Enhancing Circuit Operation using Analog Floating Gates

Ujas Patel1, Sai Govinda Rao Nimmalapudi1, Harvey Stiegler1, Andrew Marshall1, Keith Jarreau2
1University of Texas at Dallas, 2Texas Instruments Incorporated


Abstract

Consideration of random device mismatch is an important factor in the design of high performance analog circuits. Parameter variation and mismatch of CMOS devices can impact and limit the performance of analog circuits. Floating gate transistors have long been used for digital non-volatile memory applications (such as flash memory), and a variant to this technology allows for more discrete programming, using an “analog floating gate”. Analog floating gate devices programmed with precision voltages can address mismatch observed in analog circuits. This property is exploited here to compensate for input mismatch and device parameter variations in an Operational Transconductance Amplifier.