Sense Amplifier Performance in 180nm Technology: A Comparative Analysis of Voltage-Mode and Current-Mode

Sense amplifiers are essential for detecting the information stored in memory bits, playing a critical role in both read and write operations in SRAMs. The speed and power consumption of the memory core are highly influenced by the functioning of these sensing amplifiers. To get the best performance, it is crucial to examine various kinds of sensory amplifiers. This paper presents a design and quantitative experimental study of Voltage Mode Sense Amplifiers (VMSA) and Current Mode Sense Amplifiers (CMSA) for SRAMs. The analysis covers the operational mechanisms, advantages, and disadvantages of various sense amplifiers, comparing their performance based on power, current, and energy simulations. It was found that VMSAs consume approximately half the power of CMSAs. The performance evaluation for both types of sense amplifiers was conducted using the LT SPICE tool, focusing on 180nm CMOS technology with a transient time of 55ns.