Design and prototyping of a CMOS standard contactless current measurement macrocell for integrated microsystems in power control applications

The increasing complexity of integrated circuits has made microsystems integration feasible in the power control case, and system level considerations must now be taken into account. Considering this approach, this paper first presents an integrated microsystems design approach for power control systems. A top-down design methodology, detailed in previous published papers, demonstrates the large interest in developing intellectual properties or macrocells to reduce design cycles. Then, focus is applied to the design and prototyping of a contactless current measurement macrocell in standard CMOS technology. An improved sensitivity Hall plate is discussed and a final contactless current macrocell differential architecture, including two improved Hall plates and embedded electronics, is described. Experimental results on a 0.6 /spl mu/m CMOS standard technology prototype demonstrate the functionality of the silicon-proven high sensitivity current measurement Macrocell, without additional postprocessing cost.