As CMOS processes size continues to shrink, a number of factors limit the ability of analog circuit performance to scale with the process. These issues include smaller transistor intrinsic gains and lower supply voltages. However, scaling continues to increase the speed and decrease the power of digital circuits. In this thesis, an active time-based integrator is proposed to replace amplifiers. The integrator, implemented using highly digital ring oscillators, seeks to take advantage of benefits offered by technology scaling while negating the issues of low gain and low supply voltages. The proposed integrator topology is used in a 20MHz 4th order continuous-time analog filter. Designed in a 90nm CMOS process, the time-based continuous-time filter achieves superior noise and linearity performance compared to state-of-the-art conventional active RC filters in simulations. / Graduation date: 2012 / Access restricted to the OSU Community at author's request from June 17, 2011 - June 17, 2012

This dissertation presents a novel [delta sigma] analog-to-digital converter architecture which replaces the operational amplifier-based integrator with a pair of tunable oscillators. A switched-capacitor V-I converter is used to combine the input voltage with a feedback DAC output and convert it into a current for two pseudo-differential current-controlled oscillators. The oscillator outputs are counted with a digital counter, and a digital back-end [delta sigma] modulator is used to truncate the high-resolution counter outputs for the feedback DAC path. This architecture has compelling advantages in deep sub-micron and emerging technologies where supply voltages are decreasing to a point that traditional analog architectures are no longer feasible. Additionally, this architecture takes advantage of the increased speed in these short-channel technologies. Measured results on a 6.08mW prototype in TSMC 0.18um achieving 63.5dB in a 2MHz bandwidth are presented. / text

Ring oscillators provide a central role in timing circuits for today?s mobile devices and desktop computers. Increased integration in these devices exacerbates switching noise on the supply, necessitating improved supply resilience. Furthermore, reduced voltage headroom in submicron technologies limits the number of stacked transistors available in a delay cell. Hence, conventional single-loop oscillators offer relatively few design options to achieve desired specifications, such as supply rejection. Existing state-of-the-art supply-rejection- enhancement methods include actively regulating the supply with an LDO, employing a fully differential or current-starved delay cell, using a hi-Z voltage-to-current converter, or compensating/calibrating the delay cell. Multiloop ring oscillators (MROs) offer an additional solution because by employing a more complex ring-connection structure and associated delay cell, the designer obtains an additional degree of freedom to meet the desired specifications. Designing these more complex multiloop structures to start reliably and achieve the desired performance requires a systematic analysis procedure, which we attack on two fronts: (1) a generalized delay-cell viewpoint of the MRO structure to assist in both analysis and circuit layout, and (2) a survey of phase-noise analysis to provide a bank of methods to analyze MRO phase noise. We distill the salient phase-noise-analysis concepts/key equations previously developed to facilitate MRO and other non-conventional oscillator analysis. Furthermore, our proposed analysis framework demonstrates that all these methods boil down to obtaining three things: (1) noise modulation function (NMF), (2) noise transfer function (NTF), and (3) current-controlled-oscillator gain (KICO). As a case study, we detail the design, analysis, and measurement of a proposed multiloop ring oscillator structure that provides improved power-supply isolation (more than 20dB increase in supply rejection over a conventional-oscillator control case fabricated on the same test chip). Applying our general multi-loop-oscillator framework to this proposed MRO circuit leads both to design-oriented expressions for the oscillation frequency and supply rejection as well as to an efficient layout technique facilitating cross-coupling for improved quadrature accuracy and systematic, substantially simplified layout effort.

No description available.

