Analog & Mixed-signal IC Design @ SNU

Announcements

Research - Analog team

Force Sensor Read-Out IC

Force sensor read-out IC (ROIC) is used to convert the force applied to the force sensor into a digital signal. Low noise and low power are required for the instrumentation amplifier (IA) and delta-sigma (∆∑) modulator in the ROIC to efficiently convert the signal of the corresponding sensor without loss.

Proximity Sensor Read-Out IC

Proximity sensor converts the distance from the sensor to a nearby object into a digital signal. The space between the target and the sensor makes a difference on input capacitance. The capacitance is measured and can be converted into a digital distance value with the sensor. Automatic calibration logic is required for higher sensitivity and to read a large DC capacitance value. This sensor requires a low noise, low power and high resolution Analog Front-End (AFE) for efficient readout. Proximity sensor can be applied to systems such as smartphones and car door handles, and so on.

Ultrasonic Sensor Read-Out System

The ultrasonic sensor read-out system receives and amplifies the echo reflected from an object, then converts the amplified signal into a digital signal and provides it to the digital signal processing block for distance measurement. The analog front end (AFE) provides a variable gain feature that can uniformly amplify the echo signal of objects at different distances without saturating the Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC).

Airborne Particulate Matter Detector

The airborne particulate matter (PM) detector is for measuring the concentration of dust in the air. Light is irradiated from the inner laser diode (LD) driver module and scattered by particles in the air. The photodiode (PD) that senses the scattered light generates a current signal. The analog front-end (AFE) and analog-to-digital converter (ADC) convert the current signal to 12-bit digital signal. The microprocessor (MCU) distinguish the size and the concentration of PM from the digital signal by using machine learning algorithm.

Research - Link team

High-speed Interface

With the emergence of various applications such as AI, IoT, and 5G wireless systems, the demand for higher data-bandwidth memories has increased. Therefore, higher data-rate per pin is needed in high-speed interfaces. The techniques to achieve higher data-rate are as follows:

Clock Generation & Correction

Clock signals are essential for both digital and analog circuits in various applications such as memory interface and RF systems. In modern ICs, high performance clock generation and correction circuits are needed to generate signals of higher frequency and lower noise (jitter). Clock generation and correction circuits can be categorized into two fields.

Processing-in-Memory (PIM)

PIM(Processing in Memory) is a technique that integrates processor and memory on a single chip. This technique can enhance the speed of AI processors by reducing the travel time between CPU and memory. PIM can be applied to any application that use memory.

Address

Seoul National University

Inter-University Semiconductor Research Center (Bld. 104-1, Rm. 306-1&2)
1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Korea
Tel:: +82-(0)2-882-9571
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