¶ Welcome to the Circuits and Systems Lab!
Small circuits. New ideas. A lasting impact.
From smartphones and AI to IoT devices, electronic systems shape the way we live. At their heart are tiny circuits inside semiconductor chips. At Islam Lab, we explore low-power circuits, hardware security, and next-generation computing to create electronic systems that operate more intelligently and securely within limited power and area.
Our approach is grounded in a deep understanding of device physics and a pursuit of simple, inventive solutions. By bringing analog and digital techniques together, we connect the behavior of individual transistors with circuits, systems, and new ways of computing. We turn microscopic noise into randomness for security, design power supplies that adapt autonomously to changing workloads, and enable memory to perform computation. Familiar devices can reveal new possibilities when we look at them differently.
Our research spans LDOs and DC–DC converters for efficient power delivery, on-chip sensors and analog-to-digital converters for reading physical signals, tiny true random number generators and security circuits for protecting information, and computing-in-memory, stochastic computing, and reservoir computing for energy-efficient AI. Across these topics, we challenge the limits of performance, power, and area by rethinking how circuits work.
Turn your ideas into real silicon—and see them work. This is one of the most rewarding parts of our research. You can take an idea from theory and simulation through circuit design to measurements on a fabricated chip. There is excitement in seeing a circuit behave as expected, and discovery in understanding why it does something unexpected. Whether your interests lie in physics, circuit design, programming, or machine learning, you can build on your strengths while developing new skills.
Founded in April 2024, Islam Laboratory welcomes students who enjoy asking why, building things, and exploring technologies that support new forms of computing and a secure information society. You do not need prior experience in circuit design to begin—curiosity is a starting point. Visits and informal conversations are welcome. Bring your questions and your “what if” ideas, and explore how they could become the next chip.
- X. Huang and M. Islam, "Self-compensating StrongARM latch for high-speed energy-efficient true random number generators," IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. I Regul. Pap., vol. 73, no. 6, pp. 3803-3812, June 2026, DOI: 10.1109/tcsi.2025.3643984.
- S. Yamaguchi, T. Hisakado, O. Wada, and M. Islam, "A Fully Integrated Digital LDO With Adaptive Sampling and Statistical Comparator Selection," IEEE Solid-State Circuits Letters, vol. 7, pp. 163-166, 2024.
- T. Kitamura, T. Hisakado, O. Wada, and M. Islam, "Design of Reference-free Flash ADC With On-chip Rank-based Comparator Selection Using Multiple Comparator Groups," IPSJ Transactions on System LSI Design Methodology, vol. 17, pp. 36-43, 2024.
- S. Yamaguchi, M. Islam, T. Hisakado, and O. Wada, "Low-Power Design of Digital LDO With Non-Linear Symmetric Frequency Generation," IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II, vol. 69, no. 12, pp. 4644-4648, 2022.
- T. Someya, M. Islam, and K. Okada, "A 6.4 nW 1.7% Relative Inaccuracy CMOS Temperature Sensor Utilizing Sub-Thermal Drain Voltage Stabilization and Frequency-Locked Loop," IEEE Solid-State Circuits Letters, vol. 3, pp. 458-461, 2020.
- T. Someya, M. Islam, T. Sakurai, and M. Takamiya, "An 11-nW CMOS Temperature-to-Digital Converter Utilizing Sub-Threshold Current at Sub-Thermal Drain Voltage," IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, vol.54, no. 3, pp. 613-622, 2019.
- M. Islam, T. Nakai, and H. Onodera, "Statistical Analysis and Modeling of Random Telegraph Noise Based on Gate Delay Measurement," IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 216-226, 2017.
- M. Islam, J. Shiomi, T. Ishihara, and H. Onodera, "Wide-Supply-Range All-Digital Leakage Variation Sensor for On-chip Process and Temperature Monitoring," IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, vol. 50, no. 11, pp. 2475-2490, 2015.
- Y. Deng and M. Islam, "A Booster-Enhanced Mismatch-Canceling Latch-Based True Random Number Generator for High-Speed Operation," IEEE APCCAS, Oct 2025
- X. Huang and M. Islam, "High-Speed Energy-Efficient True Random Number Generator Using Self-Compensating Comparator," IEEE NEWCAS, 2025
- S. Yamaguchi, T. Hisakado, O. Wada, and M. Islam, "An Adaptive-Sampling Digital LDO with Statistical Comparator Selection Achieving 99.99% Maximum Current Efficiency and 0.25ps FoM in 65nm," IEEE A-SSCC, pp. 1-3, 2023
- M. Islam, S. Harada, T. Hisakado, and O. Wada, "CMOS Temperature Sensor Utilizing Gate-Length-Based Threshold Voltage Modulation," IEEE NEWCAS, pp. 1-5, 2023.
- Y. Iwata, T. Kitamura, and M. Islam, "Measurement of Temperature Effect on Comparator Offset Voltage Variation," IEEE ICMTS, pp. 86-91, 2023. (Best Paper Award)
- S. Harada, M. Islam, T. Hisakado, and O. Wada, "A Process Scalable Voltage-Reference-Free Temperature Sensor Utilizing MOSFET Threshold Voltage Variation," IEEE A-SSCC, pp. 1-3, 2021.
- T. Someya, M. Islam, T. Sakurai, and M. Takamiya, "A 13nW Temperature-to-Digital Converter Utilizing Sub-threshold MOSFET Operation at Sub-thermal Drain Voltage," IEEE CICC, pp. 1-4, 2018.
- M. Islam, T. Ishihara, and H. Onodera, "Reconfigurable Delay Cell for Area-efficient Implementation of On-chip MOSFET Monitor Schemes," IEEE A-SSCC, pp. 125-128, 2013. (Student Design Contest Award Winner)