A technique to increase the efficiency of high-voltage charge pumps

A charge pump that utilizes a MOSFET body diode as a charge transfer switch is discussed. The body diode is characterized and a body diode model is developed for simulating the charge pump circuit. A 10% increase of voltage gain has been achieved in the proposed switching technique when compared with a traditional Dickson charge pump. The top plate and bottom plate switching technique have also been illustrated to improve the efficiency of the charge pump. A six-stage Dickson charge pump was designed to produce a 19 V output from a 3.3-V supply, using a 4 MHz, two-phase nonoverlapping clock signal driving the charge pump. The design was fabricated in a 0.35-/spl mu/m SOI CMOS process. An efficiency of 79% is achieved at a load current of approximately 19 /spl mu/A.     

A wide-range delay-locked loop with a fixed latency of one clock cycle

A delay-locked loop (DLL) with wide-range operation and fixed latency of one clock cycle is proposed. This DLL uses a phase selection circuit and a start-controlled circuit to enlarge the operating frequency range and eliminate harmonic locking problems. Theoretically, the operating frequency range of the DLL can be from 1/(N/spl times/T/sub Dmax/) to 1/(3T/sub Dmin/), where T/sub Dmin/ and T/sub Dmax/ are the minimum and maximum delay of a delay cell, respectively, and N is the number of delay cells used in the delay line. Fabricated in a 0.35 /spl mu/m single-poly triple-metal CMOS process, the measurement results show that the proposed DLL can operate from 6 to 130 MHz, and the total delay time between input and output of this DLL is just one clock cycle. From the entire operating frequency range, the maximum rms jitter does not exceed 25 ps. The DLL occupies an active area of 880 /spl mu/m/spl times/515 /spl mu/m and consumes a maximum power of 132 mW at 130 MHz.     

Switched-current circuits in digital CMOS technology with low charge-injection errors

In this paper, digital CMOS switched-current (SI) circuits with low charge-injection errors are presented. These circuits are based on the operation of the switches at virtual-ground nodes to result in signal-independent charge injection. Based on this scheme, different topologies for the memory cell are discussed. To verify the theoretical concepts developed, a third-order elliptic low-pass SI filter is implemented in a 0.25-/spl mu/m digital CMOS process. The filter nominally operates with a clock frequency of 10 MHz, cutoff frequency of 1 MHz, and a power supply of 2.3 V, while consuming 29 mW of power and processing input signals as large as 600-/spl mu/A peak differential. The low-charge injection nature of the circuit is reflected in its low total harmonic distortion of -59 dB for a 0.3-MHz signal with a modulation index of 0.5.     

A low-power half-delay-line fast skew-compensation circuit

A fast skew-compensation circuit is useful for a chip to safely recover from the halt state because it can quickly compensate the clock skew induced by the on-chip clock driver. A low-power half-delay-line fast skew-compensation circuit (HDSC) is proposed in this work. The HDSC circuit features several new design techniques. The first is a new measure-and-compensate architecture, with which the HDSC circuit gains advantages including an enlarged operation frequency range, more robust operation, more accurate phase alignment, higher scalability for using advanced technologies, and lower power consumption, as compared to the conventional fast skew-compensation circuits. The second is a frequency-independent phase adjuster, with which the delay line can be shortened by half and the maximal power consumption is reduced accordingly if the clock signal has a 50% duty cycle. The third is a fine delay cell, which is used to accompany the half-delay-line, comprising of minimum-sized coarse delay cells, to effectively reduce the static phase error. Extensive circuit simulations are carried out to prove the superiority of the proposed circuit. In addition, an HDSC test chip is implemented for performance verification at high frequencies. The test chip is designed based on a 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS process, and has a coarse cell delay of 220 ps. It works successfully between 600/spl sim/800 MHz, as designed, with a power consumption of 25/spl sim/36 /spl mu/W/MHz. When measured at 616.9 and 791.6 MHz, the static phase error is 76.8 and 124.5 ps, respectively.     

