Hertz-Resolution Analog Quadrature Sine Oscillator. Application to Portable Lock-In Amplifiers

This paper presents the implementation of an analog quadrature sine oscillator capable of generating variable frequency quadrature signals, ranging from 1-100 kHz with less than 2 Hz resolution and a peak-to-peak voltage of 3 V operating at a 3.3 V single supply, to be utilized in high performance portable instrumentation

A CMOS self-contained quadrature signal generator for soc impedance spectroscopy

This paper presents a low-power fully integrated quadrature signal generator for system-on-chip (SoC) impedance spectroscopy applications. It has been designed in a 0.18 µm-1.8 V CMOS technology as a self-contained oscillator, without the need for an external reference clock. The frequency can be digitally tuned from 10 to 345 kHz with 12-bit accuracy and a relative mean error below 1.7%, thus supporting a wide range of impedance sensing applications. The proposal is experimentally validated in two impedance spectrometry examples, achieving good magnitude and phase recovery results compared to the results obtained using a commercial LCR-meter. Besides the wide frequency tuning range, the proposed programmable oscillator features a total power consumption lower than 0.77 mW and an active area of 0.129 mm2, thus constituting a highly suitable choice as stimulation module for instrument-on-a-chip devices

Novel active function blocks and their applications in frequency filters and quadrature oscillators

Kmitočtové filtry a sinusoidní oscilátory jsou lineární elektronické obvody, které jsou používány v široké oblasti elektroniky a jsou základními stavebními bloky v analogovém zpracování signálu. V poslední dekádě pro tento účel bylo prezentováno velké množství stavebních funkčních bloků. V letech 2000 a 2006 na Ústavu telekomunikací, VUT v Brně byly definovány univerzální proudový konvejor (UCC) a univerzální napět'ový konvejor (UVC) a vyrobeny ve spolupráci s firmou AMI Semiconductor Czech, Ltd. Ovšem, stále existuje požadavek na vývoj nových aktivních prvků, které nabízejí nové výhody. Hlavní přínos práce proto spočívá v definici dalších původních aktivních stavebních bloků jako jsou differential-input buffered and transconductance amplifier (DBTA), current follower transconductance amplifier (CFTA), z-copy current-controlled current inverting transconductance amplifier (ZC-CCCITA), generalized current follower differential input transconductance amplifier (GCFDITA), voltage gain-controlled modified current-feedback operational amplifier (VGC-MCFOA), a minus-type current-controlled third-generation voltage conveyor (CC-VCIII-). Pomocí navržených aktivních stavebních bloků byly prezentovány původní zapojení fázovacích článků prvního řádu, univerzální filtry druhého řádu, ekvivalenty obvodu typu KHN, inverzní filtry, aktivní simulátory uzemněného induktoru a kvadraturní sinusoidní oscilátory pracující v proudovém, napět'ovém a smíšeném módu. Chování navržených obvodů byla ověřena simulací v prostředí SPICE a ve vybraných případech experimentálním měřením.Frequency filters and sinusoidal oscillators are linear electric circuits that are used in wide area of electronics and also are the basic building blocks in analogue signal processing. In the last decade, huge number of active building blocks (ABBs) were presented for this purpose. In 2000 and 2006, the universal current conveyor (UCC) and the universal voltage conveyor (UVC), respectively, were designed at the Department of Telecommunication, BUT, Brno, and produced in cooperation with AMI Semiconductor Czech, Ltd. There is still the need to develop new active elements that offer new advantages. The main contribution of this thesis is, therefore, the definition of other novel ABBs such as the differential-input buffered and transconductance amplifier (DBTA), the current follower transconductance amplifier (CFTA), the z-copy current-controlled current inverting transconductance amplifier (ZC-CCCITA), the generalized current follower differential input transconductance amplifier (GCFDITA), the voltage gain-controlled modified current-feedback operational amplifier (VGC-MCFOA), and the minus-type current-controlled third-generation voltage conveyor (CC-VCIII-). Using the proposed ABBs, novel structures of first-order all-pass filters, second-order universal filters, KHN-equivalent circuits, inverse filters, active grounded inductance simulators, and quadrature sinusoidal oscillators working in the current-, voltage-, or mixed-mode are presented. The behavior of the proposed circuits has been verified by SPICE simulations and in selected cases also by experimental measurements.

Low-Voltage High-Linearity Wideband Current Differencing Transconductance Amplifier and Its Application on Current-Mode Active Filter

A low-voltage high-linearity wideband current differencing transconductance amplifier (CDTA) is presented in this paper. The CDTA consists of a current differencing circuit and a cross-coupling transconductance circuit. The PSPICE simulations of the proposed CDTA show a good performance: -3dB frequency bandwith is about 900 MHz, low power consumption is 2.48 mW, input current linear range is ±100 µA and low current-input resistance is less than 20 Ω, high current-output resistance is more than 3 MΩ. PSpice simulations for a current-mode universal filter and a proposed high-order filter are also conducted, and the results verify the validity of the proposed CDTA

A PLL-Based Frequency Shift Measurement System for Chemical and Biological Sensing

