The effect of body bias of the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor in the resistive network on spatial current distribution in a bio-inspired complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor vision chip

Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) vision chips for edge detection based on a resistive circuit have recently been developed. These chips help in the creation of neuromorphic systems of a compact size, high speed of operation, and low power dissipation. The output of the vision chip depends predominantly upon the electrical characteristics of the resistive network which consists of a resistive circuit. In this paper, the body effect of the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor for current distribution in a resistive circuit is discussed with a simple model. In order to evaluate the model, two 160 × 120 CMOS vision chips have been fabricated using a standard CMOS technology. The experimental results nicely match our prediction.     

Analog Integrated Circuit for Motion Detection against Moving Background Based on the Insect Visual System

A network for displaying the velocity signal of a target edge which has larger velocity than the background was proposed and designed based on an insect visual system. In the insect visual system, the velocity signals generated by the background are inhibited by the signals generated by averaging the velocity signals from each cell and can only display the velocity signals of the target. The proposed network was constructed with simple analog circuits. The measured results of the test chip fabricated with the 1.2$mUm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process showed that the edge detection circuit inserted to the first stage of the proposed network can detect the edge position. It was apparent from the measured results of the test circuit constructed with discrete metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors that the proposed unit circuit constructing the network can generate the velocity signals by inputting the edge signals. The results with the simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) showed that the proposed network can only display the velocity signals of the target edges but not those of the background. Thus, it was clarified that the various motion directions of the target can be detected independent of the background by using the proposed network.     

Analog vision chip for motion detection of an approaching object against a moving background based on the insect visual system

A network for motion detection of an approaching object without influence of the moving background was proposed based on the insect visual system. The two-dimensional array of the analog complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuits for extracting the edge signals of the approaching object without outputting those of the moving background was inserted at the first stage of the network. At the next stage, analog CMOS circuits for detection of approaching velocity and direction, which accept the extracted edge signals, were inserted based on the locust vision system. A chip of the proposed network was fabricated with the 1.2 mm CMOS process. It was clarified from the measured results and the simulation results with the simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) that the two-dimensional circuits of the first stage can only generate the signals of target edges. The measured results showed that the chip can detect the approaching velocity and direction of the target in the image which contains the moving background.     

Simple Analog Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor Circuit for Generating Motion Signal

We proposed in this study a novel analog complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuit for generating a motion signal when an object moves, which is a simple structure. The proposed unit circuit was constructed using a previously proposed edge detection circuit and a novel proposed circuit for generating a motion signal which accepts an edge signal. The part for generating the motion signal was constructed using six metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors and one capacitor. Results obtained by the simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) and the measured results of a test circuit constructed with discrete MOS transistors and the test circuit fabricated with a 1.2 μm CMOS process showed that the proposed unit circuit can output pulsed current (motion signal) when an object moves on the circuit. It was clarified from the SPICE results that the two-dimensional network constructed with proposed unit circuits can output motion signals. The size of the novel unit circuit is expected to be about 110 × 110μm² obtained by the 1.2 μm CMOS process. It is possible to arrange 90 × 90 unit circuits on a chip which has an area of 1 × 1cm². The aperture ratio is expected to be about 21%, which is twice as large as that of the previously proposed circuit. An integrated circuit for image processing in real time can thus be realized by applying the two-dimensional network constructed with the proposed circuits.     

Analog Integrated Circuit for Motion Detection of Approaching Object Based on the Insect Visual System

A network for detection of an approaching object was proposed and fabricated based on the transient response of a descending contralateral movement detector (DCMD) existing in the brain of locusts. The proposed network was constructed with simple analog circuits. The experimental results of a test chip fabricated with a 1.2 $mUm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process and the results with a simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) showed that the proposed network is able to detect the approach by generating a peak current just before collision; the peak current allows detection of the approaching velocity and direction without collision. The proposed network could be applied to two-dimensional arrays for three-dimensional motion detection.     

A vision chip with column-level amplification of optical data signals for indoor optical wireless local area networks

We present a vision chip architecture with column-level photo-amplification of optical data signals for optical wireless local area networks (LANs) to reduce the pixel area. Based on the architecture, we have fabricated a prototype vision chip in a standard 0.8 μm bipolar complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (BiCMOS) technology. The device offers position detection of other optical transceivers in the LAN and 4-ch concurrent high-speed optical data acquisition. A data rate of 400 Mbps was demonstrated. The pixel size was 125 μm square, which can be shrunk to smaller than around 60 μm square in 0.35 μm or more advanced BiCMOS or CMOS technologies.     

