A Radiation Hardened 16 GS/s Arbitrary Waveform Generator IC for a Submillimeter Wave Chirp-Transform Spectrometer

This paper describes a radiation hardening design approach of a dual channel 16 GSps single chip arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) - a complex mixed-signal ASIC - that consists of a low phase noise 16 GHz PLL, two 1.6 Mbit SRAM blocks, two multiplexing chains, and two 4-bit DACs. The ASIC is dedicated to be a part of a submillimeter wave spectrometer that shall operate in deep-space environment. Under stringent power budget conditions, a selective radiation protection of the ASIC has been applied. The arbitrary waveform generator has been fabricated in a 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS process. Correct functionality has been verified in lab and will be further tested in an irradiation facility

A single chip 16 GS/s arbitrary waveform generator in 0.13 μm BiCMOS technology

This paper presents design considerations and measurements of a dual channel 16 GSps single chip arbitrary waveform generator. Each generator channel consists of a 1.6 Mbit SRAM block, a multiplexing chain, and a 4-bit DAC. A low phase noise 16 GHz PLL is integrated on the same chip. The prototype is designed to perform a lab experiment of a real-time SAW spectrometer. The overall power consumption of the chip is 1.45 W

Gamification: What it is, and how to fight it

‘Gamification’ is understood as the application of game systems – competition, rewards, quantifying player/user behaviour – into non-game domains, such as work, productivity and fitness. Such practices are deeply problematic as they represent the capture of ‘play’ in the pursuit of neoliberal rationalization and the managerial optimization of working life and labour. However, applying games and play to social life is also central to the Situationist International, as a form of resistance against the regularity and standardization of everyday behaviour. In this article, the authors distinguish between two types of gamification: first, ‘gamification-from-above’, involving the optimization and rationalizing of work practices by management; and second, ‘gamification-from-below’, a form of active resistance against control at work. Drawing on Autonomism and Situationism, the authors argue that it is possible to transform non-games into games as resistance, rather than transferring game elements out of playful contexts and into managerial ones. Since the original ‘gamification’ term is now lost, the authors develop the alternative conception as a practice that supports workers, rather than one used to adapt behaviour to capital. The article concludes with a renewed call for this ‘gamification-from-below’, which is an ideal form of resistance against gamification-from-above and its capture of play in pursuit of work