Compound noise separation in digital circuits using blind source separation

Abstract

Analysis of individual noise sources in pre-nanometer circuits cannot take into account the evolving reality of multiple noise sources interacting with each other. Noise measurement made at an evaluation node will reflect the cumulative effect of all the active noise sources, while individual and relative severity of various noise sources will determine what types of remedial steps can be taken, pressing the need for development of algorithms that can analyze the contributions of different noise sources when a noise measurement is available. This paper addresses the cocktail-party problem inside integrated circuits with multiple noise sources. It presents a method to extract the time characteristics of individual noise source from the measured compound voltage in order to study the contribution and properties of each source. This extraction is facilitated by application of blind source separation technique, which is based on the assumption of statistical independence of various noise sources over time. The estimated noise sources can aid in performing timing and spectral analysis, and yield better circuit design techniques.