16-Channel single-chip current-mode track-and-hold acquisition
system with 100dB dynamic range.
Abstract
Testing of mixed-mode VLSI systems demands specialized instrumentation
tools to simultaneously source and track multiple analog and digital
signals. We present a single-chip solution for synchronous
acquisition of 16 channels of independent currents, ranging five orders of
magnitude in dynamic range over four scales. The digitally
programmable chip is one component in an integrated system that we
developed with 64 analog and 64 digital I/O channels, for timed
instrumentation of micropower VLSI systems covering subthreshold and
above threshold MOS regions of operation. We present circuits
implementing the programmable current amplification, log-domain
anti-alias filtering, and integrating differential current-to-voltage
acquisition, and include experimental results from the 16-channel
prototype fabricated through MOSIS in a 1.2 micron CMOS process.
