Donald T. Comer received the B.S., M.S., and Ph. D degrees from San Jose State University, the University of California (Berkeley), and the University of Santa Clara (1967), respectively, all in electrical engineering.   He has worked for IBM Corp., Precision Monolithics Inc., Storage Technology Corp., and Analog Devices, Inc. in his career.  In addition he has served as a consultant to such firms as Fairchild, Siemens, Zilog, and AMI Semiconductor.  He holds 20 patents and has published over 100 articles dealing with solid state and integrated circuits.  He has published five textbooks in the field of large-signal and integrated circuits.  He formerly held the Quentin Berg Chair at Penn State Harrisburg and the Endowed Chair of electrical engineering at Brigham Young University.

AMSC Lab

PUBLICATIONS – REFEREED JOURNALS AND CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

1. X. Lai, D. T. Comer, “Architecture of a dual-mode cascaded-loop frequency synthesizer,” Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing, vol. 65, Issue 3, Dec. 2010, pp. 429-435.
2. D. T. Comer, D. J. Comer, and L. Li, “A high-gain complementary metal-oxide semiconductor op amp using composite cascode stages,” International Journal of Electronics, Vol. 97, No. 6, March 2010, pp. 637-646.
3. D. J. Comer, D. T. Comer, and Rishi Pratap Singh, "A high-gain low-power CMOS op amp using composite cascode stages, Proceedings of the 53rd Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems, Seattle, WA, 2010.
4. D.J. Comer, D.T. Comer, “Bipolar Junction Transistor Amplifiers,” Fundamentals of Circuits and Filters, 2009.
5. D.T. Comer, “A Precision Architecture for high-speed amplifier applications” Proceedings of the International Mid-West Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2009.
6. K.D. Layton, D.T. Comer, D.J. Comer, “A pipelined ADC architecture for low voltage CMOS applications” Proceedings of the International Mid-West Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2009.
7. D.T. Comer, D. Korth, “Synthesis of Low-Spur GHz Sinusoids using a 4-bit D/A converter” Proceedings of the International Frequency Control Symposium, 2008.
8. K.D. Layton, D.T. Comer, D.J. Comer, “Bulk-Driven Gain Enhanced Fully-Differential Amplifier for Vt+2Vdsat Operation,” Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2008.
9. T.M. Hollis, D. J. Comer, and D. T. Comer, “Mitigating ISI through self-calibrating continuous-time equalization,” IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems, Part I: Regular Papers, Vol. 53, No. 10, Oct. 2006, pp. 2234-2245.
10. Y. Cheng, C. Petrie, B. Nordick, D. J. Comer, and D. T. Comer, “Multibit delta-sigma modulator with two-step quantization and segmented DAC,” IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems, Part II: Express Briefs, Vol. 53, No. 9, Sept. 2006, pp. 848-852.
11. Lisha Li, S. Raghavendran, D.T. Comer, “CMOS current mode logic gates for high-speed applications,” 12th NASA VLSI Design Symposium, Oct. 2005.
12. T.M. Hollis, D. J. Comer, and D. T. Comer, “Optimization of MOS amplifier performance through channel length and inversion level selection,” IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems, Part II: Express Briefs, Vol. 52, No. 9, Sept. 2005, pp. 545-549.
13. T.M. Hollis, D. J. Comer, D. T. Comer, Reduction of Duty Cycle Distortion Through Band-Pass Filtering, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE Conference on PhD Research in Microelectronics and Electronics, Vol. 2, pp. 263-266, Aug. 2005.
