a functional demonstration of multifunctional complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS image sensors dedicated to on-chip biosensing applications are described. We developed a sensor architecture that allows flexible configuration of a sensing pixel array consisting of optical and electric sensing pixels, and designed multifunctional CMOS image sensors that can sense light intensity and electric potential or apply a voltage to an on-chip measurement target. We describe the sensors’ architecture on the basis of the type of electric measurement or imaging functionalities.

Experimental verification of on-chip CMOS fractional-order capacitor emulators

KAUST Repository

Tsirimokou, G.

2016-06-13

The experimental results from a fabricated integrated circuit of fractional-order capacitor emulators are reported. The chip contains emulators of capacitors of orders 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 with nano-Farad pseudo-capacitances that can be adjusted through a bias current. Two off-chip capacitors are used to set the bandwidth of each emulator independently. The chip was designed in Austria microsystems (AMS) 0.35μ CMOS. © 2016 The Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Experimental verification of on-chip CMOS fractional-order capacitor emulators

KAUST Repository

Tsirimokou, G.; Psychalinos, C.; Salama, Khaled N.; Elwakil, A.S.

2016-01-01

The experimental results from a fabricated integrated circuit of fractional-order capacitor emulators are reported. The chip contains emulators of capacitors of orders 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 with nano-Farad pseudo-capacitances that can be adjusted through a bias current. Two off-chip capacitors are used to set the bandwidth of each emulator independently. The chip was designed in Austria microsystems (AMS) 0.35μ CMOS. © 2016 The Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Electromagnetic design methods in systems-on-chip: integrated filters for wireless CMOS RFICs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Contopanagos, Harry

2005-01-01

We present general methods for designing on-chip CMOS passives and utilizing these integrated elements to design on-chip CMOS filters for wireless communications. These methods rely on full-wave electromagnetic numerical calculations that capture all the physics of the underlying foundry technologies. This is especially crucial for deep sub-micron CMOS technologies as it is important to capture the physical effects of finite (and mediocre) Q-factors limited by material losses and constraints on expensive die area, low self-resonance frequencies and dual parasitics that are particularly prevalent in deep sub-micron CMOS processes (65 nm-0.18 μm. We use these integrated elements in an ideal synthesis of a Bluetooth/WLAN pass-band filter in single-ended or differential architectures, and show the significant deviations of the on-chip filter response from the ideal one. We identify which elements in the filter circuit need to maximize their Q-factors and which Q-factors do not affect the filter performance. This saves die area, and predicts the FET parameters (especially transconductances) and negative-resistance FET topologies that have to be integrated in the filter to restore its performance. (invited paper)

Electromagnetic design methods in systems-on-chip: integrated filters for wireless CMOS RFICs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Contopanagos, Harry [Institute for Microelectronics, NCSR ' Demokritos' , PO Box 60228, GR-153 10 Aghia Paraskevi, Athens (Greece)

2005-01-01

We present general methods for designing on-chip CMOS passives and utilizing these integrated elements to design on-chip CMOS filters for wireless communications. These methods rely on full-wave electromagnetic numerical calculations that capture all the physics of the underlying foundry technologies. This is especially crucial for deep sub-micron CMOS technologies as it is important to capture the physical effects of finite (and mediocre) Q-factors limited by material losses and constraints on expensive die area, low self-resonance frequencies and dual parasitics that are particularly prevalent in deep sub-micron CMOS processes (65 nm-0.18 {mu}m. We use these integrated elements in an ideal synthesis of a Bluetooth/WLAN pass-band filter in single-ended or differential architectures, and show the significant deviations of the on-chip filter response from the ideal one. We identify which elements in the filter circuit need to maximize their Q-factors and which Q-factors do not affect the filter performance. This saves die area, and predicts the FET parameters (especially transconductances) and negative-resistance FET topologies that have to be integrated in the filter to restore its performance. (invited paper)

Integration of Solar Cells on Top of CMOS Chips - Part II: CIGS Solar Cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lu, J.; Liu, Wei; Kovalgin, Alexeij Y.; Sun, Yun; Schmitz, Jurriaan

2011-01-01

We present the monolithic integration of deepsubmicrometer complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) microchips with copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) solar cells. Solar cells are manufactured directly on unpackaged CMOS chips. The microchips maintain comparable electronic performance,

A CMOS 130nm Evaluation digitzer chip for silicon strips readout

CERN Document Server

Da Silva, W; Dhellot, M; Fougeron, D; Genat, J F; Hermel, R; Huppert, J f; Kapusta, F; Lebbolo, H; Pham, T H; Rossel, F; Savoy-navarro, A; Sefri, R; Vilalte

2007-01-01

A CMOS 130nm evaluation chip intended to read Silicon strip detectors at the ILC has been designed and successfully tested. Optimized for a detector capacitance of 10 pF, it includes four channels of charge integration, pulse shaping, a 16-deep analogue sampler triggered on input analogue sums, and parallel analogue to digital conversion. Tests results of the full chain are reported, demonstrating the behaviour and performance of the full sampling process and analogue to digital conversion. Each channel dissipates less than one milli-Watt static power.

A Low-Power Integrated Humidity CMOS Sensor by Printing-on-Chip Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang-Hung Lee

2014-05-01

Full Text Available A low-power, wide-dynamic-range integrated humidity sensing chip is implemented using a printable polymer sensing material with an on-chip pulse-width-modulation interface circuit. By using the inkjet printing technique, poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene/polystyrene sulfonate that has humidity sensing features can be printed onto the top metal layer of a 0.35 μm CMOS IC. The developed printing-on-chip humidity sensor achieves a heterogeneous three dimensional sensor system-on-chip architecture. The humidity sensing of the implemented printing-on-chip sensor system is experimentally tested. The sensor shows a sensitivity of 0.98% to humidity in the atmosphere. The maximum dynamic range of the readout circuit is 9.8 MΩ, which can be further tuned by the frequency of input signal to fit the requirement of the resistance of printed sensor. The power consumption keeps only 154 μW. This printing-on-chip sensor provides a practical solution to fulfill an ultra-small integrated sensor for the applications in miniaturized sensing systems.

A low-power integrated humidity CMOS sensor by printing-on-chip technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Chang-Hung; Chuang, Wen-Yu; Cowan, Melissa A; Wu, Wen-Jung; Lin, Chih-Ting

2014-05-23

A low-power, wide-dynamic-range integrated humidity sensing chip is implemented using a printable polymer sensing material with an on-chip pulse-width-modulation interface circuit. By using the inkjet printing technique, poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene)/polystyrene sulfonate that has humidity sensing features can be printed onto the top metal layer of a 0.35 μm CMOS IC. The developed printing-on-chip humidity sensor achieves a heterogeneous three dimensional sensor system-on-chip architecture. The humidity sensing of the implemented printing-on-chip sensor system is experimentally tested. The sensor shows a sensitivity of 0.98% to humidity in the atmosphere. The maximum dynamic range of the readout circuit is 9.8 MΩ, which can be further tuned by the frequency of input signal to fit the requirement of the resistance of printed sensor. The power consumption keeps only 154 μW. This printing-on-chip sensor provides a practical solution to fulfill an ultra-small integrated sensor for the applications in miniaturized sensing systems.

CMOS On-Chip Optoelectronic Neural Interface Device with Integrated Light Source for Optogenetics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sawadsaringkarn, Y; Kimura, H; Maezawa, Y; Nakajima, A; Kobayashi, T; Sasagawa, K; Noda, T; Tokuda, T; Ohta, J

2012-01-01

A novel optoelectronic neural interface device is proposed for target applications in optogenetics for neural science. The device consists of a light emitting diode (LED) array implemented on a CMOS image sensor for on-chip local light stimulation. In this study, we designed a suitable CMOS image sensor equipped with on-chip electrodes to drive the LEDs, and developed a device structure and packaging process for LED integration. The prototype device produced an illumination intensity of approximately 1 mW with a driving current of 2.0 mA, which is expected to be sufficient to activate channelrhodopsin (ChR2). We also demonstrated the functions of light stimulation and on-chip imaging using a brain slice from a mouse as a target sample.

Design and standalone characterisation of a capacitively coupled HV-CMOS sensor chip for the CLIC vertex detector

Science.gov (United States)

Kremastiotis, I.; Ballabriga, R.; Campbell, M.; Dannheim, D.; Fiergolski, A.; Hynds, D.; Kulis, S.; Peric, I.

2017-09-01

The concept of capacitive coupling between sensors and readout chips is under study for the vertex detector at the proposed high-energy CLIC electron positron collider. The CLICpix Capacitively Coupled Pixel Detector (C3PD) is an active High-Voltage CMOS sensor, designed to be capacitively coupled to the CLICpix2 readout chip. The chip is implemented in a commercial 180 nm HV-CMOS process and contains a matrix of 128×128 square pixels with 25μm pitch. First prototypes have been produced with a standard resistivity of ~20 Ωcm for the substrate and tested in standalone mode. The results show a rise time of ~20 ns, charge gain of 190 mV/ke- and ~40 e- RMS noise for a power consumption of 4.8μW/pixel. The main design aspects, as well as standalone measurement results, are presented.

A 24 GHz CMOS oscillator transmitter with an inkjet printed on-chip antenna

KAUST Repository

Ghaffar, Farhan A.; Yang, Shuai; Cheema, Hammad M.; Shamim, Atif

2016-01-01

implemented off chip or the designers work with the inefficient passives. This problem can be alleviated by using inkjet printing as a post process on CMOS chip. In this work, we demonstrate inkjet printing of a patterned polymer (SU8) layer on a 24 GHz

A full on-chip CMOS low-dropout voltage regulator with VCCS compensation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Leisheng; Zhou Yumei; Wu Bin; Jiang Jianhua

2010-01-01

A full on-chip CMOS low-dropout (LDO) voltage regulator with high PSR is presented. Instead of relying on the zero generated by the load capacitor and its equivalent series resistance, the proposed LDO generates a zero by voltage-controlled current sources for stability. The compensating capacitor for the proposed scheme is only 0.18 pF, which is much smaller than the capacitor of the conventional compensation scheme. The full on-chip LDO was fabricated in commercial 0.35 μm CMOS technology. The active chip area of the LDO (including the bandgap voltage reference) is 400 x 270 μm 2 . Experimental results show that the PSR of the LDO is -58.7 dB at a frequency of 10 Hz and -20 dB at a frequency of 1 MHz. The proposed LDO is capable of sourcing an output current up to 50 mA. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

arXiv Characterization and Verification Environment for the RD53A Pixel Readout Chip in 65 nm CMOS

CERN Document Server

Vogt, M.; Hemperek, T.; Janssen, J.; Pohl, D.L.; Daas, M.

2018-02-02

The RD53 collaboration is currently designing a large scale prototype pixel readout chip in 65 nm CMOS technology for the phase 2 upgrades at the HL-LHC. The RD53A chip will be available by the end of the year 2017 and will be extensively tested to confirm if the circuit and the architecture make a solid foundation for the final pixel readout chips for the experiments at the HL-LHC. A test and data acquisition system for the RD53A chip is currently under development to perform single-chip and multi-chip module measurements. In addition, the verification of the RD53A design is performed in a dedicated simulation environment. The concept and the implementation of the test and data acquisition system and the simulation environment, which are based on a modular data acquisition and system testing framework, are presented in this work.

Irradiation of the CLARO-CMOS chip, a fast ASIC for single-photon counting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andreotti, M.; Baldini, W.; Calabrese, R.; Carniti, P.; Cassina, L.; Cotta Ramusino, A.; Fiorini, M.; Giachero, A.; Gotti, C.; Luppi, E.; Maino, M.; Malaguti, R.; Pessina, G.; Tomassetti, L.

2015-01-01

The CLARO-CMOS is a prototype ASIC that allows fast photon counting with low power consumption, built in AMS 0.35 μm CMOS technology. It is intended to be used as a front-end readout for the upgraded LHCb RICH detectors. In this environment, assuming 10 years of operation at the nominal luminosity expected after the upgrade, the ASIC must withstand a total fluence of about 6×10 12 1 MeV n eq /cm 2 and a total ionising dose of 400 krad. Long term stability of the electronics front-end is essential and the effects of radiation damage on the CLARO-CMOS performance must be carefully studied. This paper describes results of multi-step irradiation tests with protons up to the dose of ~8 Mrad, including measurement of single event effects during irradiation and chip performance evaluation before and after each irradiation step

Characterization of active CMOS sensors for capacitively coupled pixel detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirono, Toko; Gonella, Laura; Janssen, Jens; Hemperek, Tomasz; Huegging, Fabian; Krueger, Hans; Wermes, Norbert [Institute of Physics, University of Bonn (Germany); Peric, Ivan [Institut fuer Prozessdatenverarbeitung und Elektronik, Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie, Karlsruhe (Germany)

2015-07-01

Active CMOS pixel sensor is one of the most attractive candidates for detectors of upcoming particle physics experiments. In contrast to conventional sensors of hybrid detectors, signal processing circuit can be integrated in the active CMOS sensor. The characterization and optimization of the pixel circuit are indispensable to obtain a good performance from the sensors. The prototype chips of the active CMOS sensor were fabricated in the AMS 180nm and L-Foundry 150 nm CMOS processes, respectively a high voltage and high resistivity technology. Both chips have a charge sensitive amplifier and a comparator in each pixel. The chips are designed to be glued to the FEI4 pixel readout chip. The signals from 3 pixels of the prototype chips are capacitively coupled to the FEI4 input pads. We have performed lab tests and test beams to characterize the prototypes. In this presentation, the measurement results of the active CMOS prototype sensors are shown.

Integration of Solar Cells on Top of CMOS Chips Part I: a-Si Solar Cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lu, J.; Kovalgin, Alexeij Y.; van der Werf, Karine H.M.; Schropp, Ruud E.I.; Schmitz, Jurriaan

2011-01-01

We present the monolithic integration of deepsubmicrometer complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) microchips with a-Si:H solar cells. Solar cells are manufactured directly on the CMOS chips. The microchips maintain comparable electronic performance, and the solar cells show efficiency values

A full on-chip CMOS low-dropout voltage regulator with VCCS compensation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gao Leisheng; Zhou Yumei; Wu Bin; Jiang Jianhua, E-mail: gaoleisheng@ime.ac.c [Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029 (China)

2010-08-15

A full on-chip CMOS low-dropout (LDO) voltage regulator with high PSR is presented. Instead of relying on the zero generated by the load capacitor and its equivalent series resistance, the proposed LDO generates a zero by voltage-controlled current sources for stability. The compensating capacitor for the proposed scheme is only 0.18 pF, which is much smaller than the capacitor of the conventional compensation scheme. The full on-chip LDO was fabricated in commercial 0.35 {mu}m CMOS technology. The active chip area of the LDO (including the bandgap voltage reference) is 400 x 270 {mu}m{sup 2}. Experimental results show that the PSR of the LDO is -58.7 dB at a frequency of 10 Hz and -20 dB at a frequency of 1 MHz. The proposed LDO is capable of sourcing an output current up to 50 mA. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Single-chip CMUT-on-CMOS front-end system for real-time volumetric IVUS and ICE imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurun, Gokce; Tekes, Coskun; Zahorian, Jaime; Xu, Toby; Satir, Sarp; Karaman, Mustafa; Hasler, Jennifer; Degertekin, F Levent

2014-02-01

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and intracardiac echography (ICE) catheters with real-time volumetric ultrasound imaging capability can provide unique benefits to many interventional procedures used in the diagnosis and treatment of coronary and structural heart diseases. Integration of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) arrays with front-end electronics in single-chip configuration allows for implementation of such catheter probes with reduced interconnect complexity, miniaturization, and high mechanical flexibility. We implemented a single-chip forward-looking (FL) ultrasound imaging system by fabricating a 1.4-mm-diameter dual-ring CMUT array using CMUT-on-CMOS technology on a front-end IC implemented in 0.35-μm CMOS process. The dual-ring array has 56 transmit elements and 48 receive elements on two separate concentric annular rings. The IC incorporates a 25-V pulser for each transmitter and a low-noise capacitive transimpedance amplifier (TIA) for each receiver, along with digital control and smart power management. The final shape of the silicon chip is a 1.5-mm-diameter donut with a 430-μm center hole for a guide wire. The overall front-end system requires only 13 external connections and provides 4 parallel RF outputs while consuming an average power of 20 mW. We measured RF A-scans from the integrated single- chip array which show full functionality at 20.1 MHz with 43% fractional bandwidth. We also tested and demonstrated the image quality of the system on a wire phantom and an ex vivo chicken heart sample. The measured axial and lateral point resolutions are 92 μm and 251 μm, respectively. We successfully acquired volumetric imaging data from the ex vivo chicken heart at 60 frames per second without any signal averaging. These demonstrative results indicate that single-chip CMUT-on-CMOS systems have the potential to produce realtime volumetric images with image quality and speed suitable for catheter-based clinical applications.

Design of a CMOS integrated on-chip oscilloscope for spin wave characterization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eugen Egel

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Spin waves can perform some optically-inspired computing algorithms, e.g. the Fourier transform, directly than it is done with the CMOS logic. This article describes a new approach for on-chip characterization of spin wave based devices. The readout circuitry for the spin waves is simulated with 65-nm CMOS technology models. Commonly used circuits for Radio Frequency (RF receivers are implemented to detect a sinusoidal ultra-wideband (5-50 GHz signal with an amplitude of at least 15 μV picked up by a loop antenna. First, the RF signal is amplified by a Low Noise Amplifier (LNA. Then, it is down-converted by a mixer to Intermediate Frequency (IF. Finally, an Operational Amplifier (OpAmp brings the IF signal to higher voltages (50-300 mV. The estimated power consumption and the required area of the readout circuit is approximately 55.5 mW and 0.168 mm2, respectively. The proposed On-Chip Oscilloscope (OCO is highly suitable for on-chip spin wave characterization regarding the frequency, amplitude change and phase information. It offers an integrated low power alternative to current spin wave detecting systems.

An ultra-low power CMOS image sensor with on-chip energy harvesting and power management capability.

Science.gov (United States)

Cevik, Ismail; Huang, Xiwei; Yu, Hao; Yan, Mei; Ay, Suat U

2015-03-06

An ultra-low power CMOS image sensor with on-chip energy harvesting and power management capability is introduced in this paper. The photodiode pixel array can not only capture images but also harvest solar energy. As such, the CMOS image sensor chip is able to switch between imaging and harvesting modes towards self-power operation. Moreover, an on-chip maximum power point tracking (MPPT)-based power management system (PMS) is designed for the dual-mode image sensor to further improve the energy efficiency. A new isolated P-well energy harvesting and imaging (EHI) pixel with very high fill factor is introduced. Several ultra-low power design techniques such as reset and select boosting techniques have been utilized to maintain a wide pixel dynamic range. The chip was designed and fabricated in a 1.8 V, 1P6M 0.18 µm CMOS process. Total power consumption of the imager is 6.53 µW for a 96 × 96 pixel array with 1 V supply and 5 fps frame rate. Up to 30 μW of power could be generated by the new EHI pixels. The PMS is capable of providing 3× the power required during imaging mode with 50% efficiency allowing energy autonomous operation with a 72.5% duty cycle.

Performance and Irradiation Tests of the 0.3$\\mu$m CMOS TDC for the ATLAS MDT

OpenAIRE

Arai, Y; Fukuda, M; Emura, T

1999-01-01

ATLAS Muon TDC test-element group chip (AMTTEG) was developed and tested to confirm the performance of critical circuits of the TDC and measure radiation tolerance of the process. The chip was fabricated in a 0.3 mm CMOS Gate-Array technology. Measurements of critical elements of the chip such as the PLL, and data buffering circuits demonstrated adequate performance. The effect of gamma-ray irradiation, using a Co60 source, and neutron irradiation, using PROSPERO reactor in France, were also ...

Development of a small-scale protope of the GOSSIPO-2 chip in 0.13 um CMOS technology

CERN Document Server

Kluit, R; Gromov, V

2007-01-01

The GOSSIP (Gas On Slimmed Silicon Pixel) detector is a proposed alternative for silicon based pixel detectors. The Gossip Prototype (GOSSIPO) chip is being developed to serve as a prototype read-out chip for such a gas-filled detector. Thanks to the very low capacitance at the preamplifier input, the front-end of the chip demonstrates low-noise performance in combination with a fast peaking time and low analog power dissipation. Measurement of the drift time of every primary electron in the gas volume enables 3D reconstruction of the particle tracks. For this purpose a Time-to- Digital converter must be placed in each pixel. A small-scale prototype of the GOSSIP chip has been developed in the 0.13 μm CMOS technology. The prototype includes a 16 by 16 pixel array where each pixel is equipped with a front-end circuit, threshold DAC, and a 4-bit TDC. The chip is available for testing in May 2007 and after initial tests it will be postprocessed to build a prototype detector. This paper describes the detector de...

An Ultra-Low Power CMOS Image Sensor with On-Chip Energy Harvesting and Power Management Capability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ismail Cevik

2015-03-01

Full Text Available An ultra-low power CMOS image sensor with on-chip energy harvesting and power management capability is introduced in this paper. The photodiode pixel array can not only capture images but also harvest solar energy. As such, the CMOS image sensor chip is able to switch between imaging and harvesting modes towards self-power operation. Moreover, an on-chip maximum power point tracking (MPPT-based power management system (PMS is designed for the dual-mode image sensor to further improve the energy efficiency. A new isolated P-well energy harvesting and imaging (EHI pixel with very high fill factor is introduced. Several ultra-low power design techniques such as reset and select boosting techniques have been utilized to maintain a wide pixel dynamic range. The chip was designed and fabricated in a 1.8 V, 1P6M 0.18 µm CMOS process. Total power consumption of the imager is 6.53 µW for a 96 × 96 pixel array with 1 V supply and 5 fps frame rate. Up to 30 μW of power could be generated by the new EHI pixels. The PMS is capable of providing 3× the power required during imaging mode with 50% efficiency allowing energy autonomous operation with a 72.5% duty cycle.

Radiation hardness tests and characterization of the CLARO-CMOS, a low power and fast single-photon counting ASIC in 0.35 micron CMOS technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fiorini, M.; Andreotti, M.; Baldini, W.; Calabrese, R.; Carniti, P.; Cassina, L.; Cotta Ramusino, A.; Giachero, A.; Gotti, C.; Luppi, E.; Maino, M.; Malaguti, R.; Pessina, G.; Tomassetti, L.

2014-01-01

The CLARO-CMOS is a prototype ASIC that allows fast photon counting with 5 ns peaking time, a recovery time to baseline smaller than 25 ns, and a power consumption of less than 1 mW per channel. This chip is capable of single-photon counting with multi-anode photomultipliers and finds applications also in the read-out of silicon photomultipliers and microchannel plates. The prototype is realized in AMS 0.35 micron CMOS technology. In the LHCb RICH environment, assuming 10 years of operation at the nominal luminosity expected after the upgrade in Long Shutdown 2 (LS2), the ASIC must withstand a total fluence of about 6×10 12 1 MeV n eq /cm 2 and a total ionizing dose of 400 krad. A systematic evaluation of the radiation effects on the CLARO-CMOS performance is therefore crucial to ensure long term stability of the electronics front-end. The results of multi-step irradiation tests with neutrons and X-rays up to the fluence of 10 14 cm −2 and a dose of 4 Mrad, respectively, are presented, including measurement of single event effects during irradiation and chip performance evaluation before and after each irradiation step. - Highlights: • CLARO chip capable of single-photon counting with 5 ns peaking time. • Chip irradiated up to very high neutron, proton and X-rays fluences, as expected for upgraded LHCb RICH detectors. • No significant performance degradation is observed after irradiation

Integrated on-chip solid state capacitor based on vertically aligned carbon nanofibers, grown using a CMOS temperature compatible process

Science.gov (United States)

Saleem, Amin M.; Andersson, Rickard; Desmaris, Vincent; Enoksson, Peter

2018-01-01

Complete miniaturized on-chip integrated solid-state capacitors have been fabricated based on conformal coating of vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (VACNFs), using a CMOS temperature compatible microfabrication processes. The 5 μm long VACNFs, operating as electrode, are grown on a silicon substrate and conformally coated by aluminum oxide dielectric using atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. The areal (footprint) capacitance density value of 11-15 nF/mm2 is realized with high reproducibility. The CMOS temperature compatible microfabrication, ultra-low profile (less than 7 μm thickness) and high capacitance density would enables direct integration of micro energy storage devices on the active CMOS chip, multi-chip package and passives on silicon or glass interposer. A model is developed to calculate the surface area of VACNFs and the effective capacitance from the devices. It is thereby shown that 71% of surface area of the VACNFs has contributed to the measured capacitance, and by using the entire area the capacitance can potentially be increased.

Low Power Camera-on-a-Chip Using CMOS Active Pixel Sensor Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Fossum, E. R.

1995-01-01

A second generation image sensor technology has been developed at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a result of the continuing need to miniaturize space science imaging instruments. Implemented using standard CMOS, the active pixel sensor (APS) technology permits the integration of the detector array with on-chip timing, control and signal chain electronics, including analog-to-digital conversion.

Spoked-ring microcavities: enabling seamless integration of nanophotonics in unmodified advanced CMOS microelectronics chips

Science.gov (United States)

Wade, Mark T.; Shainline, Jeffrey M.; Orcutt, Jason S.; Ram, Rajeev J.; Stojanovic, Vladimir; Popovic, Milos A.

2014-03-01

We present the spoked-ring microcavity, a nanophotonic building block enabling energy-efficient, active photonics in unmodified, advanced CMOS microelectronics processes. The cavity is realized in the IBM 45nm SOI CMOS process - the same process used to make many commercially available microprocessors including the IBM Power7 and Sony Playstation 3 processors. In advanced SOI CMOS processes, no partial etch steps and no vertical junctions are available, which limits the types of optical cavities that can be used for active nanophotonics. To enable efficient active devices with no process modifications, we designed a novel spoked-ring microcavity which is fully compatible with the constraints of the process. As a modulator, the device leverages the sub-100nm lithography resolution of the process to create radially extending p-n junctions, providing high optical fill factor depletion-mode modulation and thereby eliminating the need for a vertical junction. The device is made entirely in the transistor active layer, low-loss crystalline silicon, which eliminates the need for a partial etch commonly used to create ridge cavities. In this work, we present the full optical and electrical design of the cavity including rigorous mode solver and FDTD simulations to design the Qlimiting electrical contacts and the coupling/excitation. We address the layout of active photonics within the mask set of a standard advanced CMOS process and show that high-performance photonic devices can be seamlessly monolithically integrated alongside electronics on the same chip. The present designs enable monolithically integrated optoelectronic transceivers on a single advanced CMOS chip, without requiring any process changes, enabling the penetration of photonics into the microprocessor.

A CMOS frontend chip for implantable neural recording with wide voltage supply range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Jialin; Zhang Xu; Hu Xiaohui; Li Peng; Liu Ming; Chen Hongda; Guo Yatao; Li Bin

2015-01-01

A design for a CMOS frontend integrated circuit (chip) for neural signal acquisition working at wide voltage supply range is presented in this paper. The chip consists of a preamplifier, a serial instrumental amplifier (IA) and a cyclic analog-to-digital converter (CADC). The capacitive-coupled and capacitive-feedback topology combined with MOS-bipolar pseudo-resistor element is adopted in the preamplifier to create a −3 dB upper cut-off frequency less than 1 Hz without using a ponderous discrete device. A dual-amplifier instrumental amplifier is used to provide a low output impedance interface for ADC as well as to boost the gain. The preamplifier and the serial instrumental amplifier together provide a midband gain of 45.8 dB and have an input-referred noise of 6.7 μV rms integrated from 1 Hz to 5 kHz. The ADC digitizes the amplified signal at 12-bits precision with a highest sampling rate of 130 kS/s. The measured effective number of bits (ENOB) of the ADC is 8.7 bits. The entire circuit draws 165 to 216 μA current from the supply voltage varied from 1.34 to 3.3 V. The prototype chip is fabricated in the 0.18-μm CMOS process and occupies an area of 1.23 mm 2 (including pads). In-vitro recording was successfully carried out by the proposed frontend chip. (paper)

Single event upset test structures for digital CMOS application specific integrated circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baze, M.P.; Bartholet, W.G.; Braatz, J.C.; Dao, T.A.

1993-01-01

An approach has been developed for the design and utilization of SEU test structures for digital CMOS ASICs. This approach minimizes the number of test structures required by categorizing ASIC library cells according to their SEU response and designing a structure to characterize each response for each category. Critical SEU response parameters extracted from these structures are used to evaluate the SEU hardness of ASIC libraries and predict the hardness of ASIC chips

CMOS serial link for fully duplexed data communication

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kyeongho; Kim, Sungjoon; Ahn, Gijung; Jeong, Deog-Kyoon

1995-04-01

This paper describes a CMOS serial link allowing fully duplexed 500 Mbaud serial data communication. The CMOS serial link is a robust and low-cost solution to high data rate requirements. A central charge pump PLL for generating multiphase clocks for oversampling is shared by several serial link channels. Fully duplexed serial data communication is realized in the bidirectional bridge by separating incoming data from the mixed signal on the cable end. The digital PLL accomplishes process-independent data recovery by using a low-ratio oversampling, a majority voting, and a parallel data recovery scheme. Mostly, digital approach could extend its bandwidth further with scaled CMOS technology. A single channel serial link and a charge pump PLL are integrated in a test chip using 1.2 micron CMOS process technology. The test chip confirms upto 500 Mbaud unidirectional mode operation and 320 Mbaud fully duplexed mode operation with pseudo random data patterns.

Microelectronic test structures for CMOS technology

CERN Document Server

Ketchen, Mark B

2011-01-01

Microelectronic Test Structures for CMOS Technology and Products addresses the basic concepts of the design of test structures for incorporation within test-vehicles, scribe-lines, and CMOS products. The role of test structures in the development and monitoring of CMOS technologies and products has become ever more important with the increased cost and complexity of development and manufacturing. In this timely volume, IBM scientists Manjul Bhushan and Mark Ketchen emphasize high speed characterization techniques for digital CMOS circuit applications and bridging between circuit performance an

Global On-Chip Differential Interconnects with Optimally-Placed Twists

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mensink, E.; Schinkel, Daniel; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; van Tuijl, Adrianus Johannes Maria; Nauta, Bram

2005-01-01

Global on-chip communication is receiving quite some attention as global interconnects are rapidly becoming a speed, power and reliability bottleneck for digital CMOS systems. Recently, we proposed a bus-transceiver test chip in 0.13 μm CMOS using 10 mm long uninterrupted differential interconnects

Design of a 40-nm CMOS integrated on-chip oscilloscope for 5-50 GHz spin wave characterization

Science.gov (United States)

Egel, Eugen; Csaba, György; Dietz, Andreas; Breitkreutz-von Gamm, Stephan; Russer, Johannes; Russer, Peter; Kreupl, Franz; Becherer, Markus

2018-05-01

Spin wave (SW) devices are receiving growing attention in research as a strong candidate for low power applications in the beyond-CMOS era. All SW applications would require an efficient, low power, on-chip read-out circuitry. Thus, we provide a concept for an on-chip oscilloscope (OCO) allowing parallel detection of the SWs at different frequencies. The readout system is designed in 40-nm CMOS technology and is capable of SW device characterization. First, the SWs are picked up by near field loop antennas, placed below yttrium iron garnet (YIG) film, and amplified by a low noise amplifier (LNA). Second, a mixer down-converts the radio frequency (RF) signal of 5 - 50 GHz to lower intermediate frequencies (IF) around 10 - 50 MHz. Finally, the IF signal can be digitized and analyzed regarding the frequency, amplitude and phase variation of the SWs. The power consumption and chip area of the whole OCO are estimated to 166.4 mW and 1.31 mm2, respectively.

A High-Voltage SOI CMOS Exciter Chip for a Programmable Fluidic Processor System.

Science.gov (United States)

Current, K W; Yuk, K; McConaghy, C; Gascoyne, P R C; Schwartz, J A; Vykoukal, J V; Andrews, C

2007-06-01

waveform frequency is about 200 Hz; and standard 5-V CMOS logic data communication rate is variable up to 250 kHz. This HV demonstration chip is fabricated in a 130-V 1.0-mum SOI CMOS fabrication technology, dissipates a maximum of 1.87 W, and is about 10.4 mm x 8.2 mm.

Experimental single-chip color HDTV image acquisition system with 8M-pixel CMOS image sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Shimamoto, Hiroshi; Yamashita, Takayuki; Funatsu, Ryohei; Mitani, Kohji; Nojiri, Yuji

2006-02-01

We have developed an experimental single-chip color HDTV image acquisition system using 8M-pixel CMOS image sensor. The sensor has 3840 × 2160 effective pixels and is progressively scanned at 60 frames per second. We describe the color filter array and interpolation method to improve image quality with a high-pixel-count single-chip sensor. We also describe an experimental image acquisition system we used to measured spatial frequency characteristics in the horizontal direction. The results indicate good prospects for achieving a high quality single chip HDTV camera that reduces pseudo signals and maintains high spatial frequency characteristics within the frequency band for HDTV.

A CMOS frontend chip for implantable neural recording with wide voltage supply range

Science.gov (United States)

Jialin, Liu; Xu, Zhang; Xiaohui, Hu; Yatao, Guo; Peng, Li; Ming, Liu; Bin, Li; Hongda, Chen

2015-10-01

A design for a CMOS frontend integrated circuit (chip) for neural signal acquisition working at wide voltage supply range is presented in this paper. The chip consists of a preamplifier, a serial instrumental amplifier (IA) and a cyclic analog-to-digital converter (CADC). The capacitive-coupled and capacitive-feedback topology combined with MOS-bipolar pseudo-resistor element is adopted in the preamplifier to create a -3 dB upper cut-off frequency less than 1 Hz without using a ponderous discrete device. A dual-amplifier instrumental amplifier is used to provide a low output impedance interface for ADC as well as to boost the gain. The preamplifier and the serial instrumental amplifier together provide a midband gain of 45.8 dB and have an input-referred noise of 6.7 μVrms integrated from 1 Hz to 5 kHz. The ADC digitizes the amplified signal at 12-bits precision with a highest sampling rate of 130 kS/s. The measured effective number of bits (ENOB) of the ADC is 8.7 bits. The entire circuit draws 165 to 216 μA current from the supply voltage varied from 1.34 to 3.3 V. The prototype chip is fabricated in the 0.18-μm CMOS process and occupies an area of 1.23 mm2 (including pads). In-vitro recording was successfully carried out by the proposed frontend chip. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 61474107, 61372060, 61335010, 61275200, 61178051) and the Key Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KJZD-EW-L11-01).

Fully Integrated On-Chip Coil in 0.13 μm CMOS for Wireless Power Transfer Through Biological Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Zargham, Meysam; Gulak, P Glenn

2015-04-01

Delivering milliwatts of wireless power at centimeter distances is advantageous to many existing and emerging biomedical applications. It is highly desirable to fully integrate the receiver on a single chip in standard CMOS with no additional post-processing steps or external components. This paper presents a 2 × 2.18 mm(2) on-chip wireless power transfer (WPT) receiver (Rx) coil fabricated in 0.13 μm CMOS. The WPT system utilizes a 14.5 × 14.5 mm(2) transmitter (Tx) coil that is fabricated on a standard FR4 substrate. The on-chip power harvester demonstrates a peak WPT efficiency of -18.47 dB , -20.96 dB and -20.15 dB at 10 mm of separation through air, bovine muscle and 0.2 molar NaCl, respectively. The achieved efficiency enables the delivery of milliwatts of power to application circuits while staying below safe power density and electromagnetic (EM) exposure limits.

Performance of a Fast Binary Readout CMOS Active Pixel Sensor Chip Designed for Charged Particle Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Deerli, Yavuz; Besanon, Marc; Besson, Auguste; Claus, Gilles; Deptuch, Grzegorz; Dulinski, Wojciech; Fourches, Nicolas; Goffe, Mathieu; Himmi, Abdelkader; Li, Yan; Lutz, Pierre; Orsini, Fabienne; Szelezniak, Michal

2006-12-01

We report on the performance of the MIMOSA8 (HiMAPS1) chip. The chip is a 128times32 pixels array where 24 columns have discriminated binary outputs and eight columns analog test outputs. Offset correction techniques are used extensively in this chip to overcome process related mismatches. The array is divided in four blocks of pixels with different conversion factors and is controlled by a serially programmable sequencer. MIMOSA8 is a representative of the CMOS sensors development option considered as a promising candidate for the Vertex Detector of the future International Linear Collider (ILC). The readout technique, implemented on the chip, combines high spatial resolution capabilities with high processing readout speed. Data acquisition, providing control of the chip and signal buffering and linked to a VME system, was made on the eight analog outputs. Analog data, without and with a 55Fe X-ray source, were acquired and processed using off-line analysis software. From the reconstruction of pixel clusters, built around a central pixel, we deduce that the charge spread is limited to the closest 25 pixels and almost all the available charge is collected. The position of the total charge collection peak (and subsequently the charge-to-voltage conversion factor) stays unaffected when the clock frequency is increased even up to 150 MHz (13.6 mus readout time per frame). The discriminators, placed in the readout chain, have proved to be fully functional. Beam tests have been made with high energy electrons at DESY (Germany) to study detection efficiency. The results prove that MIMOSA8 is the first and fastest successful monolithic active pixel sensor with on-chip signal discrimination for detection of MIPs

JPL CMOS Active Pixel Sensor Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Fossum, E. R.

1995-01-01

This paper will present the JPL-developed complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel sensor (APS) technology. The CMOS APS has achieved performance comparable to charge coupled devices, yet features ultra low power operation, random access readout, on-chip timing and control, and on-chip analog to digital conversion. Previously published open literature will be reviewed.

MEMS capacitive pressure sensor monolithically integrated with CMOS readout circuit by using post CMOS processes

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, Munseon; Yun, Kwang-Seok

2017-12-01

In this paper, we presents a MEMS pressure sensor integrated with a readout circuit on a chip for an on-chip signal processing. The capacitive pressure sensor is formed on a CMOS chip by using a post-CMOS MEMS processes. The proposed device consists of a sensing capacitor that is square in shape, a reference capacitor and a readout circuitry based on a switched-capacitor scheme to detect capacitance change at various environmental pressures. The readout circuit was implemented by using a commercial 0.35 μm CMOS process with 2 polysilicon and 4 metal layers. Then, the pressure sensor was formed by wet etching of metal 2 layer through via hole structures. Experimental results show that the MEMS pressure sensor has a sensitivity of 11 mV/100 kPa at the pressure range of 100-400 kPa.

A passive UHF RFID tag chip with a dual-resolution temperature sensor in a 0.18 μm standard CMOS process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Peng; Zhang Qi; Wu Nanjian

2011-01-01

This paper presents a passive EPC Gen-2 UHF RFID tag chip with a dual-resolution temperature sensor. The chip tag integrates a temperature sensor, an RF/analog front-end circuit, an NVM memory and a digital baseband in a standard CMOS process. The sensor with a low power sigma—delta (ΣΔ) ADC is designed to operate in low and high resolution modes. It can not only achieve the target accuracy but also reduce the power consumption and the sensing time. A CMOS-only RF rectifier and a single-poly non-volatile memory (NVM) are designed to realize a low cost tag chip. The 192-bit-NVM tag chip with an area of 1 mm 2 is implemented in a 0.18-μm standard CMOS process. The sensitivity of the tag is −10.7 dBm/−8.4 dBm when the sensor is disabled/enabled. It achieves a maximum reading/sensing distance of 4 m/3.1 m at 2 W EIRP. The inaccuracy of the sensor is −0.6 °C/0.5 °C (−1.0 °C/1.2 °C) in the operating range from 5 to 15 °C in high resolution mode (−30 to 50 °C in low resolution mode). The resolution of the sensor achieves 0.02 °C (0.18 °C) in high (low) resolution mode. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Laser Doppler Blood Flow Imaging Using a CMOS Imaging Sensor with On-Chip Signal Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cally Gill

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The first fully integrated 2D CMOS imaging sensor with on-chip signal processing for applications in laser Doppler blood flow (LDBF imaging has been designed and tested. To obtain a space efficient design over 64 × 64 pixels means that standard processing electronics used off-chip cannot be implemented. Therefore the analog signal processing at each pixel is a tailored design for LDBF signals with balanced optimization for signal-to-noise ratio and silicon area. This custom made sensor offers key advantages over conventional sensors, viz. the analog signal processing at the pixel level carries out signal normalization; the AC amplification in combination with an anti-aliasing filter allows analog-to-digital conversion with a low number of bits; low resource implementation of the digital processor enables on-chip processing and the data bottleneck that exists between the detector and processing electronics has been overcome. The sensor demonstrates good agreement with simulation at each design stage. The measured optical performance of the sensor is demonstrated using modulated light signals and in vivo blood flow experiments. Images showing blood flow changes with arterial occlusion and an inflammatory response to a histamine skin-prick demonstrate that the sensor array is capable of detecting blood flow signals from tissue.

Laser doppler blood flow imaging using a CMOS imaging sensor with on-chip signal processing.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Diwei; Nguyen, Hoang C; Hayes-Gill, Barrie R; Zhu, Yiqun; Crowe, John A; Gill, Cally; Clough, Geraldine F; Morgan, Stephen P

2013-09-18

The first fully integrated 2D CMOS imaging sensor with on-chip signal processing for applications in laser Doppler blood flow (LDBF) imaging has been designed and tested. To obtain a space efficient design over 64 × 64 pixels means that standard processing electronics used off-chip cannot be implemented. Therefore the analog signal processing at each pixel is a tailored design for LDBF signals with balanced optimization for signal-to-noise ratio and silicon area. This custom made sensor offers key advantages over conventional sensors, viz. the analog signal processing at the pixel level carries out signal normalization; the AC amplification in combination with an anti-aliasing filter allows analog-to-digital conversion with a low number of bits; low resource implementation of the digital processor enables on-chip processing and the data bottleneck that exists between the detector and processing electronics has been overcome. The sensor demonstrates good agreement with simulation at each design stage. The measured optical performance of the sensor is demonstrated using modulated light signals and in vivo blood flow experiments. Images showing blood flow changes with arterial occlusion and an inflammatory response to a histamine skin-prick demonstrate that the sensor array is capable of detecting blood flow signals from tissue.

All-Digital Time-Domain CMOS Smart Temperature Sensor with On-Chip Linearity Enhancement.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chun-Chi; Chen, Chao-Lieh; Lin, Yi

2016-01-30

This paper proposes the first all-digital on-chip linearity enhancement technique for improving the accuracy of the time-domain complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) smart temperature sensor. To facilitate on-chip application and intellectual property reuse, an all-digital time-domain smart temperature sensor was implemented using 90 nm Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Although the inverter-based temperature sensor has a smaller circuit area and lower complexity, two-point calibration must be used to achieve an acceptable inaccuracy. With the help of a calibration circuit, the influence of process variations was reduced greatly for one-point calibration support, reducing the test costs and time. However, the sensor response still exhibited a large curvature, which substantially affected the accuracy of the sensor. Thus, an on-chip linearity-enhanced circuit is proposed to linearize the curve and achieve a new linearity-enhanced output. The sensor was implemented on eight different Xilinx FPGA using 118 slices per sensor in each FPGA to demonstrate the benefits of the linearization. Compared with the unlinearized version, the maximal inaccuracy of the linearized version decreased from 5 °C to 2.5 °C after one-point calibration in a range of -20 °C to 100 °C. The sensor consumed 95 μW using 1 kSa/s. The proposed linearity enhancement technique significantly improves temperature sensing accuracy, avoiding costly curvature compensation while it is fully synthesizable for future Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) system.

Application of CMOS charge-sensitive preamplifier in triple-GEM detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lai Yongfang; Li Jin; Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing; Deng Zhi; Li Yulan; Liu Yinong; Li Yuanjing

2006-01-01

Among the various micro-pattern gas detectors (MPGD) that are available, the gas electron multiplier (GEM) detector is an attractive gas detector that has been used in particle physics experiments. However the GEM detector usually needs thousands of preamplifier units for its large number of micro-pattern readout strips or pads, which leads to considerable difficulties and complexities for front end electronics (FEE). Nowadays, by making use of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-based application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), it is feasible to integrate hundreds of preamplifier units and other signal process circuits in a small-sized chip, which can be bound to the readout strips or pads of a micro-pattern particle detector (MPPD). Therefore, CMOS ASIC may provide an ideal solution to the readout problem of MPPD. In this article, a triple GEM detector is constructed and one of its readout strips is connected to a CMOS charge-sensitive preamplifier chip. The chip was exposed to an 55 Fe source of 5.9 kev X-ray, and the amplitude spectrum of the chip was tested, and it was found that the energy resolution was approximately 27%, which indicates that the chip can be used in triple GEM detectors. (authors)

Deep n-well MAPS in a 130 nm CMOS technology: Beam test results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neri, N.; Avanzini, C.; Batignani, G.; Bettarini, S.; Bosi, F.; Ceccanti, M.; Cenci, R.; Cervelli, A.; Crescioli, F.; Dell'Orso, M.; Forti, F.; Giannetti, P.; Giorgi, M.A.; Gregucci, S.; Mammini, P.; Marchiori, G.; Massa, M.; Morsani, F.; Paoloni, E.; Piendibene, M.

2010-01-01

We report on recent beam test results for the APSEL4D chip, a new deep n-well MAPS prototype with a full in-pixel signal processing chain obtained by exploiting the triple well option of the CMOS 0.13μm process. The APSEL4D chip consists of a 4096 pixel matrix (32 rows and 128 columns) with 50x50μm 2 pixel cell area, with custom readout architecture capable of performing data sparsification at pixel level. APSEL4D has been characterized in terms of charge collection efficiency and intrinsic spatial resolution under different conditions of discriminator threshold settings using a 12 GeV/c proton beam in the T9 area of the CERN PS. We observe a maximum hit efficiency of 92% and we estimate an intrinsic resolution of about 14μm. The data driven approach of the tracking detector readout chips has been successfully used to demonstrate the possibility to build a Level 1 trigger system based on associative memories. The analysis of the beam test data is critically reviewed along with the characterization of the device under test.

Subpixel mapping and test beam studies with a HV2FEI4v2 CMOS-Sensor-Hybrid Module for the ATLAS inner detector upgrade

Science.gov (United States)

Bisanz, T.; Große-Knetter, J.; Quadt, A.; Rieger, J.; Weingarten, J.

2017-08-01

The upgrade to the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider will increase the instantaneous luminosity by more than a factor of 5, thus creating significant challenges to the tracking systems of all experiments. Recent advancement of active pixel detectors designed in CMOS processes provide attractive alternatives to the well-established hybrid design using passive sensors since they allow for smaller pixel sizes and cost effective production. This article presents studies of a high-voltage CMOS active pixel sensor designed for the ATLAS tracker upgrade. The sensor is glued to the read-out chip of the Insertable B-Layer, forming a capacitively coupled pixel detector. The pixel pitch of the device under test is 33× 125 μm2, while the pixels of the read-out chip have a pitch of 50× 250 μm2. Three pixels of the CMOS device are connected to one read-out pixel, the information of which of these subpixels is hit is encoded in the amplitude of the output signal (subpixel encoding). Test beam measurements are presented that demonstrate the usability of this subpixel encoding scheme.

Optoelectronic circuits in nanometer CMOS technology

CERN Document Server

Atef, Mohamed

2016-01-01

This book describes the newest implementations of integrated photodiodes fabricated in nanometer standard CMOS technologies. It also includes the required fundamentals, the state-of-the-art, and the design of high-performance laser drivers, transimpedance amplifiers, equalizers, and limiting amplifiers fabricated in nanometer CMOS technologies. This book shows the newest results for the performance of integrated optical receivers, laser drivers, modulator drivers and optical sensors in nanometer standard CMOS technologies. Nanometer CMOS technologies rapidly advanced, enabling the implementation of integrated optical receivers for high data rates of several Giga-bits per second and of high-pixel count optical imagers and sensors. In particular, low cost silicon CMOS optoelectronic integrated circuits became very attractive because they can be extensively applied to short-distance optical communications, such as local area network, chip-to-chip and board-to-board interconnects as well as to imaging and medical...

A novel compact model for on-chip stacked transformers in RF-CMOS technology

Science.gov (United States)

Jun, Liu; Jincai, Wen; Qian, Zhao; Lingling, Sun

2013-08-01

A novel compact model for on-chip stacked transformers is presented. The proposed model topology gives a clear distinction to the eddy current, resistive and capacitive losses of the primary and secondary coils in the substrate. A method to analytically determine the non-ideal parasitics between the primary coil and substrate is provided. The model is further verified by the excellent match between the measured and simulated S -parameters on the extracted parameters for a 1 : 1 stacked transformer manufactured in a commercial RF-CMOS technology.

32 x 16 CMOS smart pixel array for optical interconnects

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jongwoo; Guilfoyle, Peter S.; Stone, Richard V.; Hessenbruch, John M.; Choquette, Kent D.; Kiamilev, Fouad E.

2000-05-01

Free space optical interconnects can increase throughput capacities and eliminate much of the energy consumption required for `all electronic' systems. High speed optical interconnects can be achieved by integrating optoelectronic devices with conventional electronics. Smart pixel arrays have been developed which use optical interconnects. An individual smart pixel cell is composed of a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), a photodetector, an optical receiver, a laser driver, and digital logic circuitry. Oxide-confined VCSELs are being developed to operate at 850 nm with a threshold current of approximately 1 mA. Multiple quantum well photodetectors are being fabricated from AlGaAs for use with the 850 nm VCSELs. The VCSELs and photodetectors are being integrated with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuitry using flip-chip bonding. CMOS circuitry is being integrated with a 32 X 16 smart pixel array. The 512 smart pixels are serially linked. Thus, an entire data stream may be clocked through the chip and output electrically by the last pixel. Electrical testing is being performed on the CMOS smart pixel array. Using an on-chip pseudo random number generator, a digital data sequence was cycled through the chip verifying operation of the digital circuitry. Although, the prototype chip was fabricated in 1.2 micrometers technology, simulations have demonstrated that the array can operate at 1 Gb/s per pixel using 0.5 micrometers technology.

Characterization of radiation effects in 65 nm digital circuits with the DRAD digital radiation test chip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casas, L.M. Jara; Ceresa, D.; Kulis, S.; Christiansen, J.; Francisco, R.; Miryala, S.; Gnani, D.

2017-01-01

A Digital RADiation (DRAD) test chip has been specifically designed to study the impact of Total Ionizing Dose (TID) (<1 Grad) and Single Event Upset (SEU) on digital logic gates in a 65 nm CMOS technology. Nine different versions of standard cell libraries are studied in this chip, basically differing in the device dimensions, V t flavor and layout of the device. Each library has eighteen test structures specifically designed to characterize delay degradation and power consumption of the standard cells. For SEU study, a dedicated test structure based on a shift register is designed for each library. TID results up to 500 Mrad are reported.

A Low-Power All-Digital on-Chip CMOS Oscillator for a Wireless Sensor Node.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheng, Duo; Hong, Min-Rong

2016-10-14

This paper presents an all-digital low-power oscillator for reference clocks in wireless body area network (WBAN) applications. The proposed on-chip complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) oscillator provides low-frequency clock signals with low power consumption, high delay resolution, and low circuit complexity. The cascade-stage structure of the proposed design simultaneously achieves high resolution and a wide frequency range. The proposed hysteresis delay cell further reduces the power consumption and hardware costs by 92.4% and 70.4%, respectively, relative to conventional designs. The proposed design is implemented in a standard performance 0.18 μm CMOS process. The measured operational frequency ranged from 7 to 155 MHz, and the power consumption was improved to 79.6 μW (@7 MHz) with a 4.6 ps resolution. The proposed design can be implemented in an all-digital manner, which is highly desirable for system-level integration.

A CMOS Gm-C complex filter with on-chip automatic tuning for wireless sensor network application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan Chuanchuan; Li Zhiqun; Hou Ningbing

2011-01-01

A G m -C complex filter with on-chip automatic tuning for wireless sensor networks is designed and implemented using 0.18 μm CMOS process. This filter is synthesized from a low-pass 5th-order Chebyshev RLC ladder filter prototype by means of capacitors and fully balanced transconductors. A conventional phase-locked loop is used to realize the on-chip automatic tuning for both center frequency and bandwidth control. The filter is centered at 2 MHz with a bandwidth of 2.4 MHz. The measured results show that the filter provides more than 45 dB image rejection while the ripple in the pass-band is less than 1.2 dB. The complete filter including on-chip tuning circuit consumes 4.9 mA with 1.8 V single supply voltage. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Development of a CMOS time memory cell VLSI and CAMAC module with 0.5 ns resolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arai, Y.; Ikeno, M.; Matsumura, T.

1992-01-01

A CMOS time-to-digital converter chip, the Time Memory Cell (TMC), for high-rate wire chamber application has been developed. The chip has a timing resolution of 0.52 ns, dissipates only 7 mW/channel, and contains 4 channels in a chip. Each channel has 1024 memory locations which act as a buffer 1μs deep. The chip was fabricated in a 0.8 μm CMOS process and is 5.0 mm by 5.6 mm. Using the TMC chip, a CAMAC module with 32 input channels was developed. This module is designed to operate in both 'Common Start' and 'Common Stop' modes. The circuit of the module and test results are described in this paper

Development of radiation hard CMOS active pixel sensors for HL-LHC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pernegger, Heinz

2016-01-01

New pixel detectors, based on commercial high voltage and/or high resistivity full CMOS processes, hold promise as next-generation active pixel sensors for inner and intermediate layers of the upgraded ATLAS tracker. The use of commercial CMOS processes allow cost-effective detector construction and simpler hybridisation techniques. The paper gives an overview of the results obtained on AMS-produced CMOS sensors coupled to the ATLAS Pixel FE-I4 readout chips. The SOI (silicon-on-insulator) produced sensors by XFAB hold great promise as radiation hard SOI-CMOS sensors due to their combination of partially depleted SOI transistors reducing back-gate effects. The test results include pre-/post-irradiation comparison, measurements of charge collection regions as well as test beam results.

