On-Chip Detector for Single-Event Noise Sensing with Voltage Scaling Function

In this paper we present an on-chip noise detection circuit. In contrast with the previous works concerning on-chip noise measurement, this detector does not assume specific noise properties such as periodicity. The detector is able to continuously capture 10 nano-second time window from the measured signal with a resolution equal to 100 pico-second. The requested bandwidth of the output channel can be adjusted freely, therefore, the user can avoid the effect of on-chip parasites and the need to off-chip sophisticated monitoring tools. The detector is equipped with an on-chip programmable voltage divider, which enables measuring the high and low swing fluctuations accurately. Therefore, the detector is suitable to measure the non-periodic/single event noise for the purpose of reliability evaluation and performance modeling. The detector is implemented in a test chip using Hitachi 0.18 μm technology. key words: on-chip detector, non-periodic noise, high-swing noise