14. Y. Dai, D.T. Comer, and D.J. Comer, and C.S. Petrie, “Threshold voltage based CMOS voltage reference,” The Journal of Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing. Vol. 44, July 2005, pp. 25-36.
15. Y. Dai, D.T. Comer, D.J. Comer, and D. Korth, “Simplified modeling of a multipole amplifier with all-pass networks,” The Journal of Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing, Vol. 43, April 2005, pp. 39-47.
16. Y. Dai, D.T. Comer, and D.J. Comer, “A GaAs HBT bandgap voltage reference,” International Journal of Electronics, Vol. 92, No. 2, Feb. 2005, pp. 87-97.
17. D.J. Comer and D.T. Comer, “Operation of analog MOS circuits in the weak or moderate inversion region,” IEEE Transactions on Education, Vol. 47, No. 4, Nov. 2004, pp. 430-435.
18. D.J. Comer, D.T. Comer, and C.S. Petrie, “The utility of the active cascode in analog CMOS design,” The International Journal of Electronics, Vol. 91, No. 8, August 2004, pp. 491-502.
19. Y. Dai, D.T. Comer, D.J. Comer, and C.S. Petrie, “Threshold voltage based CMOS voltage reference,” IEEE Proceedings-Devices, Circuits, Devices, and Systems, Vol. 151, No. 1, Feb. 2004, pp. 58-62.
20. D.J. Comer and D.T. Comer, “Using the weak inversion region to optimize input stage design of CMOS op amps,” IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems, Part 2, Vol. 51, No. 1, Jan. 2004, pp. 8-14.
21. S.A. Cook, K. D. Layton, W.J. Marble, D.T. Comer, D.J. Comer and C.S. Petrie, “A programmable floating-gate voltage reference in 0.5 micron CMOS,” IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, Orlando, Florida, 2004.
22. D.J. Comer, D.T. Comer, A. Martin, J. Jaussi, “A high-frequency CMOS current summing circuit,” Journal of Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing, Vol. 36, Sept. 2003, pp. 215-220.
23. D.J. Comer and D.T. Comer, “Teaching MOS Integrated Circuit Amplifier Design to Undergraduates,” IEEE Transactions on Education,  Vol. 44, No. 3, Aug. 2001, pp. 232-238.
24. W.J. Marble and D.T. Comer, “Analysis of the Dynamic Behavior of a Charge Transfer Amplifier,” IEEE Transactions on Education, Part I, Vol. 48, No. 7, July 2001, pp. 793-804.
25. D.T. Comer and D.J. Comer, “A CMOS voltage to current converter for low voltage applications,” Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing, Vol. 26, Feb. 2001, p. 117-124.
26. Skye Wolfer, D.T. Comer, and D.J. Comer, “A high-speed precision voltage buffer in a sub-micron CMOS process,” International Journal of Electronics, Vol. 87, No. 12, Dec. 2000, pp. 1443-1452.
27. W.J. Marble and D.T. Comer, “Ultra low power A/D converters using an enhanced differential charge transfer amplifier,” Proceedings of the European Circuits and Systems Conference, April 2000.
28. D.T. Comer and D.J. Comer, “A new amplifier circuit with both practical and tutorial value,” IEEE Transactions on Education, Vol. 43, No.1, Feb. 2000, pp. 25-29.
29. D.J. Comer, D.T. Comer, B.K. Casper, and D.S. Korth, “A low-frequency, continuous-time notch filter using Gm – C Circuits,” International Journal of Electronics. Vol. 86, No. 11, Nov. 1999, pp. 1349-1357.
30. B.K. Casper, D.J. Comer and D.T. Comer, “An integrable 60-Hz notch filter,” IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems: Part II, Vol. 46 No. 1, Jan. 1999, pp. 74-78.
31. D.J. Comer, D.T. Comer, and W.J. Marble, “A high-impedance voltage bias circuit for iterative stage MOS amplifiers,” IEEE Proceedings, Circuits, Devices, and Systems. Vol. 145, No. 6, Dec. 1998, pp. 437-439.
32. D.T. Comer and D.J. Comer, “A new fixed gain amplifier architecture,” International Journal of Electronics, Vol. 84, No. 4, April 1998, pp. 345-358.
