mec and Holst Centre prominently present at International Solid State Circuit Conference
Leuven, Belgium and Eindhoven, The Netherlands, February 5, 2010 - At next week's International Solid State Circuit Conference, imec and Holst Centre present their newest breakthroughs in ultra-low power design for wireless communications and wireless sensor networks, 3D design and in organic electronics with an impressive number of contributions including 10 reviewed publications and 6 contributions to tutorials and workshops.
Over the week, several news releases will be issued.
You can find an overview of the publications and news releases below:
2.2 A Wideband beamformer for a phased-array 60GHz receiver in 40nm digital CMOS
Imec researchers implemented a programmable analog baseband beamformer for a 4-antenna 60GHz phased-array receiver in 40nm digital CMOS. It is based on current amplifiers employing shunt feedback. The phase shifter resolution is better than 20¡Æ, with a bandwidth of 1.7GHz, power consumption of 35mW, input-referred noise current of 170nArms and output IP3 of -6dBV.
6.6 A 30¥ìW analog signal Processor ASIC for biomedical signal monitoring
Imec and Holst Centre present an analog signal processor ASIC for ECG signals. In addition to the power efficient extraction of ECG signals, it proposes an adaptive sampling scheme for data reduction, continuous-time electrode-tissue impedance monitoring for sensing motion artifacts, and bandpower extraction for beat detection. The ASIC operates on a 2V supply.
NEWS RELEASE embargoed till February 7, 2010 7am Pacific Time Imec and Holst Centre chip report ultra-low power hearth activity signal processor
7.2 An analog organic first-order CT ¥Ä¥Ò ADC on a flexible plastic substrate with 26.5dB precision
Holst Cente, imec and TNO researchers present an analog organic first-order CT ¥Ä¥Ò ADC, fabricated with a dual-gate organic electronic technology on plastic foil. This analog circuit achieves a 26.5dB precision and performs at a clock speed up to 500Hz. It consumes 100¥ìA at15V. The circuit is designed following a Vt-insensitive design strategy and applies high-pass filters for offset cancellation. The active area is 13¡¿20mm2.
7.4 Robust digital design in organic electronics by dual-Gate technology
A comprehensive study of dual-gate organic thin-film transistors targeting more robust organic circuitry is performed by Holst Centre, imec and TNO researchers. The difference between zero-Vgs-load and diode-load logic is studied and an optimized design for both is presented. This new design is used in 99-stage ring oscillators, to determine stage delays, and in 64b RFID transponder chips yielding data rates of 4.3kb/s.
NEWS RELEASE embargoed till February 9, 2010 7am Pacific Time Record performance of dual-gate organic TFT-based RFID circuit
7.8 Design issues and considerations for low-cost 3D TSV IC technology
Imec researchers investigated key design issues of a low-cost 3D Cu-TSV technology: impact of TSV on MOS devices and interconnect, reliability, thermal hot spots, ESD, signal integrity and impact on circuit performance. The experimental verification of their importance is presented and changes in current design practices to enable low-cost systems are proposed.
11.5 A 2.4GHz/915MHz 51¥ìW wake-up receiver with offset and noise suppression
Imec and Holst Centre present an envelope detector-based wake-up receiver front-end. A double-sampling technique is implemented to suppress the 1/f noise and DC offset, resulting in a lower output noise level and therefore a better SNR for a given input level. The receiver consumes 51¥ìW and occupies 0.36mm2 in 90nm CMOS. For 10kb/s OOK reception it achieves -69dBm and -80dBm sensitivity at 2.4GHz and 915MHz respectively.
NEWS RELEASE embargoed till February 9, 2010 7am Pacific Time - Imec and Holst Centre achieve breakthrough in battery-less radios
16.3 A 2.6mW 6b 2.2GS/s 4-times interleaved fully dynamic pipelined ADC in 40nm digital CMOS
Imec researchers present a 2.2GS/s 4x-interleaved 6b ADC in 40nm digital CMOS. Each ADC slice consists of a 1b folding stage followed by a pipelined binary-search sub-ADC using dynamic nonlinear amplifiers for low power consumption and high speed. Threshold calibration corrects for amplifier and comparator imperfections and 31.6dB SNDR is achieved with 2GHz ERBW for 2.6mW power consumption.
