INTRODUCTION TO CMOS
ANALOG INTEGRATED
CIRCUIT DESIGN
Lecturer: A. Prof. Dr. Vo MinhHuan
1
What Does “Analog” Mean?
• Analog signal • Digital signal
– Infinite possible values – Finite possible values
• Ex: voltag e on a wire • Ex: button pressed
created by microphone on a keypad
Which is analog? 1 2 3 4
analog A) Wind speed 2
digital
signal
B) Radio Signal signal
C) Clicker response
Possible values:
Possible values: D) A) & B) 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4.
1.00, 1.01, 2.0000009, 4
... infinite possibilities
E) All of the above 3
That’s it.
value
value
2
1
0
time time 2
Why analog in digital era?
• Most of the physical signals are analog in nature!
• Although digital is great we need an analog interface to convert physical
signals from analog to digital.
• Also, in some application after processing the signals in digital domain, we
need to convert them back to analog.
• That is why analog and mixed-signal designers are still and hopefully will be
in demand for the foreseeable future.
3
Why analog in digital era?
VDD
VPB1
I4 I5
SPECIFICATIONS
M4 M5
I1 I2 VPB2
I6 I7
M6 M7 vOUT
M1 M2 VNB2
v+
I N
− M8 M9 CL
VNB1 M3 I
3 M10 M11
4
Layers of abstraction programs
device drivers
instructions
registers
datapaths
controllers
a d d e rs
memories
A N D gates
N O T gates
amplifiers
filters
transistors
diodes
electrons 5
Analog circuit examples
6
Analog and Digital
◼ Analog signal: Continuous in time and amplitude
◼ Digital signal: discrete in time and amplitude
Analog signal Digital signal
7
Design of Analog and Digital Circuits
noise linearity
speed
power gain
I/O power
impedance supply
voltage
Digital
circuit
speed voltage
swing Analog circuit
Multi trade-offs in analog design make it very complex. 8
For an example, performance specifications for the
amplifier
• Gain: the ratio of the output voltage, current, or power to the input signal's voltage, current, or
power
• Bandwidth: the range of frequencies over which the amplifier can amplify signals effectively
• Frequency Response: how an amplifier responds to different frequencies within its operating
range
• Input and Output Impedance: ensure proper matching with source and load impedances.
• Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR): A higher SNR indicates better signal fidelity.
• Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): THD measures the distortion added by the amplifier to the
input signal. Lower THD values imply lower distortion and better signal accuracy.
• Slew Rate: Slew rate defines the maximum rate of change of the output voltage per unit of time
• Input and Output Offset Voltage: DC voltage present at the input or output terminals of the
amplifier when no signal is applied.
• Power Supply Voltage: The allowable range of voltage levels required to power the amplifier.
• Common-Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR): ability to reject common-mode signals (signals present
equally on both input terminals) and pass differential signals.
9
Digital vs. Analog Design : Analog Circuits
❑ Transmitter: Analog/RF
Voice
Modulator
Power
Amplifier
High-frequency
carrier
❑ Receiver:
Down
Demodulator
Converter
Low-Noise Audio
Amplifier Amplifier
Analog/RF
10
Digital vs. Analog Design : Analog-Digital Circuit
❑ Transmitter:
Digital (Baseband) Analog/RF Front-end
Voice Voice Coding Pulse
ADC Modulator
Compression Interleaving shaping
Power
Amplifier
❑ Receiver: Analog
Down
ADC Demodulator Equalizer
Converter
Low-Noise
Amplifier
Voice De-interleaving
DAC
Decompression Decoding
Audio
Amplifier
Digital (Baseband)
11
Digital vs. Analog Design
❑ Digital Design Advantages:
➢More noise reliability
➢ Allows signal decoding and amplification
➢Allows coding to achieve higher performance
➢Allows encryption for higher security
➢Provides a perfect vehicle for digital signal processing
➢Allows modular chip design
➢Enjoys the benefit of advanced sophisticated CAD tools
➢Can be verified on programmable devices before tape-out
➢Provides a platform to merge multiple networks such as
telephone, terrestrial TV and computer networks.
