Over the past decade, there has been a growing interest in the devel- opment of integrated circuits (ICs) for wearable or implantable biosensors, aiming at providing personalized healthcare services and reducing the health-care expenses. In biosensor ICs, the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is a key building block that acts as a bridge between analog signals and digital processors. Since most of the biosensors are attached to or implanted in hu- man bodies and powered by either portable batteries or harvested energy, ultra-low-power operation is often required. The stringent power budget im- poses challenges in designing power-efficient ADCs, especially when targeting high-resolution. Among different ADC architectures, the Sigma-Delta (Σ∆) ADC has emerged as the most suitable for low-power, high-resolution appli- cations. This thesis aims to enhance the power efficiency of continuous-time (CT) incremental Σ∆ (IΣ∆) ADCs by exploring design techniques at both architectural and circuit levels. The impact of feedback DACs in CT IΣ∆ ADCs is investigated, so as to provide power-efficient feedback DAC solutions, suitable for biosensor ap- plications. Different DAC schemes are examined analytically considering the trade-off between timing error sensitivity and power consumption. The an- alytical results are verified through behavioral simulations covering both the conventional and incremental Σ∆ modes. Additionally, by considering a typi- cal biosensor application, different feedback DACs are further compared, aim- ing to offer a reference for selecting a power-efficient DAC scheme. A two-step CT IΣ∆ ADC is proposed, analyzed, implemented and tested, with the objective of offering flexible and power-efficient A/D conversion in neural recording systems. By pipelining two CT IΣ∆ ADCs, the pro- posed ADC can achieve high-resolution without sacrificing the conversion rate. Power-efficient circuits are proposed to implement the active blocks of the proposed ADC. The feasibility and power efficiency of the two-step CT IΣ∆ ADC are validated by measurement results. Furthermore, enhancement techniques from both the architecture and circuit perspectives are discussed and implemented, which are validated by post-layout simulations. A comparative study of several CT IΣ∆ ADC architectures is presented, aiming to boost the power efficiency by reducing the number of cycles per con- version while benefiting from the advantage of CT implementation. Five CT IΣ∆ ADC architectures are analyzed and simulated to evaluate their effective- ness under ideal conditions. Based on the theoretical results, a second-order CT IΣ∆ ADC and an extended-range CT IΣ∆ ADC are selected as implemen- tation case studies together with the proposed two-step CT IΣ∆ ADC. The impact of critical circuit non-idealities is investigated. The three ADCs are then implemented and fabricated on a single chip. Experimental results reveal that the three prototype ADCs improve considerably the power efficiency of existing CT IΣ∆ ADCs while being very competitive when compared to all types of the state-of-the-art IΣ∆ ADCs. / <p>QC 20150422</p>

abstract: Pulse Density Modulation- (PDM-) based class-D amplifiers can reduce non-linearity and tonal content due to carrier signal in Pulse Width Modulation - (PWM-) based amplifiers. However, their low-voltage analog implementations also require a linear- loop filter and a quantizer. A PDM-based class-D audio amplifier using a frequency-domain quantization is presented in this paper. The digital-intensive frequency domain approach achieves high linearity under low-supply regimes. An analog comparator and a single-bit quantizer are replaced with a Current-Controlled Oscillator- (ICO-) based frequency discriminator. By using the ICO as a phase integrator, a third-order noise shaping is achieved using only two analog integrators. A single-loop, singlebit class-D audio amplifier is presented with an H-bridge switching power stage, which is designed and fabricated on a 0.18 um CMOS process, with 6 layers of metal achieving a total harmonic distortion plus noise (THD+N) of 0.065% and a peak power efficiency of 80% while driving a 4-ohms loudspeaker load. The amplifier can deliver the output power of 280 mW. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Electrical Engineering 2011

This work deals with the analysis of pulse modulation issues, work is divided into six chapters. The first chapter of the thesis deals with pulse modulations as a whole. It explains the concept of modulation, the distinction between analog and digital modulation, and there is the basic classification of pulse modulation done. The second chapter focuses on the issue of non-quantized pulse modulation. For each modulation belonging to this group is verbally and graphically explains the principle of its activities. In the third chapter, which is similar to the second chapter, the work focuses on quantized pulse modulation. Again, each of these modulations explained its basic principle. It is also in this chapter outlines the design models in Matlab-Simulink. The fourth chapter presents calculations and tables with calculated values needed for simulations. In the fifth chapter, a comparison waveforms. It contains a discussion about the dependence of modulation on their parameters, parameters of the input signal and the sampling frequency. In the final sixth chapter deals with the early design concepts and detailed diagrams for the production of demonstration products.

