Description: The Phase II-E program objective is to port the work done by Alphacore during the Phase II program to a different but similar fabrication process. WnP is investing so the capabilities of Alphacore’s ADC developed for NASA are available as an intellectual property (IP) block for integration into an analog-to-digital data converter (ADC) available for fabrication using the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) 28nm 28HPC CMOS process. The Phase II-E thus comprises porting, fabricating, packaging, and testing the new ADC. The commercialization potential of the TSMC 28nm ADC IP core is excellent, especially since Alphacore’s novel SAR architecture enables significantly lower power dissipation that the competition. The 12-bit, 5GS/s ADC developed for the Phase II program consumes just 50mW, which positions it as the highest ranked ADC on the Walden and Schreier Charts. We estimate that the Phase II-E 10-12-bit, 10 GS/s version will consume 110mW of power using two 12-bit 5GS/s ADC cores. Power is a critical parameter for modern communication receivers that may have up to 128 ADCs on a single chip. The TSMC 28nm bulk CMOS process is inherently much more tolerant to total ionizing dose (TID) type of radiation than the GF 22nm FDSOI process we have been using. The difference proven by numerous tests is roughly three orders of magnitude, i.e., 200krad(Si) vs. 200Mrad(Si). Note that Alphacore’s existing NASA-sponsored ADC is an interleaved version of eight 700MS/s 10-bit SAR ADC channels to achieve 5+ GS/s sampling rate. In the Phase IIE program we will use a 2-Core version (to target for 10+GS/s sampling rates) in which the SAR ADCs have been upgraded to 10-12-bit resolution. The addition of two bits makes the sampling rate slower since now the SAR ADC has to complete more sub-conversions. We have simulated critical circuitry of the design in the TSMC 28nm process and have concluded that 10-12 bits and 10GS/s can be achieved.

Benefits: Alphacore’s rad-hard ADC will enable technologies that are lightweight, highly efficient and can deliver advanced capabilities for next-generation missions, all without the need for heavy protective housing. It will support NASA missions that must collect, process and transmit large amounts of data, by enabling improved performance while maintaining the power consumption and environmental constraints. NASA missions that could benefit include Europa Lander, VERITAS, Saturn moon missions, the Moon-to-Mars program and the Origins Space Telescope.

Alphacore’s ADC specifications meet the needs of the larger telecommunications and automotive markets, and will boost the commercialization potential of this technology. Alphacore’s target markets are 5G communications, phased array receivers and LiDAR receivers. We will offer both radiation-hardened and non-radiation-hardened versions of this ADC, based on customer and application requirements.