 Calculation of R0:

it
B3/B4 C4
+
R r v4 gm4v4 r04 vt
rE3
–
E4/C2
B1/B2
+
rE1 r v2 gm2v2 r02
–

Exact Equivalent

 Q1 and Q3 diode-connected  rE1 and rE3

Aloke Dutta/EE/IIT Kanpur 1

 Simplification:
 Bases of Q1-Q2 and Q3-Q4 can be approximated to
be at ac ground (a first-order estimate)
it
B3/B4 C4
+
r v4 gm4v4 r04 vt
–
E4/C2
B1/B2
+
r v2 gm2v2 r02
–

Equivalent after First-Order Simplification

Aloke Dutta/EE/IIT Kanpur 2

  v2 = 0  gm2v2 = 0
 Leads to the simplified
equivalent (looks it
familiar?) +
 By inspection: r v4 gm4v4 r04 vt
R0  ro4(1 + gm4r4) –

 4r04
r02
(assuming ro2 >> r4)
 Actual analysis gives:
Simplified Equivalent
R0 = 4r04/2 (large error!)

Aloke Dutta/EE/IIT Kanpur 3

• NMOS Cascode:
 All Ms perfectly matched
 All bodies connected to ground VDD

 M1-M2 does not have body IREF

R V0
effect, but M3-M4 does!
 Makes hand analysis quite I0

tedious M3 M4

 Neglect body effect

 All Ms operate with same VGS M1
+
M2
VTN + V
 Define V = VGS  VTN = VGT –
 V = Gate Overdrive
Aloke Dutta/EE/IIT Kanpur 4
 The reference current:
VDD  2VGS k N 2
I REF   VGT (neglecting λ)
R 2
 VGS and IREF can be found  I0 = IREF
 VG1 = VG2 = VGS = VTN + V
 VG3 = VG4 = 2VGS = 2(VTN + V)
 VS4 = VD2 = VTN + V
 VGS2 = VDS2
 M2 can never enter linear region
 V0,min = VDS2 + VDS4 = VTN + 2V
Aloke Dutta/EE/IIT Kanpur 5