MSc S.H. Shalmany

PhD student
Electronic Instrumentation (EI), Department of Microelectronics

PhD thesis (May 2019): Integrated CMOS Current Sensing Systems for Coulomb Counters
Promotor: Kofi Makinwa

Expertise: Precision analog circuits, low power sensor interface, and data converters

Biography

Saleh Heidary Shalmany received a B.Sc. degree (with excellence) in 2008 from Tehran University, Tehran, Iran, and an M.Sc. degree (with distinction) in 2010 from Delft University of Technology (TUDelft), Delft, The Netherlands, both in electrical engineering. From 2010 to 2011, he was a researcher with TUDelft and NXP Semiconductors, working on the development of a micropower smart pH sensor intended for use in RFID tags. Since October 2011, he has been pursuing his Ph.D. at the Electronic Instrumentation Laboratory of TUDelft and in collaboration with Infineon Technologies. His thesis project focuses on the design and test of integrated precision current sensing system for Coulomb counting applications. From 2008 to 2010, he was the recipient of the Huygens scholarship provided by the Dutch Minister of Education, Culture, and Science.

Publications

  1. A 117-dB In-Band CMRR 98.5-dB SNR Capacitance-to-Digital Converter for Sub-nm Displacement Sensing With an Electrically Floating Target
    Hui Jiang; Samira Amani; Johan G. Vogel; Saleh Heidary Shalmany; Stoyan Nihtianov;
    IEEE Solid-State Circuits Letters,
    Volume 3, pp. 9--12, 2020. DOI: 10.1109/lssc.2019.2952851

  2. A Resistor-Based Temperature Sensor with a 0.13pJ·K2 Resolution FOM
    S. Pan; Y. Luo; S.H. Shalmany; K.A.A. Makinwa;
    IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits,
    Volume 53, Issue 1, pp. 164-173, 1 2018. DOI: 10.1109/JSSC.2017.2746671
    Abstract: ... This paper describes a high-resolution energy-efficient CMOS temperature sensor, intended for the temperature compensation of MEMS/quartz frequency references. The sensor is based on silicided poly-silicon thermistors, which are embedded in a Wien-bridge RC filter. When driven at a fixed frequency, the filter exhibits a temperature-dependent phase shift, which is digitized by an energy-efficient continuous-time phase-domain delta-sigma modulator. Implemented in a 0.18-μm CMOS technology, the sensor draws 87 μA from a 1.8 V supply and achieves a resolution of 410 μKrms in a 5-ms conversion time. This translates into a state-of-the-art resolution figure-of-merit of 0.13 pJ·K². When packaged in ceramic, the sensor achieves an inaccuracy of 0.2 °C (3σ) from -40 °C to 85 °C after a single-point calibration and a correction for systematic nonlinearity. This can be reduced to ±0.03 °C (3σ) after a first-order fit. In addition, the sensor exhibits low 1/f noise and packaging shift.

  3. A Resistor-Based Temperature Sensor with a 0.13pJ·K2 Resolution FOM
    S. Pan; Y. Luo; S.H. Shalmany; K.A.A. Makinwa;
    IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits,
    Volume 53, Issue 1, pp. 164-173, 1 2018. DOI: 10.1109/JSSC.2017.2746671
    Abstract: ... This paper describes a high-resolution energy-efficient CMOS temperature sensor, intended for the temperature compensation of MEMS/quartz frequency references. The sensor is based on silicided poly-silicon thermistors, which are embedded in a Wien-bridge RC filter. When driven at a fixed frequency, the filter exhibits a temperature-dependent phase shift, which is digitized by an energy-efficient continuous-time phase-domain delta-sigma modulator. Implemented in a 0.18-μm CMOS technology, the sensor draws 87 μA from a 1.8 V supply and achieves a resolution of 410 μKrms in a 5-ms conversion time. This translates into a state-of-the-art resolution figure-of-merit of 0.13 pJ·K². When packaged in ceramic, the sensor achieves an inaccuracy of 0.2 °C (3σ) from -40 °C to 85 °C after a single-point calibration and a correction for systematic nonlinearity. This can be reduced to ±0.03 °C (3σ) after a first-order fit. In addition, the sensor exhibits low 1/f noise and packaging shift.

  4. A 117DB in-Band CMRR 98.5DB SNR Capacitance-to-Digital Converter for Sub-NM Displacement Sensing with an Electrically Floating Target
    H. Jiang; S. Amani; J. G. Vogel; S. H. Shalmany; S. Nihtianov;
    In 2018 IEEE Symposium on VLSI Circuits,
    pp. 159-160, June 2018. DOI: 10.1109/VLSIC.2018.8502363
    Keywords: ... analogue-digital conversion;CMOS integrated circuits;displacement measurement;nanosensors;high-performance capacitance-to-digital converter;in-band common-mode rejection ratio;decent electric field interference immunity;displacement sensor probe;CDC;electrically floating target;sub-nm displacement sensing;power 560.0 muW;time 1.0 ms;frequency 1.0 kHz;Sensors;Electrodes;Interference;Energy efficiency;Electric fields;Capacitors;Signal to noise ratio.

