An application specific integrated circuit for dual-axis motion control

An application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for dual-axis robotic motion control was designed and developed with computer-aided design (CAD) tools. The ASIC provides an all-digital dual-axis pulse-width modulated (PWM) amplifier interface. The ASIC layout was produced on a SUN workstation using VLSI design tools. A standard cell library of basic digital functions and an automatic placement and autorouting program were used in the course of the design. The design was implemented in 2- mu m scalable CMOS technology using MOSIS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Implementation Service). The device was fabricated in both 40-pin ceramic DIP (dual inline packaging) and 44-pin plastic-leaded chip carrier packages. The dual-axis PWM controller chip was designed as part of a complete dual-arm, force-reflecting, master-slave telerobotic manipulator system and provides a 24-kHz PWM drive signal and control for a two-axis, 500-W amplifier module. The device interfaces to a microprocessor bus and requires only 100 mW of power at 12 MHz. >