System-Level Radiation Hardening of Low-Voltage Analog/Mixed-Signal Circuits
In a radiation environment analog circuits are particularly susceptible to radiation effects, due to stringent requirements on signal integrity and precision. This dissertation demonstrates system-level radiation-hardening-by-design (RHBD) techniques for analog circuits, with a focus on low-voltage...
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| Format: | Others |
| Language: | en |
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VANDERBILT
2013
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| Online Access: | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-08262013-170646/ |
| Summary: | In a radiation environment analog circuits are particularly susceptible to radiation effects, due to stringent requirements on signal integrity and precision. This dissertation demonstrates system-level radiation-hardening-by-design (RHBD) techniques for analog circuits, with a focus on low-voltage designs to support portability across modern technology nodes. Radiation effects analyses and hardening schemes are presented for both continuous- and discrete-time circuits. A CMOS voltage reference is used as a case study for continuous-time circuits, in which the total dose response is dominated by mismatch effects. Experiments demonstrate how chopper stabilization improves the radiation response by mitigating these effects. A switched-capacitor (SC) sample/hold amplifier is used as a case study for discrete-time circuits, in which floating nodes are especially sensitive to single events (SEs). Quad-path hardening is experimentally demonstrated to mitigate SE-induced errors in SC circuits that use complementary switches. Each case study demonstrates system-level RHBD schemes that are applicable to a wide variety of continuous- and discrete-time analog/mixed-signal circuits. |
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