Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (PMUT) and Capacitive Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (CMUT) have seen great developments in recent years, both in terms of performance and scope of applications within the biomedical ultrasound domain. This paper presents a review of the state-of-the-art of PMUT and CMUT technologies, focusing on their principle of operation, microfabrication techniques and use in different biomedical imaging and therapeutic applications. The advantages and drawbacks of PMUT and CMUT technologies in comparison with conventional bulk transducers are highlighted, the trade-offs among PMUTs and CMUTs are discussed, and their relevance in the current landscape of medical diagnostics and therapeutic uses is outlined, thus providing a clear overview of these promising technologies for the present and the next generation biomedical ultrasound applications.@en

This paper presents a novel architecture for capacitive sensor interfaces that is insensitive to electro magnetic interferers in hostile environments. A bridge structure, with a feedback control and a special band-pass filter, overcomes the problems that affect the standard approaches. Behavioural level simulations demonstrate the feasibility of the idea for 12-bit resolution.@en

This paper presents the prototype of a single channel 8-bit 0.7-GS/s A/D converter implemented in a 65-nm CMOS process. The required thresholds are generated from the resistive interpolation embedded within the preamplifier preceding the latches. The active area of the chip is 150 × 220 μm2 and the total power consumption is 5.96 mW. At Nyquist, the ADC achieves 6.62 ENOB, resulting in a figure of merit equal to 86.7 fJ/conversion-step.@en

This paper presents the prototype of a single channel 8-bit 0.7-GS/s A/D converter implemented in a 65-nm CMOS process. The required thresholds are generated from the resistive interpolation embedded within the preamplifier preceding the latches. The active area of the chip is 150 × 220 μm2 and the total power consumption is 5.96 mW. At Nyquist, the ADC achieves 6.62 ENOB, resulting in a figure of merit equal to 86.7 fJ/conversion-step.@en

This paper presents the prototype of a single channel 8-bit 0.7-GS/s A/D converter implemented in a 65-nm CMOS process. The required thresholds are generated from the resistive interpolation embedded within the preamplifier preceding the latches. The active area of the chip is 150 × 220 μm2 and the total power consumption is 5.96 mW. At Nyquist, the ADC achieves 6.62 ENOB, resulting in a figure of merit equal to 86.7 fJ/conversion-step.@en

This paper presents a novel pipeline configuration for wireless applications. Redundancy and multi sampling of the input techniques are used for overcoming the main limitations of pipeline ADCs. A special pre-amplifier with built-in thresholds generation is also discussed. The circuit, designed and simulated in a 65-nm CMOS technology, achieves 2.66 GS/s and 8-bit resolution. The supply voltage is 1V and the simulated power consumption is 22.06 mW, which leads to a FoM of 32.4 fJ/conversion-step.@en

This paper presents a novel pipeline configuration for wireless applications. Redundancy and multi sampling of the input techniques are used for overcoming the main limitations of pipeline ADCs. A special pre-amplifier with built-in thresholds generation is also discussed. The circuit, designed and simulated in a 65-nm CMOS technology, achieves 2.66 GS/s and 8-bit resolution. The supply voltage is 1V and the simulated power consumption is 22.06 mW, which leads to a FoM of 32.4 fJ/conversion-step.@en

A feasibility study of an 8-bit fast converter is presented. The advantages and limits of conventional SAR architectures are discussed and, on the basis of that, a possible optimal architecture is proposed. It uses a 4+4-bit scheme with combination of the DAC outputs in the current domain at the input of the latch. The circuit has been implemented with a 28 nm FDSOI CMOS technology. Post layout simulation results show 8bit of resolution at 1.2 GS/s.@en

A feasibility study of an 8-bit fast converter is presented. The advantages and limits of conventional SAR architectures are discussed and, on the basis of that, a possible optimal architecture is proposed. It uses a 4+4-bit scheme with combination of the DAC outputs in the current domain at the input of the latch. The circuit has been implemented with a 28 nm FDSOI CMOS technology. Post layout simulation results show 8bit of resolution at 1.2 GS/s.@en