Abstract:We report record low loss silicon-on-sapphire nanowires for applications to mid infrared optics. We achieve propagation losses as low as 0.8dB/cm at =1550nm,  1.1 to 1.4dB/cm at =2080nm and < 2dB/cm at  = 5.18 μm.

We present novel circuits for high-voltage digital level shifting with zero static power consumption. The conventional topology is analysed, showing the strong dependence of speed and dynamic power on circuit area. Novel techniques are shown to circumvent this and speed up the operation of the conventional level-shifter architecture by a factor of 5-10 typically and 30-190 in the worst case. In addition, these circuits use 50% less silicon area and exhibit a factor of 20-80 lower dynamic power consumption typically. Design guidelines and equations are given to make the design robust over process corners, ensuring good production yield. The circuits were fabricated in a 0.35 m high-voltage CMOS process and verified. Due to power and IO speed limitation on the test chip, a special ring oscillator and divider structure was used to measure inherent circuit speed.

In this paper, we describe a new active power rectifying element (an 'ideal' diode) compatible with a standard CMOS process. We use this element to implement two types of on-chip active power rectifier for biomedical applications, such as cochlear implants and retinal prostheses. The rectifiers are simulated in a standard 0 35 µm CMOS process and show a considerable increase in efficiency compared with passive diode based rectifiers. Measurements on fabricated circuits also confirm this.

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