21.6 A 30fJ/conversion-step 8b 0-to-10MS/s asynchronous SAR ADC in 90nm CMOS
An 8b SAR ADC is presented by imec and Holst Centre researchers. The 90nm CMOS prototype achieves an ENOB of 7.8b at a sampling frequency of 10.24MS/s. The use of asynchronous dynamic CMOS logic, custom designed capacitors, an internal common-mode shift and low-leakage design techniques results in a power consumption of 69¥ìW from a 1V supply. The corresponding FoM equals 30fJ/Conversion-step and is maintained down to 10kS/s.
NEWS RELEASE embargoed till February 10, 2010 7am Pacific Time Imec and Holst Centre present ADC with record figure of merit suited for low energy radios
25.5 A 5mm©÷ 40nm LP CMOS 0.1-to-3GHz multistandard transceiver
A 5mm©÷ 40nm digital CMOS multimode transceiver is presented by imec in collaboration with Renesas and M4S. The 0.1-to-6GHz RX features 4 LNAs, 25% passive mixer with IIP2 calibration, 5th order baseband filtering and a 50fJ/conversion step ADC. It achieves NF down to 2.4dB, better than -30dB EVM and 50dBm IIP2. A 0.1-to-3Ghz TX with baseband filter, voltage sampled mixer and PPA achieves 3.2% EVM at 0dBm output, with CNR down to -156dBc/Hz. The system uses two dual-VCO 5.9-to-12.8GHz fractional-N PLLs.
NEWS RELEASE February 10, 2010 Imec, Renesas and M4S report a single-chip reconfigurable multi-standard wireless transceiver in 40nm CMOS
26.7 A 86MHz-to-12GHz digital-intensive phase-modulated fractional-N PLL using a 15pJ/Shot 5ps TDC in 40nm digital CMOS
Imec researchers present a 86MHz-12GHz digital-intensive reconfigurable synthesizer with 100kHz to 2MHz bandwidth. It leverages a 15pJ/Shot 5.5ps 14b coarse-fine TDC and a 6-to-12GHz dual-VCO set. The 0.28mm2 synthesizer features simple background calibration, ¥Ä¥Ò noise cancelation, and digital phase modulation, and consumes less than 30mW.
---ends---
About imec
Imec performs world-leading research in nano-electronics. Imec leverages its scientific knowledge with the innovative power of its global partnerships in ICT, healthcare and energy. Imec delivers industry-relevant technology solutions. In a unique high-tech environment, its international top talent is committed to providing the building blocks for a better life in a sustainable society.
Imec is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, and has offices in Belgium, the Netherlands, Taiwan, US, China and Japan. Its staff of more than 1,650 people includes over 550 industrial residents and guest researchers. In 2008, imec's revenue (P&L) was 270 million euro.
Further information on imec can be found at www.imec.be.
Imec is a registered trademark for the activities of IMEC International (a legal entity set up under Belgian law as a 'stichting van openbaar nut'), imec Belgium (IMEC vzw supported by the Flemish Government), imec the Netherlands (Stichting IMEC Nederland, part of Holst Centre which is supported by the Dutch Government) and imec Taiwan (IMEC Taiwan Co.).
About Holst Centre
Holst Centre is an independent open-innovation R&D centre that develops generic technologies for Wireless Autonomous Transducer Solutions and for Systems-in-Foil. A key feature of Holst Centre is its partnership model with industry and academia around shared roadmaps and programs. It is this kind of cross-fertilization that enables Holst Centre to tune its scientific strategy to industrial needs.
Holst Centre was set up in 2005 by imec (Flanders, Belgium) and TNO (The Netherlands) with support from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Government of Flanders. It is named after Gilles Holst, a Dutch pioneer in Research and Development and first director of Philips Research.
Located on High Tech Campus Eindhoven, Holst Centre benefits from the state-of-the-art on-site facilities. Holst Centre has over 150 employees from around 25 nationalities and a commitment from over 20 industrial partners.
