SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

A low power 20 GHz comparator in 90 nm COMS technology

Kai Tang1, 2, Qiao Meng1, 2, , Zhigong Wang1, 2 and Ting Guo1, 2

+ Author Affiliations

 Corresponding author: Meng Qiao, Email:mengqiao@seu.edu.cn

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Abstract: A low power 20 GHz CMOS dynamic latched regeneration comparator for ultra-high-speed, low-power analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) is proposed. The time constant in both the tracking and regeneration phases of the latch are analyzed based on the small signal model. A dynamic source-common logic (SCL) topology is adopted in the master-slave latch to increase the tracking and regeneration speeds. Implemented in 90 nm CMOS technology, this comparator only occupies a die area of 65×150 μm2 with a power dissipation of 14 mW from a 1.2 V power supply. The measurement results show that the comparator can work up to 20 GHz. Operating with an input frequency of 1 GHz, the circuit can oversample up to 20 Giga-sampling-per-second (GSps) with 5 bits resolution; while operating at Nyquist, the comparator can sample up to 20 GSps with 4 bits resolution. The comparator has been successfully used in a 20 GSps flash ADC and the circuit can be also used in other high speed applications.

Key words: comparatorADCultra-high-speedlow powerlatchCMOS



[1]
Kuo W M L, Li X, Krithivasan R, et al. A 32 Gsample/sec SiGe HBT comparator for ultra-high-speed analog-to-digital conversion. APMC, 2005:4 doi: 10.1007%2F978-3-642-27329-2_5.pdf
[2]
Kraus S, Kallfass I, Makon R E, et al. A 20-GHz bipolar latched comparator with improved sensitivity implemented in InP HBT technology. IEEE Trans Microw Theory Tech, 2011, 59(3):707 doi: 10.1109/TMTT.2011.2104974
[3]
Huang Zhenxing, Zhou Lei, Su Yongbo, et al. A 20-GHz ultra-high-speed InP DHBT comparator. Journal of Semiconductors, 2012, 33(7):075003 doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/33/7/075003
[4]
Zhou Lei, Wu Danyu, Chen Jianwu, et al. 12.5 Gbps 1:16 DEMUX IC with high speed synchronizing circuits. Journal of Semiconductors, 2011, 32(12):125010 doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/32/12/125010
[5]
Shohreh G, Andre C, Salama T. Track-and-hold and comparator for a 12. 5 GS/s, 8 bit ADC. IEEE International Midwest Symposium on Circuits and System, 2009: 353
[6]
Goll B, Zimmermann H. A 65 nm CMOS comparator with modified latch to achieve 7 GHz/1.3 mW at 1.2 V and 700 MHz/47μW at 0.6 V. ISSCC, 2009:328 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4977441/
[7]
Schvan P, Bach J, Fait C, et al. A 24 GS/s 6 b ADC in 90 nm CMOS. ISSCC, 2008:544 doi: 10.1007/s11432-014-5101-0
[8]
Okaniwa Y, Tamura H, Kibune M, et al. A 40-Gb/s CMOS clocked comparator with bandwidth modulation technique. IEEE J Solid-State Circuits, 2005, 40(8):1680 doi: 10.1109/JSSC.2005.852014
[9]
Fan X P, Chan P K. A CMOS high-speed multistage preamplifier for comparator design. ISCAS, 2004:545 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1328252/
[10]
Doernberg J, Gray P R, Hodges D A. A 10-bit 5-Msample/s CMOS two-step flash ADC. IEEE J Solid-State Circuits, 1989, 24(2):241 doi: 10.1109/4.18582
[11]
Shirai E. CMOS multistage preamplifier design for high-speed and high-resolution comparators. IEEE Trans Circuits Syst Ⅱ, 2007, 54(2):166 doi: 10.1109/TCSII.2006.883091
[12]
Li X, Kuo W M L, Lu Y, et al. A 7-bit, 18 GHz SiGe HBT comparator for medium resolution A/D conversion. Proceedings of the Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, 2005:144 doi: 10.1007%2F978-3-642-27329-2_5.pdf
Fig. 1.  The comparator block diagram

Fig. 2.  6 stages cascaded preamplifier

Fig. 3.  Latch schematic and equivalent circuit. Small signal model of latch (a) in the tracking phase and (b) in the regeneration phase

Fig. 4.  The proposed dynamic SCL latch

Fig. 5.  The schematic of output buffer

Fig. 6.  The layout of proposed comparator

Fig. 7.  The simulation results of the comparator @ $f_{\rm clk}$ = 20 GHz. (a) $f_{\rm in}$ = 2.5 GHz. (b) $f_{\rm in}$ = 10 GHz

Fig. 8.  (a) Chip microphotograph of the proposed comparator in the ADC and (b) the measurement setup

