dc.description.abstract | The advanced CMOS technology promotes the developments of more portable and efficient ultrasound systems with improved image performance and increased functionality over past several years. An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) plays an important role in advanced ultrasound imaging system to convert continuous analog signals to discrete digital signals. The design of power-efficient, small-area ADCs is necessary for the development of digitization of the in-probe ultrasound three-dimensional (3D) imaging system.
This thesis will focus on the design and implementation of powerefficient, small area ADCs working at medium resolution (e.g., 7-10 bit), medium speed (e.g., 30-50MHz). It starts with the design of a low-offset, low-power, high-speed comparator using bulk biasing calibration. The first prototype of ADC is a single-ended binary-weighted 7-bit SAR ADC combined with a double reference technique to reduce area and power. The speed is optimized by an asymmetric delay line embedded in the asynchronous digital logic, enabling a sampling frequency of 40 MS/s. Fabricated in a 65 nm CMOS technology, the ADC is measured to achieve an SNDR of 39.73 dB and an ENOB of 6.3 bit at 1 V supply. It consumes 298.6μW, resulting in a figure of merit (FoM) of 94.74 fJ/conversion-step. The core circuit layout occupies 0.017 mm2.
The second prototype, a 8.4-bit ENOB 30MS/s SAR ADC, greatly increases the power and area efficiency by using a symmetrical MSB-capacitor-split capacitor array with customized small-value finger capacitors. Simplified dynamic digital logic and a dynamic comparator have been designed. Fabricated in a 65nm CMOS technology, the ADC achieves a signal-to-noise ratio (SNDR) of 52.2dB, and consumes 61.3μW at 30MS/s from a 1V supply voltage, resulting in a FoM of 6.2fJ/conversion-step. The core circuit occupies 0.016mm2, the FoM defined by including the area is 0.1mm2•fJ/conversion-step.
Intelligent ultrasound systems require a more flexible ADC to benefit for system-level performance. The third prototype extends the ADC design by adding a configurable gain feature, which enables the ADC to maintain a maximum SNDR over a wider input range. A 9-bit configurable-gain SAR ADC was fabricated in a 65nm CMOS technology. Measurement shows that it consumes 46.1μW at 35MS/s from 1Vsupply voltage, and achieves an SNDR of 51dB and an ENOB of8.18bits at Nyquist rate, resulting in a figure of merit (FoM) of4.5fJ/conversion-step. The core circuit occupies 0.009mm2, which is very compact. Moreover, it enables the integration into a low-power ultrasound receiver. | nb_NO |