  5. A 7μW Offset-and Temperature-Compensated pH-to-Digital Converter
    S. H. Shalmany; M. Merz; A. Fekri; Z. Y. Chang; R. J. O. M. Hoofman; M. A. P. Pertijs;
    Journal of Sensors,
    Volume 2017, Issue 6158689, January 2017. DOI: 10.1155/2017/6158689
    Abstract: ... This paper demonstrates a micropower offset- and temperature-compensated smart pH sensor, intended for use in battery-powered RFID systems that monitor the quality of perishable products. Low operation power is essential in such systems to enable autonomous logging of environmental parameters, such as the pH level, over extended periods of time using only a small, low-cost battery. The pH-sensing element in this work is an ion-sensitive extended-gate field-effect transistor (EGFET), which is incorporated in a low-power sensor front-end. The front-end outputs a pH-dependent voltage, which is then digitized by means of a co-integrated incremental delta-sigma ADC. To compensate for the offset and temperature cross-sensitivity of the EGFET, a compensation scheme using a calibration process and a temperature sensor has been devised. A prototype chip has been realized in a 0.16 μm CMOS process. It occupies 0.35 × 3.9 mm2 of die area and draws only 4 μA from a 1.8 V supply. Two different types of custom packaging have been used for measurement purposes. The pH sensor achieves a linearity of better than ±0.1 for pH values ranging from 4 to 10. The calibration and compensation scheme reduces errors due to temperature cross-sensitivity to less than ±0.1 in the temperature range of 6°C to 25°C.

  6. A BJT-based Temperature-to-Digital Converter with ±60mK (3σ) Inaccuracy from −55°C to +125°C in 0.16μm Standard CMOS
    B. Yousefzadeh; S.H. Shalmany; K. Makinwa;
    IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits,
    Volume 52, Issue 4, pp. 1044-1052, 4 2017. DOI: 10.1109/JSSC.2016.2638464

  7. A ±36A Integrated Current-Sensing System with 0.3% Gain Error and 400μA Offset from −55°C to +85°C
    S.H. Shalmany; D. Draxelmayr; K.A.A. Makinwa;
    IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits,
    Volume 52, Issue 4, pp. 1034-1043, 4 2017. DOI: 10.1109/JSSC.2016.2639535

  8. A BJT-based Temperature-to-Digital Converter with ±60mK (3σ) Inaccuracy from −55°C to +125°C in 0.16μm Standard CMOS
    B. Yousefzadeh; S.H. Shalmany; K. Makinwa;
    IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits,
    Volume 52, Issue 4, pp. 1044-1052, 4 2017. DOI: 10.1109/JSSC.2016.2638464

  9. A ±36A Integrated Current-Sensing System with 0.3% Gain Error and 400μA Offset from −55°C to +85°C
    S.H. Shalmany; D. Draxelmayr; K.A.A. Makinwa;
    IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits,
    Volume 52, Issue 4, pp. 1034-1043, 4 2017. DOI: 10.1109/JSSC.2016.2639535

  10. A Resistor-Based Temperature Sensor with a 0.13pJ·K2 Resolution FOM
    S. Pan; Y. Luo; S.H. Shalmany; K.A.A. Makinwa;
    In IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC),
    February 2017. DOI: 10.1109/jssc.2017.2746671

  11. A resistor-based temperature sensor with a 0.13pJ·K2 resolution FOM
    Pan, Sining; Luo, Yanquan; Shalmany, Saleh Heidary; Makinwa, Kofi A. A.;
    In 2017 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC),
    pp. 158-159, 2017. DOI: 10.1109/ISSCC.2017.7870309

  12. A ±5A Integrated Current-Sensing System with ±0.3% Gain Error and 16μA Offset from −55°C to +85°C
    S.H. Shalmany; D. Draxelmayr; K.A.A. Makinwa;
    IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits,
    Volume 51, Issue 4, pp. 800-808, 2016. DOI: 10.1109/JSSC.2015.2511168

  13. A ± 36A Integrated Current-Sensing System with 0.3% Gain Error and 400μA Offset from −55°C to +85°C
    S.H. Shalmany; D. Draxelmayr; K.A.A. Makinwa;
    In Dig. Techn. Paper IEEE Symposium on VLSI Circuits (VLSI),
    IEEE, pp. 1-2, June 2016. DOI: 10.1109/vlsic.2016.7573493

  14. A BJT-based Temperature-to-Digital Converter with ±60mK (3σ) Inaccuracy from -70°C to 125°C in 160nm CMOS
    B. Yousefzadeh; S.H. Shalmany; K.A.A. Makinwa;
    In Dig. Techn. Paper IEEE Symposium on VLSI Circuits (VLSI),
    IEEE, pp. 1-2, June 2016. DOI: 10.1109/vlsic.2016.7573531

  15. A Fully Integrated ±5A Current-Sensing System with ±0.25% Gain Error and 12uA Offset from -40°C to +85°C
    S. Heidary Shalmany; G. Beer; D. Draxelmayr; K.A.A. Makinwa;
    In M Motomura (Ed.), Proceedings of the Symposium on VLSI Circuits,
    IEEE, pp. C298-C299, 2015.

