Reservoir computing (RC) significantly reduces the requirement on hardware and training resources, making it suitable for edge-computing applications. This work proposes using voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO)-based spiking neurons for RC to leverage the intrinsic randomness and variability of the neuron circuit for low-power operations. We describe the underlying circuit design and propose a network architecture based on the spiking neuron for RC. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed RC network using VCO-based spiking neurons through benchmark tasks and electrocardiogram (ECG) classification.

The multi-stage charge pump in a zero-crossing-based amplifier (ZCBA) presents complex trade-offs. In this brief, we propose a generalized behavioral model for the ZCBA to quickly predict the optimal charge pump design for a ZCBA based on circuit parameters, without conducting time-consuming transistor-level simulations iteratively. This model enables us to numerically analyze in MATLAB the effects of the circuit parameters, which include the current scaling factor, number of current sources, current value, and input amplitude, on the settling performance including overshoot and settling time. The analysis results conclude that there exists an optimal number of stages that yields the fastest settling time for a given total current and load capacitance. Additionally, the settling time exhibits an asymptotic behavior with respect to the total current. To validate this behavioral model, we designed and simulated a transistor-level ZCBA in a 28-nm CMOS process, demonstrating a good agreement between the model analysis and simulation result.

A new course is presented that was designed and offered for the first time in 2010 as a special subject at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This course is a graduate-level advanced circuit design subject that covers the design of the circuit blocks that make up a modern communications system and is intended for graduate students who have analog circuit design experience. It uses a new integrated laboratory assignment which studies the detailed design of all critical modules and their impact on overall communications system performance.