Recently, smart dust or wireless sensor networks are gaining more attention.These autonomous, ultra-low power sensor-based electronic devices sense and process burst-type environmental variations and pass the data from one node (mote) to another in an ad-hoc network. Subsystems for smart dust are typically the analog interface (AI), analog-to-digital converter (ADC), digital signal processor (DSP), digital-to-analog converter (DAC), power management, and transceiver for communication. This thesis project describes an event-driven (ED) digital signal processing system (ADC, DSP and DAC) operating in continuous-time (CT) with smart dust as the target application. The benefits of the CT system compared to its conventional counterpart are lower in-band quantization noise and no requirement of a clock generator and anti-aliasing filter, which makes it suitable for processing burst-type data signals. A clockless EDADC system based on a CT delta modulation (DM) technique is presented. The ADC output is digital data, continuous in time, known as “data token”. The ADC employs an unbuffered, area efficient, segmented resistor-string (R-string) feedback DAC. A study of different segmented R-string DAC architectures is presented. A comparison in component reduction with prior art shows nearly 87.5% reduction of resistors and switches in the DAC and the D flip-flops in the bidirectional shift registers for an 8-bit ADC, utilizing the proposed segmented DAC architecture. The obtained SNDR for the 3-bit, 4-bit and 8-bit ADC system is 22.696 dB, 30.435 dB and 55.73 dB, respectively, with the band of interest as 220.5 kHz. The CTDSP operates asynchronously and process the data token obtained from the EDADC. A clockless transversal direct-form finite impulse response (FIR) low-pass filter (LPF) is designed. Systematic top-down test-driven methodology is employed through out the project. Initially, MATLAB models are used to compare the CT systems with the sampled systems. The complete CTDSP system is implemented in Cadence design environment. The thesis has resulted in two conference contributions. One for the 20th European Conference on Circuit Theory and Design, ECCTD’11 and the other for the 19th IFIP/IEEE International Conference on Very Large Scale Integration, VLSI-SoC’11. We obtained the second-best student paper award at the ECCTD.

Harmonic distortions are inevitably caused by a rectifier and an inverter due to their inherent nonlinearities. An AC-DC-AC converter, configured by the series connection of a rectifier, DC link, and an inverter, induces harmonic distortions at both AC sides and at the DC link. These harmonics can nonlinearly interact or modulate the fundamental frequencies at the AC sides to cause interharmonic distortions. Harmonic and interharmonic distortions can seriously hamper the normal operation of the power system by means of side effects such as excitation of undesirable electrical and/or mechanical resonances, misoperation of control devices, and so forth. This dissertation presents effective methodologies to mitigate harmonic and interharmonic distortions by applying dithered pulse-width modulated (PWM) signals to a voltage-sourced inverter (VSI) type adjustable speed drive (ASD). The proposed methods are also efficient because the dithering applications are performed on control signals without the need for additional devices. By the help of dithering, the rejection bandwidth of a harmonic filter can be relaxed, which enables a lower-order configuration of harmonic filters. First, this dissertation provides a dithering application on gating signals of a sinusoidal PWM (SPWM) inverter in the simulated VSI-ASD model. The dithering is implemented by adding intentional noise into the SPWM process to randomize rising and falling edges of each pulse in a PWM waveform. As a result of the randomized edges, the periodicity of each pulse is varied, which result in mitigated harmonic tones. This mitigation of PWM harmonics also reduces associated interharmonic distortions at the source side of the ASD. The spectral densities at harmonic and interharmonic frequencies are quanti fied by Fourier analysis. It demonstrates approximately up to 10 dB mitigation of harmonic and interharmonic distortions. The nonlinear