Reconfigurable of current-mode differentiator and integrator based-on current conveyor transconductance amplifiers

The reconfigurable of the differentiator and integrator based on current conveyor transconductance amplifiers (CCTAs) have been presented in this paper. The proposed configurations are provided with two CCTAs and grounded elements. The configurations can be operated in the differentiator and integrator by selecting external passive elements. The input and output currents have low and high impedances, respectively; therefore, the configurations can be cascaded without additional current buffer. The proposed configurations can be electronically tuned by external direct current (DC) bias currents, and it also has slight fluctuation with temperature. An application of universal filter is demonstrated to confirm the ability of the proposed configurations. The results of simulation with Pspice program are accordance with the theoretical analysis.

Net-Shape-Based Automated Detection of Integrated-Circuit Layout Plagiarism

Plagiarism of integrated-circuit (IC) layout is a problem encountered both in academia and in industry. A procedure was proposed that compares IC layouts based on the physical representation of particular electrical nets, i.e., on the shape of the features drawn on conducting layers (metals and polysilicon). At the heart of this method is the Needleman–Wunsch algorithm, used for decades in tools aligning sequences of amino acids or nucleotides. Here, it is used to quantify the visual similarity of nets within the pair of layouts being compared. The method was implemented in Python and successfully used to identify clusters of similar layouts within two pools of designs: one composed of logic gates and one containing operational transconductance amplifiers.

New Electronically Tunable Third Order Filters and Dual Mode Sinusoidal Oscillator Using VDTAs and Grounded Capacitors

This study introduces a third order filter and a third order oscillator configuration. Both the circuits use two voltage difference transconductance amplifiers (VDTAs) and three grounded capacitors. By selecting the input and output terminals properly, current mode and transimpedance mode low-pass and band-pass filters can be obtained without component matching conditions. The natural frequency (ω0) can be tuned electronically. The oscillator circuit provides voltage and current outputs explicitly. The condition of oscillation (CO) and the frequency of oscillation (FO) can be adjusted orthogonally and electronically. The workability of the configurations is judged using TSMC CMOS 0.18 μm technology parameter as well as commercially available LM13700 integrated circuits (ICs). The simulation results show that: for ±0.9V power supply, the power consumption is 1.08 mW for both the configurations, while total harmonic distortions (THDs) are less than 2.06% and 2.17% for the filter and oscillator configurations, respectively.

Design Trade-Offs in Common-Mode Feedback Implementations for Highly Linear Three-Stage Operational Transconductance Amplifiers

Fully differential amplifiers require the use of common-mode feedback (CMFB) circuits to properly set the amplifier’s operating point. Due to scaling trends in CMOS technology, modern amplifiers increasingly rely on cascading more than two stages to achieve sufficient gain. With multiple gain stages, different topologies for implementing CMFB are possible, whether using a single CMFB loop or multiple ones. However, the impact on performance of each CMFB approach has seldom been studied in the literature. The aim of this work is to guide the choice of the CMFB implementation topology evaluating performance in terms of stability, linearity, noise and common-mode rejection. We present a detailed theoretical analysis, comparing the relative performance of two CMFB configurations for 3-stage OTA topologies in an implementation-agnostic manner. Our analysis is then corroborated through a case study with full simulation results comparing the two topologies at the transistor level and confirming the theoretical intuition. An active-RC filter is used as an example of a high-linearity OTA application, highlighting a 6 dB improvement in P1dB in the multi-loop implementation with respect to the single-loop case.