Chapter 7 CMOS Amplifiers

 7.1 General Considerations

 7.2 Common-Source Stage

 7.3 Common-Gate Stage

 7.4 Source Follower

 7.5 Summary and Additional Examples

1
 Chapter Outline

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 2

 MOS Biasing

V GS=− V 1−V TH 

V 1=
1
 V 212V 1
 R2 V DD
R1R2 
−V TH

W
μ n C ox RS
L

 Voltage at X is determined by VDD, R1, and R2.

 VGS can be found using the equation above, and ID can be
found by using the NMOS current equation.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 3

 Self-Biased MOS Stage

I D RD V GSRS I D=V DD

 The circuit above is analyzed by noting M1 is in saturation

and no potential drop appears across RG.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 4

 Current Sources

 When in saturation region, a MOSFET behaves as a current

source.
 NMOS draws current from a point to ground (sinks current),
whereas PMOS draws current from VDD to a point (sources
current).
CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 5
 Common-Source Stage

λ=0
Av=−g m RD

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers

 W
Av =− 2μ n C ox I D RD
L
6
 Operation in Saturation

R D ID V DD − V GS −V TH

 In order to maintain operation in saturation, Vout cannot fall

below Vin by more than one threshold voltage.
 The condition above ensures operation in saturation.
CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 7
CS Stage with λ=0

Av=−g m RL
R in=∞
Rout =R L
8
 CS Stage with λ ≠ 0

Av=−g m  RL∣∣r O 
R in=∞
Rout =R L∣∣r O

 However, Early effect and channel length modulation affect

CE and CS stages in a similar manner.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 9

 CS Gain Variation with Channel Length

∣Av∣=

2μ n C ox

λ ID
W
L
∝

2μ n C ox WL
ID

 Since λ is inversely proportional to L, the voltage gain

actually becomes proportional to the square root of L.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 10

 CS Stage with Current-Source Load

Av =−g m1  r O1∣∣r O2 
Rout =r O1∣∣r O2
 To alleviate the headroom problem, an active current-
source load is used.
 This is advantageous because a current-source has a high
output resistance and can tolerate a small voltage drop
across it.
CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 11
 PMOS CS Stage with NMOS as Load

Av =−g m2  r O1∣∣r O2 

 Similarly, with PMOS as input stage and NMOS as the load,

the voltage gain is the same as before.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 12

 CS Stage with Diode-Connected Load

Av=−g m1⋅
1
gm2
=−
 W /L 1
 W /L 2
Av =−g m1
 1
g m2
∣∣r O2∣∣r O1

 Lower gain, but less dependent on process parameters.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 13

 CS Stage with Diode-Connected PMOS Device

Av =−g m2
 1
g m1
∣∣r o1∣∣r o2


 Note that PMOS circuit symbol is usually drawn with the

source on top of the drain.

14
 CS Stage with Degeneration

RD
Av=−
1
R S
gm
λ=0
 Similar to bipolar counterpart, when a CS stage is
degenerated, its gain, I/O impedances, and linearity change.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 15

 Example of CS Stage with Degeneration

RD
Av =−
1 1

g m1 g m2
 A diode-connected device degenerates a CS stage.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 16

 CS Stage with Gate Resistance

V R =0
G

 Since at low frequencies, the gate conducts no current,

gate resistance does not affect the gain or I/O impedances.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 17

 Output Impedance of CS Stage with Degeneration

r out≈gm r O R S r O

 Similar to the bipolar counterpart, degeneration boosts

output impedance.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 18

 Output Impedance Example (I)

Rout =r O1
 1g m1
1

1
g m2 g m2

 When 1/gm is parallel with rO2, we often just consider 1/gm.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 19

 Output Impedance Example (II)

Rout ≈gm1 r O1 r O2r O1

 In this example, the impedance that degenerates the CS

stage is rO, instead of 1/gm in the previous example.
CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 20
 CS Core with Biasing