relationship between the mitigated interharmonics and harmonics is confirmed by cross bicoherence analysis of source- and DC-side current signals. Second, this dissertation proposes a dithered sigma-delta modulation (SDM) technique as an alternative to the PWM method. The dithering method spreads harmonic tones of the SD M bitstream into the noise level. The noise-shaping property of SDM induces lower noise density near the fundamental frequency. The SDM bitstream is then converted into SDM waveform after zero-order interpolation by which the noise-shaping property repeats at every sampling frequency of the bitstream. The advantages of SDM are assessed by comparing harmonic densities and the number of switching events with those of SPWMs. The dithered SD M waveform bounds harmonic and noise densities below approximately -30 dB with respect to the fundamental spectral density without increasing the number of switching events. Third, this dissertation provides additional validity of the proposed method via hardware experiments. For harmonic assessment, a commercial three-phase inverter module is supplied by a DC voltage source. Simulated PWM signals are converted into voltage waveforms to control the inverter. To evaluate interharmonic distortions, the experimental configuration is extended to a VSI-ASD model by connecting a three-phase rectifier to the inverter module via a DC link. The measured voltage and current waveforms are analyzed to demonstrate coincident properties with the simulation results in mitigating harmonics and interharmonics. The experimental results also provide the efficacy of the proposed methods; the dithered SPWM method effectively mitigates the fundamental frequency harmonics and associated interharmonics, and the dithered SDM reduces harmonics with the desired noise-shaping property. / text

Conversores analógico-digitais (ADCs) têm papel fundamental na implementação dos sistemas-em-chip, do inglês System-on-Chip (SoC), atuais. Em razão dos requisitos destes sistemas e dos compromissos entre as características fundamentais dos ADCs, como largura de banda, consumo de energia e exatidão, diversas topologias e estratégias para sua implementação em circuitos integrados (CIs) têm sido desenvolvidas através dos tempos. Dentre estas topologias, os conversores sigma-delta (SDC) têm se destacado pela versatilidade, aliada ao baixo consumo e excelente exatidão. Inicialmente desenvolvidos e empregados para a conversão de sinais de baixa frequência e com operação em tempo discreto (DT), esta classe de conversores têm evoluído e nos últimos anos está sendo desenvolvida para operar em tempo contínuo e ser empregada na conversão de sinais com frequências de centenas de kHz a dezenas de MHz. Neste trabalho, os moduladores sigma-delta em tempo contínuo (SDMs-CT) são estudados, visando sua aplicação à conversão analógico-digital (AD). Os SDMs-CT oferecem vantagens significativas sobre seus homólogos em tempo discreto, como menor consumo de energia, maior largura de banda do sinal de entrada e filtro anti-alias, do inglês anti-alias filter (AAF), implícito. Entretanto, os SDMs-CT apresentam limitações adicionais, responsáveis pela degradação de seu desempenho, como os efeitos do jitter do sinal de relógio, o atraso excessivo do laço de realimentação, do inglês Excess Loop Delay (ELD), e as limitações impostas aos integradores analógicos. Após o estudo e análise de SDMs-CT e de suas limitações, foi desenvolvido um modelo comportamental no ambiente Matlab/Simulink R , que permite a simulação do impacto destas limitações no modulador, possibilitando a obtenção de uma estimativa mais aproximada do seu desempenho. Com base nestas simulações foi possível a determinação das especificações mínimas de cada bloco analógico que compõe o modulador (como o slew rate, a frequência de ganho unitário (fu) e o ganho DC dos amplificadores operacionais utilizados nos integradores) e os valores toleráveis de ELD e jitter do sinal de relógio. Adicionalmente, neste trabalho foi desenvolvida uma metodologia para simulação de SDMs-CT compostos por DACs a capacitor chaveado e resistor, do inglês Switched-Capacitor-Resistor (SCR). Com base neste modelo e no estudo das diferentes topologias de SDMs, um circuito foi desenvolvido para aplicação