Temperature Characterization of a Fully-synthesizable Rail-to-Rail Dynamic Voltage Comparator operating down to 0.15-V : (Invited paper)

Abstract

This paper deals with the performance/temperature tradeoff in an ultra-low voltage, ultra-low power rail-to-rail dynamic voltage comparator made solely by digital standard cells. The digital nature of the comparator makes its design technology portable also enabling its operation at very low supply voltages down to deep sub-threshold. In particular, as sub-threshold circuits have a significant temperature dependence, this paper focuses on the comparator performance under different supply voltages and temperatures. Measurements performed on a 180nm testchip show correct operation under rail-to-rail common-mode input at a supply voltage ranging from 0.6V down to 0.15V. Moreover, the measurements under temperature variations of offset, clock-to-output delay, and power in the range from -25 °C to 75 °C show the respective performance trade-offs.