Monolithic digital galvanic isolation buffer fabricated in silicon on sapphire CMOS

A monolithic four-channel digital galvanic isolation buffer in the 0.5 /spl mu/m silicon on sapphire (SOS) CMOS technology is reported. Advantage is taken of the insulating properties of the sapphire substrate to integrate on the same die both the isolation structure and the interface electronics. Each isolation channel has been tested to operate at data rates over 100 Mbit/s. The system can tolerate ground bounces of 1 V//spl mu/s and is tested for 800 V isolation. The system includes an integrated isolation charge pump to power the input circuit and is hence capable of operating from a single 3.3 V power supply.

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