The Aging Influence Minimization Method for Operational Amplifiers With Thin Oxide Transistors

Abstract

Nowadays CMOS technology feature size is being scaled aggressively. Supply voltage is not proportionally scaled, gate dielectric thickness is reduced and as a result, the devices are subjected to stronger electric fields, thereby causing stress on transistor. Stress causes aging degradation, which can lead to dramatic consequences on mobile devices, aircraft, military systems, or medical devices. A method is proposed for designing two types of operational amplifiers with usage of only thin oxide devices, which are protected from stress conditions, namely from aging degradation. The proposed methods can also be implemented on other types of operational amplifiers.