em receptores de RF, sendo do tipo passa-baixas de laço único, do inglês single-loop, single-bit, de terceira ordem, voltado ao baixo consumo de energia. Este circuito foi desenvolvido em tecnologia CMOS IBM de 130 nanômetros, tendo sido enviado para fabricação. Através das simulações pós-leiaute realizadas espera-se que seu desempenho fique próximo ao que tem sido publicado recentemente sobre SDMs-CT passa-baixas de laço único e single-bit. / Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) play a fundamental role in the implementation of current systems-on-chip (SoC). Due to the requirements of these systems and the tradeoffs between the main ADCs characteristics, such as signal bandwidth, power consumption and accuracy, many topologies and strategies for their implementation in integrated circuits (ICs) have been developed through the ages. Among these topologies, the sigmadelta converters (SDC) have highlighted the versatility combined with low power consumption and excellent accuracy. Initially developed and used for the conversion of low frequency signals and operation in the discrete time (DT) domain, this class of converters have been evolved and developed over the past to operate in continuous time domain for the conversion of signals with frequencies of hundreds of kHz up to tens of MHz. In this work, continuous time sigma-delta modulators (CT-SDMs) are studied focusing its application to the analog-to-digital (AD) conversion. CT-SDMs offer significant advantages over their discrete-time counterparts, such as lower power consumption, higher input signal bandwidth and implicit anti-alias filter (AAF). However, CT-SDMs present additional limitations that are responsible for their performance degradation, such as the clock jitter, Excess Loop Delay (ELD) and the limitations imposed on the analog integrators. After the study and analysis of CT-SDMs and their performance limitations, a behavioral model approach was developed in the Matlab/Simulink R environment, which allows the simulation of the limitations impact on the modulator, allowing the obteinment of a more accurate estimate of its performance. Based on these simulations it was possible to determine the minimum specifications for each block that composes the analog modulator (such as slew rate, the unity gain frequency (fu) and the DC gain of the operational amplifiers used in integrators) and tolerable values of ELD and clock jitter. Additionally, it was developed in this work a methodology for simulate CT-SDMs with Switched-Capacitor- Resistor (SCR) DACs that provide exponential waveforms. Based on this model and the study of different SDMs topologies, it was developed a low-pass, single-loop, single-bit, third order circuit focused on low-power intended for application in RF receivers. This circuit was developed in an IBM 130 nanometers CMOS technology, and was send to manufacturing. Based on the post-layout simulations it is expected to have performance close to what has been recently published of low-pass, single-loop, single-bit CT-SDMs.

Conversores analógico-digitais (ADCs) têm papel fundamental na implementação dos sistemas-em-chip, do inglês System-on-Chip (SoC), atuais. Em razão dos requisitos destes sistemas e dos compromissos entre as características fundamentais dos ADCs, como largura de banda, consumo de energia e exatidão, diversas topologias e estratégias para sua implementação em circuitos integrados (CIs) têm sido desenvolvidas através dos tempos. Dentre estas topologias, os conversores sigma-delta (SDC) têm se destacado pela versatilidade, aliada ao baixo consumo e excelente exatidão. Inicialmente desenvolvidos e empregados para a conversão de sinais de baixa frequência e com operação em tempo discreto (DT), esta classe de conversores têm evoluído e nos últimos anos está sendo desenvolvida para operar em tempo contínuo e ser empregada na conversão de sinais com frequências de centenas de kHz a dezenas de MHz. Neste trabalho, os moduladores sigma-delta em tempo contínuo (SDMs-CT) são estudados, visando sua aplicação à conversão analógico-digital (AD). Os SDMs-CT oferecem vantagens significativas sobre seus homólogos em tempo discreto, como menor consumo de energia, maior largura de banda do sinal de entrada e filtro anti-alias, do