| Summary: | A relatively new area of analog integrated circuits is emerging which is likely to
have an impact on the signal processing area --analog floating-gate circuits. Analog floating-
gate circuits have the potential to deliver more sophisticated signal processing at less
power in a smaller space. This is the result of a novel application of digital memory technology
-- the floating-gate MOSFET, that is used as an analog memory and computational
device. Critical to the success of analog floating-gate circuits is on-chip programming.
After investigating integrated schemes for DC-DC converters to generate the necessary
voltages on chip, this research focuses on charge pumps that are integrated into the programming
structure of floating-gate circuits. The impact of this research is far reaching
since programmability is an indispensable feature of analog floating-gate circuits. This
research lays the foundation for meeting the requirement of on-chip programming. Charge
pumps will eliminate the need for high voltages to be externally supplied or regulated for
analog floating-gate circuits. To the design engineer, the utilization of floating-gate circuits
will look identical to their non floating-gate counterparts in terms of the value and
number of supply voltages. In addition, the integration of on-chip DC-DC converters will
reduce pin count, reduce board space for the implementation of the chip and facilitate distributed
on chip power supplies for mixed signal integrated circuits.
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