Contact:
imec : Katrien Marent, Director of External Communications, T: +32 16 28 18 80, Mobile : +32 474 30 28 66, katrien.marent@imec.be
Holst Centre: Koen Snoeckx, Communication Manager, T: +31 40 277 40 91, Mobile: +31 612 719843, koen.snoeckx@holstcentre.com
Over the week, several news releases will be issued.
You can find an overview of the publications and news releases below:
2.2 A Wideband beamformer for a phased-array 60GHz receiver in 40nm digital CMOS
Imec researchers implemented a programmable analog baseband beamformer for a 4-antenna 60GHz phased-array receiver in 40nm digital CMOS. It is based on current amplifiers employing shunt feedback. The phase shifter resolution is better than 20¡Æ, with a bandwidth of 1.7GHz, power consumption of 35mW, input-referred noise current of 170nArms and output IP3 of -6dBV.
6.6 A 30¥ìW analog signal Processor ASIC for biomedical signal monitoring
Imec and Holst Centre present an analog signal processor ASIC for ECG signals. In addition to the power efficient extraction of ECG signals, it proposes an adaptive sampling scheme for data reduction, continuous-time electrode-tissue impedance monitoring for sensing motion artifacts, and bandpower extraction for beat detection. The ASIC operates on a 2V supply.
NEWS RELEASE embargoed till February 7, 2010 7am Pacific Time Imec and Holst Centre chip report ultra-low power hearth activity signal processor
7.2 An analog organic first-order CT ¥Ä¥Ò ADC on a flexible plastic substrate with 26.5dB precision
Holst Cente, imec and TNO researchers present an analog organic first-order CT ¥Ä¥Ò ADC, fabricated with a dual-gate organic electronic technology on plastic foil. This analog circuit achieves a 26.5dB precision and performs at a clock speed up to 500Hz. It consumes 100¥ìA at15V. The circuit is designed following a Vt-insensitive design strategy and applies high-pass filters for offset cancellation. The active area is 13¡¿20mm2.
7.4 Robust digital design in organic electronics by dual-Gate technology
A comprehensive study of dual-gate organic thin-film transistors targeting more robust organic circuitry is performed by Holst Centre, imec and TNO researchers. The difference between zero-Vgs-load and diode-load logic is studied and an optimized design for both is presented. This new design is used in 99-stage ring oscillators, to determine stage delays, and in 64b RFID transponder chips yielding data rates of 4.3kb/s.
NEWS RELEASE embargoed till February 9, 2010 7am Pacific Time Record performance of dual-gate organic TFT-based RFID circuit
7.8 Design issues and considerations for low-cost 3D TSV IC technology
Imec researchers investigated key design issues of a low-cost 3D Cu-TSV technology: impact of TSV on MOS devices and interconnect, reliability, thermal hot spots, ESD, signal integrity and impact on circuit performance. The experimental verification of their importance is presented and changes in current design practices to enable low-cost systems are proposed.
11.5 A 2.4GHz/915MHz 51¥ìW wake-up receiver with offset and noise suppression
Imec and Holst Centre present an envelope detector-based wake-up receiver front-end. A double-sampling technique is implemented to suppress the 1/f noise and DC offset, resulting in a lower output noise level and therefore a better SNR for a given input level. The receiver consumes 51¥ìW and occupies 0.36mm2 in 90nm CMOS. For 10kb/s OOK reception it achieves -69dBm and -80dBm sensitivity at 2.4GHz and 915MHz respectively.
NEWS RELEASE embargoed till February 9, 2010 7am Pacific Time - Imec and Holst Centre achieve breakthrough in battery-less radios
16.3 A 2.6mW 6b 2.2GS/s 4-times interleaved fully dynamic pipelined ADC in 40nm digital CMOS
Imec researchers present a 2.2GS/s 4x-interleaved 6b ADC in 40nm digital CMOS. Each ADC slice consists of a 1b folding stage followed by a pipelined binary-search sub-ADC using dynamic nonlinear amplifiers for low power consumption and high speed. Threshold calibration corrects for amplifier and comparator imperfections and 31.6dB SNDR is achieved with 2GHz ERBW for 2.6mW power consumption.
