Expandable MVL Inverter Compatible with Standard CMOS Process and Its Application to MVL Hysteresis Comparator

Abstract

In this paper, a novel voltage-mode MVL inverter is proposed. The proposed inverter consists of two circuit blocks: MVL threshold comparator and Multi-level generator, which can be implemented by standard CMOS technologies. Next, the inverted MVL hysteresis comparator is also proposed as the application of the proposed MVL inverter. The proposed MVL inverter and inverted MVL hysteresis comparator are expandable, capable to use more numbers of levels in MVL circuits. The performances of all proposed MVL circuits were evaluated through HSPICE with the set of 0.18μm CMOS process parameters. From the simulation results, we could confirm that all proposed MVL circuits work well as theory.

MVL‐PUFs: multiple‐valued logic physical unclonable functions

“…For instance, MVL circuits have matured to the point where quaternary-valued logic have been parts of commercial very-large-scale integration chips since the early 1980s [14]. Moreover, a variety of currentmode and voltage-mode MVL circuits, including arithmetic circuits, memories, threshold detectors, latches, encoders/decoders, and analog-to-digital converters, have been proposed in academic literature [15][16][17][18][19]. Under a low supply voltage, most current-mode MVL circuits have better noise performance compared with their voltage-mode counterparts.…”

“…We show that by extracting device mismatch in either currentmode or voltage-mode MVL comparators, the proposed PUF circuits can generate unique and reliable chip identifiers. Moreover, a variety of currentmode and voltage-mode MVL circuits, including arithmetic circuits, memories, threshold detectors, latches, encoders/decoders, and analog-to-digital converters, have been proposed in academic literature [15][16][17][18][19]. To reduce power and further enhance reliability, the PUF circuits are biased in the weak-inversion region.…”

“…For examples, ternary and quaternary-valued logics are the most widely used MVL circuits, which are based on radix three and four, respectively. Moreover, a variety of currentmode and voltage-mode MVL circuits, including arithmetic circuits, memories, threshold detectors, latches, encoders/decoders, and analog-to-digital converters, have been proposed in academic literature [15][16][17][18][19]. For instance, MVL circuits have matured to the point where quaternary-valued logic have been parts of commercial very-large-scale integration chips since the early 1980s [14].…”