12
Why CMOS?
◼ CMOS is now dominate the digital IC market:
◼ Simple device structure, low fabrication cost.
◼ Simple circuit for digital gates.
◼ Advancement in CMOS technology.
◼ Scalable and high integration density.
◼The demands for smaller and cheaper device, i.e. monolithic circuit and
System-on-Chip (SOC), drive analog IC to CMOS technology.
◼ To integrate analog and digital circuits into one chip.
◼ To reduce the cost.
◼Analog IC is moving to CMOS technologies, especially for low voltage
and low power applications.
13
Passive Devices in CMOS
◼ Resistor in CMOS:
◼ Diffusion resistor: sheet resistance 100 Ω/□ to 200Ω/□
◼ Poly silicon resistor: sheet resistance 20 Ω/□ to 80Ω/□
◼ Well resistor: ~10kΩ/□
◼ Capacitor in CMOS:
◼ PIP (poly-insulator-poly) capacitance: high linearity, unit capacitance <1fF/µm2
◼ MIM (metal-insulator-metal) capacitance: high linearity, unit capacitance ~1fF/µm2
◼ MOS capacitance: Use CG as capacitance– voltage dependence
◼ Large process variation: ±20%.
◼ Passive devices occupy larger silicon area
14
Digital vs. Analog Design
15
Analog IC Design Flow
System specifications
Tools Topology selection
Matlab Behavioral simulation
Hspice Circuit design & simulation
Virtuso Physical implementation (Layout)
Calibre Physical verification (DRC&LVS)
GDSII data out
16
The Analog IC Design Process
17
What is Electrical Design?
Electrical design is the process of going from the specifications to a circuit solution. The
inputs and outputs of electrical design are:
L
W
W/L ratios
VDD
Circuit or Analog M3 M4 Cc
M6
vou
systems Integrated -
vin
M1 M2 CL
specifications Circuit Design +
VBias M5
M7
-
VSS
Topology
DC Currents Fig. 1.1-3
The electrical design requires active and passive device electrical models for
- Creating the design
- Verifying the design
- Determining the robustness of the design
18
Steps in Electrical Design
1) Selection of a solution
- Examine previous designs
- Select a solution that is simple
2) Investigate the solution
- Analyze the performance (without a computer)
- Determine the strengths and weaknesses of the solution
3) Modification of the solution
- Use the key principles, concepts and techniques to implement
- Evaluate the modifications through analysis (still no computers)
4) Verification of the solution
- Use a simulator with precise models and verify the
solution
- Large disagreements with the hand analysis and
computer verification should be carefully examined.
19
What is Physical Design?
Physical design is the process of representing the electrical design in a layout consisting
of many distinct geometrical rectangles at various levels. The layout is then used to
create the actual, three-dimensional integrated circuit through a process called
fabrication.
CIRCUIT LAYOUT FABRICATION
Blue Green Black Red Orange White
n+ p+ Metal Poly p-well n-substrate
Ground
+5V vout
M2
vout
vin
M2
(2.5V) (2.5V)
M1
M1
031113-01
5V vin
20
What is the Layout Process?
1) Inputs are the W/L values and the schematic (generally from schematic entry used for simulation).
2) A CAD tool is used to enter the various geometries. The designer must enter the location, shape, and
level of the particular geometry.
3) During the layout, the designer must obey a set of rules called design rules. These rules are for the purpose
of ensuring the robustness and reliability of the technology.
4) Once the layout is complete, then a process called layout versus schematic (LVS) is applied to determine if
the physical layout represents the electrical schematic.
5) The next step is now that the physical dimensions of the design are known, the parasitics can be
extracted. These parasitics primarily include:
a) Capacitance from a conductor to ground
b) Capacitance between conductors
c) Bulk resistance
6) The extracted parasitics are entered into the simulated database and the design is re- simulated to insure that
the parasitics will not cause the design to fail.
