Improved implementation of the silicon cochlea

IEEE Journal of Solid-State CircuitsPublished 1 May 1992

Lloyd Watts, Douglas Kerns, Richard F. Lyon, Carver Mead

DOI10.1109/4.133156

Source URL

Citations162

SJR quartileQ1

SJR score3.36

SNIP3.12

TL;DR

The original 'Analog electronic cochlea' design is discussed in light of issues, and circuit and layout techniques are described which significantly improve its performance, robustness, and efficiency.

Abstract

The original “analog electronic cochlea” of Lyon\nand Mead (1988) used a cascade of second-order filter sections in subthreshold analog VLSI to implement a low-power, real-time model of early auditory processing. Experience with many silicon-cochlea chips has allowed the identification of a number of important design issues, namely dynamic range, stability,\ndevice mismatch, and compactness. In this paper, the original design is discussed in light of these issues, and circuit and layout techniques are described which significantly improve its performance, robustness, and efficiency. Measurements from test chips verify the improved performance.

Keywords

Engineering

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