CMOS front ends for millimeter wave wireless communication systems

CERN Document Server

Deferm, Noël

2015-01-01

This book focuses on the development of circuit and system design techniques for millimeter wave wireless communication systems above 90GHz and fabricated in nanometer scale CMOS technologies. The authors demonstrate a hands-on methodology that was applied to design six different chips, in order to overcome a variety of design challenges. Behavior of both actives and passives, and how to design them to achieve high performance is discussed in detail. This book serves as a valuable reference for millimeter wave designers, working at both the transistor level and system level.   Discusses advantages and disadvantages of designing wireless mm-wave communication circuits and systems in CMOS; Analyzes the limitations and pitfalls of building mm-wave circuits in CMOS; Includes mm-wave building block and system design techniques and applies these to 6 different CMOS chips; Provides guidelines for building measurement setups to evaluate high-frequency chips.  

Study of CMOS-SOI Integrated Temperature Sensing Circuits for On-Chip Temperature Monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Malits, Maria; Brouk, Igor; Nemirovsky, Yael

2018-05-19

This paper investigates the concepts, performance and limitations of temperature sensing circuits realized in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) silicon on insulator (SOI) technology. It is shown that the MOSFET threshold voltage ( V t ) can be used to accurately measure the chip local temperature by using a V t extractor circuit. Furthermore, the circuit's performance is compared to standard circuits used to generate an accurate output current or voltage proportional to the absolute temperature, i.e., proportional-to-absolute temperature (PTAT), in terms of linearity, sensitivity, power consumption, speed, accuracy and calibration needs. It is shown that the V t extractor circuit is a better solution to determine the temperature of low power, analog and mixed-signal designs due to its accuracy, low power consumption and no need for calibration. The circuit has been designed using 1 µm partially depleted (PD) CMOS-SOI technology, and demonstrates a measurement inaccuracy of ±1.5 K across 300 K⁻500 K temperature range while consuming only 30 µW during operation.

Design, realization and test of a rad-hard 2D-compressor and packing chip for high energy physics experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antinori, Samuele; Falchieri, Davide; Gabrielli, Alessandro; Gandolfi, Enzo

2004-01-01

CARLOSv3 is a third version of a chip that plays a significant role in the data acquisition chain of the A Large Ion Collider Experiment Inner Tracking System experiment. It has been designed and realized with a 0.25 μm CMOS 3-metal rad-hard digital library. The chip elaborates and compresses, by means of a bi-dimensional compressor, data belonging to a so-called event. The compressor looks for cross-shaped clusters within the whole data set coming from the silicon detector. To test the chip a specific PCB has been designed; it contains the connectors for probing the ASIC with a pattern generator and a logic state analyzer. The chip is inserted on the PCB using a ZIF socket. This allows to test the 35 packaged samples out of the total amount of bare chips we have from the foundry. The test phase has shown that 32 out of 35 chips under test work well. It is planned to redesign a new version of the chip by adding extra features and to submit the final version of CARLOS upon the final DAQ chain will be totally tested both in Bologna and at CERN

First generation of deep n-well CMOS MAPS with in-pixel sparsification for the ILC vertex detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Traversi, Gianluca; Bulgheroni, Antonio; Caccia, Massimo; Jastrzab, Marcin; Manghisoni, Massimo; Pozzati, Enrico; Ratti, Lodovico; Re, Valerio

2009-01-01

In this paper we present the characterization results relevant to a deep n-well (DNW) CMOS active pixel sensor chip designed for vertexing applications at the International Linear Collider. In this chip, named sparsified digital readout (SDR0), for the first time we implemented a sparsification logic at the pixel level. The DNW available in deep submicron CMOS processes is used to collect the charge released in the substrate, and signal processing is performed by a classical optimum amplifying stage for capacitive detectors. In this work, the experimental characterization of the SDR0 chip, including data from radioactive source ( 55 Fe) tests, will be presented.

SEU tolerant memory design for the ATLAS pixel readout chip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menouni, M; Barbero, M; Breugnon, P; Fougeron, D; Gensolen, F; Arutinov, D; Backhaus, M; Gonella, L; Hemperek, T; Karagounis, M; Beccherle, R; Darbo, G; Caminada, L; Dube, S; Fleury, J; Garcia-Sciveres, M; Gnani, D; Jensen, F; Gromov, V; Kluit, R

2013-01-01

The FE-I4 chip for the B-layer upgrade is designed in a 130 nm CMOS process. For this design, configuration memories are based on the DICE latches where layout considerations are followed to improve the tolerance to SEU. Tests have shown that DICE latches for which layout approaches are adopted are 30 times more tolerant to SEU than the standard DICE latches. To prepare for the new pixel readout chip planned for the future upgrades, a prototype chip containing 512 pixels has been designed in a 65 nm CMOS process and a new approach is adopted for SEU tolerant latches. Results in terms of SEU and TID tolerance are presented.

A CMOS G{sub m}-C complex filter with on-chip automatic tuning for wireless sensor network application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wan Chuanchuan; Li Zhiqun; Hou Ningbing, E-mail: zhiqunli@seu.edu.cn [Institute of RF- and OE-ICs, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 (China)

2011-05-15

A G{sub m}-C complex filter with on-chip automatic tuning for wireless sensor networks is designed and implemented using 0.18 {mu}m CMOS process. This filter is synthesized from a low-pass 5th-order Chebyshev RLC ladder filter prototype by means of capacitors and fully balanced transconductors. A conventional phase-locked loop is used to realize the on-chip automatic tuning for both center frequency and bandwidth control. The filter is centered at 2 MHz with a bandwidth of 2.4 MHz. The measured results show that the filter provides more than 45 dB image rejection while the ripple in the pass-band is less than 1.2 dB. The complete filter including on-chip tuning circuit consumes 4.9 mA with 1.8 V single supply voltage. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Beyond CMOS nanodevices 1

CERN Document Server

Balestra, Francis

2014-01-01

This book offers a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art in innovative Beyond-CMOS nanodevices for developing novel functionalities, logic and memories dedicated to researchers, engineers and students.  It particularly focuses on the interest of nanostructures and nanodevices (nanowires, small slope switches, 2D layers, nanostructured materials, etc.) for advanced More than Moore (RF-nanosensors-energy harvesters, on-chip electronic cooling, etc.) and Beyond-CMOS logic and memories applications

Beyond CMOS nanodevices 2

CERN Document Server

Balestra, Francis

2014-01-01

This book offers a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art in innovative Beyond-CMOS nanodevices for developing novel functionalities, logic and memories dedicated to researchers, engineers and students. The book will particularly focus on the interest of nanostructures and nanodevices (nanowires, small slope switches, 2D layers, nanostructured materials, etc.) for advanced More than Moore (RF-nanosensors-energy harvesters, on-chip electronic cooling, etc.) and Beyond-CMOS logic and memories applications.

Wideband CMOS receivers

CERN Document Server

Oliveira, Luis

2015-01-01

This book demonstrates how to design a wideband receiver operating in current mode, in which the noise and non-linearity are reduced, implemented in a low cost single chip, using standard CMOS technology.  The authors present a solution to remove the transimpedance amplifier (TIA) block and connect directly the mixer’s output to a passive second-order continuous-time Σ∆ analog to digital converter (ADC), which operates in current-mode. These techniques enable the reduction of area, power consumption, and cost in modern CMOS receivers.

1 mm3-sized optical neural stimulator based on CMOS integrated photovoltaic power receiver

Science.gov (United States)

Tokuda, Takashi; Ishizu, Takaaki; Nattakarn, Wuthibenjaphonchai; Haruta, Makito; Noda, Toshihiko; Sasagawa, Kiyotaka; Sawan, Mohamad; Ohta, Jun

2018-04-01

In this work, we present a simple complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-controlled photovoltaic power-transfer platform that is suitable for very small (less than or equal to 1-2 mm) electronic devices such as implantable health-care devices or distributed nodes for the Internet of Things. We designed a 1.25 mm × 1.25 mm CMOS power receiver chip that contains integrated photovoltaic cells. We characterized the CMOS-integrated power receiver and successfully demonstrated blue light-emitting diode (LED) operation powered by infrared light. Then, we integrated the CMOS chip and a few off-chip components into a 1-mm3 implantable optogenetic stimulator, and demonstrated the operation of the device.

Direct reading of charge multipliers with a self-triggering CMOS analog chip with 105k pixels at 50 micron pitch

CERN Document Server

Bellazzini, R; Minuti, M; Baldini, L; Brez, A; Cavalca, F; Latronico, L; Omodei, N; Massai, M M; Sgro, C; Costa, E; Krummenacher, P S F; De Oliveira, R

2006-01-01

We report on a large active area (15x15mm2), high channel density (470 pixels/mm2), self-triggering CMOS analog chip that we have developed as pixelized charge collecting electrode of a Micropattern Gas Detector. This device, which represents a big step forward both in terms of size and performance, is the last version of three generations of custom ASICs of increasing complexity. The CMOS pixel array has the top metal layer patterned in a matrix of 105600 hexagonal pixels at 50 micron pitch. Each pixel is directly connected to the underneath full electronics chain which has been realized in the remaining five metal and two poly-silicon layers of a 0.18 micron VLSI technology. The chip has customizable self-triggering capability and includes a signal pre-processing function for the automatic localization of the event coordinates. In this way it is possible to reduce significantly the readout time and the data volume by limiting the signal output only to those pixels belonging to the region of interest. The ve...

High-voltage CMOS detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehrler, F.; Blanco, R.; Leys, R.; Perić, I.

2016-01-01

High-voltage CMOS (HVCMOS) pixel sensors are depleted active pixel sensors implemented in standard commercial CMOS processes. The sensor element is the n-well/p-substrate diode. The sensor electronics are entirely placed inside the n-well which is at the same time used as the charge collection electrode. High voltage is used to deplete the part of the substrate around the n-well. HVCMOS sensors allow implementation of complex in-pixel electronics. This, together with fast signal collection, allows a good time resolution, which is required for particle tracking in high energy physics. HVCMOS sensors will be used in Mu3e experiment at PSI and are considered as an option for both ATLAS and CLIC (CERN). Radiation tolerance and time walk compensation have been tested and results are presented. - Highlights: • High-voltage CMOS sensors will be used in Mu3e experiment at PSI (Switzerland). • HVCMOS sensors are considered as an option for ATLAS (LHC/CERN) and CLIC (CERN). • Efficiency of more than 95% (99%) has been measured with (un-)irradiated chips. • The time resolution measured in the beam tests is nearly 100 ns. • We plan to improve time resolution and efficiency by using high-resistive substrate.

High-voltage CMOS detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ehrler, F., E-mail: felix.ehrler@student.kit.edu; Blanco, R.; Leys, R.; Perić, I.

2016-07-11

High-voltage CMOS (HVCMOS) pixel sensors are depleted active pixel sensors implemented in standard commercial CMOS processes. The sensor element is the n-well/p-substrate diode. The sensor electronics are entirely placed inside the n-well which is at the same time used as the charge collection electrode. High voltage is used to deplete the part of the substrate around the n-well. HVCMOS sensors allow implementation of complex in-pixel electronics. This, together with fast signal collection, allows a good time resolution, which is required for particle tracking in high energy physics. HVCMOS sensors will be used in Mu3e experiment at PSI and are considered as an option for both ATLAS and CLIC (CERN). Radiation tolerance and time walk compensation have been tested and results are presented. - Highlights: • High-voltage CMOS sensors will be used in Mu3e experiment at PSI (Switzerland). • HVCMOS sensors are considered as an option for ATLAS (LHC/CERN) and CLIC (CERN). • Efficiency of more than 95% (99%) has been measured with (un-)irradiated chips. • The time resolution measured in the beam tests is nearly 100 ns. • We plan to improve time resolution and efficiency by using high-resistive substrate.

Integrated CMOS sensor technologies for the CLIC tracker

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(SzGeCERN)754303

2017-01-01

Integrated technologies are attractive candidates for an all silicon tracker at the proposed future multi-TeV linear e+e- collider CLIC. In this context CMOS circuitry on a high resistivity epitaxial layer has been studied using the ALICE Investigator test-chip. Test-beam campaigns have been performed to study the Investigator performance and a Technology Computer Aided Design based simulation chain has been developed to further explore the sensor technology.

Variable self-powered light detection CMOS chip with real-time adaptive tracking digital output based on a novel on-chip sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, HongYi; Fan, Youyou; Lu, Zhijian; Luo, Tao; Fu, Houqiang; Song, Hongjiang; Zhao, Yuji; Christen, Jennifer Blain

2017-10-02

This paper provides a solution for a self-powered light direction detection with digitized output. Light direction sensors, energy harvesting photodiodes, real-time adaptive tracking digital output unit and other necessary circuits are integrated on a single chip based on a standard 0.18 µm CMOS process. Light direction sensors proposed have an accuracy of 1.8 degree over a 120 degree range. In order to improve the accuracy, a compensation circuit is presented for photodiodes' forward currents. The actual measurement precision of output is approximately 7 ENOB. Besides that, an adaptive under voltage protection circuit is designed for variable supply power which may undulate with temperature and process.

Transportable GPU (General Processor Units) chip set technology for standard computer architectures

Science.gov (United States)

Fosdick, R. E.; Denison, H. C.

1982-11-01

The USAFR-developed GPU Chip Set has been utilized by Tracor to implement both USAF and Navy Standard 16-Bit Airborne Computer Architectures. Both configurations are currently being delivered into DOD full-scale development programs. Leadless Hermetic Chip Carrier packaging has facilitated implementation of both architectures on single 41/2 x 5 substrates. The CMOS and CMOS/SOS implementations of the GPU Chip Set have allowed both CPU implementations to use less than 3 watts of power each. Recent efforts by Tracor for USAF have included the definition of a next-generation GPU Chip Set that will retain the application-proven architecture of the current chip set while offering the added cost advantages of transportability across ISO-CMOS and CMOS/SOS processes and across numerous semiconductor manufacturers using a newly-defined set of common design rules. The Enhanced GPU Chip Set will increase speed by an approximate factor of 3 while significantly reducing chip counts and costs of standard CPU implementations.

An eight channel low-noise CMOS readout circuit for silicon detectors with on-chip front-end FET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fiorini, C.; Porro, M.

2006-01-01

We propose a CMOS readout circuit for the processing of signals from multi-channel silicon detectors to be used in X-ray spectroscopy and γ-ray imaging applications. The circuit is composed by eight channels, each one featuring a low-noise preamplifier, a 6th-order semigaussian shaping amplifier with four selectable peaking times, from 1.8 up to 6 μs, a peak stretcher and a discriminator. The circuit is conceived to be used with silicon detectors with a front-end FET integrated on the detector chips itself, like silicon drift detectors with JFET and pixel detectors with DEPMOS. The integrated time constants used for the shaping are implemented by means of an RC-cell, based on the technique of demagnification of the current flowing in a resistor R by means of the use of current mirrors. The eight analog channels of the chip are multiplexed to a single analog output. A suitable digital section provides self-resetting of each channel and trigger output and is able to set independent thresholds on the analog channels by means of a programmable serial register and 3-bit DACs. The circuit has been realized in the 0.35 μm CMOS AMS technology. In this work, the main features of the circuit are presented along with the experimental results of its characterization

BioCMOS Interfaces and Co-Design

CERN Document Server

Carrara, Sandro

2013-01-01

The application of CMOS circuits and ASIC VLSI systems to problems in medicine and system biology has led to the emergence of Bio/CMOS Interfaces and Co-Design as an exciting and rapidly growing area of research. The mutual inter-relationships between VLSI-CMOS design and the biophysics of molecules interfacing with silicon and/or onto metals has led to the emergence of the interdisciplinary engineering approach to Bio/CMOS interfaces. This new approach, facilitated by 3D circuit design and nanotechnology, has resulted in new concepts and applications for VLSI systems in the bio-world. This book offers an invaluable reference to the state-of-the-art in Bio/CMOS interfaces. It describes leading-edge research in the field of CMOS design and VLSI development for applications requiring integration of biological molecules onto the chip. It provides multidisciplinary content ranging from biochemistry to CMOS design in order to address Bio/CMOS interface co-design in bio-sensing applications.

Optic nerve signals in a neuromorphic chip II: Testing and results.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaghloul, Kareem A; Boahen, Kwabena

2004-04-01

Seeking to match the brain's computational efficiency, we draw inspiration from its neural circuits. To model the four main output (ganglion) cell types found in the retina, we morphed outer and inner retina circuits into a 96 x 60-photoreceptor, 3.5 x 3.3 mm2, 0.35 microm-CMOS chip. Our retinomorphic chip produces spike trains for 3600 ganglion cells (GCs), and consumes 62.7 mW at 45 spikes/s/GC. This chip, which is the first silicon retina to successfully model inner retina circuitry, approaches the spatial density of the retina. We present experimental measurements showing that the chip's subthreshold current-mode circuits realize luminance adaptation, bandpass spatiotemporal filtering, temporal adaptation and contrast gain control. The four different GC outputs produced by our chip encode light onset or offset in a sustained or transient fashion, producing a quadrature-like representation. The retinomorphic chip's circuit design is described in a companion paper [Zaghloul and Boahen (2004)].

Radiation effects in a CMOS/SOS/Al-Gate D/A converter and on-chip diagnostic transistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brucker, G.J.; Heagerty, W.

1976-01-01

This paper presents the results obtained from total dose and transient radiation tests on a CMOS/SOS/Al-Gate D/A converter and on-chip diagnostic transistors. Samples were irradiated by cobalt-60 gamma rays under worst-case conditions, and by 10-MeV electron pulses of 50-ns and 4.4-μs duration. Devices were fabricated with three different insulators; the two discussed here are standard wet oxide and a pyrogenic oxide. Test transistors on the D/A chips made it possible to diagnose the failure modes of the converter and to evaluate some special designs. These consisted of standard edge p- and n-channel transistors, edgeless units, edgeless tetrode transistors, and an edgeless type transmission gate with a diode clamp from substrate to gate. The total dose results indicate that the pyrogenic oxide increased the failure dose of the operational amplifier portion of the converter from 10 3 rads (Si) to 2 x 10 6 rads (Si); however, the sample and hold failed after exposure to a low level of 10 3 rads (Si). Test devices indicated this to be due to the radiation-induced leakage current of the transmission gate which discharges the sample and hold capacitor. The diode clamp decreased the threshold voltage shifts and the leakage currents. The edgeless devices improved the device performance because of a more abrupt turn-on. Narrow-pulse test data indicated that the edgeless units produced less photocurrent than the edge units by about a factor of three to four. Converter upset levels are less than or equal to 10 9 rads/s due to precision requirements which make a few millivolt transients untenable

Toward CMOS image sensor based glucose monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Devadhasan, Jasmine Pramila; Kim, Sanghyo

2012-09-07

Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor is a powerful tool for biosensing applications. In this present study, CMOS image sensor has been exploited for detecting glucose levels by simple photon count variation with high sensitivity. Various concentrations of glucose (100 mg dL(-1) to 1000 mg dL(-1)) were added onto a simple poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) chip and the oxidation of glucose was catalyzed with the aid of an enzymatic reaction. Oxidized glucose produces a brown color with the help of chromogen during enzymatic reaction and the color density varies with the glucose concentration. Photons pass through the PDMS chip with varying color density and hit the sensor surface. Photon count was recognized by CMOS image sensor depending on the color density with respect to the glucose concentration and it was converted into digital form. By correlating the obtained digital results with glucose concentration it is possible to measure a wide range of blood glucose levels with great linearity based on CMOS image sensor and therefore this technique will promote a convenient point-of-care diagnosis.

Multi-target electrochemical biosensing enabled by integrated CMOS electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rothe, J; Lewandowska, M K; Heer, F; Frey, O; Hierlemann, A

2011-01-01

An integrated electrochemical measurement system, based on CMOS technology, is presented, which allows the detection of several analytes in parallel (multi-analyte) and enables simultaneous monitoring at different locations (multi-site). The system comprises a 576-electrode CMOS sensor chip, an FPGA module for chip control and data processing, and the measurement laptop. The advantages of the highly versatile system are demonstrated by two applications. First, a label-free, hybridization-based DNA sensor is enabled by the possibility of large-scale integration in CMOS technology. Second, the detection of the neurotransmitter choline is presented by assembling the chip with biosensor microprobe arrays. The low noise level enables a limit of detection of, e.g., 0.3 µM choline. The fully integrated system is self-contained: it features cleaning, functionalization and measurement functions without the need for additional electrical equipment. With the power supplied by the laptop, the system is very suitable for on-site measurements

Investigation of HV/HR-CMOS technology for the ATLAS Phase-II Strip Tracker Upgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fadeyev, V.; Galloway, Z.; Grabas, H.; Grillo, A.A.; Liang, Z.; Martinez-Mckinney, F.; Seiden, A.; Volk, J.; Affolder, A.; Buckland, M.; Meng, L.; Arndt, K.; Bortoletto, D.; Huffman, T.; John, J.; McMahon, S.; Nickerson, R.; Phillips, P.; Plackett, R.; Shipsey, I.

2016-01-01

ATLAS has formed strip CMOS project to study the use of CMOS MAPS devices as silicon strip sensors for the Phase-II Strip Tracker Upgrade. This choice of sensors promises several advantages over the conventional baseline design, such as better resolution, less material in the tracking volume, and faster construction speed. At the same time, many design features of the sensors are driven by the requirement of minimizing the impact on the rest of the detector. Hence the target devices feature long pixels which are grouped to form a virtual strip with binary-encoded z position. The key performance aspects are radiation hardness compatibility with HL-LHC environment, as well as extraction of the full hit position with full-reticle readout architecture. To date, several test chips have been submitted using two different CMOS technologies. The AMS 350 nm is a high voltage CMOS process (HV-CMOS), that features the sensor bias of up to 120 V. The TowerJazz 180 nm high resistivity CMOS process (HR-CMOS) uses a high resistivity epitaxial layer to provide the depletion region on top of the substrate. We have evaluated passive pixel performance, and charge collection projections. The results strongly support the radiation tolerance of these devices to radiation dose of the HL-LHC in the strip tracker region. We also describe design features for the next chip submission that are motivated by our technology evaluation.

Investigation of HV/HR-CMOS technology for the ATLAS Phase-II Strip Tracker Upgrade

Science.gov (United States)

Fadeyev, V.; Galloway, Z.; Grabas, H.; Grillo, A. A.; Liang, Z.; Martinez-Mckinney, F.; Seiden, A.; Volk, J.; Affolder, A.; Buckland, M.; Meng, L.; Arndt, K.; Bortoletto, D.; Huffman, T.; John, J.; McMahon, S.; Nickerson, R.; Phillips, P.; Plackett, R.; Shipsey, I.; Vigani, L.; Bates, R.; Blue, A.; Buttar, C.; Kanisauskas, K.; Maneuski, D.; Benoit, M.; Di Bello, F.; Caragiulo, P.; Dragone, A.; Grenier, P.; Kenney, C.; Rubbo, F.; Segal, J.; Su, D.; Tamma, C.; Das, D.; Dopke, J.; Turchetta, R.; Wilson, F.; Worm, S.; Ehrler, F.; Peric, I.; Gregor, I. M.; Stanitzki, M.; Hoeferkamp, M.; Seidel, S.; Hommels, L. B. A.; Kramberger, G.; Mandić, I.; Mikuž, M.; Muenstermann, D.; Wang, R.; Zhang, J.; Warren, M.; Song, W.; Xiu, Q.; Zhu, H.

2016-09-01

ATLAS has formed strip CMOS project to study the use of CMOS MAPS devices as silicon strip sensors for the Phase-II Strip Tracker Upgrade. This choice of sensors promises several advantages over the conventional baseline design, such as better resolution, less material in the tracking volume, and faster construction speed. At the same time, many design features of the sensors are driven by the requirement of minimizing the impact on the rest of the detector. Hence the target devices feature long pixels which are grouped to form a virtual strip with binary-encoded z position. The key performance aspects are radiation hardness compatibility with HL-LHC environment, as well as extraction of the full hit position with full-reticle readout architecture. To date, several test chips have been submitted using two different CMOS technologies. The AMS 350 nm is a high voltage CMOS process (HV-CMOS), that features the sensor bias of up to 120 V. The TowerJazz 180 nm high resistivity CMOS process (HR-CMOS) uses a high resistivity epitaxial layer to provide the depletion region on top of the substrate. We have evaluated passive pixel performance, and charge collection projections. The results strongly support the radiation tolerance of these devices to radiation dose of the HL-LHC in the strip tracker region. We also describe design features for the next chip submission that are motivated by our technology evaluation.

Investigation of HV/HR-CMOS technology for the ATLAS Phase-II Strip Tracker Upgrade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fadeyev, V., E-mail: fadeyev@ucsc.edu [Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Galloway, Z.; Grabas, H.; Grillo, A.A.; Liang, Z.; Martinez-Mckinney, F.; Seiden, A.; Volk, J. [Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Affolder, A.; Buckland, M.; Meng, L. [Department of Physics, University of Liverpool, O. Lodge Laboratory, Oxford Street, Liverpool L69 7ZE (United Kingdom); Arndt, K.; Bortoletto, D.; Huffman, T.; John, J.; McMahon, S.; Nickerson, R.; Phillips, P.; Plackett, R.; Shipsey, I. [Department of Physics, Oxford University, Oxford (United Kingdom); and others

2016-09-21

ATLAS has formed strip CMOS project to study the use of CMOS MAPS devices as silicon strip sensors for the Phase-II Strip Tracker Upgrade. This choice of sensors promises several advantages over the conventional baseline design, such as better resolution, less material in the tracking volume, and faster construction speed. At the same time, many design features of the sensors are driven by the requirement of minimizing the impact on the rest of the detector. Hence the target devices feature long pixels which are grouped to form a virtual strip with binary-encoded z position. The key performance aspects are radiation hardness compatibility with HL-LHC environment, as well as extraction of the full hit position with full-reticle readout architecture. To date, several test chips have been submitted using two different CMOS technologies. The AMS 350 nm is a high voltage CMOS process (HV-CMOS), that features the sensor bias of up to 120 V. The TowerJazz 180 nm high resistivity CMOS process (HR-CMOS) uses a high resistivity epitaxial layer to provide the depletion region on top of the substrate. We have evaluated passive pixel performance, and charge collection projections. The results strongly support the radiation tolerance of these devices to radiation dose of the HL-LHC in the strip tracker region. We also describe design features for the next chip submission that are motivated by our technology evaluation.

Smart CMOS image sensor for lightning detection and imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Rolando, Sébastien; Goiffon, Vincent; Magnan, Pierre; Corbière, Franck; Molina, Romain; Tulet, Michel; Bréart-de-Boisanger, Michel; Saint-Pé, Olivier; Guiry, Saïprasad; Larnaudie, Franck; Leone, Bruno; Perez-Cuevas, Leticia; Zayer, Igor

2013-03-01

We present a CMOS image sensor dedicated to lightning detection and imaging. The detector has been designed to evaluate the potentiality of an on-chip lightning detection solution based on a smart sensor. This evaluation is performed in the frame of the predevelopment phase of the lightning detector that will be implemented in the Meteosat Third Generation Imager satellite for the European Space Agency. The lightning detection process is performed by a smart detector combining an in-pixel frame-to-frame difference comparison with an adjustable threshold and on-chip digital processing allowing an efficient localization of a faint lightning pulse on the entire large format array at a frequency of 1 kHz. A CMOS prototype sensor with a 256×256 pixel array and a 60 μm pixel pitch has been fabricated using a 0.35 μm 2P 5M technology and tested to validate the selected detection approach.

3D monolithically stacked CMOS active pixel sensor detectors for particle tracking applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Passeri, D; Placidi, P; Servoli, L; Meroli, S; Magalotti, D; Marras, A

2012-01-01

In this work we propose an innovative approach to particle tracking based on CMOS Active Pixel Sensors layers, monolithically integrated in an all-in-one chip featuring multiple, stacked, fully functional detector layers capable to provide momentum measurement (particle impact point and direction) within a single detector. This will results in a very low material detector, thus dramatically reducing multiple scattering issues. To this purpose, we rely on the capabilities of the CMOS vertical scale integration (3D IC) technology. A first chip prototype has been fabricated within a multi-project run using a 130 nm CMOS Chartered/Tezzaron technology, featuring two layers bonded face-to-face. Tests have been carried out on full 3D structures, providing the functionalities of both tiers. To this purpose, laser scans have been carried out using highly focussed spot size obtaining coincidence responses of the two layers. Tests have been made as well with X-ray sources in order to calibrate the response of the sensor. Encouraging results have been found, fostering the suitability of both the adopted 3D-IC vertical scale fabrication technology and the proposed approach for particle tracking applications.

Design of a CMOS readout circuit on ultra-thin flexible silicon chip for printed strain gauges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Elsobky

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Flexible electronics represents an emerging technology with features enabling several new applications such as wearable electronics and bendable displays. Precise and high-performance sensors readout chips are crucial for high quality flexible electronic products. In this work, the design of a CMOS readout circuit for an array of printed strain gauges is presented. The ultra-thin readout chip and the printed sensors are combined on a thin Benzocyclobutene/Polyimide (BCB/PI substrate to form a Hybrid System-in-Foil (HySiF, which is used as an electronic skin for robotic applications. Each strain gauge utilizes a Wheatstone bridge circuit, where four Aerosol Jet® printed meander-shaped resistors form a full-bridge topology. The readout chip amplifies the output voltage difference (about 5 mV full-scale swing of the strain gauge. One challenge during the sensor interface circuit design is to compensate for the relatively large dc offset (about 30 mV at 1 mA in the bridge output voltage so that the amplified signal span matches the input range of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC. The circuit design uses the 0. 5 µm mixed-signal GATEFORESTTM technology. In order to achieve the mechanical flexibility, the chip fabrication is based on either back thinned wafers or the ChipFilmTM technology, which enables the manufacturing of silicon chips with a thickness of about 20 µm. The implemented readout chip uses a supply of 5 V and includes a 5-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC, a differential difference amplifier (DDA, and a 10-bit successive approximation register (SAR ADC. The circuit is simulated across process, supply and temperature corners and the simulation results indicate excellent performance in terms of circuit stability and linearity.

A 60-GHz energy harvesting module with on-chip antenna and switch for co-integration with ULP radios in 65-nm CMOS with fully wireless mm-wave power transfer measurement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gao, H.; Matters - Kammerer, M.; Harpe, P.J.A.; Milosevic, D.; Roermund, van A.H.M.; Linnartz, J.P.M.G.; Baltus, P.G.M.

2014-01-01

In this paper the architecture and performance of a co-integrated 60 GHz on-chip wireless energy harvester and ultra-low power (ULP) radio in 65-nm CMOS are discussed. Integration of an on-chip antenna with wireless power receiver and wireless data transfer module is the crucial next step to achieve

Design of a 1-chip IBM-3270 protocol handler

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spaanenburg, L.

1989-01-01

The single-chip design of a 20MHz IBM-3270 coax protocol handler in a conventional 3 μ CMOS process-technology is discussed. The harmonious combination of CMOS circuit tricks and high-level design disciplines allows the 50k transistor design to be compiled and optimized into a 35 mm**2 chip in 4

A new CMOS Hall angular position sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Popovic, R.S.; Drljaca, P. [Swiss Federal Inst. of Tech., Lausanne (Switzerland); Schott, C.; Racz, R. [SENTRON AG, Zug (Switzerland)

2001-06-01

The new angular position sensor consists of a combination of a permanent magnet attached to a shaft and of a two-axis magnetic sensor. The permanent magnet produces a magnetic field parallel with the magnetic sensor plane. As the shaft rotates, the magnetic field also rotates. The magnetic sensor is an integrated combination of a CMOS Hall integrated circuit and a thin ferromagnetic disk. The CMOS part of the system contains two or more conventional Hall devices positioned under the periphery of the disk. The ferromagnetic disk converts locally a magnetic field parallel with the chip surface into a field perpendicular to the chip surface. Therefore, a conventional Hall element can detect an external magnetic field parallel with the chip surface. As the direction of the external magnetic field rotates in the chip plane, the output voltage of the Hall element varies as the cosine of the rotation angle. By placing the Hall elements at the appropriate places under the disk periphery, we may obtain the cosine signals shifted by 90 , 120 , or by any other angle. (orig.)

Electrical Interconnections Through CMOS Wafers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Frank Engel

2003-01-01

Chips with integrated vias are currently the ultimate miniaturizing solution for 3D packaging of microsystems. Previously the application of vias has almost exclusively been demonstrated within MEMS technology, and only a few of these via technologies have been CMOS compatible. This thesis...... describes the development of vias through a silicon wafer containing Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) circuitry. Two via technologies have been developed and fabricated in blank silicon wafers; one based on KOH etching of wafer through-holes and one based on DRIE of wafer through......-holes. The most promising of these technologies --- the DRIE based process --- has been implemented in CMOS wafers containing hearing aid amplifiers. The main challenges in the development of a CMOS compatible via process depend on the chosen process for etching of wafer through-holes. In the case of KOH etching...

Development of a 750x750 pixels CMOS imager sensor for tracking applications

Science.gov (United States)

Larnaudie, Franck; Guardiola, Nicolas; Saint-Pé, Olivier; Vignon, Bruno; Tulet, Michel; Davancens, Robert; Magnan, Pierre; Corbière, Franck; Martin-Gonthier, Philippe; Estribeau, Magali

2017-11-01

Solid-state optical sensors are now commonly used in space applications (navigation cameras, astronomy imagers, tracking sensors...). Although the charge-coupled devices are still widely used, the CMOS image sensor (CIS), which performances are continuously improving, is a strong challenger for Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) systems. This paper describes a 750x750 pixels CMOS image sensor that has been specially designed and developed for star tracker and tracking sensor applications. Such detector, that is featuring smart architecture enabling very simple and powerful operations, is built using the AMIS 0.5μm CMOS technology. It contains 750x750 rectangular pixels with 20μm pitch. The geometry of the pixel sensitive zone is optimized for applications based on centroiding measurements. The main feature of this device is the on-chip control and timing function that makes the device operation easier by drastically reducing the number of clocks to be applied. This powerful function allows the user to operate the sensor with high flexibility: measurement of dark level from masked lines, direct access to the windows of interest… A temperature probe is also integrated within the CMOS chip allowing a very precise measurement through the video stream. A complete electro-optical characterization of the sensor has been performed. The major parameters have been evaluated: dark current and its uniformity, read-out noise, conversion gain, Fixed Pattern Noise, Photo Response Non Uniformity, quantum efficiency, Modulation Transfer Function, intra-pixel scanning. The characterization tests are detailed in the paper. Co60 and protons irradiation tests have been also carried out on the image sensor and the results are presented. The specific features of the 750x750 image sensor such as low power CMOS design (3.3V, power consumption<100mW), natural windowing (that allows efficient and robust tracking algorithms), simple proximity electronics (because of the on-chip

Characterization of active CMOS pixel sensors on high resistive substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirono, Toko; Hemperek, Tomasz; Huegging, Fabian; Krueger, Hans; Rymaszewski, Piotr; Wermes, Norbert [Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Bonn, Bonn (Germany)

2016-07-01

Active CMOS pixel sensors are very attractive as radiation imaging pixel detector because they do not need cost-intensive fine pitch bump bonding. High radiation tolerance and time resolution are required to apply those sensors to upcoming particle physics experiments. To achieve these requirements, the active CMOS pixel sensors were developed on high resistive substrates. Signal charges are collected faster by drift in high resistive substrates than in standard low resistive substrates yielding also a higher radiation tolerance. A prototype of the active CMOS pixel sensor has been fabricated in the LFoundry 150 nm CMOS process on 2 kΩcm substrate. This prototype chip was thinned down to 300 μm and the backside has been processed and can contacted by an aluminum contact. The breakdown voltage is around -115 V, and the depletion width has been measured to be as large as 180 μm at a bias voltage of -110 V. Gain and noise of the readout circuitry agree with the designed values. Performance tests in the lab and test beam have been done before and after irradiation with X-rays and neutrons. In this presentation, the measurement results of the active CMOS prototype sensors are shown.

Distributed CMOS Bidirectional Amplifiers Broadbanding and Linearization Techniques

CERN Document Server

El-Khatib, Ziad; Mahmoud, Samy A

2012-01-01

This book describes methods to design distributed amplifiers useful for performing circuit functions such as duplexing, paraphrase amplification, phase shifting power splitting and power combiner applications.  A CMOS bidirectional distributed amplifier is presented that combines for the first time device-level with circuit-level linearization, suppressing the third-order intermodulation distortion. It is implemented in 0.13μm RF CMOS technology for use in highly linear, low-cost UWB Radio-over-Fiber communication systems. Describes CMOS distributed amplifiers for optoelectronic applications such as Radio-over-Fiber systems, base station transceivers and picocells; Presents most recent techniques for linearization of CMOS distributed amplifiers; Includes coverage of CMOS I-V transconductors, as well as CMOS on-chip inductor integration and modeling; Includes circuit applications for UWB Radio-over-Fiber networks.

Photoresponse analysis of the CMOS photodiodes for CMOS x-ray image sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Young Soo; Ha, Jang Ho; Kim, Han Soo; Yeo, Sun Mok [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-11-15

Although in the short term CMOS active pixel sensors (APSs) cannot compete with the conventionally used charge coupled devices (CCDs) for high quality scientific imaging, recent development in CMOS APSs indicate that CMOS performance level of CCDs in several domains. CMOS APSs possess thereby a number of advantages such as simpler driving requirements and low power operation. CMOS image sensors can be processed in standard CMOS technologies and the potential of on-chip integration of analog and digital circuitry makes them more suitable for several vision systems where system cost is of importance. Moreover, CMOS imagers can directly benefit from on-going technological progress in the field of CMOS technologies. Due to these advantages, the CMOS APSs are currently being investigated actively for various applications such as star tracker, navigation camera and X-ray imaging etc. In most detection systems, it is thought that the sensor is most important, since this decides the signal and noise level. So, in CMOS APSs, the pixel is very important compared to other functional blocks. In order to predict the performance of such image sensor, a detailed understanding of the photocurrent generation in the photodiodes that comprise the CMOS APS is required. In this work, we developed the analytical model that can calculate the photocurrent generated in CMOS photodiode comprising CMOS APSs. The photocurrent calculations and photo response simulations with respect to the wavelength of the incident photon were performed using this model for four types of photodiodes that can be fabricated in standard CMOS process. n{sup +}/p{sup -}sub and n{sup +}/p{sup -}epi/p{sup -}sub photodiode show better performance compared to n{sup -}well/p{sup -}sub and n{sup -}well/p{sup -}epi/p{sup -}sub due to the wider depletion width. Comparing n{sup +}/p{sup -}sub and n{sup +}/p{sup -}epi/p{sup -}sub photodiode, n{sup +}/p{sup -}sub has higher photo-responsivity in longer wavelength because of

Photoresponse analysis of the CMOS photodiodes for CMOS x-ray image sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Young Soo; Ha, Jang Ho; Kim, Han Soo; Yeo, Sun Mok

2012-01-01

Although in the short term CMOS active pixel sensors (APSs) cannot compete with the conventionally used charge coupled devices (CCDs) for high quality scientific imaging, recent development in CMOS APSs indicate that CMOS performance level of CCDs in several domains. CMOS APSs possess thereby a number of advantages such as simpler driving requirements and low power operation. CMOS image sensors can be processed in standard CMOS technologies and the potential of on-chip integration of analog and digital circuitry makes them more suitable for several vision systems where system cost is of importance. Moreover, CMOS imagers can directly benefit from on-going technological progress in the field of CMOS technologies. Due to these advantages, the CMOS APSs are currently being investigated actively for various applications such as star tracker, navigation camera and X-ray imaging etc. In most detection systems, it is thought that the sensor is most important, since this decides the signal and noise level. So, in CMOS APSs, the pixel is very important compared to other functional blocks. In order to predict the performance of such image sensor, a detailed understanding of the photocurrent generation in the photodiodes that comprise the CMOS APS is required. In this work, we developed the analytical model that can calculate the photocurrent generated in CMOS photodiode comprising CMOS APSs. The photocurrent calculations and photo response simulations with respect to the wavelength of the incident photon were performed using this model for four types of photodiodes that can be fabricated in standard CMOS process. n + /p - sub and n + /p - epi/p - sub photodiode show better performance compared to n - well/p - sub and n - well/p - epi/p - sub due to the wider depletion width. Comparing n + /p - sub and n + /p - epi/p - sub photodiode, n + /p - sub has higher photo-responsivity in longer wavelength because of the higher electron diffusion current

Study of built-in amplifier performance on HV-CMOS sensor for the ATLAS phase-II strip tracker upgrade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liang, Z., E-mail: zhijun.liang@cern.ch [University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics (SCIPP) (United States); Institute of High Energy Physics, Beijing (China); Affolder, A. [University of Liverpool (United Kingdom); Arndt, K. [University of Oxford (United Kingdom); Bates, R. [SUPA – School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow (United Kingdom); Benoit, M.; Di Bello, F. [University of Geneva (Switzerland); Blue, A. [SUPA – School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow (United Kingdom); Bortoletto, D. [University of Oxford (United Kingdom); Buckland, M. [University of Liverpool (United Kingdom); CERN, European Center for Nuclear Research (Switzerland); Buttar, C. [SUPA – School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow (United Kingdom); Caragiulo, P. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (United States); Das, D.; Dopke, J. [Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot (United Kingdom); Dragone, A. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (United States); Ehrler, F. [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany); Fadeyev, V.; Galloway, Z.; Grabas, H. [University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics (SCIPP) (United States); Gregor, I.M. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (Germany); Grenier, P. [SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (United States); and others

2016-09-21

This paper focuses on the performance of analog readout electronics (built-in amplifier) integrated on the high-voltage (HV) CMOS silicon sensor chip, as well as its radiation hardness. Since the total collected charge from minimum ionizing particle (MIP) for the CMOS sensor is 10 times lower than for a conventional planar sensor, it is crucial to integrate a low noise built-in amplifier on the sensor chip to improve the signal to noise ratio of the system. As part of the investigation for the ATLAS strip detector upgrade, a test chip that comprises several pixel arrays with different geometries, as well as standalone built-in amplifiers and built-in amplifiers in pixel arrays has been fabricated in a 0.35 μm high-voltage CMOS process. Measurements of the gain and the noise of both the standalone amplifiers and built-in amplifiers in pixel arrays were performed before and after gamma radiation of up to 60 Mrad. Of special interest is the variation of the noise as a function of the sensor capacitance. We optimized the configuration of the amplifier for a fast rise time to adapt to the LHC bunch crossing period of 25 ns, and measured the timing characteristics including jitter. Our results indicate an adequate amplifier performance for monolithic structures used in HV-CMOS technology. The results have been incorporated in the next submission of a large-structure chip.

5.2-GHz RF Power Harvester in 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS for Implantable Intraocular Pressure Monitoring

KAUST Repository

Ouda, Mahmoud H.

2013-04-17

A first fully integrated 5.2-GHz CMOS-based RF power harvester with an on-chip antenna is presented in this paper. The design is optimized for sensors implanted inside the eye to wirelessly monitor the intraocular pressure of glaucoma patients. It includes a five-stage RF rectifier with an on-chip antenna, a dc voltage limiter, two voltage sensors, a low dropout voltage regulator, and MOSCAP based on-chip storage. The chip has been designed and fabricated in a standard 0.18-μm CMOS technology. To emulate the eye environment in measurements, a custom test setup is developed that comprises Plexiglass cavities filled with saline solution. Measurements in this setup show that the proposed chip can be charged to 1 V wirelessly from a 5-W transmitter 3 cm away from the harvester chip. The energy that is stored on the 5-nF on-chip MOSCAP when charged to 1 V is 2.5 nJ, which is sufficient to drive an arbitrary 100-μW load for 9 μs at regulated 0.8 V. Simulated efficiency of the rectifier is 42% at -7 dBm of input power.

Monolithic active pixel sensors (MAPS) in a VLSI CMOS technology

CERN Document Server

Turchetta, R; Manolopoulos, S; Tyndel, M; Allport, P P; Bates, R; O'Shea, V; Hall, G; Raymond, M

2003-01-01

Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS) designed in a standard VLSI CMOS technology have recently been proposed as a compact pixel detector for the detection of high-energy charged particle in vertex/tracking applications. MAPS, also named CMOS sensors, are already extensively used in visible light applications. With respect to other competing imaging technologies, CMOS sensors have several potential advantages in terms of low cost, low power, lower noise at higher speed, random access of pixels which allows windowing of region of interest, ability to integrate several functions on the same chip. This brings altogether to the concept of 'camera-on-a-chip'. In this paper, we review the use of CMOS sensors for particle physics and we analyse their performances in term of the efficiency (fill factor), signal generation, noise, readout speed and sensor area. In most of high-energy physics applications, data reduction is needed in the sensor at an early stage of the data processing before transfer of the data to ta...

A back-illuminated megapixel CMOS image sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Pain, Bedabrata; Cunningham, Thomas; Nikzad, Shouleh; Hoenk, Michael; Jones, Todd; Wrigley, Chris; Hancock, Bruce

2005-01-01

In this paper, we present the test and characterization results for a back-illuminated megapixel CMOS imager. The imager pixel consists of a standard junction photodiode coupled to a three transistor-per-pixel switched source-follower readout [1]. The imager also consists of integrated timing and control and bias generation circuits, and provides analog output. The analog column-scan circuits were implemented in such a way that the imager could be configured to run in off-chip correlated double-sampling (CDS) mode. The imager was originally designed for normal front-illuminated operation, and was fabricated in a commercially available 0.5 pn triple-metal CMOS-imager compatible process. For backside illumination, the imager was thinned by etching away the substrate was etched away in a post-fabrication processing step.

Carbon Nanotube Integration with a CMOS Process

Science.gov (United States)

Perez, Maximiliano S.; Lerner, Betiana; Resasco, Daniel E.; Pareja Obregon, Pablo D.; Julian, Pedro M.; Mandolesi, Pablo S.; Buffa, Fabian A.; Boselli, Alfredo; Lamagna, Alberto

2010-01-01

This work shows the integration of a sensor based on carbon nanotubes using CMOS technology. A chip sensor (CS) was designed and manufactured using a 0.30 μm CMOS process, leaving a free window on the passivation layer that allowed the deposition of SWCNTs over the electrodes. We successfully investigated with the CS the effect of humidity and temperature on the electrical transport properties of SWCNTs. The possibility of a large scale integration of SWCNTs with CMOS process opens a new route in the design of more efficient, low cost sensors with high reproducibility in their manufacture. PMID:22319330

RAPS: an innovative active pixel for particle detection integrated in CMOS technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Passeri, Daniele; Placidi, Pisana; Verducci, Leonardo; Ciampolini, Paolo; Matrella, Guido; Marras, Alessandro; Bilei, G.M.

2004-01-01

In this paper we discuss some design, implementation and test issues, with respect to the development of the RAPS01 chip in the framework of the Radiation Active Pixel Sensors (RAPS) INFN project. The project aimed at verifying feasibility of smart, high-resolution pixel arrays with a fully standard, submicron CMOS technology for particle detection purposes. Layout optimization of the pixel, including sensitive element and local read and amplification circuits has been carried out. Different basic pixel schemes and read-out options have been proposed and devised. Chip fabrication has been completed and test phase is now under way: to this purpose a suitable test environment has been devised and test strategies have been planned

Results of FE65-P2 Pixel Readout Test Chip for High Luminosity LHC Upgrades

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(SzGeCERN)394193

2016-01-01

A pixel readout test chip called FE65-P2 has been fabricated on 65 nm CMOS technology. FE65-P2 contains a matrix of 64 x 64 pixels on 50 micron by 50 micron pitch, designed to read out a bump bonded sensor. The goals of FE65-P2 are to demonstrate excellent analog performance isolated from digital activity well enough to achieve 500 electron stable threshold, be radiation hard to at least 500 Mrad, and prove the novel concept of isolated analog front ends embedded in a flat digital design, dubbed “analog islands in a digital sea”. Experience from FE65-P2 and hybrid assemblies will be applied to the design for a large format readout chip, called RD53A, to be produced in a wafer run in early 2017 by the RD53 collaboration. We review the case for 65 nm technology and report on threshold stability test results for the FE65-P2.

Towards on-chip integration of brain imaging photodetectors using standard CMOS process.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamrani, Ehsan; Lesage, Frederic; Sawan, Mohamad

2013-01-01

The main effects of on-chip integration on the performance and efficiency of silicon avalanche photodiode (SiAPD) and photodetector front-end is addressed in this paper based on the simulation and fabrication experiments. Two different silicon APDs are fabricated separately and also integrated with a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) front-end using standard CMOS technology. SiAPDs are designed in p+/n-well structure with guard rings realized in different shapes. The TIA front-end has been designed using distributed-gain concept combined with resistive-feedback and common-gate topology to reach low-noise and high gain-bandwidth product (GBW) characteristics. The integrated SiAPDs show higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), sensitivity and detection efficiency comparing to the separate SiAPDs. The integration does not show a significant effect on the gain and preserves the low power consumption. Using APDs with p-well guard-ring is preferred due to the higher observed efficiency after integration.

Design and Characterization of CMOS On-Chip Antennas for 60 GHz Communications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D.Titz

2012-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present the design and the measurement of two antennas realized on a 130nm CMOS process. They both radiate in the 60 GHz band and are dedicated to Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN applications. The antennas are manufactured within the frame of a multi-wafer project with several surrounding microelectronic circuits. The first antenna is an Inverted-F antenna (IFA. It has a maximum gain of -8 dBi and a -10 dB matching bandwidth of 20%. The second radiator is a meandered dipole. It has a maximum gain of -14 dBi and a -10 dB matching bandwidth of 10%. The challenging measurement of their reflection coefficient and their gain radiation pattern are presented. Simulated versus measured curves are analyzed. We especially demonstrate the necessity to take into account the closest microelectronic circuits of the antennas for accurate modeling of the radiating performance of 60 GHz on-chip dies.

Characterization of the Photon Counting CHASE Jr., Chip Built in a 40-nm CMOS Process With a Charge Sharing Correction Algorithm Using a Collimated X-Ray Beam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krzyżanowska, A. [AGH-UST, Cracow; Deptuch, G. W. [Fermilab; Maj, P. [AGH-UST, Cracow; Gryboś, P. [AGH-UST, Cracow; Szczygieł, R. [AGH-UST, Cracow

2017-08-01

This paper presents the detailed characterization of a single photon counting chip, named CHASE Jr., built in a CMOS 40-nm process, operating with synchrotron radiation. The chip utilizes an on-chip implementation of the C8P1 algorithm. The algorithm eliminates the charge sharing related uncertainties, namely, the dependence of the number of registered photons on the discriminator’s threshold, set for monochromatic irradiation, and errors in the assignment of an event to a certain pixel. The article presents a short description of the algorithm as well as the architecture of the CHASE Jr., chip. The analog and digital functionalities, allowing for proper operation of the C8P1 algorithm are described, namely, an offset correction for two discriminators independently, two-stage gain correction, and different operation modes of the digital blocks. The results of tests of the C8P1 operation are presented for the chip bump bonded to a silicon sensor and exposed to the 3.5- μm -wide pencil beam of 8-keV photons of synchrotron radiation. It was studied how sensitive the algorithm performance is to the chip settings, as well as the uniformity of parameters of the analog front-end blocks. Presented results prove that the C8P1 algorithm enables counting all photons hitting the detector in between readout channels and retrieving the actual photon energy.

Pixel readout chips in deep submicron CMOS for ALICE and LHCb tolerant to 10 Mrad and beyond

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snoeys, W.; Burns, M.; Campbell, M.; Cantatore, E.; Cencelli, V.; Dinapoli, R.; Heijne, E.; Jarron, P.; Lamanna, P.; Minervini, D.; Morel, M.; O'Shea, V.; Quiquempoix, V.; Bello, D.S.S.D.San Segundo; Van Koningsveld, B.; Wyllie, K.

2001-01-01

The ALICE1LHCB chip is a mixed-mode integrated circuit designed to read out silicon pixel detectors for two different applications: particle tracking in the ALICE Silicon Pixel Detector and particle identification in the LHCb Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector. To satisfy the different needs for these two experiments, the chip can be operated in two different modes. In tracking mode all the 50 μmx425 μm pixel cells in the 256x32 array are read out individually, whilst in particle identification mode they are combined in groups of 8 to form a 32x32 array of 400 μmx425 μm cells. Radiation tolerance was enhanced through special circuit layout. Sensitivity to coupling of digital signals into the analog front end was minimized. System issues such as testability and uniformity further constrained the design. The circuit is currently being manufactured in a commercial 0.25 μm CMOS technology

A CMOS Luminescence Intensity and Lifetime Dual Sensor Based on Multicycle Charge Modulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Guoqing; Sonkusale, Sameer R

2018-06-01

Luminescence plays an important role in many scientific and industrial applications. This paper proposes a novel complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor chip that can realize both luminescence intensity and lifetime sensing. To enable high sensitivity, we propose parasitic insensitive multicycle charge modulation scheme for low-light lifetime extraction benefiting from simplicity, accuracy, and compatibility with deeply scaled CMOS process. The designed in-pixel capacitive transimpedance amplifier (CTIA) based structure is able to capture the weak luminescence-induced voltage signal by accumulating photon-generated charges in 25 discrete gated 10-ms time windows and 10-μs pulsewidth. A pinned photodiode on chip with 1.04 pA dark current is utilized for luminescence detection. The proposed CTIA-based circuitry can achieve 2.1-mV/(nW/cm 2 ) responsivity and 4.38-nW/cm 2 resolution at 630 nm wavelength for intensity measurement and 45-ns resolution for lifetime measurement. The sensor chip is employed for measuring time constants and luminescence lifetimes of an InGaN-based white light-emitting diode at different wavelengths. In addition, we demonstrate accurate measurement of the lifetime of an oxygen sensitive chromophore with sensitivity to oxygen concentration of 7.5%/ppm and 6%/ppm in both intensity and lifetime domain. This CMOS-enabled oxygen sensor was then employed to test water quality from different sources (tap water, lakes, and rivers).

