Design of a Mixed-signal ASIC for the front-end electronics of ionisation chambers


New technical paper titled "An Ultra Low Current Measurement Mixed-Signal ASIC for Radiation Monitoring Using Ionisation Chambers," by researchers at CERN. Abstract "Measurement of total ionizing dose in a radiation field is efficiently carried out by ionisation chambers. The paper details the design of a mixed-signal ASIC for the front-end electronics of ionisation chambers. A single c... » read more

Always-On, Ultra-Low-Power Design Gains Traction


A surge of electronic devices powered by batteries, combined with ever-increasing demand for more features, intelligence, and performance, is putting a premium on chip designs that require much lower power. This is especially true for always-on circuits, which are being added into AR/VR, automotive applications with over-the-air updates, security cameras, drones, and robotics. Also known as ... » read more

The Role of InGaN Quantum Barriers in Improving the Performance of GaN-based Laser Diodes


Abstract: "In this work, different aspects which have influences on device performance of blue laser diodes (LDs) when using InGaN instead of GaN as quantum barrier (QB) layers are investigated theoretically and experimentally. In the modeling calculation, it is found that the threshold current of LDs with InGaN QB layers is reduced obviously, but the slope efficiency is not largely improved... » read more

Transition-Metal Nitride Halide Dielectrics for Transition-Metal Dichalcogenide Transistors


Abstract "Using first-principles calculations, we investigate six transition-metal nitride halides (TMNHs): HfNBr, HfNCl, TiNBr, TiNCl, ZrNBr, and ZrNCl as potential van der Waals (vdW) dielectrics for transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) channel transistors. We calculate the exfoliation energies and bulk phonon energies and find that the six TMNHs are exfoliable and thermodynamically stabl... » read more

Sensors Will Proliferate In SoCs


No one likes being put on the spot, and yet we all like a forecast…and as we all know, the only guarantee with a forecast is that it is wrong. Sports commentators have carved out a special niche for themselves with the ‘commentators curse:’ just as they extol the virtues of an individual or a team, the sporting gods prove them wrong in spectacular fashion! Governments are no better: econo... » read more

Power Management Becomes Top Issue Everywhere


Power management is becoming a bigger challenge across a wide variety of applications, from consumer products such as televisions and set-top-boxes to large data centers, where the cost of cooling server racks to offset the impact of thermal dissipation can be enormous. Several years ago, low-power design was largely relegated to mobile devices that were dependent on a battery. Since then, i... » read more

Where Timing And Voltage Intersect


João Geada, chief technologist at ANSYS, talks about the limitations for power delivery networks and what processors can handle, why the current solutions to these issues are causing failures, and how voltage reduction can affect timing. » read more

Power Issues Grow For Cloud Chips


Performance levels in traditional or hyperscale data centers are being limited by power and heat caused by an increasing number of processors, memory, disk and operating systems within servers. The problem is so complex and intertwined, though, that solving it requires a series of steps that hopefully add up to a significant reduction across a system. But at 7nm and below, predicting exactly... » read more

Understanding The Effect Of Variability In Bulk FinFET Device Performance


2-D MOSFETs have proven difficult to scale down to 20nm and beyond. In their place, 3D FinFET transistors have emerged as novel devices that can scale down to lower node sizes. 10nm process finFETs are for SoC product mass production, and research is progressing towards a 7nm process finFET. FinFET transistors provide lower dynamic power consumption (due to flatter I-V curves), improved control... » read more

Electromagnetic Crosstalk Considerations In Low Power Designs


By Magdy Abadir, Padelis Papadopoulos, and Yehea Ismail
 Power consumption continues to be a critical design metric in high-performance mobile electronics. In order to meet the aggressive power budget targets, chips today need to operate at extremely low power levels, which increases the critical signals’ susceptibility to electromagnetic (EM) crosstalk effects. Because a low-power So... » read more

← Older posts