Lecture 4

Readings: Sections 7.1 and 7.2

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 Invention of the Integrated Circuits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkAAQPmEJAw&list=PLgKat64mmTvWPOe79
O5EbcN_yg3g9UHmF

• Jack Kilby (1923~2005) • Robert Norton Noyce (1927~1990)

Jack Kilby's original hybrid integrated circuit

from 1958. This was the first integrated circuit,
and was made from germanium.

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 7.1 IC Design Philosophy

Integrated circuits
 More and more electronics circuits are integrated in a single chip
 More complicated functions
 Smaller size and lower cost
 Suitable for mass-production
 Implementation cost depends on device area rather than device count
 Large/moderate-value resistors should be avoided
 Larger/moderate-value capacitors should be avoided
 Preferable to use transistors due to chip-area consideration
 The design philosophy for ICs is different from that of discrete-component
circuits

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Design philosophy
 Resistors
 classical biasing arrangement  biasing with constant-current sources
 passive loads  active loads
 Capacitors
 capacitively coupled  direct coupled
 Power Supplies
 device dimensions scale down  power supplies are limited to 1 V
 Device Variety
 off-the-shelf limitations  freedom to specify the device dimensions
 Rely on device matching or size ratios for circuit design
 Bipolar Technology
 Still used in special analog applications, such as high-quality general-
purpose op-amp packages
 CMOS Technology
 Currently the vast majority of integrated circuits are designed using
CMOS technology

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7.2 IC Biasing—Current Sources, Current Mirrors, and Current-Steering
Circuits

7.2.1 The Basic MOSFET Current Source

 Widely used for ICs with good device matching

 Q1 is diode-connected:

 R usually is off-chip:

 Q2 has the same VGS as Q1:

 Current gain or current transfer ratio:

 In the special case of identical transistors:

 This has given the circuit the name current mirror
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Effect of VO on IO
To ensure that Q2 operate in saturation region:
When channel-length modulation effect is considered, the current mirror has
a finite output resistance

Thus, the current mismatch due to channel-length modulation effect is

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7.2.2 MOS current-steering circuits
 Once a constant current has been generated, it can be replicated to provide
dc bias or load currents for the various amplifier stages in an IC

 Current source: pushes a dc current into a circuit

 Current sink: pulls a dc current from a circuit

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7.2.3 BJT Circuits
 The case of infinite  :
 Current is proportional to the area of
emitter-base junction

=m

 The case of finite  :

 Q1 and Q2 identical:

 Current transfer ratio m (with infinite

output resistance):

 Current transfer ration m (with finite

output resistance):
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A Simple Current Source

A Bipolar Mirror with Base-Current Compensation

At node x:

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BJT current steering
 Provides current source and current sink by using BJT devices

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7.2.4 Small-Signal Operation of Current Mirrors
 Current mirror is an excellent current amplifier:
 a relatively low input resistance

 a relatively high output resistance

 a gain determined by the aspect ratios of the MOSFETs.



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 Example 7.1
7.1

 Solution

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 Exercise 7.2
7.4

 Solution

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 Exercise 7.4

 Solution

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 Exercise 7.5
E7.5

 Solution

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 Exercise 7.6
7.12(a)

 Solution

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 Homework #4

 Problem 7.2
 Problem 7.4
 Problem 7.7
 Problem 7.17
 Problem 7.24

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Review

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