ANALOGUE ELECTRONICS

AENG001-4-2

CHAPTER 6
CMOS Amplifiers
 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

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 2

Chapter Outline

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 3

 MOS Biasing

R2VDD
VGS V1 VTH V 2V1 2
VTH
R1 R2
1

1
V1
W
nCox 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.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 4

 Self-Biased MOS Stage

I D RD VGS RS I D VDD

The circuit above is analyzed by noting M1 is in saturation

and no potential drop appears across RG.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 5

 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).
CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 6
Common-Source Stage

0
Av g m RD
W
Av 2 n Cox I D RD
L
CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 7
 Operation in Saturation

RD I D VDD VGS VTH

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.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 8

CS Stage with =0

Av g m RL
Rin
Rout RL
CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 9
 CS Stage with 0

Av g m RL || rO
Rin
Rout RL || rO
However, Early effect and channel length modulation affect
CE and CS stages in a similar manner.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 10

 CS Gain Variation with Channel Length

W
2 nCox
L 2 nCoxWL
Av
ID ID

Since is inversely proportional to L, the voltage gain

actually becomes proportional to the square root of L.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 11

 CS Stage with Current-Source Load

Av g m1 rO1 || rO 2
Rout rO1 || rO 2
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.
CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 12
 PMOS CS Stage with NMOS as Load

Av g m 2 (rO1 || rO 2 )

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

the voltage gain is the same as before.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 13

 CS Stage with Diode-Connected Load

Av g m1
1

W / L 1
gm2 W / L 2
1
Av g m1 || rO 2 || rO1
gm2
Lower gain, but less dependent on process parameters.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 14

 CS Stage with Diode-Connected PMOS Device

1
Av g m 2 || ro1 || ro 2
g m1

Note that PMOS circuit symbol is usually drawn with the

source on top of the drain.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 15

 CS Stage with Degeneration

RD
Av
1
RS
gm
0
Similar to bipolar counterpart, when a CS stage is
degenerated, its gain, I/O impedances, and linearity change.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 16

 Example of CS Stage with Degeneration

RD
Av
1 1

g m1 g m 2
A diode-connected device degenerates a CS stage.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 17

 CS Stage with Gate Resistance

VR 0
G

Since at low frequencies, the gate conducts no current,

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

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 18

 Output Impedance of CS Stage with Degeneration

rout g m rO RS rO

Similar to the bipolar counterpart, degeneration boosts

output impedance.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 19

 Output Impedance Example (I)

1 1
Rout rO1 1 g m1
gm2 gm2

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

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 20

 Output Impedance Example (II)

Rout g m1rO1rO 2 rO1

In this example, the impedance that degenerates the CS

stage is rO, instead of 1/gm in the previous example.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 21

 CS Core with Biasing

R1 || R2 RD R1 || R2
Av , Av gm R D
RG R1 || R2 1 R RG R1 || R2
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.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 22

 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.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 23

 Signal Levels in CG Stage

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

cannot fall below Vb-VTH.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 24

 I/O Impedances of CG Stage

0
1
Rin Rout RD
gm

The input and output impedances of CG stage are similar

to those of CB stage.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 25

 CG Stage with Source Resistance

RD
Av
1
RS
gm
When a source resistance is present, the voltage gain is
equal to that of a CS stage with degeneration, only positive.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 26

 Generalized CG Behavior

Rout 1 g m rO RS rO
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.
CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 27
 Example of CG Stage

vout g m1 RD 1
Rout g m1rO1 || RS rO1 || RD
vin 1 g m1 g m 2 RS gm2

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

current.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 28

 CG Stage with Biasing

vout R3 || 1 / g m
g m RD
vin R3 || 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.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 29

Source Follower Stage

Av 1

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 30

 Source Follower Core

vout rO || RL

vin 1 r || R
O L
gm
Similar to the emitter follower, the source follower can be
analyzed as a resistor divider.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 31

 Source Follower Example

rO1 || rO 2
Av
1
rO1 || rO 2
g m1
In this example, M2 acts as a current source.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 32

 Output Resistance of Source Follower

1 1
Rout || rO || RL || 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.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 33

 Source Follower with Biasing

1 W
I D nCox VDD I D RS VTH
2

2 L

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

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

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 34

 Supply-Independent Biasing

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

becomes independent of supply voltage.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 35

 Example of a CS Stage (I)

1
Av g m1 || rO1 || rO 2 || rO 3
g m3
1
Rout || rO1 || rO 2 || rO 3
g m3
M1 acts as the input device and M2, M3 as the load.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 36

 Example of a CS Stage (II)

rO 2
Av
1 1
|| rO 3
g m1 g m3

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

and M2 as the load.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 37

 Examples of CS and CG Stages

rO 2
Av _ CG
Av _ CS g m 2 (1 g m1rO1 ) RS rO1 || rO1 1
RS
gm
With the input connected to different locations, the two
circuits, although identical in other aspects, behave
differently.
CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 38
 Example of a Composite Stage (I)

RD
Av
1 1

g m1 g m 2
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.

CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 39

 Example of a Composite Stage (II)

1
|| rO 3 || rO 4
vout 2 g m3

vin 1 1
|| rO 2
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.
CHAPTER 7: CMOS Amplifiers 40