Maurizio Zuffada

A single-chip 9-32 mb/s read/write channel for disk-drive applications

This paper reports on a single-chip read/write channel for disk drive. The integrated circuit implements a peak detector architecture fully compatible with zoned-bit recording applications. The chip contains all the functions needed to implement a high performance read channel like pulse detector, programmable active filter, servo demodulator, frequency synthesizer and data separator. The design take fully advantage of the feature available in a BICMOS technology to achieve power saving, high speed and immunity to cross-talk from digital to analog. The IC is fabricated in a 1.2 ¿m BiCMOS technology and has an active area of approximately 28 mm2. While operating from a single 5 V supply the power consumption is only 450 mW at 32Mbit/s.

Single-Chip Multistandard Sound and Video IF Demodulator

This paper describes an integrated circuit designed to process both IF video and sound (AM & QBS) signals for many TV standards. It can therefore be used in multistandard television receivers, reducing the board area, component count and cost.

System for tracking femtometer resonance shifts of silicon photonics microring resonator by locking tunable laser

Tracking changes in a photonic integrated circuit is an essential task for many applications, such sensing or telecommunication systems. In particular, locking of laser to a microring resonator and tracking resonance shifts over time with high accuracy can improve several applications such as sensing and biosensing. In this work, we present a novel system to lock a laser to a silicon photonics microring resonance and track the changes in wavelength over time. An electronic digital feedback loop balances the power at outputs of the microring (at the through and the drop ports) by tuning finely the wavelength of the input laser. The silicon photonics chip is equipped with integrated photodiodes at each port of the microring. The low noise of photodiodes, together with the resolution of the tuning of the laser, allows achieving locking with less than 7 femtometers as residual noise at 1550 nm. The digital implementation of the feedback loop permits to reach bandwidth up to 1 kHz. Demonstration of the locking has been made with several different microring resonators, with Q-factor varying from 5000 to 60000.

IC for automatic detection of a positive or negative vision modulation, picture carrier detection and video signal identification

The design and construction of an integrated circuit that automatically detects the modulation sense (positive or negative) of received TV signals is described. The integrated circuit works with a multistandard intermediate frequency (IF) video demodulator and offers other functions such as an analog AFC (automotive frequency control) output; blocks tuning pulses delivered during up- or down-frequency searches when a picture carrier is detected in a range of +or-500 KHz to the (IF) picture carrier; and provides a video identification circuit for sound muting facilities. This circuit is intended to operate as part of multistandard TV IF equipment. >