Mixed Signal Circuit Design

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Friedel Gerfers

 

 

Office EN 4
Building E-N
Room EN 423
Consultation hours by appointment Please contact us via e-mail.

Short Vita

Since 2019: Einstein-Professor of Mixed Signal Circuit Design, Technischen Universität Berlin, Germany
Since 2015: Full Professor, Director of the Chair "Mixed Signal Circuit Design (MSC)", Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
2014 - 2015: Design Manager, High-Speed Data Converters, Apple Inc., USA
2012 - 2014: Director of Engineering, Integrated Device Technology (IDT), San Jose, USA
2005: Dr.-Ing. Degree from the Institute for Microsystems Technology (IMTEK), Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Germany

Research Topics

The field of application spans from high-speed GS/s integrated circuits (IC) for wireless infrastructure applications (such as LTE base-stations), over energy-efficient DSP-based transceivers for optical applications (such as Silicon Photonics) to ultra-low power readout systems for optical and biomedical sensor as well as the design of ultra-robust automotive integrated circuits. Energy-efficient (RF-) transceiver architectures, energy harvesting approaches for mobile/hand-held devices and the large field of Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies are additional key research topics.

  •  Data conversion techniques with an emphasis on robustness, energy efficiency as well as silicon area / cost reduction
  •  Low-power wideband wireline- & wireless transceiver, low-noise sensor readout
  •  Mixed-signal error- and mismatch estimation algorithms, (self)-adaptive calibration techniques and highly scalable DSP-based design techniques
  •  Semiconductor design flow, design automation as well as CAD tool development down to 14nm FinFet technologies.

Publications

2023

Hecht, U.; Ordouei, H.; Ledentsov, N.; Scholz, P.; Kurth, P.; Titkov, I.E.; Ledentsov, N.N.; Gerfers, F.
A 0.4 pJ/bit NRZ Voltage Mode VCSEL Driver for up to 224 Gbit/s SWDM Links
Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 2023
Publisher: Optical Society of America (OSA)
2023
Runge, M.; Edler, J.; Kaiser, T.; Misselwitz, K.; Gerfers, F.
An 18-MS/s 76-dB SNDR Continuous-Time ? ? Modulator Incorporating an Input Voltage Tracking GmC Loop Filter
IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, 58 (8) :2288-2299
2023
Wittenhagen, E.; Kurth, P.; Lotfi, N.; Hecht, U.; Edler, J.; Scholz, P.; Gerfers, F.
A 12 GS/s RF-Sampler Employing Inductive Peaking in 22 nm FD-SOI CMOS
18th European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (EuMIC)
Publisher: IEEE
2023
Hecht, U.; Ordouei, H.; Ledentsov Jr., N.; Scholz, P.; Kurth, P.; Ledentsov, N.; Gerfers, F.
True Voltage-Mode NRZ VCSEL Transmitter enabling 60 Gbit/s at 0.37 pJ/bit in 22 nm FDSOI
IEEE 49th European Solid State Circuits Conference (ESSCIRC)
Publisher: IEEE
2023
Lotfi, N.; Scholz, P.; Gerfers, F.
The Fastest CMOS Single-Channel 5-bit Flash ADC Operating at 18.5 GS/s in 22 nm FD-SOI
2023 18th European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (EuMIC)
Publisher: IEEE
2023
Hecht, U.; Ledentsov Jr., N.; Ordouei, H.; Kurth, P.; Scholz, P.; Ledentsov, N.; Gerfers, F.
Digital Non-Linear Transmitter Equalization for PAM-N-Based VCSEL Links Enabling Robust Data Transmission of 100 Gbit/s and Beyond
Photonics, 10 (3) :280
2023
OpenAccess
Ordouei, H.; Alija, C.; Kurth, P.; Gerfers, F.
A Digital Pre-Distortion Technique Canceling Code-and Voltage-Dependent Output Impedance Errors in Current-Steering DACs
2023 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS), Page 1-5
Publisher: IEEE
2023
Kurth, P.; Hecht, U.; Buballa, F.; Linnhoff, S.; Ordouei, H.; Gerfers, F.
A Charge Pump for Sub-Sampling Phase-Locked Loops with Virtual Reference Frequency Doubling
2023 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS), Page 1-5
Publisher: IEEE
2023
Wittenhagen, E.; Artz, P.; Kurth, P.; Linnhoff, S.; Buballa, F.; Scholz, P.; Gerfers, F.
A Bulk-Controlled 12 GS/s Track and Hold Amplifier with >58 dBc SFDR and >53.5 dB SNDR in 22 nm FD-SOI CMOS
18th European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (EuMIC)
Publisher: IEEE
2023
Inac, M.; Peczek, A.; Gerfers, F.; Malignaggi, A.
A 128 Gb/s 7-Tap FIR Filter in 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS for High-Speed Channel Equalization
IEEE Microwave and Wireless Technology Letters , 33 (2) :169-172
2023
Wittenhagen, E.; Kurth, P.; Hecht, U.; Buballa, F.; Linnhoff, S.; Lotfi, N.; Gerfers, F.
A 12 GS/s RF-Sampler Employing Inductive Peaking with >57 dB |THD| and >49.3 dB SNDR in 22 nm FD-SOI CMOS
21th IEEE Interregional NEWCAS Conference (NEWCAS)
Publisher: IEEE
2023