Biostability of an implantable glucose sensor chip

Science.gov (United States)

Fröhlich, M.; Birkholz, M.; Ehwald, K. E.; Kulse, P.; Fursenko, O.; Katzer, J.

2012-12-01

Surface materials of an implantable microelectronic chip intended for medical applications were evaluated with respect to their long-term stability in bio-environments. The sensor chip shall apply in a glucose monitor by operating as a microviscosimeter according to the principle of affinity viscosimetry. A monolithic integration of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) into the sensor chip was successfully performed in a combined 0.25 μm CMOS/BiCMOS technology. In order to study material durability and biostability of the surfaces, sensor chips were exposed to various in vitro and in vivo tests. Corrosional damage of SiON, SiO2 and TiN surfaces was investigated by optical microscopy, ellipsometry and AFM. The results served for optimizing the Back-end-of-Line (BEoL) stack, from which the MEMS was prepared. Corrosion of metal lines could significantly be reduced by improving the topmost passivation layer. The experiments revealed no visible damage of the actuator or other functionally important MEMS elements. Sensor chips were also exposed to human body fluid for three month by implantation into the abdomen of a volunteer. Only small effects were observed for layer thickness and Ra roughness after explantation. In particular, TiN as used for the actuator beam showed no degradation by biocorrosion. The highest degradation rate of about 50 nm per month was revealed for the SiON passivation layer. These results suggest that the sensor chip may safely operate in subcutaneous tissue for a period of several months.

Biostability of an implantable glucose sensor chip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fröhlich, M; Ehwald, K E; Kulse, P; Fursenko, O; Katzer, J; Birkholz, M

2012-01-01

Surface materials of an implantable microelectronic chip intended for medical applications were evaluated with respect to their long-term stability in bio-environments. The sensor chip shall apply in a glucose monitor by operating as a microviscosimeter according to the principle of affinity viscosimetry. A monolithic integration of a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) into the sensor chip was successfully performed in a combined 0.25 μm CMOS/BiCMOS technology. In order to study material durability and biostability of the surfaces, sensor chips were exposed to various in vitro and in vivo tests. Corrosional damage of SiON, SiO 2 and TiN surfaces was investigated by optical microscopy, ellipsometry and AFM. The results served for optimizing the Back-end-of-Line (BEoL) stack, from which the MEMS was prepared. Corrosion of metal lines could significantly be reduced by improving the topmost passivation layer. The experiments revealed no visible damage of the actuator or other functionally important MEMS elements. Sensor chips were also exposed to human body fluid for three month by implantation into the abdomen of a volunteer. Only small effects were observed for layer thickness and R a roughness after explantation. In particular, TiN as used for the actuator beam showed no degradation by biocorrosion. The highest degradation rate of about 50 nm per month was revealed for the SiON passivation layer. These results suggest that the sensor chip may safely operate in subcutaneous tissue for a period of several months.

High-Voltage-Input Level Translator Using Standard CMOS

Science.gov (United States)

Yager, Jeremy A.; Mojarradi, Mohammad M.; Vo, Tuan A.; Blalock, Benjamin J.

2011-01-01

proposed integrated circuit would translate (1) a pair of input signals having a low differential potential and a possibly high common-mode potential into (2) a pair of output signals having the same low differential potential and a low common-mode potential. As used here, "low" and "high" refer to potentials that are, respectively, below or above the nominal supply potential (3.3 V) at which standard complementary metal oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits are designed to operate. The input common-mode potential could lie between 0 and 10 V; the output common-mode potential would be 2 V. This translation would make it possible to process the pair of signals by use of standard 3.3-V CMOS analog and/or mixed-signal (analog and digital) circuitry on the same integrated-circuit chip. A schematic of the circuit is shown in the figure. Standard 3.3-V CMOS circuitry cannot withstand input potentials greater than about 4 V. However, there are many applications that involve low-differential-potential, high-common-mode-potential input signal pairs and in which standard 3.3-V CMOS circuitry, which is relatively inexpensive, would be the most appropriate circuitry for performing other functions on the integrated-circuit chip that handles the high-potential input signals. Thus, there is a need to combine high-voltage input circuitry with standard low-voltage CMOS circuitry on the same integrated-circuit chip. The proposed circuit would satisfy this need. In the proposed circuit, the input signals would be coupled into both a level-shifting pair and a common-mode-sensing pair of CMOS transistors. The output of the level-shifting pair would be fed as input to a differential pair of transistors. The resulting differential current output would pass through six standoff transistors to be mirrored into an output branch by four heterojunction bipolar transistors. The mirrored differential current would be converted back to potential by a pair of diode-connected transistors

A Single-Transistor Active Pixel CMOS Image Sensor Architecture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Guo-An; He Jin; Zhang Dong-Wei; Su Yan-Mei; Wang Cheng; Chen Qin; Liang Hai-Lang; Ye Yun

2012-01-01

A single-transistor CMOS active pixel image sensor (1 T CMOS APS) architecture is proposed. By switching the photosensing pinned diode, resetting and selecting can be achieved by diode pull-up and capacitive coupling pull-down of the source follower. Thus, the reset and selected transistors can be removed. In addition, the reset and selected signal lines can be shared to reduce the metal signal line, leading to a very high fill factor. The pixel design and operation principles are discussed in detail. The functionality of the proposed 1T CMOS APS architecture has been experimentally verified using a fabricated chip in a standard 0.35 μm CMOS AMIS technology

EROIC: a BiCMOS pseudo-gaussian shaping amplifier for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Buzzetti, Siro; Guazzoni, Chiara; Longoni, Antonio

2003-10-01

We present the design and complete characterization of a fifth-order pseudo-gaussian shaping amplifier with 1 μs shaping time. The circuit is optimized for the read-out of signals coming from Silicon Drift Detectors for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. The novelty of the designed chip stands in the use of a current feedback loop to place the poles in the desired position on the s-plane. The amplifier has been designed in 0.8 μm BiCMOS technology and fully tested. The EROIC chip comprises also the peak stretcher, the peak detector, the output buffer to drive the external ADC and the pile-up rejection system. The circuit needs a single +5 V power supply and the dissipated power is 5 mW per channel. The digital outputs can be directly coupled to standard digital CMOS ICs. The measured integral-non-linearity of the whole chip is below 0.05% and the achieved energy resolution at the Mn Kα line detected by a 5 mm 2 Peltier-cooled Silicon Drift Detector is 167 eV FWHM.

EROIC: a BiCMOS pseudo-gaussian shaping amplifier for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buzzetti, Siro; Guazzoni, Chiara; Longoni, Antonio

2003-01-01

We present the design and complete characterization of a fifth-order pseudo-gaussian shaping amplifier with 1 μs shaping time. The circuit is optimized for the read-out of signals coming from Silicon Drift Detectors for high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. The novelty of the designed chip stands in the use of a current feedback loop to place the poles in the desired position on the s-plane. The amplifier has been designed in 0.8 μm BiCMOS technology and fully tested. The EROIC chip comprises also the peak stretcher, the peak detector, the output buffer to drive the external ADC and the pile-up rejection system. The circuit needs a single +5 V power supply and the dissipated power is 5 mW per channel. The digital outputs can be directly coupled to standard digital CMOS ICs. The measured integral-non-linearity of the whole chip is below 0.05% and the achieved energy resolution at the Mn Kα line detected by a 5 mm 2 Peltier-cooled Silicon Drift Detector is 167 eV FWHM

Above-CMOS a-Si and CIGS Solar Cells for Powering Autonomous Microsystems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lu, J.; Liu, W.; van der Werf, C.H.M.; Kovalgin, A.Y.; Sun, Y.; Schropp, R.E.I.; Schmitz, J.

2010-01-01

Two types of solar cells are successfully grown on chips from two CMOS generations. The efficiency of amorphous-silicon (a-Si) solar cells reaches 5.2%, copperindium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) cells 7.1%. CMOS functionality is unaffected. The main integration issues: adhesion, surface topography, metal

Influence of passivation process on chip performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lu, J.; Kovalgin, Alexeij Y.; Schmitz, Jurriaan

2009-01-01

In this work, we have studied the performance of CMOS chips before and after a low temperature post-processing step. In order to prevent damage to the IC chips by the post-processing steps, a first passivation layers is needed on top of the IC chips. Two different passivation layer deposition

Full on-chip and area-efficient CMOS LDO with zero to maximum load stability using adaptive frequency compensation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Haifeng; Zhou Feng

2010-01-01

A full on-chip and area-efficient low-dropout linear regulator (LDO) is presented. By using the proposed adaptive frequency compensation (AFC) technique, full on-chip integration is achieved without compromising the LDO's stability in the full output current range. Meanwhile, the use of a compact pass transistor (the compact pass transistor serves as the gain fast roll-off output stage in the AFC technique) has enabled the LDO to be very area-efficient. The proposed LDO is implemented in standard 0.35 μm CMOS technology and occupies an active area as small as 220 x 320 μm 2 , which is a reduction to 58% compared to state-of-the-art designs using technologies with the same feature size. Measurement results show that the LDO can deliver 0-60 mA output current with 54 μA quiescent current consumption and the regulated output voltage is 1.8 V with an input voltage range from 2 to 3.3 V. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Photon imaging using post-processed CMOS chips

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Melai, J.

2010-01-01

This thesis presents our work on an integrated photon detector made by post-processing of CMOS sensor arrays. The aim of the post-processing is to combine all elements of the detector into a single monolithic device. These elements include a photocathode to convert photon radiation into electronic

CMOS Active Pixel Sensor Technology and Reliability Characterization Methodology

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yuan; Guertin, Steven M.; Pain, Bedabrata; Kayaii, Sammy

2006-01-01

This paper describes the technology, design features and reliability characterization methodology of a CMOS Active Pixel Sensor. Both overall chip reliability and pixel reliability are projected for the imagers.

Preliminary Radiation Testing of a State-of-the-Art Commercial 14nm CMOS Processor/System-on-a-Chip

Science.gov (United States)

Szabo, Carl M., Jr.; Duncan, Adam; LaBel, Kenneth A.; Kay, Matt; Bruner, Pat; Krzesniak, Mike; Dong, Lei

2015-01-01

Hardness assurance test results of Intel state-of-the-art 14nm “Broadwell” U-series processor / System-on-a-Chip (SoC) for total ionizing dose (TID) are presented, along with exploratory results from trials at a medical proton facility. Test method builds upon previous efforts [1] by utilizing commercial laptop motherboards and software stress applications as opposed to more traditional automated test equipment (ATE).

Preliminary Radiation Testing of a State-of-the-Art Commercial 14nm CMOS Processor - System-on-a-Chip

Science.gov (United States)

Szabo, Carl M., Jr.; Duncan, Adam; LaBel, Kenneth A.; Kay, Matt; Bruner, Pat; Krzesniak, Mike; Dong, Lei

2015-01-01

Hardness assurance test results of Intel state-of-the-art 14nm Broadwell U-series processor System-on-a-Chip (SoC) for total dose are presented, along with first-look exploratory results from trials at a medical proton facility. Test method builds upon previous efforts by utilizing commercial laptop motherboards and software stress applications as opposed to more traditional automated test equipment (ATE).

Advanced CMOS Radiation Effects Testing and Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Pellish, J. A.; Marshall, P. W.; Rodbell, K. P.; Gordon, M. S.; LaBel, K. A.; Schwank, J. R.; Dodds, N. A.; Castaneda, C. M.; Berg, M. D.; Kim, H. S.;

CMOS Integrated Carbon Nanotube Sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez, M. S.; Lerner, B.; Boselli, A.; Lamagna, A.; Obregon, P. D. Pareja; Julian, P. M.; Mandolesi, P. S.; Buffa, F. A.

2009-01-01

Recently carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been gaining their importance as sensors for gases, temperature and chemicals. Advances in fabrication processes simplify the formation of CNT sensor on silicon substrate. We have integrated single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with complementary metal oxide semiconductor process (CMOS) to produce a chip sensor system. The sensor prototype was designed and fabricated using a 0.30 um CMOS process. The main advantage is that the device has a voltage amplifier so the electrical measure can be taken and amplified inside the sensor. When the conductance of the SWCNTs varies in response to media changes, this is observed as a variation in the output tension accordingly.

Design and Fabrication of Vertically-Integrated CMOS Image Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Skorka, Orit; Joseph, Dileepan

2011-01-01

Technologies to fabricate integrated circuits (IC) with 3D structures are an emerging trend in IC design. They are based on vertical stacking of active components to form heterogeneous microsystems. Electronic image sensors will benefit from these technologies because they allow increased pixel-level data processing and device optimization. This paper covers general principles in the design of vertically-integrated (VI) CMOS image sensors that are fabricated by flip-chip bonding. These sensors are composed of a CMOS die and a photodetector die. As a specific example, the paper presents a VI-CMOS image sensor that was designed at the University of Alberta, and fabricated with the help of CMC Microsystems and Micralyne Inc. To realize prototypes, CMOS dies with logarithmic active pixels were prepared in a commercial process, and photodetector dies with metal-semiconductor-metal devices were prepared in a custom process using hydrogenated amorphous silicon. The paper also describes a digital camera that was developed to test the prototype. In this camera, scenes captured by the image sensor are read using an FPGA board, and sent in real time to a PC over USB for data processing and display. Experimental results show that the VI-CMOS prototype has a higher dynamic range and a lower dark limit than conventional electronic image sensors. PMID:22163860

A 128 x 128 CMOS Active Pixel Image Sensor for Highly Integrated Imaging Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Mendis, Sunetra K.; Kemeny, Sabrina E.; Fossum, Eric R.

1993-01-01

A new CMOS-based image sensor that is intrinsically compatible with on-chip CMOS circuitry is reported. The new CMOS active pixel image sensor achieves low noise, high sensitivity, X-Y addressability, and has simple timing requirements. The image sensor was fabricated using a 2 micrometer p-well CMOS process, and consists of a 128 x 128 array of 40 micrometer x 40 micrometer pixels. The CMOS image sensor technology enables highly integrated smart image sensors, and makes the design, incorporation and fabrication of such sensors widely accessible to the integrated circuit community.

Test beam results of the first CMS double-sided strip module prototypes using the CBC2 read-out chip

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harb, Ali, E-mail: ali.harb@desy.de; Mussgiller, Andreas; Hauk, Johannes

2017-02-11

The CMS Binary Chip (CBC) is a prototype version of the front-end read-out ASIC to be used in the silicon strip modules of the CMS outer tracking detector during the high luminosity phase of the LHC. The CBC is produced in 130 nm CMOS technology and bump-bonded to the hybrid of a double layer silicon strip module, the so-called 2S-p{sub T} module. It has 254 input channels and is designed to provide on-board trigger information to the first level trigger system of CMS, with the capability of cluster-width discrimination and high-p{sub T} track identification. In November 2013 the first 2S-p{sub T} module prototypes equipped with the CBC chips were put to test at the DESY-II test beam facility. Data were collected exploiting a beam of positrons with an energy ranging from 2 to 4 GeV. In this paper the test setup and the results are presented.

CMOS VLSI Active-Pixel Sensor for Tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Pain, Bedabrata; Sun, Chao; Yang, Guang; Heynssens, Julie

2004-01-01

An architecture for a proposed active-pixel sensor (APS) and a design to implement the architecture in a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) very-large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuit provide for some advanced features that are expected to be especially desirable for tracking pointlike features of stars. The architecture would also make this APS suitable for robotic- vision and general pointing and tracking applications. CMOS imagers in general are well suited for pointing and tracking because they can be configured for random access to selected pixels and to provide readout from windows of interest within their fields of view. However, until now, the architectures of CMOS imagers have not supported multiwindow operation or low-noise data collection. Moreover, smearing and motion artifacts in collected images have made prior CMOS imagers unsuitable for tracking applications. The proposed CMOS imager (see figure) would include an array of 1,024 by 1,024 pixels containing high-performance photodiode-based APS circuitry. The pixel pitch would be 9 m. The operations of the pixel circuits would be sequenced and otherwise controlled by an on-chip timing and control block, which would enable the collection of image data, during a single frame period, from either the full frame (that is, all 1,024 1,024 pixels) or from within as many as 8 different arbitrarily placed windows as large as 8 by 8 pixels each. A typical prior CMOS APS operates in a row-at-a-time ( grolling-shutter h) readout mode, which gives rise to exposure skew. In contrast, the proposed APS would operate in a sample-first/readlater mode, suppressing rolling-shutter effects. In this mode, the analog readout signals from the pixels corresponding to the windows of the interest (which windows, in the star-tracking application, would presumably contain guide stars) would be sampled rapidly by routing them through a programmable diagonal switch array to an on-chip parallel analog memory array. The

Label free sensing of creatinine using a 6 GHz CMOS near-field dielectric immunosensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Guha, S; Warsinke, A; Tientcheu, Ch M; Schmalz, K; Meliani, C; Wenger, Ch

2015-05-07

In this work we present a CMOS high frequency direct immunosensor operating at 6 GHz (C-band) for label free determination of creatinine. The sensor is fabricated in standard 0.13 μm SiGe:C BiCMOS process. The report also demonstrates the ability to immobilize creatinine molecules on a Si3N4 passivation layer of the standard BiCMOS/CMOS process, therefore, evading any further need of cumbersome post processing of the fabricated sensor chip. The sensor is based on capacitive detection of the amount of non-creatinine bound antibodies binding to an immobilized creatinine layer on the passivated sensor. The chip bound antibody amount in turn corresponds indirectly to the creatinine concentration used in the incubation phase. The determination of creatinine in the concentration range of 0.88-880 μM is successfully demonstrated in this work. A sensitivity of 35 MHz/10 fold increase in creatinine concentration (during incubation) at the centre frequency of 6 GHz is gained by the immunosensor. The results are compared with a standard optical measurement technique and the dynamic range and sensitivity is of the order of the established optical indication technique. The C-band immunosensor chip comprising an area of 0.3 mm(2) reduces the sensing area considerably, therefore, requiring a sample volume as low as 2 μl. The small analyte sample volume and label free approach also reduce the experimental costs in addition to the low fabrication costs offered by the batch fabrication technique of CMOS/BiCMOS process.

Easy simulation and design of on-chip inductors in standard CMOS processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Kåre Tais; Jørgensen, Allan

1998-01-01

This paper presents an approach to CMOS inductor modelling, that allow easy simulation in SPICE-like simulators. A number of test results are presented concerning optimal center hole, inductor area, wire spacing and self-inductance. Finally a comprehensive design guide is provided on how to design...... close-to-optimal inductors without the use of electromagnetic simulators...

A 0.18μm CMOS low-power radiation sensor for UWB wireless transmission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crepaldi, M; Demarchi, D; Gabrielli, A; Khan, A; Pikhay, E; Roizin, Y; Villani, G; Zhang, Z

2012-01-01

The paper describes the design of a floating gate MOS sensor embedded in a readout CMOS element, used as a radiation monitor. A maximum sensitivity of 1 mV/rad is estimated within an absorbed dose range from 1 to 10 krad. The paper shows in particular the design of a microelectronic circuit that includes the floating gate sensor, an oscillator, a modulator, a transmitter and an integrated antenna. A prototype of the circuit has recently been simulated, fabricated and tested exploiting a commercial 180 nm, 4 metal CMOS technology. Some simulation results are presented along with a measurement of the readout circuit response to an input voltage swing. Given the small estimated area of the complete chip prototype, that is less than 1 mm 2 , the chip fits a large variety of applications, from spot radiation monitoring systems in medicine to punctual measurements or radiation level in High-Energy Physics experiments.

Installation of a TCT set-up for characterization of novel HV-CMOS planar silicon sensors

CERN Document Server

Marx, Lisa

2013-01-01

For future upgrades of the LHC it is necessary to develop new tracking detectors: more radiation hard and cost efficient pixel detectors with high spacial resolution are required for the planned high luminosity version of the LHC (HL-LHC). For future tracking devices HV-CMOS active pixel sensors are great candidates since they fulfill all the demands mentioned above. First prototypes of these sensors are assembled on custom test boards and together with FE-I4 readout chips they make up the first test pixel detectors. One approach for testing these chips is through using lasers to induce electron-hole-pairs into the depletion zone of the sensor chip diodes to simulate an ionizing particle crossing through the bulk. Comparison measurements of irradiated/non-irradiated sensors are used to explore the radiation hardness of the sensors.

Full on-chip and area-efficient CMOS LDO with zero to maximum load stability using adaptive frequency compensation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma Haifeng; Zhou Feng, E-mail: fengzhou@fudan.edu.c [State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203 (China)

2010-01-15

A full on-chip and area-efficient low-dropout linear regulator (LDO) is presented. By using the proposed adaptive frequency compensation (AFC) technique, full on-chip integration is achieved without compromising the LDO's stability in the full output current range. Meanwhile, the use of a compact pass transistor (the compact pass transistor serves as the gain fast roll-off output stage in the AFC technique) has enabled the LDO to be very area-efficient. The proposed LDO is implemented in standard 0.35 {mu}m CMOS technology and occupies an active area as small as 220 x 320 {mu}m{sup 2}, which is a reduction to 58% compared to state-of-the-art designs using technologies with the same feature size. Measurement results show that the LDO can deliver 0-60 mA output current with 54 {mu}A quiescent current consumption and the regulated output voltage is 1.8 V with an input voltage range from 2 to 3.3 V. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

On-chip electrochromic micro display for a disposable bio-sensor chip

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yanjun; Tsukamoto, Takashiro; Tanaka, Shuji

2017-12-01

This paper reports an on-chip electrochromic micro display made of polyaniline (PANi) which can be easily made on a CMOS chip. Micro-patterned PANi thin films were selectively deposited on pre-patterned microelectrodes by using electrodeposition. The optimum conditions for deposition and electrochromism were investigated. An 8-pixel on-chip micro display was made on a Si chip. The color of each PANi film could be independently but simultaneously controlled, which means any 1-byte digital data could be displayed on the display. The PANi display had a response time as fast as about 100 ms, which means the transfer data rate was as fast as 80 bits per second.

A Neuron- and a Synapse Chip for Artificial Neural Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lansner, John; Lehmann, Torsten

1992-01-01

A cascadable, analog, CMOS chip set has been developed for hardware implementations of artificial neural networks (ANN's):I) a neuron chip containing an array of neurons with hyperbolic tangent activation functions and adjustable gains, and II) a synapse chip (or a matrix-vector multiplier) where...

Two-step single slope/SAR ADC with error correction for CMOS image sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Fang; Bermak, Amine; Amira, Abbes; Amor Benammar, Mohieddine; He, Debiao; Zhao, Xiaojin

2014-01-01

Conventional two-step ADC for CMOS image sensor requires full resolution noise performance in the first stage single slope ADC, leading to high power consumption and large chip area. This paper presents an 11-bit two-step single slope/successive approximation register (SAR) ADC scheme for CMOS image sensor applications. The first stage single slope ADC generates a 3-bit data and 1 redundant bit. The redundant bit is combined with the following 8-bit SAR ADC output code using a proposed error correction algorithm. Instead of requiring full resolution noise performance, the first stage single slope circuit of the proposed ADC can tolerate up to 3.125% quantization noise. With the proposed error correction mechanism, the power consumption and chip area of the single slope ADC are significantly reduced. The prototype ADC is fabricated using 0.18 μ m CMOS technology. The chip area of the proposed ADC is 7 μ m × 500 μ m. The measurement results show that the energy efficiency figure-of-merit (FOM) of the proposed ADC core is only 125 pJ/sample under 1.4 V power supply and the chip area efficiency is 84 k  μ m(2) · cycles/sample.

Two-Step Single Slope/SAR ADC with Error Correction for CMOS Image Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fang Tang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Conventional two-step ADC for CMOS image sensor requires full resolution noise performance in the first stage single slope ADC, leading to high power consumption and large chip area. This paper presents an 11-bit two-step single slope/successive approximation register (SAR ADC scheme for CMOS image sensor applications. The first stage single slope ADC generates a 3-bit data and 1 redundant bit. The redundant bit is combined with the following 8-bit SAR ADC output code using a proposed error correction algorithm. Instead of requiring full resolution noise performance, the first stage single slope circuit of the proposed ADC can tolerate up to 3.125% quantization noise. With the proposed error correction mechanism, the power consumption and chip area of the single slope ADC are significantly reduced. The prototype ADC is fabricated using 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The chip area of the proposed ADC is 7 μm × 500 μm. The measurement results show that the energy efficiency figure-of-merit (FOM of the proposed ADC core is only 125 pJ/sample under 1.4 V power supply and the chip area efficiency is 84 k μm2·cycles/sample.

System on chip thermal vacuum sensor based on standard CMOS process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Jinfeng; Tang Zhenan; Wang Jiaqi

2009-01-01

An on-chip microelectromechanical system was fabricated in a 0.5 μm standard CMOS process for gas pressure detection. The sensor was based on a micro-hotplate (MHP) and had been integrated with a rail to rail operational amplifier and an 8-bit successive approximation register (SAR) A/D converter. A tungsten resistor was manufactured on the MHP as the sensing element, and the sacrificial layer of the sensor was made from polysilicon and etched by surface-micromachining technology. The operational amplifier was configured to make the sensor operate in constant current mode. A digital bit stream was provided as the system output. The measurement results demonstrate that the gas pressure sensitive range of the vacuum sensor extends from 1 to 10 5 Pa. In the gas pressure range from 1 to 100 Pa, the sensitivity of the sensor is 0.23 mV/ Pa, the linearity is 4.95%, and the hysteresis is 8.69%. The operational amplifier can drive 200 ω resistors distortionlessly, and the SAR A/D converter achieves a resolution of 7.4 bit with 100 kHz sample rate. The performance of the operational amplifier and the SAR A/D converter meets the requirements of the sensor system.

CMOS switched current phase-locked loop

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leenaerts, D.M.W.; Persoon, G.G.; Putter, B.M.

1997-01-01

The authors present an integrated circuit realisation of a switched current phase-locked loop (PLL) in standard 2.4 µm CMOS technology. The centre frequency is tunable to 1 MHz at a clock frequency of 5.46 MHz. The PLL has a measured maximum phase error of 21 degrees. The chip consumes

On-chip power-combining techniques for watt-level linear power amplifiers in 0.18 μm CMOS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren Zhixiong; Zhang Kefeng; Liu Lanqi; Li Cong; Chen Xiaofei; Liu Dongsheng; Liu Zhenglin; Zou Xuecheng

2015-01-01

Three linear CMOS power amplifiers (PAs) with high output power (more than watt-level output power) for high data-rate mobile applications are introduced. To realize watt-level output power, there are two 2.4 GHz PAs using an on-chip parallel combining transformer (PCT) and one 1.95 GHz PA using an on-chip series combining transformer (SCT) to combine output signals of multiple power stages. Furthermore, some linearization techniques including adaptive bias, diode linearizer, multi-gated transistors (MGTR) and the second harmonic control are applied in these PAs. Using the proposed power combiner, these three PAs are designed and fabricated in TSMC 0.18 μm RFCMOS process. According to the measurement results, the proposed two linear 2.4 GHz PAs achieve a gain of 33.2 dB and 34.3 dB, a maximum output power of 30.7 dBm and 29.4 dBm, with 29% and 31.3% of peak PAE, respectively. According to the simulation results, the presented linear 1.95 GHz PA achieves a gain of 37.5 dB, a maximum output power of 34.3 dBm with 36.3% of peak PAE. (paper)

Compressive Sensing Based Bio-Inspired Shape Feature Detection CMOS Imager

Science.gov (United States)

Duong, Tuan A. (Inventor)

2015-01-01

A CMOS imager integrated circuit using compressive sensing and bio-inspired detection is presented which integrates novel functions and algorithms within a novel hardware architecture enabling efficient on-chip implementation.

A proposed holistic approach to on-chip, off-chip, test, and package interconnections

Science.gov (United States)

Bartelink, Dirk J.

1998-11-01

The term interconnection has traditionally implied a `robust' connection from a transistor or a group of transistors in an IC to the outside world, usually a PC board. Optimum system utilization is done from outside the IC. As an alternative, this paper addresses `unimpeded' transistor-to-transistor interconnection aimed at reaching the high circuit densities and computational capabilities of neighboring IC's. In this view, interconnections are not made to some human-centric place outside the IC world requiring robustness—except for system input and output connections. This unimpeded interconnect style is currently available only through intra-chip signal traces in `system-on-a-chip' implementations, as exemplified by embedded DRAMs. Because the traditional off-chip penalty in performance and wiring density is so large, a merging of complex process technologies is the only option today. It is suggested that, for system integration to move forward, the traditional robustness requirement inherited from conventional packaging interconnect and IC manufacturing test must be discarded. Traditional system assembly from vendor parts requires robustness under shipping, inspection and assembly. The trend toward systems on a chip signifies willingness by semiconductor companies to design and fabricate whole systems in house, so that `in-house' chip-to-chip assembly is not beyond reach. In this scenario, bare chips never leave the controlled environment of the IC fabricator while the two major contributors to off-chip signal penalty, ESD protection and the need to source a 50-ohm test head, are avoided. With in-house assembly, ESD protection can be eliminated with the precautions already familiar in plasma etching. Test interconnection impacts the fundamentals of IC manufacturing, particularly with clock speeds approaching 1GHz, and cannot be an afterthought. It should be an integral part of the chip-to-chip interconnection bandwidth optimization, because—as we must

Design of millimeter-wave MEMS-based reconfigurable front-end circuits using the standard CMOS technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Chia-Chan; Hsieh, Sheng-Chi; Chen, Chien-Hsun; Huang, Chin-Yen; Yao, Chun-Han; Lin, Chun-Chi

2011-01-01

This paper describes the designs of three reconfigurable CMOS-MEMS front-end components for V-/W-band applications. The suspended MEMS structure is released through post-CMOS micromachining. To achieve circuit reconfigurability, dual-state and multi-state fishbone-beam-drive actuators are proposed herein. The reconfigurable bandstop is fabricated in a 0.35 µm CMOS process with the chip size of 0.765 × 0.98 mm 2 , showing that the stop-band frequency can be switched from 60 to 50 GHz with 40 V actuation voltage. The measured isolation is better than 38 dB at 60 GHz and 34 dB at 50 GHz, respectively. The bandpass filter-integrated single-pole single-throw switch, using the 0.18 µm CMOS process, demonstrates that insertion loss and return loss are better than 6.2 and 15 dB from 88 to 100 GHz in the on-state, and isolation is better than 21 dB in the off-state with an actuation voltage of 51 V. The chip size is 0.7 × 1.04 mm 2 . The third component is a reconfigurable slot antenna fabricated in a 0.18 µm CMOS process with the chip size of 1.2 × 1.2 mm 2 . By utilizing the multi-state actuators, the frequencies of this antenna can be switched to 43, 47, 50.5, 54, 57.5 GHz with return loss better than 20 dB. Those circuits demonstrate good RF performance and are relatively compact by employing several size miniaturizing techniques, thereby enabling a great potential for the future single-chip transceiver.

Determining the thermal expansion coefficient of thin films for a CMOS MEMS process using test cantilevers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Chao-Lin; Fang, Weileun; Tsai, Ming-Han

2015-01-01

Many standard CMOS processes, provided by existing foundries, are available. These standard CMOS processes, with stacking of various metal and dielectric layers, have been extensively applied in integrated circuits as well as micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). It is of importance to determine the material properties of the metal and dielectric films to predict the performance and reliability of micro devices. This study employs an existing approach to determine the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) of metal and dielectric films for standard CMOS processes. Test cantilevers with different stacking of metal and dielectric layers for standard CMOS processes have been designed and implemented. The CTEs of standard CMOS films can be determined from measurements of the out-of-plane thermal deformations of the test cantilevers. To demonstrate the feasibility of the present approach, thin films prepared by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacture Company 0.35 μm 2P4M CMOS process are characterized. Eight test cantilevers with different stacking of CMOS layers and an auxiliary Si cantilever on a SOI wafer are fabricated. The equivalent elastic moduli and CTEs of the CMOS thin films including the metal and dielectric layers are determined, respectively, from the resonant frequency and static thermal deformation of the test cantilevers. Moreover, thermal deformations of cantilevers with stacked layers different to those of the test beams have been employed to verify the measured CTEs and elastic moduli. (paper)

Low power laser driver design in 28nm CMOS for on-chip and chip-to-chip optical interconnect

Science.gov (United States)

Belfiore, Guido; Szilagyi, Laszlo; Henker, Ronny; Ellinger, Frank

2015-09-01

This paper discusses the challenges and the trade-offs in the design of laser drivers for very-short distance optical communications. A prototype integrated circuit is designed and fabricated in 28 nm super-low-power CMOS technology. The power consumption of the transmitter is 17.2 mW excluding the VCSEL that in our test has a DC power consumption of 10 mW. The active area of the driver is only 0.0045 mm2. The driver can achieve an error-free (BER < 10 -12) electrical data-rate of 25 Gbit/s using a pseudo random bit sequence of 27 -1. When the driver is connected to the VCSEL module an open optical eye is reported at 15 Gbit/s. In the tested bias point the VCSEL module has a measured bandwidth of 10.7 GHz.

A CMOS AC/DC charge pump for a wireless sensor network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Qiang; Ni Weining; Shi Yin; Yu Yude

2012-01-01

An AC/DC charge pump implemented with MOS FETs has been presented for wireless sensor network applications. The proposed AC/DC charge pump can generate a stable output with low power dissipation and high pumping efficiency, which has been implemented in 0.13 μm CMOS technology. The proposed charge pump employs MOSFET diodes with low thresholds, and improves the conversion efficiency. The analytical model of the voltage multiplier, the simulation results, and the chip testing results are presented.

Nano/CMOS architectures using a field-programmable nanowire interconnect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snider, Gregory S; Williams, R Stanley

2007-01-01

A field-programmable nanowire interconnect (FPNI) enables a family of hybrid nano/CMOS circuit architectures that generalizes the CMOL (CMOS/molecular hybrid) approach proposed by Strukov and Likharev, allowing for simpler fabrication, more conservative process parameters, and greater flexibility in the choice of nanoscale devices. The FPNI improves on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) architecture by lifting the configuration bit and associated components out of the semiconductor plane and replacing them in the interconnect with nonvolatile switches, which decreases both the area and power consumption of the circuit. This is an example of a more comprehensive strategy for improving the efficiency of existing semiconductor technology: placing a level of intelligence and configurability in the interconnect can have a profound effect on integrated circuit performance, and can be used to significantly extend Moore's law without having to shrink the transistors. Compilation of standard benchmark circuits onto FPNI chip models shows reduced area (8 x to 25 x), reduced power, slightly lower clock speeds, and high defect tolerance-an FPNI chip with 20% defective junctions and 20% broken nanowires has an effective yield of 75% with no significant slowdown along the critical path, compared to a defect-free chip. Simulations show that the density and power improvements continue as both CMOS and nano fabrication parameters scale down, although the maximum clock rate decreases due to the high resistance of very small (<10 nm) metallic nanowires

Radiation effects on the Viking-2 preamplifier-readout chip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fallot-Burghardt, W.; Hawblitzel, C.; Hofmann, W.; Knoepfle, K.T.; Seeger, M.; Brenner, R.; Nygaard, E.; Rudge, A.; Toker, O.; Weilhammer, P.; Yoshioka, K.

1994-01-01

We have studied the radiation sensitivity of the Viking-2 VLSI circuit which has been designed for the readout of silicon strip detectors and manufactured at Mietec in 1.5 μm CMOS technology. Both biased and unbiased chips have been irradiated with a 137 Cs γ source up to a total dose of 2 kGy (200 krad) after which all tested chips were still fully functional. We report the characteristic changes of device parameters with dose, including equivalent noise charge for different capacitive loads, and determine transistor threshold shifts and change of mobilities. ((orig.))

A 0.18-μm 3.3 V 16 k Bits 1R1T Phase Change Random Access Memory (PCRAM) Chip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheng, Ding; Zhi-Tang, Song; Bo, Liu; Min, Zhu; Xiao-Gang, Chen; Yi-Feng, Chen; Ju, Shen; Cong, Fu; Song-Lin, Feng

2008-01-01

Using standard 0.18-μm CMOS process and the special platform for 8-inch phase change random access memory (PCRAM), the first Chinese 16k bits PCRAM chip has been successfully achieved. A 1R1T structure has been designed for low voltage drop and low cost compared to the 1R1D structure and the BJT-switch structure. Full integration of the 16k bits PCRAM chip, including memory cell, array structure, critical circuit module, and physical layout, has been designed and verified. The critical integration technology of the phase change material (PCM) fabrication and the standard CMOS process has been solved. Test results about PCM in a large-scale array have been generated for the next research of PCRAM chip

An improved standard total dose test for CMOS space electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fleetwood, D.M.; Winokur, P.S.; Riewe, L.C.; Pease, R.L.

1989-01-01

The postirradiation response of hardened and commercial CMOS devices is investigated as a function of total dose, dose rate, and annealing time and temperature. Cobalt-60 irradiation at ≅ 200 rad(SiO 2 )/s followed by a 1-week 100 degrees C biased anneal and testing is shown to be an effective screen of hardened devices for space use. However, a similar screen and single-point test performed after Co-60 irradiation and elevated temperature anneal cannot be generally defined for commercial devices. In the absence of detailed knowledge about device and circuit radiation response, a two-point standard test is proposed to ensure space surviability of CMOS circuits: a Co-60 irradiation and test to screen against oxide-trapped charge related failures, and an additional rebound test to screen against interface-trap related failures. Testing implications for bipolar technologies are also discussed

Thermal-Diffusivity-Based Frequency References in Standard CMOS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kashmiri, S.M.

2012-01-01

In recent years, a lot of research has been devoted to the realization of accurate integrated frequency references. A thermal-diffusivity-based (TD) frequency reference provides an alternative method of on-chip frequency generation in standard CMOS technology. A frequency-locked loop locks the

A Baseband Ultra-Low Noise SiGe:C BiCMOS 0.25 µm Amplifier And Its Application For An On-Chip Phase-Noise Measurement Circuit

OpenAIRE

Godet , Sylvain; Tournier , Éric; Llopis , Olivier; Cathelin , Andreia; Juyon , Julien

2009-01-01

4 pages; International audience; The design and realization of an ultra-low noise operational amplifier is presented. Its applications are integrated low-frequency noise measurements in electronic devices and on-chip phase-noise measurement circuit. This paper discusses the SiGe:C BiCMOS 0.25 µm design improvements used for low noise applications. The proposed three-stage operational amplifier uses parallel bipolar transistor connection as input differential pair for low noise behavior. This ...

Pre-Clinical Tests of an Integrated CMOS Biomolecular Sensor for Cardiac Diseases Diagnosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jen-Kuang; Wang, I-Shun; Huang, Chi-Hsien; Chen, Yih-Fan; Huang, Nien-Tsu; Lin, Chih-Ting

2017-11-26

Coronary artery disease and its related complications pose great threats to human health. In this work, we aim to clinically evaluate a CMOS field-effect biomolecular sensor for cardiac biomarkers, cardiac-specific troponin-I (cTnI), N -terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). The CMOS biosensor is implemented via a standard commercialized 0.35 μm CMOS process. To validate the sensing characteristics, in buffer conditions, the developed CMOS biosensor has identified the detection limits of IL-6, cTnI, and NT-proBNP as being 45 pM, 32 pM, and 32 pM, respectively. In clinical serum conditions, furthermore, the developed CMOS biosensor performs a good correlation with an enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) obtained from a hospital central laboratory. Based on this work, the CMOS field-effect biosensor poses good potential for accomplishing the needs of a point-of-care testing (POCT) system for heart disease diagnosis.

A CMOS 0.18 μm 600 MHz clock multiplier PLL and a pseudo-LVDS driver for the high speed data transmission for the ALICE Inner Tracking System front-end chip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lattuca, A.; Mazza, G.; Rinella, G. Aglieri; Cavicchioli, C.; Hillemanns, H.; Hristozkov, S.; Junique, A.; Keil, M.; Kofarago, M.; Kugathasan, T.; Chanlek, N.; Collu, A.; Degerli, Y.; Flouzat, C.; Guilloux, F.; Dorokhov, A.; Gajanana, D.; Gao, C.; Kim, D.; Kwon, Y.

2016-01-01

This work presents the 600 MHz clock multiplier PLL and the pseudo-LVDS driver which are two essential components of the Data Transmission Unit (DTU), a fast serial link for the 1.2 Gb/s data transmission of the ALICE inner detector front-end chip (ALPIDE). The PLL multiplies the 40 MHz input clock in order to obtain the 600 MHz and the 200 MHz clock for a fast serializer which works in Double Data Rate mode. The outputs of the serializer feed the pseudo-LVDS driver inputs which transmits the data from the pixel chip to the patch panel with a limited number of signal lines. The driver drives a 5.3 m-6.5 m long differential transmission line by steering a maximum of 5 mA of current at the target speed. To overcome bandwidth limitations coming from the long cables the pre-emphasis can be applied to the output. Currents for the main and pre-emphasis driver can individually be adjusted using on-chip digital-to-analog converters. The circuits will be integrated in the pixel chip and are designed in the same 0.18 μm CMOS technology and will operate from the same 1.8 V supply. Design and test results of both circuits are presented

A CMOS 0.18 μm 600 MHz clock multiplier PLL and a pseudo-LVDS driver for the high speed data transmission for the ALICE Inner Tracking System front-end chip

Science.gov (United States)

Lattuca, A.; Mazza, G.; Aglieri Rinella, G.; Cavicchioli, C.; Chanlek, N.; Collu, A.; Degerli, Y.; Dorokhov, A.; Flouzat, C.; Gajanana, D.; Gao, C.; Guilloux, F.; Hillemanns, H.; Hristozkov, S.; Junique, A.; Keil, M.; Kim, D.; Kofarago, M.; Kugathasan, T.; Kwon, Y.; Mager, M.; Sielewicz, K. Marek; Marin Tobon, C. Augusto; Marras, D.; Martinengo, P.; Mugnier, H.; Musa, L.; Pham, T. Hung; Puggioni, C.; Reidt, F.; Riedler, P.; Rousset, J.; Siddhanta, S.; Snoeys, W.; Song, M.; Usai, G.; Van Hoorne, J. Willem; Yang, P.

2016-01-01

This work presents the 600 MHz clock multiplier PLL and the pseudo-LVDS driver which are two essential components of the Data Transmission Unit (DTU), a fast serial link for the 1.2 Gb/s data transmission of the ALICE inner detector front-end chip (ALPIDE). The PLL multiplies the 40 MHz input clock in order to obtain the 600 MHz and the 200 MHz clock for a fast serializer which works in Double Data Rate mode. The outputs of the serializer feed the pseudo-LVDS driver inputs which transmits the data from the pixel chip to the patch panel with a limited number of signal lines. The driver drives a 5.3 m-6.5 m long differential transmission line by steering a maximum of 5 mA of current at the target speed. To overcome bandwidth limitations coming from the long cables the pre-emphasis can be applied to the output. Currents for the main and pre-emphasis driver can individually be adjusted using on-chip digital-to-analog converters. The circuits will be integrated in the pixel chip and are designed in the same 0.18 μm CMOS technology and will operate from the same 1.8 V supply. Design and test results of both circuits are presented.

Design and analysis of a highly-integrated CMOS power amplifier for RFID readers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gao Tongqiang [Department of Electronics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Zhang Chun; Chi Baoyong; Wang Zhihua, E-mail: gtq03@mails.tsinghua.edu.c [Institute of Microelectronics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2009-06-01

To implement a fully-integrated on-chip CMOS power amplifier (PA) for RFID readers, the resonant frequency of each matching network is derived in detail. The highlight of the design is the adoption of a bonding wire as the output-stage inductor. Compared with the on-chip inductors in a CMOS process, the merit of the bondwire inductor is its high quality factor, leading to a higher output power and efficiency. The disadvantage of the bondwire inductor is that it is hard to control. A highly integrated class-E PA is implemented with 0.18-mum CMOS process. It can provide a maximum output power of 20 dBm and a 1 dB output power of 14.5 dBm. The maximum power-added efficiency (PAE) is 32.1%. Also, the spectral performance of the PA is analyzed for the specified RFID protocol.

Design and analysis of a highly-integrated CMOS power amplifier for RFID readers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Tongqiang; Zhang Chun; Chi Baoyong; Wang Zhihua

2009-01-01

To implement a fully-integrated on-chip CMOS power amplifier (PA) for RFID readers, the resonant frequency of each matching network is derived in detail. The highlight of the design is the adoption of a bonding wire as the output-stage inductor. Compared with the on-chip inductors in a CMOS process, the merit of the bondwire inductor is its high quality factor, leading to a higher output power and efficiency. The disadvantage of the bondwire inductor is that it is hard to control. A highly integrated class-E PA is implemented with 0.18-μm CMOS process. It can provide a maximum output power of 20 dBm and a 1 dB output power of 14.5 dBm. The maximum power-added efficiency (PAE) is 32.1%. Also, the spectral performance of the PA is analyzed for the specified RFID protocol.

CMOS analog integrated circuits high-speed and power-efficient design

CERN Document Server

Ndjountche, Tertulien

2011-01-01

High-speed, power-efficient analog integrated circuits can be used as standalone devices or to interface modern digital signal processors and micro-controllers in various applications, including multimedia, communication, instrumentation, and control systems. New architectures and low device geometry of complementary metaloxidesemiconductor (CMOS) technologies have accelerated the movement toward system on a chip design, which merges analog circuits with digital, and radio-frequency components. CMOS: Analog Integrated Circuits: High-Speed and Power-Efficient Design describes the important tren

Dynamic testing for radiation induced failures in a standard CMOS submicron technology pixel front-end

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venuto, D. de; Corsi, F.; Ohletz, M.J.

1999-01-01

A testing method for the detection of performance degradation induced by high-dose irradiation in high-energy experiments has been developed. The method used is based on a fault signature generation defined on the basis of the state-space analysis for linear circuits. By sampling the response of the circuit under test (CUT) to a single rectangular pulse, a set of parameters α are evaluated which are functions of the circuit singularities and constitute a signature for the CUT. Amplitude perturbations of these parameters engendered by element drift failure indicate a possible faulty condition. The effects of radiation induced faults in the analogue CMOS front-end of a silicon pixel detector employed in high energy physics experiments has been investigated. The results show that, even for the 800 krad dose, the test devised is able to detect the degradation of the amplifier performances. The results show also that hardened devices do not necessarily produce high circuit immunity to radiation and the proposed test method provides a mean to detect these performance deviations and to monitor them during the operating life of the chip. (A.C.)

Effect of gamma irradiation on leakage current in CMOS read-out chips for the ATLAS upgrade silicon strip tracker at the HL-LHC

CERN Document Server

Stucci, Stefania Antonia; Lynn, Dave; Kierstead, James; Kuczewski, Philip; van Nieuwenhuizen, Gerrit J; Rosin, Guy; Tricoli, Alessandro

2017-01-01

The increase of the leakage current of NMOS transistors in detector readout chips in certain 130 nm CMOS technologies during exposure to ionising radiation needs special consideration in the design of detector systems, as this can result in a large increase of the supply current and power dissipation. As part of the R&D; program for the upgrade of the ATLAS inner detector tracker for the High Luminosity upgrade of the LHC at CERN, a dedicated set of irradiations have been carried out with the $^60$Co gamma-ray source at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Measurements will be presented that characterise the increase in the digital leakage current in the 130 nm-technology ABC130 readout chips. The variation of the current as a function of time and total ionising dose has been studied under various conditions of dose rate, temperature and power applied to the chip. The range of variation of dose rates and temperatures has been set to be close to those expected at the High Luminosity LHC, i.e. in the range 0...

A 205GHz Amplifier in 90nm CMOS Technology

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-01

10.5dB power gain, Psat of -1.6dBm, and P1dB ≈ -5.8dBm in a standard 90nm CMOS process. Moreover, the design employs internal (layout-based) /external...other advantages, such as low- cost , reliability, and mixed-mode analog/digital chips, intensifying its usage in the mm-wave band [5]. CMOS has several... disadvantages at the higher frequency range with the worst case scenario happening when the device operates near its fmax. This is chiefly due to

An introduction to deep submicron CMOS for vertex applications

CERN Document Server

Campbell, M; Cantatore, E; Faccio, F; Heijne, Erik H M; Jarron, P; Santiard, Jean-Claude; Snoeys, W; Wyllie, K

2001-01-01

Microelectronics has become a key enabling technology in the development of tracking detectors for High Energy Physics. Deep submicron CMOS is likely to be extensively used in all future tracking systems. Radiation tolerance in the Mrad region has been achieved and complete readout chips comprising many millions of transistors now exist. The choice of technology is dictated by market forces but the adoption of deep submicron CMOS for tracking applications still poses some challenges. The techniques used are reviewed and some of the future challenges are discussed.

Titanium dioxide nanowire sensor array integration on CMOS platform using deterministic assembly.

Science.gov (United States)

Gall, Oren Z; Zhong, Xiahua; Schulman, Daniel S; Kang, Myungkoo; Razavieh, Ali; Mayer, Theresa S

2017-06-30

Nanosensor arrays have recently received significant attention due to their utility in a wide range of applications, including gas sensing, fuel cells, internet of things, and portable health monitoring systems. Less attention has been given to the production of sensor platforms in the μW range for ultra-low power applications. Here, we discuss how to scale the nanosensor energy demand by developing a process for integration of nanowire sensing arrays on a monolithic CMOS chip. This work demonstrates an off-chip nanowire fabrication method; subsequently nanowires link to a fused SiO 2 substrate using electric-field assisted directed assembly. The nanowire resistances shown in this work have the highest resistance uniformity reported to date of 18%, which enables a practical roadmap towards the coupling of nanosensors to CMOS circuits and signal processing systems. The article also presents the utility of optimizing annealing conditions of the off-chip metal-oxides prior to CMOS integration to avoid limitations of thermal budget and process incompatibility. In the context of the platform demonstrated here, directed assembly is a powerful tool that can realize highly uniform, cross-reactive arrays of different types of metal-oxide nanosensors suited for gas discrimination and signal processing systems.

Chip-to-Chip Half Duplex Spiking Data Communication over Power Supply Rails

Science.gov (United States)

Hashida, Takushi; Nagata, Makoto

Chip-to-chip serial data communication is superposed on power supply over common Vdd/Vss connections through chip, package, and board traces. A power line transceiver demonstrates half duplex spiking communication at more than 100Mbps. A pair of transceivers consumes 1.35mA from 3.3V, at 130Mbps. On-chip power line LC low pass filter attenuates pseudo-differential communication spikes by 30dB, purifying power supply current for internal circuits. Bi-directional spiking communication was successfully examined in a 90-nm CMOS prototype setup of on-chip waveform capturing. A micro controller forwards clock pulses to and receives data streams from a comparator based waveform capturer formed on a different chip, through a single pair of power and ground traces. The bit error rate is small enough not to degrade waveform acquisition capability, maintaining the spurious free dynamic range of higher than 50dB.

Color sensor and neural processor on one chip

Science.gov (United States)

Fiesler, Emile; Campbell, Shannon R.; Kempem, Lother; Duong, Tuan A.

1998-10-01

Low-cost, compact, and robust color sensor that can operate in real-time under various environmental conditions can benefit many applications, including quality control, chemical sensing, food production, medical diagnostics, energy conservation, monitoring of hazardous waste, and recycling. Unfortunately, existing color sensor are either bulky and expensive or do not provide the required speed and accuracy. In this publication we describe the design of an accurate real-time color classification sensor, together with preprocessing and a subsequent neural network processor integrated on a single complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit. This one-chip sensor and information processor will be low in cost, robust, and mass-producible using standard commercial CMOS processes. The performance of the chip and the feasibility of its manufacturing is proven through computer simulations based on CMOS hardware parameters. Comparisons with competing methodologies show a significantly higher performance for our device.

A Multipurpose CMOS Platform for Nanosensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberto Bonanno

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a customizable sensing system based on functionalized nanowires (NWs assembled onto complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS technology. The Micro-for-Nano (M4N chip integrates on top of the electronics an array of aluminum microelectrodes covered with gold by means of a customized electroless plating process. The NW assembly process is driven by an array of on-chip dielectrophoresis (DEP generators, enabling a custom layout of different nanosensors on the same microelectrode array. The electrical properties of each assembled NW are singularly sensed through an in situ CMOS read-out circuit (ROC that guarantees a low noise and reliable measurement. The M4N chip is directly connected to an external microcontroller for configuration and data processing. The processed data are then redirected to a workstation for real-time data visualization and storage during sensing experiments. As proof of concept, ZnO nanowires have been integrated onto the M4N chip to validate the approach that enables different kind of sensing experiments. The device has been then irradiated by an external UV source with adjustable power to measure the ZnO sensitivity to UV-light exposure. A maximum variation of about 80% of the ZnO-NW resistance has been detected by the M4N system when the assembled 5 μ m × 500 nm single ZnO-NW is exposed to an estimated incident radiant UV-light flux in the range of 1 nW–229 nW. The performed experiments prove the efficiency of the platform conceived for exploiting any kind of material that can change its capacitance and/or resistance due to an external stimulus.