A PLL-based frequency shift measurement system for chemical and biological sensing was developed and implemented in the form of two discrete electronic assemblies. One of the assemblies consists of a VCO which contains a microwave resonator sensor while the other assembly contains commercially available PLL and MCU devices, as well as various other discrete components. When mated together, a PLL-based frequency synthesizer is realized, the output frequency of which is ~4.5 GHz. The system is used to measure the frequency shift exhibited by the frequency synthesizer when several commonly-known chemical substances are applied to the microwave resonator sensor test fixture. Because the amount of measured frequency shift is proportional to the dielectric constant of a given material under test (MUT), this system can potentially be used as part of a chemical identification system. This measurement system is also attractive in that it represents a stand-alone or 'self-contained' system which does not require usage of any additional expensive and bulky electronic diagnostic equipment such as a network analyzer or signal generator, making it a relatively inexpensive and portable solution. Attempts to use the system to measure frequency shift resulting from application of various common chemical substances to the sensor fixture results in derivation of dielectric constant values which hold very close agreement (+/-2%) to the published/theoretical dielectric constant values for each respective chemical substance

Evolution of digitally controlled oscillator

Suvremeni razvoj uporabe digitalnih ili potpuno digitalnih ciklusa s faznim podešavanjem (PLLs) u različitim uređajima za komunikaciju vodi ka primjeni digitalno kontroliranog oscilatora (DCO). U ovom se preglednom članku daje razvoj DCO-a u modernim elektroničkim uređajima kao i njihovo funkcioniranje u lokalnim oscilatorima. Iako se implementacija DCO preferira u odnosu na analogne, i dalje se radi na poboljšanjima u potrošnji energije, brzini, veličini čipa, raspona frekvencije, ulaznog napona, prenosivosti i rezolucije. U radu se uglavnom opisuje razvoj od oscilatora kontroliranih voltažom (voltage controlled oscillators- VCO) do digitalno kontroliranih oscilatora za "deep-submicrometer CMOS" postupak. Fokus je na analizi i praćenju unapređenja DCO-a na razini funkcionalnosti.Current trend of using digital or all-digital phase-locked loops (PLLs) in various communication devices introduces the usage of digitally controlled oscillator (DCO). This review paper discusses the evolution of DCOs in modern electronic devices as well as their performances in local oscillators. Even though the DCO implementation is preferable to its analog counterpart, improvements are still going on to get high performances in terms of power consumption, speed, chip area, frequency range, supply voltage, portability and resolution. This paper mainly describes the evolution of DCO, how it turns from a conventional VCO to DCO for deep-submicrometer CMOS process. The focus is to analyse and track the advances in DCO base on its performance level

Evolution of digitally controlled oscillator

Suvremeni razvoj uporabe digitalnih ili potpuno digitalnih ciklusa s faznim podešavanjem (PLLs) u različitim uređajima za komunikaciju vodi ka primjeni digitalno kontroliranog oscilatora (DCO). U ovom se preglednom članku daje razvoj DCO-a u modernim elektroničkim uređajima kao i njihovo funkcioniranje u lokalnim oscilatorima. Iako se implementacija DCO preferira u odnosu na analogne, i dalje se radi na poboljšanjima u potrošnji energije, brzini, veličini čipa, raspona frekvencije, ulaznog napona, prenosivosti i rezolucije. U radu se uglavnom opisuje razvoj od oscilatora kontroliranih voltažom (voltage controlled oscillators- VCO) do digitalno kontroliranih oscilatora za "deep-submicrometer CMOS" postupak. Fokus je na analizi i praćenju unapređenja DCO-a na razini funkcionalnosti.Current trend of using digital or all-digital phase-locked loops (PLLs) in various communication devices introduces the usage of digitally controlled oscillator (DCO). This review paper discusses the evolution of DCOs in modern electronic devices as well as their performances in local oscillators. Even though the DCO implementation is preferable to its analog counterpart, improvements are still going on to get high performances in terms of power consumption, speed, chip area, frequency range, supply voltage, portability and resolution. This paper mainly describes the evolution of DCO, how it turns from a conventional VCO to DCO for deep-submicrometer CMOS process. The focus is to analyse and track the advances in DCO base on its performance level

High Performance Power Management Integrated Circuits for Portable Devices

abstract: Portable devices often require multiple power management IC (PMIC) to power different sub-modules, Li-ion batteries are well suited for portable devices because of its small size, high energy density and long life cycle. Since Li-ion battery is the major power source for portable device, fast and high-efficiency battery charging solution has become a major requirement in portable device application. In the first part of dissertation, a high performance Li-ion switching battery charger is proposed. Cascaded two loop (CTL) control architecture is used for seamless CC-CV transition, time based technique is utilized to minimize controller area and power consumption. Time domain controller is implemented by using voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) and voltage controlled delay line (VCDL). Several efficiency improvement techniques such as segmented power-FET, quasi-zero voltage switching (QZVS) and switching frequency reduction are proposed. The proposed switching battery charger is able to provide maximum 2 A charging current and has an peak efficiency of 93.3%. By configure the charger as boost converter, the charger is able to provide maximum 1.5 A charging current while achieving 96.3% peak efficiency. The second part of dissertation presents a digital low dropout regulator (DLDO) for system on a chip (SoC) in portable devices application. The proposed DLDO achieve fast transient settling time, lower undershoot/overshoot and higher PSR performance compared to state of the art. By having a good PSR performance, the proposed DLDO is able to power mixed signal load. To achieve a fast load transient response, a load transient detector (LTD) enables boost mode operation of the digital PI controller. The boost mode operation achieves sub microsecond settling time, and reduces the settling time by 50% to 250 ns, undershoot/overshoot by 35% to 250 mV and 17% to 125 mV without compromising the system stability.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 201