A new CMOS class AB serial link transmitter with a low supply voltage sensitivity

This paper presents a new class AB transmitter with a low supply voltage/ground bouncing sensitivity for 10 Gb/s serial links. The low sensitivity of the output current to supply voltage fluctuation and ground bouncing is achieved by operating the system in a rail-to-rail swing mode. High data rates are obtained by multiplexing at low-impedance nodes and inductive shunt peaking with active inductors. The fully differential configuration and bipolar signaling of the transmitter minimize the effect of both common-mode disturbances and electro-magnetic interferences exerted from channels to neighboring devices. The class AB operation of the transmitter minimizes its static power consumption. The proposed transmitter is implemented in a 1.2 V 0.13μm CMOS technology and analyzed using Spectre from Cadence Design Systems with BSIM3v3 device models. Both pre and post-layout simulation results demonstrate that the transmitter conveys a sufficiently large differential output current that is insensitive to supply voltage fluctuation and ground bouncing at 10 Gb/s. Fei Yuan received the B.Eng. degree in electrical engineering from Shandong University, Jinan, China in 1985, the M.A.Sc. degree in chemical engineering, and Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada in 1995 and 1999, respectively. During 1985–1989, he was a Lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Changzhou Institute of Technology, Jiangsu, China. In 1989 he was a Visiting Professor at Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Lambton College of Applied Arts and Technology, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. He was with Paton Controls Limited, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada as a Controls Engineer during 1989–1994. Since 1999 he has been with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he is currently an Associate Professor and the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies and Faculty Affairs. He is the co-author of the book Computer Methods for Analysis of Mixed-Mode Switching Circuits (Springer-Verlag, 2004, with Ajoy Opal). Dr. Yuan received the Ryerson Research Chair award from Ryerson University in Jan. 2005, the Research Excellence Award from the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science of Ryerson University in 2004, the post-graduate scholarship from Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada during 1997–1998, and the Teaching Excellence Award from Changzhou Institute of Technology in 1988. Dr. Yuan is a senior member of IEEE and a registered professional engineer in the province of Ontario, Canada. Minghai Li received the B.Eng. (96) and M.A.Sc (06) degrees from North University of China and Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, respectively, both in Electrical and Computer Engineering. During 1996–2001, he was with Motorola Semiconductor (China) as a MCU product engineer. He was involved with MCU new product design, simulation, and test program development. He was a research assistant and a M.A.Sc student with the Microsystems Research Laboratory in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Ryerson University. He is now with Micron Technology Inc., Boise, Idaho, USA as a design engineer. His research interest is in the design of CMOS mixed-signal circuits for high-speed data transmission, including multiplexer, driver, pre-emphasis, and VCOs.