A Low-Power Block-Matching Cell for Video Compression

This paper describes theimplementation of a block-matching modulewith digital I/O. Algorithmic analysisdemonstrates that the precisionrequirements can be met by a compactcircuit that processes the signal in thecharge domain. The required conversionbetween voltages and charges is achieved byMOS capacitors. As a result, it can befabricated by any inexpensive digital CMOStechnology. A test chip has beenimplemented in a standard CMOS 1.6 μmtechnology and the measured energyconsumption is 1.2 nJ per block match usingan \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} $$8 \times 8$$ \end{document} pixel matrix. Simulations ofthe same cell in 0.35 μm and 0.25 μmCMOS technology are presented, showing thescalability of the approach.