A new CMOS pixel structure for low-dark-current and large-array-size still imager applications

A pixel structure for still CMOS imager application called the pseudoactive pixel sensor (PAPS) is proposed and analyzed in this paper. It has the advantages of a low dark current, high signal-to-noise ratio, and a high fill factor over the conventional passive pixel sensor imager or active pixel sensor imager. The readout circuit called the zero-bias column buffer-direct-injection structure is also proposed to suppress both the dark current of the photodiode and the leakage current of row switches by keeping both biases of photodiode and the parasitic p-n junction in the column bus at or near zero voltage. The improved double delta sampling circuits are also used to suppress fixed pattern noise, clock feedthrough noise, and channel charge injection. An experimental chip of the proposed PAPS CMOS imager with the format of 352/spl times/288 (CIF) has been fabricated by using a 0.25-/spl mu/m single-poly-five-level-metal (1P5M) n-well CMOS process. The pixel size is 5.8 /spl mu/m/spl times/5.8 /spl mu/m. The pixel readout speed is from 100 kHz to 10 MHz, corresponding to the maximum frame rate above 30 frames/s. The proposed still CMOS imager has a fill factor of 58%, chip size of 3660 /spl mu/m/spl times/3500 /spl mu/m, and power dissipation of 24 mW under the power supply of 3.3 V. The experimental chip has successfully demonstrated the function of the proposed new PAPS structure. It can be applied in the design of large-array-size still CMOS imager systems with a low dark current and high resolution.     

A 10-Gb/s CDR/DEMUX with LC delay line VCO in 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS

A monolithic 10-Gb/s clock/data recovery and 1:2 demultiplexer are implemented in 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS. The quadrature LC delay line oscillator has a tuning range of 125 MHz and a 60-MHz/V sensitivity to power supply pulling. The circuit meets SONET OC-192 jitter specifications with a measured jitter of 8 ps p-p when performing error-free recovery of PRBS 2/sup 31/-1 data. Clock and data recovery (CDR) is achieved at 10 Gb/s, demonstrating the feasibility of a half-rate early/late PD (with tri-state) based CDR on 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS. The 1.9/spl times/1.5 mm/sup 2/ IC (not including output buffers) consumes 285 mW from a 1.8-V supply.     

A high speed molybdenum gate MOS RAM

Describes a high speed 16K molybdenum gate (Mo-gate) dynamic MOS RAM using a single transistor cell. New circuit technologies, including a capacitive-coupled sense-refresh amplifier and a dummy sense circuit, enable the achievement of high speed performance in combination with reduced propagation delay in the molybdenum word line due to the low resistivity. The n-channel Mo-gate process was established by developing an evaporation apparatus and by an improved heat treatment to reduce surface charge density. Ultraviolet photolithography for 2 /spl mu/m patterns and HCl oxidation for 400 /spl Aring/ thick gate oxide are used. The 16K word/spl times/1 bit device is fabricated on a 3.2 mm/spl times/4.0 mm chip. Cell size is 16 /spl mu/m/spl times/16 /spl mu/m Access time is less than 65 ns at V/SUB DD/=7 V and V/SUB BB/=-2 V. Power dissipation is 210 mW at 170 ns read-modify-write (RMW) cycle.     

A two-phase plasma-coupled static shift register

In designing an experimental 2-bit plasma-coupled shift register, fabricated with standard bipolar technology, it is shown that a simplification of the existing plasma-coupled device (PCD) concept by omission of the double base diode not only decreases the power dissipation and increases the ease of fabrication, but also increases the attractive simplicity of the basic cell. The average power dissipation of the new device is 200 /spl mu/W/bit at a clock frequency of 3 MHz. The bit density is 135 bit/mm/SUP 2/ with 10-/spl mu/m spacing between interconnection lines 10 /spl mu/m in width. A hypothetical layout with dielectric isolation and closer tolerances results in a bit density of 900 bit/mm/SUP 2/ and an estimated power dissipation of 80 /spl mu/W/bit.     

A spread-spectrum clock generator with triangular modulation

In this paper, a spread-spectrum clock generator (SSCG) with triangular modulation is presented. Only a divider and a programmable charge pump are added into a conventional clock generator to accomplish the spread-spectrum function. The proposed circuit has been fabricated in a 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS single-poly quadruple-metal process. The proposed SSCG can generate clocks of 66, 133, and 266 MHz with center spread ratios of 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, and 2.5%. Experimental results confirm the theoretical analyses.     

