1-1hit |
Yoshimi ASADA Yasuhiro NAKASHA Norio HIDAKA Takashi MIMURA Masayuki ABE
We developed a 32-bit pseudorandom number generator (RNG) operating at liquid nitrogen temperature based on HEMT ICs. It generates maximum-length-sequence codes whose primitive polynomial is X47+X42+1 with the period of 247-1 clock cycle. We designed and fabricated three kinds of cryogenic HEMT IC for this system: A 1306-gate controller IC, a 3319-gate pseudorandom number generator (RNG) IC, and a buffer IC containing a 4-kb RAM and 514 gates. We used 0.6-µm gate-length Se-doped GaAlAs/GaAs HEMTs. Interconnects were Al for the first layer and Au/Pt/Ti for the second layer with a SiON insulator between them. The HEMT ICs have direct-coupled FET logic (DCFL) gates internally and emitter-coupled logic (ECL) compatible input-putput buffers. The unloaded basic delay of the DCFL gate was 17 ps/gate with a power consumption of 1.4 mW/gate at liquid nitrogen temperature. We used an automatic cryogenic wafer probe we developed and an IC tester for function tests, and used a high-speed performance measuring system we also developed with a bandwidth of more than 20 GHz for high-speed performance tests. Power dissipations were 3.8 W for the controller IC, 4.5 W for the RNG IC, and 3.0 W for the buffer IC. The RNG IC, the largest of the three HEMT ICs, had a maximum operating clock rate of 1.6 GHz at liquid nitrogen temperature. We submerged a specially developed zirconium ceramic printed circuit board carrying the HEMT ICs in a closed-cycle cooling system. The HEMT ICs were flip-chip-packaged on the board with bumps containing indium as the principal component. We confirmed that the RNG system operates at liquid nitrogen temperature and measured a minimum system clock period of 1.49 ns.