High-speed driving scheme and compact high-speed low-power rail-to-rail class-B buffer amplifier for LCD applications

A high-speed driving scheme and a compact high-speed low-power rail-to-rail class-B buffer amplifier, which are suitable for small- and large-size liquid crystal display applications, are proposed. The driving scheme incorporates two output driving stages in which the output of the first output driving stage is connected to the inverting input and that of the second driving stage is connected to the capacitive load. A compensation resistor is connected between the two output stages for stability. The second output stage is used to improve the slew rate and the settling time. The buffer draws little current while static but has a large driving capability while transient. The circuit achieves the large driving capability by employing simple comparators to sense the transients of the input to turn on the output stages, which are statically off in the stable state. This increases the speed of the circuit without increasing static power consumption too much. A rail-to-rail folded-cascode differential amplifier is used to amplify the input signal difference and supply the bias voltages for the second stage. An experimental prototype output buffer implemented in a 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS technology demonstrates that the circuit draws only 7-/spl mu/A static current and exhibits the settling times of 2.7 /spl mu/s for rising and 2.9 /spl mu/s for falling edges for a voltage swing of 3.3 V under a 600-pF capacitance load with a power supply of 3.3 V. The active area of this buffer is only 46.5/spl times/57/spl mu/m/sup 2/.     

Low-power high-slew-rate CMOS buffer amplifier for flat panel display drivers

A new high-slew-rate CMOS buffer amplifier consuming a very small quiescent current is proposed. This buffer amplifier recursively copies the output driving current and increases the tail current of the input differential pair during slewing. Since the proposed buffer has a possible slew rate higher than 10 V//spl mu/s for a load capacitance of 1 nF almost independently of static currents as low as 1 /spl mu/A, this buffer amplifier is promising for column driver ICs of flat panel displays that require low static power consumption, high current driving capabilities, and small silicon areas.     

Low-power high-speed rail-to-rail LCD output buffer with dual-path push–pull operation and quiescent current control

The present paper addresses a new compact low-power high-speed output buffer amplifier topology for large-size liquid crystal display applications. The suggested buffer achieves fast driving performance, draws a low quiescent current during static operation and offers a rail-to-rail common-mode input range. The circuit provides enhanced slewing capabilities with a limited power consumption by simultaneously exploiting the push–pull output sections of two basic complementary-type input amplifiers to realize a dual-path push–pull operation of the output stage. An auxiliary biasing network integrated in the input differential stage allows the quiescent bias conditions of the class-AB output stage to be inherently controlled without additional current dissipation. Post-layout simulation results confirm that the proposed amplifier can drive a 1-nF column line load within a 0.9-μs settling time under a 3-V full voltage swing, while drawing only 3.5-μA quiescent current. Monte Carlo simulations are finally carried out, showing a good degree of robustness of the proposed output buffer against process and mismatch variations.     

A compact rail-to-rail CMOS buffer amplifier with very low quiescent current

In this work, a very compact, rail-to-rail, high-speed buffer amplifier for liquid crystal display (LCD) applications is proposed. Compared to other buffer amplifiers, the proposed circuit has a very simple architecture, occupies a small number of transistors and also has a large driving capacity with very low quiescent current. It is composed of two complementary differential input stages to provide rail-to-rail driving capacity. The push–pull transistors are directly connected to the differential input stage, and the output is taken from an inverter. The proposed buffer circuit is laid out using Mentor Graphics IC Station layout editor using AMS 0.35 μm process parameters. It is shown by post-layout simulations that the proposed buffer can drive a 1 nF capacitive load within a small settling time under a full voltage swing, while drawing only 1.6 μA quiescent current from a 3.3 V power supply.     