Built-in current sensor for /spl Delta/I/sub DDQ/ testing

This paper presents the implementation of a built-in current sensor for /spl Delta/I/sub DDQ/ testing. In contrast to conventional built-in current monitors, this implementation has three distinctive features: 1) built-in self-calibration to the process corner in which the circuit under test was fabricated; 2) digital encoding of the quiescent current of the circuit under test for robustness purposes; and 3) enabling versatile testing strategy through the implementation of two advanced /spl Delta/I/sub DDQ/ testing algorithms. The monitor has been manufactured in a 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS technology and it is based on the principle of disconnecting the device under test from the power supply during the testing phase. The monitor has a resolution of 1 /spl mu/A for a background current less than 100 /spl mu/A or 1% of background currents over 100 /spl mu/A to a total of 1-mA full scale. The sensor operates at a maximum clock speed of 250 MHz. The quiescent current is indirectly determined by counting a number of clock pulses which occur during the time the voltage at the disconnected node drops below a reference voltage value. Basically, at the end of the count period, the counted value is inversely proportional to the quiescent current of the device under test. Then, a /spl Delta/I/sub DDQ/ unit processes the counted number and the outcome is compared with a reference number to determine whether a defect exists in the device under test. Accuracy is improved by adjusting the value of the reference number and the frequency of the clock signal depending upon the particular process corner of the circuit under test. The monitor has been verified in a test chip consisting of one "DSP-like" circuit of about 250,000 transistors. Experimental results prove the usefulness of our approach as a quick and effective means for detecting defects.     

A 4160-bit C4D serial memory

A 4160-bit serial memory chip has been designed, fabricated, and tested using as the basic memory cell the conductively connected charge-coupled device (CCD) or C4D. The chip includes an inverting regenerator every 65 bits and a reading tap every 130 bits. Also on-chip is a recirculating amplifier which senses the charge packet as it reaches the end of the register and feeds it back to the input. This means that once data has been written onto the chip, it will be retained as long as the regenerator supply and the two clocks are on. The chip has two multiplexed halves to obtain a data rate of twice the clock frequency. The active area of the chip is 12 mm/SUP 2/ or 2900 /spl mu/m/SUP 2/ per bit. Operation was obtained for arbitrary data streams at clock rates of 1 kHz to 1.6 MHz (3.2 MHz data rate). Power dissipation varies linearly with frequency and is 16 /spl mu/W per bit at the highest frequency. Maximum read latency is 80 /spl mu/s at this frequency. This performance demonstrates the feasibility of the C4D as a component for a medium speed large-scale memory.     

A 4 /spl mu/m NMOS NAND structure PLA

A PLA of NAND structure, using a NMOS Si gate process, has been developed to minimize chip area and maintain medium fast speed. The smallest memory cell size of 7/spl times/9 /spl mu/m is achieved by using ion implantation for PLA bit programming with 4 /spl mu/m design rules. Dynamic clocking scheme and self-timing circuits which are used in this PLA are described. With PLA size at 20/spl times/20/spl times/20, transistor size of 8 /spl mu/m/4 /spl mu/m, and cell size of 7/spl times/12 /spl mu/m, an internal access time of 150 ns is achieved with an external 4 MHz clock. Measured circuit power dissipation is 20 mW under normal conditions.     

A high fill factor and progressive scan PtSi Schottky-barrier IR-CCD image sensor using new wiring technology

A back surface illuminated 130/spl times/130 pixel PtSi Schottky-barrier (SB) IR-CCD image sensor has been developed by using new wiring technology, referred to as CLOSE Wiring, CLOSE Wiring, designed to effectively utilize the space over the SB photodiodes, brings about flexibility in clock line designing, high fill factor, and large charge handling capability in a vertical CCD (VCCD). This image sensor uses a progressive scanned interline-scheme, and has a 64.4% fill factor in a 30 /spl mu/m/spl times/30 /spl mu/m pixel, a 3.9 mm/spl times/3.9 mm image area, and a 5.5 mm/spl times/5.5 mm chip size. The charge handling capability for the 3.3 /spl mu/m wide VCCD achieves 9.8/spl times/10/sup 5/ electrons, The noise equivalent temperature difference obtained was 0.099 K for operation at 120 frames/sec with a 50 mm f/1.3 lens.<>     

A CCD time-integrating correlator

A CCD binary-analog time-integrating correlator has been designed and operated at 20 MHz clock rate. The 32-channel device is capable of integration periods in excess of 25 /spl mu/s or 500 clock periods, equivalent to a time-bandwidth product of 250. The device architecture is based on charge-domain signal processing for high-speed operation and does not required on-chip logic for storage of the binary reference. The device is tailored for weak signal applications, and a new charge skimming circuit has been devised which allows the small portion of the integrated charge containing the correlation function to be separated from the large register by tenfold. The correlator has a stationary pattern noise which can be eliminated with simple postprocessing, yielding a dynamic range of 67 dB.     

