CMOS Circuit Analysis with Luminescence Measurements and Simulations

Abstract

Hot-carriers in MOSFETs are responsible for timedependent near-infrared emission, synchronous with the switching transitions in CMOS circuits. Fast electrical waveforms propagating through integrated circuits can be effectively measured by means of high sensitivity solid-state photodetectors with sharp time-resolution. Thanks to a time jitter of less than 30ps, we obtained an equivalent analog bandwidth of about 30GHz. We developed a photoemission model in SPICE in order to simulate the luminescence waveforms. By comparing measured and simulated optical waveforms, in-depth insight of circuit behavior is reported, leading to a powerful identification of defects and failures.

Optimizing the stoichiometry of ultrathin NbTiN films for high-performance superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors

“…The invention [1] and active development of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) have offered in recent years a unique tool to study and harvest the physics of single photons, from fundamental quantum optics experiments to impactful applications. Characterization of single photon emitters such as quantum dots [2] or color centers [3], loophole-free Bell test measurements [4], laser ranging [5,6], quantum-secure communication [7,8], CMOS testing [9,10] or biological imaging [11] all take advantage of the unique combination of sensitivity, broad wavelength range, negligible dark count rate, and excellent time resolution of SNSPDs. The demonstration of SNSPDs based on amorphous WSi achieving 93% system detection efficiency [12] opened the way for the fabrication of high-yield, high efficiency detectors.…”

Power Side-Channel Attack Analysis: A Review of 20 Years of Study for the Layman

“…A theory section is offered which presents a layperson's introduction, followed by a more comprehensive treatment of the advancement. We close the introduction by reiterating that side-channels can take many forms, and we explicitly call out references for further study in power consumption [7,8], electromagnetic emanations [9][10][11], thermal signatures [12][13][14], optical [15,16], timing [17,18], and acoustics [19].…”