Metodologia Per la Caratterizzazione di amplificatori a basso rumore per UMTS

In questo lavoro si presenta una metodologia di progettazione elettronica a livello di sistema, affrontando il problema della caratterizzazione dello spazio di progetto dell' amplificatore a basso rumore costituente il primo stadio di un front end a conversione diretta per UMTS realizzato in tecnologia CMOS con lunghezza di canale .18u. La metodologia è sviluppata al fine di valutare in modo quantititativo le specifiche ottime di sistema per il front-end stesso e si basa sul concetto di Piattaforma Analogica, che prevede la costruzione di un modello di prestazioni per il blocco analogico basato su campionamento statistico di indici di prestazioni del blocco stesso, misurati tramite simulazione di dimensionamenti dei componenti attivi e passivi soddisfacenti un set di equazioni specifico della topologia circuitale. Gli indici di prestazioni vengono successivamente ulizzati per parametrizzare modelli comportamentali utilizzati nelle fasi di ottimizzazione a livello di sistema. Modelli comportamentali atti a rappresentare i sistemi RF sono stati pertanto studiati per ottimizzare la scelta delle metriche di prestazioni. L'ottimizzazione dei set di equazioni atti a selezionare le configurazione di interesse per il campionamento ha al tempo stesso richiesto l'approfondimento dei modelli di dispositivi attivi validi in tutte le regioni di funzionamento, e lo studio dettagliato della progettazione degli amplificatori a basso rumore basati su degenerazione induttiva. Inoltre, il problema della modellizzazione a livello di sistema degli effetti della comunicazione tra LNA e Mixer è stato affrontato proponendo e analizzando diverse soluzioni. Il lavoro ha permesso di condurre un'ottimizzazione del front-end UMTS, giungendo a specifiche ottime a livello di sistema per l'amplificatore stesso

Design and develop a MOS magnetic memory Final report, 11 Mar. - 11 Sep. 1966

Interface problems between plated wire magnetic memory and MO

Time-domain optimization of amplifiers based on distributed genetic algorithms

Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Electrical and Computer EngineeringThe work presented in this thesis addresses the task of circuit optimization, helping the designer facing the high performance and high efficiency circuits demands of the market and technology evolution. A novel framework is introduced, based on time-domain analysis, genetic algorithm optimization, and distributed processing. The time-domain optimization methodology is based on the step response of the amplifier. The main advantage of this new time-domain methodology is that, when a given settling-error is reached within the desired settling-time, it is automatically guaranteed that the amplifier has enough open-loop gain, AOL, output-swing (OS), slew-rate (SR), closed loop bandwidth and closed loop stability. Thus, this simplification of the circuit‟s evaluation helps the optimization process to converge faster. The method used to calculate the step response expression of the circuit is based on the inverse Laplace transform applied to the transfer function, symbolically, multiplied by 1/s (which represents the unity input step). Furthermore, may be applied to transfer functions of circuits with unlimited number of zeros/poles, without approximation in order to keep accuracy. Thus, complex circuit, with several design/optimization degrees of freedom can also be considered. The expression of the step response, from the proposed methodology, is based on the DC bias operating point of the devices of the circuit. For this, complex and accurate device models (e.g. BSIM3v3) are integrated. During the optimization process, the time-domain evaluation of the amplifier is used by the genetic algorithm, in the classification of the genetic individuals. The time-domain evaluator is integrated into the developed optimization platform, as independent library, coded using C programming language. The genetic algorithms have demonstrated to be a good approach for optimization since they are flexible and independent from the optimization-objective. Different levels of abstraction can be optimized either system level or circuit level. Optimization of any new block is basically carried-out by simply providing additional configuration files, e.g. chromosome format, in text format; and the circuit library where the fitness value of each individual of the genetic algorithm is computed. Distributed processing is also employed to address the increasing processing time demanded by the complex circuit analysis, and the accurate models of the circuit devices. The communication by remote processing nodes is based on Message Passing interface (MPI). It is demonstrated that the distributed processing reduced the optimization run-time by more than one order of magnitude. Platform assessment is carried by several examples of two-stage amplifiers, which have been optimized and successfully used, embedded, in larger systems, such as data converters. A dedicated example of an inverter-based self-biased two-stage amplifier has been designed, laid-out and fabricated as a stand-alone circuit and experimentally evaluated. The measured results are a direct demonstration of the effectiveness of the proposed time-domain optimization methodology.Portuguese Foundation for the Science and Technology (FCT

