Statement of Purpose Abhishek Prasad Kamath

The fact that the electronic age begins from, and is still based on, some ingeniously designed basic elements,
has always astonished me. When such passion gets backed up by aptitude and dedication, what follows is a
strong clarity and certainty about what one wants to do.
My career goal is to work on solutions for existing challenges in terms of precision, speed and technology
migration in Analog and Mixed signal VLSI design and to develop methodologies to reduce design time. My
immediate degree objective is to pursue an MS leading to a PhD. A Ph.D. will be in keeping with my longterm objective of carrying out research on specific problems faced by industry in analog VLSI.
My interest in this field was sparked by the course Microelectronic Circuits, because it taught me how to
analyze circuits intuitively and also gave me considerable exposure to the working of the transistor, the varied
applications of which I was thrilled to discover. I was fascinated by the sheer beauty associated with the
working of the MOS transistor in saturation, especially in aspects like amplification and current mirroring.
Courses in Solid State electronics, Analog Electronics, Analog and Digital VLSI Design exposed me to the
various functional blocks and design related issues in VLSI design. Delving deeper into the subject of analog
VLSI through my various research projects, I realized that I had to apply my knowledge in RLC circuits,
device physics and control systems at the circuit and system level to optimize many conflicting parameters.
This challenge excited me as it presented an opportunity to integrate all that I had learnt.
I have worked on four projects which have deepened my understanding and challenged me to explore new
solutions. The project on Switched Capacitor Circuits*, under Dr. Gurunarayanan, helped me explore an
important technique used to overcome the limitations of fabricating accurate resistors. It gave me a first hand
experience of the challenges in implementing analog blocks such as opamps and filters. As a research intern at
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore I had the opportunity to investigate flash ADC techniques under Dr.
Jamadagni, (Chairman CEDT, IISc). I chose to work on current mode approach because it was new to me and
I saw a scope of improvement on an existing design. The research environment gave me the confidence to
think independently and I successfully optimized power and area of the Current Mode Flash ADC* and
contributed towards the thesis of Mr. Bhat (PhD student at IISc).
I am currently a member of a select group that is working towards optimizing speed of Pipelined ADC* under
Dr Anu Gupta ( Asst Prof - Electrical Electronic Dept) . I am involved in designing a gain boosted cascode
opamp and switched capacitor circuitry of the DAC and S&H circuit. This project helped me to develop the
necessary skills for working in a team that is striving to accomplish the goals of a long term objective. In my
effort to develop methods to reduce design time of analog circuits I am exploring an interesting possibility for
CAD for PLL* under Dr. S.C. Bose (Senior Scientist, Analog IC Design Group, CEERI Pilani). My love for
analog VLSI has been reaffirmed by the various discussions that I have had with Dr. Bose.
As a Professional Assistant for Circuits and Signals, and Control Systems I have helped junior students
by sharing with them the different perspective which I developed by reading several books on the subject, and
through my practical experience.
Working with my project guides, I have realized that I can learn a lot from experts in this field. I believe that
graduate studies would provide an environment for independent thinking and research through interaction with
Professors, PhD students and Research Assistants. The specialized course work will also help me enhance my
understanding of the subject. I am applying to Columbia University because it has an excellent Analog Group
working in my area of interest. I find the work being carried out by Prof. Peter Kinget on High Performance
Oscillators and Low Voltage Circuits and Prof Ken Sheppards work on mixed signal testing extremely
interesting and akin to my long term goals. Advanced courses offered such as Advanced Communication
Circuits and Advanced Analog Integrated Circuits would deepen my understanding of the subject. The

CISL laboratory provides an excellent environment for research, and the on going projects in RF and low
voltage analog design have motivated me to apply to your university.

I feel that there is a perfect synergy between my aspirations and what your University offers. With the
background I have gained through my projects on data converters and PLLs, I will be able to further the
work being carried out at the CISL laboratory. This backed with an excellent undergraduate academic
record and good research experience at two of Indias premier research institute IISc and CEERI, I am
confident that if admitted to the PhD program for Fall 2005 with financial aid, I will be on track in
achieving my long term goals and in the process make significant contributions to the research at
Columbia University.
Abhishek Prasad Kamath
* please refer to page 4 of resume for details of project

abhishekkamath@yahoo.com

Abhishek Prasad Kamath

www.geocities.com/abhishekamath