Delta-sigma analog-to-digital converters traditionally have been used for low speed, high resolution applications such as measurements, sensors, voice and audio systems. Through continued device scaling in CMOS technology and architectural and circuit level design innovations, they have even become popular for wideband, high dynamic range applications such as wired and...
The enormous success of wireless technology has recently led to an explosive demand for, and hence a shortage of, bandwidth resources. This expected shortage problem is reported to be primarily due to the inefficient, static nature of current spectrum allocation methods. As an initial step towards solving this shortage problem,...
Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas can be exploited to provide high data rate using a limited bandwidth through multiplexing gain. MIMO combined with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) could potentially provide high data rate and high spectral efficiency in frequency-selective fading channels. MIMO-OFDM technology has been widely employed in modern communication...
High speed serial links are critical components for addressing the growing demand for I/O bandwidth in next-generation computing applications, such as many-core systems, backplane and optical data communications. Due to continued process scaling and circuit innovations, today's CMOS serial link transceivers can achieve tens of Gb/s per pin. However, most...
Short-range wireless communications continually attract interest from both industry and academia, and it is changing our life in every aspect in the last decade. The design of wireless transceivers is the bottleneck for variety applications, due to RF modeling inaccuracy, stringent FCC regulations over the transmitted power spectrum, interference, multi-path...
This dissertation presents two high-speed pipeline successive approximation analog-to-digital converters (SAR ADCs). Capacitive DACs and resistive DACs are utilized in these two pipeline SAR ADCs, respectively.
The pipeline SAR ADC with capacitive DACs can save 50% switching power compared with other time-interleaved SAR ADCs since the total capacitance of the...
Delta-Sigma (ΔΣ) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are traditionally used in high quality audio systems, instrumentation and measurement (I&M) and biomedical devices. With the continued downscaling of CMOS technology, they are becoming popular in wideband applications such as wireless and wired communication systems,high-definition television and radar systems. There are two general realizations...
IC designers are continuously facing the challenges from reduced CMOS feature sizes and supply voltages. ADCs that deliver satisfactory resolutions/speeds while utilizing the state-of-the-art technologies to save power are in high demand. The analog circuits are more and more assisted by various digital calibration techniques to get boosted performances. This...
Seed dormancy is defined as the inability of viable seeds to germinate under conditionsotherwise favorable for germination. Dormancy provides a strategy for seeds to germinateat an appropriate time. Abscisic acid (ABA) is a major hormone involved in the regulationof seed dormancy. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms of dormancy, the twoexperimental...
As computation power continues to grow, the demand for data transfer bandwidth is also rising. This is reflected in the increasing data-rate of high-speed links. However, the increase in data-rate is sustainable only if the I/O energy efficiency improves as well. This dissertation explores several techniques to enable high-speed links...