Programmable Reference Generator for On-Chip Measurement

In this work, circuits for on-chip measurement and periodic waveform capture are designed. The aim is to analyze disturbances in mixed-signal chips such as simultaneous switching noise and the transfer of substrate noise. A programmable reference generator that replaces the standard digital-to-analog converter is proposed. It is based on a resistor string that is connected in a circular structure. A feature is that the reference outputs to the different comparators in the measurement channels are distributed over the nodes of the resistor string. Comparing with using a complete digital-to-analog converter, the use of a buffer is avoided. Hence, there is a potential reduction in the parasitic capacitance and power consumption as well as an increase in speed. We present results from a test chip demonstrating that simultaneous switching noise can be measured with the presented approach