33. D.T. Comer, D.J. Comer, and J.R. Gonzalez, “A high-frequency integrable bandpass filter configuration,” IEEE Transactions on Circuits, and Systems: Part II, Analog and Digital Signal Processing, Vol. 44, No. 10, Oct. 1997, pp. 856-861.
34. P.K. Oborn and D.T. Comer, “A new digital to analog converter resistor string architecture,” Proceedings of the Tenth Annual IEEE International ASIC Conference and Exhibit,” Sept. 1997, pp. 304-307.
35. D.J. Comer, D.T. Comer, B.K. Casper, and J.R. Gonzalez, “An integrable single-pole lowpass filter for low-frequency operation,” International Journal of Electronics, Vol. 83, No. 1, July 1997, pp. 49-54.
36. Comer, Donald T., “A wide-band integrated circuit amplifier for fixed-gain application,” The Journal of Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing, Vol. 11, No. 3, Nov. 1996, pp. 243-251.
37. Comer, Donald T. and Webster, Chris M., “A fast response tone detector,” IEEE Transactions on Circuits and System-Part I. Vol. 43, No. 6, June 1996, pp. 505-508.
38. Comer, Donald T., “Comment on VCO Jitter reduction with bandpass filtering,” Electronic Letters, May 25, 1996, Vol. 31, No. 11, pp. 848.
39. Comer, Donald T., “Zener zap anti-fuse trim in VLSI circuits,” VLSI Design, Vol. 5, No. 1, Jan. 1996, pp. 89-100.
40. Comer, Donald T., “VCO Jitter reduction with bandpass filtering,” Electronic Letters, Jan. 5, 1995, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 11-12.
41. Comer D.T., and R.L. Clark, “Dynamic Analysis of Modulated Oscillators,” Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, Vol. 41, No. 4, July 1994, pp. 571-573.
42. Comer, Donald T., “Putting Mixed Signal VLSI into the Curriculum,” Proceedings of the 23rd Frontiers in Education Conference, Washington, DC, Nov. 1993, pp. 426-428.
43. Comer, D.T., “A CMOS Phase Detector for Mixed Signal ASIC Conference,” Proceedings of the International ASIC Conference, Rochester, NY, Aug. 1993, pp. 232-234.
44. Comer, D.T., “A Wideband, Fixed Gain BiMOS Amplifier,” Proceedings of the International ASIC Conference, Rochester, NY, Aug. 1993, pp. 27-30.
45. Comer, D.T., and R.L. Clark, “Dynamic Analysis of the Oscillators,” Proceedings of the IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium, June, 1993, Salt Lake City, UT, pp. 706-710.
46. Comer, D.T., and C. Webster., “An Enhanced Successive-Approximation Circuit for A/D Conversion,” Proceedings of the IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference, San Diego, CA, May 1993, pp. 28.2.1-28.2.4.
47. Comer, D.T., “Clock Generation and Synchronization for High-Speed Serial Data Systems,” Proceedings of the 7th European Frequency and Time Forum, Neuchatel, Switzerland, March 1993, pp. 251-254.
48. Comer, D.T., and D.J. Comer, “Wideband Precision Current Sources for Integrated Circuits,” International Journal of Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing, “Vol. 1, No. 2, Oct. 1991, pp. 151-156.
49. Comer, D.T., “The D/A Convertor as a Flexible Network Element,” Proceedings of the Asilomar Conference on Circuits and Systems,1978, pp. 305-308.
50. Comer, D.T., “A Monolithic 12-bit DAC,” IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems, 1978, pp. 504-510.
51. Comer, D.T., “A Monolithic 12-bit D/A Convertor,” ISSCC Digest Technical Papers, Feb.1977, pp. 104-105.
52. Comer, D.T., “A Monolithic Sample and Hold Amplifier for Telecommunications,” Proceedings of the International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, Phoenix, AZ, 1977, pp. 101-106.

ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS

1. D. J. Comer and D. T. Comer, “Bipolar Junction Transistor Circuits,” The VLSI Handbook, 2nd Edition. CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2006, pp. -191 - 14-23.
2. D. J. Comer and D. T. Comer, “Bipolar Junction Transistor Circuits,” Circuits and Filters Handbook, 2nd Edition. CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2003, pp. 14-1 to 14-19.
3. D. J. Comer and D. T. Comer, “Digital electronic circuits,” The Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology, 3rd Ed. Vol. 4, 2002, pp. 461-471.
4. D. T. Comer and D. J. Comer, “Analog signal electronic circuits,” The Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology, 3rd Ed. Vol. 1, 2002, pp. 121-131.
5. D.J. Comer and D.T. Comer, “Bipolar Junction Transistor Circuits,” Circuits and Filters Handbook.  CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL.
6. K. Layton, D.T. Comer, D.J. Comer, and D. Wilde, “A high-speed latching comparator in 0.5-micronCMOS,” AMI Engineering Forum, American Microsystems Inc., Pocatello, Idaho, Oct. 2000.
7. D. Korth, D. T. Comer, D. J. Comer, and D. Wilde, “A low-power CMOS flash analog-to-digital converter,” AMI Engineering Forum, American Microsystems Inc., Pocatello, Idaho, Oct. 2000.
8. D. T. Comer, P. Ferguson, D. J. Comer, and D. Wilde, “A high-speed CMOS buffer using feed forward compensation,” AMI Engineering Forum, American Microsystems Inc., Pocatello, Idaho, Oct. 2000.
9. David Dai, D.T. Comer, “Threshold Voltage Based Precision CMOS Voltage Reference,” AMI Engineering Forum, American Microsystems Inc., Pocatello, Idaho, Oct. 2000.
10. D.J. Comer and D.T. Comer, “Bipolar Junction Transistor Circuits,” The VLSI Handbook.  CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, Dec. 1999.
11. D.J. Comer and D.T. Comer, “Bipolar Junction Transistor Circuits,” The VLSI Handbook.  Invited contribution, W.K. Chen, Editor, CRC press, Boca Raton, Florida, Dec. 1999.
12. D.T. Comer, Skye Wolfer, and D.J. Comer, “A High-Speed, Precision Buffer,” AMI Engineering Forum, American Microsystems Inc., Pocatello, Idaho, Oct. 1999.
13. W.J. Marble, D.T. Comer, and D.J. Comer, “A Low-noise Trimmable CMOS Preamplifier Stage,” AMI. Engineering Forum, American Microsystems Inc., Pocatello, Idaho, Oct. 1999.
14. K. Layton, D.T. Comer, and D.J. Comer, “A CMOS Voltage to Current Converter for Low-Voltage Applications,” AMI Engineering Forum, American Microsystems Inc., Pocatello, Idaho, Oct. 1999.
15. J. Jaussi, D.T. Comer, and D.J. Comer, “CMOS Amplifier Using Special Cascode Connections,” AMI Engineering Forum, American Microsystems Inc., Pocatello, Idaho, Oct. 1999.

SELECTED INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH REPORTS 

1. Comer, D.T., “Crystal Stabilized Programmable Time Delay Generator.”  Research Report SET-VLSI-105.0, Penn State University at Harrisburg, September 15, 1992.
2. Comer, D.T., “A PLL Clock Recovery Circuit for Serial Data Systems.”  Research Report SET-VLSI-104.0, September, 1992.
3. Comer, D.T., “A New Integrated Circuit Architecture for Fixed Gain Applications.”  Research Report SET-VLSI-100.1, August, 1992 (Sponsor: McCoy Electronics).
4. Comer, D.T., “Fusible Link Trim of Precision Integrated Circuits.”  Research Report SET-VLSI-102.0, May 22, 1992 (Sponsor: Capital Research Grant/McCoy Electronics).
5. Comer, D.T., “A Precision Sample/Hold Circuit Using Mixed Signal Architecture.”  Research Report SET-VLSI-103.0, Penn State University at Harrisburg, April 14, 1992.
6. Comer, D.T., “Nonlinear Capacitor Characterization in Oscillator Circuits.”  Research Report SET-VLSI-108.0, April 2, 1992 (Sponsor: Ben Franklin Grant/McCoy Electronics).
7. Comer, D.T., “A Phase-Locked Data Separator for High-Speed Application.”  Raytheon Technical Report, August 1988.
8. Comer, D.T., “A Microprocessor Controlled Multiplier for Transversal Filter Applications.”  Analog Devices Technical Report, June 1986.
9. Comer, D.T., “A Low-Noise Transimpedence Amplifier for Optical Disk Data Recovery.”  Analog Devices Technical Report, June, 1986.
10. Comer, D.T., “Ballard Cell Test RAM.”  Research Report, Utah Computer Industries, St. George, UT, June 20, 1983.
11. Comer, D.T., “High Speed PIN Diode Comparator/Amplifier.”  Research Report, Microdesign Associates, Mountain View, CA, October 15, 1982.
12. Comer, D.T., “ECL Up-Down Counters.”  Design Review, Fairchild Corp., South Portland, ME, July 12, 1982.
13. Comer, D.T., “A Linear/Digital Masterslice.”  Research Report, Shugart Industries, Sunnyvale, CA, Sunnyvale, CA, September 15, 1981.
14. D.T. Comer, “Increasing Hysteresis in a Hybrid Tunnel Diode Level Detector.”  IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 7, No. 6, pp. 537.
15. D.T. Comer, “Decreasing Hysteresis in a Hybrid Tunnel Diode Level Detector.” IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 7, No. 6, pp. 537.
16. D.T. Comer, “A Combined Date Entry Buffer and Display System.” IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 7, No. 6, pp. 468.
17. D.T. Comer, “A Fast Response Voicing Detector.” IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 10, pp. 18.
18. D.T. Comer, “A High Voltage Pulse Gate.” IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 10, pp. 18.
19. D.T. Comer, “A High-Speed Short Delay Magnetic Disk Revolver.” IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 5, No. 10, pp. 73.

