A Glimpse of the History of Analog ICs: A Tale of Amplifiers, Data Converters, and Sensor Interfaces

Probably the most distinct divide in electronic circuits is that between digital and linear (analog) circuits. Using vacuum tubes; later, transistors; and then ICs, circuits based on switching (binary and digital signals) and amplification (analog signals) have always been at the heart of electronic systems. Even though electronics are making...

A 1024-Channel 268 nW/pixel 36x36 μm²/ch Data-Compressive Neural Recording IC for High-Bandwidth Brain-Computer Interfaces

This paper presents a neural recording IC featuring lossy compression during digitization, thus preventing data deluge and enabling a compact active digital pixel design. The wired-OR-based compression discards unwanted baseline samples while allowing the reconstruction of spike samples. The IC features a 32x32 MEA with 36 μ m pixel pitch and...

A 0.9-V 28-MHz Highly Digital CMOS Dual-RC Frequency Reference With ±200 ppm Inaccuracy From -40 °C to 85 °C

This article presents an energy-efficient dual- RC frequency reference intended for wireless sensor nodes. It consists of a digital frequency-locked loop (FLL) in which the frequency of a digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) is locked to a temperature-independent phase shift derived from two different RC poly-phase filters (PPFs). Phase...

Wearable Technology in Fashion

As smart clothing is being increasingly recognized as a strong contender in future wearables, with its flexible and comfortable interface becoming more accessible to people, fashion also has been successfully orienting itself as the next game-changer in wearable technology through its connection to a wide range of design, lifestyle, and...

A Highly Digital 2210μm²Resistor-Based Temperature Sensor with a 1-Point Trimmed Inaccuracy of ± 1.3 ° C (3 σ) from -55 ° C to 125 ° C in 65nm CMOS

Microprocessors and SoCs employ multiple temperature sensors to prevent overheating and ensure reliable operation. Such sensors should be small (<10,000μm2) to monitor local hot-spots in dense layouts. They should also be moderately accurate (1°C) up to high temperatures (≥125°C), so that the system throttling temperature can be set as...

31.2 A 0.9V 28MHz Dual-RC Frequency Reference with 5pJ/Cycle and ±200 ppm Inaccuracy from -40°C to 85°C

Wireless sensor nodes in battery-powered internet-of-things (loT) applications require a stable on-chip frequency reference with low energy (<10 pJ / cycle) and high frequency stability (below ±300ppm). CMOS RC frequency references are promising due to their low-cost integration and high energy efficiency [1] –[5]. Conventional RC references,...

Active Control of Irreversible Faradic Reactions to Enhance the Performance of Reverse Electrodialysis for Energy Production from Salinity Gradients

Irreversible faradic reactions in reverse electrodialysis (RED) are an emerging concern for scale-up, reducing the overall performance of RED and producing environmentally harmful chemical species. Capacitive RED (CRED) has the potential to generate electricity without the necessity of irreversible faradic reactions. However, there is a...

Shape-controlled tio₂ nanomaterials-based hybrid solid-state electrolytes for solar energy conversion with a mesoporous carbon electrocatalyst

One-dimensional (1D) titanium dioxide (TiO₂₎ is prepared by hydrothermal method and incorporated as nanofiller into a hybrid polymer matrix of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and employed as a solid-electrolyte in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Mesoporous carbon electrocatalyst with a high surface area is obtained by the...

A 5800-μm² Resistor-Based Temperature Sensor with a One-Point Trimmed Inaccuracy of ±1.2 °c (3σ) from -50 °c to 105 °c in 65-nm CMOS

This letter describes a compact resistor-based temperature sensor intended for the thermal monitoring of microprocessors and DRAMs. It consists of an RC poly phase filter (PPF) that is read out by a frequency-locked loop (FLL) based on a dual zero-crossing (ZC) detection scheme. The sensor,fabricated in 65-nm CMOS,occupies 5800 μm²...

A 5800-μ m ₂Resistor-Based Temperature Sensor with a One-Point Trimmed Inaccuracy of ±1.2 °c (3σ) From-50 °c to 105 °c in 65-nm CMOS

This letter describes a compact resistor-based temperature sensor intended for the thermal monitoring of microprocessors and DRAMs. It consists of an RC poly phase filter (PPF) that is read out by a frequency-locked loop (FLL) based on a dual zero-crossing (ZC) detection scheme. The sensor, fabricated in 65-nm CMOS, occupies 5800 μ m2 and...

A Compact Resistor-Based CMOS Temperature Sensor With an Inaccuracy of 0.12 °C (3σ) and a Resolution FoM of 0.43 pJ·K² in 65-nm CMOS

This paper presents a compact resistor-based CMOS temperature sensor intended for dense thermal monitoring. It is based on an RC poly-phase filter (PPF), whose temperature-dependent phase shift is read out by a frequency-locked loop (FLL). The PPF's phase shift is determined by a zero-crossing (ZC) detector, allowing the rest of the FLL to be...

A 0.53pJK27000μm2resistor-based temperature sensor with an inaccuracy of ±0.35°C (3σ) in 65nm CMOS

In microprocessors and DRAMs, on-chip temperature sensors are essential components, ensuring reliability by monitoring thermal gradients and hot spots. Such sensors must be as small as possible, since multiple sensors are required for dense thermal monitoring. However, conventional BJT-based temperature sensors are not compatible with the sub...

A 6.3 μW 20 bit Incremental Zoom-ADC with 6 ppm INL and 1 μV Offset

A 20-bit incremental ADC for battery-powered sensor applications is presented. It is based on an energy-efficient zoom ADC architecture, which employs a coarse 6-bit SAR conversion followed by a fine 15-bit ΔΣ conversion. To further improve its energy efficiency, the ADC employs integrators based on cascoded dynamic inverters for extra gain and...

A CMOS temperature sensor with a voltage-calibrated inaccuracy of ±0.15°C (3σ) from -55 to 125°C

A CMOS temperature sensor with a voltage-calibrated inaccuracy of ±0.15°C (3σ) from -55 to 125°C

This paper describes an energy-efficient CMOS temperature sensor intended for use in RFID tags. The sensor achieves an inaccuracy of ±0.15°C (3σ) over the military temperature range (-55 to 125°C) and dissipates only 27nJ/conversion: over 20× less than a previous sensor with comparable accuracy and resolution [2]. This energy efficiency is...

A 20-bit ±40-mV Range Read-Out IC With 50-nV Offset and 0.04% Gain Error for Bridge Transducers

This paper presents a 20-b read-out IC with ±40-mV full-scale range that is intended for use with bridge transducers. It consists of a current-feedback instrumentation amplifier (CFIA) followed by a switched-capacitor incremental ΔΣ ADC. The CFIA's offset and 1/ <i>f</i> noise are mitigated by chopping, while its gain accuracy and gain drift are...

Column-Parallel Single Slope ADC with Digital Correlated Multiple Sampling for Low Noise CMOS Image Sensors

This paper presents a low noise CMOS image sensor (CIS) using 10/12 bit configurable column-parallel single slope ADCs (SS-ADCs) and digital correlated multiple sampling (CMS). The sensor used is a conventional 4T active pixel with a pinned-photodiode as photon detector. The test sensor was fabricated in a 0.18 colonm CMOS image sensor process...