Design of a fully integrated array of high-voltage digital-to-analog converters

The first fully integrated array of high voltage (HV) digital-to-analog converters (DACs) was designed in DALSA Semiconductor's 0.8 /spl mu/m CMOS/DMOS HV process technology. The 6-bit 300 V DACs are based on a current-steering, thermometer coded architecture and show a DNL (differential nonlinearity) of 0.16 LSB and an INL (integral nonlinearity) of 0.18 LSB. The current-to-high-voltage conversion is done using a high-compliance current mirror adapted to the HV technology, as traditional output resistor or op-amp solutions are not optimum for the HV process. The design is suited for applications requiring a set of digitally-controlled high-voltage signals.