• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.25-33
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• 2011

This work proposes a skinny-type 10b 50MS/s 0.13um CMOS three-step pipeline ADC for CIS applications. Analog circuits for CIS applications commonly employ a high supply voltage to acquire a sufficiently acceptable dynamic range, while digital circuits use a low supply voltage to minimize power consumption. The proposed ADC converts analog signals in a wide-swing range to low voltage-based digital data using both of the two supply voltages. An op-amp sharing technique employed in residue amplifiers properly controls currents depending on the amplification mode of each pipeline stage, optimizes the performance of op-amps, and improves the power efficiency. In three FLASH ADCs, the number of input stages are reduced in half by the interpolation technique while each comparator consists of only a latch with low kick-back noise based on pull-down switches to separate the input nodes and output nodes. Reference circuits achieve a required settling time only with on-chip low-power drivers and digital correction logic has two kinds of level shifter depending on signal-voltage levels to be processed. The prototype ADC in a 0.13um CMOS to support 0.35um thick-gate-oxide transistors demonstrates the measured DNL and INL within 0.42LSB and 1.19LSB, respectively. The ADC shows a maximum SNDR of 55.4dB and a maximum SFDR of 68.7dB at 50MS/s, respectively. The ADC with an active die area of 0.53$mm^2$ consumes 15.6mW at 50MS/s with an analog voltage of 2.0V and two digital voltages of 2.8V ($=D_H$) and 1.2V ($=D_L$).

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.361-370
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• 2009

The image quality management of bone mineral density is the responsibility and duty of radiologists who carry out examinations. However, inaccurate conclusions due to lack of understanding and ignorance regarding the methodology of image quality management can be a fatal error to the patient. Therefore, objective of this paper is to understand proper image quality management and enumerate methods for examiners and patients, thereby ensuring the reliability of bone mineral density exams. The accuracy and precision of bone mineral density measurements must be at the highest level so that actual biological changes can be detected with even slight changes in bone mineral density. Accuracy and precision should be continuously preserved for image quality of machines. Those factors will contribute to ensure the reliability in bone mineral density exams. Proper equipment management or control methods are set with correcting equipment each morning and after image quality management, a phantom, recommended from the manufacturer, is used for ten to twenty-five measurements in search of a mean value with a permissible range of ${\pm}1.5%$ set as standard. There needs to be daily measurement inspections on the phantom or at least inspections three times a week in order to confirm the existence or nonexistence of changes in values in actual bone mineral density. in addition, bone mineral density measurements were evaluated and recorded following the rules of Shewhart control chart. This type of management has to be conducted for the installation and movement of equipment. For the management methods of inspectors, evaluation of the measurement precision was conducted by testing the reproducibility of the exact same figures without any real biological changes occurring during reinspection. Bone mineral density inspection was applied as the measurement method for patients either taking two measurements thirty times or three measurements fifteen times. An important point when taking measurements was after a measurement whether it was the second or third examination, it was required to descend from the table and then reascend. With a 95% confidence level, the precision error produced from the measurement bone mineral figures came to 2.77 times the minimum of the biological bone mineral density change. The value produced can be stated as the least significant change (LSC) and in the case the value is greater, it can be stated as a section of genuine biological change. From the initial inspection to equipment moving and shifter, management must be carried out and continued in order to achieve the effects. The enforcement of proper quality control of radiologists performing bone mineral density inspections which brings about the durability extensions of equipment and accurate results of calculations will help the assurance of reliable inspections.