A Low-Noise CMOS Transimpedance-Limiting Amplifier for Dynamic Range Extension
This paper presents a low-noise CMOS transimpedance-limiting amplifier (CTLA) for application in LiDAR sensor systems. The proposed CTLA employs a dual-feedback architecture that combines the passive and active feedback mechanisms simultaneously, thereby enabling automatic limiting operations for in...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/2/153 |
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| author | Somi Park Sunkyung Lee Bobin Seo Dukyoo Jung Seonhan Choi Sung-Min Park |
| author_facet | Somi Park Sunkyung Lee Bobin Seo Dukyoo Jung Seonhan Choi Sung-Min Park |
| author_sort | Somi Park |
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| description | This paper presents a low-noise CMOS transimpedance-limiting amplifier (CTLA) for application in LiDAR sensor systems. The proposed CTLA employs a dual-feedback architecture that combines the passive and active feedback mechanisms simultaneously, thereby enabling automatic limiting operations for input photocurrents exceeding 100 µA<sub>pp</sub> (up to 1.06 mA<sub>pp</sub>) without introducing signal distortions. This design methodology can eliminate the need for a power-hungry multi-stage limiting amplifier, hence significantly improving the power efficiency of LiDAR sensors. The practical implementation for this purpose is to insert a simple NMOS switch between the on-chip avalanche photodiode (APD) and the active feedback amplifier, which then can provide automatic on/off switching in response to variations of the input currents. In particular, the feedback resistor in the active feedback path should be carefully optimized to guarantee the circuit’s robustness and stability. To validate its practicality, the proposed CTLA chips were fabricated in a 180 nm CMOS process, demonstrating a transimpedance gain of 88.8 dBΩ, a −3 dB bandwidth of 629 MHz, a noise current spectral density of 2.31 pA/√Hz, an input dynamic range of 56.6 dB, and a power dissipation of 23.6 mW from a single 1.8 V supply. The chip core was realized within a compact area of 180 × 50 µm<sup>2</sup>. The proposed CTLA shows a potential solution that is well-suited for power-efficient LiDAR sensor systems in real-world scenarios. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7f5f82e850564c4dade6baa072cac6dc |
| institution | DOAJ |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj-art-7f5f82e850564c4dade6baa072cac6dc2025-08-20T03:12:11ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2025-01-0116215310.3390/mi16020153A Low-Noise CMOS Transimpedance-Limiting Amplifier for Dynamic Range ExtensionSomi Park0Sunkyung Lee1Bobin Seo2Dukyoo Jung3Seonhan Choi4Sung-Min Park5Division of Electronic and Semiconductor Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of KoreaDivision of Electronic and Semiconductor Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of KoreaDivision of Electronic and Semiconductor Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of KoreaCollege of Nursing, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of KoreaDivision of Electronic and Semiconductor Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of KoreaDivision of Electronic and Semiconductor Engineering, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of KoreaThis paper presents a low-noise CMOS transimpedance-limiting amplifier (CTLA) for application in LiDAR sensor systems. The proposed CTLA employs a dual-feedback architecture that combines the passive and active feedback mechanisms simultaneously, thereby enabling automatic limiting operations for input photocurrents exceeding 100 µA<sub>pp</sub> (up to 1.06 mA<sub>pp</sub>) without introducing signal distortions. This design methodology can eliminate the need for a power-hungry multi-stage limiting amplifier, hence significantly improving the power efficiency of LiDAR sensors. The practical implementation for this purpose is to insert a simple NMOS switch between the on-chip avalanche photodiode (APD) and the active feedback amplifier, which then can provide automatic on/off switching in response to variations of the input currents. In particular, the feedback resistor in the active feedback path should be carefully optimized to guarantee the circuit’s robustness and stability. To validate its practicality, the proposed CTLA chips were fabricated in a 180 nm CMOS process, demonstrating a transimpedance gain of 88.8 dBΩ, a −3 dB bandwidth of 629 MHz, a noise current spectral density of 2.31 pA/√Hz, an input dynamic range of 56.6 dB, and a power dissipation of 23.6 mW from a single 1.8 V supply. The chip core was realized within a compact area of 180 × 50 µm<sup>2</sup>. The proposed CTLA shows a potential solution that is well-suited for power-efficient LiDAR sensor systems in real-world scenarios.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/2/153active feedbackAPDCMOSLiDARlimitingtransimpedance |
| spellingShingle | Somi Park Sunkyung Lee Bobin Seo Dukyoo Jung Seonhan Choi Sung-Min Park A Low-Noise CMOS Transimpedance-Limiting Amplifier for Dynamic Range Extension Micromachines active feedback APD CMOS LiDAR limiting transimpedance |
| title | A Low-Noise CMOS Transimpedance-Limiting Amplifier for Dynamic Range Extension |
| title_full | A Low-Noise CMOS Transimpedance-Limiting Amplifier for Dynamic Range Extension |
| title_fullStr | A Low-Noise CMOS Transimpedance-Limiting Amplifier for Dynamic Range Extension |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Low-Noise CMOS Transimpedance-Limiting Amplifier for Dynamic Range Extension |
| title_short | A Low-Noise CMOS Transimpedance-Limiting Amplifier for Dynamic Range Extension |
| title_sort | low noise cmos transimpedance limiting amplifier for dynamic range extension |
| topic | active feedback APD CMOS LiDAR limiting transimpedance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/16/2/153 |
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