New low-voltage class AB/AB CMOS op amp with rail-to-rail input/output swing

A new low-voltage CMOS Class AB/AB fully differential opamp with rail-to-rail input/output swing and supply voltage lower than two V/sub GS/ drops is presented. The scheme is based on combining floating-gate transistors and Class AB input and output stages. The op amp is characterized by low static power consumption and enhanced slew-rate. Moreover the proposed opamp does not suffer from typical reliability problems related to initial charge trapped in the floating-gate devices. Simulation and experimental results in 0.5-/spl mu/m CMOS technology verify the scheme operating with /spl plusmn/0.9-V supplies and close to rail-to-rail input and output swing.     

A 402-output TFT-LCD driver IC with power control based on the number of colors selected

A 402-output thin-film-transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) driver integrated circuit (IC) with power control based on the number of colors to be displayed is described. To achieve this type of power control, reference voltage buffers are turned on and off according to the selected number of colors. In this architecture, the reference voltage buffers must drive 1-402 capacitive loads, corresponding to a capacitance of 30-12000 pF. Phase compensation using a zero formed with capacitive loads is proposed for the reference voltage buffers. The introduced zero has a fixed zero frequency for 1-402 loads. An operational amplifier with slew-rate enhancement is also proposed for the buffers. An experimental 402-output TFT-LCD driver IC was fabricated using a 0.6-/spl mu/m CMOS technology. The chip size was 2.35 mm /spl times/ 18.1 mm. The quiescent current dissipation of the analog section including decoders was 529 /spl mu/A for 262144 colors, 182 /spl mu/A for 4096 colors, and 112 /spl mu/A for 512 colors for a 5-V supply.     

A 4-Gb/s/pin low-power memory I/O interface using 4-level simultaneous bi-directional signaling

This paper presents a simultaneous bi-directional (SBD) 4-level I/O interface for high-speed DRAMs. The data rate of 4 Gb/s/pin was demonstrated using a 500-MHz clock generator and a full CMOS rail-to-rail power swing. The power consumed by the I/O circuit was measured to be 28 mW/pin, when connected to a 10-pF load, at a 1.8-V supply voltage. The transmitter uses a 4-level push-pull linear output driver and a 4-level automatic impedance controller, achieving the reduction of driver currents and the voltage margin as large as 200 mV. The receiver employs a hierarchical sampling scheme, wherein a differential amplifier selects three out of six reference voltage levels. This scheme ensures minimized sampling power and a wide common-mode sampling range. The 6-level reference voltage for sampling is generated by the combination of the transmitter replica. The proposed I/O interface circuits are fabricated using a 0.10-/spl mu/m, 2-metal layers DRAM process, and the active area is 330 /spl times/ 66 /spl mu/m/sup 2/. It exhibits 200 mV /spl times/ 690 ps eye windows on the given channel with a 1.8-V supply voltage.     

A highly linear CMOS buffer amplifier

A CMOS buffer amplifier which achieves significant improvements in linearity and drive capability over previously reported high-swing amplifiers is described. The buffer operates from a 5-V supply, is capable of rail-to-rail operation at both the input and output, an exhibits a remarkably high linearity of 0.05% THD while driving 3 V/SUB p-p/ into 100 /spl Omega/ at 20 kHz.     

A rail-to-rail amplifier input stage with /spl plusmn/0.35%g/sub m/ fluctuation

A new scheme for achieving rail-to-rail input to an amplifier is introduced. Constant g/sub m/ is obtained by using tunable level shifters and a single differential pair. Feedback circuitry controls the level shifters in a manner that fixes the common-mode input of the differential pair, resulting in consistent and stable operation for rail-to-rail inputs. As the new technique avoids using complimentary input differential pairs, this method overcomes problems such as common-mode rejection ratio and gain-bandwidth product degradation that exist in many other designs. The circuit was fabricated in 0.5-/spl mu/m process. The resulting differential pair had a constant transconductance that varied by only /spl plusmn/0.35% for rail-to-rail input common-mode levels. The input common-mode range extended well past the supply levels of /spl plusmn/1.5V, resulting in only /spl plusmn/1% fluctuation in g/sub m/ for input common modes from -2 to 2 V.     

