A 120dB Programmable-Range On-Chip Pulse Generator for Characterizing Ferroelectric Devices

TL;DR

This paper introduces a highly programmable on-chip pulse generator capable of producing precise pulses for characterizing ferroelectric memory devices, enhancing measurement accuracy and eliminating traditional setup bottlenecks.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel 120 dB programmable-range pulse generator with wide pulse width tuning, fabricated in 180nm CMOS, for improved ferroelectric device characterization.

Findings

Pulse widths from 10ns to 10ms with ±2.5% accuracy

Elimination of RLC bottleneck in device testing

Successful experimental validation in CMOS technology

Abstract

Novel non-volatile memory devices based on ferroelectric thin films represent a promising emerging technology that is ideally suited for neuromorphic applications. The physical switching mechanism in such films is the nucleation and growth of ferroelectric domains. Since this has a strong dependence on both pulse width and voltage amplitude, it is important to use precise pulsing schemes for a thorough characterization of their behaviour. In this work, we present an on-chip 120 dB programmable range pulse generator, that can generate pulse widths ranging from 10ns to 10ms $\pm$2.5% which eliminates the RLC bottleneck in the device characterisation setup. We describe the pulse generator design and show how the pulse width can be tuned with high accuracy, using Digital to Analog converters. Finally, we present experimental results measured from the circuit, fabricated using a standard 180nm CMOS technology.