The temperature sensor design discussed in this thesis, is meant mainly to monitor temperature at power outlets. Current variations in power cords have a direct impact on the surrounding temperature. Sensing these variations ,enables us to take necessary measures to prevent any hazards due to temperature rise. Thus, for this application we require a sensor with a moderate temperature error (_10C) over a sensing range of -200C to 1500C. Low power consumption and simple digitizing scheme alleviate measurement errors due to self heating effects of the sensor. A current starved inverter based ring oscillator was chosen for the sensor design in 130nm technology. The inverter delay variation with temperature is used for sensing. Linearity and process invariancy of these characteristics are fundamental to the sensor design. We observed through simulations, and confirmed by mathematical analysis, that the sensing characteristics are governed by bias current dependence on temperature. Control voltage for the bias circuitry of the oscillator determines current through the inverter stages. Hence, for linear sensing characteristics, a control voltage(Vc) just above the maximum threshold voltage of bias transistor is used. This enables generation of PTAT saturation current for current starved inverters, due to dominance of threshold voltage decrease with temperature over mobility decrease. I.Another limitation, process dependency of the sensing characteristics, was overcome through the proposed calibration based compensation technique. A changing Vc proportional to threshold voltage variation with process, process independent bias current and current temperature characteristics were obtained. This compensated for the process variation effects on frequency. Thus, a variable Vc was generated using a reference with low temperature sensitivity of 17.6_V=0C, and resistive divider combinations for various processes. Incorporating this compensation technique we achieved good linearity in sensor characteristics and a maximum temperature error of± 1.60C over the sensing range. The sensor consumes a low power of 0.29mW and also occupies minimal area.

No description available.

Communication security is a very important part of modern life. A crucial aspect of security is the ability to identify with near 100% certainty who is on the other side of a connection. This problem can be overcome through the use of random number generators, which create unique identities for each person in a network. The effectiveness of an identity is directly proportional to how random a generator is. The speed at which a random number can be delivered is a critical factor in the design of a random number generator. This thesis covers the design and fabrication of three ring oscillator based truly random number generators, the first two of which were fabricated in 0.13µ m CMOS technology. The randomness from this type of random number generator originates from phase noise in a ring oscillator. The second and third ring oscillators were designed to have a low slew rate at the inverter switching threshold. The outputs of these designs showed vast increases in timing jitter compared to the first design. The third design exhibited improved randomness with respect to the second design.

Communication security is a very important part of modern life. A crucial aspect of security is the ability to identify with near 100% certainty who is on the other side of a connection. This problem can be overcome through the use of random number generators, which create unique identities for each person in a network. The effectiveness of an identity is directly proportional to how random a generator is. The speed at which a random number can be delivered is a critical factor in the design of a random number generator. This thesis covers the design and fabrication of three ring oscillator based truly random number generators, the first two of which were fabricated in 0.13µ m CMOS technology. The randomness from this type of random number generator originates from phase noise in a ring oscillator. The second and third ring oscillators were designed to have a low slew rate at the inverter switching threshold. The outputs of these designs showed vast increases in timing jitter compared to the first design. The third design exhibited improved randomness with respect to the second design.

Nanoscale p-channel transistors under negative gate bias at an elevated temperature show threshold voltage degradation after a short period of stress time. In addition, nanoscale (45 nm) n-channel transistors using high-k (HfO2) dielectrics to reduce gate leakage power for advanced microprocessors exhibit fast transient charge trapping effect leading to threshold voltage instability and mobility reduction. A simulation methodology to quantify the circuit level degradation subjected to negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) and fast transient charge trapping effect has been developed in this thesis work. Different current mirror and two-stage operation amplifier structures are studied to evaluate the impact of NBTI on CMOS analog circuit performances for nanoscale applications. Fundamental digital circuit such as an eleven-stage ring oscillator has also been evaluated to examine the fast transient charge transient effect of HfO2 high-k transistors on the propagation delay of ring oscillator performance. The preliminary results show that the negative bias temperature instability reduces the bandwidth of CMOS operating amplifiers, but increases the amplifier's voltage gain at mid-frequency range. The transient charge trapping effect increases the propagation delay of ring oscillator. The evaluation methodology developed in this thesis could be extended to study other CMOS device and circuit reliability issues subjected to electrical and temperature stresses.

No description available.