29 May X-FAB XH018 – IMS CHIPS, Germany
MultiSense: Ultra-Thin Reconfigurable Voltage and Capacitance Readout ASIC
Institut für Mikroelektronik Stuttgart – IMS CHIPS, Stuttgart, Germany
Contacts
Mourad Elsobky, Zili Yu, Thomas Deuble, Joachim N. Burghartz
elsobky@ims-chips.de
Technology
XH018 0.18μm HV NVM CMOS E-FLASH
Die size
1.52mm × 1.52mm
Description
This prototype serves as a reconfigurable voltage and capacitance readout ASIC. It contains different analog and mixed signal blocks namely amplifiers, voltage reference, ADC and biasing circuitry in addition to the digital controller and SPI communication blocks. The chip design is flexible enough to allow for the characterization of the individual blocks yet still function as a whole system for early demonstrations.
This design flexibility and rapid prototyping (6 months, 1 engineer) was enabled by the support from EUROPRACTICE and the maturity of the XFAB technology library.
One application for this ASIC is the integration in a Systemin-in-Foil (SiF), where multiple electronic components are combined into a flexible substrate.
Publications
Elsobky, M.; Mahsereci, Y.; Yu, Z.; Richter, H.; Burghartz, J. N.; Keck, J.; Klauk, H.; Zschieschang, U.
Ultra-Thin Smart Electronic Skin Based on Hybrid System-in-Foil Concept Combining Three Flexible Electronics Technologies, Electron. Lett. 2018, 54, 338-340, DOI: 10.1049/el.2017.4682
Alavi, G.; Sailer, H.; Albrecht, B.; Harendt, C.; Burghartz, J. N.;
Adaptive Layout Technique for Microhybrid Integration of Chip-Film Patch, IEEE Transactions on Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology 2018, 8, 802-810, DOI: 10.1109/TCPMT.2018.2818762
Elsobky, M.; Albrecht, B.; Richter, H.; Burghartz, J. N.; Ganter, P.; Szendrei, K.; Lotsch, B. V.
Ultra-Thin Relative Humidity Sensors for Hybrid System-in-Foil Applications. in Proc. of IEEE Sensors 2017, DOI: 10.1109/ICSENS.2017.8234298
Why EUROPRACTICE?
This tapeout was the first time for IMS CHIPS to participate in the mini@sic MPW run organized by EUROPRACTICE. For a design idea that requires a proof-of-concept hardware, mini@sic run was our best candidate. We were also interested to access the advanced technology nodes. It is remarkable how EUROPRACTICE makes them available. In addition, EUROPRACTICE representatives have shown a consistent support and professionalism starting from the early design kit installation until the tapeout and chip delivery.