inglês anti-alias filter (AAF), implícito. Entretanto, os SDMs-CT apresentam limitações adicionais, responsáveis pela degradação de seu desempenho, como os efeitos do jitter do sinal de relógio, o atraso excessivo do laço de realimentação, do inglês Excess Loop Delay (ELD), e as limitações impostas aos integradores analógicos. Após o estudo e análise de SDMs-CT e de suas limitações, foi desenvolvido um modelo comportamental no ambiente Matlab/Simulink R , que permite a simulação do impacto destas limitações no modulador, possibilitando a obtenção de uma estimativa mais aproximada do seu desempenho. Com base nestas simulações foi possível a determinação das especificações mínimas de cada bloco analógico que compõe o modulador (como o slew rate, a frequência de ganho unitário (fu) e o ganho DC dos amplificadores operacionais utilizados nos integradores) e os valores toleráveis de ELD e jitter do sinal de relógio. Adicionalmente, neste trabalho foi desenvolvida uma metodologia para simulação de SDMs-CT compostos por DACs a capacitor chaveado e resistor, do inglês Switched-Capacitor-Resistor (SCR). Com base neste modelo e no estudo das diferentes topologias de SDMs, um circuito foi desenvolvido para aplicação em receptores de RF, sendo do tipo passa-baixas de laço único, do inglês single-loop, single-bit, de terceira ordem, voltado ao baixo consumo de energia. Este circuito foi desenvolvido em tecnologia CMOS IBM de 130 nanômetros, tendo sido enviado para fabricação. Através das simulações pós-leiaute realizadas espera-se que seu desempenho fique próximo ao que tem sido publicado recentemente sobre SDMs-CT passa-baixas de laço único e single-bit. / Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) play a fundamental role in the implementation of current systems-on-chip (SoC). Due to the requirements of these systems and the tradeoffs between the main ADCs characteristics, such as signal bandwidth, power consumption and accuracy, many topologies and strategies for their implementation in integrated circuits (ICs) have been developed through the ages. Among these topologies, the sigmadelta converters (SDC) have highlighted the versatility combined with low power consumption and excellent accuracy. Initially developed and used for the conversion of low frequency signals and operation in the discrete time (DT) domain, this class of converters have been evolved and developed over the past to operate in continuous time domain for the conversion of signals with frequencies of hundreds of kHz up to tens of MHz. In this work, continuous time sigma-delta modulators (CT-SDMs) are studied focusing its application to the analog-to-digital (AD) conversion. CT-SDMs offer significant advantages over their discrete-time counterparts, such as lower power consumption, higher input signal bandwidth and implicit anti-alias filter (AAF). However, CT-SDMs present additional limitations that are responsible for their performance degradation, such as the clock jitter, Excess Loop Delay (ELD) and the limitations imposed on the analog integrators. After the study and analysis of CT-SDMs and their performance limitations, a behavioral model approach was developed in the Matlab/Simulink R environment, which allows the simulation of the limitations impact on the modulator, allowing the obteinment of a more accurate estimate of its performance. Based on these simulations it was possible to determine the minimum specifications for each block that composes the analog modulator (such as slew rate, the unity gain frequency (fu) and the DC gain of the operational amplifiers used in integrators) and tolerable values of ELD and clock jitter. Additionally, it was developed in this work a methodology for simulate CT-SDMs with Switched-Capacitor- Resistor (SCR) DACs that provide exponential waveforms. Based on this model and the study of different SDMs topologies, it was developed a low-pass, single-loop, single-bit, third order circuit focused on low-power intended for application in RF receivers. This circuit was developed in an IBM 130 nanometers CMOS technology, and was send to manufacturing. Based on the post-layout simulations it is expected to have performance close to what has been recently published of low-pass, single-loop, single-bit CT-SDMs.