High-speed CMOS readout integrated circuit for large-scale and high-resolution microbolometer array

A new CMOS readout integrated circuit (ROIC) for microbolometric focal plane array (FPA) is proposed in this paper. By applying multiple-module parallel working technique, the pixel readout speed of the CMOS ROIC can reach 10 MHz, which is very suitable for large-scale microbolometer array. The CMOS ROIC of each parallel working module consists of three major parts: direct injection (DI) input circuits, column-shared integrating circuits, and common noise-suppressing circuits. The readout structure of the ROIC is simple because of the DI input, shared and common circuits, and this makes the ROIC satisfy the requirements of small-pixel microbolometric FPA. Furthermore, the voltage signals from different working modules can be output according to a certain order through a high-speed output circuit. An experimental readout chip based on the proposed ROIC has been designed and fabricated to verify its readout function and performance. The measurement results of the experimental readout chip have successfully proved that the proposed CMOS ROIC can be applied to high-speed, low-noise, large-scale and high-resolution microbolometric FPA.     

Analog Integrated Circuit for Motion Detection with Simple-Shape Recognition Based on Frog Vision System

We proposed in this research a novel two-dimensional network based on the frog visual system, with a motion detection function and a newly developed simple-shape recognition function, for use in object discrimination by integrated circuits. Specifically, the network mimics the signal processing of the small-field cell in a frog brain, consisting of the tectum and thalamus, which generates signals of the motion and simple shape of an object. The proposed network is constructed from simple analog complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuits; a test chip of the proposed network was fabricated with a 1.2 μm CMOS process. Measurements on the chip clarified that the proposed network can generate signals of the moving direction, velocity, and simple shape, as well as perform information processing of the small-field cell. Results with the simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) showed that the analog circuits used in the network have low power consumption. Applications of the proposed network are expected to realize advanced vision chips with functions such as object discrimination and target tracking.     

A New CMOS Read-out IC for Uncooled Microbolometer Infrared Image Sensor

An uncooled microbolometer image sensor, used in an IR image sensor, is made by a micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) process, so the value of the microbolometer resistor has a process variation. Also, the reference resistor, which is used to connect to the microbolometer, is fabricated by a standard CMOS process, and the difference between the values of the microbolometer resistor and the reference resistor generates an unwanted output signal for the same input from the sensor array. In order to minimize this problem, a new CMOS read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) was designed. Instead of a single input mode, a differential input mode scheme and a simple method to compensate the resistor value are proposed. Using results from a computer simulation, it is observed that the output characteristic of the ROIC was improved and the effect of the process variation was decreased without using complex compensation circuits. Based on the simulation results, a prototype device including an ROIC that was fabricated by a standard 0.25um CMOS process and a microbolometer with a 16 x 16 sensor array was fabricated and characterized.     

A Bio-Inspired 128 × 128 Complementary Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Vision Chip for Edge Detection with Signal Processing Circuit Separated from Photo-Sensing Circuit

In this paper, a vision chip for edge detection based on the structure of biological retina is introduced. The key advantage of retinal structure is speed of operation. However, bio-inspired vision chips have suffered from low resolution which is caused by their complex circuit structure. To sufficiently improve the resolution for real application, the circuits for analog processing were separated from circuits for image capturing. In addition, we compensated the low speed problem of operation which is caused by bottleneck of data transfer between photo-sensors and analog processing circuit by adding a reset decoder. The vision chip was fabricated using 0.35 μm 2-poly 4-metal complementary metal---oxide---semiconductor technology. Using the vision chip, we could obtain a contrast-enhanced image without any other cost-increase for fabrication of chips. Then, the edge image was easily achieved by thresholding the previous contrast-enhanced image.     

Millimeter-scale self-collimation in planar photonic crystals fabricated by CMOS technology

We report self-collimating demonstration in planar photonic crystals (PhCs) fabricated in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers using 0.18 μm silicon complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) techniques. This process is original in the context of self-collimating PhC. Emphasis was on demonstrating self-collimation effect through the use of standard CMOS equipment and process development of an optical test chip using a high-volume manufacturing facility. The PhC were designed on 230 nm-top-Si layer using a square lattice of air-holes with 270 nm in diameter. The lattice constant of the PhC was 380 nm. The 1 mm self-collimation was observed at the wavelengths of 1620 nm.     

