Title :
New millennium ultralow power microsystems
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., Illinois Univ., Chicago, IL, USA
Abstract :
Mixed-signal electronics form the core of spacecraft avionics systems. Low-power operation is a key design objective to reduce dependence on stored energy or energy extraction systems. To facilitate low-power operation. The supply voltage of mixed-signal systems has progressively diminished to typical present values of 3.5 V to 3.6 V. Low voltage design, however, increases susceptibility to noise interference and reduces the range of analog linear gain. Moreover, as transistor density and circuit complexity increase, traditional power minimization methods are inadequate. In this paper we present results of several approaches to enable low-power mixed-signal electronics for spacecraft avionics and commercial telecommunications. First, at the architectural level we analyze a dynamic voltage scaling approach that delivers local isolation of bus noise and a power reduction of 50% to 95%. Next, to enable in-situ, real-time power sensing we introduce two sensors that monitor di/dt and dv/dt events. Their design, scaling, and sensitivity are discussed in detail. Finally, as an example of a low-voltage compatible analog circuit we present results of a low-noise differential analog-to-digital comparator. It operates at speeds to over 50 MHz, has per-comparator power dissipation under 1 mW, and can operate at supply voltages down to 1.9 V. All circuits have been designed and analyzed for a 0.5-μm CMOS, and analytical and experimental results are given
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; analogue-digital conversion; integrated circuit design; mixed analogue-digital integrated circuits; power supply circuits; space vehicle electronics; 0.5 mum; 0.5-μm CMOS; 1.9 V; 3.5 V to 3.6 V; bus noise; circuit complexity; commercial telecommunications; differential analog-to-digital comparator; down to 1.9 V; dynamic voltage scaling; local isolation; low-power operation; mixed-signal electronics; mixed-signal systems; power minimization; power reduction; real-time power sensing; spacecraft avionics; supply voltage; transistor density; ultralow power microsystems; Aerospace electronics; Circuit noise; Complexity theory; Dynamic voltage scaling; Gain; Interference; Low voltage; Minimization methods; Noise reduction; Space vehicles;
Conference_Titel :
National Aerospace and Electronics Conference, 2000. NAECON 2000. Proceedings of the IEEE 2000
Conference_Location :
Dayton, OH
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-6262-4
DOI :
10.1109/NAECON.2000.894946