GUERRA VINUESA , Oscar

This paper studies the effects of capacitors non-idealities in the performance of un-even split-capacitor SAR ADCs. Also, election of the m and l bits of MSB and LSB capacitors banks, respectively, is studied to reduce SAR errors.To exemplify and quantify the non-idealities, MOM capacitors are used. In particular, MOM layout parasitics and...

CMOS Single Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) are a dedicated type of photodetectors that are attracting increasing interest. Crosstalk and fill factor are magnitudes that become important when dealing with arrays of SPADs. There are trade-offs that involve these two magnitudes and dark count rate (DCR) which are of great interest for the...

This paper introduces a new hierarchical analysis methodology which incorporates approximation strategies during the analysis process. Consequently, the circuit sizes that can be analyzed increase dramatically, without suffering from the combinatorial explosion of expression complexity. Moreover, the interpretability and usability in practical...

The selection, modeling and characterization of Single Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) are presented. Working with the standard 180nm UMC CMOS process, different SPAD structures are proposed in combination with several quenching circuits in order to compare their relative performances. Various configurations for the active region and the...

This paper presents a CMOS 0.6μm mixed-signal MODEM ASIC for data transmission using the low-voltage power line. This circuit includes all the analog blocks needed for input interfacing and modulation/demodulation (PLL-based frequency synthesis, slave filter banks with PLL master VCO for tuning, and decision circuitry) plus the logic circuitry...

This paper presents a CMOS 0,6μm mixed-signal MODEM ASIC for data transmission on the low-voltage power line. The circuit includes all the analog circuitry needed for input interfacing and modulation/demodulation (PLL-based frequency synthesis, slave filter banks with PLL master VCO for tuning, decision circuitry, etc.) plus the logic circuitry...

The use of simplification before generation techniques to enable the approximate symbolic analysis of large analog circuits is discussed. This paper introduces an error control mechanism to drive the circuit reduction, which overcomes the accuracy problems of previous approaches. The features and efficiency of the new methodology are...

Circuit reduction is a fundamental first step in addressing the symbolic analysis of large analogue circuits. A new algorithm for simplification before generation is presented which is very efficient in terms of speed and the amount of circuit reduction, and solves the accuracy problems of previously reported approaches.

The current trend in the design of systems based on CMOS SPADs is to adopt smaller technological nodes, allowing the co-integration of additional electronics for the implementation of complex digital systems on chip. Due to their simplicity, a way to reduce the area occupied by the integrated electronics is the use of passive quenching circuits...

Limitations of existing approaches for symbolic analysis of large analog circuits are discussed. To address their solution, a new methodology for hierarchical symbolic analysis is introduced. The combination of a hierarchical modeling technique and approximation strategies, comprising circuit reduction, graph-based symbolic solution of circuit...

This paper introduces a new tool which allows the evaluation of different test techniques in a complete impartial manner. This tool has been applied to the selection of the best test technique for their application to high-resolution ΣΔ modulators. Besides, three of these techniques have been presented. Index Terms—ΣΔ modulators, Test Techniques.

Symbolic analysis potentialities for gaining circuit insight and for efficient repetitive evaluations have been limited by the exponential increase of formula complexity with the circuit size. This drawback has began to be solved by the introduction of simplification before and during generation techniques. An appropriate error control in both...

This paper describes a 0.35μm CMOS chopper-stabilized Switched-Capacitor 2-1 cascade ΣDelta; modulator for automotive sensor interfaces. For a better fitting to the characteristics of different sensor outputs, the modulator includes a programmable set of gains (x0.5, x1, x2, and x4) and a programmable set of chopper frequencies (fs/16, fs/8,...

This paper describes a 0.35-μm CMOS chopper-stabilized switched-capacitor 2-1 cascade ΣΔ modulator for automotive sensor interfaces. The modulator architecture has been selected from an exhaustive comparison among multiple topologies in terms of resolution, speed and power dissipation. To obtain a better fitting with the characteristics of...

In this paper, a novel DfT methodology to test high-resolution ΣΔ Modulators (ΣΔM) is introduced. The aim of the proposal is to reduce the test time required by conventional methodologies without degrading the accuracy of the results. A detailed description of the additional circuitry needed to perform these tests is presented as well as some...

This paper describes the design and electrical implementation of an A/D interface for sensor applications realized in a 0.35μm standard CMOS technology. The circuit is composed of a low-noise instrumentation preamplifier and a SC cascade (2-1) ΣΔ modulator. The preamplifier, based on hybrid Nested-Miller compensated four-stage opamps, has a...