Abstract
In this paper, a new capacitance-to-frequency converter using a charge-based capacitance measurement (CBCM) circuit is proposed for on-chip capacitance measurement and calibration. As compared to conventional capacitor measurement circuits, the proposed technique is able to represent the capacitance in term of the frequency so that the variations can be easily handled in measurement or calibration circuits. Due to its simplicity, the proposed technique is able to achieve high accuracy and flexibility with small silicon area. Designed using standard 180 nm CMOS technology, the core circuit occupies less than 50 μm × 50 μm while consuming less than 60 μW at an input frequency of 10 MHz. Post-layout simulation shows that the circuit exhibits less than 3 % measurement errors for fF to pF capacitances while the functionality has been significantly improved.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chang YW, Chang HW, Lu CY, King YC, Ting W, Ku YH (2006) Interconnect capacitance characterization using charge-injection-induced error-free (CIEF) charge-based capacitance measurement (CBCM). IEEE Trans Semicond Manuf 19(1):50–56
Peng YX, Qian TR, Lin XW, Zheng S (2015) A New On-chip Signal Generator for Charge-Based Capacitance Measurement Circuit. J Electron Test 31(31):329–333
Sylvester D, Chen JC, Hu C (1998) Investigation of interconnect capacitance characterization using charge-based capacitance measurement (CBCM) technique and three-dimensional simulation. IEEE J Solid State Circuits 33(3):449–453
Welter L, Dreux P, Aziza H, Portal J-M (2015) Embedded high-precision capacitor measurement system based on ring-oscillator. Electron Lett 6(51):521–523
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 61401395, and the Scientific Research Fund of Zhejiang Provincial Education Department under Grant Y201533913.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible Editor: V. D. Agrawal
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhu, D., Mo, J., Xu, S. et al. A New Capacitance-to-Frequency Converter for On-Chip Capacitance Measurement and Calibration in CMOS Technology. J Electron Test 32, 393–397 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10836-016-5584-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10836-016-5584-2