Design and measurement methodology for a sub-picoampere current digitiser

Abstract

This paper introduces some design and measurement techniques that were used in the design and the testing of an ASIC for ultra-low current sensing. The idea behind this paper is to present the limitations in sub-picoampere current measurements and demonstrate an ASIC that can accurately measure the different sources of leakage currents and the methodology of measuring. Then the leakage current can be subtracted or compensated in order to accurately measure the ultra-low current that is generated from a sensor/detector. The proposed ASIC can measure currents as low as -50 fA, a value well below similar ASIC implementations.