An RF-based IEEE 1394 ground isolator designed in a silicon-on-insulator process [deep-space applications]

IEEE standard 1394 defines a 100 to 400 Mb/s serial bus and an associated parallel backplane bus operating at 12.5 to 50 MB/s. Isolation of power and grounds between connected systems is specified at the backplane interface and typically involves an off-chip capacitor or transformer array. Development of a fully-integrated ground isolation boundary is proposed in this paper. The technique uses on-chip transformers and is suitable for implementation in silicon-on-insulator processes. The current design in 0.35 μm SOI uses BPSK modulation at 2 GHz to transmit data across the transformer boundary, consumes approximately 15 mA, and can be implemented in less than 2 mm² of die area