Ali Sheikholeslami

Process Variation and Pelgrom's Law [Circuit Intuitions]

In this article, we step back and look at dc operation of a simple current mirror and how the process variation can affect the accuracy of the currents produced. We review this through a simplified design of a current-based digital to analog converter (also known as IDAC). In conclusion, Pelgroms law states that the threshold (or other processrelated) mismatch between two adjacent identically drawn transistors reduces inversely with the gate area. While we choose W/L of transistors to achieve a target bandwidth and power, we choose WL to maintain accuracy in the face of process variation and mismatch.

Reinventing the Wheel [Circuit Intuitions]

Welcome to the 15th article in this column series. As the title suggests, each article provides insights and intuitions into circuit design and analysis. These articles are aimed at undergraduate students but may serve the interests of other readers as well. I would appreciate your comments and feedback as well as your requests and suggestions for future articles in this series. Please send your comments to ali@ece.utoronto.ca.

Chopper Amplifier [Circuit Intuitions]

Welcome to the ninth article in this column series. As the title suggests, each article provides insights and intuitions into circuit design and analysis. These articles are aimed at undergraduate students but may serve the interests of other readers as well. If you read this article, I would appreciate your comments and feedback, as well as your requests and suggestions for future articles in this series. Please e-mail your comments to me at ali@ece.utoronto.ca.

Offset Cancellation [Circuit Intuitions]

Welcome to the eighth article in this ?Circuit Intuitions? column series. As the title suggests, each article provides insights and intuitions into circuit design and analysis. These articles are aimed at undergraduate students but may serve the interests of other readers as well. If you read this article, I would appreciate your comments and feedback, as well as your requests and suggestions for future articles in this series. Please send your comments to me at ali@ece.utoronto.ca.

Miller's Theorem [Circuit Intuitions]

Welcome to the sixth article in the ?Circuit Intuitions? column series. As the title suggests, each article provides insights and intuitions into circuit design and analysis. These articles are aimed at undergraduate students but may serve the interests of other readers as well. I would appreciate your comments and feedback, as well as your requests and suggestions for future articles in this series. Please e-mail your comments to me at: ali@ece.utoronto.ca.

Miller's Approximation [Circuit Intuitions]

Welcome to the seventh article in this column series. As the title suggests, each article provides insights and intuitions into circuit design and analysis. These articles are aimed at undergraduate students but may serve the interests of other readers as well. If you read this article, I would appreciate your comments and feedback, as well as your requests and suggestions for future articles in this series. Please e-mail your comments to me at: ali@ece.utoronto.ca.

Source Degeneration [Circuit Intuitions]

We said in the previous article that looking into a node, one can see the Thevenin or Norton equivalent circuit for that node. We now look deeper into one particular circuit that consists of an NMOS transistor with a resistor in series with its source terminal in a configuration known as NMOS transistor with source degeneration. We offer a simple method for the small-signal analysis and design of this configuration. The case for the PMOS transisor is similar but not discussed in this article for brevity.