A 3.125-Gb/s inductorless transimpedance amplifier for optical communication in 0.35μm CMOS

A 3.125-Gb/s transimpedance amplifier（TIA） for an optical communication system is realized in 0.35μm CMOS technology.The proposed TIA employs a regulated cascode configuration as the input stage, and adopts DC-cancellation techniques to stabilize the DC operating point.In addition,noise optimization is processed. The on-wafer measurement results show the transimpedance gain of 54.2 dBΩand -3 dB bandwidth of 2.31 GHz.The measured average input referred noise current spectral density is about 18.8 pA/（？）.The measured eye diagram is clear and symmetrical for 2.5-Gb/s and 3.125-Gb/s PRBS.Under a single 3.3-V supply voltage,the TIA consumes only 58.08 mW,including 20 mW from the output buffer.The whole die area is 465×435μm^2.

Dedicated SiPM array for GRD of GECAM

Purpose The discovery of gravitational waves and gamma-ray bursts heralds the era of multi-messenger astronomy.With the adoption of two small satellites to achieve the all-sky monitoring of gamma-ray bursts,the gravitational wave highenergy electromagnetic counterpart all-sky monitor(GECAM)possesses a quasi-real-time early warning ability and plays an important role in positioning the sources of gravitational waves and in subsequent observations.Each satellite of GECAM was fitted with 253-inch-diameter gamma-ray detectors(GRD),covering an energy range of 8–2 MeV.GRDs have adopted silicon photomultiplier tubes(SiPM)in lieu of photomultiplier tubes(PMT)to adapt to the dimensional limitations of micro-satellites.Methods A unique 3-inch circular SiPM array was designed.In this design,646×6 mm chips were arranged evenly in a circular manner with the seams filled with reflecting films,thus achieving satisfactory uniformity of light collection.The integrated pre-amplifier circuit on the back of the SiPM array adopted two-level grouping and summing;further,it achieved a satisfactory signal-to-noise ratio.Two high-gain and low-gain channels were adopted to achieve a large dynamic range,and two independent power supply units were used,where each unit can be closed separately,thus improving reliability.Results Performance studies show that this SiPM array meets the requirements of GECAM.Conclusion A 3-inch SiPM array have been developed that uses grouped summation,reflective films,a circular arrangement,two groups of independent power supplies,high-and low-gain signals,differential signal output technologies,etc.This solution can be used not only for GECAM,but also as a general solution for SiPM-based scintillation detectors.

A hearing aid on-chip system based on accuracy optimized front-and back-end blocks

A hearing aid on-chip system based on accuracy optimized front- and back-end blocks is presented for enhancing the signal processing accuracy of the hearing aid. Compared with the conventional system, the accuracy optimized system is characterized by the dual feedback network and the gain compensation technique used in the front-andback-endblocks,respectively,soastoalleviatethenonlinearitydistortioncausedbytheoutputswing.By usingthetechnique,theaccuracyofthewholehearingaidsystemcanbesignificantlyimproved.Theprototypechip has been designed with a 0.13 m standard CMOS process and tested with 1 V supply voltage. The measurement results show that, for driving a 16 loudspeaker with a normalized output level of 300 mV p-p, the total harmonic distortion reached about60 dB, achieving at least three times reduction compared to the previously reported works. In addition, the typical input referred noise is only about 5 υV rms.