  16. A 0.05mm² 1V capacitance-to-digital converter based on period modulation
    Y. He; Z. Y. Chang; L. Pakula; S. H. Shalmany; M. Pertijs;
    In Dig. Techn. Papers IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC),
    IEEE, pp. 486‒487, February 2015. DOI: 10.1109/ISSCC.2015.7063138
    Abstract: ... This paper presents a digitally assisted period modulation (PM)-based capacitance-to-digital converter (CDC) that is >9× smaller than prior CDCs with >10b resolution, and improves the energy efficiency by >10× compared to previous PM-based CDCs. This is achieved with the help of a piece-wise charge transfer technique that eliminates the need for a large on-chip integration capacitor, a dual-integration-capacitor scheme that reduces the front-end noise contribution, a sampled-biasing technique that reduces the noise of the integration current, and a current-efficient inverter-based design.

  17. Metal Shunt Resistor
    D. Draxelmayr; S. Shalmany; K. Makinwa;
    Patent, 20170074912, 9 2015.

  18. A ±5A battery current sensor with ±0.04% gain error from -55°C to +125°C
    S. Heidary Shalmany; K.A.A. Makinwa; D. Draxelmayr;
    In {De Venuto et al}, D (Ed.), Proceedings 2013 5th IEEE International Workshop on Advances in Sensors and Interfaces,
    IEEE, pp. 117-120, 2013.

  19. A micropower battery current sensor with ±0.03% (3σ) Inaccuracy from -40 to +85°C
    S. Heidary Shalmany; D. Draxelmayr; K.A.A. Makinwa;
    In A Chandrakasan; B. Nauta (Ed.), Digest of Technical Papers - 2013 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC 2013),
    IEEE, pp. 386-387, 2013. Harvest Session 22.

  20. A 7μW pH-to-digital converter for quality monitoring of perishable products
    S. H. Shalmany; M. Merz; A. Fekri; Z. Chang; R. Hoofman; M. A. P. Pertijs;
    In Proc. International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems (TRANSDUCERS),
    IEEE, pp. 1747‒1750, June 2013. DOI: 10.1109/Transducers.2013.6627125
    Abstract: ... This paper describes an energy-efficient smart pH sensor intended for use in RFID tags to monitor the quality of perishable products. The sensor is based on an Extended Gate Field-Effect Transistor (EGFET). In a measurement time of 20 ms, it achieves a pH resolution of 0.05 and an accuracy of 0.1 in a pH range from 3 to 10, while consuming only 7 μW. This level of power consumption, which is orders of magnitude lower than the prior art, is achieved by incorporating the EGFET in an ultra-low-power frontend based on a differential source-follower, and digitizing the resulting pH-dependent voltage using an incremental first-order ΔΣ ADC.

  21. An energy-efficient 15-bit capacitive-sensor interface based on period modulation
    Z. Tan; S. H. Shalmany; G. C. M. Meijer; M. A. P. Pertijs;
    IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits,
    Volume 47, Issue 7, pp. 1703‒1711, July 2012. DOI: 10.1109/jssc.2012.2191212
    Abstract: ... This paper presents an energy-efficient capacitive-sensor interface with a period-modulated output signal. This interface converts the sensor capacitance to a time interval, which can be easily digitized by a simple digital counter. It is based on a relaxation oscillator consisting of an integrator and a comparator. To enable the use of a current-efficient telescopic OTA in the integrator, negative feedback loops are applied to limit the integrator's output swing. To obtain an accurate ratiometric output signal, auto-calibration is applied. This eliminates errors due to comparator delay, thus enabling the use of a low-power comparator. Based on an analysis of the stability of the negative feedback loops, it is shown how the current consumption of the interface can be traded for its ability to handle parasitic capacitors. A prototype fabricated in 0.35 μm standard CMOS technology can handle parasitic capacitors up to five times larger than the sensor capacitance. Experimental results show that it achieves 15-bit resolution and 12-bit linearity within a measurement time of 7.6 ms for sensor capacitances up to 6.8 pF, while consuming only 64 μA from a 3.3 V power supply. Compared to prior work with similar performance, this represents a significant improvement in energy efficiency.

  22. A flexible low power high resolution integrated interface for capacitive sensors
    A. Heidary; S. Shalmany; G.C.M. Meijer;
    In s.n (Ed.), Proceedings of IEEE ISIE 2010,
    IEEE ISIE, pp. 3347-3350, 2010.

BibTeX support

Last updated: 13 Jul 2020

Saleh Heidary Shalmany

Alumnus
  • Left in 2017