In the paper, a CMOS pixel has been proposed for imaging arrays with massively parallel image acquisition and simultaneous compensation of dark signal nonuniformity (DSNU) as well as photoresponse nonuniformity (PRNU). In our solution the pixel contains all necessary functional blocks: a photosensor and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with built-in correlated double sampling (CDS) integrated together. It is implemented in standard 0.18 μm CMOS technology. The size of the pixel with 9-bit resolution is 21 μm × 21 μm. Measurements of the 128 × 128 pixel array confirm functionality of the proposed solution. CDS reduces dark FPN from 12 LSB (3%) to 0.8 LSB (0.2%) and light FPN from 14 LSB (3.7%) to 7 LSB (1.8%). Further reduction of the light FPN (to ~ 1 LSB) was achieved by compensating PRNU using massively parallel innovative digital multiplication which features good resolution (1/511), does not disturb CDS executed at the same time, and can be implemented within a small pixel area.

The paper presents an operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) with low transconductance (0.62–6.28 nS) and low power consumption (28–270 nW) for the low-frequency analog front-ends in biomedical sensor interfaces. The proposed OTA implements an innovative, highly linear voltage-to-current converter based on the channel-length-modulation effect, which can be rail-to-rail driven. At 1-V supply and 1-V_pp asymmetrical input driving, the linearity error in the current-voltage characteristics is 1.5%, while the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the output current is 0.8%. For a symmetrical 2-V_pp input drive, the linearity error is 0.3%, whereas THD reaches 0.2%. The linearity is robust for the mismatch and the process-voltage-and-temperature (PVT) variations. The temperature drift of transconductance is 10 pS/°C. The prototype circuit was fabricated in 180-nanometer CMOS technology.

In the paper, a digital clock stopping technique for gain and offset correction in time-mode analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) has been proposed. The technique is dedicated to imagers with massively parallel image acquisition working in the time mode where compensation of dark signal non-uniformity (DSNU) as well as photo-response non-uniformity (PRNU) is critical. Fixed pattern noise (FPN) reduction has been experimentally validated using 128-pixel CMOS imager. The reduction of the PRNU to about 0.5 LSB has been achieved. Linearity improvement technique has also been proposed, which allows for integral nonlinearity (INL) reduction to about 0.5 LSB. Measurements confirm the proposed approach.

Contribution: While research indicates usefulness of remote laboratories in teaching of digital hardware systems, their main application is to complement stationary classes. This work presents a low-cost, scalable architecture that supports rapid transformation of teaching to a model based solely on remote access mechanisms. Background: Adaptation of online laboratory solutions from the literature to en-masse teaching of digital circuits is time-consuming and expensive. Solutions that permit cheap and rapid conversion of courses to remote environments seem to be of high value, especially when social distancing renders direct teaching impossible. Intended Outcomes: Demonstration of a flexible and cheap architecture that permits rapid transformation of digital circuits laboratories to the remote environment. Validation of system's performance and usefulness on a large group of students. Application Design: Remote digital circuits laboratories from the literature are designed to complement stationary classes. For successful teaching during pandemic, a low-cost, flexible, and efficient solution to online laboratory based on commonly available technologies is required. Findings: The proposed remote laboratory architecture enables rapid conversion of on-site teaching to online model, while supporting in-situ upgrades and functionality enhancements. The presented solution proved to be a convenient substitute for conventional laboratories during pandemic.

The paper presents pixel receivers for massively parallel transmission of video signal between capacitive coupled integrated circuits (ICs). The receivers meet the key requirements for massively parallel transmission, namely low-power consumption below a single μW, small area of less than 205 μm ² , high sensitivity better than 160 mV, and good immunity to crosstalk. The receivers were implemented and measured in a 3-D IC (two face-to-face stacked chips fabricated in CMOS 180 nm process). The maximum throughput of 20 Mbps of single receiver has been achieved using a return-to-zero (RZ) code. The static and dynamic power consumption of the single receiver are below 0.2 μW and 0.3 μW/MHz, respectively. The design approach for cost-effective inter-chip massively parallel transmission of photosensor signals with pulse position modulation (PPM) has been also performed. With this approach and the developed receivers it is possible to transfer between chips 9-10 bit images at a speed of over 1k fps.