CMOS integrated selector with optical receiver and photovoltaic supply

Fabricated silicon wafers are subjected to a parametric test for identifying the ones qualified for the subsequent sort test. Also known as "scribe test", this test is performed by measuring a few basic MOSFET parameters such as threshold voltage, saturation drive current and/or channel leakage current on monitor devices placed inside scribe lines or dedicated dies. Electrical access to these devices is established by mechanical means involving stepping, micrometric alignment and contacting, which necessitate not only an expensive stepper/aligner but also a customized probe card. To overcome this expensive problem, a wireless channel-leakage monitor is proposed and got funded by TUBITAK. In this thesis, a sub-circuit for this channel-leakage monitor is designed. The integrated selector supplied by photovoltaic cells enables the communication between the silicon and the antenna and selects either PMOS or NMOS version of the monitor to be used. To this end, a compact transimpedance amplifier followed by a peak detector and a switch is designed. The circuit has no external power supply since it harvests its energy from photovoltaic cells. By enabling/disabling the flickering light source with a certain illuminance and frequency besides the ambient room light, the switch creates a 1-bit signal for the following channel-leakage monitor. With the funding from TUBITAK and using UMC 0.18 µm design kit, 2 test chips have been taped out and measured. This thesis covers all the design procedures, simulation and measurement results of this integrated selector.