Design of Analog CMOS Circuits Using Gm/IDBased Methods

EEE 523 - Advanced Analog Integrated Circuits

Erik Mentze 01.27.12

References
1. F. Silveria et al. A gm/Id based methodology for the design of CMOS analog circuits and its application to the synthesis of a silicon-on-insulator micropower OTA, IEEE Journal of SolidState Circuits, Sep. 1996, pp 1314-1319. 2. D. Foty, M. Bucher, D. Binkley, Re-interpreting the MOS transistor via the inversion coefficient and the continuum of gms/Id, Proc. Int. Conf. on Electronics, Circuits and Systems, pp. 1179-1182, Sep 2002. 3. B.E. Boser, Analog Circuit Design with Submicron Transistors, IEEE SSCS Meeting, Santa Clara Valley, May 19, 2005, http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r6/scv/ssc/May1905.pdf. 4. H.D. Dammak, et al. Design of Folded Cascoe OTA in Different Regions of Operation through gm/ID Methodology, World Academy of Science, Engineering, and Technology, 45, 2008. 5. P. Jespers, The gm/Id Methodology, a sizing tool for low-voltage analog CMOS Circuits, Springer, 2010. 6. T. Konishi, et al, Design Optimization of High-Speed and Low-Power Operational Transconductance Amplifier Using gm/ID Lookup Table Methodology, IEICE Trans. Electron., Vol.E94-C, NO.3 March 2011. 7. B. Murmann, MOS Transistor Modeling Gm/ID-based Design, EE214 Course Reader, Stanford University, Stanford CA, 2011.

The Model Problem

Square Law Nothing

Gm/ID

SPICE
Reality

EKV

Square Law Equations

Saturation

design term

operating point information

1 = 2

1 + ()

process constants

Triode

design term

operating point information

=
process constant

2 2

uCox (KP) Simulation

Dependence on: overdrive voltage, gate length, etc.

SPICE Model
Found One!

Process constants handled by curve fitting BSIM 3v3 uses 110 parameters!

The Model Problem

Square Law Nothing gm/ID SPICE Reality

EKV

The purpose of any model: To give you the right answer! Square Law Model: SPICE Model: Useful for hand calculations Useful for computer simulation Oversimplifies process constants Curve Fitting for process constants 20%-80% Error Excellent accuracy (if done properly) Gm/ID Model: Useful for hand calculations <10% Error Two approaches to process constants

Handling Process Constants

Analytical
Takes device physics into account, typically using the EKV model Derived expressions from physical device parameters

Experimental
Lookup table approach, storing device characteristics generated by SPICE simulation or measurement results The gm/ID lookup table methodology enables an analytical design optimization by overwhelming the inaccuracy observed in the square-law MOS transistor model

gm/ID-Based Design
Set of normalized figures of merit to describe FET transistors
Transconductance Efficiency
FET Operating Point Want large gm for as little current as possible

Current Density
How wide does the device need to be?

Transit Frequency
Want large gm, with as little Cgg as possible

Intrinsic Gain
Want large gm, with large ro (small go)

What is gm/ID?
A way of representing the FET operating point
Overdrive voltage ( = ) is only valid in strong inversion

can represent an equivalent bias condition for strong, moderate, and weak inversion, with smooth transitions between each. A design parameter that couples small signal transconductance and large signal bias current. How much bias current do I need to achieve a required amount of transconductance?

A measure of efficiency to generate gm from a given ID

Large gm/ID value implies larger transconductance for a constant current

Similar to normalized BJT transconductance:

Extracting Device Characteristics

1. Vds set to Vpwr 2. Sweep Vgs: 0 to Vpwr 3. Measure required parameters:
- gm, Id, ro, Cgg

4. Repeat for various lengths (fixed W) Notes: To a first order, the measurement is independent of Vds Body effects are neglected and thus measurements are independent of W

Weak Inversion subthreshold

Moderate Inversion

Strong Inversion

Favors DC Gain

Favors BW

Strong Inversion

Weak Inversion

1 = 2 Strong Inversion Weak Inversion

Lookup Table Functions

Can I avoid using a ruler on a printed out chart?
YES! By using a scripting language such as MATLAB, Python, etc

Based on extracted data from SPICE simulations:

lookup.ft(fet, length, gm/id) lookup.gmro(fet, length, gm/id) lookup.idw(fet, length, gm/id) lookup.gmid(fet, length, fom, fom_value) lookup.length(fet, gmid, fom, fom_value)

Useful for:
Quick lookup while doing hand calculations Design optimization scripts