A Multipurpose CMOS Platform for Nanosensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonanno, Alberto; Sanginario, Alessandro; Marasso, Simone L; Miccoli, Beatrice; Bejtka, Katarzyna; Benetto, Simone; Demarchi, Danilo

2016-11-30

This paper presents a customizable sensing system based on functionalized nanowires (NWs) assembled onto complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The Micro-for-Nano (M4N) chip integrates on top of the electronics an array of aluminum microelectrodes covered with gold by means of a customized electroless plating process. The NW assembly process is driven by an array of on-chip dielectrophoresis (DEP) generators, enabling a custom layout of different nanosensors on the same microelectrode array. The electrical properties of each assembled NW are singularly sensed through an in situ CMOS read-out circuit (ROC) that guarantees a low noise and reliable measurement. The M4N chip is directly connected to an external microcontroller for configuration and data processing. The processed data are then redirected to a workstation for real-time data visualization and storage during sensing experiments. As proof of concept, ZnO nanowires have been integrated onto the M4N chip to validate the approach that enables different kind of sensing experiments. The device has been then irradiated by an external UV source with adjustable power to measure the ZnO sensitivity to UV-light exposure. A maximum variation of about 80% of the ZnO-NW resistance has been detected by the M4N system when the assembled 5 μ m × 500 nm single ZnO-NW is exposed to an estimated incident radiant UV-light flux in the range of 1 nW-229 nW. The performed experiments prove the efficiency of the platform conceived for exploiting any kind of material that can change its capacitance and/or resistance due to an external stimulus.

Qualification method for a 1 MGy-tolerant front-end chip designed in 65 nm CMOS for the read-out of remotely operated sensors and actuators during maintenance in ITER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verbeeck, Jens, E-mail: jens.verbeeck@esat.kuleuven.be [KU Leuven (KUL), Div. LRD-MAGyICS, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, 3001 Heverlee (Belgium); Cao, Ying [KU Leuven (KUL), Div. LRD-MAGyICS, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, 3001 Heverlee (Belgium); Van Uffelen, Marco; Casellas, Laura Mont; Damiani, Carlo; Morales, Emilio Ruiz; Santana, Roberto Ranz [Fusion for Energy (F4E), c/Josep, no. 2, Torres Diagonal Litoral, Ed. B3, 08019 Barcelona (Spain); Meek, Richard; Haist, Bernhard [Oxford Technologies Ltd. (OTL), 7 Nuffield Way, Abingdon OX14 1RL (United Kingdom); Hamilton, David [ITER Organisation (IO), Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St. Paul les Durance Cedex (France); Steyaert, Michiel [KU Leuven, ESAT-MICAS, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, 3001 Heverlee (Belgium); Leroux, Paul [KU Leuven, ESAT-MICAS, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10, 3001 Heverlee (Belgium); KU Leuven, ESAT, Advanced Integrated Sensing Lab (AdvISe), Kleinhoefstraat 4, 2440 Geel (Belgium)

2015-10-15

This paper describes the radiation qualification procedure for a 1 MGy-tolerant Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) developed in 65 nm CMOS technology. The chip is intended for the read-out of electrical signals of sensors and actuators during maintenance in ITER. First the general working principle of the ASIC is shown. The developed IC allows to read-out, condition and digitize multiple low bandwidth (<10 kHz) sensors. In addition the IC is able to multiplex the digitized sensor signals. To comply with ITER-relevant constraints an adapted radiation qualification procedure has been proposed. The radiation-qualification procedure describes the test criteria and test conditions of the developed ASICs, which are also compared with COTS alternatives, to meet the stringent qualification procedures for electronics exposed to radiation in ITER.

A CMOS 128-APS linear array integrated with a LVOF for highsensitivity and high-resolution micro-spectrophotometry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liu, C.; Emadi, A.; Wu, H.; De Graaf, G.; Wolffenbuttel, R.F.

2010-01-01

A linear array of 128 Active Pixel Sensors has been developed in standard CMOS technology and a Linear Variable Optical Filter (LVOF) is added using CMOS-compatible post-process, resulting in a single chip highly-integrated highresolution microspectrometer. The optical requirements imposed by the

Monolithic integration of a silicon nanowire field-effect transistors array on a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor chip for biochemical sensor applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Livi, Paolo; Kwiat, Moria; Shadmani, Amir; Pevzner, Alexander; Navarra, Giulio; Rothe, Jörg; Stettler, Alexander; Chen, Yihui; Patolsky, Fernando; Hierlemann, Andreas

2015-10-06

We present a monolithic complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-based sensor system comprising an array of silicon nanowire field-effect transistors (FETs) and the signal-conditioning circuitry on the same chip. The silicon nanowires were fabricated by chemical vapor deposition methods and then transferred to the CMOS chip, where Ti/Pd/Ti contacts had been patterned via e-beam lithography. The on-chip circuitry measures the current flowing through each nanowire FET upon applying a constant source-drain voltage. The analog signal is digitized on chip and then transmitted to a receiving unit. The system has been successfully fabricated and tested by acquiring I-V curves of the bare nanowire-based FETs. Furthermore, the sensing capabilities of the complete system have been demonstrated by recording current changes upon nanowire exposure to solutions of different pHs, as well as by detecting different concentrations of Troponin T biomarkers (cTnT) through antibody-functionalized nanowire FETs.

A compact PE memory for vision chips

Science.gov (United States)

Cong, Shi; Zhe, Chen; Jie, Yang; Nanjian, Wu; Zhihua, Wang

2014-09-01

This paper presents a novel compact memory in the processing element (PE) for single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) vision chips. The PE memory is constructed with 8 × 8 register cells, where one latch in the slave stage is shared by eight latches in the master stage. The memory supports simultaneous read and write on the same address in one clock cycle. Its compact area of 14.33 μm2/bit promises a higher integration level of the processor. A prototype chip with a 64 × 64 PE array is fabricated in a UMC 0.18 μm CMOS technology. Five types of the PE memory cell structure are designed and compared. The testing results demonstrate that the proposed PE memory architecture well satisfies the requirement of the vision chip in high-speed real-time vision applications, such as 1000 fps edge extraction.

A compact PE memory for vision chips

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Cong; Chen Zhe; Yang Jie; Wu Nanjian; Wang Zhihua

2014-01-01

This paper presents a novel compact memory in the processing element (PE) for single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) vision chips. The PE memory is constructed with 8 × 8 register cells, where one latch in the slave stage is shared by eight latches in the master stage. The memory supports simultaneous read and write on the same address in one clock cycle. Its compact area of 14.33 μm 2 /bit promises a higher integration level of the processor. A prototype chip with a 64 × 64 PE array is fabricated in a UMC 0.18 μm CMOS technology. Five types of the PE memory cell structure are designed and compared. The testing results demonstrate that the proposed PE memory architecture well satisfies the requirement of the vision chip in high-speed real-time vision applications, such as 1000 fps edge extraction. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Development of a compact electronic dosemeter from CMOS sensor for radon measurement; Developpement d'un dosimetre electronique compact a base de capteurs CMOS pour la mesure du radon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Higueret, St

2007-12-15

Radon detection is a long-standing challenge in the field of radioprotection, and the IPHC Institute of Strasbourg has pushed for the development of a fully electronic device, portable and really standalone. Our first prototype of CMOS system-on-chip is presented, together with efficiency tests and the corresponding physics simulations (TRIM, GEANT IV). We describe several electronic boards which have been developed for various kinds of tests, firstly passive detection of {alpha}-particles from gaseous {sup 222}Rn in a large spectrum of activity concentrations. In a second stage, active collection of the daughter isotopes {sup 218}Po and {sup 214}Po was performed: these elements, appearing as attached on the aerosols present in air, are an important contribution to internal {alpha}-irradiation. The final electronic system, of only 10 cm size, includes four independent chips to ensure simultaneous detection of radon gas and its aerosols. An excellent linearity has been measured up to 80 kBq.m{sup -3} on the BACCARA bench of the IRSN at Saclay. A new generation chip is also studied. (author)

A functional hybrid memristor crossbar-array/CMOS system for data storage and neuromorphic applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kuk-Hwan; Gaba, Siddharth; Wheeler, Dana; Cruz-Albrecht, Jose M; Hussain, Tahir; Srinivasa, Narayan; Lu, Wei

2012-01-11

Crossbar arrays based on two-terminal resistive switches have been proposed as a leading candidate for future memory and logic applications. Here we demonstrate a high-density, fully operational hybrid crossbar/CMOS system composed of a transistor- and diode-less memristor crossbar array vertically integrated on top of a CMOS chip by taking advantage of the intrinsic nonlinear characteristics of the memristor element. The hybrid crossbar/CMOS system can reliably store complex binary and multilevel 1600 pixel bitmap images using a new programming scheme. © 2011 American Chemical Society

CMOS-compatible photonic devices for single-photon generation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiong Chunle

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Sources of single photons are one of the key building blocks for quantum photonic technologies such as quantum secure communication and powerful quantum computing. To bring the proof-of-principle demonstration of these technologies from the laboratory to the real world, complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS-compatible photonic chips are highly desirable for photon generation, manipulation, processing and even detection because of their compactness, scalability, robustness, and the potential for integration with electronics. In this paper, we review the development of photonic devices made from materials (e.g., silicon and processes that are compatible with CMOS fabrication facilities for the generation of single photons.

A Fully Integrated Humidity Sensor System-on-Chip Fabricated by Micro-Stamping Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Che-Wei; Huang, Yu-Jie; Lu, Shey-Shi; Lin, Chih-Ting

2012-01-01

A fully integrated humidity sensor chip was designed, implemented, and tested. Utilizing the micro-stamping technology, the pseudo-3D sensor system-on-chip (SSoC) architecture can be implemented by stacking sensing materials directly on the top of a CMOS-fabricated chip. The fabricated sensor system-on-chip (2.28 mm × 2.48 mm) integrated a humidity sensor, an interface circuit, a digital controller, and an On-Off Keying (OOK) wireless transceiver. With low power consumption, i.e., 750 μW without RF operation, the sensitivity of developed sensor chip was experimentally verified in the relative humidity (RH) range from 32% to 60%. The response time of the chip was also experimentally verified to be within 5 seconds from RH 36% to RH 64%. As a consequence, the implemented humidity SSoC paves the way toward the an ultra-small sensor system for various applications.

A photovoltaic-driven and energy-autonomous CMOS implantable sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ayazian, Sahar; Akhavan, Vahid A; Soenen, Eric; Hassibi, Arjang

2012-08-01

An energy-autonomous, photovoltaic (PV)-driven and MRI-compatible CMOS implantable sensor is presented. On-chip P+/N-well diode arrays are used as CMOS-compatible PV cells to harvest μW's of power from the light that penetrates into the tissue. In this 2.5 mm × 2.5 mm sub-μW integrated system, the in-vivo physiological signals are first measured by using a subthreshold ring oscillator-based sensor, the acquired data is then modulated into a frequency-shift keying (FSK) signal, and finally transmitted neuromorphically to the skin surface by using a pair of polarized electrodes.

A monolithic 180 nm CMOS dosimeter for In Vivo Dosimetry medical application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Villani, E.G.; Crepaldi, M.; DeMarchi, D.; Gabrielli, A.; Khan, A.; Pikhay, E.; Roizin, Y.; Rosenfeld, A.; Zhang, Z.

2014-01-01

The design and development of a monolithic system-on-chip dosimeter fabricated in a standard 180 nm CMOS technology is described. The device is intended for real time In Vivo measurement of dose of radiation during radiotherapy sessions. Owing to its proposed small size, of approximately 1 mm 3 , such solution could be made in-body implantable and, as such, provide a much-enhanced high-resolution, real-time dose measurement for quality assurance in radiation therapy. The device transmits the related information on dose of radiation wirelessly to an external receiver operating in the MICS band. The various phases of this two years project, started in 2011, including the design and development of radiation sensors and integrated RF to perform the readout, will be described. - Highlights: • A novel monolithic CMOS dosimeter of size of 1 mm 3 has been proposed. • Three different fabrications using a CMOS 180 nm technology have been carried out. • Radiation tests results showed a sensitivity of 1 cGy with accuracy better than 3%. • Preliminary RF tests showed that an RF signal is detectable in free air

A CMOS IC–based multisite measuring system for stimulation and recording in neural preparations in vitro

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takashi eTateno

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In this report, we describe the system integration of a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS integrated circuit (IC chip, capable of both stimulation and recording of neurons or neural tissues, to investigate electrical signal propagation within cellular networks in vitro. The overall system consisted of three major subunits: a 5.0 mm × 5.0 mm CMOS IC chip, a reconfigurable logic device (field-programmable gate array, FPGA, and a PC. To test the system, microelectrode arrays (MEAs were used to extracellularly measure the activity of cultured rat cortical neurons and mouse cortical slices. The MEA had 64 bidirectional (stimulation and recording electrodes. In addition, the CMOS IC chip was equipped with dedicated analog filters, amplification stages, and a stimulation buffer. Signals from the electrodes were sampled at 15.6 kHz with 16-bit resolution. The measured input-referred circuitry noise was 10.1 μV root mean square (10 Hz to 100 kHz, which allowed reliable detection of neural signals ranging from several millivolts down to approximately 33 μVpp. Experiments were performed involving the stimulation of neurons with several spatiotemporal patterns and the recording of the triggered activity. An advantage over current MEAs, as demonstrated by our experiments, includes the ability to stimulate (voltage stimulation, 5-bit resolution spatiotemporal patterns in arbitrary subsets of electrodes. Furthermore, the fast stimulation reset mechanism allowed us to record neuronal signals from a stimulating electrode around 3 ms after stimulation. We demonstrate that the system can be directly applied to, for example, auditory neural prostheses in conjunction with an acoustic sensor and a sound processing system.

Forecasting noise and radiation hardness of CMOS front-end electronics beyond the 100 nm frontier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Re, V.; Gaioni, L.; Manghisoni, M.; Ratti, L.; Traversi, G.

2010-01-01

The progress of industrial microelectronic technologies has already overtaken the 130 nm CMOS generation that is currently the focus of IC designers for new front-end chips in LHC upgrades and other detector applications. In a broader time span, sub-100 nm CMOS processes may become appealing for the design of very compact front-end systems with advanced integrated functionalities. This is especially true in the case of pixel detectors, both for monolithic devices (MAPS) and for hybrid implementations where a high resistivity sensor is connected to a CMOS readout chip. Technologies beyond the 100 nm frontier have peculiar features, such as the evolution of the device gate material to reduce tunneling currents through the thin dielectric. These new physical device parameters may impact on functional properties such as noise and radiation hardness. On the basis of experimental data relevant to commercial devices, this work studies potential advantages and challenges associated to the design of low-noise and rad-hard analog circuits in these aggressively scaled technologies.

Integrated imaging sensor systems with CMOS active pixel sensor technology

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, G.; Cunningham, T.; Ortiz, M.; Heynssens, J.; Sun, C.; Hancock, B.; Seshadri, S.; Wrigley, C.; McCarty, K.; Pain, B.

2002-01-01

This paper discusses common approaches to CMOS APS technology, as well as specific results on the five-wire programmable digital camera-on-a-chip developed at JPL. The paper also reports recent research in the design, operation, and performance of APS imagers for several imager applications.

CMOS-MEMS Test-Key for Extracting Wafer-Level Mechanical Properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pei-Zen Chang

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This paper develops the technologies of mechanical characterization of CMOS-MEMS devices, and presents a robust algorithm for extracting mechanical properties, such as Young’s modulus, and mean stress, through the external electrical circuit behavior of the micro test-key. An approximate analytical solution for the pull-in voltage of bridge-type test-key subjected to electrostatic load and initial stress is derived based on Euler’s beam model and the minimum energy method. Then one can use the aforesaid closed form solution of the pull-in voltage to extract the Young’s modulus and mean stress of the test structures. The test cases include the test-key fabricated by a TSMC 0.18 μm standard CMOS process, and the experimental results refer to Osterberg’s work on the pull-in voltage of single crystal silicone microbridges. The extracted material properties calculated by the present algorithm are valid. Besides, this paper also analyzes the robustness of this algorithm regarding the dimension effects of test-keys. This mechanical properties extracting method is expected to be applicable to the wafer-level testing in micro-device manufacture and compatible with the wafer-level testing in IC industry since the test process is non-destructive.

A Nordic Project Project on High Speed Low Power Design in Sub-micron CMOS Technology for Mobile

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olesen, Ole

1997-01-01

circuit design is based on state-of-the-art CMOS technology (0.5µm and below) including circuits operating at 2GHz. CMOS technology is chosen, since a CMOS implementation is likely to be significantly cheaper than a bipolar or a BiCMOS solution, and it offers the possibility to integrate the predominantly...... of including good off-chip components in the design by use of innovative, inexpensive package technology.To achieve a higher level of integration, the project will use a novel codesign approach to the design strategy. Rather than making specifications based on a purely architectural approach, the work uses...

A Fully Integrated Humidity Sensor System-on-Chip Fabricated by Micro-Stamping Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chih-Ting Lin

2012-08-01

Full Text Available A fully integrated humidity sensor chip was designed, implemented, and tested. Utilizing the micro-stamping technology, the pseudo-3D sensor system-on-chip (SSoC architecture can be implemented by stacking sensing materials directly on the top of a CMOS-fabricated chip. The fabricated sensor system-on-chip (2.28 mm × 2.48 mm integrated a humidity sensor, an interface circuit, a digital controller, and an On-Off Keying (OOK wireless transceiver. With low power consumption, i.e., 750 μW without RF operation, the sensitivity of developed sensor chip was experimentally verified in the relative humidity (RH range from 32% to 60%. The response time of the chip was also experimentally verified to be within 5 seconds from RH 36% to RH 64%. As a consequence, the implemented humidity SSoC paves the way toward the an ultra-small sensor system for various applications.

Low-power high-accuracy micro-digital sun sensor by means of a CMOS image sensor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Xie, N.; Theuwissen, A.J.P.

2013-01-01

A micro-digital sun sensor (?DSS) is a sun detector which senses a satellite’s instant attitude angle with respect to the sun. The core of this sensor is a system-on-chip imaging chip which is referred to as APS+. The APS+ integrates a CMOS active pixel sensor (APS) array of 368×368??pixels , a

Development of Low-Noise Small-Area 24 GHz CMOS Radar Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min Yoon

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We present a low-noise small-area 24 GHz CMOS radar sensor for automotive collision avoidance. This sensor is based on direct-conversion pulsed-radar architecture. The proposed circuit is implemented using TSMC 0.13 μm RF (radio frequency CMOS (fT/fmax=120/140 GHz technology, and it is powered by a 1.5 V supply. This circuit uses transmission lines to reduce total chip size instead of real bulky inductors for input and output impedance matching. The layout techniques for RF are used to reduce parasitic capacitance at the band of 24 GHz. The proposed sensor has low cost and low power dissipation since it is realized using CMOS process. The proposed sensor showed the lowest noise figure of 2.9 dB and the highest conversion gain of 40.2 dB as compared to recently reported research results. It also showed small chip size of 0.56 mm2, low power dissipation of 39.5 mW, and wide operating temperature range of −40 to +125°C.

Design and implementation of an IEEE 802.11 baseband OFDM transceiver in 0.18 μm CMOS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Bin; Zhou Yumei; Zhu Yongxu; Zhang Zhengdong; Cai Jingjing

2011-01-01

An SISO IEEE 802.11 baseband OFDM transceiver ASIC is implemented. The chip can support all of the SISO IEEE 802.11 work modes by optimizing the key module and sharing the module between the transmitter and receiver. The area and power are decreased greatly compared with other designs. The baseband prototype has been verified under the WLAN baseband test equipment and through transferring the video. The 0.18 μm 1P/6M CMOS technology layout is finished and the chip is fabricated in SMIC, which occupies a 2.6 x 2.6 mm 2 area and consumes 83 mW under typical work modes. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Design and implementation of an IEEE 802.11 baseband OFDM transceiver in 0.18 μm CMOS

Science.gov (United States)

Bin, Wu; Yumei, Zhou; Yongxu, Zhu; Zhengdong, Zhang; Jingjing, Cai

2011-05-01

An SISO IEEE 802.11 baseband OFDM transceiver ASIC is implemented. The chip can support all of the SISO IEEE 802.11 work modes by optimizing the key module and sharing the module between the transmitter and receiver. The area and power are decreased greatly compared with other designs. The baseband prototype has been verified under the WLAN baseband test equipment and through transferring the video. The 0.18 μm 1P/6M CMOS technology layout is finished and the chip is fabricated in SMIC, which occupies a 2.6 × 2.6 mm2 area and consumes 83 mW under typical work modes.

Design and implementation of an IEEE 802.11 baseband OFDM transceiver in 0.18 {mu}m CMOS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu Bin; Zhou Yumei; Zhu Yongxu; Zhang Zhengdong; Cai Jingjing, E-mail: wubin@ime.ac.cn [Institute of Microelectronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029 (China)

2011-05-15

An SISO IEEE 802.11 baseband OFDM transceiver ASIC is implemented. The chip can support all of the SISO IEEE 802.11 work modes by optimizing the key module and sharing the module between the transmitter and receiver. The area and power are decreased greatly compared with other designs. The baseband prototype has been verified under the WLAN baseband test equipment and through transferring the video. The 0.18 {mu}m 1P/6M CMOS technology layout is finished and the chip is fabricated in SMIC, which occupies a 2.6 x 2.6 mm{sup 2} area and consumes 83 mW under typical work modes. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Chip development in 65 nm CMOS technology for the high luminosity upgrade of the ATLAS pixel detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Germic, Leonard; Hemperek, Tomasz; Kishishita, Tetsuichi; Krueger, Hans; Rymaszewski, Piotr; Wermes, Norbert [University of Bonn, Bonn (Germany)

2016-07-01

The LHC High Luminosity upgrade will result in a significant change of environment in which particle detectors are going to operate, especially for devices very close to the interaction point like pixel detector electronics. Challenges arising from the increased hit rate will have to be solved by designing faster and more complex readout electronics that will also have to withstand unprecedented radiation doses. Developing such integrated circuit requires a significant R and D effort and resources, therefore a joint development project between several institutes (including ours) was started. This collaboration, named RD53, aims to develop a pixel readout chip suitable for ATLAS' and CMS' upgrades using a 65nm CMOS technology. During this presentation motivations and benefits of using this very deep-submicron technology are discussed. Most of the talk is allocated to presenting some of the circuits designed by our group (focusing on developments connected to RD53 collaboration), along with their performance measurement results.

Chip development in 65 nm CMOS technology for the high luminosity upgrade of the ATLAS pixel detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Germic, Leonard; Hemperek, Tomasz; Kishishita, Testsuichi; Krueger, Hans; Rymaszewski, Piotr; Wermes, Norbert [University of Bonn, Bonn (Germany); Havranek, Miroslav [University of Bonn, Bonn (Germany); Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences, Prague (Czech Republic)

2015-07-01

The LHC High Luminosity upgrade will result in a significant change of environment in which particle detectors are going to operate, especially for devices very close to the interaction point like pixel detector electronics. Challenges coming from the higher hit rate will have to be solved by designing faster and more complex circuits, while at the same time keeping in mind very high radiation hardness requirements. Therefore matching the specification set by the high luminosity upgrade requires a large R and D effort. Our group is participating in such a joint development * namely the RD53 collaboration * which goal is to design a new pixel chip using an advanced 65 nm CMOS technology. During this presentation motivations and benefits of using this very deep-submicron technology will be shown together with a comparison with older technologies (130 nm, 250 nm). Most of the talk is allocated to presenting some of the circuits designed by our group, along with their performance measurement results.

Micromachined Thin-Film Sensors for SOI-CMOS Co-Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Laconte, Jean; Flandre, D.; Raskin, Jean-Pierre

Co-integration of sensors with their associated electronics on a single silicon chip may provide many significant benefits regarding performance, reliability, miniaturization and process simplicity without significantly increasing the total cost. Micromachined Thin-Film Sensors for SOI-CMOS Co-integration covers the challenges and interests and demonstrates the successful co-integration of gas flow sensors on dielectric membrane, with their associated electronics, in CMOS-SOI technology. We firstly investigate the extraction of residual stress in thin layers and in their stacking and the release, in post-processing, of a 1 μm-thick robust and flat dielectric multilayered membrane using Tetramethyl Ammonium Hydroxide (TMAH) silicon micromachining solution.

Power-aware transceiver design for half-duplex bidirectional chip-to-chip optical interconnects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sangirov Jamshid; Ukaegbu Ikechi Augustine; Lee Tae-Woo; Park Hyo-Hoon; Sangirov Gulomjon

2013-01-01

A power-aware transceiver for half-duplex bidirectional chip-to-chip optical interconnects has been designed and fabricated in a 0.13 μm complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The transceiver can detect the presence and absence of received signals and saves 55% power in Rx enabled mode and 45% in Tx enabled mode. The chip occupies an area of 1.034 mm 2 and achieves a 3-dB bandwidth of 6 GHz and 7 GHz in Tx and Rx modes, respectively. The disabled outputs for the Tx and Rx modes are isolated with 180 dB and 139 dB, respectively, from the enabled outputs. Clear eye diagrams are obtained at 4.25 Gbps for both the Tx and Rx modes. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

CMOS MEMS capacitive absolute pressure sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Narducci, M; Tsai, J; Yu-Chia, L; Fang, W

2013-01-01

This paper presents the design, fabrication and characterization of a capacitive pressure sensor using a commercial 0.18 µm CMOS (complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor) process and postprocess. The pressure sensor is capacitive and the structure is formed by an Al top electrode enclosed in a suspended SiO 2 membrane, which acts as a movable electrode against a bottom or stationary Al electrode fixed on the SiO 2 substrate. Both the movable and fixed electrodes form a variable parallel plate capacitor, whose capacitance varies with the applied pressure on the surface. In order to release the membranes the CMOS layers need to be applied postprocess and this mainly consists of four steps: (1) deposition and patterning of PECVD (plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition) oxide to protect CMOS pads and to open the pressure sensor top surface, (2) etching of the sacrificial layer to release the suspended membrane, (3) deposition of PECVD oxide to seal the etching holes and creating vacuum inside the gap, and finally (4) etching of the passivation oxide to open the pads and allow electrical connections. This sensor design and fabrication is suitable to obey the design rules of a CMOS foundry and since it only uses low-temperature processes, it allows monolithic integration with other types of CMOS compatible sensors and IC (integrated circuit) interface on a single chip. Experimental results showed that the pressure sensor has a highly linear sensitivity of 0.14 fF kPa −1 in the pressure range of 0–300 kPa. (paper)

Optimization of a PCRAM Chip for high-speed read and highly reliable reset operations

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaoyun; Chen, Houpeng; Li, Xi; Wang, Qian; Fan, Xi; Hu, Jiajun; Lei, Yu; Zhang, Qi; Tian, Zhen; Song, Zhitang

2016-10-01

The widely used traditional Flash memory suffers from its performance limits such as its serious crosstalk problems, and increasing complexity of floating gate scaling. Phase change random access memory (PCRAM) becomes one of the most potential nonvolatile memories among the new memory techniques. In this paper, a 1M-bit PCRAM chip is designed based on the SMIC 40nm CMOS technology. Focusing on the read and write performance, two new circuits with high-speed read operation and highly reliable reset operation are proposed. The high-speed read circuit effectively reduces the reading time from 74ns to 40ns. The double-mode reset circuit improves the chip yield. This 1M-bit PCRAM chip has been simulated on cadence. After layout design is completed, the chip will be taped out for post-test.

Co-Design Method and Wafer-Level Packaging Technique of Thin-Film Flexible Antenna and Silicon CMOS Rectifier Chips for Wireless-Powered Neural Interface Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenji Okabe

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a co-design method and a wafer-level packaging technique of a flexible antenna and a CMOS rectifier chip for use in a small-sized implantable system on the brain surface are proposed. The proposed co-design method optimizes the system architecture, and can help avoid the use of external matching components, resulting in the realization of a small-size system. In addition, the technique employed to assemble a silicon large-scale integration (LSI chip on the very thin parylene film (5 μm enables the integration of the rectifier circuits and the flexible antenna (rectenna. In the demonstration of wireless power transmission (WPT, the fabricated flexible rectenna achieved a maximum efficiency of 0.497% with a distance of 3 cm between antennas. In addition, WPT with radio waves allows a misalignment of 185% against antenna size, implying that the misalignment has a less effect on the WPT characteristics compared with electromagnetic induction.

Co-Design Method and Wafer-Level Packaging Technique of Thin-Film Flexible Antenna and Silicon CMOS Rectifier Chips for Wireless-Powered Neural Interface Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Okabe, Kenji; Jeewan, Horagodage Prabhath; Yamagiwa, Shota; Kawano, Takeshi; Ishida, Makoto; Akita, Ippei

2015-12-16

In this paper, a co-design method and a wafer-level packaging technique of a flexible antenna and a CMOS rectifier chip for use in a small-sized implantable system on the brain surface are proposed. The proposed co-design method optimizes the system architecture, and can help avoid the use of external matching components, resulting in the realization of a small-size system. In addition, the technique employed to assemble a silicon large-scale integration (LSI) chip on the very thin parylene film (5 μm) enables the integration of the rectifier circuits and the flexible antenna (rectenna). In the demonstration of wireless power transmission (WPT), the fabricated flexible rectenna achieved a maximum efficiency of 0.497% with a distance of 3 cm between antennas. In addition, WPT with radio waves allows a misalignment of 185% against antenna size, implying that the misalignment has a less effect on the WPT characteristics compared with electromagnetic induction.

A 32 x 32 capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer array manufactured in standard CMOS.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemmerhirt, David F; Cheng, Xiaoyang; White, Robert; Rich, Collin A; Zhang, Man; Fowlkes, J Brian; Kripfgans, Oliver D

2012-07-01

As ultrasound imagers become increasingly portable and lower cost, breakthroughs in transducer technology will be needed to provide high-resolution, real-time 3-D imaging while maintaining the affordability needed for portable systems. This paper presents a 32 x 32 ultrasound array prototype, manufactured using a CMUT-in-CMOS approach whereby ultrasonic transducer elements and readout circuits are integrated on a single chip using a standard integrated circuit manufacturing process in a commercial CMOS foundry. Only blanket wet-etch and sealing steps are added to complete the MEMS devices after the CMOS process. This process typically yields better than 99% working elements per array, with less than ±1.5 dB variation in receive sensitivity among the 1024 individually addressable elements. The CMUT pulseecho frequency response is typically centered at 2.1 MHz with a -6 dB fractional bandwidth of 60%, and elements are arranged on a 250 μm hexagonal grid (less than half-wavelength pitch). Multiplexers and CMOS buffers within the array are used to make on-chip routing manageable, reduce the number of physical output leads, and drive the transducer cable. The array has been interfaced to a commercial imager as well as a set of custom transmit and receive electronics, and volumetric images of nylon fishing line targets have been produced.

Design, Characterization and Test of the Associative Memory Chip AM06 for the Fast TracKer System

CERN Document Server

Liberali, Valentino; The ATLAS collaboration

2016-01-01

We present the performance of the new Associative Memory (AM) chip, designed and manufactured in 65 nm CMOS technology. The AM06 is the 6th version of a highly parallel ASIC processor for pattern recognition in high energy physics experiments. The AM06 is based on the XORAM cell architecture, which has been specifically designed to reduce power consumption and control complexity. The AM06 is a large chip, which contains memory banks that store all data of interest. The basic unit is a word of 18 bit. A group of 8 words (each of them related to a detector layer) is called a “pattern”. Each AM06 chip stores 2^17 patterns. The AM06 integrates serializer and deserializer IP blocks (working up to 2.4 GHz), to avoid routing congestion at the board level. AM06 is a complex VLSI chip, designed combining full-custom memory arrays, standard logic cells and IP blocks. It occupies a silicon area of 168 mm^2 and it contains about 421 millions transistors. The AM06 chip is able to perform a synchronous bitwise comparis...

A 10 MHz micropower CMOS front end for direct readout of pixel detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, M.; Heijne, E.H.M.; Jarron, P.; Krummenacher, F.; Enz, C.C.; Declercq, M.; Vittoz, E.; Viertel, G.

1990-01-01

In the framework of the CERN-LAA project for detector R and D, a micropower circuit of 200 μmx200 μm with a current amplifier, a latched comparator and a digital memory element has been tested electrically and operated in connection with linear silicon detector arrays. The experimental direct-readout (DRO) chip comprises a matrix of 9x12 circuit cells and has been manufactured in a 3 μm CMOS technology. Particles and X-ray photons below 22 keV were detected, and thresholds can be set between 2000 and 20000 e - . The noise is less than 4 keV FWHM or 500 e - rms and the power dissipation per pixel element is 30 μW. The chip can be coupled to a detector matrix using bump bonding. (orig.)

Wafer-level packaged RF-MEMS switches fabricated in a CMOS fab

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tilmans, H.A.C.; Ziad, H.; Jansen, Henricus V.; Di Monaco, O.; Jourdain, A.; De Raedt, W.; Rottenberg, X.; De Backer, E.; Decoussernaeker, A.; Baert, K.

2001-01-01

Reports on wafer-level packaged RF-MEMS switches fabricated in a commercial CMOS fab. Switch fabrication is based on a metal surface micromachining process. A novel wafer-level packaging scheme is developed, whereby the switches are housed in on-chip sealed cavities using benzocyclobutene (BCB) as

Broadband sub-THz spectroscopy modules integrated in 65-nm CMOS technology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Matters-Kammerer, M.K.; van Goor, D.; Tripodi, L.

2017-01-01

The design and characterization of a broadband 20-480 GHz continuously tuneable on-chip spectrometer based on non-linear transmission lines in 65-nm CMOS technology is presented. The design procedure of the sampler that detects the ultra-broadband signal from the transmitter in time and frequency

Charged particle detection performances of CMOS pixel sensors produced in a 0.18 μm process with a high resistivity epitaxial layer

Science.gov (United States)

Senyukov, S.; Baudot, J.; Besson, A.; Claus, G.; Cousin, L.; Dorokhov, A.; Dulinski, W.; Goffe, M.; Hu-Guo, C.; Winter, M.

2013-12-01

The apparatus of the ALICE experiment at CERN will be upgraded in 2017/18 during the second long shutdown of the LHC (LS2). A major motivation for this upgrade is to extend the physics reach for charmed and beauty particles down to low transverse momenta. This requires a substantial improvement of the spatial resolution and the data rate capability of the ALICE Inner Tracking System (ITS). To achieve this goal, the new ITS will be equipped with 50 μm thin CMOS Pixel Sensors (CPS) covering either the three innermost layers or all the 7 layers of the detector. The CPS being developed for the ITS upgrade at IPHC (Strasbourg) is derived from the MIMOSA 28 sensor realised for the STAR-PXL at RHIC in a 0.35 μm CMOS process. In order to satisfy the ITS upgrade requirements in terms of readout speed and radiation tolerance, a CMOS process with a reduced feature size and a high resistivity epitaxial layer should be exploited. In this respect, the charged particle detection performance and radiation hardness of the TowerJazz 0.18 μm CMOS process were studied with the help of the first prototype chip MIMOSA 32. The beam tests performed with negative pions of 120 GeV/c at the CERN-SPS allowed to measure a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the non-irradiated chip in the range between 22 and 32 depending on the pixel design. The chip irradiated with the combined dose of 1 MRad and 1013neq /cm2 was observed to yield an SNR ranging between 11 and 23 for coolant temperatures varying from 15 °C to 30 °C. These SNR values were measured to result in particle detection efficiencies above 99.5% and 98% before and after irradiation, respectively. These satisfactory results allow to validate the TowerJazz 0.18 μm CMOS process for the ALICE ITS upgrade.

Charged particle detection performances of CMOS pixel sensors produced in a 0.18μm process with a high resistivity epitaxial layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Senyukov, S., E-mail: serhiy.senyukov@cern.ch; Baudot, J.; Besson, A.; Claus, G.; Cousin, L.; Dorokhov, A.; Dulinski, W.; Goffe, M.; Hu-Guo, C.; Winter, M.

2013-12-01

The apparatus of the ALICE experiment at CERN will be upgraded in 2017/18 during the second long shutdown of the LHC (LS2). A major motivation for this upgrade is to extend the physics reach for charmed and beauty particles down to low transverse momenta. This requires a substantial improvement of the spatial resolution and the data rate capability of the ALICE Inner Tracking System (ITS). To achieve this goal, the new ITS will be equipped with 50μm thin CMOS Pixel Sensors (CPS) covering either the three innermost layers or all the 7 layers of the detector. The CPS being developed for the ITS upgrade at IPHC (Strasbourg) is derived from the MIMOSA 28 sensor realised for the STAR-PXL at RHIC in a 0.35μm CMOS process. In order to satisfy the ITS upgrade requirements in terms of readout speed and radiation tolerance, a CMOS process with a reduced feature size and a high resistivity epitaxial layer should be exploited. In this respect, the charged particle detection performance and radiation hardness of the TowerJazz0.18μm CMOS process were studied with the help of the first prototype chip MIMOSA 32. The beam tests performed with negative pions of 120 GeV/c at the CERN-SPS allowed to measure a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the non-irradiated chip in the range between 22 and 32 depending on the pixel design. The chip irradiated with the combined dose of 1 MRad and 10{sup 13}n{sub eq}/cm{sup 2} was observed to yield an SNR ranging between 11 and 23 for coolant temperatures varying from 15 °C to 30 °C. These SNR values were measured to result in particle detection efficiencies above 99.5% and 98% before and after irradiation, respectively. These satisfactory results allow to validate the TowerJazz0.18μm CMOS process for the ALICE ITS upgrade.

A CMOS silicon spin qubit

Science.gov (United States)

Maurand, R.; Jehl, X.; Kotekar-Patil, D.; Corna, A.; Bohuslavskyi, H.; Laviéville, R.; Hutin, L.; Barraud, S.; Vinet, M.; Sanquer, M.; de Franceschi, S.

2016-11-01

Silicon, the main constituent of microprocessor chips, is emerging as a promising material for the realization of future quantum processors. Leveraging its well-established complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology would be a clear asset to the development of scalable quantum computing architectures and to their co-integration with classical control hardware. Here we report a silicon quantum bit (qubit) device made with an industry-standard fabrication process. The device consists of a two-gate, p-type transistor with an undoped channel. At low temperature, the first gate defines a quantum dot encoding a hole spin qubit, the second one a quantum dot used for the qubit read-out. All electrical, two-axis control of the spin qubit is achieved by applying a phase-tunable microwave modulation to the first gate. The demonstrated qubit functionality in a basic transistor-like device constitutes a promising step towards the elaboration of scalable spin qubit geometries in a readily exploitable CMOS platform.

Analog filters in nanometer CMOS

CERN Document Server

Uhrmann, Heimo; Zimmermann, Horst

2014-01-01

Starting from the basics of analog filters and the poor transistor characteristics in nanometer CMOS 10 high-performance analog filters developed by the authors in 120 nm and 65 nm CMOS are described extensively. Among them are gm-C filters, current-mode filters, and active filters for system-on-chip realization for Bluetooth, WCDMA, UWB, DVB-H, and LTE applications. For the active filters several operational amplifier designs are described. The book, furthermore, contains a review of the newest state of research on low-voltage low-power analog filters. To cover the topic of the book comprehensively, linearization issues and measurement methods for the characterization of advanced analog filters are introduced in addition. Numerous elaborate illustrations promote an easy comprehension. This book will be of value to engineers and researchers in industry as well as scientists and Ph.D students at universities. The book is also recommendable to graduate students specializing on nanoelectronics, microelectronics ...

Performance of the new amplifier-shaper-discriminator chip for the ATLAS MDT chambers at the HL-LHC

CERN Document Server

INSPIRE-00218480

2016-01-01

The Phase-II Upgrade of the ATLAS Muon Detector requires new electronics for the readout of the MDT drift tubes. The first processing stage, the Amplifier-Shaper-Discriminator (ASD), determines the performance of the readout for crucial parameters like time resolution, gain uniformity, efficiency and noise rejection. An 8-channel ASD chip, using the IBM 130 nm CMOS 8RF-DM technology, has been designed, produced and tested. The area of the chip is 2.2 x 2.9 square mm size. We present results of detailed measurements as well as a comparision with simulation results of the chip behaviour at three different levels of detail.

A Glucose Biosensor Using CMOS Potentiostat and Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanofibers.

Science.gov (United States)

Al Mamun, Khandaker A; Islam, Syed K; Hensley, Dale K; McFarlane, Nicole

2016-08-01

This paper reports a linear, low power, and compact CMOS based potentiostat for vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (VACNF) based amperometric glucose sensors. The CMOS based potentiostat consists of a single-ended potential control unit, a low noise common gate difference-differential pair transimpedance amplifier and a low power VCO. The potentiostat current measuring unit can detect electrochemical current ranging from 500 nA to 7 [Formula: see text] from the VACNF working electrodes with high degree of linearity. This current corresponds to a range of glucose, which depends on the fiber forest density. The potentiostat consumes 71.7 [Formula: see text] of power from a 1.8 V supply and occupies 0.017 [Formula: see text] of chip area realized in a 0.18 [Formula: see text] standard CMOS process.

Micromachined high-performance RF passives in CMOS substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Xinxin; Ni, Zao; Gu, Lei; Wu, Zhengzheng; Yang, Chen

2016-01-01

This review systematically addresses the micromachining technologies used for the fabrication of high-performance radio-frequency (RF) passives that can be integrated into low-cost complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-grade (i.e. low-resistivity) silicon wafers. With the development of various kinds of post-CMOS-compatible microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) processes, 3D structural inductors/transformers, variable capacitors, tunable resonators and band-pass/low-pass filters can be compatibly integrated into active integrated circuits to form monolithic RF system-on-chips. By using MEMS processes, including substrate modifying/suspending and LIGA-like metal electroplating, both the highly lossy substrate effect and the resistive loss can be largely eliminated and depressed, thereby meeting the high-performance requirements of telecommunication applications. (topical review)

Accelerated life testing effects on CMOS microcircuit characteristics, phase 1

Science.gov (United States)

Maximow, B.

1976-01-01

An accelerated life test of sufficient duration to generate a minimum of 50% cumulative failures in lots of CMOS devices was conducted to provide a basis for determining the consistency of activation energy at 250 C. An investigation was made to determine whether any thresholds were exceeded during the high temperature testing, which could trigger failure mechanisms unique to that temperature. The usefulness of the 250 C temperature test as a predictor of long term reliability was evaluated.

A 3.1-4.8 GHz CMOS receiver for MB-OFDM UWB

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Guang; Yao Wang; Yin Jiangwei; Zheng Renliang; Li Wei; Li Ning; Ren Junyan

2009-01-01

An integrated fully differential ultra-wideband CMOS receiver for 3.1-4.8 GHz MB-OFDM systems is presented. A gain controllable low noise amplifier and a merged quadrature mixer are integrated as the RF front-end. Five order Gm-C type low pass filters and VGAs are also integrated for both I and Q IF paths in the receiver. The ESD protected chip is fabricated in a Jazz 0.18 μm RF CMOS process and achieves a maximum total voltage gain of 65 dB, an AGC range of 45 dB with about 6 dB/step, an averaged total noise figure of 6.4 to 8.8 dB over 3 bands and an in-band IIP3 of -5.1 dBm. The receiver occupies 2.3 mm 2 and consumes 110 mA from a 1.8 V supply including test buffers and a digital module.

A 3.1-4.8 GHz CMOS receiver for MB-OFDM UWB

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang Guang; Yao Wang; Yin Jiangwei; Zheng Renliang; Li Wei; Li Ning; Ren Junyan, E-mail: w-li@fudan.edu.c [State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203 (China)

2009-01-15

An integrated fully differential ultra-wideband CMOS receiver for 3.1-4.8 GHz MB-OFDM systems is presented. A gain controllable low noise amplifier and a merged quadrature mixer are integrated as the RF front-end. Five order Gm-C type low pass filters and VGAs are also integrated for both I and Q IF paths in the receiver. The ESD protected chip is fabricated in a Jazz 0.18 mum RF CMOS process and achieves a maximum total voltage gain of 65 dB, an AGC range of 45 dB with about 6 dB/step, an averaged total noise figure of 6.4 to 8.8 dB over 3 bands and an in-band IIP3 of -5.1 dBm. The receiver occupies 2.3 mm{sup 2} and consumes 110 mA from a 1.8 V supply including test buffers and a digital module.

Low-voltage CMOS operational amplifiers theory, design and implementation

CERN Document Server

Sakurai, Satoshi

1995-01-01

Low-Voltage CMOS Operational Amplifiers: Theory, Design and Implementation discusses both single and two-stage architectures. Opamps with constant-gm input stage are designed and their excellent performance over the rail-to-rail input common mode range is demonstrated. The first set of CMOS constant-gm input stages was introduced by a group from Technische Universiteit, Delft and Universiteit Twente, the Netherlands. These earlier versions of circuits are discussed, along with new circuits developed at the Ohio State University. The design, fabrication (MOSIS Tiny Chips), and characterization of the new circuits are now complete. Basic analog integrated circuit design concepts should be understood in order to fully appreciate the work presented. However, the topics are presented in a logical order and the circuits are explained in great detail, so that Low-Voltage CMOS Operational Amplifiers can be read and enjoyed by those without much experience in analog circuit design. It is an invaluable reference boo...

Monolithic silicon photonics in a sub-100nm SOI CMOS microprocessor foundry: progress from devices to systems

Science.gov (United States)

Popović, Miloš A.; Wade, Mark T.; Orcutt, Jason S.; Shainline, Jeffrey M.; Sun, Chen; Georgas, Michael; Moss, Benjamin; Kumar, Rajesh; Alloatti, Luca; Pavanello, Fabio; Chen, Yu-Hsin; Nammari, Kareem; Notaros, Jelena; Atabaki, Amir; Leu, Jonathan; Stojanović, Vladimir; Ram, Rajeev J.

2015-02-01

We review recent progress of an effort led by the Stojanović (UC Berkeley), Ram (MIT) and Popović (CU Boulder) research groups to enable the design of photonic devices, and complete on-chip electro-optic systems and interfaces, directly in standard microelectronics CMOS processes in a microprocessor foundry, with no in-foundry process modifications. This approach allows tight and large-scale monolithic integration of silicon photonics with state-of-the-art (sub-100nm-node) microelectronics, here a 45nm SOI CMOS process. It enables natural scale-up to manufacturing, and rapid advances in device design due to process repeatability. The initial driver application was addressing the processor-to-memory communication energy bottleneck. Device results include 5Gbps modulators based on an interleaved junction that take advantage of the high resolution of the sub-100nm CMOS process. We demonstrate operation at 5fJ/bit with 1.5dB insertion loss and 8dB extinction ratio. We also demonstrate the first infrared detectors in a zero-change CMOS process, using absorption in transistor source/drain SiGe stressors. Subsystems described include the first monolithically integrated electronic-photonic transmitter on chip (modulator+driver) with 20-70fJ/bit wall plug energy/bit (2-3.5Gbps), to our knowledge the lowest transmitter energy demonstrated to date. We also demonstrate native-process infrared receivers at 220fJ/bit (5Gbps). These are encouraging signs for the prospects of monolithic electronics-photonics integration. Beyond processor-to-memory interconnects, our approach to photonics as a "More-than- Moore" technology inside advanced CMOS promises to enable VLSI electronic-photonic chip platforms tailored to a vast array of emerging applications, from optical and acoustic sensing, high-speed signal processing, RF and optical metrology and clocks, through to analog computation and quantum technology.

Design and Fabrication of Millimeter Wave Hexagonal Nano-Ferrite Circulator on Silicon CMOS Substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Oukacha, Hassan

The rapid advancement of Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology has formed the backbone of the modern computing revolution enabling the development of computationally intensive electronic devices that are smaller, faster, less expensive, and consume less power. This well-established technology has transformed the mobile computing and communications industries by providing high levels of system integration on a single substrate, high reliability and low manufacturing cost. The driving force behind this computing revolution is the scaling of semiconductor devices to smaller geometries which has resulted in faster switching speeds and the promise of replacing traditional, bulky radio frequency (RF) components with miniaturized devices. Such devices play an important role in our society enabling ubiquitous computing and on-demand data access. This thesis presents the design and development of a magnetic circulator component in a standard 180 nm CMOS process. The design approach involves integration of nanoscale ferrite materials on a CMOS chip to avoid using bulky magnetic materials employed in conventional circulators. This device constitutes the next generation broadband millimeter-wave circulator integrated in CMOS using ferrite materials operating in the 60GHz frequency band. The unlicensed ultra-high frequency spectrum around 60GHz offers many benefits: very high immunity to interference, high security, and frequency re-use. Results of both simulations and measurements are presented in this thesis. The presented results show the benefits of this technique and the potential that it has in incorporating a complete system-on-chip (SoC) that includes low noise amplifier, power amplier, and antenna. This system-on-chip can be used in the same applications where the conventional circulator has been employed, including communication systems, radar systems, navigation and air traffic control, and military equipment. This set of applications of

The effect of body bias of the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor in the resistive network on spatial current distribution in a bio-inspired complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor vision chip

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Jae-Sung; Hyun, Hyo-Young; Seo, Sang-Ho; Shin, Jang-Kyoo

2008-11-01

Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) vision chips for edge detection based on a resistive circuit have recently been developed. These chips help in the creation of neuromorphic systems of a compact size, high speed of operation, and low power dissipation. The output of the vision chip depends predominantly upon the electrical characteristics of the resistive network which consists of a resistive circuit. In this paper, the body effect of the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor for current distribution in a resistive circuit is discussed with a simple model. In order to evaluate the model, two 160 × 120 CMOS vision chips have been fabricated using a standard CMOS technology. The experimental results nicely match our prediction.

A capacitor-free CMOS LDO regulator with AC-boosting and active-feedback frequency compensation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou Qianneng; Wang Yongsheng; Lai Fengchang, E-mail: qianneng@hit.edu.c [Microelectronics Center, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)

2009-04-15

A capacitor-free CMOS low-dropout (LDO) regulator for system-on-chip (SoC) applications is presented. By adopting AC-boosting and active-feedback frequency compensation (ACB-AFFC), the proposed LDO regulator, which is independent of an off-chip capacitor, provides high closed-loop stability. Moreover, a slew rate enhancement circuit is adopted to increase the slew rate and decrease the output voltage dips when the load current is suddenly switched from low to high. The LDO regulator is designed and fabricated in a 0.6 mum CMOS process. The active silicon area is only 770 x 472 mum{sup 2}. Experimental results show that the total error of the output voltage due to line variation is less than +-0.197%. The load regulation is only 0.35 mV/mA when the load current changes from 0 to 100 mA.

The CMOS Integration of a Power Inverter

OpenAIRE

Mannarino, Eric Francis

2016-01-01

Due to their falling costs, the use of renewable energy systems is expanding around the world. These systems require the conversion of DC power into grid-synchronous AC power. Currently, the inverters that carry out this task are built using discrete transistors. TowerJazz Semiconductor Corp. has created a commercial CMOS process that allows for blocking voltages of up to 700 V, effectively removing the barrier to integrating power inverters onto a single chip. This thesis explores this proce...

Fully depleted CMOS pixel sensor development and potential applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baudot, J.; Kachel, M. [Universite de Strasbourg, IPHC, 23 rue du Loess 67037 Strasbourg (France); CNRS, UMR7178, 67037 Strasbourg (France)

2015-07-01

low noise figure. Especially, an energy resolution of about 400 eV for 5 keV X-rays was obtained for single pixels. The prototypes have then been exposed to gradually increased fluences of neutrons, from 10{sup 13} to 5x10{sup 14} neq/cm{sup 2}. Again laboratory tests allowed to evaluate the signal over noise persistence on the different pixels implemented. Currently our development mostly targets the detection of soft X-rays, with the ambition to develop a pixel sensor matching counting rates as affordable with hybrid pixel sensors, but with an extended sensitivity to low energy and finer pixel about 25 x 25 μm{sup 2}. The original readout architecture proposed relies on a two tiers chip. The first tier consists of a sensor with a modest dynamic in order to insure low noise performances required by sensitivity. The interconnected second tier chip enhances the read-out speed by introducing massive parallelization. Performances reachable with this strategy combining counting and integration will be detailed. (authors)

Accelerated life testing effects on CMOS microcircuit characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

1980-01-01

The 250 C, 200C and 125C accelerated tests are described. The wear-out distributions from the 250 and 200 C tests were used to estimate the activation energy between the two test temperatures. The duration of the 125 C test was not sufficient to bring the test devices into the wear-out region. It was estimated that, for the most complex of the three devices types, the activation energy between 200 C and 125 C should be at least as high as that between 250 C and 200 C. The practicality of the use of high temperature for the accelerated life tests from the point of view of durability of equipment is assessed. Guidlines for the development of accelerated life-test conditions are proposed. The use of the silicon nitride overcoat to improve the high temperature accelerated life-test characteristics of CMOS microcircuits is described.

NV-CMOS HD camera for day/night imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Vogelsong, T.; Tower, J.; Sudol, Thomas; Senko, T.; Chodelka, D.

2014-06-01

SRI International (SRI) has developed a new multi-purpose day/night video camera with low-light imaging performance comparable to an image intensifier, while offering the size, weight, ruggedness, and cost advantages enabled by the use of SRI's NV-CMOS HD digital image sensor chip. The digital video output is ideal for image enhancement, sharing with others through networking, video capture for data analysis, or fusion with thermal cameras. The camera provides Camera Link output with HD/WUXGA resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels operating at 60 Hz. Windowing to smaller sizes enables operation at higher frame rates. High sensitivity is achieved through use of backside illumination, providing high Quantum Efficiency (QE) across the visible and near infrared (NIR) bands (peak QE camera, which operates from a single 5V supply. The NVCMOS HD camera provides a substantial reduction in size, weight, and power (SWaP) , ideal for SWaP-constrained day/night imaging platforms such as UAVs, ground vehicles, fixed mount surveillance, and may be reconfigured for mobile soldier operations such as night vision goggles and weapon sights. In addition the camera with the NV-CMOS HD imager is suitable for high performance digital cinematography/broadcast systems, biofluorescence/microscopy imaging, day/night security and surveillance, and other high-end applications which require HD video imaging with high sensitivity and wide dynamic range. The camera comes with an array of lens mounts including C-mount and F-mount. The latest test data from the NV-CMOS HD camera will be presented.

