A Cryogenic CMOS Low Dropout Voltage Regulator Design for Space Applications

In this study, a low drop-out (LDO) voltage regulator which can operate at cryogenic temperatures is designed using cryogenic transistor models of 0.18μm UMC CMOS process. The designed LDO regulator can provide a 100mA load current while generating four different digitally configurable output voltage levels (0.9V, 1.2V, 1.5V, 1.8V). The designed LDO has 92mV, 80mV, 66mV and 77mV drop-out voltages for the output voltage levels 0.9V, 1.2V, 1.5V, and 1.8 V, respectively. Output voltage level varies by ~10mV from 77K to room temperature of 300K. The post-layout simulation results of the overall LDO are presented.