Development of generic testing strategies for mixed-signal integrated circuits

Describes work at the Polytechnic of Huddersfield SERC/DTI research project IED 2/1/2121 conducted in collaboration with GEC-Plessey Semiconductors, Wolfson Microelectronics, and UMIST. The aim of the work is to develop generic testing strategies for mixed-signal (mixed analogue and digital) integrated circuits. The paper proposes a test structure for mixed-signal ICs, and details the development of a test technique and fault model for the analogue circuit cells encountered in these devices. Results obtained during the evaluation of this technique in simulation are presented, and the ECAD facilities that have contributed to this and other such projects are described

Teaching photonic integrated circuits with Jupyter notebooks : design, simulation, fabrication

At Ghent University, we have built a course curriculum on integrated photonics, and in particular silicon photonics, based on interactive Jupyter Notebooks. This has been used in short workshops, specialization courses at PhD level, as well as the M.Sc. Photonics Engineering program at Ghent University and the Free University of Brussels. The course material teaches the concepts of on-chip waveguides, basic building blocks, circuits, the design process, fabrication and measurements. The Jupyter notebook environment provides an interface where static didactic content (text, figures, movies, formulas) is mixed with Python code that the user can modify and execute, and interactive plots and widgets to explore the effect of changes in circuits or components. The Python environment supplies a host of scientific and engineering libraries, while the photonic capabilities are based on IPKISS, a commercial design framework for photonic integrated circuits by Luceda Photonics. The IPKISS framework allows scripting of layout and simulation directly from the Jupyter notebooks, so the teaching modules contain live circuit simulation, as well as integration with electromagnetic solvers. Because this is a complete design framework, students can also use it to tape out a small chip design which is fabricated through a rapid prototyping service and then measured, allowing the students to validate the actual performance of their design against the original simulation. The scripting in Jupyter notebooks also provides a self-documenting design flow, and the use of an established design tool guarantees that the acquired skills can be transferred to larger, real-world design projects

Reliability improvement of electronic circuits based on physical failure mechanisms in components

Traditionally the position of reliability analysis in the design and production process of electronic circuits is a position of reliability verification. A completed design is checked on reliability aspects and either rejected or accepted for production. This paper describes a method to model physical failure mechanisms within components in such a way that they can be used for reliability optimization, not after, but during the early phase of the design process. Furthermore a prototype of a CAD software tool is described, which can highlight components likely to fail and automatically adjust circuit parameters to improve product reliability

A writable programmable logic array

This thesis contains the analysis, design, and implementation of a writable programmable logic array integrated circuit. The WPLA is able to be reprogrammed any number of times as needed. A content addressable scheme is proposed to conduct READ, WRITE, and SEARCH operations in the WPLA. The WPLA is programmed by writing binary data into storage cells associated with each node in the AND/OR planes of the array; the binary data then form the personalities of the PLA. The layout of the WPLA will be implemented using Mentor Graphic\u27s CHIPGRAPH layout editor with 2 µm NMOS technology and MOSIS design rules. The event-driven logic level simulator QUICKSIM, and a MOS circuit level simulator MSIMON, are used to verify the functional and timing behavior of the WPLA

Expanding Rapid Prototyping for Electronic Systems Integration of Arbitrary Form

An innovative method for rapid prototyping (RP) of electronic circuits with components characteristic of typical electronics applications was demonstrated using an enhanced version of a previously developed hybrid stereolithography (SL) and direct write (DW) system, where an existing SL machine was integrated with a three-axis DW fluid dispensing system for combined arbitrary form electronic systems manufacturing. This paper presents initial efforts at embedding functional electronic circuits using the hybrid SL/DW system. A simple temperature-sensitive circuit was selected, which oscillated an LED at a frequency proportional to the temperature sensed by the thermistor. The circuit was designed to incorporate all the required electronic components within a 2.5” x 2” x 0.5” SL part. Electrical interconnects between electronic components were deposited on the SL part with a DW system using silver conductive ink lines. Several inks were deposited, cured, and tested on a variety of SL resin substrates, and the E 1660 ink (Ercon Inc, Wareham, MA) was selected due to its measured lowest average resistivity on the SL substrates. The finished circuit was compared with Printed Circuit Board (PCB) technology for functionality. The electronic components used here include a low voltage battery, LM 555 timer chip, resistors, a thermistor, capacitors, and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). This circuit was selected because it (1) represented a simple circuit combining many typically used electronic components and thus provided a useful demonstration for integrated electronic systems manufacturing applicable to a wide variety of devices, and (2) provided an indication of the parasitic resistances and capacitances introduced by the fabrication process due to its sensitivity to manufacturing variation. The hybrid technology can help achieve significant size reductions, enable systems integration in atypical forms, a natural resistance to reverse engineering and possibly increase maximum operating temperatures of electronic circuits as compared to the traditional PCB process. This research demonstrates the ability of the hybrid SL/DW technology for fabricating combined electronic systems for unique electronics applications in which arbitrary form is a requirement and traditional PCB technology cannot be used.Mechanical Engineerin

Self-Reconfigurable Analog Arrays: Off-The Shelf Adaptive Electronics for Space Applications

Development of analog electronic solutions for space avionics is expensive and lengthy. Lack of flexible analog devices, counterparts to digital Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), prevents analog designers from benefits of rapid prototyping. This forces them to expensive and lengthy custom design, fabrication, and qualification of application specific integrated circuits (ASIC). The limitations come from two directions: commercial Field Programmable Analog Arrays (FPAA) have limited variability in the components offered on-chip; and they are only qualified for best case scenarios for military grade (-55C to +125C). In order to avoid huge overheads, there is a growing trend towards avoiding thermal and radiation protection by developing extreme environment electronics, which maintain correct operation while exposed to temperature extremes (-180degC to +125degC). This paper describes a recent FPAA design, the Self-Reconfigurable Analog Array (SRAA) developed at JPL. It overcomes both limitations, offering a variety of analog cells inside the array together with the possibility of self-correction at extreme temperatures