Technology

Swift™ Data Acquisition and Signal-processing Technology

Swift™ data converters include proprietary IP that offer best-in-class figure of merit specifications at extremely wide bandwidths, making applications such as software defined radio and LiDAR power efficient and provide significantly greater flexibility to the system designer. This advanced data converter architecture provides fundamental benefits to system engineers building the next generation of advanced products.

Swift™ Analog to Digital Converter Technology

Swift™ ADC Highlights

  • RF sampling time-interleaved
  • Excellent linearity & low noise
  • Power scales with sample rate
  • 6-14 bit, 5Msps-100+Gsps

Target Applications

Technology

  • Available in 28nm through advanced FinFET nodes
ADC Product Selection

Technology Overview

High-speed analog to digital converters (ADC) are a critical bridge between advanced digital signal processing operations and the sensing elements used in advanced communications, 2D & 3D imaging, and advanced computing systems. Omni Design excels at achieving state of the art figures of merit for conversion efficiency. Further Omni Design’s Swift™ data converters have small footprints and are available in a variety of process nodes from 28nm to advanced FinFET.

All calibration is built in and runs in the background to compensate for both static and dynamic conditions.

All ADCs have integrated buffers to simplify interfacing and ensure compatibility with the overall system performance.

Optional digital down converters (DDC) are available to increase system compatibility.

The ADCs are available as individual IP blocks or matched IQ pairs and can be efficiently arrayed for a large number of input channels.

Contact us for your specific requirements for utilizing Omni Design’s data converter technology and supporting AFEs for your data acquisition and signal-processing needs.

Time-Interleaving Artifact Compensation

For high-performance operation, time-interleaving artifacts must be minimized including: offset mismatch, gain mismatch, timing skew, and bandwidth mismatch. Omni Design employs proprietary, patented techniques, such as analog and digital correction, foreground and background correction, randomization and redundancy, resulting in minimizing notches in the output spectrum.

Use Cases

Data acquisition and signal-processing solutions that require high-performance are very sensitive to spurious frequency components and distortion in spectral characteristics. Omni Design minimizes these effects, delivering higher system capacity and lower power.

Swift™ Digital to Analog Converter Technology

Technology Overview

High-speed digital to analog converters are critical in both communications systems, where it is part of a complementary transmit and receive path, and in active (RADAR & LiDAR) imaging systems, where a stimulus signal is used to create a reflection to be measured. In both cases, a high degree of linearity and phase control is needed over a wide bandwidth.

Omni Design utilizes a patented architecture that provides high linearity over wide bandwidths that make it ideally suited to these applications.

Further Omni Design’s Swift™ data converters have small footprints and are available in a variety of process nodes from 28nm to advanced FinFET.

All calibration is built in and runs in the background to compensate for both static and dynamic conditions.

Optional digital-up converters (DUC) are available to increase system compatibility.

The DACs are available as individual IP blocks or matched IQ pairs, and can be efficiently arrayed for large number of input channels.

Isolated Current Outputs

Generating clean high-frequency signals presents many challenges, resulting in spectral contamination that degrades the quality of a digitally synthesized signal. Internal circuit operations can feed through, contaminating the outputs and feeding the output back into the circuit creating undesired modulated products. The unique output structure of Omni Design’s DACs isolates the output signal and internal circuit elements, drastically reducing these effects and allowing generation of broad-band signals with improved SFDR & PSRR.

Use Cases

Clean signals are critical in data transmission and signal-processing solutions such as communications and automotive ADAS imaging systems. Advanced communications depend on dense channel configurations and complex modulation schemes and are sensitive to unwanted spectral artifacts that can degrade channel bandwidth. Omni Design’s Swift™ DACs ensure that maximum performance can be achieved.