Characterization of 28 nm FDSOI MOS and application to the design of a low-power 2.4 GHz LNA

IoT is expected to connect billions of devices all over world in the next years, and in a near future, it is expected to use LR-WPAN in a wide variety of applications. Not all the devices will require of high performance but will require of low power hungry systems since most of them will be powered with a battery. Conventional CMOS technologies cannot cover these needs even scaling it to very small regimes, which appear other problems. Hence, new technologies are emerging to cover the needs of this devices. One promising technology is the UTBB FDSOI, which achieves good performance with very good energy efficiency. This project characterizes this technology to obtain a set of parameters of interest for analog/RF design. Finally, with the help of a low-power design methodology (gm/Id approach), a design of an ULP ULV LNA is performed to check the suitability of this technology for IoT

Design Optimization of Transistors Used for Neural Recording

Neurons cultured directly over open-gate field-effect transistors result in a hybrid device, the neuron-FET. Neuron-FET amplifier circuits reported in the literature employ the neuron-FET transducer as a current-mode device in conjunction with a transimpedance amplifier. In this configuration, the transducer does not provide any signal gain, and characterization of the transducer out of the amplification circuit is required. Furthermore, the circuit requires a complex biasing scheme that must be retuned to compensate for drift. Here we present an alternative strategy based on the design approach to optimize a single-stage common-source amplifier design. The design approach facilitates in circuit characterization of the neuron-FET and provides insight into approaches to improving the transistor process design for application as a neuron-FET transducer. Simulation data for a test case demonstrates optimization of the transistor design and significant increase in gain over a current mode implementation

Transistor-Level Synthesis of Pipeline Analog-to-Digital Converters Using a Design-Space Reduction Algorithm

A novel transistor-level synthesis procedure for pipeline ADCs is presented. This procedure is able to directly map high-level converter specifications onto transistor sizes and biasing conditions. It is based on the combination of behavioral models for performance evaluation, optimization routines to minimize the power and area consumption of the circuit solution, and an algorithm to efficiently constraint the converter design space. This algorithm precludes the cost of lengthy bottom-up verifications and speeds up the synthesis task. The approach is herein demonstrated via the design of a 0.13 μm CMOS 10 bits@60 MS/s pipeline ADC with energy consumption per conversion of only 0.54 pJ@1 MHz, making it one of the most energy-efficient 10-bit video-rate pipeline ADCs reported to date. The computational cost of this design is of only 25 min of CPU time, and includes the evaluation of 13 different pipeline architectures potentially feasible for the targeted specifications. The optimum design derived from the synthesis procedure has been fine tuned to support PVT variations, laid out together with other auxiliary blocks, and fabricated. The experimental results show a power consumption of 23 [email protected] V and an effective resolution of 9.47-bit@1 MHz. Bearing in mind that no specific power reduction strategy has been applied; the mentioned results confirm the reliability of the proposed approach.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TEC2009-08447Junta de Andalucía TIC-0281

LC-VCO design optimization methodology based on the gm/ID ratio for nanometer CMOS technologies

In this paper, an LC voltage-controlled oscillator (LC-VCO) design optimization methodology based on the gm/ID technique and on the exploration of all inversion regions of the MOS transistor (MOST) is presented. An in-depth study of the compromises between phase noise and current consumption permits optimization of the design for given specifications. Semiempirical models of MOSTs and inductors, obtained by simulation, jointly with analytical phase noise models, allow to get a design space map where the design tradeoffs are easily identified. Four LC-VCO designs in different inversion regions in a 90-nm CMOS process are obtained with the proposed methodology and verified with electrical simulations. Finally, the implementation and measurements are presented for a 2.4-GHz VCO operating in moderate inversion. The designed VCO draws 440 μA from a 1.2-V power supply and presents a phase noise of -106.2 dBc/Hz at 400 kHz from the carrier

Analog Circuits in Ultra-Deep-Submicron CMOS

Modern and future ultra-deep-submicron (UDSM) technologies introduce several new problems in analog design. Nonlinear output conductance in combination with reduced voltage gain pose limits in linearity of (feedback) circuits. Gate-leakage mismatch exceeds conventional matching tolerances. Increasing area does not improve matching any more, except if higher power consumption is accepted or if active cancellation techniques are used. Another issue is the drop in supply voltages. Operating critical parts at higher supply voltages by exploiting combinations of thin- and thick-oxide transistors can solve this problem. Composite transistors are presented to solve this problem in a practical way. Practical rules of thumb based on measurements are derived for the above phenomena