CMOS-compatible spintronic devices: a review

Science.gov (United States)

Makarov, Alexander; Windbacher, Thomas; Sverdlov, Viktor; Selberherr, Siegfried

2016-11-01

For many decades CMOS devices have been successfully scaled down to achieve higher speed and increased performance of integrated circuits at lower cost. Today’s charge-based CMOS electronics encounters two major challenges: power dissipation and variability. Spintronics is a rapidly evolving research and development field, which offers a potential solution to these issues by introducing novel ‘more than Moore’ devices. Spin-based magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) is already recognized as one of the most promising candidates for future universal memory. Magnetic tunnel junctions, the main elements of MRAM cells, can also be used to build logic-in-memory circuits with non-volatile storage elements on top of CMOS logic circuits, as well as versatile compact on-chip oscillators with low power consumption. We give an overview of CMOS-compatible spintronics applications. First, we present a brief introduction to the physical background considering such effects as magnetoresistance, spin-transfer torque (STT), spin Hall effect, and magnetoelectric effects. We continue with a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art spintronic devices for memory applications (STT-MRAM, domain wall-motion MRAM, and spin-orbit torque MRAM), oscillators (spin torque oscillators and spin Hall nano-oscillators), logic (logic-in-memory, all-spin logic, and buffered magnetic logic gate grid), sensors, and random number generators. Devices with different types of resistivity switching are analyzed and compared, with their advantages highlighted and challenges revealed. CMOS-compatible spintronic devices are demonstrated beginning with predictive simulations, proceeding to their experimental confirmation and realization, and finalized by the current status of application in modern integrated systems and circuits. We conclude the review with an outlook, where we share our vision on the future applications of the prospective devices in the area.

Improved Space Object Orbit Determination Using CMOS Detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Schildknecht, T.; Peltonen, J.; Sännti, T.; Silha, J.; Flohrer, T.

2014-09-01

CMOS-sensors, or in general Active Pixel Sensors (APS), are rapidly replacing CCDs in the consumer camera market. Due to significant technological advances during the past years these devices start to compete with CCDs also for demanding scientific imaging applications, in particular in the astronomy community. CMOS detectors offer a series of inherent advantages compared to CCDs, due to the structure of their basic pixel cells, which each contains their own amplifier and readout electronics. The most prominent advantages for space object observations are the extremely fast and flexible readout capabilities, feasibility for electronic shuttering and precise epoch registration, and the potential to perform image processing operations on-chip and in real-time. The major challenges and design drivers for ground-based and space-based optical observation strategies have been analyzed. CMOS detector characteristics were critically evaluated and compared with the established CCD technology, especially with respect to the above mentioned observations. Similarly, the desirable on-chip processing functionalities which would further enhance the object detection and image segmentation were identified. Finally, we simulated several observation scenarios for ground- and space-based sensor by assuming different observation and sensor properties. We will introduce the analyzed end-to-end simulations of the ground- and space-based strategies in order to investigate the orbit determination accuracy and its sensitivity which may result from different values for the frame-rate, pixel scale, astrometric and epoch registration accuracies. Two cases were simulated, a survey using a ground-based sensor to observe objects in LEO for surveillance applications, and a statistical survey with a space-based sensor orbiting in LEO observing small-size debris in LEO. The ground-based LEO survey uses a dynamical fence close to the Earth shadow a few hours after sunset. For the space-based scenario

CMOS Receiver Front-ends for Gigabit Short-Range Optical Communications

CERN Document Server

Aznar, Francisco; Calvo Lopez, Belén

2013-01-01

This book describes optical receiver solutions integrated in standard CMOS technology, attaining high-speed short-range transmission within cost-effective constraints.  These techniques support short reach applications, such as local area networks, fiber-to-the-home and multimedia systems in cars and homes. The authors show how to implement the optical front-end in the same technology as the subsequent digital circuitry, leading to integration of the entire receiver system in the same chip.  The presentation focuses on CMOS receiver design targeting gigabit transmission along a low-cost, standardized plastic optical fiber up to 50m in length.  This book includes a detailed study of CMOS optical receiver design – from building blocks to the system level. Reviews optical communications, including long-haul transmission systems and emerging applications focused on short-range; Explains necessary fundamentals, such as characteristics of a data signal, system requirements affecting receiver design and key par...

Characterization of pixel sensor designed in 180 nm SOI CMOS technology

Science.gov (United States)

Benka, T.; Havranek, M.; Hejtmanek, M.; Jakovenko, J.; Janoska, Z.; Marcisovska, M.; Marcisovsky, M.; Neue, G.; Tomasek, L.; Vrba, V.

2018-01-01

A new type of X-ray imaging Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor (MAPS), X-CHIP-02, was developed using a 180 nm deep submicron Silicon On Insulator (SOI) CMOS commercial technology. Two pixel matrices were integrated into the prototype chip, which differ by the pixel pitch of 50 μm and 100 μm. The X-CHIP-02 contains several test structures, which are useful for characterization of individual blocks. The sensitive part of the pixel integrated in the handle wafer is one of the key structures designed for testing. The purpose of this structure is to determine the capacitance of the sensitive part (diode in the MAPS pixel). The measured capacitance is 2.9 fF for 50 μm pixel pitch and 4.8 fF for 100 μm pixel pitch at -100 V (default operational voltage). This structure was used to measure the IV characteristics of the sensitive diode. In this work, we report on a circuit designed for precise determination of sensor capacitance and IV characteristics of both pixel types with respect to X-ray irradiation. The motivation for measurement of the sensor capacitance was its importance for the design of front-end amplifier circuits. The design of pixel elements, as well as circuit simulation and laboratory measurement techniques are described. The experimental results are of great importance for further development of MAPS sensors in this technology.

Evaluation of accelerated test parameters for CMOS IC total dose hardness prediction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sogoyan, A.V.; Nikiforov, A.Y.; Chumakov, A.I.

1999-01-01

The approach to accelerated test parameters evaluation is presented in order to predict CMOS IC total dose behavior in variable dose-rate environment. The technique is based on the analytical model of MOSFET parameters total dose degradation. The simple way to estimate model parameter is proposed using IC's input-output MOSFET radiation test results. (authors)

Monolithic pixel detectors in a 0.13μm CMOS technology with sensor level continuous time charge amplification and shaping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ratti, L.; Manghisoni, M.; Re, V.; Speziali, V.; Traversi, G.; Bettarini, S.; Calderini, G.; Cenci, R.; Giorgi, M.; Forti, F.; Morsani, F.; Rizzo, G.

2006-01-01

This work studies the feasibility of a new implementation of CMOS monolithic active pixel sensors (MAPS) for applications to charged particle tracking. As compared to standard three MOSFET MAPS, where the charge signal is readout by a source follower, the proposed front-end scheme relies upon a charge sensitive amplifier (CSA), embedded in the elementary pixel cell, to perform charge-to-voltage conversion. The area required for the integration of the front-end electronics is mostly provided by the collecting electrode, which consists of a deep n-type diffusion, available as a shielding frame for n-channel devices in deep submicron, triple well CMOS technologies. Based on the above concept, a chip, which includes several test structures differing in the sensitive element area, has been fabricated in a 0.13μm CMOS process. In this paper, the criteria underlying the design of the pixel level analog processor will be presented, together with some preliminary experimental results demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed approach

Power pulsing of the CMOS sensor Mimosa 26

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuprash, Oleg

2013-01-01

Mimosa 26 is a monolithic active pixel sensor developed by IPHC (Strasbourg) and IRFU (Saclay) as a prototype for the ILC vertex detector studies. The resolution requirements for the ILC tracking detector are very extreme, demanding very low material in the detector, thus only air cooling can be considered. Power consumption has to be reduced as far as possible. The beam structure of the ILC allows the possibility of power pulsing: only for about the 1 ms long bunch train full power is required, and during the 199 ms long pauses between the bunch trains the power can be reduced to a minimum. Not being adapted for the power pulsing, the sensor shows in laboratory tests a good performance under power pulsing. The power pulsing allows to significantly reduce the heating of the chip and divides power consumption approximately by a factor of 6. In this report a summary of power pulsing studies using the digital readout of Mimosa 26 is given. -- Highlights: • First power pulsing studies using digital readout of Mimosa 26 CMOS sensor were done. • Fake hit rates under power pulsing conditions and under normal conditions were compared. • The measurements demonstrate that there is so far no showstopper to operate CMOS pixel sensors in power pulsing mode

Integrated X-band FMCW front-end in SiGe BiCMOS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Suijker, Erwin; de Boer, Lex; Visser, Guido; van Dijk, Raymond; Poschmann, Michael; van Vliet, Frank Edward

2010-01-01

An integrated X-band FMCW front-end is reported. The front-end unites the core functionality of an FMCW transmitter and receiver in a 0.25 μm SiGe BiCMOS process. The chip integrates a PLL for the carrier generation, and single-side band and image-reject mixers for up- and down-conversion of the

George E. Pake Prize Lecture: CMOS Technology Roadmap: Is Scaling Ending?

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Tze-Chiang (T. C.)

The development of silicon technology has been based on the principle of physics and driven by the system needs. Traditionally, the system needs have been satisfied by the increase in transistor density and performance, as suggested by Moore's Law and guided by ''Dennard CMOS scaling theory''. As the silicon industry moves towards the 14nm node and beyond, three of the most important challenges facing Moore's Law and continued CMOS scaling are the growing standby power dissipation, the increasing variability in device characteristics and the ever increasing manufacturing cost. Actually, the first two factors are the embodiments of CMOS approaching atomistic and quantum-mechanical physics boundaries. Industry directions for addressing these challenges are also developing along three primary approaches: Extending silicon scaling through innovations in materials and device structure, expanding the level of integration through three-dimensional structures comprised of through-silicon-vias holes and chip stacking in order to enhance functionality and parallelism and exploring post-silicon CMOS innovation with new nano-devices based on distinctly different principles of physics, new materials and new processes such as spintronics, carbon nanotubes and nanowires. Hence, the infusion of new materials, innovative integration and novel device structures will continue to extend CMOS technology scaling for at least another decade.

Elevated voltage level I.sub.DDQ failure testing of integrated circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Righter, Alan W.

1996-01-01

Burn in testing of static CMOS IC's is eliminated by I.sub.DDQ testing at elevated voltage levels. These voltage levels are at least 25% higher than the normal operating voltage for the IC but are below voltage levels that would cause damage to the chip.

Contact CMOS imaging of gaseous oxygen sensor array.

Science.gov (United States)

Daivasagaya, Daisy S; Yao, Lei; Yi Yung, Ka; Hajj-Hassan, Mohamad; Cheung, Maurice C; Chodavarapu, Vamsy P; Bright, Frank V

2011-10-01

We describe a compact luminescent gaseous oxygen (O 2 ) sensor microsystem based on the direct integration of sensor elements with a polymeric optical filter and placed on a low power complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imager integrated circuit (IC). The sensor operates on the measurement of excited-state emission intensity of O 2 -sensitive luminophore molecules tris(4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline) ruthenium(II) ([Ru(dpp) 3 ] 2+ ) encapsulated within sol-gel derived xerogel thin films. The polymeric optical filter is made with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) that is mixed with a dye (Sudan-II). The PDMS membrane surface is molded to incorporate arrays of trapezoidal microstructures that serve to focus the optical sensor signals on to the imager pixels. The molded PDMS membrane is then attached with the PDMS color filter. The xerogel sensor arrays are contact printed on top of the PDMS trapezoidal lens-like microstructures. The CMOS imager uses a 32 × 32 (1024 elements) array of active pixel sensors and each pixel includes a high-gain phototransistor to convert the detected optical signals into electrical currents. Correlated double sampling circuit, pixel address, digital control and signal integration circuits are also implemented on-chip. The CMOS imager data is read out as a serial coded signal. The CMOS imager consumes a static power of 320 µW and an average dynamic power of 625 µW when operating at 100 Hz sampling frequency and 1.8 V DC. This CMOS sensor system provides a useful platform for the development of miniaturized optical chemical gas sensors.

Low-loss CMOS copper plasmonic waveguides at the nanoscale (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Fedyanin, Dmitry Y.; Yakubovsky, Dmitry I.; Kirtaev, Roman V.; Volkov, Valentyn S.

2016-05-01

Implementation of optical components in microprocessors can increase their performance by orders of magnitude. However, the size of optical elements is fundamentally limited by diffraction, while miniaturization is one of the essential concepts in the development of high-speed and energy-efficient electronic chips. Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are widely considered to be promising candidates for the next generation of chip-scale technology thanks to the ability to break down the fundamental diffraction limit and manipulate optical signals at the truly nometer scale. In the past years, a variety of deep-subwavelength plasmonic structures have been proposed and investigated, including dielectric-loaded SPP waveguides, V-groove waveguides, hybrid plasmonic waveguides and metal nanowires. At the same time, for practical application, such waveguide structures must be integrated on a silicon chip and be fabricated using CMOS fabrication process. However, to date, acceptable characteristics have been demonstrated only with noble metals (gold and silver), which are not compatible with industry-standard manufacturing technologies. On the other hand, alternative materials introduce enormous propagation losses due absorption in the metal. This prevents plasmonic components from implementation in on-chip nanophotonic circuits. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate for the first time that copper plasmonic waveguides fabricated in a CMOS compatible process can outperform gold waveguides showing the same level of mode confinement and lower propagation losses. At telecommunication wavelengths, the fabricated ultralow-loss deep-subwavelength hybrid plasmonic waveguides ensure a relatively long propagation length of more than 50 um along with strong mode confinement with the mode size down to lambda^2/70, which is confirmed by direct scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) measurements. These results create the backbone for design and development of high

Design and realisation of integrated circuits for the readout of pixel sensors in high-energy physics and biomedical imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peric, I.

2004-08-01

Radiation tolerant pixel-readout chip for the ATLAS pixel detector has been designed, implemented in a deep-submicron CMOS technology and successfully tested. The chip contains readout-channels with complex analog and digital circuits. Chip for steering of the DEPFET active-pixel matrix has been implemented in a high-voltage CMOS technology. The chip contains channels which generate fast sequences of high-voltage signals. Detector containing this chip has been successfully tested. Pixel-readout test chip for an X-ray imaging pixel sensor has been designed, implemented in a CMOS technology and tested. Pixel-readout channels are able to simultaneously count the signals generated by passage of individual photons and to sum the total charge generated during exposure time. (orig.)

Investigation of Toshiba 130nm CMOS process as a possible candidate for active silicon sensors in HEP and X-ray experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fu, Yunan; Hemperek, Tomasz; Kishishita, Testsuichi; Krueger, Hans; Rymaszewski, Piotr; Wermes, Norbert [University of Bonn, Bonn (Germany); Peric, Ivan [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe (Germany)

2015-07-01

Following the advances of commercial semiconductor manufacturing technologies there has recently been an increased interest within experimental physics community in applying CMOS manufacturing processes to developing active silicon sensors. Possibility of applying high voltage bias combined with high resistivity substrate allows for better depletion of sensor and therefore quicker and more efficient charge collection. One of processes that accommodates those features is Toshiba 130 nm CMOS technology (CMOS3E). Within our group a test chip was designed to examine the suitability of this technology for physics experiment (both for HEP and X-ray imaging). Design consisted of 4 pixel matrices with total of 12 different pixel flavors allowing for evaluation of various pixel geometries and architectures in terms of depletion depth, noise performance, charge collection efficiency, etc. During this talk initial outcome of this evaluation is presented, starting with brief introduction to technology itself, followed by results of TCAD simulations, description of final design and first measurements results.

Active Pixel Sensors in ams H18/H35 HV-CMOS Technology for the ATLAS HL-LHC Upgrade

CERN Document Server

Ristic, Branislav

2016-09-21

Deep sub micron HV-CMOS processes offer the opportunity for sensors built by industry standard techniques while being HV tolerant, making them good candidates for drift-based, fast collecting, thus radiation-hard pixel detectors. For the upgrade of the ATLAS Pixel Detector towards the HL-LHC requirements, active pixel sensors in HV-CMOS technology were investigated. These implement amplifier and discriminator stages directly in insulating deep n-wells, which also act as collecting electrodes. The deep n-wells allow for bias voltages up to 150V leading to a depletion depth of several 10um. Prototype sensors in the ams H18 180nm and H35 350nm HV-CMOS processes have been manufactured, acting as a potential drop-in replacement for the current ATLAS Pixel sensors, thus leaving higher level processing such as trigger handling to dedicated read-out chips. Sensors were thoroughly tested in lab measurements as well as in testbeam experiments. Irradiation with X-rays and protons revealed a tolerance to ionizing doses o...

Elevated voltage level I{sub DDQ} failure testing of integrated circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Righter, A.W.

1996-05-21

Burn in testing of static CMOS IC`s is eliminated by I{sub DDQ} testing at elevated voltage levels. These voltage levels are at least 25% higher than the normal operating voltage for the IC but are below voltage levels that would cause damage to the chip. 4 figs.

A study of SEU-tolerant latches for the RD53A chip

CERN Document Server

Fougeron, Denis

2018-01-01

The RD53 collaboration was established to develop the next generation of pixel readout chips needed by ATLAS and CMS at the HL-LHC and requiring extreme rate and radiation tolerance. The 65 nm CMOS process has been adopted in order to satisfy the high level of integration requirement. However, the SEU immunity should be carefully considered for a deep submicron process like the 65 nm. Indeed, the device dimensions are small and the capacitance of the storage nodes becomes very low. A chip prototype including different SEU tolerant structures was designed in a 65 nm technology. Several proton irradiation tests were carried out in order to estimate the SEU tolerance of the proposed structures and the level of improvement comparing with a standard architecture.

An Associative Memory Chip for the Trigger System of the ATLAS Experiment

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00380893; The ATLAS collaboration; Liberali, Valentino; Crescioli, Francesco; Beretta, Matteo; Frontini, Luca; Annovi, Alberto; Stabile, Alberto

2017-01-01

The AM06 is the 6th version of a large associative memory chip designed in 65 nm CMOS tech- nology. The AM06 operates as a highly parallel ASIC processor for pattern recognition in the ATLAS experiment at CERN. It is the core of the Fast TracKer electronic system, which is tai- lored for on-line track finding in the trigger system of the ATLAS experiment. The Fast TracKer system is able to process events up to 100 MHz in real time. The AM06 is a complex chip, and it has been designed combining full-custom memory arrays, standard logic cells and IP blocks. It contains memory banks that store data organized in 18 bit words; a group of 8 words is called a pattern. The chip silicon area is 168 mm2; it contains 421 millions of transistors and it stores 217 patterns. Moreover, the associative memory is suitable also for other interdisciplinary appli- cations (i.e., general purpose image filtering and analysis). In the near future we plan to design a more powerful and flexible chip in 28 nm CMOS technology.

A CMOS In-Pixel CTIA High Sensitivity Fluorescence Imager.

Science.gov (United States)

Murari, Kartikeya; Etienne-Cummings, Ralph; Thakor, Nitish; Cauwenberghs, Gert

2011-10-01

Traditionally, charge coupled device (CCD) based image sensors have held sway over the field of biomedical imaging. Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) based imagers so far lack sensitivity leading to poor low-light imaging. Certain applications including our work on animal-mountable systems for imaging in awake and unrestrained rodents require the high sensitivity and image quality of CCDs and the low power consumption, flexibility and compactness of CMOS imagers. We present a 132×124 high sensitivity imager array with a 20.1 μm pixel pitch fabricated in a standard 0.5 μ CMOS process. The chip incorporates n-well/p-sub photodiodes, capacitive transimpedance amplifier (CTIA) based in-pixel amplification, pixel scanners and delta differencing circuits. The 5-transistor all-nMOS pixel interfaces with peripheral pMOS transistors for column-parallel CTIA. At 70 fps, the array has a minimum detectable signal of 4 nW/cm(2) at a wavelength of 450 nm while consuming 718 μA from a 3.3 V supply. Peak signal to noise ratio (SNR) was 44 dB at an incident intensity of 1 μW/cm(2). Implementing 4×4 binning allowed the frame rate to be increased to 675 fps. Alternately, sensitivity could be increased to detect about 0.8 nW/cm(2) while maintaining 70 fps. The chip was used to image single cell fluorescence at 28 fps with an average SNR of 32 dB. For comparison, a cooled CCD camera imaged the same cell at 20 fps with an average SNR of 33.2 dB under the same illumination while consuming over a watt.

Design and Characterization of 64K Pixels Chips Working in Single Photon Processing Mode

CERN Document Server

Llopart Cudie, Xavier; Campbell, M

2007-01-01

Progress in CMOS technology and in fine pitch bump bonding has made possible the development of high granularity single photon counting detectors for X-ray imaging. This thesis studies the design and characterization of three pulse processing chips with 65536 square pixels of 55 µm x 55 µm designed in a commercial 0.25 µm 6-metal CMOS technology. The 3 chips share the same architecture and dimensions and are named Medipix2, Mpix2MXR20 and Timepix. The Medipix2 chip is a pixel detector readout chip consisting of 256 x 256 identical elements, each working in single photon counting mode for positive or negative input charge signals. The preamplifier feedback provides compensation for detector leakage current on a pixel by pixel basis. Two identical pulse height discriminators are used to define an energy window. Every event falling inside the energy window is counted with a 13 bit pseudo-random counter. The counter logic, based in a shift register, also behaves as the input/output register for the pixel. Each...

Single-Chip Fully Integrated Direct-Modulation CMOS RF Transmitters for Short-Range Wireless Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Jamal Deen

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Ultra-low power radio frequency (RF transceivers used in short-range application such as wireless sensor networks (WSNs require efficient, reliable and fully integrated transmitter architectures with minimal building blocks. This paper presents the design, implementation and performance evaluation of single-chip, fully integrated 2.4 GHz and 433 MHz RF transmitters using direct-modulation power voltage-controlled oscillators (PVCOs in addition to a 2.0 GHz phase-locked loop (PLL based transmitter. All three RF transmitters have been fabricated in a standard mixed-signal CMOS 0.18 µm technology. Measurement results of the 2.4 GHz transmitter show an improvement in drain efficiency from 27% to 36%. The 2.4 GHz and 433 MHz transmitters deliver an output power of 8 dBm with a phase noise of −122 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset, while drawing 15.4 mA of current and an output power of 6.5 dBm with a phase noise of −120 dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset, while drawing 20.8 mA of current from 1.5 V power supplies, respectively. The PLL transmitter delivers an output power of 9 mW with a locking range of 128 MHz and consumes 26 mA from 1.8 V power supply. The experimental results demonstrate that the RF transmitters can be efficiently used in low power WSN applications.

Experimental characterization of a 10 μW 55 μm-pitch FPN-compensated CMOS digital pixel sensor for X-ray imagers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Figueras, Roger, E-mail: roger.figueras@imb-cnm.csic.es [Institut de Microelectrònica de Barcelona IMB-CNM(CSIC), Bellaterra (Spain); Martínez, Ricardo; Terés, Lluís [Institut de Microelectrònica de Barcelona IMB-CNM(CSIC), Bellaterra (Spain); Serra-Graells, Francisco [Institut de Microelectrònica de Barcelona IMB-CNM(CSIC), Bellaterra (Spain); Department of Microelectronics and Electronic Systems, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Spain)

2014-10-11

This paper presents experimental results obtained from both electrical and radiation tests of a new room-temperature digital pixel sensor (DPS) circuit specifically optimized for digital direct X-ray imaging. The 10 μW 55 μm-pitch CMOS active pixel circuit under test includes self-bias capability, built-in test, selectable e{sup −}/h{sup +} collection, 10-bit charge-integration A/D conversion, individual gain tuning for fixed pattern noise (FPN) cancellation, and digital-only I/O interface, which make it suitable for 2D modular chip assemblies in large and seamless sensing areas. Experimental results for this DPS architecture in 0.18 μm 1P6M CMOS technology are reported, returning good performance in terms of linearity, 2ke{sub rms}{sup −} of ENC, inter-pixel crosstalk below 0.5 LSB, 50 Mbps of I/O speed, and good radiation response for its use in digital X-ray imaging.

Test-Access Planning and Test Scheduling for Embedded Core-Based System Chips

OpenAIRE

Goel, Sandeep Kumar

2005-01-01

Advances in the semiconductor process technology enable the creation of a complete system on one single die, the so-called system chip or SOC. To reduce time-to-market for large SOCs, reuse of pre-designed and pre-veried blocks called cores is employed. Like the design style, testing of SOCs can be best approached in a core-based fashion. In order to enable core-based test development, an embedded core should be isolated from its surrounding circuitry and electrical test access from chip pins...

Drop casting of stiffness gradients for chip integration into stretchable substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naserifar, Naser; LeDuc, Philip R; Fedder, Gary K

2017-01-01

Stretchable electronics have demonstrated promise within unobtrusive wearable systems in areas such as health monitoring and medical therapy. One significant question is whether it is more advantageous to develop holistic stretchable electronics or to integrate mature CMOS into stretchable electronic substrates where the CMOS process is separated from the mechanical processing steps. A major limitation with integrating CMOS is the dissimilar interface between the soft stretchable and hard CMOS materials. To address this, we developed an approach to pattern an elastomeric polymer layer with spatially varying mechanical properties around CMOS electronics to create a controllable material stiffness gradient. Our experimental approach reveals that modifying the interfaces can increase the strain failure threshold up to 30% and subsequently decreases delamination. The stiffness gradient in the polymer layer provides a safe region for electronic chips to function under a substrate tensile strain up to 150%. These results will have impacts in diverse applications including skin sensors and wearable health monitoring systems. (paper)

A contact-lens-shaped IC chip technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Ching-Yu; Yang, Frank; Teng, Chih-Chiao; Fan, Long-Sheng

2014-01-01

We report on novel contact-lens-shaped silicon integrated circuit chip technology for applications such as forming a conforming retinal prosthesis. This is achieved by means of patterning thin films of high residual stress on top of a shaped thin silicon substrate. Several strategies are employed to achieve curvatures of various amounts. Firstly, high residual stress on a thin film makes a thin chip deform into a designed three-dimensional shape. Also, a series of patterned stress films and ‘petal-shaped’ chips were fabricated and analyzed. Large curvatures can also be formed and maintained by the packaging process of bonding the chips to constraining elements such as thin-film polymer ring structures. As a demonstration, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor transistor (CMOS) image-sensing retina chip is made into a contact-lens shape conforming to a human eyeball 12.5 mm in radius. This non-planar and flexible chip technology provides a desirable device surface interface to soft tissues or non-planar bio surfaces and opens up many other possibilities for biomedical applications. (paper)

The ALPIDE pixel sensor chip for the upgrade of the ALICE Inner Tracking System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aglieri Rinella, Gianluca, E-mail: gianluca.aglieri.rinella@cern.ch

2017-02-11

The ALPIDE chip is a CMOS Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor being developed for the Upgrade of the ITS of the ALICE experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The ALPIDE chip is implemented with a 180 nm CMOS Imaging Process and fabricated on substrates with a high-resistivity epitaxial layer. It measures 15 mm×30 mm and contains a matrix of 512×1024 pixels with in-pixel amplification, shaping, discrimination and multi-event buffering. The readout of the sensitive matrix is hit driven. There is no signaling activity over the matrix if there are no hits to read out and power consumption is proportional to the occupancy. The sensor meets the experimental requirements of detection efficiency above 99%, fake-hit probability below 10{sup −5} and a spatial resolution of 5 μm. The capability to read out Pb–Pb interactions at 100 kHz is provided. The power density of the ALPIDE chip is projected to be less than 35 mW/cm{sup 2} for the application in the Inner Barrel Layers and below 20 mW/cm{sup 2} for the Outer Barrel Layers, where the occupancy is lower. This contribution describes the architecture and the main features of the final ALPIDE chip, planned for submission at the beginning of 2016. Early results from the experimental qualification of full scale prototype predecessors are also reported. - Highlights: • The ALPIDE chip, an innovative CMOS pixel particle detector is described. • It achieves excellent detection performance figures and very low power consumption. • The characterization of prototypes confirms the achievement of the specifications.

Development and characterisation of a radiation hard readout chip for the LHCb outer tracker detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stange, U.

2005-01-01

The reconstruction of charged particle tracks in the Outer Tracker detector of the LHCb experiment requires to measure the drift times of the straw tubes. A Time to Digital Converter (TDC) chip has been developed for this task. The chip integrates into the LHCb data acquisition schema and fulfils the requirements of the detector. The OTIS chip is manufactured in a commercial 0.25 μm CMOS process. A 32-channel TDC core drives the drift time measurement (25 ns measurement range, 390 ps nominal resolution) without introducing dead times. The resulting drift times are buffered until a trigger decision arrives after the fixed latency of 4 μs. In case of a trigger accept signal, the digital control core processes and transmits the corresponding data to the following data acquisition stage. Drift time measurement and data processing are independent from the detector occupancy. The digital control core of the OTIS chip has been developed within this doctoral thesis. It has been integrated into the TDC chip together with other constituents of the chip. Several test chips and prototype versions of the TDC chip have been characterised. The present version of the chip OTIS1.2 fulfils all requirements and is ready for mass production. (Orig.)

SEU testing of a novel hardened register implemented using standard CMOS technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monnier, T.; Roche, F.M.; Cosculluela, J.; Velazco, R.

1999-01-01

A novel memory structure, designed to tolerate SEU perturbations, has been implemented in registers and tested. The design was completed using a standard submicron nonradiation hardened CMOS technology. This paper presents the results of heavy ions tests which evidence the noticeable improvement of the SEU-robustness with an increased LET threshold and reduced cross-section, without significant impact to die real estate, write time, or power consumption

Performance of capacitively coupled active pixel sensors in 180 nm HV-CMOS technology after irradiation to HL-LHC fluences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feigl, S

2014-01-01

In this ATLAS upgrade R and D project, we explore the concept of using a deep-submicron HV-CMOS process to produce a drop-in replacement for traditional radiation-hard silicon sensors. Such active sensors contain simple circuits, e.g. amplifiers and discriminators, but still require a traditional (pixel or strip) readout chip. This approach yields most advantages of MAPS (improved resolution, reduced cost and material budget, etc.), without the complication of full integration on a single chip. After outlining the basic design of the HV2FEI4 test ASIC, results after irradiation with X-rays to 862 Mrad and neutrons up to 10 16 (1 MeV n eq )/cm 2 will be presented. Finally, a brief outlook on further development plans is given

CMOS circuits for electromagnetic vibration transducers interfaces for ultra-low voltage energy harvesting

CERN Document Server

Maurath, Dominic

2015-01-01

Chip-integrated power management solutions are a must for ultra-low power systems. This enables not only the optimization of innovative sensor applications. It is also essential for integration and miniaturization of energy harvesting supply strategies of portable and autonomous monitoring systems. The book particularly addresses interfaces for energy harvesting, which are the key element to connect micro transducers to energy storage elements. Main features of the book are: - A comprehensive technology and application review, basics on transducer mechanics, fundamental circuit and control design, prototyping and testing, up to sensor system supply and applications. - Novel interfacing concepts - including active rectifiers, MPPT methods for efficient tracking of DC as well as AC sources, and a fully-integrated charge pump for efficient maximum AC power tracking at sub-100µW ultra-low power levels. The chips achieve one of widest presented operational voltage range in standard CMOS technology: 0.44V to over...

Microfluidic "Pouch" Chips for Immunoassays and Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests.

Science.gov (United States)

Mauk, Michael G; Liu, Changchun; Qiu, Xianbo; Chen, Dafeng; Song, Jinzhao; Bau, Haim H

2017-01-01

Microfluidic cassettes ("chips") for processing and analysis of clinical specimens and other sample types facilitate point-of-care (POC) immunoassays and nucleic acid based amplification tests. These single-use test chips can be self-contained and made amenable to autonomous operation-reducing or eliminating supporting instrumentation-by incorporating laminated, pliable "pouch" and membrane structures for fluid storage, pumping, mixing, and flow control. Materials and methods for integrating flexible pouch compartments and diaphragm valves into hard plastic (e.g., acrylic and polycarbonate) microfluidic "chips" for reagent storage, fluid actuation, and flow control are described. We review several versions of these pouch chips for immunoassay and nucleic acid amplification tests, and describe related fabrication techniques. These protocols thus offer a "toolbox" of methods for storage, pumping, and flow control functions in microfluidic devices.

A 32-channels, 025 mu m CMOS ASIC for the readout of the Silicon Drift Detectors of the ALICE experiment

CERN Document Server

Mazza, G; Anelli, G; Anghinolfi, F; Martínez, M I; Rotondo, F

2004-01-01

In this paper we present a 32 channel ASIC prototype for the readout of the Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs) of the ALICE experiment. The ASIC integrates on the same chip 32 transimpedance amplifiers, a 32*256 cells analogue memory and 16 successive approximation 10 bit A /D converters. The circuit amplifies and samples at 40 MS/s the input signal in a continuous way; when an external trigger signal validates the acquisition, the sampling is stopped and the data are digitized at lower speed (0.5 MS/s). The chip has been designed and fabricated in a commercial. 0.25 mu m CMOS technology. It has been extensively tested both on a bench and connected with the detector in several beam tests. In this paper both design issues and test results are presented. The commercial technology used for the design has been yield radiation tolerant with special layout techniques. Total dose irradiation tests are also presented. (13 refs).

Image sensor pixel with on-chip high extinction ratio polarizer based on 65-nm standard CMOS technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Sasagawa, Kiyotaka; Shishido, Sanshiro; Ando, Keisuke; Matsuoka, Hitoshi; Noda, Toshihiko; Tokuda, Takashi; Kakiuchi, Kiyomi; Ohta, Jun

2013-05-06

In this study, we demonstrate a polarization sensitive pixel for a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor based on 65-nm standard CMOS technology. Using such a deep-submicron CMOS technology, it is possible to design fine metal patterns smaller than the wavelengths of visible light by using a metal wire layer. We designed and fabricated a metal wire grid polarizer on a 20 × 20 μm(2) pixel for image sensor. An extinction ratio of 19.7 dB was observed at a wavelength 750 nm.

AM06: the Associative Memory chip for the Fast TracKer in the upgraded ATLAS detector

CERN Document Server

Annovi, Alberto; The ATLAS collaboration; Calderini, Giovanni; Crescioli, Francesco

2016-01-01

\\abstract{This paper describes the AM06 chip, which is a highly parallel processor for pattern recognition in high energy physics experiments. It contains memory banks that store data organized in 18 bit words; a group of 8 words is called ``pattern''. Each AM06 chip can store up to 2$^{17}$ patterns. The AM06 integrates serializer/deserializer IP blocks at 2 Gbit/s for input/output communication, to avoid routing congestion at the board level. The AM06 is a complex chip. It has been designed in 65 nm CMOS, combining full-custom memory arrays, standard logic cells and IP blocks. It occupies a silicon area of 168 mm$^2$ and contains 421 millions transistors. The AM06 can perform bitwise comparison at a rate of 100 kHz. Thanks to the XORAM cell and to the design optimization, the AM06 consumes about 1 fJ/bit per comparison. The AM06 has been fabricated and successfully tested with a dedicated test system.

Chip-to-chip SnO2 nanowire network sensors for room temperature H2 detection

Science.gov (United States)

Köck, A.; Brunet, E.; Mutinati, G. C.; Maier, T.; Steinhauer, S.

2012-06-01

The employment of nanowires is a very powerful strategy to improve gas sensor performance. We demonstrate a gas sensor device, which is based on silicon chip-to-chip synthesis of ultralong tin oxide (SnO2) nanowires. The sensor device employs an interconnected SnO2 nanowire network configuration, which exhibits a huge surface-to-volume ratio and provides full access of the target gas to the nanowires. The chip-to-chip SnO2 nanowire device is able to detect a H2 concentration of only 20 ppm in synthetic air with ~ 60% relative humidity at room temperature. At an operating temperature of 300°C a concentration of 50 ppm H2 results in a sensitivity of 5%. At this elevated temperature the sensor shows a linear response in a concentration range between 10 ppm and 100 ppm H2. The SnO2-nanowire fabrication procedure based on spray pyrolysis and subsequent annealing is performed at atmospheric pressure, requires no vacuum and allows upscale of the substrate to a wafer size. 3D-integration with CMOS chips is proposed as viable way for practical realization of smart nanowire based gas sensor devices for the consumer market.

Polypyrrole Porous Micro Humidity Sensor Integrated with a Ring Oscillator Circuit on Chip

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Ming-Zhi; Dai, Ching-Liang; Lu, De-Hao

2010-01-01

This study presents the design and fabrication of a capacitive micro humidity sensor integrated with a five-stage ring oscillator circuit on chip using the complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The area of the humidity sensor chip is about 1 mm2. The humidity sensor consists of a sensing capacitor and a sensing film. The sensing capacitor is constructed from spiral interdigital electrodes that can enhance the sensitivity of the sensor. The sensing film of the sensor is polypyrrole, which is prepared by the chemical polymerization method, and the film has a porous structure. The sensor needs a post-CMOS process to coat the sensing film. The post-CMOS process uses a wet etching to etch the sacrificial layers, and then the polypyrrole is coated on the sensing capacitor. The sensor generates a change in capacitance when the sensing film absorbs or desorbs vapor. The ring oscillator circuit converts the capacitance variation of the sensor into the oscillation frequency output. Experimental results show that the sensitivity of the humidity sensor is about 99 kHz/%RH at 25 °C. PMID:22163459

Analysis and simulation of HV-CMOS assemblies for the CLIC vertex detector

CERN Document Server

Buckland, Matthew Daniel

2017-01-01

One of the design concepts currently under study for the vertex detector at the proposed Compact Linear Collider is a High-Voltage CMOS sensor, fabricated in a commercial 180 nm technology, capacitively coupled to a hybrid readout chip. Tests of the assemblies were carried out at the CERN SPS using 120 GeV/c pions, covering incident angles ranging from 0$^\\circ$ to 80$^\\circ$. The measurements have shown an excellent tracking performance with an efficiency above 99.7% and a spatial resolution of 5–7 $\\mu$m over the tested angular range. These results were then compared to TCAD simulations carried out using simulations, showing a good agreement for the current-voltage, breakdown and charge collection properties. The simulations have also been used to optimise future sensor design.

Silicon-Chip-Based Optical Frequency Combs

Science.gov (United States)

2015-10-26

fiber-based polarization controllers and a polarization beam splitter , and the output power is monitored with a sensitive photodiode. We use a...a single CW laser beam coupled to a microresonators can produce stabilized, octave-spanning combs through highly cascaded four-wave mixing (FWM...resonator designs , the resonator and the coupling waveguide are monolithically integrated. Thus, the entire on-chip configuration of CMOS-compatible

Backside illuminated CMOS-TDI line scan sensor for space applications

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Omer; Ofer, Oren; Abramovich, Gil; Ben-Ari, Nimrod; Gershon, Gal; Brumer, Maya; Shay, Adi; Shamay, Yaron

2018-05-01

A multi-spectral backside illuminated Time Delayed Integration Radiation Hardened line scan sensor utilizing CMOS technology was designed for continuous scanning Low Earth Orbit small satellite applications. The sensor comprises a single silicon chip with 4 independent arrays of pixels where each array is arranged in 2600 columns with 64 TDI levels. A multispectral optical filter whose spectral responses per array are adjustable per system requirement is assembled at the package level. A custom 4T Pixel design provides the required readout speed, low-noise, very low dark current, and high conversion gains. A 2-phase internally controlled exposure mechanism improves the sensor's dynamic MTF. The sensor high level of integration includes on-chip 12 bit per pixel analog to digital converters, on-chip controller, and CMOS compatible voltage levels. Thus, the power consumption and the weight of the supporting electronics are reduced, and a simple electrical interface is provided. An adjustable gain provides a Full Well Capacity ranging from 150,000 electrons up to 500,000 electrons per column and an overall readout noise per column of less than 120 electrons. The imager supports line rates ranging from 50 to 10,000 lines/sec, with power consumption of less than 0.5W per array. Thus, the sensor is characterized by a high pixel rate, a high dynamic range and a very low power. To meet a Latch-up free requirement RadHard architecture and design rules were utilized. In this paper recent electrical and electro-optical measurements of the sensor's Flight Models will be presented for the first time.

A high-speed low-noise transimpedance amplifier in a 025 mum CMOS technology

CERN Document Server

Anelli, G; Casagrande, L; Despeisse, Matthieu; Jarron, Pierre; Pelloux, Nicolas; Saramad, Shahyar

2003-01-01

We present the simulated and measured performance of a transimpedance amplifier designed in a quarter micron CMOS process. Containing only NMOS and PMOS devices, this amplifier can be integrated in any submicron CMOS process. The main feature of this design is the use of a transistor in the feedback path instead of a resistor. The circuit has been optimized for reading signals coming from silicon strip detectors with few pF input capacitance. For an input charge of 4fC, an input capacitance of 4pF and a transresistance of 135kOmega, we have measured an output pulse fall time of 3ns and an Equivalent Noise Charge (ENC) of around 350 electrons rms. In view of the operation of the chip at cryogenic temperatures, measurements at 130K have also been carried out, showing an overall improvement in the performance of the chip. Fall times down to 1.5ns have been measured. An integrated circuit containing 32 channels has been designed and wire bonded to a silicon strip detector and successfully used for the constructio...

Total ionizing dose radiation hardness of the ATLAS MDT-ASD and the HP-Agilent 0.5 um CMOS process

CERN Document Server

Posch, C

2002-01-01

A total ionizing dose (TID) test of the MDT-ASD, the ATLAS MDT front-end chip has been performed at the Harvard Cyclotron Lab. The MDT-ASD is an 8-channel drift tube read-out ASIC fabricated in a commercial 0.5 um CMOS process (AMOS14TB). The accumulated TID at the end of the test was 300 krad, delivered by 160 MeV protons at a rate of approximately 70 rad/sec. All 10 irradiated chips retained their full functionality and performance and showed only irrelevantly small changes in device parameters. As the total accumulated dose is substantially higher than the relevant ATLAS Radiation Tolerance Criteria (RTCtid), the results of this test indicate that MDT-ASD meets the ATLAS TID radiation hardness requirements. In addition, the results of this test correspond well with results of a 30 keV gamma TID irradiation test performed by us on an earlier prototype at the CERN x-ray facility as well as with results of other irradiation test on this process found in literature.

Possibilities for mixed mode chip manufacturing in EUROPRACTICE

Science.gov (United States)

Das, C.

1997-02-01

EUROPRACTICE is an EC initiative under the ESPRIT programme which aims to stimulate the wider exploitation of state-of-the-art microelectronics technologies by European industry and to enhance European industrial competitiveness in the global market-place. Through EUROPRACTICE, the EC has created a range of Basic Services that offer users a cost-effective and flexible means of accessing three main microelectronics-based technologies: Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASICs), Multi-Chip Modules (MCMs) and Microsystems. EUROPRACTICE Basic Services reduce the cost and risk for companies wishing to begin using these technologies. EUROPRACTICE offers a fully supported, low cost route for companies to design and fabricate ASICs for their individual applications. Low cost is achieved by consolidating designs from many users onto a single semiconductor wafer (MPW: Multi Project Wafer). The EUROPRACTICE IC Manufacturing Service (ICMS) offers a broad range of fabrication technologies including CMOS, BiCMOS and GaAs. The Service extends from enabling users to produce prototype ASICs for testing and evaluation, through to low-volume production runs.

Characterization and radiation studies of diode test structures in LFoundry CMOS technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daas, Michael; Gonella, Laura; Hemperek, Tomasz; Huegging, Fabian; Krueger, Hans; Pohl, David-Leon; Wermes, Norbert [Physikalisches Institut der Universitaet Bonn (Germany); Macchiolo, Anna [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Muenchen (Germany)

2016-07-01

In order to prepare for the High Luminosity upgrade of the LHC, all subdetector systems of the ATLAS experiment will be upgraded. In preparation for this process, different possibilities for new radiation-hard and cost-efficient silicon sensor technologies to be used as part of hybrid pixel detectors in the ATLAS inner tracker are being investigated. One promising way to optimize the cost-efficiency of silicon-based pixel detectors is to use commercially available CMOS technologies such as the 150 nm process by LFoundry. In this talk, several CMOS pixel test structures, such as simple diodes and small pixel arrays, that were manufactured in this technology are characterized regarding general performance and radiation hardness and compared to each other as well as to the current ATLAS pixel detector.

A 5.4mW GPS CMOS quadrature front-end based on a single-stage LNA-mixer-VCO

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liscidini, Amtonio; Mazzanti, Andrea; Tonietto, Riccardo

2006-01-01

A GPS RF front-end combines the LNA, mixer, and VCO in a single stage and can operate from a 1.2V supply. The chip is implemented in a 0.13um CMOS process and occupies 1.5mm2 active area. It consumes 5.4mW with a 4.8dB NF, 36dB gain, and a P1dB of -31dBm.......A GPS RF front-end combines the LNA, mixer, and VCO in a single stage and can operate from a 1.2V supply. The chip is implemented in a 0.13um CMOS process and occupies 1.5mm2 active area. It consumes 5.4mW with a 4.8dB NF, 36dB gain, and a P1dB of -31dBm....

Design of 2.4Ghz CMOS Floating Active Inductor LNA using 130nm Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Muhamad, M.; Soin, N.; Ramiah, H.

2018-03-01

This paper presents about design and optimization of CMOS active inductor integrated circuit. This active inductor implements using Silterra 0.13μm technology and simulated using Cadence Virtuoso and Spectre RF. The center frequency for this active inductor is at 2.4 GHz which follow IEEE 802.11 b/g/n standard. To reduce the chip size of silicon, active inductor is used instead of passive inductor at low noise amplifier LNA circuit. This inductor test and analyse by low noise amplifier circuit. Comparison between active with passive inductor based on LNA circuit has been performed. Result shown that the active inductor has significantly reduce the chip size with 73 % area without sacrificing the noise figure and gain of LNA which is the most important criteria in LNA. The best low noise amplifier provides a power gain (S21) of 20.7 dB with noise figure (NF) of 2.1dB.

A Low Noise CMOS Readout Based on a Polymer-Coated SAW Array for Miniature Electronic Nose

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng-Chun Wu

2016-10-01

Full Text Available An electronic nose (E-Nose is one of the applications for surface acoustic wave (SAW sensors. In this paper, we present a low-noise complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS readout application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC based on an SAW sensor array for achieving a miniature E-Nose. The center frequency of the SAW sensors was measured to be approximately 114 MHz. Because of interference between the sensors, we designed a low-noise CMOS frequency readout circuit to enable the SAW sensor to obtain frequency variation. The proposed circuit was fabricated in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC 0.18 μm 1P6M CMOS process technology. The total chip size was nearly 1203 × 1203 μm2. The chip was operated at a supply voltage of 1 V for a digital circuit and 1.8 V for an analog circuit. The least measurable difference between frequencies was 4 Hz. The detection limit of the system, when estimated using methanol and ethanol, was 0.1 ppm. Their linearity was in the range of 0.1 to 26,000 ppm. The power consumption levels of the analog and digital circuits were 1.742 mW and 761 μW, respectively.

CMOS circuits manual

CERN Document Server

Marston, R M

1995-01-01

CMOS Circuits Manual is a user's guide for CMOS. The book emphasizes the practical aspects of CMOS and provides circuits, tables, and graphs to further relate the fundamentals with the applications. The text first discusses the basic principles and characteristics of the CMOS devices. The succeeding chapters detail the types of CMOS IC, including simple inverter, gate and logic ICs and circuits, and complex counters and decoders. The last chapter presents a miscellaneous collection of two dozen useful CMOS circuits. The book will be useful to researchers and professionals who employ CMOS circu

A CMOS frequency generation module for 60-GHz applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Chunyuan; Zhang Lei; Wang Hongrui; Qian He

2012-01-01

A frequency generation module for 60-GHz transceivers and phased array systems is presented in this paper. It is composed of a divide-by-2 current mode logic divider (CML) and a doubler in push-push configuration. Benefiting from the CML structure and push-push configuration, the proposed frequency generation module has a wide operating frequency range to cover process, voltage, and temperature variation. It is implemented in a 90-nm CMOS process, and occupies a chip area of 0.64 × 0.65 mm 2 including pads. The measurement results show that the designed frequency generation module functions properly with input frequency over 15 GHz to 25 GHz. The whole chip dissipates 12.1 mW from a 1.2-V supply excluding the output buffers. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

AN OVERVIEW OF POWER DISSIPATION AND CONTROL TECHNIQUES IN CMOS TECHNOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. B. ROMLI

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Total power dissipation in CMOS circuits has become a huge challenging in current semiconductor industry due to the leakage current and the leakage power. The exponential growth of both static and dynamic power dissipations in any CMOS process technology option has increased the cost and efficiency of the system. Technology options are used for the execution specifications and usually it depends on the optimisation and the performance constraints over the chip. This article reviews the relevant researches of the source or power dissipation, the mechanism to reduce the dynamic power dissipation as well as static power dissipation and an overview of various circuit techniques to control them. Important device parameters including voltage threshold and switching capacitance impact to the circuit performance in lowering both dynamic and static power dissipation are presented. The demand for the reduction of power dissipation in CMOS technology shall remain a challenging and active area of research for years to come. Thus, this review shall work as a guideline for the researchers who wish to work on power dissipation and control techniques.

Nanometer CMOS ICs from basics to ASICs

CERN Document Server

J M Veendrick, Harry

2017-01-01

This textbook provides a comprehensive, fully-updated introduction to the essentials of nanometer CMOS integrated circuits. It includes aspects of scaling to even beyond 12nm CMOS technologies and designs. It clearly describes the fundamental CMOS operating principles and presents substantial insight into the various aspects of design implementation and application. Coverage includes all associated disciplines of nanometer CMOS ICs, including physics, lithography, technology, design, memories, VLSI, power consumption, variability, reliability and signal integrity, testing, yield, failure analysis, packaging, scaling trends and road blocks. The text is based upon in-house Philips, NXP Semiconductors, Applied Materials, ASML, IMEC, ST-Ericsson, TSMC, etc., courseware, which, to date, has been completed by more than 4500 engineers working in a large variety of related disciplines: architecture, design, test, fabrication process, packaging, failure analysis and software.

Radiation-hard silicon gate bulk CMOS cell family

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibbon, C.F.; Habing, D.H.; Flores, R.S.

1980-01-01

A radiation-hardened bulk silicon gate CMOS technology and a topologically simple, high-performance dual-port cell family utilizing this process have been demonstrated. Additional circuits, including a random logic circuit containing 4800 transistors on a 236 x 236 mil die, are presently being designed and processed. Finally, a joint design-process effort is underway to redesign the cell family in reduced design rules; this results in a factor of 2.5 cell size reduction and a factor of 3 decrease in chip interconnect area. Cell performance is correspondingly improved

Advancing the Technology of Monolithic CMOS detectors for their use as X-ray Imaging Spectrometers

Science.gov (United States)

Kenter, Almus

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) proposes a two year program to further advance the scientific capabilities of monolithic CMOS detectors for use as x-ray imaging spectrometers. This proposal will build upon the progress achieved with funding from a previous APRA proposal that ended in 2013. As part of that previous proposal, x- ray optimized, highly versatile, monolithic CMOS imaging detectors and technology were developed and tested. The performance and capabilities of these devices were then demonstrated, with an emphasis on the performance advantages these devices have over CCDs and other technologies. The developed SAO/SRI-Sarnoff CMOS devices incorporate: Low noise, high sensitivity ("gain") pixels; Highly parallel on-chip signal chains; Standard and very high resistivity (30,000Ohm-cm) Si; Back-Side thinning and passivation. SAO demonstrated the performance benefits of each of these features in these devices. This new proposal high-lights the performance of this previous generation of devices, and segues into new technology and capability. The high sensitivity ( 135uV/e) 6 Transistor (6T) Pinned Photo Diode (PPD) pixels provided a large charge to voltage conversion gain to the detect and resolve even small numbers of photo electrons produced by x-rays. The on-chip, parallel signal chain processed an entire row of pixels in the same time that a CCD requires to processes a single pixel. The resulting high speed operation ( 1000 times faster than CCD) provide temporal resolution while mitigating dark current and allowed room temperature operation. The high resistivity Si provided full (over) depletion for thicker devices which increased QE for higher energy x-rays. In this proposal, SAO will investigate existing NMOS and existing PMOS devices as xray imaging spectrometers. Conventional CMOS imagers are NMOS. NMOS devices collect and measure photo-electrons. In contrast, PMOS devices collect and measure photo-holes. PMOS devices have various

AM06: the Associative Memory chip for the Fast TracKer in the upgraded ATLAS detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Annovi, A.; Beretta, M. M.; Calderini, G.; Crescioli, F.; Frontini, L.; Liberali, V.; Shojaii, S.R.; Stabile, A.

2017-01-01

This paper describes the AM06 chip, which is a highly parallel processor for pattern recognition in the ATLAS high energy physics experiment. The AM06 contains memory banks that store data organized in 18 bit words; a group of 8 words is called 'pattern'. Each AM06 chip can store up to 131 072 patterns. The AM06 is a large chip, designed in 65 nm CMOS, and it combines full-custom memory arrays, standard logic cells and serializer/deserializer IP blocks at 2 Gbit/s for input/output communication. The overall silicon area is 168 mm 2 and the chip contains about 421 million transistors. The AM06 receives the detector data for each event accepted by Level-1 trigger, up to 100 kHz, and it performs a track reconstruction based on hit information from channels of the ATLAS silicon detectors. Thanks to the design of a new associative memory cell and to the layout optimization, the AM06 consumption is only about 1 fJ/bit per comparison. The AM06 has been fabricated and successfully tested with a dedicated test system.

