BRIGE: Development of Self-Programmable CMOS Analog Circuits and Systems

布里奇：可自编程CMOS模拟电路和系统的开发当今严格的低功耗要求，以及信号摆幅的减小，给模拟电路设计者带来了一个不小的问题。此外，越来越多的设备不匹配，以及技术规模的扩大，迫使设计师寻找替代设计方法。用于模拟领域的可编程/可重构电子学最近已成为解决这些问题的可行方案。智能优点：拟议的研究旨在通过开发可自编程模拟存储元件来提高模拟电路设计的最新水平。这项工作的主要工作将集中在开发电路基础设施，允许对可重新配置的电路进行自动编程。建议的架构试图从设计者那里抽象出编程问题，从而极大地简化了这些设备的使用。开发的自编程体系结构将通过解决浮栅晶体管涉及的编程问题，为开发新型高性能可编程/可重新配置电路和系统奠定基础。此外，这项工作还将利用所开发的体系结构作为新的工具来设计新型的高性能模拟电路。拟议的自编程存储器也将被纳入大规模现场可编程阵列的设计中，从而实现更快的编程周期。这项研究的智能优点包括：1)用于模拟存储器和可重构系统的片上自编程电路基础设施，2)可编程温度不敏感电压/电流基准，3)可编程低压差电压调节器，以及4)用于快速编程周期的大规模现场可编程模拟阵列。广泛影响：拟议的研究工作将产生广泛的影响，开发可自编程可重构电路和系统的核心架构，将被模拟社区的电路设计者广泛使用。开发的架构将成为一种新的工具，使设计师能够克服当今技术中存在的研究挑战。从教育角度来看，拟议的工作将为波多黎各大学的高年级本科生和研究生提供微电子设备的设计、制造和测试方面的研究经验。这一经历肯定会补充他们的学术准备，使他们能够在集成电路设计领域培训下一代拉美裔专业人员。此外，对本提案中概述的研究和教育活动的支持将有助于在波多黎各-马亚格斯大学设立电气工程博士项目，从而促进和增加少数群体参与工程研究。

BRIGE: Development of Self-Programmable CMOS Analog Circuits and SystemsToday's stringent low-power requirements, along with the reduced signal swing, present a non-trivial problem for analog circuit designers. Additionally, the increasing device mismatch, do to technology scaling, have forced designers to look for alternate design approaches. Programmable/reconfigurable electronics, used in the analog domain, have recently emerged as a viable solution for these problems. Intellectual Merit: The proposed research aims to advance the state of the art in analog circuit design through the development of self-programmable analog memory elements. The main effort of this work will center on developing a circuit infrastructure that will allow for automated programming of reconfigurable circuits. The proposed architecture seeks to abstract the programming issues from the designer, thus greatly simplifying the use of these devices. The developed self-programmable architecture will lay the foundation needed for developing novel high-performance programmable/reconfigurable circuits and systems by taking care of the programming issues involved with floating-gate transistors. Additionally, this work will use the developed architecture as a new tool to design novel high-performance analog circuits. The proposed self-programmable memory will also be incorporated in the design of large-scale field-programmable arrays, thus enabling faster programming cycles. The intellectual merit of this research includes the design and development of: 1) an on-chip self-programmable circuit infrastructure for analog memories and reconfigurable systems, 2) a programmable temperature insensitive voltage/current reference, 3) a programmable low-dropout voltage regulator, and 4) a large-scale field-programmable analog array for fast programming cycles.Broader Impacts: The proposed research effort will have broad impact by developing a core architecture for self-programmable reconfigurable circuits and systems that will be widely used by circuit designers in the analog community. The developed architecture will become a new tool that will allow designers to overcome the research challenges present in today's technology. From an educational perspective, the proposed work will provide research experience to senior undergraduate and graduate students, at the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez, in the design, fabrication, and testing of microelectronic devices. This experience will definitely complement their academic preparation, allowing for the training of the next generation of Hispanic professionals in the area of integrated circuit design. In addition, the support of the research and educational activities outlined in this proposal will help the establishment of the Electrical Engineering doctoral program at the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez, thus promoting and increasing minority participation in engineering research.