2022

Artz, P. J.; Scholz, P.; Mausolf, T.; Gerfers, F.
A Fully-Differential 146.6-157.4 GHz LNA Utilizing Back Gate Control to Adjust Gain in 22 nm FDSOI
IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS)
Publisher: IEEE
2022
Edler, J.; Artz, P.J.; Gerfers, F.
Workshop WM02 talk: mm-Wave Advanced-Sampling Transceiver Enabling 6G Data Transmission with 100 Gbit/s per mobile User
IEEE European Microwave Week (EuMW) 2021
2022
Artz, P.J.; Edler, J.; Wittenhagen, E.; Lotfi, N.; Gerfers, F.
Workshop WM02 talk: High-Speed ADC (>20 GS/s) with High Resolution (≥10 bit) for Low-IF Receiver in 22nm FDSOI
IEEE European Microwave Week (EuMW) 2021
2022
Kaiser, T.; Gerfers, F.
Pasithea-1: An Energy-Efficient Self-contained CGRA with RISC-Like ISA
Architecture of Computing Systems (ARCS), Page 33-47
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
2022
Ordouei, H.; Waldmann, S.; Gerfers, F.
In-Vehicle Network Standards - Overview and Implementation Examples
IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS)
Publisher: IEEE
2022
Wittenhagen, E.; Kurth, P.; Kaiser, T.; Gerfers, F.
A TI 12 GS/s Sampled Beam-Forming Receiver for a 2x2 Antenna-Array with 69 dBc SFDR
29th International Conference on Electronics, Circuits and Systems (ICECS)
Publisher: IEEE
2022
Hecht, U.; Wittenhagen, E.; Cirit, H.; Behtash, S.; Venkataram, S.; Gerfers, F.
PAM-4/6/8 Performance and Power Analysis for Next Generation 224Gbit/s Links
IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS)
Publisher: IEEE
2022
Kurth, P.; Nickel, P.; Hecht, U.; Gerfers, F.
A Divider-less General PLL Lock Assist and Automatic Frequency Calibration System for Millimeter-Wave Sub-Sampling Phase-Locked Loops
29th IEEE International Conference on Electronics, Circuits and Systems (ICECS), Page 1-4
Publisher: IEEE
2022
Buballa, F.; Linnhoff, S.; Hoffmann, T.; Wentzel, A.; Heinrich, W.; Gerfers, F.
A 4 GBaud 5 Vpp Pre-Driver for GaN based Digital PAs in 22 nm FDSOI using LDMOS
16th European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (EuMIC)
Publisher: IEEE
2022
Runge, M.; Edler, J.; Schmock, D.; Kaiser, T.; Gerfers, F.
A 30-MHz BW 74.6-dB SNDR 92-dB SFDR CT ΣΔ Modulator with Active Body-Bias DAC Calibration in 22nm FDSOI CMOS
Custom Integrated Circuits Conference (CICC)
Publisher: IEEE
2022
Artz, P.J.; Gerfers, F.
6G D-Band Receiver Model with High Spectral Efficiency Enabling Global System Optimization
IEEE International Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems (MWSCAS)
Publisher: IEEE
2022
Wittenhagen, E.; Artz, P.; Scholz, P.; Gerfers, F.
A 3 GS/s RF Track-and-Hold Amplifier Utilizing Body-Biasing with >55 dBFS SNR and >67 dBc SFDR up to 3 GHz in 22 nm CMOS SOI
IEEE Open Journal for Circuits and Systems
2022
OpenAccess
Wittenhagen, E.; Hecht, U.; Cirit, H.; Behtash, S.; Venkataram, S.; Gerfers, F.
A 224 Gbit/s Transceiver Front-end Design for Next Generation Data Centers
29th International Conference on Electronics, Circuits and Systems (ICECS)
Publisher: IEEE
2022
Kurth, P.; Misselwitz, K.; Scholz, P.; Hecht, U.; Gerfers, F.
A 0.007 mm2 48 - 53 GHz Low-Noise LC-Oscillator using an Ultra-Compact High-Q Resonator
14th German Microwave Conference (GeMiC), Page 104-107
Publisher: IEEE
2022