Progress in the development of the DTMROC time measurement chip for the ATLAS transition radiation tracker (TRT)

CERN Document Server

Alexander, C; Dressnandt, N; Ekenberg, T; Farthouat, Philippe; Keener, P T; Lam, N; La Marra, D; Mann, J; Newcomer, F M; Ryzhov, V; Söderberg, M; Szczygiel, R; Van Berg, R; Williams, H H

2001-01-01

A 16-channel digital time-measurement readout chip (DTMROC) has been fabricated in the TEMIC/DM1LL left bracket 1 right bracket BI- CMOS radiation-hard process for the Large Hadron Collider's (LHC) Transition Radiation Tracker (ATLAS/TRT) at CERN left bracket 2 right bracket . The chip receives discriminated straw-drift-tube signals from bipolar amplifier-shaper-discriminator chips (ASDBLR). measures the arrival time in 3.125 ns increments ( plus or minus 1 ns), and stores the data in a pipeline for 3.3mus. A trigger signal (L1A) causes the data to be tagged with a time stamp and stored for readout- Up to 13 events may be stored in an on-chip buffer while data is being clocked out in a 40 MHz serial stream. The chip has been designed to function after exposure to 1x10**1**4 protons/cm**2 and 1 Mrad total dose. System beam-tests have demonstrated measurement of track positions with a resolution of 165mum and 85% efficiency at rates up to 18MHz. 6 Refs.

A Capacitor-Free, Fast Transient Response Linear Voltage Regulator In a 180nm CMOS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Deleuran, Alexander N.; Lindbjerg, Nicklas; Pedersen, Martin K.

2015-01-01

A 1.8 V capacitor-free linear regulator with fast transient response based on a new topology with a fast and slow regulation loop is presented. The design has been laid out and simulated in a 0.18 µm CMOS process. The design has a low component count and is tailored for system-on-chip integration...

Synchronization of Integrated Systems on a Chip

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

González-Díaz O.

2012-04-01

Full Text Available In the present paper, the non-conventional interconnected and coupled ring oscillators approach working as clock distribution networks to synchronize electronic systems on a chip (SoC is proposed. Typical CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor N-well 0.35 µm Austria Micro Systems process parameters were used for conventional and non-conventional clock distribution nets design and simulation. Experimental results from local and global clock distribution networks fabricated using a CMOS 0.35 µm process show that the use of interconnected rings arrays, as globally asynchronous locally synchronous (GALS clock distribution networks, represent an appropriate approach due to good performance regarding scalability, low clock-skew, high-speed, faults tolerant and robust under process variations, regularity, and modularity.

Real-time reconfigurable devices implemented in UV-light programmable floating-gate CMOS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aunet, Snorre

2002-06-01

This dissertation describes using theory, computer simulations and laboratory measurements a new class of real time reconfigurable UV-programmable floating-gate circuits operating with current levels typically in the pA to {mu}A range, implemented in a standard double-poly CMOS technology. A new design method based on using the same basic two-MOSFET circuits extensively is proposed, meant for improving the opportunities to make larger FGUVMOS circuitry than previously reported. By using the same basic circuitry extensively, instead of different circuitry for basic digital functions, the goal is to ease UV-programming and test and save circuitry on chip and I/O-pads. Matching of circuitry should also be improved by using this approach. Compact circuitry can be made, reducing wiring and active components. Compared to earlier FGUVMOS approaches the number of transistors for implementing the CARRY' of a FULL-ADDER is reduced from 22 to 2. A complete FULL-ADDER can be implemented using only 8 transistors. 2-MOSFET circuits able to implement CARRY', NOR, NAND and INVERT functions are demonstrated by measurements on chip, working with power supply voltages ranging from 800 mV down to 93 mV. An 8-transistor FULL-ADDER might use 2500 times less energy than a FULL-ADDER implemented using standard cells in the same 0.6 {mu}m CMOS technology while running at 1 MHz. The circuits are also shown to be a new class of linear threshold elements, which is the basic building blocks of neural networks. Theory is developed as a help in the design of floating-gate circuits.

Development and validation of a general-purpose ASIC chip for the control of switched reluctance machines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Haijin; Lu Shengli; Shi Longxing

2009-01-01

A general-purpose application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip for the control of switched reluctance machines (SRMs) was designed and validated to fill the gap between the microcontroller capability and the controller requirements of high performance switched reluctance drive (SRD) systems. It can be used for the control of SRM running either in low speed or in high-speed, i.e., either in chopped current control (CCC) mode or in angular position control (APC) mode. Main functions of the chip include filtering and cycle calculation of rotor angular position signals, commutation logic according to rotor cycle and turn-on/turn-off angles (θ on /θ off ), controllable pulse width modulation (PWM) waveforms generation, chopping control with adjustable delay time, and commutation control with adjustable delay time. All the control parameters of the chip are set online by the microcontroller through a serial peripheral interface (SPI). The chip has been designed with the standard cell based design methodology, and implemented in the central semiconductor manufacturing corporation (CSMC) 0.5 μm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process technology. After a successful automatic test equipment (ATE) test using the Nextest's Maverick test system, the chip was further validated through an experimental three-phase 6/2-pole SRD system. Both the ATE test and experimental validation results show that the chip can meet the control requirements of high performance SRD systems, and simplify the controller construction. For a resolution of 0.36 deg. (electrical degree), the chip's maximum processable frequency of the rotor angular position signals is 10 kHz, which is 300,000 rev/min when a three-phase 6/2-pole SRM is concerned

Polypyrrole Porous Micro Humidity Sensor Integrated with a Ring Oscillator Circuit on Chip

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

De-Hao Lu

2010-11-01

Full Text Available This study presents the design and fabrication of a capacitive micro humidity sensor integrated with a five-stage ring oscillator circuit on chip using the complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS process. The area of the humidity sensor chip is about 1 mm2. The humidity sensor consists of a sensing capacitor and a sensing film. The sensing capacitor is constructed from spiral interdigital electrodes that can enhance the sensitivity of the sensor. The sensing film of the sensor is polypyrrole, which is prepared by the chemical polymerization method, and the film has a porous structure. The sensor needs a post-CMOS process to coat the sensing film. The post-CMOS process uses a wet etching to etch the sacrificial layers, and then the polypyrrole is coated on the sensing capacitor. The sensor generates a change in capacitance when the sensing film absorbs or desorbs vapor. The ring oscillator circuit converts the capacitance variation of the sensor into the oscillation frequency output. Experimental results show that the sensitivity of the humidity sensor is about 99 kHz/%RH at 25 °C.

CMOS Image Sensor with a Built-in Lane Detector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li-Chen Fu

2009-03-01

Full Text Available This work develops a new current-mode mixed signal Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS imager, which can capture images and simultaneously produce vehicle lane maps. The adopted lane detection algorithm, which was modified to be compatible with hardware requirements, can achieve a high recognition rate of up to approximately 96% under various weather conditions. Instead of a Personal Computer (PC based system or embedded platform system equipped with expensive high performance chip of Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC or Digital Signal Processor (DSP, the proposed imager, without extra Analog to Digital Converter (ADC circuits to transform signals, is a compact, lower cost key-component chip. It is also an innovative component device that can be integrated into intelligent automotive lane departure systems. The chip size is 2,191.4 x 2,389.8 mm, and the package uses 40 pin Dual-In-Package (DIP. The pixel cell size is 18.45 x 21.8 mm and the core size of photodiode is 12.45 x 9.6 mm; the resulting fill factor is 29.7%.

CMOS Image Sensor with a Built-in Lane Detector.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsiao, Pei-Yung; Cheng, Hsien-Chein; Huang, Shih-Shinh; Fu, Li-Chen

2009-01-01

This work develops a new current-mode mixed signal Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) imager, which can capture images and simultaneously produce vehicle lane maps. The adopted lane detection algorithm, which was modified to be compatible with hardware requirements, can achieve a high recognition rate of up to approximately 96% under various weather conditions. Instead of a Personal Computer (PC) based system or embedded platform system equipped with expensive high performance chip of Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), the proposed imager, without extra Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) circuits to transform signals, is a compact, lower cost key-component chip. It is also an innovative component device that can be integrated into intelligent automotive lane departure systems. The chip size is 2,191.4 × 2,389.8 μm, and the package uses 40 pin Dual-In-Package (DIP). The pixel cell size is 18.45 × 21.8 μm and the core size of photodiode is 12.45 × 9.6 μm; the resulting fill factor is 29.7%.

60 GHz system-on-chip (SoC) with built-in memory and an on-chip antenna

KAUST Repository

Ghaffar, Farhan A.

2014-04-01

A novel 60 GHz transmitter SoC with an on-chip antenna and integrated memory in CMOS 65 nm technology is presented in this paper. This highly integrated transmitter design can support a data rate of 2 GBPS with a transmission range of 1 m. The transmitter consists of a fundamental frequency 60 GHz PLL which covers the complete ISM band. The modulator following the PLL can support both BPSK and OOK modulation schemes. Both stored data on the integrated memory or directly from an external source can be transmitted. A tapered slot on chip antenna is integrated with the power amplifier to complete the front end of the transmitter design. Size of the complete transmitter with on-chip antenna is only 1.96 mm × 1.96 mm. The core circuits consume less than 100 mW of power. The high data rate capability of the design makes it extremely suitable for bandwidth hungry applications such as unencrypted HD video streaming and transmission.

60 GHz system-on-chip (SoC) with built-in memory and an on-chip antenna

KAUST Repository

Ghaffar, Farhan A.; Arsalan, Muhammad; Cheema, Hammad; Salama, Khaled N.; Shamim, Atif

2014-01-01

A novel 60 GHz transmitter SoC with an on-chip antenna and integrated memory in CMOS 65 nm technology is presented in this paper. This highly integrated transmitter design can support a data rate of 2 GBPS with a transmission range of 1 m. The transmitter consists of a fundamental frequency 60 GHz PLL which covers the complete ISM band. The modulator following the PLL can support both BPSK and OOK modulation schemes. Both stored data on the integrated memory or directly from an external source can be transmitted. A tapered slot on chip antenna is integrated with the power amplifier to complete the front end of the transmitter design. Size of the complete transmitter with on-chip antenna is only 1.96 mm × 1.96 mm. The core circuits consume less than 100 mW of power. The high data rate capability of the design makes it extremely suitable for bandwidth hungry applications such as unencrypted HD video streaming and transmission.

Radiation-hard Active Pixel Sensors for HL-LHC Detector Upgrades based on HV-CMOS Technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miucci, A; Gonzalez-Sevilla, S; Ferrere, D; Iacobucci, G; Rosa, A La; Muenstermann, D; Gonella, L; Hemperek, T; Hügging, F; Krüger, H; Obermann, T; Wermes, N; Garcia-Sciveres, M; Backhaus, M; Capeans, M; Feigl, S; Nessi, M; Pernegger, H; Ristic, B; George, M

2014-01-01

Luminosity upgrades are discussed for the LHC (HL-LHC) which would make updates to the detectors necessary, requiring in particular new, even more radiation-hard and granular, sensors for the inner detector region. A proposal for the next generation of inner detectors is based on HV-CMOS: a new family of silicon sensors based on commercial high-voltage CMOS technology, which enables the fabrication of part of the pixel electronics inside the silicon substrate itself. The main advantages of this technology with respect to the standard silicon sensor technology are: low material budget, fast charge collection time, high radiation tolerance, low cost and operation at room temperature. A traditional readout chip is still needed to receive and organize the data from the active sensor and to handle high-level functionality such as trigger management. HV-CMOS has been designed to be compatible with both pixel and strip readout. In this paper an overview of HV2FEI4, a HV-CMOS prototype in 180 nm AMS technology, will be given. Preliminary results after neutron and X-ray irradiation are shown

A 1,000 Frames/s Programmable Vision Chip with Variable Resolution and Row-Pixel-Mixed Parallel Image Processors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nanjian Wu

2009-07-01

Full Text Available A programmable vision chip with variable resolution and row-pixel-mixed parallel image processors is presented. The chip consists of a CMOS sensor array, with row-parallel 6-bit Algorithmic ADCs, row-parallel gray-scale image processors, pixel-parallel SIMD Processing Element (PE array, and instruction controller. The resolution of the image in the chip is variable: high resolution for a focused area and low resolution for general view. It implements gray-scale and binary mathematical morphology algorithms in series to carry out low-level and mid-level image processing and sends out features of the image for various applications. It can perform image processing at over 1,000 frames/s (fps. A prototype chip with 64 × 64 pixels resolution and 6-bit gray-scale image is fabricated in 0.18 mm Standard CMOS process. The area size of chip is 1.5 mm × 3.5 mm. Each pixel size is 9.5 μm × 9.5 μm and each processing element size is 23 μm × 29 μm. The experiment results demonstrate that the chip can perform low-level and mid-level image processing and it can be applied in the real-time vision applications, such as high speed target tracking.

Electrothermal frequency references in standard CMOS

CERN Document Server

Kashmiri, S Mahdi

2013-01-01

This book describes an alternative method of accurate on-chip frequency generation in standard CMOS IC processes. This method exploits the thermal-diffusivity of silicon, the rate at which heat diffuses through a silicon substrate.  This is the first book describing thermal-diffusivity-based frequency references, including the complete theoretical methodology supported by practical realizations that prove the feasibility of the method.  Coverage also includes several circuit and system-level solutions for the analog electronic circuit design challenges faced.   ·         Surveys the state-of-the-art in all-silicon frequency references; ·         Examines the thermal properties of silicon as a solution for the challenge of on-chip accurate frequency generation; ·         Uses simplified modeling approaches that allow an electronics engineer easily to simulate the electrothermal elements; ·         Follows a top-down methodology in circuit design, in which system-level des...

Application specific Tester-On-a-Resident-Chip (TORCH{trademark}) - innovation in the area of semiconductor testing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bowles, M. [L& M Technologies, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Peterson, T. [New Mexico Highlands Univ., Las Vegas, NM (United States); Savignon, D.; Campbell, D. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

1997-12-01

Manufacturers widely recognize testing as a major factor in the cost, producability, and delivery of product in the $100 billion integrated circuit business: {open_quotes}The rapid development of VLSI using sub-micron CMOS technology has suddenly exposed traditional test techniques as a major cost factor that could restrict the development of VLSI devices exceeding 512 pins an operating frequencies above 200 MHz.{close_quotes} -- 1994 Semiconductor Industry Association Roadmap, Design and Test, Summary, pg. 43. This problem increases dramatically for stockpile electronics, where small production quantities make it difficult to amortize the cost of increasingly expensive testers. Application of multiple ICs in Multi-Chip Modules (MCM) greatly multiplies testing problems for commercial and defense users alike. By traditional test methods, each new design requires custom test hardware and software and often dedicated testing equipment costing millions of dollars. Also, physical properties of traditional test systems often dedicated testing equipment costing millions of dollars. Also, physical properties of traditional test systems limit capabilities in testing at-speed (>200 MHz), high-impedance, and high-accuracy analog signals. This project proposed a revolutionary approach to these problems: replace the multi-million dollar external test system with an inexpensive test system integrated onto the product wafer. Such a methodology enables testing functions otherwise unachievable by conventional means, particularly in the areas of high-frequency, at-speed testing, high impedance analog circuits, and known good die assessment. The techniques apply specifically to low volume applications, typical of Defense Programs, where testing costs represent an unusually high proportional of product costs, not easily amortized.

Frontend Receiver Electronics for High Frequency Monolithic CMUT-on-CMOS Imaging Arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Gurun, Gokce; Hasler, Paul; Degertekin, F. Levent

2012-01-01

This paper describes the design of CMOS receiver electronics for monolithic integration with capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) arrays for high-frequency intravascular ultrasound imaging. A custom 8-inch wafer is fabricated in a 0.35 μm two-poly, four-metal CMOS process and then CMUT arrays are built on top of the application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) on the wafer. We discuss advantages of the single-chip CMUT-on-CMOS approach in terms of receive sensitivity and SNR. Low-noise and high-gain design of a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) optimized for a forward-looking volumetric-imaging CMUT array element is discussed as a challenging design example. Amplifier gain, bandwidth, dynamic range and power consumption trade-offs are discussed in detail. With minimized parasitics provided by the CMUT-on-CMOS approach, the optimized TIA design achieves a 90 fA/√Hz input referred current noise, which is less than the thermal-mechanical noise of the CMUT element. We show successful system operation with a pulse-echo measurement. Transducer noise-dominated detection in immersion is also demonstrated through output noise spectrum measurement of the integrated system at different CMUT bias voltages. A noise figure of 1.8 dB is obtained in the designed CMUT bandwidth of 10 MHz to 20 MHz. PMID:21859585

A 256×256 low-light-level CMOS imaging sensor with digital CDS

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Mei; Chen, Nan; Zhong, Shengyou; Li, Zhengfen; Zhang, Jicun; Yao, Li-bin

2016-10-01

In order to achieve high sensitivity for low-light-level CMOS image sensors (CIS), a capacitive transimpedance amplifier (CTIA) pixel circuit with a small integration capacitor is used. As the pixel and the column area are highly constrained, it is difficult to achieve analog correlated double sampling (CDS) to remove the noise for low-light-level CIS. So a digital CDS is adopted, which realizes the subtraction algorithm between the reset signal and pixel signal off-chip. The pixel reset noise and part of the column fixed-pattern noise (FPN) can be greatly reduced. A 256×256 CIS with CTIA array and digital CDS is implemented in the 0.35μm CMOS technology. The chip size is 7.7mm×6.75mm, and the pixel size is 15μm×15μm with a fill factor of 20.6%. The measured pixel noise is 24LSB with digital CDS in RMS value at dark condition, which shows 7.8× reduction compared to the image sensor without digital CDS. Running at 7fps, this low-light-level CIS can capture recognizable images with the illumination down to 0.1lux.

A CMOS smart temperature and humidity sensor with combined readout.

Science.gov (United States)

Eder, Clemens; Valente, Virgilio; Donaldson, Nick; Demosthenous, Andreas

2014-09-16

A fully-integrated complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor for combined temperature and humidity measurements is presented. The main purpose of the device is to monitor the hermeticity of micro-packages for implanted integrated circuits and to ensure their safe operation by monitoring the operating temperature and humidity on-chip. The smart sensor has two modes of operation, in which either the temperature or humidity is converted into a digital code representing a frequency ratio between two oscillators. This ratio is determined by the ratios of the timing capacitances and bias currents in both oscillators. The reference oscillator is biased by a current whose temperature dependency is complementary to the proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT) current. For the temperature measurement, this results in an exceptional normalized sensitivity of about 0.77%/°C at the accepted expense of reduced linearity. The humidity sensor is a capacitor, whose value varies linearly with relative humidity (RH) with a normalized sensitivity of 0.055%/% RH. For comparison, two versions of the humidity sensor with an area of either 0.2 mm2 or 1.2 mm2 were fabricated in a commercial 0.18 μm CMOS process. The on-chip readout electronics operate from a 5 V power supply and consume a current of approximately 85 µA.

An RF Power Amplifier in a Digital CMOS Process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Per Asbeck; Fallesen, Carsten

2002-01-01

A two stage class B power amplifier for 1.9 GHz is presented. The amplifier is fabricated in a standard digital EPI-CMOS process with low resistivity substrate. The measured output power is 29 dBm in a 50 Omega load. A design method to find the large signal parameters of the output transistor...... is presented. It separates the determination of the optimal load resistance and the determination of the large signal drain-source capacitance. Based on this method, proper values for on-chip interstage matching and off-chip output matching can be derived. A envelope linearisation circuit for the PA...... is proposed. Simulations and measurements of a fabricated linearisation circuit are presented and used to calculate the achievable linearity in terms of the spectral leakage and the error vector magnitude of a EDGE (3 pi /8-8PSK) modulated signal....

Mechanical characterization of poly-SiGe layers for CMOS-MEMS integrated application

Science.gov (United States)

Modlinski, Robert; Witvrouw, Ann; Verbist, Agnes; Puers, Robert; De Wolf, Ingrid

2010-01-01

Measuring mechanical properties at the microscale is essential to understand and to fabricate reliable MEMS. In this paper a tensile testing system and matching microscale test samples are presented. The test samples have a dog-bone-like structure. They are designed to mimic standard macro-tensile test samples. The micro-tensile tests are used to characterize 0.9 µm thick polycrystalline silicon germanium (poly-SiGe) films. The poly-SiGe film, that can be considered as a close equivalent to polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si), is studied as a very promising material for use in CMOS/MEMS integration in a single chip due to its low-temperature LPCVD deposition (T < 450 °C). The fabrication process of the poly-SiGe micro-tensile test structure is explained in detail: the design, the processing and post-processing, the testing and finally the results' discussion. The poly-SiGe micro-tensile results are also compared with nanoindentation data obtained on the same poly-SiGe films as well as with results obtained by other research groups.

A 75-ps Gated CMOS Image Sensor with Low Parasitic Light Sensitivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Fan; Niu, Hanben

2016-06-29

In this study, a 40 × 48 pixel global shutter complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor with an adjustable shutter time as low as 75 ps was implemented using a 0.5-μm mixed-signal CMOS process. The implementation consisted of a continuous contact ring around each p+/n-well photodiode in the pixel array in order to apply sufficient light shielding. The parasitic light sensitivity of the in-pixel storage node was measured to be 1/8.5 × 10⁷ when illuminated by a 405-nm diode laser and 1/1.4 × 10⁴ when illuminated by a 650-nm diode laser. The pixel pitch was 24 μm, the size of the square p+/n-well photodiode in each pixel was 7 μm per side, the measured random readout noise was 217 e(-) rms, and the measured dynamic range of the pixel of the designed chip was 5500:1. The type of gated CMOS image sensor (CIS) that is proposed here can be used in ultra-fast framing cameras to observe non-repeatable fast-evolving phenomena.

On-Line High Dose-Rate Gamma Ray Irradiation Test of the CCD/CMOS Cameras

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Jai Wan; Jeong, Kyung Min [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-05-15

In this paper, test results of gamma ray irradiation to CCD/CMOS cameras are described. From the CAMS (containment atmospheric monitoring system) data of Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant station, we found out that the gamma ray dose-rate when the hydrogen explosion occurred in nuclear reactors 1{approx}3 is about 160 Gy/h. If assumed that the emergency response robot for the management of severe accident of the nuclear power plant has been sent into the reactor area to grasp the inside situation of reactor building and to take precautionary measures against releasing radioactive materials, the CCD/CMOS cameras, which are loaded with the robot, serve as eye of the emergency response robot. In the case of the Japanese Quince robot system, which was sent to carry out investigating the unit 2 reactor building refueling floor situation, 7 CCD/CMOS cameras are used. 2 CCD cameras of Quince robot are used for the forward and backward monitoring of the surroundings during navigation. And 2 CCD (or CMOS) cameras are used for monitoring the status of front-end and back-end motion mechanics such as flippers and crawlers. A CCD camera with wide field of view optics is used for monitoring the status of the communication (VDSL) cable reel. And another 2 CCD cameras are assigned for reading the indication value of the radiation dosimeter and the instrument. In the preceding assumptions, a major problem which arises when dealing with CCD/CMOS cameras in the severe accident situations of the nuclear power plant is the presence of high dose-rate gamma irradiation fields. In the case of the DBA (design basis accident) situations of the nuclear power plant, in order to use a CCD/CMOS camera as an ad-hoc monitoring unit in the vicinity of high radioactivity structures and components of the nuclear reactor area, a robust survivability of this camera in such intense gamma-radiation fields therefore should be verified. The CCD/CMOS cameras of various types were gamma irradiated at a

Development of 40 channel waveform sampling CMOS ASIC board for Positron Emission Tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimazoe, Kenji; Yeol, Yeom-Jung; Minamikawa, Yasuhiro; Tomida, Yuki; Takahashi, Hiroyuki; Fujita, Kaoru; Nakazawa, Masaharu; Murayama, Hideo

2007-01-01

We have designed and fabricated 10 channel/6-bit waveform sampling ASICs using ROHM 0.35 μm CMOS technology. This chip was designed for GSO-APD γ-ray detector and provides a function of 'waveform recording' at a sampling frequency of 100 MHz. This chip has 10 channel inputs and each channel has preamp/variable gain amplifier/6-bit folding ADC. The folding ADC greatly reduces the number of comparators and the power consumption of the chip. This chip provides a full function of recording a transient behavior of detector charge signals for each pulse. Self-trigger function is equipped with the system and this will enable simultaneous record of all input waveforms. Each channel has 64 words FIFO where each waveform data are stored. Stored data are converted to serial data and passed to an FPGA where we can implement a detailed signal processing. This chip is operated at 3.3 V and the power consumption is 1.2 W/chip. We have developed a data acquisition board using four bare chips. This board has 40 input channels and we plan to use this board for APD-based DOI-PET detector system which utilizes several different crystals to recognize depth positions by the difference in their decay times

Neutron irradiation test of depleted CMOS pixel detector prototypes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mandić, I.; Cindro, V.; Gorišek, A.; Hiti, B.; Kramberger, G.; Mikuž, M.; Zavrtanik, M.; Hemperek, T.; Daas, M.; Hügging, F.; Krüger, H.; Pohl, D.-L.; Wermes, N.; Gonella, L.

2017-01-01

Charge collection properties of depleted CMOS pixel detector prototypes produced on p-type substrate of 2 kΩ cm initial resistivity (by LFoundry 150 nm process) were studied using Edge-TCT method before and after neutron irradiation. The test structures were produced for investigation of CMOS technology in tracking detectors for experiments at HL-LHC upgrade. Measurements were made with passive detector structures in which current pulses induced on charge collecting electrodes could be directly observed. Thickness of depleted layer was estimated and studied as function of neutron irradiation fluence. An increase of depletion thickness was observed after first two irradiation steps to 1 · 10 13 n/cm 2 and 5 · 10 13 n/cm 2 and attributed to initial acceptor removal. At higher fluences the depletion thickness at given voltage decreases with increasing fluence because of radiation induced defects contributing to the effective space charge concentration. The behaviour is consistent with that of high resistivity silicon used for standard particle detectors. The measured thickness of the depleted layer after irradiation with 1 · 10 15 n/cm 2 is more than 50 μm at 100 V bias. This is sufficient to guarantee satisfactory signal/noise performance on outer layers of pixel trackers in HL-LHC experiments.

A high-speed low-noise transimpedance amplifier in a 0.25 μm CMOS technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anelli, Giovanni; Borer, Kurt; Casagrande, Luca; Despeisse, Matthieu; Jarron, Pierre; Pelloux, Nicolas; Saramad, Shahyar

2003-01-01

We present the simulated and measured performance of a transimpedance amplifier designed in a quarter micron CMOS process. Containing only NMOS and PMOS devices, this amplifier can be integrated in any submicron CMOS process. The main feature of this design is the use of a transistor in the feedback path instead of a resistor. The circuit has been optimized for reading signals coming from silicon strip detectors with few pF input capacitance. For an input charge of 4 fC, an input capacitance of 4 pF and a transresistance of 135 kΩ, we have measured an output pulse fall time of 3 ns and an Equivalent Noise Charge (ENC) of around 350 electrons rms. In view of the operation of the chip at cryogenic temperatures, measurements at 130 K have also been carried out, showing an overall improvement in the performance of the chip. Fall times down to 1.5 ns have been measured. An integrated circuit containing 32 channels has been designed and wire bonded to a silicon strip detector and successfully used for the construction of a high-intensity proton beam hodoscope for the NA60 experiment. The chip has been laid out using special techniques to improve its radiation tolerance, and it has been irradiated up to 10 Mrd (SiO 2 ) without any degradation in the performance

A high-speed low-noise transimpedance amplifier in a 0.25 {mu}m CMOS technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anelli, Giovanni E-mail: giovanni.anelli@cern.ch; Borer, Kurt; Casagrande, Luca; Despeisse, Matthieu; Jarron, Pierre; Pelloux, Nicolas; Saramad, Shahyar

2003-10-11

We present the simulated and measured performance of a transimpedance amplifier designed in a quarter micron CMOS process. Containing only NMOS and PMOS devices, this amplifier can be integrated in any submicron CMOS process. The main feature of this design is the use of a transistor in the feedback path instead of a resistor. The circuit has been optimized for reading signals coming from silicon strip detectors with few pF input capacitance. For an input charge of 4 fC, an input capacitance of 4 pF and a transresistance of 135 k{omega}, we have measured an output pulse fall time of 3 ns and an Equivalent Noise Charge (ENC) of around 350 electrons rms. In view of the operation of the chip at cryogenic temperatures, measurements at 130 K have also been carried out, showing an overall improvement in the performance of the chip. Fall times down to 1.5 ns have been measured. An integrated circuit containing 32 channels has been designed and wire bonded to a silicon strip detector and successfully used for the construction of a high-intensity proton beam hodoscope for the NA60 experiment. The chip has been laid out using special techniques to improve its radiation tolerance, and it has been irradiated up to 10 Mrd (SiO{sub 2}) without any degradation in the performance.

Low-cost low-power UHF RFID tag with on-chip antenna

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xi Jingtian; Yan Na; Che Wenyi; Xu Conghui; Wang Xiao; Yang Yuqing; Jian Hongyan; Min Hao, E-mail: jtxi@fudan.edu.c [State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System, Auto-ID Laboratory, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203 (China)

2009-07-15

This paper presents an EPC Class 1 Generation 2 compatible tag with on-chip antenna implemented in the SMIC 0.18 {mu}m standard CMOS process. The UHF tag chip includes an RF/analog front-end, a digital baseband, and a 640-bit EEPROM memory. The on-chip antenna is optimized based on a novel parasitic-aware model. The rectifier is optimized to achieve a power conversion efficiency up to 40% by applying a self-bias feedback and threshold compensation techniques. A good match between the tag circuits and the on-chip antenna is realized by adjusting the rectifier input impedance. Measurements show that the presented tag can achieve a communication range of 1 cm with 1 W reader output power using a 1 x 1 cm{sup 2} single-turn loop reader antenna.

Integrated three-dimensional optical MEMS for chip-based fluorescence detection

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Kuo-Yung; Tseng, Fan-Gang; Khoo, Hwa-Seng

2009-04-01

This paper presents a novel fluorescence sensing chip for parallel protein microarray detection in the context of a 3-in-1 protein chip system. This portable microchip consists of a monolithic integration of CMOS-based avalanche photo diodes (APDs) combined with a polymer micro-lens, a set of three-dimensional (3D) inclined mirrors for separating adjacent light signals and a low-noise transformer-free dc-dc boost mini-circuit to power the APDs (ripple below 1.28 mV, 0-5 V input, 142 V and 12 mA output). We fabricated our APDs using the planar CMOS process so as to facilitate the post-CMOS integration of optical MEMS components such as the lenses. The APD arrays were arranged in unique circular patterns appropriate for detecting the specific fluorescently labelled protein spots in our study. The array-type APDs were designed so as to compensate for any alignment error as detected by a positional error signal algorithm. The condenser lens was used as a structure for light collection to enhance the fluorescent signals by about 25%. This element also helped to reduce the light loss due to surface absorption. We fabricated an inclined mirror to separate two adjacent fluorescent signals from different specimens. Excitation using evanescent waves helped reduce the interference of the excitation light source. This approach also reduced the number of required optical lenses and minimized the complexity of the structural design. We achieved detection floors for anti-rabbit IgG and Cy5 fluorescent dye as low as 0.5 ng/µl (~3.268 nM). We argue that the intrinsic nature of point-to-point and batch-detection methods as showcased in our chip offers advantages over the serial-scanning approach used in traditional scanner systems. In addition, our system is low cost and lightweight.

A Router Architecture for Connection-Oriented Service Guarantees in the MANGO Clockless Network-on-Chip

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjerregaard, Tobias; Sparsø, Jens

2005-01-01

On-chip networks for future system-on-chip designs need simple, high performance implementations. In order to promote system-level integrity, guaranteed services (GS) need to be provided. We propose a network-on-chip (NoC) router architecture to support this, and demonstrate with a CMOS standard...... cell design. Our implementation is based on clockless circuit techniques, and thus inherently supports a modular, GALS-oriented design flow. Our router exploits virtual channels to provide connection-oriented GS, as well as connection-less best-effort (BE) routing. The architecture is highly flexible...

A 0.18 μm CMOS LDO Regulator for an On-Chip Sensor Array Impedance Measurement System.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Bailón, Jorge; Márquez, Alejandro; Calvo, Belén; Medrano, Nicolás

2018-05-02

This paper presents a fully integrated 0.18 μm CMOS Low-Dropout (LDO) Voltage Regulator specifically designed to meet the stringent requirements of a battery-operated impedance spectrometry multichannel CMOS micro-instrument. The proposed LDO provides a regulated 1.8 V voltage from a 3.6 V to 1.94 V battery voltage over a −40 °C to 100 °C temperature range, with a compact topology (sensors.

CMOS capacitive biosensors for highly sensitive biosensing applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, An-Yu; Lu, Michael S-C

2013-01-01

Magnetic microbeads are widely used in biotechnology and biomedical research for manipulation and detection of cells and biomolecules. Most lab-on-chip systems capable of performing manipulation and detection require external instruments to perform one of the functions, leading to increased size and cost. This work aims at developing an integrated platform to perform these two functions by implementing electromagnetic microcoils and capacitive biosensors on a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) chip. Compared to most magnetic-type sensors, our detection method requires no externally applied magnetic fields and the associated fabrication is less complicated. In our experiment, microbeads coated with streptavidin were driven to the sensors located in the center of microcoils with functionalized anti-streptavidin antibody. Detection of a single microbead was successfully demonstrated using a capacitance-to-frequency readout. The average capacitance changes for the experimental and control groups were -5.3 fF and -0.2 fF, respectively.

Optimization of CMOS active pixels for high resolution digital radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Young Soo

2007-02-01

in order to choose the photodiode type having the best SNR characteristics. The size of these pixels is 100 μm x 100 μm. The test chip was fabricated using ETRI 0.8 μm (2P/2M) standard CMOS process. It was found that the epitaxial type pixels have similar noise level compared to nonepitaxial type, and the noise of diffusion type pixel is larger than for a well type pixel on the same substrate type at the output node. But, at the input node, the n_d_i_f_f_u_s_i_o_n/p_e_p_i_t_a_x_i_a_l/p_s_u_b_s_t_r_a_t_e type pixel has the maximum SNR compared to other types. Secondly, the size of the designed pixels is 20 μm for high resolution X-ray imaging. In these test structures, AMIS 0.5 μm (2P/3M) CMOS standard process are used for fabrication and different values for design parameters (including optimum design parameters extracted from the developed model) are considered. The results of the noise measurement are agreed with model calculation and the optimum values of in-pixel components can be extracted using developed noise model.

First irradiation test results of the ALICE SAMPA ASIC

CERN Document Server

Mahmood, Sohail Musa; Winje, Fredrik Lindseth; Velure, Arild

2018-01-01

With the continuous scaling of the CMOS technology, the CMOS circuits are considered to be more tolerant to Single event Latchup (SEL) effects due to the reduction in the supply voltages. This paper reports the results from SEL testing performed on the first two prototypes for the new readout ASIC (SAMPA). During RUN 3/RUN 4 at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the SAMPA chip will be used for the upgrade of read-out front end electronics of the ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) Time Projection Chamber (TPC) and Muon Chambers (MCH). The first prototype MPW1 and the second prototype V2 of the SAMPA chip were delivered in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The results are summarized from two different proton beam irradiation campaigns, conducted for SAMPA MPW1 and V2 prototypes at The Svedberg Laboratory (TSL) in Uppsala, and the Center of Advanced Radiation Technology (KVI) in Groningen, respectively.

Front-end receiver electronics for high-frequency monolithic CMUT-on-CMOS imaging arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Gurun, Gokce; Hasler, Paul; Degertekin, F

2011-08-01

This paper describes the design of CMOS receiver electronics for monolithic integration with capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) arrays for highfrequency intravascular ultrasound imaging. A custom 8-inch (20-cm) wafer is fabricated in a 0.35-μm two-poly, four-metal CMOS process and then CMUT arrays are built on top of the application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) on the wafer. We discuss advantages of the single-chip CMUT-on-CMOS approach in terms of receive sensitivity and SNR. Low-noise and high-gain design of a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) optimized for a forward-looking volumetric-imaging CMUT array element is discussed as a challenging design example. Amplifier gain, bandwidth, dynamic range, and power consumption trade-offs are discussed in detail. With minimized parasitics provided by the CMUT-on-CMOS approach, the optimized TIA design achieves a 90 fA/√Hz input-referred current noise, which is less than the thermal-mechanical noise of the CMUT element. We show successful system operation with a pulseecho measurement. Transducer-noise-dominated detection in immersion is also demonstrated through output noise spectrum measurement of the integrated system at different CMUT bias voltages. A noise figure of 1.8 dB is obtained in the designed CMUT bandwidth of 10 to 20 MHz.

A Differential 4-Path Highly Linear Widely Tunable On-Chip Band-Pass Filter

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ghaffari, A.; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; Nauta, Bram

2010-01-01

Abstract A passive switched capacitor RF band-pass filter with clock controlled center frequency is realized in 65nm CMOS. An off-chip transformer which acts as a balun, improves filter-Q and realizes impedance matching. The differential architecture reduces clock-leakage and suppresses selectivity

Tagging of Test Tubes with Electronic p-Chips for Use in Biorepositories.

Science.gov (United States)

Mandecki, Wlodek; Kopacka, Wesley M; Qian, Ziye; Ertwine, Von; Gedzberg, Katie; Gruda, Maryann; Reinhardt, David; Rodriguez, Efrain

2017-08-01

A system has been developed to electronically tag and track test tubes used in biorepositories. The system is based on a light-activated microtransponder, also known as a "p-Chip." One of the pressing problems with storing and retrieving biological samples at low temperatures is the difficulty of reliably reading the identification (ID) number that links each storage tube with the database containing sample details. Commonly used barcodes are not always reliable at low temperatures because of poor adhesion of the label to the test tube and problems with reading under conditions of frost and ice accumulation. Traditional radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are not cost effective and are too large for this application. The system described herein consists of the p-Chip, p-Chip-tagged test tubes, two ID readers (for single tubes or for racks of tubes), and software. We also describe a robot that is configured for retrofitting legacy test tubes in biorepositories with p-Chips while maintaining the temperature of the sample below -50°C at all times. The main benefits of the p-Chip over other RFID devices are its small size (600 × 600 × 100 μm) that allows even very small tubes or vials to be tagged, low cost due to the chip's unitary construction, durability, and the ability to read the ID through frost and ice.

CMOS Cell Sensors for Point-of-Care Diagnostics

Science.gov (United States)

Adiguzel, Yekbun; Kulah, Haluk

2012-01-01

The burden of health-care related services in a global era with continuously increasing population and inefficient dissipation of the resources requires effective solutions. From this perspective, point-of-care diagnostics is a demanded field in clinics. It is also necessary both for prompt diagnosis and for providing health services evenly throughout the population, including the rural districts. The requirements can only be fulfilled by technologies whose productivity has already been proven, such as complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors (CMOS). CMOS-based products can enable clinical tests in a fast, simple, safe, and reliable manner, with improved sensitivities. Portability due to diminished sensor dimensions and compactness of the test set-ups, along with low sample and power consumption, is another vital feature. CMOS-based sensors for cell studies have the potential to become essential counterparts of point-of-care diagnostics technologies. Hence, this review attempts to inform on the sensors fabricated with CMOS technology for point-of-care diagnostic studies, with a focus on CMOS image sensors and capacitance sensors for cell studies. PMID:23112587

A 0.18 μm CMOS fluorescent detector system for bio-sensing application

Science.gov (United States)

Nan, Liu; Guoping, Chen; Zhiliang, Hong

2009-01-01

A CMOS fluorescent detector system for biological experiment is presented. This system integrates a CMOS compatible photodiode, a capacitive trans-impedance amplifier (CTIA), and a 12 bit pipelined analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and is implemented in a 0.18 μm standard CMOS process. Some special techniques, such as a 'contact imaging' detecting method, pseudo-differential architecture, dummy photodiodes, and a T-type reset switch, are adopted to achieve low-level sensing application. Experiment results show that the Nwell/Psub photodiode with CTIA pixel achieves a sensitivity of 0.1 A/W at 515 nm and a dark current of 300 fA with 300 mV reverse biased voltage. The maximum differential and integral nonlinearity of the designed ADC are 0.8 LSB and 3 LSB, respectively. With an integrating time of 50 ms, this system is sensitive to the fluorescence emitted by the fluorescein solution with concentration as low as 20 ng/mL and can generate 7 fA photocurrent. This chip occupies 3 mm2 and consumes 37 mW.

A 0.18 μm CMOS fluorescent detector system for bio-sensing application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Nan; Chen Guoping; Hong Zhiliang

2009-01-01

A CMOS fluorescent detector system for biological experiment is presented. This system integrates a CMOS compatible photodiode, a capacitive trans-impedance amplifier (CTIA), and a 12 bit pipelined analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and is implemented in a 0.18 μm standard CMOS process. Some special techniques, such as a 'contact imaging' detecting method, pseudo-differential architecture, dummy photodiodes, and a T-type reset switch, are adopted to achieve low-level sensing application. Experiment results show that the Nwell/Psub photodiode with CTIA pixel achieves a sensitivity of 0.1 A/W at 515 nm and a dark current of 300 fA with 300 mV reverse biased voltage. The maximum differential and integral nonlinearity of the designed ADC are 0.8 LSB and 3 LSB, respectively. With an integrating time of 50 ms, this system is sensitive to the fluorescence emitted by the fluorescein solution with concentration as low as 20 ng/mL and can generate 7 fA photocurrent. This chip occupies 3 mm 2 and consumes 37 mW.

Submission of the First Full Scale Prototype Chip for Upgraded ATLAS Pixel Detector at LHC, FE-I4A

CERN Document Server

Barbero, M; The ATLAS collaboration; Beccherle, R; Darbo, G; Dube, S; Elledge, D; Fleury, J; Fougeron, D; Garcia-Sciveres, M; Gensolen, F; Gnani, D; Gromov, V; Jensen, F; Hemperek, T; Karagounis, M; Kluit, R; Kruth, A; Mekkaoui, A; Menouni, M; Schipper, JD; Wermes, N; Zivkovic, V

2010-01-01

A new ATLAS pixel chip FE-I4 is being developed for use in upgraded LHC luminosity environments, including the near-term Insertable B-Layer (IBL) upgrade. FE-I4 is designed in a 130nm CMOS technology, presenting advantages in terms of radiation tolerance and digital logic density compared to the 250nm CMOS technology used for the current ATLAS pixel IC, FE-I3. The FE-I4 architecture is based on an array of 80x336 pixels, each 50x250um^2, consisting of analog and digital sections. In the summer 2010, a first full scale prototype FE-I4A was submitted for an engineering run. This IC features the full scale pixel array as well as the complex periphery of the future full-size FE-I4. The FE-I4A contains also various extra test features which should prove very useful for the chip characterization, but deviate from the needs for standard operation of the final FE-I4 for IBL. In this paper, focus will be brought to the various features implemented in the FE-I4A submission, while also underlining the main differences b...

Self-powered integrated systems-on-chip (energy chip)

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2010-04-23

In today\\'s world, consumer driven technology wants more portable electronic gadgets to be developed, and the next big thing in line is self-powered handheld devices. Therefore to reduce the power consumption as well as to supply sufficient power to run those devices, several critical technical challenges need to be overcome: a. Nanofabrication of macro/micro systems which incorporates the direct benefit of light weight (thus portability), low power consumption, faster response, higher sensitivity and batch production (low cost). b. Integration of advanced nano-materials to meet the performance/cost benefit trend. Nano-materials may offer new functionalities that were previously underutilized in the macro/micro dimension. c. Energy efficiency to reduce power consumption and to supply enough power to meet that low power demand. We present a pragmatic perspective on a self-powered integrated System on Chip (SoC). We envision the integrated device will have two objectives: low power consumption/dissipation and on-chip power generation for implementation into handheld or remote technologies for defense, space, harsh environments and medical applications. This paper provides insight on materials choices, intelligent circuit design, and CMOS compatible integration.

Self-powered integrated systems-on-chip (energy chip)

Science.gov (United States)

Hussain, M. M.; Fahad, H.; Rojas, J.; Hasan, M.; Talukdar, A.; Oommen, J.; Mink, J.

2010-04-01

In today's world, consumer driven technology wants more portable electronic gadgets to be developed, and the next big thing in line is self-powered handheld devices. Therefore to reduce the power consumption as well as to supply sufficient power to run those devices, several critical technical challenges need to be overcome: a. Nanofabrication of macro/micro systems which incorporates the direct benefit of light weight (thus portability), low power consumption, faster response, higher sensitivity and batch production (low cost). b. Integration of advanced nano-materials to meet the performance/cost benefit trend. Nano-materials may offer new functionalities that were previously underutilized in the macro/micro dimension. c. Energy efficiency to reduce power consumption and to supply enough power to meet that low power demand. We present a pragmatic perspective on a self-powered integrated System on Chip (SoC). We envision the integrated device will have two objectives: low power consumption/dissipation and on-chip power generation for implementation into handheld or remote technologies for defense, space, harsh environments and medical applications. This paper provides insight on materials choices, intelligent circuit design, and CMOS compatible integration.

Crosstalk in modern on-chip interconnects a FDTD approach

CERN Document Server

Kaushik, B K; Patnaik, Amalendu

2016-01-01

The book provides accurate FDTD models for on-chip interconnects, covering most recent advancements in materials and design. Furthermore, depending on the geometry and physical configurations, different electrical equivalent models for CNT and GNR based interconnects are presented. Based on the electrical equivalent models the performance comparison among the Cu, CNT and GNR-based interconnects are also discussed in the book. The proposed models are validated with the HSPICE simulations. The book introduces the current research scenario in the modeling of on-chip interconnects. It presents the structure, properties, and characteristics of graphene based on-chip interconnects and the FDTD modeling of Cu based on-chip interconnects. The model considers the non-linear effects of CMOS driver as well as the transmission line effects of interconnect line that includes coupling capacitance and mutual inductance effects. In a more realistic manner, the proposed model includes the effect of width-dependent MFP of the ...

Noise-Induced Synchronization among Sub-RF CMOS Analog Oscillators for Skew-Free Clock Distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Utagawa, Akira; Asai, Tetsuya; Hirose, Tetsuya; Amemiya, Yoshihito

We present on-chip oscillator arrays synchronized by random noises, aiming at skew-free clock distribution on synchronous digital systems. Nakao et al. recently reported that independent neural oscillators can be synchronized by applying temporal random impulses to the oscillators [1], [2]. We regard neural oscillators as independent clock sources on LSIs; i. e., clock sources are distributed on LSIs, and they are forced to synchronize through the use of random noises. We designed neuron-based clock generators operating at sub-RF region (CMOS implementation with 0.25-μm CMOS parameters. Through circuit simulations, we demonstrate that i) the clock generators are certainly synchronized by pseudo-random noises and ii) clock generators exhibited phase-locked oscillations even if they had small device mismatches.

A low-power CMOS smart temperature sensor for RFID application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie Liangbo; Liu Jiaxin; Wang Yao; Wen Guangjun

2014-01-01

This paper presents the design and implement of a CMOS smart temperature sensor, which consists of a low power analog front-end and a 12-bit low-power successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The analog front-end generates a proportional-to-absolute-temperature (PTAT) voltage with MOSFET circuits operating in the sub-threshold region. A reference voltage is also generated and optimized in order to minimize the temperature error and the 12-bit SAR ADC is used to digitize the PTAT voltage. Using 0.18 μm CMOS technology, measurement results show that the temperature error is −0.69/+0.85 °C after one-point calibration over a temperature range of −40 to 100 °C. Under a conversion speed of 1K samples/s, the power consumption is only 2.02 μW while the chip area is 230 × 225 μm 2 , and it is suitable for RFID application. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

An integrated CMOS high data rate transceiver for video applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang Yaping; Sun Lingling; Che Dazhi; Liang Cheng

2012-01-01

This paper presents a 5 GHz CMOS radio frequency (RF) transceiver built with 0.18 μm RF-CMOS technology by using a proprietary protocol, which combines the new IEEE 802.11n features such as multiple-in multiple-out (MIMO) technology with other wireless technologies to provide high data rate robust real-time high definition television (HDTV) distribution within a home environment. The RF frequencies cover from 4.9 to 5.9 GHz: the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) band. Each RF channel bandwidth is 20 MHz. The transceiver utilizes a direct up transmitter and low-IF receiver architecture. A dual-quadrature direct up conversion mixer is used that achieves better than 35 dB image rejection without any on chip calibration. The measurement shows a 6 dB typical receiver noise figure and a better than 33 dB transmitter error vector magnitude (EVM) at −3 dBm output power. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

A 0.18 micrometer CMOS Thermopile Readout ASIC Immune to 50 MRAD Total Ionizing Dose (SI) and Single Event Latchup to 174MeV-cm(exp 2)/mg

Science.gov (United States)

Quilligan, Gerard T.; Aslam, Shahid; Lakew, Brook; DuMonthier, Jeffery J.; Katz, Richard B.; Kleyner, Igor

2014-01-01

Radiation hardened by design (RHBD) techniques allow commercial CMOS circuits to operate in high total ionizing dose and particle fluence environments. Our radiation hard multi-channel digitizer (MCD) ASIC (Figure 1) is a versatile analog system on a chip (SoC) fabricated in 180nm CMOS. It provides 18 chopper stabilized amplifier channels, a 16- bit sigma-delta analog-digital converter (SDADC) and an on-chip controller. The MCD was evaluated at Goddard Space Flight Center and Texas A&M University's radiation effects facilities and found to be immune to single event latchup (SEL) and total ionizing dose (TID) at 174 MeV-cm(exp 2)/mg and 50 Mrad (Si) respectively.

Design trade-off between spatial resolution and power consumption in CMOS biosensor circuit based on millimeter-wave LC oscillator array

Science.gov (United States)

Matsunaga, Maya; Kobayashi, Atsuki; Nakazato, Kazuo; Niitsu, Kiichi

2018-03-01

In this paper, we describe a trade-off between spatial resolution and power consumption in an LC oscillator-based CMOS biosensor, which can detect biomolecules by observing the resonance frequency shift due to changes in the complex permittivity of the biomolecules. The optimal operating frequency and improvement in the image resolution of the sensor output require a reduction in the size of the inductor. However, it is necessary to increase the transconductance of the cross-coupling transistor to achieve the oscillation condition, although the power consumption increases. We confirmed the trade-off between the spatial resolution and the power consumption of this sensor using SPICE simulation. A test chip was fabricated using a 65 nm CMOS process, and the transition in the peak frequency and the power consumption were measured. When the outer diameter of the inductor was 46 µm, the power consumption was 31.2 mW, which matched well with the simulation results.

FE-I4 pixel chip characterization with USBpix3 test system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Filimonov, Viacheslav; Gonella, Laura; Hemperek, Tomasz; Huegging, Fabian; Janssen, Jens; Krueger, Hans; Pohl, David-Leon; Wermes, Norbert [University of Bonn, Bonn (Germany)

2015-07-01

The USBpix readout system is a small and light weighting test system for the ATLAS pixel readout chips. It is widely used to operate and characterize FE-I4 pixel modules in lab and test beam environments. For multi-chip modules the resources on the Multi-IO board, that is the central control unit of the readout system, are coming to their limits, which makes the simultaneous readout of more than one chip at a time challenging. Therefore an upgrade of the current USBpix system has been developed. The upgraded system is called USBpix3 - the main focus of the talk. Characterization of single chip FE-I4 modules was performed with USBpix3 prototype (digital, analog, threshold and source scans; tuning). PyBAR (Bonn ATLAS Readout in Python scripting language) was used as readout software. PyBAR consists of FEI4 DAQ and Data Analysis Libraries in Python. The presentation describes the USBpix3 system, results of FE-I4 modules characterization and preparation for the multi-chip module and multi-module readout with USBpix3.

The ALPIDE pixel sensor chip for the upgrade of the ALICE Inner Tracking System

CERN Document Server

Aglieri Rinella, Gianluca

2017-01-01

The ALPIDE chip is a CMOS Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor being developed for the Upgrade of the ITS of the ALICE experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The ALPIDE chip is implemented with a 180 nm CMOS Imaging Process and fabricated on substrates with a high-resistivity epitaxial layer. It measures 15 mm×30 mm and contains a matrix of 512×1024 pixels with in-pixel amplification, shaping, discrimination and multi-event buffering. The readout of the sensitive matrix is hit driven. There is no signaling activity over the matrix if there are no hits to read out and power consumption is proportional to the occupancy. The sensor meets the experimental requirements of detection efficiency above 99%, fake-hit probability below 10−5 and a spatial resolution of 5 μm. The capability to read out Pb–Pb interactions at 100 kHz is provided. The power density of the ALPIDE chip is projected to be less than 35 mW/cm2 for the application in the Inner Barrel Layers and below 20 mW/cm2 for the Outer Barrel Layers, ...

CMOS Imaging of Temperature Effects on Pin-Printed Xerogel Sensor Microarrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Lei Yao; Ka Yi Yung; Chodavarapu, Vamsy P; Bright, Frank V

2011-04-01

In this paper, we study the effect of temperature on the operation and performance of a xerogel-based sensor microarrays coupled to a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imager integrated circuit (IC) that images the photoluminescence response from the sensor microarray. The CMOS imager uses a 32 × 32 (1024 elements) array of active pixel sensors and each pixel includes a high-gain phototransistor to convert the detected optical signals into electrical currents. A correlated double sampling circuit and pixel address/digital control/signal integration circuit are also implemented on-chip. The CMOS imager data are read out as a serial coded signal. The sensor system uses a light-emitting diode to excite target analyte responsive organometallic luminophores doped within discrete xerogel-based sensor elements. As a proto type, we developed a 3 × 3 (9 elements) array of oxygen (O2) sensors. Each group of three sensor elements in the array (arranged in a column) is designed to provide a different and specific sensitivity to the target gaseous O2 concentration. This property of multiple sensitivities is achieved by using a mix of two O2 sensitive luminophores in each pin-printed xerogel sensor element. The CMOS imager is designed to be low noise and consumes a static power of 320.4 μW and an average dynamic power of 624.6 μW when operating at 100-Hz sampling frequency and 1.8-V dc power supply.

