A fully-differential switched-capacitor dual-slope capacitance-to-digital converter (CDC) for a capacitive pressure sensor

This article focuses on a proposed Switched-Capacitor Dual-Slope based CDC. Special attention is paid to the measurement setup using a real pressure sensor. Performance scaling potential as well as dead zones are pointed out and discussed. In depth knowledge of the physical sensor behavior is key to design an optimal readout circuit. While this is true for high-end applications, low-performance IoT (Internet of Things) sensors aim at moderate resolution with very low power consumption. This article also provides insights into basic MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical-System) physics. Based on that, an ambient air pressure sensor model for SPICE (Simulation-Program-with-Integrated-Circuit-Emphasis) circuit simulators is presented. The converter concept was proven on silicon in a 0.13 µ m process using both a real pressure sensor and an on-chip dummy MEMS bridge. A 3.2-ms measurement results in 13-bit resolution while consuming 35 µ A from a 1.5-V supply occupying 0.148 mm2. A state-of-the-art comparison identifies potential room for improvements towards hybrid solutions, which is proposed in subsequent publications already.