1.5 V large-driving class-AB buffer amplifier with quiescent current control

A 1.5 V large-driving class-AB buffer amplifier with quiescent current control suitable for output driver application is proposed. An experimental prototype buffer demonstrated that the circuit draws only 80 /spl mu/A static current, and exhibited the rise time of 0.4 /spl mu/s and fall time of 1 /spl mu/s under a 100 /spl Omega///150 pF load.     

Rail-to-rail low-power high-slew-rate CMOS analogue buffer

A low-power rail-to-rail CMOS analogue buffer is presented. The circuit is based on an input stage made up of two complementary class AB differential pairs, while a simple additional circuit allows rail-to-rail operation at the output terminal. The proposed circuit combines low static power consumption and high drive capability, resulting in suitability for applications with large capacitive loads. Simulated results are provided.     

A 0.9-V 0.5-μA rail-to-rail CMOS operational amplifier

A 0.9-V 0.5-μA, rail-to-rail CMOS operational amplifier designed with weak inversion techniques is presented. Depletion-mode nMOS transistors buffer a bulk-driven pMOS differential pair to realize wide input dynamic range, while the output stage architecture provides symmetric rail-to-rail output drive through the use of a low-voltage translinear control circuit     

A CMOS transconductor with multidecade tuning using balanced current scaling in moderate inversion

A versatile CMOS transconductor is proposed. Voltage-to-current conversion employs a polysilicon resistor and features high linearity over a wide input range and high current efficiency. Programmable balanced current mirrors able to operate in weak or moderate inversion regions provide wide transconductance gain tuning range without degrading other performance parameters like input range and linearity. The transconductor has two degrees of freedom for gain tuning. A 0.5-/spl mu/m implementation achieves a SFDR of 68 dB and a THD of -66.5dB using a dual supply of /spl plusmn/1.3 V with differential input swings equal to 77% of the total supply voltage, transconductance tuning over two decades, and 1.7 mW of static power consumption. Measurements demonstrate that operation in moderate inversion can lead to much less distortion levels than in strong inversion.     

Analytical test buffer design for differential signaling I/O buffers by error syndrome analysis

This paper presents a novel input test buffer design methodology that is used for testing the differential signaling interconnects. The input test buffer is aimed to detect hardware failures in differential electrical connections. The input test buffer can also be used to check the differential signal's connectivity such as, diagnosing the cable connections, detecting off-lined or un-powered connections. The strategy employed here is to analyze the fault syndromes instead of enumerating the defects to achieve high fault coverage. This analysis leads to defining the key design components comprising of an analog detector that detects and preserves the fault information in the signal, and several digital engines that process this signal. Preserving the fault information is crucial, as the differential input/output (I/Os) are robust enough to mask the defective signal. The functionality of the test buffer is clearly defined such that the user can customize it to a specific I/O technology. The impact on performance and area are negligible. The proposed input test buffer design was implemented and verified in designs using regular current mode logic (CML) differential input buffers in the 0.13-/spl mu/m process. The results demonstrate comprehensive coverage for catastrophic defects. The fault detection capability is demonstrated through Spice based fault simulations.     

High-speed rail-to-rail output buffer amplifier with dynamic-bias circuit

The design of a high-speed output buffer amplifier for driving the large column line loads of large-size TFT-LCDs is presented. The major circuit of the output buffer is a rail-to-rail current mirror amplifier which can control the class-AB output stage and auxiliary output stage at the same time. The proposed dynamic bias method not only increases the driving capability of the class-AB output stage but also maintains a small quiescent current path.     

