Charles G. Sodini

A 27-mW CMOS fractional-N synthesizer using digital compensation for 2.5-Mb/s GFSK modulation

A digital compensation method and key circuits are presented that allow fractional-N synthesizers to be modulated at data rates greatly exceeding their bandwidth. Using this technique, a 1.8-GHz transmitter capable of digital frequency modulation at 2.5 Mb/s can be achieved with only two components: a frequency synthesizer and a digital transmit filter. A prototype transmitter was constructed to provide proof of concept of the method; its primary component is a custom fractional-N synthesizer fabricated in a 0.6-/spl mu/m CMOS process that consumes 27 mW. Key circuits on the custom IC are an on-chip loop filter that requires no tuning or external components, a digital MASH /spl Sigma/-/spl Delta/ modulator that achieves low power operation through pipelining, and an asynchronous, 64-modulus divider (prescaler). Measurements from the prototype indicate that it meets performance requirements of the digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT) standard.

A higher order topology for interpolative modulators for oversampling A/D converters

Oversampling interpolative coding has been demonstrated to be an effective technique for high-resolution analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion that is tolerant of process imperfections. A novel topology for constructing stable interpolative modulators of arbitrary order is described. Analysis of this topology shows that with proper design of the modulator coefficients, stability is not a limitation to higher order modulators. Furthermore, complete control over placement of the poles and zeros of the quantization noise response allows treatment of the modulation process as a high-pass filter for quantization noise. Higher order modulators are shown not only to greatly reduce oversampling requirements for high-resolution conversion applications, but also to randomize the quantization noise, avoiding the need for dithering. An experimental fourth-order modulator breadboard demonstrates stability and feasibility, achieving a 90-dB dynamic range over the 20-kHz audio bandwidth with a sampling rate of 2.1 MHz. A generalized simulation software package has been developed to mimic time-domain behavior for oversampling modulators. Circuit design specifications for integrated circuit implementation can be deduced from analysis of simulated data. >

A 1/f noise technique to extract the oxide trap density near the conduction band edge of silicon

The use of 1/f noise measurements in n-channel MOSFETs to extract the oxide trap density in space and energy near and above the conduction band edge of silicon is investigated. The conventional carrier number fluctuation model of 1/f noise that attributes 1/f noise to the trapping and detrapping of inversion layer carriers by oxide traps is reviewed. It is shown that oxide band bending in devices with a nonuniform oxide trap distribution leads to a gate voltage dependence in the magnitude and exponent gamma (V/sub gs/) of the 1/f/sup gamma / noise spectrum. An extension of the 1/f noise number fluctuation model that includes both carrier number fluctuations and correlated mobility fluctuations is then studied. Correlated mobility fluctuations are attributed to the coulombic scattering of inversion layer carriers by the fluctuating trapped charge. It is shown that the correlated fluctuation model predicts a gate voltage dependence in the magnitude and exponent gamma of the 1/f/sup gamma / noise spectrum even for a uniform oxide trap distribution. By analyzing the 1/f noise magnitude and exponent data in n-channel MOSFETs having various oxide thicknesses, both models are used to extract the oxide trap density over a wide range of space and energy. >

The effect of high fields on MOS device and circuit performance

A simple analytical model for the MOS device characteristics including the effect of high vertical and horizontal fields on channel carrier velocity is presented. Analytical expressions for the drain current, saturation drain voltage, and transconductance are developed. These expressions are used to examine the effect of scaling the channel length, the gate dielectric thickness, and the bias voltage on device characteristics. Experimental results from various geometry MOS devices are used to verify the trends predicted by the model. Using the physical understanding provided by the model, we examine the effect of device geometry scaling on circuit performance. We suggest that for gate capacitance-limited circuits one should reduce the channel length, and for parasitic capacitance-limited circuits one should reduce the gate dielectric thickness to improve circuit performance.

