A high resolution on-chip delay sensor with low supply-voltage sensitivity for high-performance electronic systems.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Microelectronic Systems
• Sensor Technology

Background:

• High-performance electronic systems require precise delay measurements for efficient operation and diagnosis.
• Existing on-chip delay sensors often suffer from limited resolution and sensitivity to power supply fluctuations.
• Integration of accurate and robust delay sensing is crucial for system-level reliability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an all-digital on-chip delay sensor (OCDS) circuit.
• To achieve high delay-measurement resolution and low supply-voltage sensitivity.
• To enable efficient detection and diagnosis in high-performance electronic systems.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel all-digital on-chip delay sensor (OCDS) circuit.
• Implementation of a proposed delay measurement scheme for high quantization resolution.
• Design of a cascade-stage delay measurement circuit for enhanced supply-voltage immunity.

Main Results:

• Achieved a quantization resolution down to several picoseconds.
• Demonstrated a delay measurement resolution improvement to 1.2 ps.
• Exhibited an average delay resolution variation of only 0.55% with ±10% supply-voltage variations.
• Verified the all-digital implementation suitability for system integration.

Conclusions:

• The proposed OCDS circuit offers superior delay-measurement resolution and stability.
• The design effectively mitigates supply-voltage sensitivity without complex calibration.
• The all-digital nature facilitates seamless integration into high-performance electronic systems.