Conversores analógico-digitais (ADCs) têm papel fundamental na implementação dos sistemas-em-chip, do inglês System-on-Chip (SoC), atuais. Em razão dos requisitos destes sistemas e dos compromissos entre as características fundamentais dos ADCs, como largura de banda, consumo de energia e exatidão, diversas topologias e estratégias para sua implementação em circuitos integrados (CIs) têm sido desenvolvidas através dos tempos. Dentre estas topologias, os conversores sigma-delta (SDC) têm se destacado pela versatilidade, aliada ao baixo consumo e excelente exatidão. Inicialmente desenvolvidos e empregados para a conversão de sinais de baixa frequência e com operação em tempo discreto (DT), esta classe de conversores têm evoluído e nos últimos anos está sendo desenvolvida para operar em tempo contínuo e ser empregada na conversão de sinais com frequências de centenas de kHz a dezenas de MHz. Neste trabalho, os moduladores sigma-delta em tempo contínuo (SDMs-CT) são estudados, visando sua aplicação à conversão analógico-digital (AD). Os SDMs-CT oferecem vantagens significativas sobre seus homólogos em tempo discreto, como menor consumo de energia, maior largura de banda do sinal de entrada e filtro anti-alias, do inglês anti-alias filter (AAF), implícito. Entretanto, os SDMs-CT apresentam limitações adicionais, responsáveis pela degradação de seu desempenho, como os efeitos do jitter do sinal de relógio, o atraso excessivo do laço de realimentação, do inglês Excess Loop Delay (ELD), e as limitações impostas aos integradores analógicos. Após o estudo e análise de SDMs-CT e de suas limitações, foi desenvolvido um modelo comportamental no ambiente Matlab/Simulink R , que permite a simulação do impacto destas limitações no modulador, possibilitando a obtenção de uma estimativa mais aproximada do seu desempenho. Com base nestas simulações foi possível a determinação das especificações mínimas de cada bloco analógico que compõe o modulador (como o slew rate, a frequência de ganho unitário (fu) e o ganho DC dos amplificadores operacionais utilizados nos integradores) e os valores toleráveis de ELD e jitter do sinal de relógio. Adicionalmente, neste trabalho foi desenvolvida uma metodologia para simulação de SDMs-CT compostos por DACs a capacitor chaveado e resistor, do inglês Switched-Capacitor-Resistor (SCR). Com base neste modelo e no estudo das diferentes topologias de SDMs, um circuito foi desenvolvido para aplicação em receptores de RF, sendo do tipo passa-baixas de laço único, do inglês single-loop, single-bit, de terceira ordem, voltado ao baixo consumo de energia. Este circuito foi desenvolvido em tecnologia CMOS IBM de 130 nanômetros, tendo sido enviado para fabricação. Através das simulações pós-leiaute realizadas espera-se que seu desempenho fique próximo ao que tem sido publicado recentemente sobre SDMs-CT passa-baixas de laço único e single-bit. / Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) play a fundamental role in the implementation of current systems-on-chip (SoC). Due to the requirements of these systems and the tradeoffs between the main ADCs characteristics, such as signal bandwidth, power consumption and accuracy, many topologies and strategies for their implementation in integrated circuits (ICs) have been developed through the ages. Among these topologies, the sigmadelta converters (SDC) have highlighted the versatility combined with low power consumption and excellent accuracy. Initially developed and used for the conversion of low frequency signals and operation in the discrete time (DT) domain, this class of converters have been evolved and developed over the past to operate in continuous time domain for the conversion of signals with frequencies of hundreds of kHz up to tens of MHz. In this work, continuous time sigma-delta modulators (CT-SDMs) are studied focusing its application to the analog-to-digital (AD) conversion. CT-SDMs offer significant advantages over their discrete-time counterparts, such as lower power consumption, higher input signal bandwidth and implicit anti-alias filter (AAF). However, CT-SDMs present additional limitations that are responsible for their performance degradation, such as the clock jitter, Excess Loop Delay (ELD) and the limitations imposed on the analog integrators. After the study and analysis of CT-SDMs and their performance limitations, a behavioral model approach was developed in the Matlab/Simulink R environment, which allows the simulation of the limitations impact on the modulator, allowing the obteinment of a more accurate estimate of its performance. Based on these simulations it was possible to determine the minimum specifications for each block that composes the analog modulator (such as slew rate, the unity gain frequency (fu) and the DC gain of the operational amplifiers used in integrators) and tolerable values of ELD and clock jitter. Additionally, it was developed in this work a methodology for simulate CT-SDMs with Switched-Capacitor- Resistor (SCR) DACs that provide exponential waveforms. Based on this model and the study of different SDMs topologies, it was developed a low-pass, single-loop, single-bit, third order circuit focused on low-power intended for application in RF receivers. This circuit was developed in an IBM 130 nanometers CMOS technology, and was send to manufacturing. Based on the post-layout simulations it is expected to have performance close to what has been recently published of low-pass, single-loop, single-bit CT-SDMs.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1999 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Today’s telemetry systems can reduce spectrum demand and maintain secure voice by encoding analog voice into digital data using; Continuously Variable Slope Delta Modulation ( CVSD ) format and imbedding it into a telemetry stream. The model CSC-0390 DvD system is an excellent choice in decoding digital voice, designed with flexibility, efficiency, and simplicity in mind. Flexibility in design brings forth a capability of operating on a wide variety of telemetry systems and data formats without any specialized interfaces. The utilization of 74HC series circuit technology makes this DvD system efficient in design, low cost, and lower power consumption. In addition the front panel display and control function is also is an example of Simplicity in design and operation.

