A novel power-efficient analog buffer at liquid helium temperature is proposed. The proposed circuit is based on an input stage consisting of two complementary differential pairs to achieve rail-to-rail level tracking. Results of simulation based on SMIC 0.18um CMOS technology show the high driving capability and low quiescent power consumption at cryogenic temperature. Operating at single 1.4 V supply, the circuit could achieve a slew-rate of +51 V/us and -93 V/us for 10 pF capacitive load. The static power of the circuit is only 79uW.
This work presents a self-heating study of a 40-nm bulk-CMOS technology in the ambient temperature range from 300 K down to 4.2 K. A custom test chip was designed and fabricated for measuring both the temperature rise in the MOSFET channel and in the surrounding silicon substrate, using the gate resistance and silicon diodes as sensors, respectively. Since self-heating depends on factors such as device geometry and power density, the test structure characterized in this work was specifically designed to resemble actual devices used in cryogenic qubit control ICs. Severe self-heating was observed at deep-cryogenic ambient temperatures, resulting in a channel temperature rise exceeding 50 K and having an impact detectable at a distance of up to 30 um from the device. By extracting the thermal resistance from measured data at different temperatures, it was shown that a simple model is able to accurately predict channel temperatures over the full ambient temperature range from deep-cryogenic to room temperature. The results and modeling presented in this work contribute towards the full self-heating-aware IC design-flow required for the reliable design and operation of cryo-CMOS circuits.
Cryogenic characterization and modeling of 0.18um CMOS technology (1.8V and 5V) are presented in this paper. Several PMOS and NMOS transistors with different width to length ratios(W/L) were extensively characterized under various bias conditions at temperatures ranging from 300K down to 4.2K. We extracted their fundamental physical parameters and developed a compact model based on BSIM3V3. In addition to their I-V characteristics, threshold voltage(Vth) values, on/off current ratio, transconductance of the MOS transistors, and resistors on chips are measured at temperatures from 300K down to 4.2K. A simple subcircuit was built to correct the kink effect. This work provides experimental evidence for implementation of cryogenic CMOS technology, a valid industrial tape-out process model, and romotes the application of integrated circuits in cryogenic environments, including quantum measurement and control systems for quantum chips at very low temperatures.
Conventional CMOS technology operated at cryogenic conditions has recently attracted interest for its uses in low-noise electronics. We present one of the first characterizations of 180 nm CMOS technology at a temperature of 100 mK, extracting I/V characteristics, threshold voltages, and transconductance values, as well as observing their temperature dependence. We find that CMOS devices remain fully operational down to these temperatures, although we observe hysteresis effects in some devices. The measurements described in this paper can be used to inform the future design of CMOS devices intended to be operated in this deep cryogenic regime.
The most promising quantum algorithms require quantum processors hosting millions of quantum bits when targeting practical applications. A major challenge towards large-scale quantum computation is the interconnect complexity. In current solid-state qubit implementations, a major bottleneck appears between the quantum chip in a dilution refrigerator and the room temperature electronics. Advanced lithography supports the fabrication of both CMOS control electronics and qubits in silicon. When the electronics are designed to operate at cryogenic temperatures, it can ultimately be integrated with the qubits on the same die or package, overcoming the wiring bottleneck. Here we report a cryogenic CMOS control chip operating at 3K, which outputs tailored microwave bursts to drive silicon quantum bits cooled to 20mK. We first benchmark the control chip and find electrical performance consistent with 99.99% fidelity qubit operations, assuming ideal qubits. Next, we use it to coherently control actual silicon spin qubits and find that the cryogenic control chip achieves the same fidelity as commercial instruments. Furthermore, we highlight the extensive capabilities of the control chip by programming a number of benchmarking protocols as well as the Deutsch-Josza algorithm on a two-qubit quantum processor. These results open up the path towards a fully integrated, scalable silicon-based quantum computer.
Cryogenic CMOS technology (cryo-CMOS) offers a scalable solution for quantum device interface fabrication. Several previous works have studied the characterization of CMOS technology at cryogenic temperatures for various process nodes. However, CMOS characteristics for various width/length (W/L) ratios and under different bias conditions still require further research. In addition, no previous works have produced an integrated modeling process for cryo-CMOS technology. In this paper, the results of characterization of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) 0.18 {mu}m CMOS technology at cryogenic temperatures (varying from 300 K to 4.2 K) are presented. Measurements of thin- and thick-oxide NMOS and PMOS devices with different W/L ratios are taken under four distinct bias conditions and at different temperatures. The temperature-dependent parameters are revised and an advanced CMOS model is proposed based on BSIM3v3 at the liquid nitrogen temperature (LNT). The proposed model ensures precision at the LNT and is valid for use in an industrial tape-out process. The proposed method presents a calibration approach for BSIM3v3 that is available at different temperature intervals.