Solid State Circuits Society

May 19, 2005

Our speaker was  Bernhard E. Boser (University of California, Berkeley), and the topic of his presentation was ” Analog Circuit Design with Submicron Transistors“

Abstract

Most textbooks and courses teach analog circuit analysis (and design) using the so-called “square-law model” for MOS transistors. While simple and intuitive, the behavior of modern thin-gate and short-channel transistors deviates significantly from this simple description. More accurate models are available and used extensively in simulators but are mathematically too complex for design. The resulting significant deviation of designed performance from that predicted by simulation is often overcome with iterative simulation and “tweaking” design parameters. While this approach can work, it is cumbersome, time consuming, and does not easily lead to an overall optimized design.

We present a design methodology for analog circuits that is simple and intuitive, yet accurate even for very deep sub-micron transistors. Rather than focusing on geometry, the technique concentrates on key analog circuit performance metrics including speed, power dissipation, noise, and their tradeoffs. First, these metrics are determined based on overall specifications. Bias currents and device sizes are obtained in a final and straightforward step.

Biography

Professor. Bernhard E. Boser received the Diploma in Electrical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 1984 and the M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1985 and 1988. From 1988 he was a Member of Technical Staff in the Adaptive Systems Department at AT&T Bell Laboratories. In 1992 he joined the faculty in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley where he also serves as a Director of the Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center. Dr. Boser’s research is in the area of analog and mixed signal circuits, with special emphasis on analog-digital interface circuits and micro mechanical sensors and actuators. He has served on the program committees of the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, the Transducers Conference, the VLSI Symposium, the Sensor and Actuator Workshop, and was the Editor of the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits. Dr. Boser is a Fellow of the IEEE. Presently he is on leave from the University at SiTime, a startup company he co-founded in 2004.

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