MOS‐only reduced‐order ELIN cochlear channels: comparative performance evaluation

Abstract

SummaryThis paper introduces and applies practical area‐reduction techniques on the analogue, externally linear‐internally nonlinear, complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor (CMOS) implementation of a cochlear channel. This channel is constructed on the basis of the biomimetic auditory filter called One‐Zero Gammatone Filter, and it has been synthesised using ultra‐low power Class‐AB biquadratic filters, which employ MOS transistors that operate in their weak inversion regime. The realisation of linear capacitors with appropriately configured MOS transistors, the order reduction of the One‐Zero Gammatone Filter transfer function and the employment of hyperbolic sine companding filters can lead to area reductions that range from 61.8% up to 91.9% of the original size. Comparative simulation results highlight the trade‐offs between performance, linearity, noise and power consumption of the designs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.