A dual-mode secure UHF RFID tag with a crypto engine in 0.13-μm CMOS

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Yang; Linghao, Zhu; Xi, Tan; Junyu, Wang; Lirong, Zheng; Hao, Min

2016-07-01

An ultra-high-frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) secure tag chip with a non-crypto mode and a crypto mode is presented. During the supply chain management, the tag works in the non-crypto mode in which the on-chip crypto engine is not enabled and the tag chip has a sensitivity of -12.8 dBm for long range communication. At the point of sales (POS), the tag will be switched to the crypto mode in order to protect the privacy of customers. In the crypto mode, an advanced encryption standard (AES) crypto engine is enabled and the sensitivity of the tag chip is switched to +2 dBm for short range communication, which is a method of physical protection. The tag chip is implemented and verified in a standard 0.13-μm CMOS process. Project supported by the National Science & Technology Pillar Program of China (No. 2015BAK36B01).

Laser Soldering and Thermal Cycling Tests of Monolithic Silicon Pixel Chips

CERN Document Server

Strand, Frode Sneve

2015-01-01

An ALPIDE-1 monolithic silicon pixel sensor prototype has been laser soldered to a flex printed circuit using a novel interconnection technique using lasers. This technique is to be optimised to ensure stable, good quality connections between the sensor chips and the FPCs. To test the long-term stability of the connections, as well as study the effects on hit thresholds and noise in the sensor, it was thermally cycled in a climate chamber 1200 times. The soldered connections showed good qualities like even melting and good adhesion on pad/flex surfaces, and the chip remained in working condition for 1080 cycles. After this, a few connections failed, having cracks in the soldering tin, rendering the chip unusable. Threshold and noise characteristics seemed stable, except for the noise levels of sector 2 in the chip, for 1000 cycles in a temperature interval of "10^{\\circ}" and "50^{\\circ}" C. Still, further testing with wider temperature ranges and more cycles is needed to test the limitations of the chi...

CMOS active pixel sensor type imaging system on a chip

Science.gov (United States)

Fossum, Eric R. (Inventor); Nixon, Robert (Inventor)

2011-01-01

A single chip camera which includes an .[.intergrated.]. .Iadd.integrated .Iaddend.image acquisition portion and control portion and which has double sampling/noise reduction capabilities thereon. Part of the .[.intergrated.]. .Iadd.integrated .Iaddend.structure reduces the noise that is picked up during imaging.

Development of pixel front-end electronics using advanced deep submicron CMOS technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Havranek, Miroslav

2014-09-01

The content of this thesis is oriented on the R and D of microelectronic integrated circuits for processing the signal from particle sensors and partially on the sensors themselves. This work is motivated by ongoing upgrades of the ATLAS Pixel Detector at CERN laboratory and by exploration of new technologies for the future experiments in particle physics. Evolution of technologies for the fabrication of microelectronic circuits follows Moore's laws. Transistors become smaller and electronic chips reach higher complexity. Apart from this, silicon foundries become more open to smaller customers and often provide non-standard process options. Two new directions in pixel technologies are explored in this thesis: design of pixel electronics using ultra deep submicron (65 nm) CMOS technology and Depleted Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (DMAPS). An independent project concerning the measurement of pixel capacitance with a dedicated measurement chip is a part of this thesis. Pixel capacitance is one of the key parameters for design of the pixel front-end electronics and thus it is closely related to the content of the thesis. The theoretical background, aspects of chip design, performance of chip prototypes and prospect for design of large pixel chips are comprehensively described in five chapters of the thesis.

Development of pixel front-end electronics using advanced deep submicron CMOS technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Havranek, Miroslav

2014-09-15

The content of this thesis is oriented on the R and D of microelectronic integrated circuits for processing the signal from particle sensors and partially on the sensors themselves. This work is motivated by ongoing upgrades of the ATLAS Pixel Detector at CERN laboratory and by exploration of new technologies for the future experiments in particle physics. Evolution of technologies for the fabrication of microelectronic circuits follows Moore's laws. Transistors become smaller and electronic chips reach higher complexity. Apart from this, silicon foundries become more open to smaller customers and often provide non-standard process options. Two new directions in pixel technologies are explored in this thesis: design of pixel electronics using ultra deep submicron (65 nm) CMOS technology and Depleted Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (DMAPS). An independent project concerning the measurement of pixel capacitance with a dedicated measurement chip is a part of this thesis. Pixel capacitance is one of the key parameters for design of the pixel front-end electronics and thus it is closely related to the content of the thesis. The theoretical background, aspects of chip design, performance of chip prototypes and prospect for design of large pixel chips are comprehensively described in five chapters of the thesis.

Characterization of imaging pixel detectors of Si and CdTe read out with the counting X-ray chip MPEC 2.3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loecker, M.

2007-04-01

Single photon counting detectors with Si- and CdTe-sensors have been constructed and characterized. As readout chip the MPEC 2.3 is used which consists of 32 x 32 pixels with 200 x 200 μm 2 pixel size and which has a high count rate cabability (1 MHz per pixel) as well as a low noise performance (55 e - ). Measurements and simulations of the detector homogeneity are presented. It could be shown that the theoretical maximum of the homogeneity is reached (quantum limit). By means of the double threshold of the MPEC chip the image contrast can be enhanced which is demonstrated by measurement and simulation. Also, multi-chip-modules consisting of 4 MPEC chips and a single Si- or CdTe-sensor have been constructed and successfully operated. With these modules modulation-transfer-function measurements have been done showing a good spatial resolution of the detectors. In addition, multi-chip-modules according to the Sparse-CMOS concept have been built and tests characterizing the interconnection technologies have been performed

1024-Pixel CMOS Multimodality Joint Cellular Sensor/Stimulator Array for Real-Time Holistic Cellular Characterization and Cell-Based Drug Screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jong Seok; Aziz, Moez Karim; Li, Sensen; Chi, Taiyun; Grijalva, Sandra Ivonne; Sung, Jung Hoon; Cho, Hee Cheol; Wang, Hua

2018-02-01

This paper presents a fully integrated CMOS multimodality joint sensor/stimulator array with 1024 pixels for real-time holistic cellular characterization and drug screening. The proposed system consists of four pixel groups and four parallel signal-conditioning blocks. Every pixel group contains 16 × 16 pixels, and each pixel includes one gold-plated electrode, four photodiodes, and in-pixel circuits, within a pixel footprint. Each pixel supports real-time extracellular potential recording, optical detection, charge-balanced biphasic current stimulation, and cellular impedance measurement for the same cellular sample. The proposed system is fabricated in a standard 130-nm CMOS process. Rat cardiomyocytes are successfully cultured on-chip. Measured high-resolution optical opacity images, extracellular potential recordings, biphasic current stimulations, and cellular impedance images demonstrate the unique advantages of the system for holistic cell characterization and drug screening. Furthermore, this paper demonstrates the use of optical detection on the on-chip cultured cardiomyocytes to real-time track their cyclic beating pattern and beating rate.

Modeling and Design Guidelines for P⁺ Guard Rings in Lightly Doped CMOS Substrates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shen, Ming; Mikkelsen, Jan H.; Zhang, Ke

2013-01-01

of ${rm P}^{+}$ guard rings in terms of S-parameters, which is useful for substrate noise mitigation in mixed-signal system-on-chips. Validation of the model has been done by both electromagnetic simulation and experimental results from guard rings implemented using a standard 0.18-$mu{rm m}$ CMOS process....... In addition, design guidelines have been drawn for minimizing the guard ring size while maintaining the noise suppression performance....

Study of the ALICE Investigator chip in view of the requirements at CLIC

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(SzGeCERN)754303; Dannheim, Dominik; Fiergolski, Adrian; Van Hoorne, Jacobus Willem; Hynds, Daniel; Klempt, Wolfgang; Nurnberg, Andreas Matthias; Sielewicz, Krzysztof Marek; Snoeys, Walter

2017-01-01

CLIC is an option for a future high energy linear $e^{+}e^{−}$ collider at CERN in the post-LHC era. The CLIC machine is designed to reach centre-of-mass energies ranging from a few hundred GeV up to 3 TeV. To achieve high precision measurements, e.g. of the Higgs- width, challenging requirements are imposed on the CLIC detector. A single point tracking resolution of 7 μm and a material budget of 1-2%$X_{0}$ per layer are required for the tracker. Moreover, to suppress background hits from beam-beam interactions, a precise time slicing of hits of 10 ns is needed. To address these requirements, a large area silicon tracker is foreseen for the detector at CLIC. In this context, integrated technologies are promising candidates to achieve large scale production and low material budget. The Investigator chip is a test chip developed for the ALICE Inner Tracking System upgrade, implemented in a 180 nm CMOS process on a high resistivity substrate. It contains various test-matrices with analogue functionality, whi...

The first fully functional 3D CMOS chip with Deep N-well active pixel sensors for the ILC vertex detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Traversi, G.; Gaioni, L.; Manazza, A.; Manghisoni, M.; Ratti, L.; Re, V.

2013-01-01

This work presents the characterization of Deep N-well (DNW) active pixel sensors fabricated in a vertically integrated technology. The DNW approach takes advantage of the triple well structure to lay out a sensor with relatively large charge collecting area (as compared to standard three transistor MAPS), while the readout is performed by a classical signal processing chain for capacitive detectors. This new 3D design relies upon stacking two homogeneous tiers fabricated in a 130 nm CMOS process where the top tier is thinned down to about 12μm to expose through silicon vias (TSV), therefore making connection to the buried circuits possible. This technology has been used to design a fine pitch 3D CMOS sensor with sparsification capabilities, in view of vertexing applications to the International Linear Collider (ILC) experiments. Results from the characterization of different kind of test structures, including single pixels, 3×3 and 8×8 matrices, are presented

A heterogeneous multi-core platform for low power signal processing in systems-on-chip

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paker, Ozgun; Sparsø, Jens; Haandbæk, Niels

2002-01-01

is based on message passing. The mini-cores are designed as parameterized soft macros intended for a synthesis based design flow. A 520.000 transistor 0.25µm CMOS prototype chip containing 6 mini-cores has been fabricated and tested. Its power consumption is only 50% higher than a hardwired ASIC and more......This paper presents a low-power and programmable DSP architecture - a heterogeneous multiprocessor platform consisting of standard CPU/DSP cores, and a set of simple instruction set processors called mini-cores each optimized for a particular class of algorithm (FIR, IIR, LMS, etc.). Communication...

LHCb - SALT, a dedicated readout chip for strip detectors in the LHCb Upgrade experiment

CERN Multimedia

Swientek, Krzysztof Piotr

2015-01-01

Silicon strip detectors in the upgraded Tracker of LHCb experiment will require a new readout 128-channel ASIC called SALT. It will extract and digitise analogue signals from the sensor, perform digital processing and transmit serial output data. SALT is designed in CMOS 130 nm process and uses a novel architecture comprising of analogue front-end and ultra-low power ($<$0.5 mW) fast (40 MSps) sampling 6-bit ADC in each channel. A prototype of first 8-channel version of SALT chip, comprising all important functionalities, was submitted. Its design and possibly first tests results will be presented.

Design of a Nanoscale, CMOS-Integrable, Thermal-Guiding Structure for Boolean-Logic and Neuromorphic Computation.

Science.gov (United States)

Loke, Desmond; Skelton, Jonathan M; Chong, Tow-Chong; Elliott, Stephen R

2016-12-21

One of the requirements for achieving faster CMOS electronics is to mitigate the unacceptably large chip areas required to steer heat away from or, more recently, toward the critical nodes of state-of-the-art devices. Thermal-guiding (TG) structures can efficiently direct heat by "meta-materials" engineering; however, some key aspects of the behavior of these systems are not fully understood. Here, we demonstrate control of the thermal-diffusion properties of TG structures by using nanometer-scale, CMOS-integrable, graphene-on-silica stacked materials through finite-element-methods simulations. It has been shown that it is possible to implement novel, controllable, thermally based Boolean-logic and spike-timing-dependent plasticity operations for advanced (neuromorphic) computing applications using such thermal-guide architectures.

Beam test results of a monolithic pixel sensor in the 0.18 μm tower-jazz technology with high resistivity epitaxial layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mattiazzo, S., E-mail: serena.mattiazzo@pd.infn.it [Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova IT 35131 (Italy); Aimo, I. [Politecnico di Torino and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Sezione di Torino, Torino IT 10129 (Italy); Baudot, J. [Universitè de Strasbourg, IPHC, Strasbourg F67037 (France); CNRS, MMR7178, Strasbourg F67037 (France); Bedda, C. [Politecnico di Torino and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Sezione di Torino, Torino IT 10129 (Italy); La Rocca, P. [Università di Catania and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Sezione di Catania, Catania IT 95123 (Italy); Perez, A. [Universitè de Strasbourg, IPHC, Strasbourg F67037 (France); CNRS, MMR7178, Strasbourg F67037 (France); Riggi, F. [Università di Catania and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Sezione di Catania, Catania IT 95123 (Italy); Spiriti, E. [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati and Sezione di Roma 3, Roma IT 00146 (Italy)

2015-10-01

The ALICE experiment at CERN will undergo a major upgrade in the second Long LHC Shutdown in the years 2018–2019; this upgrade includes the full replacement of the Inner Tracking System (ITS), deploying seven layers of Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS). For the development of the new ALICE ITS, the Tower-Jazz 0.18 μm CMOS imaging sensor process has been chosen as it is possible to use full CMOS in the pixel and different silicon wafers (including high resistivity epitaxial layers). A large test campaign has been carried out on several small prototype chips, designed to optimize the pixel sensor layout and the front-end electronics. Results match the target requirements both in terms of performance and of radiation hardness. Following this development, the first full scale chips have been designed, submitted and are currently under test, with promising results. A telescope composed of 4 planes of Mimosa-28 and 2 planes of Mimosa-18 chips is under development at the DAFNE Beam Test Facility (BTF) at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati (LNF) in Italy with the final goal to perform a comparative test of the full scale prototypes. The telescope has been recently used to test a Mimosa-22THRb chip (a monolithic pixel sensor built in the 0.18 μm Tower-Jazz process) and we foresee to perform tests on the full scale chips for the ALICE ITS upgrade at the beginning of 2015. In this contribution we will describe some first measurements of spatial resolution, fake hit rate and detection efficiency of the Mimosa-22THRb chip obtained at the BTF facility in June 2014 with an electron beam of 500 MeV.

Beam test results of a monolithic pixel sensor in the 0.18 μm tower-jazz technology with high resistivity epitaxial layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mattiazzo, S.; Aimo, I.; Baudot, J.; Bedda, C.; La Rocca, P.; Perez, A.; Riggi, F.; Spiriti, E.

2015-01-01

The ALICE experiment at CERN will undergo a major upgrade in the second Long LHC Shutdown in the years 2018–2019; this upgrade includes the full replacement of the Inner Tracking System (ITS), deploying seven layers of Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS). For the development of the new ALICE ITS, the Tower-Jazz 0.18 μm CMOS imaging sensor process has been chosen as it is possible to use full CMOS in the pixel and different silicon wafers (including high resistivity epitaxial layers). A large test campaign has been carried out on several small prototype chips, designed to optimize the pixel sensor layout and the front-end electronics. Results match the target requirements both in terms of performance and of radiation hardness. Following this development, the first full scale chips have been designed, submitted and are currently under test, with promising results. A telescope composed of 4 planes of Mimosa-28 and 2 planes of Mimosa-18 chips is under development at the DAFNE Beam Test Facility (BTF) at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati (LNF) in Italy with the final goal to perform a comparative test of the full scale prototypes. The telescope has been recently used to test a Mimosa-22THRb chip (a monolithic pixel sensor built in the 0.18 μm Tower-Jazz process) and we foresee to perform tests on the full scale chips for the ALICE ITS upgrade at the beginning of 2015. In this contribution we will describe some first measurements of spatial resolution, fake hit rate and detection efficiency of the Mimosa-22THRb chip obtained at the BTF facility in June 2014 with an electron beam of 500 MeV

Beam test results of a monolithic pixel sensor in the 0.18 μm tower-jazz technology with high resistivity epitaxial layer

Science.gov (United States)

Mattiazzo, S.; Aimo, I.; Baudot, J.; Bedda, C.; La Rocca, P.; Perez, A.; Riggi, F.; Spiriti, E.

2015-10-01

The ALICE experiment at CERN will undergo a major upgrade in the second Long LHC Shutdown in the years 2018-2019; this upgrade includes the full replacement of the Inner Tracking System (ITS), deploying seven layers of Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS). For the development of the new ALICE ITS, the Tower-Jazz 0.18 μm CMOS imaging sensor process has been chosen as it is possible to use full CMOS in the pixel and different silicon wafers (including high resistivity epitaxial layers). A large test campaign has been carried out on several small prototype chips, designed to optimize the pixel sensor layout and the front-end electronics. Results match the target requirements both in terms of performance and of radiation hardness. Following this development, the first full scale chips have been designed, submitted and are currently under test, with promising results. A telescope composed of 4 planes of Mimosa-28 and 2 planes of Mimosa-18 chips is under development at the DAFNE Beam Test Facility (BTF) at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati (LNF) in Italy with the final goal to perform a comparative test of the full scale prototypes. The telescope has been recently used to test a Mimosa-22THRb chip (a monolithic pixel sensor built in the 0.18 μm Tower-Jazz process) and we foresee to perform tests on the full scale chips for the ALICE ITS upgrade at the beginning of 2015. In this contribution we will describe some first measurements of spatial resolution, fake hit rate and detection efficiency of the Mimosa-22THRb chip obtained at the BTF facility in June 2014 with an electron beam of 500 MeV.

Design and application of a metal wet-etching post-process for the improvement of CMOS-MEMS capacitive sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsai, Ming-Han; Sun, Chih-Ming; Liu, Yu-Chia; Fang, Weileun; Wang, Chuanwei

2009-01-01

This study presents a process design methodology to improve the performance of a CMOS-MEMS gap-closing capacitive sensor. In addition to the standard CMOS process, the metal wet-etching approach is employed as the post-CMOS process to realize the present design. The dielectric layers of the CMOS process are exploited to form the main micro mechanical structures of the sensor. The metal layers of the CMOS process are used as the sensing electrodes and sacrificial layers. The advantages of the sensor design are as follows: (1) the parasitic capacitance is significantly reduced by the dielectric structure, (2) in-plane and out-of-plane sensing gaps can be reduced to increase the sensitivity, and (3) plate-type instead of comb-type out-of-plane sensing electrodes are available to increase the sensing electrode area. To demonstrate the feasibility of the present design, a three-axis capacitive CMOS-MEMS accelerometers chip is implemented and characterized. Measurements show that the sensitivities of accelerometers reach 11.5 mV G −1 (in the X-, Y-axes) and 7.8 mV G −1 (in the Z-axis), respectively, which are nearly one order larger than existing designs. Moreover, the detection of 10 mG excitation using the three-axis accelerometer is demonstrated for both in-plane and out-of-plane directions

X-ray performance of a wafer-scale CMOS flat panel imager for applications in medical imaging and nondestructive testing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cha, Bo Kyung; Jeon, Seongchae; Seo, Chang-Woo

2016-01-01

This paper presents a wafer-scale complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-based X-ray flat panel detector for medical imaging and nondestructive testing applications. In this study, our proposed X-ray CMOS flat panel imager has been fabricated by using a 0.35 µm 1-poly/4-metal CMOS process. The pixel size is 100 µm×100 µm and the pixel array format is 1200×1200 pixels, which provide a field-of-view (FOV) of 120mm×120 mm. The 14.3-bit extended counting analog-to digital converter (ADC) with built-in binning mode was used to reduce the area and simultaneously improve the image resolution. The different screens such as thallium-doped CsI (CsI:Tl) and terbium gadolinium oxysulfide (Gd_2O_2S:Tb) scintillators were used as conversion materials for X-rays to visible light photons. The X-ray imaging performance such as X-ray sensitivity as a function of X-ray exposure dose, spatial resolution, image lag and X-ray images of various objects were measured under practical medical and industrial application conditions. This paper results demonstrate that our prototype CMOS-based X-ray flat panel imager has the significant potential for medical imaging and non-destructive testing (NDT) applications with high-resolution and high speed rate.

X-ray performance of a wafer-scale CMOS flat panel imager for applications in medical imaging and nondestructive testing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cha, Bo Kyung, E-mail: goldrain99@kaist.ac.kr [Advanced Medical Device Research Center, Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, Ansan (Korea, Republic of); Jeon, Seongchae [Advanced Medical Device Research Center, Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, Ansan (Korea, Republic of); Seo, Chang-Woo [Department of Radiological Science, Yonsei University, Gangwon-do 220-710 (Korea, Republic of)

2016-09-21

This paper presents a wafer-scale complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-based X-ray flat panel detector for medical imaging and nondestructive testing applications. In this study, our proposed X-ray CMOS flat panel imager has been fabricated by using a 0.35 µm 1-poly/4-metal CMOS process. The pixel size is 100 µm×100 µm and the pixel array format is 1200×1200 pixels, which provide a field-of-view (FOV) of 120mm×120 mm. The 14.3-bit extended counting analog-to digital converter (ADC) with built-in binning mode was used to reduce the area and simultaneously improve the image resolution. The different screens such as thallium-doped CsI (CsI:Tl) and terbium gadolinium oxysulfide (Gd{sub 2}O{sub 2}S:Tb) scintillators were used as conversion materials for X-rays to visible light photons. The X-ray imaging performance such as X-ray sensitivity as a function of X-ray exposure dose, spatial resolution, image lag and X-ray images of various objects were measured under practical medical and industrial application conditions. This paper results demonstrate that our prototype CMOS-based X-ray flat panel imager has the significant potential for medical imaging and non-destructive testing (NDT) applications with high-resolution and high speed rate.

Lanthanum Gadolinium Oxide: A New Electronic Device Material for CMOS Logic and Memory Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shojan P. Pavunny

2014-03-01

Full Text Available A comprehensive study on the ternary dielectric, LaGdO3, synthesized and qualified in our laboratory as a novel high-k dielectric material for logic and memory device applications in terms of its excellent features that include a high linear dielectric constant (k of ~22 and a large energy bandgap of ~5.6 eV, resulting in sufficient electron and hole band offsets of ~2.57 eV and ~1.91 eV, respectively, on silicon, good thermal stability with Si and lower gate leakage current densities within the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS specified limits at the sub-nanometer electrical functional thickness level, which are desirable for advanced complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS, bipolar (Bi and BiCMOS chips applications, is presented in this review article.

Test CMOS/SOS RAM for transient radiation upset comparative research and failure analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikiforov, A.Y.; Poljakov, I.V.

1995-01-01

The test Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor/Silicon-on-Sapphire Random Access Memory (CMOS/SOS RAM) with eight types of memory cells was designed and tested at high dose rates with a flash X-ray machine and laser simulator. The memory cell (MC) design with additional transistors and RC-chain was found to be upset free up to 2 x 10 12 rad(Si)/s. An inversion effect was discovered in which almost 100% logic upset was observed in poorly protected memory cell arrays at very high dose rates

Multifrequency Excitation Method for Rapid and Accurate Dynamic Test of Micromachined Gyroscope Chips

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Deng

2014-10-01

Full Text Available A novel multifrequency excitation (MFE method is proposed to realize rapid and accurate dynamic testing of micromachined gyroscope chips. Compared with the traditional sweep-frequency excitation (SFE method, the computational time for testing one chip under four modes at a 1-Hz frequency resolution and 600-Hz bandwidth was dramatically reduced from 10 min to 6 s. A multifrequency signal with an equal amplitude and initial linear-phase-difference distribution was generated to ensure test repeatability and accuracy. The current test system based on LabVIEW using the SFE method was modified to use the MFE method without any hardware changes. The experimental results verified that the MFE method can be an ideal solution for large-scale dynamic testing of gyroscope chips and gyroscopes.

A CMOS ASIC Design for SiPM Arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Dey, Samrat; Banks, Lushon; Chen, Shaw-Pin; Xu, Wenbin; Lewellen, Thomas K; Miyaoka, Robert S; Rudell, Jacques C

2011-12-01

Our lab has previously reported on novel board-level readout electronics for an 8×8 silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) array featuring row/column summation technique to reduce the hardware requirements for signal processing. We are taking the next step by implementing a monolithic CMOS chip which is based on the row-column architecture. In addition, this paper explores the option of using diagonal summation as well as calibration to compensate for temperature and process variations. Further description of a timing pickoff signal which aligns all of the positioning (spatial channels) pulses in the array is described. The ASIC design is targeted to be scalable with the detector size and flexible to accommodate detectors from different vendors. This paper focuses on circuit implementation issues associated with the design of the ASIC to interface our Phase II MiCES FPGA board with a SiPM array. Moreover, a discussion is provided for strategies to eventually integrate all the analog and mixed-signal electronics with the SiPM, on either a single-silicon substrate or multi-chip module (MCM).

On-Chip Implantable Antennas for Wireless Power and Data Transfer in a Glaucoma-Monitoring SoC

KAUST Repository

Marnat, Loic; Arsalan, Muhammad; Ouda, Mahmoud H.; Salama, Khaled N.; Shamim, Atif

2013-01-01

For the first time separate transmit and receive onchip antennas have been designed in a eye environment for implantable intraocular pressure monitoring application. The miniaturized antennas fit on a 1.4 mm3 CMOS (0.18 μm) chip with the rest

Design, Automation, and Test in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Systems in CMOS and Beyond; - Physical Design and Validation; - Test and Verification. The winners of the prestigious EDAA Lifetime Achievement Award as well as oher recognized experts in their field wrote an introduction to each section, summarizing the history in their domain and indicating how......The Design, Automation, and Test in Europe (DATE) conference celebrated in 2007 its tenth anniversary. As a tribute to the chip and system-level design and design technology community, this book presents a compilation of the three most influential papers of each year. This provides an excellent...

A 2.4GHz ULP OOK single-chip transceiver for healthcare applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vidojkovic, M.; Huang, X.; Harpe, P.J.A.; Rampu, S.; Zhou, C.; Huang, Li; Molengraft, van de J.; Imamura, K.; Büsze, B.; Bouwens, F.; Konijnenburg, M.; Santana, J.; Breeschoten, A.; Huisken, J.; Philips, K.; Dolmans, G.; Groot, de H.W.H.

2011-01-01

This paper describes an ultra-low power (ULP) single chip transceiver for wireless body area network (WBAN) applications. It supports on-off keying (OOK) modulation, and it operates in the 2.36–2.4 GHz medical BAN and 2.4–2.485 GHz ISM bands. It is implemented in 90 nm CMOS technology. The direct

Depleted CMOS pixels for LHC proton–proton experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wermes, N.

2016-01-01

While so far monolithic pixel detectors have remained in the realm of comparatively low rate and radiation applications outside LHC, new developments exploiting high resistivity substrates with three or four well CMOS process options allow reasonably large depletion depths and full CMOS circuitry in a monolithic structure. This opens up the possibility to target CMOS pixel detectors also for high radiation pp-experiments at the LHC upgrade, either in a hybrid-type fashion or even fully monolithic. Several pixel matrices have been prototyped with high ohmic substrates, high voltage options, and full CMOS electronics. They were characterized in the lab and in test beams. An overview of the necessary development steps and different approaches as well as prototype results are presented in this paper.

System and Circuit Design Aspects for CMOS Wireless Handset Receivers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikkelsen, Jan H.

and it is shown that, depending on the size of the guard-ring, the Q-value reduction is found to be significantly reduced at RF frequencies. In continuation of this, various coupling effects for CMOS on-chip co-planar spiral inductors are presented. Simple guard-rings are shown to improve isolation between...... closely spaced adjacent inductors by approximately 10-15dB. At larger distances the gain of having a guard-ring reduces and eventually the gain reduces to zero dB. For modeling purposes an extended lumped element model is proposed and found to fit very well with crosstalk measurements....

On-Chip Implantable Antennas for Wireless Power and Data Transfer in a Glaucoma-Monitoring SoC

KAUST Repository

Marnat, Loic

2013-04-17

For the first time separate transmit and receive onchip antennas have been designed in a eye environment for implantable intraocular pressure monitoring application. The miniaturized antennas fit on a 1.4 mm3 CMOS (0.18 μm) chip with the rest of the circuitry. A 5.2 GHz novel inductive fed and loaded receive monopole antenna is used for wireless powering the chip and is conjugately matched to the rectifier in the energy harvesting and storage unit. The 2.4 GHz transmit antenna is an octagonal loop which also acts as the inductor of the voltage control oscillator resonant tank. To emulate the eye environment in measurements, a custom test setup is developed which comprises plexiglass cavities filled with saline solution. A transition, employing a balun, is also designed which transforms the differential impedance of on-chip antennas immersed in saline solution to a 50 ! single-ended micrsotrip line. The antennas on a lossy Si substrate and eye environment provide sufficient gain to establish wireless communication with an external reader placed few cm away from the eye.

Transmission of wireless neural signals through a 0.18 µm CMOS low-power amplifier.

Science.gov (United States)

Gazziro, M; Braga, C F R; Moreira, D A; Carvalho, A C P L F; Rodrigues, J F; Navarro, J S; Ardila, J C M; Mioni, D P; Pessatti, M; Fabbro, P; Freewin, C; Saddow, S E

2015-01-01

In the field of Brain Machine Interfaces (BMI) researchers still are not able to produce clinically viable solutions that meet the requirements of long-term operation without the use of wires or batteries. Another problem is neural compatibility with the electrode probes. One of the possible ways of approaching these problems is the use of semiconductor biocompatible materials (silicon carbide) combined with an integrated circuit designed to operate with low power consumption. This paper describes a low-power neural signal amplifier chip, named Cortex, fabricated using 0.18 μm CMOS process technology with all electronics integrated in an area of 0.40 mm(2). The chip has 4 channels, total power consumption of only 144 μW, and is impedance matched to silicon carbide biocompatible electrodes.

A 3Gb/s/ch Transceiver for 10-mm Uninterrupted RC-Limited Global On-Chip Interconnects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schinkel, Daniel; Mensink, E.; Klumperink, Eric A.M.; van Tuijl, Adrianus Johannes Maria; Nauta, Bram

2006-01-01

Abstract—Global on-chip data communication is becoming a concern as the gap between transistor speed and interconnect bandwidth increases with CMOS process scaling. Repeaters can partly bridge this gap, but the classical repeater insertion approach requires a large number of repeaters while the

CMOS Compatibility of a Micromachining Process Developed for Semiconductor Neural Probe

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

An, S

2001-01-01

.... Test transistor patterns generated using standard CMOS fabrication line were exposed to a post-CMOS probe making process including dielectric deposition, gold metalization and the dry etching step...

A UHF RFID system with on-chip-antenna tag for short range communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng Qi; Zhang Chun; Zhao Xijin; Wang Zhihua

2015-01-01

A UHF RF identification system based on the 0.18 μm CMOS process has been developed for short range and harsh size requirement applications, which is composed of a fully integrated tag and a special reader. The whole tag chip with the antenna takes up an area of 0.36 mm 2 , which is smaller than other reported tags with an on-chip antenna (OCA) using the standard CMOS process. A self-defined protocol is proposed to reduce the power consumption, and minimize the size of the tag. The specialized SOC reader system consists of the RF transceiver, digital baseband, MCU and host interface. Its power consumption is about 500 mW. Measurement results show that the system's reading range is 2 mm with 20 dBm reader output power. With an inductive antenna printed on a paper substrate around the OCA tag, the reading range can be extended from several centimeters to meters, depending on the shape and size of the inductive antenna. (paper)

Testbeam results of irradiated ams H18 HV-CMOS pixel sensor prototypes

Science.gov (United States)

Benoit, M.; Braccini, S.; Casse, G.; Chen, H.; Chen, K.; Di Bello, F. A.; Ferrere, D.; Golling, T.; Gonzalez-Sevilla, S.; Iacobucci, G.; Kiehn, M.; Lanni, F.; Liu, H.; Meng, L.; Merlassino, C.; Miucci, A.; Muenstermann, D.; Nessi, M.; Okawa, H.; Perić, I.; Rimoldi, M.; Ristić, B.; Barrero Pinto, M. Vicente; Vossebeld, J.; Weber, M.; Weston, T.; Wu, W.; Xu, L.; Zaffaroni, E.

2018-02-01

HV-CMOS pixel sensors are a promising option for the tracker upgrade of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, as well as for other future tracking applications in which large areas are to be instrumented with radiation-tolerant silicon pixel sensors. We present results of testbeam characterisations of the 4th generation of Capacitively Coupled Pixel Detectors (CCPDv4) produced with the ams H18 HV-CMOS process that have been irradiated with different particles (reactor neutrons and 18 MeV protons) to fluences between 1× 1014 and 5× 1015 1-MeV- neq. The sensors were glued to ATLAS FE-I4 pixel readout chips and measured at the CERN SPS H8 beamline using the FE-I4 beam telescope. Results for all fluences are very encouraging with all hit efficiencies being better than 97% for bias voltages of 85 V. The sample irradiated to a fluence of 1× 1015 neq—a relevant value for a large volume of the upgraded tracker—exhibited 99.7% average hit efficiency. The results give strong evidence for the radiation tolerance of HV-CMOS sensors and their suitability as sensors for the experimental HL-LHC upgrades and future large-area silicon-based tracking detectors in high-radiation environments.

A low power 3-5 GHz CMOS UWB receiver front-end

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Weinan; Huang Yumei; Hong Zhiliang

2009-01-01

A novel low power RF receiver front-end for 3-5 GHz UWB is presented. Designed in the 0.13 μm CMOS process, the direct conversion receiver features a wideband balun-coupled noise cancelling transconductance input stage, followed by quadrature passive mixers and transimpedance loading amplifiers. Measurement results show that the receiver achieves an input return loss below -8.5 dB across the 3.1-4.7 GHz frequency range, maximum voltage conversion gain of 27 dB, minimum noise figure of 4 dB, IIP3 of -11.5 dBm, and IIP2 of 33 dBm. Working under 1.2 V supply voltage, the receiver consumes total current of 18 mA including 10 mA by on-chip quadrature LO signal generation and buffer circuits. The chip area with pads is 1.1 x 1.5 mm 2 .

A Two-Stage Reconstruction Processor for Human Detection in Compressive Sensing CMOS Radar.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsao, Kuei-Chi; Lee, Ling; Chu, Ta-Shun; Huang, Yuan-Hao

2018-04-05

Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) radar has recently gained much research attraction because small and low-power CMOS devices are very suitable for deploying sensing nodes in a low-power wireless sensing system. This study focuses on the signal processing of a wireless CMOS impulse radar system that can detect humans and objects in the home-care internet-of-things sensing system. The challenges of low-power CMOS radar systems are the weakness of human signals and the high computational complexity of the target detection algorithm. The compressive sensing-based detection algorithm can relax the computational costs by avoiding the utilization of matched filters and reducing the analog-to-digital converter bandwidth requirement. The orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) is one of the popular signal reconstruction algorithms for compressive sensing radar; however, the complexity is still very high because the high resolution of human respiration leads to high-dimension signal reconstruction. Thus, this paper proposes a two-stage reconstruction algorithm for compressive sensing radar. The proposed algorithm not only has lower complexity than the OMP algorithm by 75% but also achieves better positioning performance than the OMP algorithm especially in noisy environments. This study also designed and implemented the algorithm by using Vertex-7 FPGA chip (Xilinx, San Jose, CA, USA). The proposed reconstruction processor can support the 256 × 13 real-time radar image display with a throughput of 28.2 frames per second.

A Two-Stage Reconstruction Processor for Human Detection in Compressive Sensing CMOS Radar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kuei-Chi Tsao

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS radar has recently gained much research attraction because small and low-power CMOS devices are very suitable for deploying sensing nodes in a low-power wireless sensing system. This study focuses on the signal processing of a wireless CMOS impulse radar system that can detect humans and objects in the home-care internet-of-things sensing system. The challenges of low-power CMOS radar systems are the weakness of human signals and the high computational complexity of the target detection algorithm. The compressive sensing-based detection algorithm can relax the computational costs by avoiding the utilization of matched filters and reducing the analog-to-digital converter bandwidth requirement. The orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP is one of the popular signal reconstruction algorithms for compressive sensing radar; however, the complexity is still very high because the high resolution of human respiration leads to high-dimension signal reconstruction. Thus, this paper proposes a two-stage reconstruction algorithm for compressive sensing radar. The proposed algorithm not only has lower complexity than the OMP algorithm by 75% but also achieves better positioning performance than the OMP algorithm especially in noisy environments. This study also designed and implemented the algorithm by using Vertex-7 FPGA chip (Xilinx, San Jose, CA, USA. The proposed reconstruction processor can support the 256 × 13 real-time radar image display with a throughput of 28.2 frames per second.

Non-Magnetic On-Chip Resonant Acousto-Optic Isolator at 780 nm

Science.gov (United States)

2017-08-04

actuator on a piezoelectric substrate. We fabricated the device using only CMOS-compatible dielectric materials with the assistance of e- beam...on-chip, without the use of magnetic fields or magneto-optical materials. Our technical approach was to employ momentum-conservation in photon-phonon...interactions to break the propagation symmetry of light using a unidirectional acoustic pump. This acoustic wave was transduced using an RF-driven SAW

Increasing SoC Dependability via Known Good Tile NoC Testing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kerkhoff, Hans G.; Kuiken, O.J.; Zhang, X.

2008-01-01

Advanced CMOS technology possibilities, power, communication and flexibility issues as well as the design gap are directing System-on-Chip (SoC) platforms towards Network-on-Chip (NoC) interconnected identical processing tiles (PT) such as the Montium processor [1]. It is broadly acknowledged that

Integrated sample-to-detection chip for nucleic acid test assays.

Science.gov (United States)

Prakash, R; Pabbaraju, K; Wong, S; Tellier, R; Kaler, K V I S

2016-06-01

Nucleic acid based diagnostic techniques are routinely used for the detection of infectious agents. Most of these assays rely on nucleic acid extraction platforms for the extraction and purification of nucleic acids and a separate real-time PCR platform for quantitative nucleic acid amplification tests (NATs). Several microfluidic lab on chip (LOC) technologies have been developed, where mechanical and chemical methods are used for the extraction and purification of nucleic acids. Microfluidic technologies have also been effectively utilized for chip based real-time PCR assays. However, there are few examples of microfluidic systems which have successfully integrated these two key processes. In this study, we have implemented an electro-actuation based LOC micro-device that leverages multi-frequency actuation of samples and reagents droplets for chip based nucleic acid extraction and real-time, reverse transcription (RT) PCR (qRT-PCR) amplification from clinical samples. Our prototype micro-device combines chemical lysis with electric field assisted isolation of nucleic acid in a four channel parallel processing scheme. Furthermore, a four channel parallel qRT-PCR amplification and detection assay is integrated to deliver the sample-to-detection NAT chip. The NAT chip combines dielectrophoresis and electrostatic/electrowetting actuation methods with resistive micro-heaters and temperature sensors to perform chip based integrated NATs. The two chip modules have been validated using different panels of clinical samples and their performance compared with standard platforms. This study has established that our integrated NAT chip system has a sensitivity and specificity comparable to that of the standard platforms while providing up to 10 fold reduction in sample/reagent volumes.

A prototype pixel readout chip for asynchronous detection applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raymond, D.M.; Hall, G.; Lewis, A.J.; Sharp, P.H.

1991-01-01

A two-dimensional array of amplifier cells has been fabricated as a prototype readout system for a matching array of silicon diode detectors. Each cell contains a preamplifier, shaping amplifier, comparator and analogue signal storage in an area of 300 μmx320 μm using 3 μm CMOS technology. Full size chips will be bump bonded to pixel detector arrays. Low noise and asynchronous operation are novel design features. With noise levels of less than 250 rms electrons for input capacitances up to 600 fF, pixel detectors will be suitable for autoradiography, synchrotron X-ray and high energy particle detection applications. The design of the prototype chip is presented and future developments and prospects for applications are discussed. (orig.)

Capacitive Micro Pressure Sensor Integrated with a Ring Oscillator Circuit on Chip

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng-Yang Liu

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The study investigates a capacitive micro pressure sensor integrated with a ring oscillator circuit on a chip. The integrated capacitive pressure sensor is fabricated using the commercial CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor process and a post-process. The ring oscillator is employed to convert the capacitance of the pressure sensor into the frequency output. The pressure sensor consists of 16 sensing cells in parallel. Each sensing cell contains a top electrode and a lower electrode, and the top electrode is a sandwich membrane. The pressure sensor needs a post-CMOS process to release the membranes after completion of the CMOS process. The post-process uses etchants to etch the sacrificial layers, and to release the membranes. The advantages of the post-process include easy execution and low cost. Experimental results reveal that the pressure sensor has a high sensitivity of 7 Hz/Pa in the pressure range of 0–300 kPa.

Hard rock tunnel boring machine penetration test as an indicator of chipping process efficiency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.C. Villeneuve

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The transition from grinding to chipping can be observed in tunnel boring machine (TBM penetration test data by plotting the penetration rate (distance/revolution against the net cutter thrust (force per cutter over the full range of penetration rates in the test. Correlating penetration test data to the geological and geomechanical characteristics of rock masses through which a penetration test is conducted provides the ability to reveal the efficiency of the chipping process in response to changing geological conditions. Penetration test data can also be used to identify stress-induced tunnel face instability. This research shows that the strength of the rock is an important parameter for controlling how much net cutter thrust is required to transition from grinding to chipping. It also shows that the geological characteristics of a rock will determine how efficient chipping occurs once it has begun. In particular, geological characteristics that lead to efficient fracture propagation, such as fabric and mica contents, will lead to efficient chipping. These findings will enable a better correlation between TBM performance and geological conditions for use in TBM design, as a basis for contractual payments where penetration rate dominates the excavation cycle and in further academic investigations into the TBM excavation process.

Conditional Dispersive Readout of a CMOS Single-Electron Memory Cell

Science.gov (United States)

Schaal, S.; Barraud, S.; Morton, J. J. L.; Gonzalez-Zalba, M. F.

2018-05-01

Quantum computers require interfaces with classical electronics for efficient qubit control, measurement, and fast data processing. Fabricating the qubit and the classical control layer using the same technology is appealing because it will facilitate the integration process, improving feedback speeds and offering potential solutions to wiring and layout challenges. Integrating classical and quantum devices monolithically, using complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) processes, enables the processor to profit from the most mature industrial technology for the fabrication of large-scale circuits. We demonstrate a CMOS single-electron memory cell composed of a single quantum dot and a transistor that locks charge on the quantum-dot gate. The single-electron memory cell is conditionally read out by gate-based dispersive sensing using a lumped-element L C resonator. The control field-effect transistor (FET) and quantum dot are fabricated on the same chip using fully depleted silicon-on-insulator technology. We obtain a charge sensitivity of δ q =95 ×10-6e Hz-1 /2 when the quantum-dot readout is enabled by the control FET, comparable to results without the control FET. Additionally, we observe a single-electron retention time on the order of a second when storing a single-electron charge on the quantum dot at millikelvin temperatures. These results demonstrate first steps towards time-based multiplexing of gate-based dispersive readout in CMOS quantum devices opening the path for the development of an all-silicon quantum-classical processor.

A high-speed on-chip pseudo-random binary sequence generator for multi-tone phase calibration

Science.gov (United States)

Gommé, Liesbeth; Vandersteen, Gerd; Rolain, Yves

2011-07-01

An on-chip reference generator is conceived by adopting the technique of decimating a pseudo-random binary sequence (PRBS) signal in parallel sequences. This is of great benefit when high-speed generation of PRBS and PRBS-derived signals is the objective. The design implemented standard CMOS logic is available in commercial libraries to provide the logic functions for the generator. The design allows the user to select the periodicity of the PRBS and the PRBS-derived signals. The characterization of the on-chip generator marks its performance and reveals promising specifications.

A high-speed on-chip pseudo-random binary sequence generator for multi-tone phase calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gommé, Liesbeth; Vandersteen, Gerd; Rolain, Yves

2011-01-01

An on-chip reference generator is conceived by adopting the technique of decimating a pseudo-random binary sequence (PRBS) signal in parallel sequences. This is of great benefit when high-speed generation of PRBS and PRBS-derived signals is the objective. The design implemented standard CMOS logic is available in commercial libraries to provide the logic functions for the generator. The design allows the user to select the periodicity of the PRBS and the PRBS-derived signals. The characterization of the on-chip generator marks its performance and reveals promising specifications

A capacitive CMOS-MEMS sensor designed by multi-physics simulation for integrated CMOS-MEMS technology

Science.gov (United States)

Konishi, Toshifumi; Yamane, Daisuke; Matsushima, Takaaki; Masu, Kazuya; Machida, Katsuyuki; Toshiyoshi, Hiroshi

2014-01-01

This paper reports the design and evaluation results of a capacitive CMOS-MEMS sensor that consists of the proposed sensor circuit and a capacitive MEMS device implemented on the circuit. To design a capacitive CMOS-MEMS sensor, a multi-physics simulation of the electromechanical behavior of both the MEMS structure and the sensing LSI was carried out simultaneously. In order to verify the validity of the design, we applied the capacitive CMOS-MEMS sensor to a MEMS accelerometer implemented by the post-CMOS process onto a 0.35-µm CMOS circuit. The experimental results of the CMOS-MEMS accelerometer exhibited good agreement with the simulation results within the input acceleration range between 0.5 and 6 G (1 G = 9.8 m/s2), corresponding to the output voltages between 908.6 and 915.4 mV, respectively. Therefore, we have confirmed that our capacitive CMOS-MEMS sensor and the multi-physics simulation will be beneficial method to realize integrated CMOS-MEMS technology.

Implementation of a monolithic capacitive accelerometer in a wafer-level 0.18 µm CMOS MEMS process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tseng, Sheng-Hsiang; Lu, Michael S-C; Wu, Po-Chang; Teng, Yu-Chen; Tsai, Hann-Huei; Juang, Ying-Zong

2012-01-01

This paper describes the design, fabrication and characterization of a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) accelerometer implemented in a 0.18 µm multi-project wafer (MPW) CMOS MEMS process. In addition to the standard CMOS process, an additional aluminum layer and a thick photoresist masking layer are employed to achieve etching and microstructural release. The structural thickness of the accelerometer is up to 9 µm and the minimum structural spacing is 2.3 µm. The out-of-plane deflection resulted from the vertical stress gradient over the whole device is controlled to be under 0.2 µm. The chip area containing the micromechanical structure and switched-capacitor sensing circuit is 1.18 × 0.9 mm 2 , and the total power consumption is only 0.7 mW. Within the sensing range of ±6 G, the measured nonlinearity is 1.07% and the cross-axis sensitivities with respect to the in-plane and out-of-plane are 0.5% and 5.8%, respectively. The average sensitivity of five tested accelerometers is 191.4 mV G −1 with a standard deviation of 2.5 mV G −1 . The measured output noise floor is 354 µG Hz −1/2 , corresponding to a 100 Hz 1 G sinusoidal acceleration. The measured output offset voltage is about 100 mV at 27 °C, and the zero-G temperature coefficient of the accelerometer output is 0.94 mV °C −1 below 85 °C. (paper)

The design of the CMOS wireless bar code scanner applying optical system based on ZigBee

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yuelin; Peng, Jian

2008-03-01

The traditional bar code scanner is influenced by the length of data line, but the farthest distance of the wireless bar code scanner of wireless communication is generally between 30m and 100m on the market. By rebuilding the traditional CCD optical bar code scanner, a CMOS code scanner is designed based on the ZigBee to meet the demands of market. The scan system consists of the CMOS image sensor and embedded chip S3C2401X, when the two dimensional bar code is read, the results show the inaccurate and wrong code bar, resulted from image defile, disturber, reads image condition badness, signal interference, unstable system voltage. So we put forward the method which uses the matrix evaluation and Read-Solomon arithmetic to solve them. In order to construct the whole wireless optics of bar code system and to ensure its ability of transmitting bar code image signals digitally with long distances, ZigBee is used to transmit data to the base station, and this module is designed based on image acquisition system, and at last the wireless transmitting/receiving CC2430 module circuit linking chart is established. And by transplanting the embedded RTOS system LINUX to the MCU, an applying wireless CMOS optics bar code scanner and multi-task system is constructed. Finally, performance of communication is tested by evaluation software Smart RF. In broad space, every ZIGBEE node can realize 50m transmission with high reliability. When adding more ZigBee nodes, the transmission distance can be several thousands of meters long.

The multichannel amplifier/discriminator CMOS ASIC for visual light photon counters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baturitsky, M.A.; Yurenya, Yu.P.Yu.P.

2002-01-01

The 18-channel CMOS custom monolithic amplifier/discriminator ASIC was designed as a front-end electronics chip for Visual Light Photon Counters which convert photons from scintillation fibre/strip detectors to electrical signals. One ASICs channel contains a charge-sensitive preamplifier, a discriminator to mark the arrival time of signals, and a charge divider to provide analog outputs for analog-to-digital conversion being performed by SVX2. The ASIC is proposed as one of the variants for possible future front-end electronics upgrading the D0 Central Fibre Tracker, Central and Forward Pre-Showers (Fermilab, Batavia, USA)

A 2 GS/s 8-bit folding and interpolating ADC in 90 nm CMOS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Wenwei; Meng Qiao; Zhang Yi; Tang Kai

2014-01-01

A single-channel 2 GS/s 8-bit analog-to-digital converter in 90 nm CMOS process technology is presented. It utilizes cascade folding architecture, which incorporates an additional inter-stage sample-and-hold amplifier between the folding circuits to enhance the quantization time. It also uses the foreground on-chip digital-assisted calibration circuit to improve the linearity of the circuit. The post simulation results demonstrate that it has a differential nonlinearity < ±0.3 LSB and an integral nonlinearity < ±0.25 LSB at the Nyquist frequency. Moreover, 7.338 effective numbers of bits can be achieved at 2 GSPS. The whole chip area is 0.88 × 0.88 mm 2 with the pad. It consumes 210 mW from a 1.2 V single supply. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

CMOS-TDI detector technology for reconnaissance application

Science.gov (United States)

Eckardt, Andreas; Reulke, Ralf; Jung, Melanie; Sengebusch, Karsten

2014-10-01

The Institute of Optical Sensor Systems (OS) at the Robotics and Mechatronics Center of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has more than 30 years of experience with high-resolution imaging technology. This paper shows the institute's scientific results of the leading-edge detector design CMOS in a TDI (Time Delay and Integration) architecture. This project includes the technological design of future high or multi-spectral resolution spaceborne instruments and the possibility of higher integration. DLR OS and the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems (IMS) in Duisburg were driving the technology of new detectors and the FPA design for future projects, new manufacturing accuracy and on-chip processing capability in order to keep pace with the ambitious scientific and user requirements. In combination with the engineering research, the current generation of space borne sensor systems is focusing on VIS/NIR high spectral resolution to meet the requirements on earth and planetary observation systems. The combination of large-swath and high-spectral resolution with intelligent synchronization control, fast-readout ADC (analog digital converter) chains and new focal-plane concepts opens the door to new remote-sensing and smart deep-space instruments. The paper gives an overview of the detector development status and verification program at DLR, as well as of new control possibilities for CMOS-TDI detectors in synchronization control mode.

Planar pixel sensors in commercial CMOS technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gonella, Laura; Hemperek, Tomasz; Huegging, Fabian; Krueger, Hans; Wermes, Norbert [Physikalisches Institut der Universitaet Bonn, Nussallee 12, 53115 Bonn (Germany); Macchiolo, Anna [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Foehringer Ring 6, 80805 Muenchen (Germany)

2015-07-01

For the upgrade of the ATLAS experiment at the high luminosity LHC, an all-silicon tracker is foreseen to cope with the increased rate and radiation levels. Pixel and strip detectors will have to cover an area of up to 200m2. To produce modules in high number at reduced costs, new sensor and bonding technologies have to be investigated. Commercial CMOS technologies on high resistive substrates can provide significant advantages in this direction. They offer cost effective, large volume sensor production. In addition to this, production is done on 8'' wafers allowing wafer-to-wafer bonding to the electronics, an interconnection technology substantially cheaper than the bump bonding process used for hybrid pixel detectors at the LHC. Both active and passive n-in-p pixel sensor prototypes have been submitted in a 150 nm CMOS technology on a 2kΩ cm substrate. The passive sensor design will be used to characterize sensor properties and to investigate wafer-to-wafer bonding technologies. This first prototype is made of a matrix of 36 x 16 pixels of size compatible with the FE-I4 readout chip (i.e. 50 μm x 250 μm). Results from lab characterization of this first submission are shown together with TCAD simulations. Work towards a full size FE-I4 sensor for wafer-to-wafer bonding is discussed.

A 6-bit 4 GS/s pseudo-thermometer segmented CMOS DAC

Science.gov (United States)

Yijun, Song; Wenyuan, Li

2014-06-01

A 6-bit 4 GS/s, high-speed and power-efficient DAC for ultra-high-speed transceivers in 60 GHz band millimeter wave technology is presented. A novel pseudo-thermometer architecture is proposed to realize a good compromise between the fast conversion speed and the chip area. Symmetrical and compact floor planning and layout techniques including tree-like routing, cross-quading and common-centroid method are adopted to guarantee the chip is fully functional up to near-Nyquist frequency in a standard 0.18 μm CMOS process. Post simulation results corroborate the feasibility of the designed DAC, which canperform good static and dynamic linearity without calibration. DNL errors and INL errors can be controlled within ±0.28 LSB and ±0.26 LSB, respectively. SFDR at 4 GHz clock frequency for a 1.9 GHz near-Nyquist sinusoidal output signal is 40.83 dB and the power dissipation is less than 37 mW.

