A rookie talk about analog integrated circuit design

Since the 1980s, digital signal processing algorithms and integrated circuits have developed rapidly. Although many types of signal processing have been converted from analog circuits to digital circuits, analog circuits are indispensable in a single chip. As a rookie in an analog circuit designer, talk about some of your own experiences in learning and working.

Analog circuit design is more difficult than digital circuit design

I have been in contact with analog integrated circuits for four years since I graduated. I have read the article "The Four Realms of Analog Chip Design". I should be in the realm of rookie now. Analog circuit design and digital circuit design are very different. The most basic is that analog circuits process analog signals and digital signals processed by digital circuits. Analog signals are continuous in time and value, and digital signals are discrete in time and value. Based on this feature, analog circuit design is somewhat more difficult than digital circuit design. The specific reasons for the difficulty in designing analog circuits are as follows:

1. Analog design requires a compromise between speed, power, gain, accuracy, supply voltage, noise, area, etc., while digital design requires only a balance between power, speed, and area.

2. Analog circuits are much more sensitive to noise, crosstalk, and other interference than digital circuits.

3. As the process size continues to decrease, the reduction in supply voltage and the secondary effects of the device have a much more severe impact on analog circuits than on digital circuits, presenting new challenges for analog design.

4. The layout affects the analog circuit much more than the digital circuit. The same layout of the line difference can cause the chip to fail.

My analog integrated circuit design learning path begins with Lazard's analog CMOS integrated circuit design book. This book will still be viewed in the current work, and is one of the classic textbooks for analog integrated circuit design. The first thing I want to talk about is the relevant courses and textbook suggestions for analog circuit design. Analog circuit design is the same as doing other things. First, learn some basic guidelines, methods, and knowledge points. The classic analog circuit design textbook is a fusion of these things. razavi's design of analog CMOS integrated circuits, sansen's analog design essenTIals Allen's CMOS Analog Circuit Design, paul gray's Analysis and Design of Analog Integrated Circuits, and baker's CMOS Circuit Design, Layout, and SimulaTIon are all classic textbooks for analog circuit design, and are books that need to be read even if they are already working. Razavi's design of analog CMOS integrated circuits is ideal for introductory learning. As for the teaching sequence of several other textbooks, it is up to you. I think reading textbooks is to analyze the circuit with the help of the author, and the post-class exercises are to exercise the ability to analyze the circuit and design the circuit independently. I will analyze each formula of each circuit in the book and analyze it myself. It is very necessary to master single-stage amplifiers, current mirrors, and bandgap references. Rail-to-rail input, class AB. Op amp. Basic circuits such as comparators are of great help and can lay a good foundation for future development. Signals and systems and matlab are skills that must be learned during the undergraduate period and are often used in postgraduate studies and later work.