Swift™ DAC Highlights

  • Differential current output
  • Wide output bandwidth
  • Excellent linearity and low noise
  • Embedded direct digital synthesis
  • 6-16 bit, 5Msps-100+Gsps

Target Applications

Technology

  • Available in 28nm through advanced FinFET nodes
DAC Product Selection

OmniTRUST™ Technology

Highlights

  • Distributed PVT sensing solution
  • ±1C Temperature accuracy
  • Single-ended and differential voltage sense
  • Compact footprint, Low power
  • Latch-up detection
  • High speed glitch detection
  • Programmable sensor HUB

Target Applications

Technology

  • Available in 28nm through advanced FinFET nodes
PVT Product Selection

Ensuring the Longevity of Your Chips: The OmniTRUST™ SoC Management Strategy

To be competitive today, many SOCs push the limits of operation to achieve maximum performance. Gone are the days when chip functionality was merely a concern during production and shipment. With SoC and multi-die designs, monitoring operation and adjusting operating conditions are critical to ensuring timely intervention before problems arise. Achieving this requires real-time access to information about on-chip operating conditions, often for independent parts of a single chip, and then using this information to control the internal chip elements and operating conditions to avoid failures and ensure long term reliability.

Thermal Management and Power Optimization: The Key to SoC Success

Managing thermal complexities and optimizing power consumption stand as critical priorities for advanced SOCs. These problems exist on a single die but become even more critical with multiple dies in a single package, particularly as the system ages. Addressing these challenges requires both an understanding of the SOC design risk factors and the strategic inclusion of real-time monitoring devices that provide the hard data needed to optimize performance.

PVT Monitors

Process detectors, voltage monitors, and temperature sensors (PVTs) serve as the fundamental building blocks for monitoring key metrics throughout the silicon lifecycle, from initial design to in-field operation. Instrumental in on-chip voltage and power management, PVT monitors enable dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS), and can initiate shutdowns when temperatures veer toward critical levels.  PVT monitors have experienced widespread adoption, employed in nearly all designs at 16nm and below, and in most high-performance applications including data centers, communication networks, and automotive. As a preventive measure, PVT monitors avert unwanted outcomes ahead of time.

Latch-up and Glitch Detection

Temperature and supply variations are not the only challenge facing advanced SOCs today. Many high-performance systems can be exposed to environmental effects and operating conditions that can trigger latch-up conditions in the silicon. It is critical to detect and address these situations in real-time to avoid catastrophic failures.

A glitch detector with low-latency is a monitor that can be critical to ensuring reliable operation. Latch-up and glitch issues may arise from natural conditions such as noise, radiation, and power supply fluctuations, or by malicious attacks such as fault injection or tampering. Regardless of the origins, reliable operation requires first recognizing that a condition exists, and then taking corrective action.

The Sensor HUB: The Heart of the System

With distributed sensors, the overall management of the sensors are critical to successful application of the OmniTRUST™ SoC management strategy. From simplifying scan sequences, to setting trip points and alerts, the sensor hub can simplify the overall integration. Basic filters are included and are programmable to minimize false alarms. The sensor hub simplifies customer integration and communications when interfacing to a range of sensors within the SoC. The configurable monitoring system is compatible with digital design flows and has both standard and test modes to support production test environments.

Other Technology Solutions

Linear Regulators and References

A selection of LDOs, references, and voltage and current regulators with excellent stability.

Linear Regulators and References Selection

Swift™ Analog Front Ends

A selection of ADCs, DACs, references, voltage and current regulators and signal conditioning solutions optimized for key applications.

Swift™ Analog Front Ends Selection

Specialty IP

Voltage buffers, programmable gain amplifiers, LVDS I/O cells.

Specialty IP Selection

Standard Data Acquisition and Signal-processing Deliverables

Features

  • Application-specific subsystem configuration.
  • Digital interfacing for ease of integration and reliable sensor communications.

High Speed Mixed-Signal Expertise and Support

  • High-speed data acquisition and signal-processing solutions have been developed by our expert engineering team since 2015.
  • Easy data acquisition and signal-processing solution integration with extensive support documentation and application notes.
  • Production test results interpretation support.

Integration Guidance and Placement

  • Expertise provided in monitor placement and configuration based on end-use application.
  • Optional floorplan layout review provided to assist with monitor and sensor placement.

Deliverables

  • A comprehensive set of front-end and back-views are delivered to ensure ease of integration.

Documentation

  • Datasheets, application notes, and user guides

Front-End (FE) Views

  • LEF
  • Verilog model
  • Liberty timing files

Back-End (BE) Views

  • GDS collateral (including tag and layer summary)
  • DFT
  • DRC report (including antenna report)
  • LVS report (including ERC report)
  • Netlist (for LVS purposes only)