ECE 636 - Fall 2016

ECE 636 - Advanced Analog Integrated Circuits

Course content

This course covers the design of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) analog integrated circuits at the transistor level, with an emphasis on the analysis and design of single-stage and multi- stage amplifiers. Related topics including device modeling, biasing, stability, and noise will be presented. In addition, an introduction to higher-level analog and mixed analog/digital systems, such as switched-capacitor circuits, will be covered. Industry-standard computer-aided design (CAD) software for circuit design and simulation will be used throughout the course.

Instructor contact information

Peter M. Levine, PhD
Office: E5 4012
Phone: 519-888-4567 extension 31414
Email: pmlevine@uwaterloo.ca
Website

Lecture schedule

Thursdays, 11:30 am−2:30 pm, room EIT 3141.

Course topics

  1. Feedback basics and settling.
  2. MOSFET physical characteristics, operating regions, and performance limits.
  3. Systematic design of single-stage amplifiers.
  4. Current mirrors and amplifier biasing circuits.
  5. Additional feedback analysis, stability, and settling behaviour.
  6. Fully-differential amplifiers and common-mode feedback (CMFB) circuits.
  7. Noise modeling and analysis.
  8. Introduction to switched-capacitor (SC) circuits.
  9. Output stages.
  10. Bandgap references.
  11. Mismatch analysis.

Background and prerequisites

  • Required: ECE 242 (Electronic Circuits 2) or equivalent. This course covers cascode amplifiers, current mirrors, MOS/BJT differential and multi-stage amplifiers, frequency response, feedback, and output stages. See chapters 7 to 11 of Sedra and Smith, 6th edition for a full list of topics.
  • Required: Undergraduate-level signal and system analysis and linear control theory.
  • Knowledge of discrete-time signals and systems is helpful but not required.
  • Experience using CAD software for circuit simulation is helpful but not required.

Evaluation

Problem Sets (4 or 5): 10%
Project: 20%
Midterm exam: 20%
Final exam: 50%

Course website

Available through LEARN. Problem sets, project, lecture slides, CAD software tutorials, etc. will be posted here.

CAD software

LTSpice IV by Linear Technology (freely available for Windows and Mac OS from their website).

Project description

The project will be assigned by the instructor and will involve transistor-level schematic design and simulation of an analog system (e.g., first stage of a pipelined ADC, sample and hold amplifier, etc.) with various performance specifications. Students will complete the project individually and use LTSpice CAD software for the design.

Reference texts

  • P. R. Gray, P. J. Hurst, S. H. Lewis, and R. G. Meyer, Analysis and Design of Analog Integrated Circuits, 5th ed., Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2009.
  • B. Razavi, Design of Analog CMOS Integrated Circuits, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001.
  • T. Chan Carusone, D. A. Johns, and K. W. Martin, Analog Integrated Circuit Design, 2nd ed., Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012.
  • R. J. Baker, CMOS: Circuit Design, Layout, and Simulation, 3rd ed., Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2010. (Second edition available online through University of Waterloo Libraries website).
  • W. M. C. Sansen, Analog Design Essentials, Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer, 2006 (Available online through University of Waterloo Libraries website).
  • A. S. Sedra and K. C. Smith, Microelectronic Circuits, 6th ed., New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
  • Y. Tsividis, Mixed Analog-Digital VLSI Devices and Technology, Singapore: World Scientific, 2002.