Comparator-based switched-capacitor circuits for scaled CMOS technologies

A comparator-based switched-capacitor circuit (CBSC) technique is presented for the design of analog and mixed-signal circuits in scaled CMOS technologies. The technique involves replacing the operational amplifier in a standard switched-capacitor circuit with a comparator and a current source. During charge transfer, the comparator detects the virtual ground condition in place of the opamp which normally forces the virtual ground condition. A prototype 1.5-bit/stage 10-bit 7.9-MS/s pipeline ADC was designed using the comparator-based switched-capacitor technique. The prototype ADC was implemented in 0.18-mum CMOS. It achieves an ENOB of 8.6 bits for a 3.8-MHz input signal and dissipates 2.5 mW

A modeling approach for /spl Sigma/-/spl Delta/ fractional-N frequency synthesizers allowing straightforward noise analysis

A general model of phase-locked loops (PLLs) is derived which incorporates the influence of divide value variations. The proposed model allows straightforward noise and dynamic analyses of /spl Sigma/-/spl Delta/ fractional-N frequency synthesizers and other PLL applications in which the divide value is varied in time. Based on the derived model, a general parameterization is presented that further simplifies noise calculations. The framework is used to analyze the noise performance of a custom /spl Sigma/-/spl Delta/ synthesizer implemented in a 0.6 /spl mu/m CMOS process, and accurately predicts the measured phase noise to within 3 dB over the entire frequency offset range spanning 25 kHz to 10 MHz.

Energy efficient Modulation and MAC for Asymmetric RF Microsensor Systems

Wireless microsensor systems are used in a variety of civil and military applications. Such microsensors are required to operate for years from a small energy source. To minimize the energy dissipation of the sensor node, RF front-end circuitry must be designed based on system level optimization of the entire network. This paper presents several energy minimization techniques derived from the unique properties of a practical short range asymmetric microsensor system. These include energy efficient modulation schemes, appropriate multiple access protocols, and a fast turn-on transmitter architecture.

The impact of device type and sizing on phase noise mechanisms

Phase noise mechanisms in integrated LC voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) using MOS transistors are investigated. The degradation in phase noise due to low-frequency bias noise is shown to be a function of AM-PM conversion in the MOS switching transistors. By exploiting this dependence, bias noise contributions to phase noise are minimized through MOS device sizing rather than through filtering. NMOS and PMOS VCO designs are compared in terms of thermal noise. Short-channel MOS considerations explain why 0.18-/spl mu/m PMOS devices can attain better phase noise than 0.18-/spl mu/m NMOS devices in the 1/f/sup 2/ region. Phase noise in the 1/f/sup 3/ region is primarily dependent upon the upconversion of flicker noise from the MOS switching transistors rather than from the bias circuit, and can be improved by decreasing MOS switching device size. Measured results on an experimental set of VCOs confirm the dependencies predicted by analysis. A 5.3-GHz all-PMOS VCO topology demonstrates measured phase noise of -124 dBc/Hz at 1-MHz offset and -100dBc/Hz at 100-kHz offset while dissipating 13.5 mW from a 1.8-V supply using a 0.18-/spl mu/m SiGe BiCMOS process.

Comparator-Based Switched-Capacitor Circuits for Scaled CMOS Technologies

A comparator-based switched-capacitor (CBSC) design method for sampled-data systems utilizes topologies similar to traditional opamp-based methods but relies on the detection of the virtual ground using a comparator instead of forcing it with feedback. A prototype 10b CBSC 1.5b/stage pipelined ADC is implemented in a 0.18mum CMOS process. The converter operates at 8MHz and consumes 2.5mW

A Wideband ΔΣ Digital-RF Modulator for High Data Rate Transmitters

A wideband software-defined digital-RF modulator targeting Gb/s data rates is presented. The modulator consists of a 2.625-GS/s digital DeltaSigma modulator, a 5.25-GHz direct digital-RF converter, and a fourth-order auto-tuned passive LC RF bandpass filter. The architecture removes high dynamic range analog circuits from the baseband signal path, replacing them with high-speed digital circuits to take advantage of digital CMOS scaling. The integration of the digital-RF converter with an RF bandpass reconstruction filter eliminates spurious signals and noise associated with direct digital-RF conversion. An efficient passgate adder circuit lowers the power consumption of the high-speed digital processing and a quadrature digital-IF approach is employed to reduce LO feedthrough and image spurs. The digital-RF modulator is software programmable to support variable bandwidths, adaptive modulation schemes, and multi-channel operation within a frequency band. A prototype IC built in 0.13-mum CMOS demonstrates a data rate of 1.2 Gb/s using OFDM modulation in a bandwidth of 200 MHz centered at 5.25 GHz. In-band LO and image spurs are less than -59 dBc without requiring calibration. The modulator consumes 187 mW and occupies a die area of 0.72 mm2.