4-to-1 Transimpedance combining amplifier-based static unitary detector for high-resolution of LADAR sensor

Abstract

A fully integrated 4-to-1 transimpedance combining amplifier (TICA)-based static unitary detector (STUD) is developed for high-resolution of laser detection and ranging (LADAR) sensor. With a developed TICA, the STUD is able to have an effective large-area photodetector to enlarge the region of interest (ROI) without the bandwidth deterioration of a receiver for LADAR sensor. The 4-to-1 TICA is fabricated using 0.18-μm standard CMOS technology and it consists of four independent current buffers, a two-stage signal combiner, a balun, an output buffer, and four over-current protectors in one single integrated chip. The core of the TICA dissipates a power of about 7.8 mW. The total power consumption, including that of the balun and the output buffer, is 41 mW from a 1.8-V supply. The average input-referred noise current spectral density is 15.4 pA/?Hz with a bandwidth of 185?MHz and a transimpedance gain of 70?dBΩ. The developed TICA occupies an active area of approximately 107?μm?נ102?μm and the die size, including the I/O pads, is 912?μm?נ1000?μm. From the two-dimensional optical pulse scanning measurements and the three-dimensional (3-D) range measurements, it is verified that the designed TICA is suitable for the receiver front-end of the STUD-based LADAR sensor.