Fully Autonomous Mixed Signal SoC Design & Layout Generation Platform

We present FASoC, the world’s first autonomous mixed-signal SoC framework driven entirely by user constraints, along with a suite of automated generators for analog blocks. The process agnostic framework takes high-level user intent as inputs to generate optimized and fully verified analog blocks using a cell-based design methodology. Our approach is highly scalable and silicon-proven by an SoC prototype which includes 2 PLLs, 3 LDOs, 1 SRAM, and 2 temperature sensors fully integrated with a processor in a 65nm CMOS process. The physical design of all blocks, including analog, is achieved using optimized synthesis and APR flows in commercially available tools. The framework is portable across different processes and requires no human in the loop, dramatically accelerating design time.This material is based on research sponsored by Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under agreement number FA8650 18 2 7844. The U.S. Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation thereon.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/165331/1/Fully Autonomous Mixed Signal SoC Design & Layout Generation Platform.pdfDescription of Fully Autonomous Mixed Signal SoC Design & Layout Generation Platform.pdf : Main articleSEL

Communication

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Experimental characterization of an integrated starter/generator

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-95).by David D. Wentzloff.S.M

Pulse-based UWB transmitters for digital communication

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-123).Ultra-wideband radio (UWB) is a rapidly developing wireless technology that promises unprecedented data rates for short-range commercial radios, combined with precise locationing and high energy efficiency. These benefits stem from the use of wide bandwidths and impulse signaling, implying high channel capacity and precise time resolution. UWB has been used for military radar and imaging since the 1950's; however, in 2002 the Federal Communications Commission approved the use of the 3.1-10.6GHz band for unlicensed UWB applications. The restriction on transmitted power spectral density in this band is equal to the noise emission limit of household digital electronics. This band is also shared with several existing services, therefore in-band interference is expected and presents a challenge to UWB system design. This thesis covers the aspects of pulse generation and transmitter implementation for pulsed-UWB communication by exploring tradeoffs that can be made in the pulse shaping in order to reduce power consumption in the transmitter electronics. A transmitter has been developed that exploits the exponential properties of a BJT to approximate a Gaussian shape. It generates BPSK modulated pulses at 100Mb/s in one of 14 channels in the 3.1-10.6GHz band, targeting high data rate applications. The transmitter has been fabricated in a 0.18pm SiGe BiCMOS process, and experimental results are presented. A second transmitter has been developed that uses an all-digital architecture.(cont.) This architecture is made practical by relaxing the RF frequency tolerance, suitable for communication with an energy detection receiver using pulse position modulation. By using an all-digital architecture, energy is consumed only in CV2 switching losses and subthreshold leakage currents, and no RF oscillator or analog bias currents are required. This transmitter has been fabricated in a 90nm digital CMOS process, and demonstrated in a 16.7Mb/s wireless link.by David D. Wentzloff.Ph.D

Portable Hardware for Real-time Channel Estimation on Wireless Body Area Networks

Abstract-We present the design and implementation of a portable and economic device that can estimate wireless body area network (WBAN) channels in the 2.4-2.5 GHz frequency range. The equipment conventionally used for WBAN channel estimation is accurate, but bulky and expensive. Our channel estimator consists of multiple transmitters and a receiver, powered by consumer batteries, and small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. The transmitter includes an impulse generator fabricated in a 0.13μm CMOS process that continuously excites the channel with BPSK-modulated pulses. The receiver is implemented with COTS and records the impulse response in memory, storing up to 1.6M channel snapshots, which can be extracted later. The transmitter and receiver are described in this paper, along with experimental results. The measured data show the dynamics of WBAN channels in relation to the environment and the human body motion, in scenarios where it isn't practical to use conventional channel modeling equipment

6.4 A 47pJ/pulse 3.1-to-5GHz All-Digital UWB Transmitter in 90nm CMOS

Pulsed-UWB transceivers have the potential for ultra-low energy per bit operation since the signals are inherently duty-cycled. By eliminating components with long startup times such as a phaselocked loop, all the blocks in a pulsed-UWB transceiver can be disabled during the interval between pulses. In this paper, an alldigital transmitter with static logic and no bias currents is presented in which the energy is dissipated in switching events (i.e., CV 2) and by leakage currents (i.e., subthreshold leakage). Typical pulsed-UWB systems operate in a single channel in the UWB band [1-3], which is shared spectrum with other UWB and narrowband users. System performance degrades in the presence of in-band interferers, which motivates the use of multiple channels for added diversity. This system uses 3 channels with center frequencies of 3.45, 4.05, and 4.65GHz, and each channel carries 550MHz wide pulses. This transmitter operates with a separat