A 6-bit 4 GS/s pseudo-thermometer segmented CMOS DAC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Yijun; Li Wenyuan

2014-01-01

A 6-bit 4 GS/s, high-speed and power-efficient DAC for ultra-high-speed transceivers in 60 GHz band millimeter wave technology is presented. A novel pseudo-thermometer architecture is proposed to realize a good compromise between the fast conversion speed and the chip area. Symmetrical and compact floor planning and layout techniques including tree-like routing, cross-quading and common-centroid method are adopted to guarantee the chip is fully functional up to near-Nyquist frequency in a standard 0.18 μm CMOS process. Post simulation results corroborate the feasibility of the designed DAC, which canperform good static and dynamic linearity without calibration. DNL errors and INL errors can be controlled within ±0.28 LSB and ±0.26 LSB, respectively. SFDR at 4 GHz clock frequency for a 1.9 GHz near-Nyquist sinusoidal output signal is 40.83 dB and the power dissipation is less than 37 mW. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Probing and irradiation tests of ALICE pixel chip wafers and sensors

CERN Document Server

Cinausero, M; Antinori, F; Chochula, P; Dinapoli, R; Dima, R; Fabris, D; Galet, G; Lunardon, M; Manea, C; Marchini, S; Martini, S; Moretto, S; Pepato, Adriano; Prete, G; Riedler, P; Scarlassara, F; Segato, G F; Soramel, F; Stefanini, G; Turrisi, R; Vannucci, L; Viesti, G

2004-01-01

In the framework of the ALICE Silicon Pixel Detector (SPD) project a system dedicated to the tests of the ALICE1LHCb chip wafers has been assembled and is now in use for the selection of pixel chips to be bump-bonded to sensor ladders. In parallel, radiation hardness tests of the SPD silicon sensors have been carried out using the 27 MeV proton beam delivered by the XTU TANDEM accelerator at the SIRAD facility in LNL. In this paper we describe the wafer probing and irradiation set-ups and we report the obtained results. (6 refs).

A CMOS delay locked loop and sub-nanosecond time-to-digital converter chip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, D.M.; Dow, S.F.; Flasck, J.M.; Levi, M.E.

1996-01-01

Phase-locked loops have been employed in the past to obtain sub-nanosecond time resolution in high energy physics and nuclear science applications. An alternative solution based on a delay-locked loop (DLL) is described. This solution allows for a very high level of integration yet still offers resolution in the sub-nanosecond regime. Two variations on this solution are outlined. A novel phase detector, based on the Mueller C-element, is used to implement a charge pump where the injected charge approaches zero as the loop approaches lock on the leading edge of an input clock reference. This greatly reduces timing jitter. In the second variation the loop locks to both the leading and trailing clock edges. In this second implementation, software coded layout generators are used to automatically layout a highly integrated, multichannel, time-to-digital converter (TDC) targeted for one specific frequency. The two circuits, DLL and TDC, are implemented in CMOS 1.2 microm and 0.8 microm technologies, respectively. Test results show a timing jitter of less than 30 ps for the DLL circuit and less than 190 ps integral and differential nonlinearity for the TDC circuit

A linearization time-domain CMOS smart temperature sensor using a curvature compensation oscillator.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chun-Chi; Chen, Hao-Wen

2013-08-28

This paper presents an area-efficient time-domain CMOS smart temperature sensor using a curvature compensation oscillator for linearity enhancement with a -40 to 120 °C temperature range operability. The inverter-based smart temperature sensors can substantially reduce the cost and circuit complexity of integrated temperature sensors. However, a large curvature exists on the temperature-to-time transfer curve of the inverter-based delay line and results in poor linearity of the sensor output. For cost reduction and error improvement, a temperature-to-pulse generator composed of a ring oscillator and a time amplifier was used to generate a thermal sensing pulse with a sufficient width proportional to the absolute temperature (PTAT). Then, a simple but effective on-chip curvature compensation oscillator is proposed to simultaneously count and compensate the PTAT pulse with curvature for linearization. With such a simple structure, the proposed sensor possesses an extremely small area of 0.07 mm2 in a TSMC 0.35-mm CMOS 2P4M digital process. By using an oscillator-based scheme design, the proposed sensor achieves a fine resolution of 0.045 °C without significantly increasing the circuit area. With the curvature compensation, the inaccuracy of -1.2 to 0.2 °C is achieved in an operation range of -40 to 120 °C after two-point calibration for 14 packaged chips. The power consumption is measured as 23 mW at a sample rate of 10 samples/s.

Implantable Biomedical Signal Monitoring Using RF Energy Harvestingand On-Chip Antenna

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiann-Shiun Yuan

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the design of an energy harvesting wireless and battery-less silicon-on-chip (SoC device that can be implanted in the human body to monitor certain health conditions. The proposed architecture has been designed on TSMC 0.18μm CMOS ICs and is an integrated system with a rectenna (antenna and rectifier and transmitting circuit, all on a single chip powered by an external transmitter and that is small enough to be inserted in the human eye, heart or brain. The transmitting and receiving antennas operate in the 5.8- GHz ISM band and have a -10dB gain. The distinguishing feature of this design is the rectenna that comprises of a singlestage diode connected NMOS rectifier and a 3-D on-chip antenna that occupies only 2.5 × 1 × 2.8 mm3 of chip area and has the ability to communicate within proximity of 5 cm while giving 10% efficiency. The external source is a reader that powers up the RF rectifier in the implantable chip triggering it to start sending data back to the reader enabling an efficient method of health evaluation for the patient.

A CMOS pressure sensor tag chip for passive wireless applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Fangming; He, Yigang; Li, Bing; Zuo, Lei; Wu, Xiang; Fu, Zhihui

2015-03-23

This paper presents a novel monolithic pressure sensor tag for passive wireless applications. The proposed pressure sensor tag is based on an ultra-high frequency RFID system. The pressure sensor element is implemented in the 0.18 µm CMOS process and the membrane gap is formed by sacrificial layer release, resulting in a sensitivity of 1.2 fF/kPa within the range from 0 to 600 kPa. A three-stage rectifier adopts a chain of auxiliary floating rectifier cells to boost the gate voltage of the switching transistors, resulting in a power conversion efficiency of 53% at the low input power of -20 dBm. The capacitive sensor interface, using phase-locked loop archietcture, employs fully-digital blocks, which results in a 7.4 bits resolution and 0.8 µW power dissipation at 0.8 V supply voltage. The proposed passive wireless pressure sensor tag costs a total 3.2 µW power dissipation.

Low temperature co-fired ceramic packaging of CMOS capacitive sensor chip towards cell viability monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Halonen, Niina; Kilpijärvi, Joni; Sobocinski, Maciej; Datta-Chaudhuri, Timir; Hassinen, Antti; Prakash, Someshekar B; Möller, Peter; Abshire, Pamela; Kellokumpu, Sakari; Lloyd Spetz, Anita

2016-01-01

Cell viability monitoring is an important part of biosafety evaluation for the detection of toxic effects on cells caused by nanomaterials, preferably by label-free, noninvasive, fast, and cost effective methods. These requirements can be met by monitoring cell viability with a capacitance-sensing integrated circuit (IC) microchip. The capacitance provides a measurement of the surface attachment of adherent cells as an indication of their health status. However, the moist, warm, and corrosive biological environment requires reliable packaging of the sensor chip. In this work, a second generation of low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology was combined with flip-chip bonding to provide a durable package compatible with cell culture. The LTCC-packaged sensor chip was integrated with a printed circuit board, data acquisition device, and measurement-controlling software. The packaged sensor chip functioned well in the presence of cell medium and cells, with output voltages depending on the medium above the capacitors. Moreover, the manufacturing of microfluidic channels in the LTCC package was demonstrated.

Electron Spin Resonance Measurement with Microinductor on Chip

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akio Kitagawa

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The detection of radicals on a chip is demonstrated. The proposed method is based on electron spin resonance (ESR spectroscopy and the measurement of high-frequency impedance of the microinductor fabricated on the chip. The measurement was by using a frequency sweep of approximately 100 MHz. The ESR spectra of di(phenyl-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyliminoazanium (DPPH dropped on the microinductor which is fabricated with CMOS 350-nm technology were observed at room temperature. The volume of the DPPH ethanol solution was 2 μL, and the number of spins on the micro-inductor was estimated at about 1014. The sensitivity is not higher than that of the standard ESR spectrometers. However, the result indicates the feasibility of a near field radical sensor in which the microinductor as a probe head and ESR signal processing circuit are integrated.

Digital Power Consumption Estimations for CHIPIX65 Pixel Readout Chip

CERN Document Server

Marcotulli, Andrea

2016-01-01

New hybrid pixel detectors with improved resolution capable of dealing with hit rates up to 3 GHz/cm2 will be required for future High Energy Physics experiments in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Given this, the RD53 collaboration works on the design of the next generation pixel readout chip needed for both the ATLAS and CMS detector phase 2 pixel upgrades. For the RD53 demonstrator chip in 65nm CMOS technology, different architectures are considered. In particular the purpose of this work is estimating the power consumption of the digital architecture of the readout ASIC developed by CHIPIX65 project of the INFN National Scientific Committee. This has been done with modern chip design tools integrated with the VEPIX53 simulation framework that has been developed within the RD53 collaboration in order to assess the performance of the system in very high rate, high energy physics experiments.

Core-shell magnetic nanoparticles for on-chip RF inductors

KAUST Repository

Koh, Kisik

2013-01-01

FeNi3 based core-shell magnetic nanoparticles are demonstrated as the magnetic core material for on-chip, radio frequency (RF) inductors. FeNi3 nanoparticles with 50-150 nm in diameter with 15-20 nm-thick SiO2 coating are chemically synthesized and deposited on a planar inductor as the magnetic core to enhance both inductance (L) and quality factor (Q) of the inductor. Experimentally, the ferromagnetic resonant frequency of the on-chip inductors based on FeNi3 core-shell nanoparticles has been shown to be over several GHz. A post-CMOS process has been developed to integrate the magnetic nanoparticles to a planar inductor and inductance enhancements up to 50% of the original magnitude with slightly enhanced Q-factor up to 1 GHz have been achieved. © 2013 IEEE.

Long term ionization response of several BiCMOS VLSIC technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pease, R.L.; Combs, W.; Clark, S.

1992-01-01

BiCMOS is emerging as a strong competitor to CMOS for gate arrays and memories because of its performance advantages for the same feature size. In this paper, the authors examine the long term ionization response of five BiCMOS technologies by characterizing test structures which emphasize the various failure modes of CMOS and bipolar. The primary failure modes are found to be associated with the recessed field oxide isolation; edge leakage in the n channel MOSFETs and buried layer to buried layer leakage in the bipolar. The ionization failure thresholds for worst case bias were in the range of 5-20 Krad(Si) for both failure modes in all five technologies

Statistical Analysis of the Random Telegraph Noise in a 1.1 μm Pixel, 8.3 MP CMOS Image Sensor Using On-Chip Time Constant Extraction Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Calvin Yi-Ping; Tu, Honyih; Wu, Thomas Meng-Hsiu; Chou, Kuo-Yu; Yeh, Shang-Fu; Yin, Chin; Lee, Chih-Lin

2017-11-23

A study of the random telegraph noise (RTN) of a 1.1 μm pitch, 8.3 Mpixel CMOS image sensor (CIS) fabricated in a 45 nm backside-illumination (BSI) technology is presented in this paper. A noise decomposition scheme is used to pinpoint the noise source. The long tail of the random noise (RN) distribution is directly linked to the RTN from the pixel source follower (SF). The full 8.3 Mpixels are classified into four categories according to the observed RTN histogram peaks. A theoretical formula describing the RTN as a function of the time difference between the two phases of the correlated double sampling (CDS) is derived and validated by measured data. An on-chip time constant extraction method is developed and applied to the RTN analysis. The effects of readout circuit bandwidth on the settling ratios of the RTN histograms are investigated and successfully accounted for in a simulation using a RTN behavior model.

Characterization of a fully resonant, 1-MHz, 25-watt, DC/DC converter fabricated in a rad-hard BiCMOS/high-voltage process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Titus, J.L.; Gehlhausen, M.A.; Desko, J.C. Jr.; Nguyen, T.T.; Roberts, D.J.; Shibib, M.A.; Hollenbach, K.E.

1995-01-01

This paper presents the characterization of a DC/DC converter prototype when its power integrated circuit (PIC) chip is exposed to total dose, dose rate, neutron, and heavy ion environments. This fully resonant, 1-MHZ, 25-Watt, DC/DC converter is composed of a brassboard, populated with input/output filters, isolation transformers, output rectifier, capacitors, resistors, and PIC chip, integrating the primary-side control circuitry, secondary-side control circuitry, power switch, gate-drive circuitry, and voltage references. The brassboard is built using commercial off-the-shelf components; and the PIC chip is fabricated using AT and T's rad-hard, bipolar complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS)/high-voltage process. The intent of this paper is to demonstrate that the PIC chip is fabricated with a radiation-hardened process and to demonstrate that various analog, digital, and power functions can be effectively integrated

A Monolithic CMOS Magnetic Hall Sensor with High Sensitivity and Linearity Characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Haiyun; Wang, Dejun; Xu, Yue

2015-10-27

This paper presents a fully integrated linear Hall sensor by means of 0.8 μm high voltage complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. This monolithic Hall sensor chip features a highly sensitive horizontal switched Hall plate and an efficient signal conditioner using dynamic offset cancellation technique. An improved cross-like Hall plate achieves high magnetic sensitivity and low offset. A new spinning current modulator stabilizes the quiescent output voltage and improves the reliability of the signal conditioner. The tested results show that at the 5 V supply voltage, the maximum Hall output voltage of the monolithic Hall sensor microsystem, is up to ±2.1 V and the linearity of Hall output voltage is higher than 99% in the magnetic flux density range from ±5 mT to ±175 mT. The output equivalent residual offset is 0.48 mT and the static power consumption is 20 mW.

A Monolithic CMOS Magnetic Hall Sensor with High Sensitivity and Linearity Characteristics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haiyun Huang

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a fully integrated linear Hall sensor by means of 0.8 μm high voltage complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS technology. This monolithic Hall sensor chip features a highly sensitive horizontal switched Hall plate and an efficient signal conditioner using dynamic offset cancellation technique. An improved cross-like Hall plate achieves high magnetic sensitivity and low offset. A new spinning current modulator stabilizes the quiescent output voltage and improves the reliability of the signal conditioner. The tested results show that at the 5 V supply voltage, the maximum Hall output voltage of the monolithic Hall sensor microsystem, is up to ±2.1 V and the linearity of Hall output voltage is higher than 99% in the magnetic flux density range from ±5 mT to ±175 mT. The output equivalent residual offset is 0.48 mT and the static power consumption is 20 mW.

Post-CMOS selective electroplating technique for the improvement of CMOS-MEMS accelerometers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yu-Chia; Tsai, Ming-Han; Fang, Weileun; Tang, Tsung-Lin

2011-01-01

This study presents a simple approach to improve the performance of the CMOS-MEMS capacitive accelerometer by means of the post-CMOS metal electroplating process. The metal layer can be selectively electroplated on the MEMS structures at low temperature and the thickness of the metal layer can be easily adjusted by this process. Thus the performance of the capacitive accelerometer (i.e. sensitivity, noise floor and the minimum detectable signal) can be improved. In application, the proposed accelerometers have been implemented using (1) the standard CMOS 0.35 µm 2P4M process by CMOS foundry, (2) Ti/Au seed layers deposition/patterning by MEMS foundry and (3) in-house post-CMOS electroplating and releasing processes. Measurements indicate that the sensitivity is improved 2.85-fold, noise is decreased near 1.7-fold and the minimum detectable signal is improved from 1 to 0.2 G after nickel electroplating. Moreover, unwanted structure deformation due to the temperature variation is significantly suppressed by electroplated nickel.

A Cytomorphic Chip for Quantitative Modeling of Fundamental Bio-Molecular Circuits.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-08-01

We describe a 0.35 μm BiCMOS silicon chip that quantitatively models fundamental molecular circuits via efficient log-domain cytomorphic transistor equivalents. These circuits include those for biochemical binding with automatic representation of non-modular and loading behavior, e.g., in cascade and fan-out topologies; for representing variable Hill-coefficient operation and cooperative binding; for representing inducer, transcription-factor, and DNA binding; for probabilistic gene transcription with analogic representations of log-linear and saturating operation; for gain, degradation, and dynamics of mRNA and protein variables in transcription and translation; and, for faithfully representing biological noise via tunable stochastic transistor circuits. The use of on-chip DACs and ADCs enables multiple chips to interact via incoming and outgoing molecular digital data packets and thus create scalable biochemical reaction networks. The use of off-chip digital processors and on-chip digital memory enables programmable connectivity and parameter storage. We show that published static and dynamic MATLAB models of synthetic biological circuits including repressilators, feed-forward loops, and feedback oscillators are in excellent quantitative agreement with those from transistor circuits on the chip. Computationally intensive stochastic Gillespie simulations of molecular production are also rapidly reproduced by the chip and can be reliably tuned over the range of signal-to-noise ratios observed in biological cells.

CMOS analog circuit design

CERN Document Server

Allen, Phillip E

1987-01-01

This text presents the principles and techniques for designing analog circuits to be implemented in a CMOS technology. The level is appropriate for seniors and graduate students familiar with basic electronics, including biasing, modeling, circuit analysis, and some familiarity with frequency response. Students learn the methodology of analog integrated circuit design through a hierarchically-oriented approach to the subject that provides thorough background and practical guidance for designing CMOS analog circuits, including modeling, simulation, and testing. The authors' vast industrial experience and knowledge is reflected in the circuits, techniques, and principles presented. They even identify the many common pitfalls that lie in the path of the beginning designer--expert advice from veteran designers. The text mixes the academic and practical viewpoints in a treatment that is neither superficial nor overly detailed, providing the perfect balance.

Test-Access Planning and Test Scheduling for Embedded Core-Based System Chips

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goel, Sandeep Kumar

2005-01-01

Advances in the semiconductor process technology enable the creation of a complete system on one single die, the so-called system chip or SOC. To reduce time-to-market for large SOCs, reuse of pre-designed and pre-veried blocks called cores is employed. Like the design style, testing of SOCs can be

Neutron-induced Single Event Upset on the RPC front-end chips for the CMS experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abbrescia, M.; Colaleo, A.; Iaselli, G.; Loddo, F.; Maggi, M.; Marangelli, B.; Natali, S.; Nuzzo, S.; Pugliese, G.; Ranieri, A.; Romano, F.; Altieri, S.; Belli, G.; Bruno, G.; Guida, R.; Merlo, M.; Ratti, S.P.; Riccardi, C.; Torre, P.; Vitulo, P. E-mail: paolo.vitulo@pv.infn.it; De Bari, A.; Manera, S

2002-05-21

Neutrons from a reactor and from a cyclotron have been used to characterise the CMS Resistive Plate Chambers (RPCs) front-end chip to neutron-induced damaging events. Single Event Upset (SEU) cross-sections have been measured up to 60 MeV for different chip thresholds. Tests at a reactor were done with an integrated fast (E{sub n}>3 MeV) neutron fluence of 1.7x10{sup 10} cm{sup -2} and a thermal neutron fluence of 9.5x10{sup 11} cm{sup -2}. High-energy neutrons from a cyclotron were used up to a fluence of 10{sup 12} cm{sup -2}. Data indicate the existence of a chip SEU sensitivity already at thermal energy and a saturated SEU cross-section from 3 to 60 MeV. Values of the SEU cross-sections from the thermal run well agree with those obtained by another CMS group that uses the same technology (0.8 {mu}m BiCMOS) though with different architecture. Cross-sections obtained with fast neutrons (from 3 MeV to about 10 MeV) are consistently higher by one order of magnitude compared to the thermal one. The average time between consecutive SEU events in each chip of the CMS barrel RPCs can be estimated to be 1 h.

LDRD Final Report - Investigations of the impact of the process integration of deposited magnetic films for magnetic memory technologies on radiation-hardened CMOS devices and circuits - LDRD Project (FY99)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

MYERS,DAVID R.; JESSING,JEFFREY R.; SPAHN,OLGA B.; SHANEYFELT,MARTY R.

2000-01-01

This project represented a coordinated LLNL-SNL collaboration to investigate the feasibility of developing radiation-hardened magnetic non-volatile memories using giant magnetoresistance (GMR) materials. The intent of this limited-duration study was to investigate whether giant magnetoresistance (GMR) materials similar to those used for magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) were process compatible with functioning CMOS circuits. Sandia's work on this project demonstrated that deposition of GMR materials did not affect the operation nor the radiation hardness of Sandia's rad-hard CMOS technology, nor did the integration of GMR materials and exposure to ionizing radiation affect the magnetic properties of the GMR films. Thus, following deposition of GMR films on rad-hard integrated circuits, both the circuits and the films survived ionizing radiation levels consistent with DOE mission requirements. Furthermore, Sandia developed techniques to pattern deposited GMR films without degrading the completed integrated circuits upon which they were deposited. The present feasibility study demonstrated all the necessary processing elements to allow fabrication of the non-volatile memory elements onto an existing CMOS chip, and even allow the use of embedded (on-chip) non-volatile memories for system-on-a-chip applications, even in demanding radiation environments. However, funding agencies DTRA, AIM, and DARPA did not have any funds available to support the required follow-on technology development projects that would have been required to develop functioning prototype circuits, nor were such funds available from LDRD nor from other DOE program funds.

LDRD Final Report - Investigations of the impact of the process integration of deposited magnetic films for magnetic memory technologies on radiation hardened CMOS devices and circuits - LDRD Project (FY99)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myers, David R.; Jessing, Jeffrey R.; Spahn, Olga B.; Shaneyfelt, Marty R.

2000-01-01

This project represented a coordinated LLNL-SNL collaboration to investigate the feasibility of developing radiation-hardened magnetic non-volatile memories using giant magnetoresistance (GMR) materials. The intent of this limited-duration study was to investigate whether giant magnetoresistance (GMR) materials similar to those used for magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) were process compatible with functioning CMOS circuits. Sandia's work on this project demonstrated that deposition of GMR materials did not affect the operation nor the radiation hardness of Sandia's rad-hard CMOS technology, nor did the integration of GMR materials and exposure to ionizing radiation affect the magnetic properties of the GMR films. Thus, following deposition of GMR films on rad-hard integrated circuits, both the circuits and the films survived ionizing radiation levels consistent with DOE mission requirements. Furthermore, Sandia developed techniques to pattern deposited GMR films without degrading the completed integrated circuits upon which they were deposited. The present feasibility study demonstrated all the necessary processing elements to allow fabrication of the non-volatile memory elements onto an existing CMOS chip, and even allow the use of embedded (on-chip) non-volatile memories for system-on-a-chip applications, even in demanding radiation environments. However, funding agencies DTRA, AIM, and DARPA did not have any funds available to support the required follow-on technology development projects that would have been required to develop functioning prototype circuits, nor were such funds available from LDRD nor from other DOE program funds

Low temperature co-fired ceramic packaging of CMOS capacitive sensor chip towards cell viability monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niina Halonen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Cell viability monitoring is an important part of biosafety evaluation for the detection of toxic effects on cells caused by nanomaterials, preferably by label-free, noninvasive, fast, and cost effective methods. These requirements can be met by monitoring cell viability with a capacitance-sensing integrated circuit (IC microchip. The capacitance provides a measurement of the surface attachment of adherent cells as an indication of their health status. However, the moist, warm, and corrosive biological environment requires reliable packaging of the sensor chip. In this work, a second generation of low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC technology was combined with flip-chip bonding to provide a durable package compatible with cell culture. The LTCC-packaged sensor chip was integrated with a printed circuit board, data acquisition device, and measurement-controlling software. The packaged sensor chip functioned well in the presence of cell medium and cells, with output voltages depending on the medium above the capacitors. Moreover, the manufacturing of microfluidic channels in the LTCC package was demonstrated.

A 32-channel, 025 mum CMOS ASIC for the readout of the silicon drift detectors of the ALICE experiment

CERN Document Server

Mazza, G; Anghinolfi, F; Martínez, M I; Rivetti, A; Rotondo, F

2004-01-01

In this paper we present a 32 channel ASIC prototype for the readout of the silicon drift detectors (SDDs) of the ALICE experiment. The ASIC integrates on the same substrate 32 transimpedance amplifiers, a 32 x 256 cell analogue memory and 16 successive approximation 10 bit A/D converters. The circuit amplifies and samples at 40 MS/s the input signal in a continuous way. When an external trigger signal validates the acquisition, the sampling is stopped and the data are digitized at lower speed (0.5 MS/s). The chip has been designed and fabricated in a commercial 0.25 mum CMOS technology. It has been extensively tested both on a bench and connected with a detector in several beam tests. In this paper both design issues and test results are presented. The radiation tolerance of the design has been increased by special layout techniques. Total dose irradiation tests are also presented.

Micro-scale characterization of a CMOS-based neutron detector for in-phantom measurements in radiation therapy

Science.gov (United States)

Arbor, Nicolas; Higueret, Stephane; Husson, Daniel

2018-04-01

The CMOS sensor AlphaRad has been designed at the IPHC Strasbourg for real-time monitoring of fast and thermal neutrons over a full energy spectrum. Completely integrated, highly transparent to photons and optimized for low power consumption, this sensor offers very interesting characteristics for the study of internal neutrons in radiation therapy with anthropomorphic phantoms. However, specific effects related to the CMOS metal substructure and to the charge collection process of low energy particles must be carefully estimated before being used for medical applications. We present a detailed characterization of the AlphaRad chip in the MeV energy range using proton and alpha micro-beam experiments performed at the AIFIRA facility (CENBG, Bordeaux). Two-dimensional maps of the charge collection were carried out on a micro-metric scale to be integrated into a Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation of the system. The gamma rejection, as well as the fast and thermal neutrons separation, were studied using both simulation and experimental data. The results highlight the potential of a future system based on CMOS sensor for in-phantom neutron detection in radiation therapies.

Back End of Line Nanorelays for Ultra-low Power Monolithic Integrated NEMS-CMOS Circuits

KAUST Repository

Lechuga Aranda, Jesus Javier

2016-05-01

Since the introduction of Complementary-Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) technology, the chip industry has enjoyed many benefits of transistor feature size scaling, including higher speed and device density and improved energy efficiency. However, in the recent years, the IC designers have encountered a few roadblocks, namely reaching the physical limits of scaling and also increased device leakage which has resulted in a slow-down of supply voltage and power density scaling. Therefore, there has been an extensive hunt for alternative circuit architectures and switching devices that can alleviate or eliminate the current crisis in the semiconductor industry. The Nano-Electro-Mechanical (NEM) relay is a promising alternative switch that offers zero leakage and abrupt turn-on behaviour. Even though these devices are intrinsically slower than CMOS transistors, new circuit design techniques tailored for the electromechanical properties of such devices can be leveraged to design medium performance, ultra-low power integrated circuits. In this thesis, we deal with a new generation of such devices that is built in the back end of line (BEOL) CMOS process and is an ideal option for full integration with current CMOS transistor technology. Simulation and verification at the circuit and system level is a critical step in the design flow of microelectronic circuits, and this is especially important for new technologies that lack the standard design infrastructure and well-known verification platforms. Although most of the physical and electrical properties of NEM structures can be simulated using standard electronic automation software, there is no report of a reliable behavioural model for NEMS switches that enable large circuit simulations. In this work, we present an optimised model of a BEOL nano relay that encompasses all the electromechanical characteristics of the device and is robust and lightweight enough for VLSI applications that require simulation of thousands of

Development of Pixel Front-End Electronics using Advanced Deep Submicron CMOS Technologies

CERN Document Server

Havránek, Miroslav; Dingfelder, Jochen

The content of this thesis is oriented on the R&D; of microelectronic integrated circuits for processing the signal from particle sensors and partially on the sensors themselves. This work is motivated by ongoing upgrades of the ATLAS Pixel Detector at CERN laboratory and by exploration of new technologies for the future experiments in particle physics. Evolution of technologies for the fabrication of microelectronic circuits follows Moore’s laws. Transistors become smaller and electronic chips reach higher complexity. Apart from this, silicon foundries become more open to smaller customers and often provide non-standard process options. Two new directions in pixel technologies are explored in this thesis: design of pixel electronics using ultra deep submicron (65 nm) CMOS technology and Depleted Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (DMAPS). An independent project concerning the measurement of pixel capacitance with a dedicated measurement chip is a part of this thesis. Pixel capacitance is one of the key pa...

Design of CMOS analog integrated fractional-order circuits applications in medicine and biology

CERN Document Server

Tsirimokou, Georgia; Elwakil, Ahmed

2017-01-01

This book describes the design and realization of analog fractional-order circuits, which are suitable for on-chip implementation, capable of low-voltage operation and electronic adjustment of their characteristics. The authors provide a brief introduction to fractional-order calculus, followed by design issues for fractional-order circuits of various orders and types. The benefits of this approach are demonstrated with current-mode and voltage-mode filter designs. Electronically tunable emulators of fractional-order capacitors and inductors are presented, where the behavior of the corresponding chips fabricated using the AMS 0.35um CMOS process has been experimentally verified. Applications of fractional-order circuits are demonstrated, including a pre-processing stage suitable for the implementation of the Pan-Tompkins algorithm for detecting the QRS complexes of an electrocardiogram (ECG), a fully tunable implementation of the Cole-Cole model used for the modeling of biological tissues, and a simple, non-i...

Sensors i estratègies de test de circuits digitals CMOS per vigilància del consum

OpenAIRE

Rius Vázquez, Josep

1997-01-01

El objetivo de la tesis es realizar aportaciones en el campo de las estrategias de test basadas en la vigilancia del consumo quiescente de los circuitos integrados CMOS y de los sensores utilizados para dicho fin (test de corriente o test iddq). Para ello se analiza en primer lugar el estado del arte en el diseño de sensores para el test IDDQ y se extraen criterios para la evaluacion de la calidad de dichos sensores. En la tesis se propone un nuevo tipo de sensor integrado (proportional built...

First tests of CHERWELL, a Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor: A CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) using 180 nm technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mylroie-Smith, James, E-mail: j.mylroie-smith@qmul.ac.uk [Queen Mary, University of London (United Kingdom); Kolya, Scott; Velthuis, Jaap [University of Bristol (United Kingdom); Bevan, Adrian; Inguglia, Gianluca [Queen Mary, University of London (United Kingdom); Headspith, Jon; Lazarus, Ian; Lemon, Roy [Daresbury Laboratory, STFC (United Kingdom); Crooks, Jamie; Turchetta, Renato; Wilson, Fergus [Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, STFC (United Kingdom)

2013-12-11

The Cherwell is a 4T CMOS sensor in 180 nm technology developed for the detection of charged particles. Here, the different test structures on the sensor will be described and first results from tests on the reference pixel variant are shown. The sensors were shown to have a noise of 12 e{sup −} and a signal to noise up to 150 in {sup 55}Fe.

CMOS image sensor with contour enhancement

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Liya; Lai, Xiaofeng; Chen, Kun; Yuan, Xianghui

2010-10-01

Imitating the signal acquisition and processing of vertebrate retina, a CMOS image sensor with bionic pre-processing circuit is designed. Integration of signal-process circuit on-chip can reduce the requirement of bandwidth and precision of the subsequent interface circuit, and simplify the design of the computer-vision system. This signal pre-processing circuit consists of adaptive photoreceptor, spatial filtering resistive network and Op-Amp calculation circuit. The adaptive photoreceptor unit with a dynamic range of approximately 100 dB has a good self-adaptability for the transient changes in light intensity instead of intensity level itself. Spatial low-pass filtering resistive network used to mimic the function of horizontal cell, is composed of the horizontal resistor (HRES) circuit and OTA (Operational Transconductance Amplifier) circuit. HRES circuit, imitating dendrite of the neuron cell, comprises of two series MOS transistors operated in weak inversion region. Appending two diode-connected n-channel transistors to a simple transconductance amplifier forms the OTA Op-Amp circuit, which provides stable bias voltage for the gate of MOS transistors in HRES circuit, while serves as an OTA voltage follower to provide input voltage for the network nodes. The Op-Amp calculation circuit with a simple two-stage Op-Amp achieves the image contour enhancing. By adjusting the bias voltage of the resistive network, the smoothing effect can be tuned to change the effect of image's contour enhancement. Simulations of cell circuit and 16×16 2D circuit array are implemented using CSMC 0.5μm DPTM CMOS process.

A Low-Noise CMOS THz Imager Based on Source Modulation and an In-Pixel High-Q Passive Switched-Capacitor N-Path Filter.

Science.gov (United States)

Boukhayma, Assim; Dupret, Antoine; Rostaing, Jean-Pierre; Enz, Christian

2016-03-03

This paper presents the first low noise complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) deletedCMOS terahertz (THz) imager based on source modulation and in-pixel high-Q filtering. The 31 × 31 focal plane array has been fully integrated in a 0 . 13 μ m standard CMOS process. The sensitivity has been improved significantly by modulating the active THz source that lights the scene and performing on-chip high-Q filtering. Each pixel encompass a broadband bow tie antenna coupled to an N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) detector that shifts the THz radiation, a low noise adjustable gain amplifier and a high-Q filter centered at the modulation frequency. The filter is based on a passive switched-capacitor (SC) N-path filter combined with a continuous-time broad-band Gm-C filter. A simplified analysis that helps in designing and tuning the passive SC N-path filter is provided. The characterization of the readout chain shows that a Q factor of 100 has been achieved for the filter with a good matching between the analytical calculation and the measurement results. An input-referred noise of 0 . 2 μ V RMS has been measured. Characterization of the chip with different THz wavelengths confirms the broadband feature of the antenna and shows that this THz imager reaches a total noise equivalent power of 0 . 6 nW at 270 GHz and 0 . 8 nW at 600 GHz.

On-Chip Scan-Based Test Strategy for a Dependable Many-Core Processor Using a NoC as a Test Access Mechanism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhang, X.; Kerkhoff, Hans G.; Vermeulen, Bart

2010-01-01

Periodic on-chip scan-based tests have to be applied to a many-core processor SoC to improve its dependability. An infrastructural IP module has been designed and incorporated into the SoC to function as an ATE. This paper introduces the reuse of a Network-on-Chip as a test access mechanism. Since

A CMOS delay locked loop and sub-nanosecond time-to-digital converter chip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, D.M.; Dow, S.F.; Levi, M.E.

1995-12-01

Many high energy physics and nuclear science applications require sub-nanosecond time resolution measurements over many thousands of detector channels. Phase-locked loops have been employed in the past to obtain accurate time references for these measurements. An alternative solution, based on a delay-locked loop (DLL) is described. This solution allows for a very high level of integration yet still offers resolution in the sub-nanosecond regime. Two variations on this solution are outlined. A novel phase detector, based on the Muller C element, is used to implement a charge pump where the injected charge approaches zero as the loop approaches lock on the leading edge of an input clock reference. This greatly reduces timing jitter. In the second variation the loop locks to both the leading and trailing clock edges. In this second implementation, software coded layout generators are used to automatically layout a highly integrated, multi-channel, time to digital converter (TDC). Complex clock generation can be, achieved by taking symmetric taps off the delay elements. The two circuits, DLL and TDC, were implemented in a CMOS 1.2μm and 0.8μm technology, respectively. Test results show a timing jitter of less than 35 ps for the DLL circuit and better solution for the TDC circuit

A 1.5 Gb/s monolithically integrated optical receiver in the standard CMOS process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao Xindong; Mao Luhong; Yu Changliang; Zhang Shilin; Xie Sheng, E-mail: xxd@tju.edu.c [School of Electronic Information Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China)

2009-12-15

A monolithically integrated optical receiver, including the photodetector, has been realized in Chartered 0.35 {mu}m EEPROM CMOS technology for 850 nm optical communication. The optical receiver consists of a differential photodetector, a differential transimpedance amplifier, three limiting amplifiers and an output circuit. The experiment results show that the receiver achieves an 875 MHz 3 dB bandwidth, and a data rate of 1.5 Gb/s is achieved at a bit-error-rate of 10{sup -9}. The chip dissipates 60 mW under a single 3.3 V supply. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

A 1.5 Gb/s monolithically integrated optical receiver in the standard CMOS process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao Xindong; Mao Luhong; Yu Changliang; Zhang Shilin; Xie Sheng

2009-01-01

A monolithically integrated optical receiver, including the photodetector, has been realized in Chartered 0.35 μm EEPROM CMOS technology for 850 nm optical communication. The optical receiver consists of a differential photodetector, a differential transimpedance amplifier, three limiting amplifiers and an output circuit. The experiment results show that the receiver achieves an 875 MHz 3 dB bandwidth, and a data rate of 1.5 Gb/s is achieved at a bit-error-rate of 10 -9 . The chip dissipates 60 mW under a single 3.3 V supply. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Towards a new generation of pixel detector readout chips

CERN Document Server

Campbell, M; Ballabriga, R.; Frojdh, E.; Heijne, E.; Llopart, X.; Poikela, T.; Tlustos, L.; Valerio, P.; Wong, W.

2016-01-01

The Medipix3 Collaboration has broken new ground in spectroscopic X-ray imaging and in single particle detection and tracking. This paper will review briefly the performance and limitations of the present generation of pixel detector readout chips developed by the Collaboration. Through Silicon Via technology has the potential to provide a significant improvement in the tile- ability and more flexibility in the choice of readout architecture. This has been explored in the context of 3 projects with CEA-LETI using Medipix3 and Timepix3 wafers. The next generation of chips will aim to provide improved spectroscopic imaging performance at rates compatible with human CT. It will also aim to provide full spectroscopic images with unprecedented energy and spatial resolution. Some of the opportunities and challenges posed by moving to a more dense CMOS process will be discussed.

1-Gb/s zero-pole cancellation CMOS transimpedance amplifier for Gigabit Ethernet applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Beiju; Zhang Xu; Chen Hongda

2009-01-01

A zero-pole cancellation transimpedance amplifier (TIA) has been realized in 0.35 μm RF CMOS technology for Gigabit Ethernet applications. The TIA exploits a zero-pole cancellation configuration to isolate the input parasitic capacitance including photodiode capacitance from bandwidth deterioration. Simulation results show that the proposed TIA has a bandwidth of 1.9 GHz and a transimpedance gain of 65 dB·Ω for 1.5 pF photodiode capacitance, with a gain-bandwidth product of 3.4 THz·Ω. Even with 2 pF photodiode capacitance, the bandwidth exhibits a decline of only 300 MHz, confirming the mechanism of the zero-pole cancellation configuration. The input resistance is 50 Ω, and the average input noise current spectral density is 9.7 pA/√Hz. Testing results shows that the eye diagram at 1 Gb/s is wide open. The chip dissipates 17 mW under a single 3.3 V supply.

1-Gb/s zero-pole cancellation CMOS transimpedance amplifier for Gigabit Ethernet applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang Beiju; Zhang Xu; Chen Hongda, E-mail: bjhuang@semi.ac.c [State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083 (China)

2009-10-15

A zero-pole cancellation transimpedance amplifier (TIA) has been realized in 0.35 {mu}m RF CMOS technology for Gigabit Ethernet applications. The TIA exploits a zero-pole cancellation configuration to isolate the input parasitic capacitance including photodiode capacitance from bandwidth deterioration. Simulation results show that the proposed TIA has a bandwidth of 1.9 GHz and a transimpedance gain of 65 dB{center_dot}{Omega} for 1.5 pF photodiode capacitance, with a gain-bandwidth product of 3.4 THz{center_dot}{Omega}. Even with 2 pF photodiode capacitance, the bandwidth exhibits a decline of only 300 MHz, confirming the mechanism of the zero-pole cancellation configuration. The input resistance is 50 {Omega}, and the average input noise current spectral density is 9.7 pA/{radical}Hz. Testing results shows that the eye diagram at 1 Gb/s is wide open. The chip dissipates 17 mW under a single 3.3 V supply.

Hybrid CMOS/Molecular Integrated Circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Stan, M. R.; Rose, G. S.; Ziegler, M. M.

CMOS silicon technologies are likely to run out of steam in the next 10-15 years despite revolutionary advances in the past few decades. Molecular and other nanoscale technologies show significant promise but it is unlikely that they will completely replace CMOS, at least in the near term. This chapter explores opportunities for using CMOS and nanotechnology to enhance and complement each other in hybrid circuits. As an example of such a hybrid CMOS/nano system, a nanoscale programmable logic array (PLA) based on majority logic is described along with its supplemental CMOS circuitry. It is believed that such systems will be able to sustain the historical advances in the semiconductor industry while addressing manufacturability, yield, power, cost, and performance challenges.

Radiation induced Single Event Effects in the ATLAS MDT-ASD front-end chip

CERN Document Server

Posch, C

2002-01-01

Single Event Effect (SEE) tests of the MDT-ASD, the ATLAS MDT front-end chip have been performed at the Harvard Cyclotron Lab. The MDT-ASD is an 8-channel drift tube read-out ASIC fabricated in a commercial 0.5um CMOS process (AMOS14TB). The chip contains a 53 bit register which holds the setup information and an associated shift register of the same length plus some additional control logic. 10 test devices were exposed to a 160 MeV proton beam with a fluence of 1.05E9 p.cm-2.s-1 up to >4.4E p.cm-2 per device. After a total fluence of 4.46E13 p.cm-2, 7 soft SEEs (non-permanent bit flips in the registers) and 0 hard/destructive SEE (e.g. latch-ups, SEL) had occurred. The simulated fluence for 10 years of LHC operation at nominal luminosity for worst case location MDT components is 2.67E11 h.cm-2. The rate of SEUs in the ASD setup register for all of ATLAS, derived from these numbers, is 2.4 per day. It is foreseen to update the active registers of the on-detector electronics at regular intervals. Depending on...

Design of a low-power flash analog-to-digital converter chip for temperature sensors in 0.18 µm CMOS process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Al Al

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Current paper proposes a simple design of a 6-bit flash analog-to-digital converter (ADC by process in 0.18 μm CMOS. ADC is expected to be used within a temperature sensor which provides analog data output having a range of 360 mV to 560 mV. The complete system consisting of three main blocks, which are the threshold inverter quantization (TIQ-comparator, the encoder and the parallel input serial output (PISO register. The TIQ-comparator functions as quantization of the analog data to the thermometer code. The encoder converts this thermometer code to 6-bit binary code and the PISO register transforms the parallel data into a data series. The design aims to get a flash ADC on low power dissipation, small size and compatible with the temperature sensors. The method is proposed to set each of the transistor channel length to find out the threshold voltage difference of the inverter on the TIQ comparator. A portion design encoder and PISO registers circuit selected a simple circuit with the best performance from previous studies and adjusted to this system. The design has an input range of 285 to 600 mV and 6-bit resolution output. The chip area of the designed ADC is 844.48 x 764.77 µm2 and the power dissipation is 0.162 µW with 1.6 V supply voltage.

Microfabrication and Characterization of an Integrated 3-Axis CMOS-MEMS Accelerometer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongwei QU

2007-10-01

Full Text Available This paper reports the fabrication and characterization of a monolithically integrated 3-axis CMOS-MEMS accelerometer with a single proof mass. An improved microfabrication process has been developed to solve the structure overheating and particle contamination problems in the plasma etching processes of device fabrication. The whole device is made of bulk silicon except for some short thin films for electrical isolation, allowing large sensing capacitance and flat device structure. A low-noise, low-power amplifier is designed for each axis, which provides 40 dB on-chip amplification and consumes only 1 mW power. Quasi-static and dynamic characterization of the fabricated device has been performed. The measured sensitivities of the lateral- and z-axis accelerometers are 560 mV/g and 320 mV/g, respectively, which can be tuned by simply varying the amplitude of the modulation signal. The over-all noise floors of the lateral- and z-axis are 12 μg/ÖHz and 110 μg/ÖHz, respectively when tested at 200 Hz.

Radiation effect characterization and test methods of single-chip and multi-chip stacked 16Mbit DRAMs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LaBel, K.A.; Gates, M.M.; Moran, A.K.; Kim, H.S.; Seidleck, C.M.; Marshall, P.; Kinnison, J.; Carkhuff, B.

1996-01-01

This paper presents radiation effects characterization performed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) on spaceflight candidate 16Mbit DRAMs. This includes heavy ion, proton, and Co60 irradiations on single-chip devices as well as proton irradiation of a stacked DRAM module. Lastly, a discussion of test methodology is undertaken

5-Gb/s 0.18-{mu}m CMOS 2:1 multiplexer with integrated clock extraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang Changchun; Wang Zhigong; Shi Si; Miao Peng [Institute of RF- and OE-ICs, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 (China); Tian Ling, E-mail: zgwang@seu.edu.c [School of Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 (China)

2009-09-15

A 5-Gb/s 2:1 MUX (multiplexer) with an on-chip integrated clock extraction circuit which possesses the function of automatic phase alignment (APA), has been designed and fabricated in SMIC's 0.18 {mu}m CMOS technology. The chip area is 670 x 780 {mu}m{sup 2}. At a single supply voltage of 1.8 V, the total power consumption is 112 mW with an input sensitivity of less than 50 mV and an output single-ended swing of above 300 mV. The measurement results show that the IC can work reliably at any input data rate between 1.8 and 2.6 Gb/s with no need for external components, reference clock, or phase alignment between data and clock. It can be used in a parallel optic-fiber data interconnecting system.

5-Gb/s 0.18-μm CMOS 2:1 multiplexer with integrated clock extraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Changchun; Wang Zhigong; Shi Si; Miao Peng; Tian Ling

2009-01-01

A 5-Gb/s 2:1 MUX (multiplexer) with an on-chip integrated clock extraction circuit which possesses the function of automatic phase alignment (APA), has been designed and fabricated in SMIC's 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The chip area is 670 x 780 μm 2 . At a single supply voltage of 1.8 V, the total power consumption is 112 mW with an input sensitivity of less than 50 mV and an output single-ended swing of above 300 mV. The measurement results show that the IC can work reliably at any input data rate between 1.8 and 2.6 Gb/s with no need for external components, reference clock, or phase alignment between data and clock. It can be used in a parallel optic-fiber data interconnecting system.

5-Gb/s 0.18-μm CMOS 2:1 multiplexer with integrated clock extraction

Science.gov (United States)

Changchun, Zhang; Zhigong, Wang; Si, Shi; Peng, Miao; Ling, Tian

2009-09-01

A 5-Gb/s 2:1 MUX (multiplexer) with an on-chip integrated clock extraction circuit which possesses the function of automatic phase alignment (APA), has been designed and fabricated in SMIC's 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The chip area is 670 × 780 μm2. At a single supply voltage of 1.8 V, the total power consumption is 112 mW with an input sensitivity of less than 50 mV and an output single-ended swing of above 300 mV. The measurement results show that the IC can work reliably at any input data rate between 1.8 and 2.6 Gb/s with no need for external components, reference clock, or phase alignment between data and clock. It can be used in a parallel optic-fiber data interconnecting system.

A CMOS micromachined capacitive tactile sensor with integrated readout circuits and compensation of process variations.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Tsung-Heng; Tsai, Hao-Cheng; Wu, Tien-Keng

2014-10-01

This paper presents a capacitive tactile sensor fabricated in a standard CMOS process. Both of the sensor and readout circuits are integrated on a single chip by a TSMC 0.35 μm CMOS MEMS technology. In order to improve the sensitivity, a T-shaped protrusion is proposed and implemented. This sensor comprises the metal layer and the dielectric layer without extra thin film deposition, and can be completed with few post-processing steps. By a nano-indenter, the measured spring constant of the T-shaped structure is 2.19 kNewton/m. Fully differential correlated double sampling capacitor-to-voltage converter (CDS-CVC) and reference capacitor correction are utilized to compensate process variations and improve the accuracy of the readout circuits. The measured displacement-to-voltage transductance is 7.15 mV/nm, and the sensitivity is 3.26 mV/μNewton. The overall power dissipation is 132.8 μW.

CMOS MEMS Fabrication Technologies and Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongwei Qu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems fabrication technologies and enabled micro devices of various sensors and actuators. The technologies are classified based on the sequence of the fabrication of CMOS circuitry and MEMS elements, while SOI (silicon-on-insulator CMOS MEMS are introduced separately. Introduction of associated devices follows the description of the respective CMOS MEMS technologies. Due to the vast array of CMOS MEMS devices, this review focuses only on the most typical MEMS sensors and actuators including pressure sensors, inertial sensors, frequency reference devices and actuators utilizing different physics effects and the fabrication processes introduced. Moreover, the incorporation of MEMS and CMOS is limited to monolithic integration, meaning wafer-bonding-based stacking and other integration approaches, despite their advantages, are excluded from the discussion. Both competitive industrial products and state-of-the-art research results on CMOS MEMS are covered.

Test vehicles for CMS HGCAL readout ASIC

CERN Document Server

Thienpont, Damien

2017-01-01

This paper presents first measurement results of two test vehicles ASIC embedding some building blocks for the future CMS High Granularity CALorimeter (HGCAL) read-out ASIC. They were fabricated in CMOS 130 nm, in order to first design the Analog and Mixed-Signal blocks before going to a complete and complex chip. Such a circuit needs to achieve low noise high dynamic range charge measurement and 20 ps resolution timing capability. The results show good analog performance but with higher noise levels compared to simulations. We present the results of the preamplifiers, shapers and ADCs.

Optical modulation techniques for analog signal processing and CMOS compatible electro-optic modulation

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Douglas M.; Rasras, Mahmoud; Tu, Kun-Yii; Chen, Young-Kai; White, Alice E.; Patel, Sanjay S.; Carothers, Daniel; Pomerene, Andrew; Kamocsai, Robert; Beattie, James; Kopa, Anthony; Apsel, Alyssa; Beals, Mark; Mitchel, Jurgen; Liu, Jifeng; Kimerling, Lionel C.

2008-02-01

Integrating electronic and photonic functions onto a single silicon-based chip using techniques compatible with mass-production CMOS electronics will enable new design paradigms for existing system architectures and open new opportunities for electro-optic applications with the potential to dramatically change the management, cost, footprint, weight, and power consumption of today's communication systems. While broadband analog system applications represent a smaller volume market than that for digital data transmission, there are significant deployments of analog electro-optic systems for commercial and military applications. Broadband linear modulation is a critical building block in optical analog signal processing and also could have significant applications in digital communication systems. Recently, broadband electro-optic modulators on a silicon platform have been demonstrated based on the plasma dispersion effect. The use of the plasma dispersion effect within a CMOS compatible waveguide creates new challenges and opportunities for analog signal processing since the index and propagation loss change within the waveguide during modulation. We will review the current status of silicon-based electrooptic modulators and also linearization techniques for optical modulation.

Mixed-signal early vision chip with embedded image and programming memories and digital I/O

Science.gov (United States)

Linan-Cembrano, Gustavo; Rodriguez-Vazquez, Angel; Dominguez-Castro, Rafael; Espejo, Servando

2003-04-01

From a system level perspective, this paper presents a 128x128 flexible and reconfigurable Focal-Plane Analog Programmable Array Processor, which has been designed as a single chip in a 0.35μm standard digital 1P-5M CMOS technology. The core processing array has been designed to achieve high-speed of operation and large-enough accuracy (~7bit) with low power consumption. The chip includes on-chip program memory to allow for the execution of complex, sequential and/or bifurcation flow image processing algorithms. It also includes the structures and circuits needed to guarantee its embedding into conventional digital hosting systems: external data interchange and control are completely digital. The chip contains close to four million transistors, 90% of them working in analog mode. The chip features up to 330GOPs (Giga Operations per second), and uses the power supply (180GOP/Joule) and the silicon area (3.8 GOPS/mm2) efficiently, as it is able to maintain VGA processing throughputs of 100Frames/s with about 15 basic image processing tasks on each frame.

Fabrication of CMOS-compatible nanopillars for smart bio-mimetic CMOS image sensors

KAUST Repository

Saffih, Faycal; Elshurafa, Amro M.; Mohammad, Mohammad Ali; Nelson-Fitzpatrick, Nathan E.; Evoy, S.

2012-01-01

. The fabrication of the nanopillars was carried out keeping the CMOS process in mind to ultimately obtain a CMOS-compatible process. This work serves as an initial step in the ultimate objective of integrating photo-sensors based on these nanopillars seamlessly

UW VLSI chip tester

Science.gov (United States)

McKenzie, Neil

1989-12-01

We present a design for a low-cost, functional VLSI chip tester. It is based on the Apple MacIntosh II personal computer. It tests chips that have up to 128 pins. All pin drivers of the tester are bidirectional; each pin is programmed independently as an input or an output. The tester can test both static and dynamic chips. Rudimentary speed testing is provided. Chips are tested by executing C programs written by the user. A software library is provided for program development. Tests run under both the Mac Operating System and A/UX. The design is implemented using Xilinx Logic Cell Arrays. Price/performance tradeoffs are discussed.

The CMOS integration of a power inverter

Science.gov (United States)

Mannarino, Eric Francis

Due to their falling costs, the use of renewable energy systems is expanding around the world. These systems require the conversion of DC power into grid-synchronous AC power. Currently, the inverters that carry out this task are built using discrete transistors. TowerJazz Semiconductor Corp. has created a commercial CMOS process that allows for blocking voltages of up to 700 V, effectively removing the barrier to integrating power inverters onto a single chip. This thesis explores this process using two topologies. The first is a cell-based switched-capacitor topology first presented by Ke Zou. The second is a novel topology that explores the advantage of using a bused input-output system, as in digital electronics. Simulations run on both topologies confirm the high-efficiency demonstrated in Zou’s process as well as the advantage the bus-based system has in output voltage levels.

Test and debug features of the RTO7 chip