TEXTBOOKS 

1. Comer, D.J. And D.T. Comer, “Advanced Electronic Circuit Design,” John Wiley, 2002, pp. 506.
2. Comer, D.J. And D.T. Comer, “Fundamentals of Electronic Circuit Design,” John Wiley, 2002, pp. 490.
3. Comer, D.T., “Introduction to Mixed Signal VLSI. “ Array Publishing Co., New York, 1994 (ISBN9638049-0-1) (480 page textbook).
4. Comer, D.T., “Mixed Signal VLSI, A Management Overview. “Array Publishing Co., New York, 1994 (ISBN 0-9638049-1-X) (72 page soft cover book).
5. Comer, D.T., “Large Signal Transistor Circuits.”  Prentice-Hall, 1977.

PATENTS 

1. “Wideband Precision Fixed-Gain Amplifier Architecture, Apparatus and Method, U.S. Patent No. US 6,943,626 B2, Donald T. Comer, Brent R. Carlton, Sept. 13th, 2005.
2. “Response Based Analog-to-Digital Conversion Apparatus and Method, U.S. Patent No. US 6,927,713 B2, D. T. Comer, Darren S. Korth, Aug. 9, 2005.
3. “Response-based analog-to digital conversion apparatus and method, U.S. Patent No. 6,816,096, Donald T. Comer, Darren S. Korth, Nov. 9, 2004.
4. “Power Line Communication System Using Anti-Resonance Isolation And Virtual Earth Ground Signaling, “United States Patent No. 6,417,762, July 9, 2002.
5. “A Polynomial Generation Circuit for Temperature Compensation.”  United States Patent No. 5,714,902, Feb. 2, 1998.
6. “Temperature Controlled Substrate for VLSI Construction.”  United States Patent No. 5,798,502, Aug. 25, 1998.
7. “Operational Function Generator,” United States Patent No. 5,500,618, March 19, 1996.
8. “Apparatus for Multiple Link Trimming in Precision Integrated Circuits.”  United States Patent No. 4,777,471, Oct. 1988.
9. “Voltage Conversion Circuit for Monolithic DAC.”  United States Patent No. 926,845, July 1978.
10. “Selectable Trimming Circuit for Use with a D/A Converter.”  United States Patent No. 768,328, Feb. 1977.
11. “Self Adjusting Compatibility Circuit for D/A Converter.”  United States Patent No. 768,867, Feb. 1977.
12. “D/A Converter with Binary and BCD Modes.”  United States Patent No. 768,326, Feb. 1977.
13. “Circuit for Controlling Adjustment of an Electrical Device.”  United States Patent No. 768,327, Feb. 1977.
14. “Dual Mode Output Amplifier for a Sample and Hold Circuit.”  United States Patent No. 4,109,215, 1977.
15. “Vehicle Positioning Determining Method and System.”  United States Patent No. 815,297, March 1969.
16. “Vehicle Communication System.” United States Patent No. 815,467, March 1969.
17. “Hydraulic Actuator Control System.” United States Patent No. 782,026, Jan. 1969.
18. “Means and Method for Directing a Vehicle, Normally Under the Control of a Guidance System, to Follow a Programmed Path Independent of the Guidance System.”  United States Patent No. 698,217, Fe. 1968.
19. “D.C. Electric Motor Control System.” United States Patent No. 703,219, Jan. 1968.

PATENTS PENDING 

1. D.T. Comer, Sinusoidal Carrier Synthesis and modulation method Docket No. 1042-2-2, March 2005.

 

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