A 35 ns 2K /spl times/ 8 HMOS static RAM

This paper describes the circuit design and process techniques used to produce a 35-ns 2K /spl times/ 8 HMOS static RAM aimed at future high-end microprocessor applications. The circuit design uses predecoding of the row and column decoder/driver circuits to reduce active power, address-transition detection schemes to equalize internal nodes, and dynamic depletion-mode configurations for increased drive and speed. The technology is 2.5-3.0-/spl mu/m design rule HMOS employing an L/SUB eff/ of 1.7 /spl mu/m, t/SUB ox/=400 /spl Aring/, double-poly resistor loads, RIE and plasma etching, and wafer-stepper lithography. Using these techniques an access time of 35 ns, dc active power of 65 mA, standby power of 14 mA, and die size of 37.5K mil/SUP 2/ has been achieved. The cell size is 728 /spl mu/m/SUP 2/.     

40 Gbit/s lumped-element modulator driver in GaAs pHEMTs

A high-speed and high-gain modulator driver circuit using 0.15 /spl mu/m gate length GaAs pHEMT technology is presented. The IC was developed for driving electroabsorption modulators in 40 Gbit/s optical fibre systems. To meet application requirements a lumped-element approach was used with differential configuration. Measured results show the circuit operates at 40 Gbit/s with a swing of 3 V/sub p-p/ for single-ended and 6 V/sub p-p/ for differential output, and 8/10 ps rise/fall times.     

Constant-g/sub m/ constant-slew-rate high-bandwidth low-voltage rail-to-rail CMOS input stage for VLSI cell libraries

This paper introduces a general-purpose low-voltage rail-to-rail input stage suitable for analog and mixed-signal applications. The proposed circuit provides, simultaneously, constant small-signal and large-signal behaviors over the entire input common-mode voltage range, while imposing no appreciable constraint for high-frequency operation. In addition, the accuracy of the circuit does not rely on any strict matching of the devices, unlike most of the traditional approaches based on complementary input pairs, which need to compensate for the difference in mobility between electrons and holes with the transistor aspect ratios. Also, the technique is compatible with deep submicrometer CMOS devices, where the familiar voltage-to-current square law in saturation is not completely satisfied. Based on the proposed input stage, a transconductor with rail-to-rail input common-mode range and an input/output rail-to-rail operational amplifier were developed. Both cells were designed to operate with a 3-V single supply and fabricated in standard 0.8-/spl mu/m CMOS technology. Experimental results are provided.     

用于IRFPA ROIC的高性能缓冲器模块的设计

红外焦平面读出电路(IRFPA ROIC)主要用于焦平面阵列与后续信号处理之间的通信.文章提出了一种用于红外焦平面读出电路的缓冲器模块,包括列缓冲器、高性能的输出缓冲器以及相应的偏置电路.缓冲器均采用单位增益放大器结构,通过放大器的优化设计可实现对不同负载的有效驱动且静态功耗较低.该缓冲器模块用于一款640×512面阵、30μm中心距的中波红外焦平面读出电路,采用CSMC 0.5μm DPTM工艺进行流片加工.仿真结果表明,列缓冲器的开环增益为40.00 dB,单位增益带宽为48.17 MHz(10 pF).输出缓冲器可实现轨到轨的输入,开环增益为39.68 dB,单位增益带宽为46.08 MHz,读出速率高达20 MHz,功耗为16.02 mW(25 pF//5.1 kΩ).该模块输入端拉出的测试管脚可在焦平面读出电路的晶圆测试中帮助验证芯片功能.通过调节测试端口,测试结果与仿真结果大体一致,验证了该缓冲器模块的设计可行.     

On-chip crosstalk mitigation for densely packed differential striplines using via fence enclosures

The measured crosstalk characteristics for close-packed via fence enclosed differential stripline structures in a standard digital CMOS process are reported. The transmission lines achieve a packing pitch of 16 /spl mu/m of interconnect width per differential pair. The nearest neighbour far-end differential crosstalk is measured to be better than -43 dB and the near-end differential crosstalk is better than -37 dB below the drive signal at frequencies up to 20 GHz for 600 /spl mu/m lines. This is sufficient for use in high-density, high-speed analogue and digital integrated circuits.