The Dickson Charge Pump as a Signal Amplifier

Abstract

In this paper it is proposed and explored the use of the Dickson charge pump (CP) to amplify time-variant signals.The study has been carried out through a theoretical analysis that provides an in-depth comprehension of the behavioral equations and the main design metrics commonly used to evaluate the performance of amplifiers. Starting from the analytical models, we show the conditions upon which the CP can be modeled with an equivalent small signal circuit and can amplify a signal. Then, assuming the CP working in the widest operative conditions, small-signal, large-signal and noise analysis are carried out. The results have been validated by extensive simulations and measurements on a proof of concept using a 130 nm CMOS technology.

Self-cascode and self-biased Dickson charge pump for fast locking wide lock range PLL with reduced phase noise

“…In SC transistor, the output resistance is increased, the transistor size is decreased, and the self-biased structure is improved by using the threshold voltage reduction approach. As a result, a wide variety of charge pump types [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] are examined, with the Dickson charge pump and selfcascode transistors emerging as a unique suggestion for the fast-locking PLL (figure 1).…”

A Charge Loss Aware Advanced Model of Dickson Voltage Multipliers

“…New perspectives are also opening about these converters affirming them as a very versatile block. Some examples are reported in the recent works where the DVM is proposed to amplify signals [31], [32] or as a ramp generator [33]. In these applications a biasing current is mandatory to set the quiescent point of the DVM or to change the slope of the generated ramp.…”