Development and Characterization of a 3.2 Gb/s Serial Link Transmitter for CMOS Image Sensors in Subatomic Physics Experiments

TL;DR

This paper reports the development of a high-speed, radiation-tolerant serial link transmitter for CMOS image sensors used in subatomic physics, featuring low error rates and effective data transmission over low-mass cables.

Contribution

It introduces a 3.2 Gb/s serial link transmitter with Reed-Solomon coding and pre-emphasis, fabricated in 0.18 μm CMOS, optimized for harsh physics experiment environments.

Findings

Achieved 3.2 Gb/s data rate with low error rate in tests.

Maintained normal operation after 4.5 Mrad TID irradiation.

Power consumption measured at 135 mW.

Abstract

This paper presents development and characterization of a 3.2 Gb/s serial link transmitter for CMOS image sensors. The transmitter incorporates Reed-Solomon code to achieve low error rate in the harsh environment of subatomic physics experiments. Pre-emphasis is implemented in the transmitter, allowing data transmission over low-mass cables. It is fabricated in a 0.18 $\mu m$ CMOS image process as a standalone chip to characterize its performance, with the core area of 1.8 $mm^2$. A frame data rate of $3\cdot10^{-12}$ with a confidence level of 94.5$\%$ was measured through an FPGA based receiver. The measured nominal power consumption is 135 mW. The transmitter functions normally after irradiated with 4.5 Mrad TID.