About 50 million people worldwide suffer from epilepsy and one third of them have seizures that are refractory to medication. In the past few decades, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been explored by researchers and physicians as a promising way to control and treat epileptic seizures. To make the DBS therapy more efficient and effective, the feedback loop for titrating therapy is required. It means the implantable DBS devices should be smart enough to sense the brain signals and then adjust the stimulation parameters adaptively. This research proposes a signal-sensing channel configurable to various neural applications, which is a vital part for a future closed-loop epileptic seizure stimulation system. This doctoral study has two main contributions, 1) a micropower low-noise neural front-end circuit, and 2) a low-power configurable neural recording system for both neural action-potential (AP) and fast-ripple (FR) signals. The neural front end consists of a preamplifier followed by a bandpass filter (BPF). This design focuses on improving the noise-power efficiency of the preamplifier and the power/pole merit of the BPF at ultra-low power consumption. In measurement, the preamplifier exhibits 39.6-dB DC gain, 0.8 Hz to 5.2 kHz of bandwidth (BW), 5.86-μVrms input-referred noise in AP mode, while showing 39.4-dB DC gain, 0.36 Hz to 1.3 kHz of BW, 3.07-μVrms noise in FR mode. The preamplifier achieves noise efficiency factor (NEF) of 2.93 and 3.09 for AP and FR modes, respectively. The preamplifier power consumption is 2.4 μW from 2.8 V for both modes. The 6th-order follow-the-leader feedback elliptic BPF passes FR signals and provides -110 dB/decade attenuation to out-of-band interferers. It consumes 2.1 μW from 2.8 V (or 0.35 μW/pole) and is one of the most power-efficient high-order active filters reported to date. The complete front-end circuit achieves a mid-band gain of 38.5 dB, a BW from 250 to 486 Hz, and a total input-referred noise of 2.48 μVrms while consuming 4.5 μW from the 2.8 V power supply. The front-end NEF achieved is 7.6. The power efficiency of the complete front-end is 0.75 μW/pole. The chip is implemented in a standard 0.6-μm CMOS process with a die area of 0.45 mm^2. The neural recording system incorporates the front-end circuit and a sigma-delta analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The ADC has scalable BW and power consumption for digitizing both AP and FR signals captured by the front end. Various design techniques are applied to the improvement of power and area efficiency for the ADC. At 77-dB dynamic range (DR), the ADC has a peak SNR and SNDR of 75.9 dB and 67 dB, respectively, while consuming 2.75-mW power in AP mode. It achieves 78-dB DR, 76.2-dB peak SNR, 73.2-dB peak SNDR, and 588-μW power consumption in FR mode. Both analog and digital power supply voltages are 2.8 V. The chip is fabricated in a standard 0.6-μm CMOS process. The die size is 11.25 mm^2. The proposed circuits can be extended to a multi-channel system, with the ADC shared by all channels, as the sensing part of a future closed-loop DBS system for the treatment of intractable epilepsy.