21.6 A 30fJ/conversion-step 8b 0-to-10MS/s asynchronous SAR ADC in 90nm CMOS
An 8b SAR ADC is presented by imec and Holst Centre researchers. The 90nm CMOS prototype achieves an ENOB of 7.8b at a sampling frequency of 10.24MS/s. The use of asynchronous dynamic CMOS logic, custom designed capacitors, an internal common-mode shift and low-leakage design techniques results in a power consumption of 69¥ìW from a 1V supply. The corresponding FoM equals 30fJ/Conversion-step and is maintained down to 10kS/s.
NEWS RELEASE embargoed till February 10, 2010 7am Pacific Time Imec and Holst Centre present ADC with record figure of merit suited for low energy radios
25.5 A 5mm©÷ 40nm LP CMOS 0.1-to-3GHz multistandard transceiver
A 5mm©÷ 40nm digital CMOS multimode transceiver is presented by imec in collaboration with Renesas and M4S. The 0.1-to-6GHz RX features 4 LNAs, 25% passive mixer with IIP2 calibration, 5th order baseband filtering and a 50fJ/conversion step ADC. It achieves NF down to 2.4dB, better than -30dB EVM and 50dBm IIP2. A 0.1-to-3Ghz TX with baseband filter, voltage sampled mixer and PPA achieves 3.2% EVM at 0dBm output, with CNR down to -156dBc/Hz. The system uses two dual-VCO 5.9-to-12.8GHz fractional-N PLLs.
NEWS RELEASE February 10, 2010 Imec, Renesas and M4S report a single-chip reconfigurable multi-standard wireless transceiver in 40nm CMOS
26.7 A 86MHz-to-12GHz digital-intensive phase-modulated fractional-N PLL using a 15pJ/Shot 5ps TDC in 40nm digital CMOS
Imec researchers present a 86MHz-12GHz digital-intensive reconfigurable synthesizer with 100kHz to 2MHz bandwidth. It leverages a 15pJ/Shot 5.5ps 14b coarse-fine TDC and a 6-to-12GHz dual-VCO set. The 0.28mm2 synthesizer features simple background calibration, ¥Ä¥Ò noise cancelation, and digital phase modulation, and consumes less than 30mW.
---ends---
About imec
Imec performs world-leading research in nano-electronics. Imec leverages its scientific knowledge with the innovative power of its global partnerships in ICT, healthcare and energy. Imec delivers industry-relevant technology solutions. In a unique high-tech environment, its international top talent is committed to providing the building blocks for a better life in a sustainable society.
Imec is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, and has offices in Belgium, the Netherlands, Taiwan, US, China and Japan. Its staff of more than 1,650 people includes over 550 industrial residents and guest researchers. In 2008, imec's revenue (P&L) was 270 million euro.
Further information on imec can be found at www.imec.be.
Imec is a registered trademark for the activities of IMEC International (a legal entity set up under Belgian law as a 'stichting van openbaar nut'), imec Belgium (IMEC vzw supported by the Flemish Government), imec the Netherlands (Stichting IMEC Nederland, part of Holst Centre which is supported by the Dutch Government) and imec Taiwan (IMEC Taiwan Co.).
About Holst Centre
Holst Centre is an independent open-innovation R&D centre that develops generic technologies for Wireless Autonomous Transducer Solutions and for Systems-in-Foil. A key feature of Holst Centre is its partnership model with industry and academia around shared roadmaps and programs. It is this kind of cross-fertilization that enables Holst Centre to tune its scientific strategy to industrial needs.
Holst Centre was set up in 2005 by imec (Flanders, Belgium) and TNO (The Netherlands) with support from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Government of Flanders. It is named after Gilles Holst, a Dutch pioneer in Research and Development and first director of Philips Research.
Located on High Tech Campus Eindhoven, Holst Centre benefits from the state-of-the-art on-site facilities. Holst Centre has over 150 employees from around 25 nationalities and a commitment from over 20 industrial partners.
Contact:
imec : Katrien Marent, Director of External Communications, T: +32 16 28 18 80, Mobile : +32 474 30 28 66, katrien.marent@imec.be
Holst Centre: Koen Snoeckx, Communication Manager, T: +31 40 277 40 91, Mobile: +31 612 719843, koen.snoeckx@holstcentre.com
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