An Integrated Circuit for Two-Dimensional Edge-Detection with Local Adaptation Based on Retinal Networks

We designed an integrated circuit for edge detection of a two-dimensional image based on the vertebrate outer retina, which has wide dynamic range in image processing. The unit circuit is simple, and operates as a current-mode analog metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) circuit. In order to extract edges from an image composed of bright and dark domains, the circuit realizes a function called local adaptation in which the sensitivity adapts to local brightness of the image. Simulation results, using the simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE), of two-dimensional Gaussian-distributed images in which the intensity ranged over four orders of magnitude, showed the local adaptation. As a result, the intensity of output images was in the range of one order of magnitude. Furthermore, as the simulation result of real images, it was shown that edges in the dark domain, which was five times darker than the bright domain, were successfully detected as the bright domain in which input photocurrents ranged over two orders of magnitude.     

A NEW CMOS READOUT CIRCUIT FOR VO2-BASED UNCOOLED FOCAL PLANE ARRAYS

A new CMOS readout circuit for VO₂-based uncooled FPAs is presented in this paper. The on-chip readout circuit consists of three major parts: An input circuit of BCDI structure, a column-shared integration circuit of CTIA structure, and a common CDS output circuit. The simple configuration of the input circuit makes it possible to operate more circuits in parallel, and increases the integration time and number of pixels, the column-shared integration circuit which is suitable for small pixel size provides low noise, high gain, a highly stable detector bias, and high photon current injection efficiency, and the common CDS output circuit is utilized to reduce or eliminate low-frequency noise of the readout circuit. An experimental readout chip for 50-μm-pitch 32×32 element VO₂-based uncooled FPAs has been fabricated. The measurement results of the fabricated readout chip have successfully verified its readout function and excellent performance.     

0.18 μm部分耗尽绝缘体上硅互补金属氧化物半导体电路单粒子瞬态特性研究

利用脉冲激光入射技术研究100级0.18 μm部分耗尽绝缘体上硅互补金属氧化物半导体反相器链的单粒子瞬态效应, 分析了激光入射器件类型及入射位置对单粒子瞬态脉冲传输特性的影响. 实验结果表明, 单粒子瞬态脉冲在反相器链中的传输与激光入射位置有关, 当激光入射第100级到第2级的n型金属-氧化物-半导体器件, 得到的脉冲宽度从287.4 ps增加到427.5 ps; 当激光入射第99级到第1级的p型金属-氧化物-半导体器件, 得到的脉冲宽度从150.5 ps增加到295.9 ps. 激光入射点靠近输出则得到的瞬态波形窄; 靠近输入则得到的瞬态波形较宽, 单粒子瞬态脉冲随着反相器链的传输而展宽. 入射器件的类型对单粒子瞬态脉冲展宽无影响. 通过理论分析得到, 部分耗尽绝缘体上硅器件浮体效应导致的阈值电压迟滞是反相器链单粒子瞬态脉冲展宽的主要原因. 而示波器观察到的与预期结果幅值相反的正输出脉冲, 是输出节点电容充放电的结果.     

Electrical imaging of neuronal activity by multi-transistor-array (MTA) recording at 7.8 μm resolution

We report on a novel method for two-dimensional electrical mapping of neuronal activity using a 1 mm² array of 16384 sensor field-effect transistors fabricated by an extended CMOS (complementary metal oxide silicon) technology. The contact from neurons to chip is made by an insulating oxide on the chip surface that provides a purely capacitive drive of the sensor transistors. As a test system for multi-transistor-array (MTA) recording we use cultured neurons from the pond snail. We present electrical maps of an individual neuron and of a small neuronal network at a resolution of 7.8 m. MTA recording provides a tool for imaging the network dynamics of cultured nerve cells and brain slices for studies in neurobiology and biosensorics. Supplementary material to this paper is available in electronic form on Springers server at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00339-004-2991-5PACS 87.17.Nn, 87.80.Xa, 73.40.Mr     

A nano-metallic-particles-based CMOS image sensor for DNA detection

In this paper we report on a study of the CMOS image sensor detection of DNA based on self-assembled nano-metallic particles, which are selectively deposited on the surface of the passive image sensor. The nano-metallic particles effectively block the optical radiation in the visible spectrum of ordinary light source. When such a technical method is applied to DNA detection, the requirement for a special UV light source in the most popular fluorescence is eliminated. The DNA detection methodology is tested on a CMOS sensor chip fabricated using a standard 0.5 μm CMOS process. It is demonstrated that the approach is highly selective to detecting even a signal-base mismatched DNA target with an extremely-low-concentration DNA sample down to 10 pM under an ordinary light source.     