Comparison to Square Law Equations

= 1 2

2 =

2 =

3 = 2 2 2 3 2 =

1 = 1 2

Comparison to Square Law Equations

2 =

Square law equations breakdown at Vov ~200mV

Comparison to Square Law Equations

Good estimate of Vdsat: voltage required to extract gain

Gm/ID-Based Design
Replaces a set of equations to solve with a set of figures of merit to balance Complex process parameters are overwhelmed with lookup charts (or lookup table functions) Accurately models operation over weak, moderate, and strong inversion Avoids over-dependence on SPICE simulations

Sample Design Flow

1. From a given specification, determine the required gm 2. Choose a bias current based on required gm and desired gm/ID operating point. 3. Lookup transistor W from gm/ID vs. ID/W chart.
(L is typically chosen based on technology or gain requirements)

Simple Example
Specs and Objectives:

tsmc18 process (3V) RL=1k, CL=50fF, Ri=10k

DC Gain = -4 v/v Estimate pole locations

Simple Design Flow

1. From the given specification, determine the required gm 2. Choose a bias current based on required gm and desired gm/ID operating point. 3. Lookup transistor W from gm/ID vs. ID/W chart.
(L is typically chosen based on technology and over gain requirements)

Small Signal Model

Simple Design Flow

1. From the given specification, determine the required gm 2. Choose a bias current based on required gm and desired gm/ID operating point. 3. Lookup transistor W from gm/ID vs. ID/W chart.
(L is typically chosen based on technology and over gain requirements)

Small Signal Model

= 10

4 = = 0.4 10

Simple Design Flow

1. From the given specification, determine the required gm 2. Choose a bias current based on required gm and desired gm/ID operating point. 3. Lookup transistor W from gm/ID vs. ID/W chart.
(L is typically chosen based on technology and over gain requirements)

Id/W=7.33

Simple Example
= 7.33

400 = = = 54.57 7.33 7.33

= 350

Test Circuit

Simulation Results
Parameter Av(DC) gm gm/ID Hand Calc 4.0 V/V 4 mS 10.0 S/A Sim 3.953 V/V 4.089 mS 10.15 S/A % error 1% 2.2% 1.5%

Simple Example Estimate BW

1 + 1+

+ + +
1 2

1 +

= ?

Normalized Capacitance

Factors for approximating:

Simple Example Estimate BW

1 + 1+

+ + +
1 2

1 +

= =

ft = 7.01GHz

Simple Example Estimate BW

1 +

1 +

+ + +
1 = 90.8 2 = 0.17 90.8 = 15.4

= 260 = 41.3 1 = 656.17 + = 104.4

= =

Simulation Results

Summary of Normalized Design Parameters

Primary Design Parameters

Secondary Design Parameters

Gm/ID-Based Design
Replaces a set of equations to solve with a set of figures of merit to balance Complex process parameters are overwhelmed with lookup charts (or lookup table functions) Accurately models operation over weak, moderate, and strong inversion Avoids over-dependence on SPICE simulations

OTA Simulation / Optimization

1:K M3

M31

M41

M4

= 4 ||5 () =

Vm

M1

M2

Vp CL

() = 2 1 2 4 ||5

M51

1:K

3 =
M5

Design Choices: K and gm set DC gain K and gm set unity gain frequency So which should I use? K or gm? Why not try both

gm/ID simulation results

Cload = 5pF fun = 10MHz AV(DC) = 1000 V/V

total current (mA)

tail current (mA) gm/ID

Limitations
Lookup tables extracted from SPICE simulations
Only as accurate as the SPICE curve fitting

Process and temperature corner cases Body Effects

Cascode architecture

Drain-Source voltage variation

Appendix
Simple Current Mirror Cascode Current Mirror

Current Mirror Design Example

Design goals: 1. Good DC current matching small gm/ID (strong inv) 2. Reasonable headroom 2 ()

large gm/ID (weak inv)

3. High Output Resistance small gm/ID (strong inv)

Design Option 1: gm/ID = 5

choose = 1 =5 lookup = 10.8 25 = = = 2.3 10.8 10.8

= 328

2 () = 0.4

125
2.6

Design Option 2: gm/ID = 10

choose = 1 = 10 lookup = 1.98 25 = = = 12.5 1.98 1.98 = 413

250
() 2 = 0.2 = 1.65

Cascode Current Mirror Example

1 1 2
Optimize separately High gm/Id for gain Low gm/Id for matching

gmro
matching

Design Cascode Current Source

choose = 1 lookup =5 = 10 lookup = 10.8 = 1.98 25 = = 2.3 10.8 10.8 25 = = = 12.5 1.98 1.98 =

2 2 = 413 1 2.6 0.2 + 0.4 = 0.6 1

1.2% = 0.6