R1∣∣R2 −RD R1∣∣R2

Av = ⋅ , Av=− gmR D
RGR1∣∣R2 1 R GR1∣∣R2
R S
gm
 Degeneration is used to stabilize bias point, and a bypass
capacitor can be used to obtain a larger small-signal
voltage gain at the frequency of interest.
CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 21
 Common-Gate Stage

Av =g m RD

 Common-gate stage is similar to common-base stage: a

rise in input causes a rise in output. So the gain is positive.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 22

 Signal Levels in CG Stage

 In order to maintain M1 in saturation, the signal swing at Vout

cannot fall below Vb-VTH.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 23

 I/O Impedances of CG Stage

1
R in= λ=0 Rout =R D
gm

 The input and output impedances of CG stage are similar

to those of CB stage.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 24

 CG Stage with Source Resistance

RD
Av =
1
R S
gm
 When a source resistance is present, the voltage gain is
equal to that of a CS stage with degeneration, only positive.
CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 25
 Generalized CG Behavior

Rout = 1gm r O  R Sr O

 When a gate resistance is present it does not affect the

gain and I/O impedances since there is no potential drop
across it ( at low frequencies).
 The output impedance of a CG stage with source resistance
is identical to that of CS stage with degeneration.
CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 26
 Example of CG Stage

v out g m1 RD
vin
=
1 gm1 g m2  R S [
Rout ≈ g m1 r O1
 1
 ]
∣∣R r O1 ∣∣RD
g m2 S

 Diode-connected M2 acts as a resistor to provide the bias

current.
CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 27
 CG Stage with Biasing

vout R3∣∣  1/ gm 
= ⋅gm R D
vin R 3∣∣ 1/g m RS

 R1 and R2 provide gate bias voltage, and R3 provides a path

for DC bias current of M1 to flow to ground.
CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 28
 Source Follower Stage

Av 1

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 29

 Source Follower Core

vout r O∣∣RL
=
vin 1
r O∣∣RL
gm
 Similar to the emitter follower, the source follower can be
analyzed as a resistor divider.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 30

 Source Follower Example

r O1∣∣r O2
Av =
1
r O1∣∣r O2
gm1
 In this example, M2 acts as a current source.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 31

 Output Resistance of Source Follower

1 1
Rout = ∣∣r O∣∣R L≈ ∣∣RL
gm gm
 The output impedance of a source follower is relatively low,
whereas the input impedance is infinite ( at low
frequencies); thus, a good candidate as a buffer.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 32

 Source Follower with Biasing

1 W 2
I D= μ n C ox  V DD −ID R S−V TH 
2 L

 RG sets the gate voltage to VDD, whereas RS sets the drain

current.
 The quadratic equation above can be solved for ID.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 33

 Supply-Independent Biasing

 If Rs is replaced by a current source, drain current ID

becomes independent of supply voltage.
CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 34
 Example of a CS Stage (I)

Av=−g m1
 1
gm3
∣∣r O1∣∣r O2∣∣r O3

1
Rout = ∣∣r O1∣∣r O2∣∣r O3
gm3
 M1 acts as the input device and M2, M3 as the load.
CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 35
 Example of a CS Stage (II)

r O2
Av =−
1 1
 ∣∣r O3
g m1 g m3

 M1 acts as the input device, M3 as the source resistance,

and M2 as the load.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 36

 Examples of CS and CG Stages

r O2
Av =
Av =−g m2 [  1g m1 r O1 R Sr O1 ]∣∣r O1 CG
1
CS
R S
gm
 With the input connected to different locations, the two
circuits, although identical in other aspects, behave
differently.
CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 37
 Example of a Composite Stage (I)

RD
Av =
1 1

gm1 g m2

 By replacing the left side with a Thevenin equivalent, and

recognizing the right side is actually a CG stage, the
voltage gain can be easily obtained.

CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 38

 Example of a Composite Stage (II)

1
∣∣r O3∣∣r O4
vout2 g m3
=−
vin 1 1
∣∣r O2
gm2 g m1

 This example shows that by probing different places in a

circuit, different types of output can be obtained.
 Vout1 is a result of M1 acting as a source follower whereas
Vout2 is a result of M1 acting as a CS stage with
degeneration.
CH7 CMOS Amplifiers 39