On-chip high-voltage generation in MNOS integrated circuits using an improved voltage multiplier technique

An improved voltage multiplier technique has been developed for generating +40 V internally in p-channel MNOS integrated circuits to enable them to be operated from standard +5- and -12-V supply rails. With this technique, the multiplication efficiency and current driving capability are both independent of the number of multiplier stages. A mathematical model and simple equivalent circuit have been developed for the multiplier and the predicted performance agrees well with measured results. A multiplier has already been incorporated into a TTL compatible nonvolatile quad-latch, in which it occupies a chip area of 600 /spl mu/m/spl times/240 /spl mu/m. It is operated with a clock frequency of 1 MHz and can supply a maximum load current of about 10 /spl mu/A. The output impedance is 3.2 M/spl Omega/.     

A 35-ns 128K/spl times/8 CMOS SRAM

A 128 K/spl times/8-b CMOS SRAM with TTL input/output levels and a typical address access time of 35 ns is described. A novel data transfer circuit with dual threshold level is utilized to obtain improved noise immunity. A divided-word-line architecture and an automatic power reduction function are utilized to achieve a low operational power of 10 mW at 1 MHz, and 100 mW at 10 MHz. A novel fabrication technology, including improved LOCOS and highly stable polysilicon loads, was introduced to achieve a compact memory cell which measures 6.4/spl times/11.5 /spl mu/m/SUP 2/. Typical standby current is 2 /spl mu/A. The RAM was fabricated with 1.0-/spl mu/m design rules, double-level polysilicon, and double-level aluminum CMOS technology. The chip size of the RAM is 8/spl times/13.65 mm/SUP 2/.     

New input/output designs for high speed static CMOS RAM

New input and output schematics and optimum design for cell and array are proposed, and applied to a 256/spl times/4 bit CMOS static RAM. Simplified decoder circuit with effective decoder control circuit has a high speed and a wide timing margin. Simple sense amplifier and compact output circuit bring higher speed and reduction in pattern area. Using p-channel transfer gate for memory cell and array, the switching speed and operational stability are much improved. The device is fabricated by 5 /spl mu/m layout rule Si-gate CMOS technology. An 80 ns access time and 100 ns minimum cycle time are acquired at 5 V supply. Power dissipation is less than 7.5 mW at 1 MHz operation.     

High-performance low-power CMOS memories using silicon-on-sapphire technology

Complementary MOS silicon-on-sapphire inverters fabricated using silicon-gate technology and 5-/spl mu/m channel-length devices has achieved nanosecond propagation delays and picojoule dynamic power-x delay products. In addition to high switching speed and low dynamic power, inverters with low leakage currents and therefore low quiescent power have been obtained. Two complex CMOS/SOS memories that realize the performance attributes of the individual inverters have been fabricated. An aluminium-gate 256-bit fully decoded static random-access memory features a typical access time of 50 ns at 10 V with a power dissipation of 0.4 /spl mu/W/bit (quiescent) and 10 /spl mu/W/bit (dynamic). The access time at 5 V is typically 95 ns. A silicon-gate 256-bit dynamic shift register features operation at clock signals of 200 MHz at 10 V and 75 MHz at 5 V. The dynamic power dissipation at 50 MHz and 5 V is typically 90 /spl mu/W/bit.     

An nMOS VLSI process for fabrication of a 32-bit CPU chip

An overview is given of a silicon-gate NMOS fabrication process used to realize a 450000 transistor, 32-bit single-chip CPU that operates at a worst case 18 MHz clock frequency. The technology utilizes 1.5-/spl mu/m lines and 1.0-/spl mu/m spaces on all critical levels, and provides tungsten dual layer metallization. The device and interconnect structure for this 8-mask process is outlined as a sequence through the process flow. Linewidth and alignment statistics are given for the optical reduction-projection step-and-repeat lithography used in this technology.