Pb2CrO5 photovoltaic device for the detecting light-beam position

A light position detector operating through a photovoltaic effect of a Pb₂CrO₅ ceramic disk with a pair of Au planar electrodes is investigated. A fabrication technique and the basic characteristics of the photovoltaic device for position detection are described. A peak photovoltage is obtained around the edge of the electrode for an incident light beam. The incident light beam shape and the electrode pattern are important factors for obtaining a linear relation between the light-beam position and the output signal from the device. A device fabricated for detecting one-dimensional light position has a high position resolution of 0.5 m and a good linearity of ±2 m or less. A two-dimensional device can be fabricated in the same way as the one-dimensional device, except for the electrode pattern. A method for two-dimensional light position detection using a Pb₂CrO₅ photovoltaic cell is demonstrated for a green LED as a light source.     

Design of full-duplex and multifunction bidirectional CMOS transceiver for optical interconnect applications

This work presents a full-duplex and multifunction bidirectional transceiver for optical interconnect application. The transceiver utilizes a common limiting amplifier/gain stage, thus reducing total chip area and total power consumption. While providing a full-duplex bidirectional transmission with the aid of a hybrid circuit between the electrical input/output (I/O) and the optoelectronic signals from the transmitter and receiver circuits, it also allows for a half-duplex operation with the aid of a switch between the transimpedance amplifier signals and the transmitter electrical input from the I/O port. The multifunction bidirectional CMOS transceiver is designed in a 0.13 µm Si-CMOS technology, with power dissipation of 79 and 54.4 mW for the transmitter and receiver, respectively. It shows a 3-dB bandwidth of 5.58 and 5.69 GHz for the transmitter and the receiver respectively and with a 3-dB gain of 66.14 and 69.6 dB, in full-duplex mode. The transceiver operates up to 7 Gb/s in full-duplex mode.     

深亚微米金属氧化物场效应晶体管及寄生双极晶体管的总剂量效应研究

为从工艺角度深入研究航空航天用互补金属氧化物半导体(CMOS)工艺混合信号集成电路总剂量辐射损伤机理, 选取国产CMOS 工艺制作的NMOS晶体管及寄生双极晶体管进行了⁶⁰Coγ射线源下的总剂量试验研究. 发现: 1) CMOS工艺中固有的寄生效应导致NMOS晶体管截止区漏电流对总剂量敏感, 随总剂量累积而增 大; 2) 寄生双极晶体管总剂量损伤与常规双极晶体管不同, 表现为对总剂量不敏感, 分析认为两者辐射损伤的差异来源于制作工艺的不同; 3)寄生双极晶体管与NMOS晶体 管的总剂量损伤没有耦合效应; 4)基于上述研究成果, 初步分析CMOS工艺混合信号集成电路中数字模块及模拟模块辐射损伤机制, 认为MOS晶体管截止漏电流增大是导致数字模块功耗增大的主因, 而Bandgap电压基准源模块对总剂量不敏感源于寄生双极晶体管抗总剂量辐射的能力. 关键词： 总剂量效应 N沟道金属氧化物场效应晶体管 寄生双极晶体管 Bandgap基准电压源     

A 64 × 64 CMOS Active Pixel Sensor Operative at a Very Low Illumination Level

A CMOS image sensor that focuses on very low illumination applications is described. The sensor uses a 0.35 m 2-poly 4-metal standard CMOS process and is realized as a 64 × 64 array of 7.8 × 7.4 m² active pixels with a fill factor of 33%. The unit pixel contains 3 NMOSFETs and a gate-body tied PMOSFET photodetector. The image sensor features highly sensitive characteristics because of the photodetector which has a maximum photo-responsivity of 2.5 × 10² A/W, and a pixel configuration with a voltage gain of about 1.3 and a pixel sensitivity of 1.2 × 10 V/lx·s. Furthermore, this sensor has a well-defined output voltage at a very low illumination level of sub-10 lx, such as with a photo-sensitivity of 35mV/lx without adjusting gain and integration time.