21
ANALOG INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DESIGN
SKILLSET
• Characteristics of Analog Integrated Circuit Design
• Done at the circuits level
• Complexity is high
• Continues to provide challenges as technology evolves
• Demands a strong understanding of the principles, concepts and techniques
• Good designers generally have a good physics background
• Must be able to make appropriate simplifications and assumptions
• Requires a good grasp of both modeling and technology
• Have a wide range of skills - breadth (analog only is rare)
• Be able to learn from failure
• Be able to use simulation correctly
22
Understanding Technology
Understanding technology helps the analog IC designer to know the limits of the
technology and the influence of the technology on the design.
Device Parasitics:
Connection Parasitics:
+5V
M2
M2 vout
vin vout vin
+5V
M1
M1
050304-01
23
Understanding Modeling
Modeling:
Modeling is the process by which the electrical properties of an electronic circuit or
system are represented by means of mathematical equations, circuit representations,
graphs or tables.
Models permit the predicting or verification of the performance of an electronic
circuit or system.
Electronic Equations, Prediction or
Circuits Circuit verification of
and representations, circuit or system
Systems graphs, tables performance
Electronic Modeling Process
Examples:
Ohm’s law, the large signal model of a MOSFET, the I-V curves of a diode, etc.
Goal:
Models that are simple and allow the designer to understand the circuit performance.
24
Complexity in Analog Design
Analog design is normally done in a non-hierarchical manner and makes little use of
repeated blocks. As a consequence, analog design can become quite complex and
challenging.
How do you handle the complexity?
Systems Systems Level (ADC)
1) Use as much hierarchy as possible.
2) Use appropriate organization Circuits Level (op amps)
techniques.
3) Document the design in an efficient
Circuits Block Level (amplifier)
manner.
4) Make use of assumptions and
Sub-block Level (current sink)
simplifications.
5) Use simulators appropriately.
Components Components (transistor)
Assumptions
Assumptions:
An assumption is taking something to be true without formal proof. Assumptions in analog circuit design are used
for simplifying the analysis or design. The goal of an assumption is to separate the essential information from the
nonessential information of a problem.
The elements of an assumption are:
1) Formulating the assumption to simplify the problem without eliminating the essential information.
2) Application of the assumption to get a solution or result.
3) Verification that the assumption was in fact appropriate.
Examples:
Neglecting a large resistance in parallel with a small resistance
Miller effect to find a dominant pole
Finding the roots of a second-order polynomial assuming the roots are real and separated
Analog Applications
• Sensor interface (P, Temp, speed, acceleration, mass, gas, light
intensity, virus……)
• Bio system (heart rate, blood pressure, ECG, ...... )
• Audio/video applications
• Digital storage media (read/write channel)
• HDD, CD, DVD, BlueRay, Flash, DRAM, SRAM, etc
• Multimedia I/O
• USB I/II/wireless USB, 1394, LVDS, TMDS, HDMI, VDI, ….
• High speed I/O
• PCI Xpress, HyperTransport, Infiniband, ….
• Every digital system with high CK speed
• Optical and wireless communication systems
27
Analog IC Design Challenges
Technology:
• Digital circuits have scaled well with technology
• Analog does not benefit as much from smaller features
- Speed increases
- Gain decreases
- Matching decreases
- Nonlinearity increases
- New issues appear such as gate current leakage
Analog Circuit Challenges:
• Trade offs are necessary between linearity, speed, precision and power
• As analog is combined with more digital, substrate interference will become worse
28
Digitally Assisted Analog Circuits
Use digital circuits which work better at
scaled technologies to improve analog
circuits that do not necessarily improve
with technology scaling.
Principles and Techniques:
• Open-loop vs. closed loop
- Open loop is less accurate but smaller Faster, less power
- Closed-loop is more accurate but larger Slower, more power
• Averaging
- Increase of accuracy Smaller devices, more speed
• Calibration
- Accuracy increases Increased resolution with same area
• Dynamic Element Matching
- Enhancement of component precision
• Doubly correlated sampling
- Reduction of dc influences (noise, offset) Smaller devices, more speed
29
• Etc.
In summary,
“Analog circuit design is like chess-just because you know
how the pieces move doesn’t mean you know how to play
the game”.
Patrick M. Lahey
30