Fig. 9.  The proposed comparator's measured output waveforms with $f_{\rm in}$ = 5 GHz @ $f_{\rm clk}$ = 10 GHz

Fig. 10.  The proposed comparator's measured output waveforms with $f_{\rm in}$ = 10 GHz @ $f_{\rm clk}$ = 20 GHz

Table 1.   Performance summary and comparison

[1]
Kuo W M L, Li X, Krithivasan R, et al. A 32 Gsample/sec SiGe HBT comparator for ultra-high-speed analog-to-digital conversion. APMC, 2005:4 doi: 10.1007%2F978-3-642-27329-2_5.pdf
[2]
Kraus S, Kallfass I, Makon R E, et al. A 20-GHz bipolar latched comparator with improved sensitivity implemented in InP HBT technology. IEEE Trans Microw Theory Tech, 2011, 59(3):707 doi: 10.1109/TMTT.2011.2104974
[3]
Huang Zhenxing, Zhou Lei, Su Yongbo, et al. A 20-GHz ultra-high-speed InP DHBT comparator. Journal of Semiconductors, 2012, 33(7):075003 doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/33/7/075003
[4]
Zhou Lei, Wu Danyu, Chen Jianwu, et al. 12.5 Gbps 1:16 DEMUX IC with high speed synchronizing circuits. Journal of Semiconductors, 2011, 32(12):125010 doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/32/12/125010
[5]
Shohreh G, Andre C, Salama T. Track-and-hold and comparator for a 12. 5 GS/s, 8 bit ADC. IEEE International Midwest Symposium on Circuits and System, 2009: 353
[6]
Goll B, Zimmermann H. A 65 nm CMOS comparator with modified latch to achieve 7 GHz/1.3 mW at 1.2 V and 700 MHz/47μW at 0.6 V. ISSCC, 2009:328 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4977441/
[7]
Schvan P, Bach J, Fait C, et al. A 24 GS/s 6 b ADC in 90 nm CMOS. ISSCC, 2008:544 doi: 10.1007/s11432-014-5101-0
[8]
Okaniwa Y, Tamura H, Kibune M, et al. A 40-Gb/s CMOS clocked comparator with bandwidth modulation technique. IEEE J Solid-State Circuits, 2005, 40(8):1680 doi: 10.1109/JSSC.2005.852014
[9]
Fan X P, Chan P K. A CMOS high-speed multistage preamplifier for comparator design. ISCAS, 2004:545 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1328252/
[10]
Doernberg J, Gray P R, Hodges D A. A 10-bit 5-Msample/s CMOS two-step flash ADC. IEEE J Solid-State Circuits, 1989, 24(2):241 doi: 10.1109/4.18582
[11]
Shirai E. CMOS multistage preamplifier design for high-speed and high-resolution comparators. IEEE Trans Circuits Syst Ⅱ, 2007, 54(2):166 doi: 10.1109/TCSII.2006.883091
[12]
Li X, Kuo W M L, Lu Y, et al. A 7-bit, 18 GHz SiGe HBT comparator for medium resolution A/D conversion. Proceedings of the Bipolar/BiCMOS Circuits and Technology Meeting, 2005:144 doi: 10.1007%2F978-3-642-27329-2_5.pdf
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    Received: 12 October 2013 Revised: 20 December 2013 Online: Published: 01 May 2014

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      Kai Tang, Qiao Meng, Zhigong Wang, Ting Guo. A low power 20 GHz comparator in 90 nm COMS technology[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2014, 35(5): 055002. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/35/5/055002 K Tang, Q Meng, Z G Wang, T Guo. A low power 20 GHz comparator in 90 nm COMS technology[J]. J. Semicond., 2014, 35(5): 055002. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/35/5/055002.Export: BibTex EndNote
      Citation:
      Kai Tang, Qiao Meng, Zhigong Wang, Ting Guo. A low power 20 GHz comparator in 90 nm COMS technology[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2014, 35(5): 055002. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/35/5/055002

      K Tang, Q Meng, Z G Wang, T Guo. A low power 20 GHz comparator in 90 nm COMS technology[J]. J. Semicond., 2014, 35(5): 055002. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/35/5/055002.
      Export: BibTex EndNote

      A low power 20 GHz comparator in 90 nm COMS technology

      doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/35/5/055002
      Funds:

      Project supported by the PhD Programs Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (No. 2009009211001) and the Important National Science & Technology Specific Projects (No. 2010ZX03006-003-02)

      the PhD Programs Foundation of Ministry of Education of China 2009009211001

      the Important National Science & Technology Specific Projects 2010ZX03006-003-02

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      • Corresponding author: Meng Qiao, Email:mengqiao@seu.edu.cn
      • Received Date: 2013-10-12
      • Revised Date: 2013-12-20
      • Published Date: 2014-05-01

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