Mark Bryk ECE 142 Spectre Exercise Report December 18 th , 2013

Structure of the Report

1. Schematic: For each amplifier design, a full schematic diagram of the circuit has been included. 2. Components: The component values are tabulated underneath the diagrams. The parasitic capacitor values for each amplifier were calculated using Spectre Operating Point Analysis. The rest of the values were given as part of the design assignment. All BJT model parameters are tabulated below.

3. Spectre: Spectre was used to plot the small signal voltage gain against the input signals frequency (log scale) for each amplifier. In addition, Spectre provided all of the pole and zero frequency values in the circuit. These simulated values are tabulated alongside their respective component and estimated values from the models. All netlists used in Spectre simulations are included at the conclusion of this report. 4. The small signal models (low frequency and high frequency) are provided. These models were used to estimate both the low and high frequency poles and zeros of the circuits. All calculations are included following the models.

BJT Parameters:

Common Emitter Amplifier

1. Schematic

2. Components

Chosen Values:

Given Values

, , and were chosen initially (in Part 3 of the assignment) to bias the load-less amplifier correctly to a voltage gain of , , and . and form a potential divider delivering a bias DC current to the base of the transistor, as well as not drawing too much current from the rails. The emitter capacitor value was chosen to bring the lower frequency below . The capacitor size is inversely proportional to the pole frequency, consistent with .

3. Spectre

Component

Estimated Frequency

Simulated Frequency

4. Small Signal Model

In the calculations shown below, the small signal parameters were calculated by using the Operating Point conditions. These small signal parameter values were used for analysis of all three amplifiers, since the Quiescent Collector current stayed sufficiently constant throughout all configurations. For all three amplifiers, Spectre reported no zeros in the transfer function. Therefore, analysis was only done in estimating the poles of the circuit. For the low frequency poles, the method of short-circuit time constants was used. Shorting for analysis of the other two capacitors allowed a splitting of the input and output circuits and search for the equivalent resistance, to calculated the individual short-circuit time constants. For the high frequency poles, the method of open-circuit time constants was used, and the time constants were added to find the cumulative high-frequency time constant. The Miller approximation was used to split the input and output circuits. While this gives a fantastic approximation of the pole associated with , it usually underestimates that of since we ignore the fact that becomes . Overall, although all of the poles were accurately identified, the cumulative low 3dB point was overestimated by the method of short circuit time constants.

Common Base Amplifier

1. Schematic

2. Components

The same component values were used in this configuration, in order to compare the voltage gain of the two amplifiers. Given Values:

Chosen Values:

3. Spectre

Component

Estimated Frequency

Simulated Frequency

4. Small Signal Model

Once again, the method of short-circuit and open-circuit time constants was used. And again, the low 3dB point was overestimated due to the addition of all three, and the high 3dB point was underestimated. However, here the Miller approximation was not used, and therefore both parasitic poles were accurately estimated. The low 3dB point is clearly much lower, and the upper 3dB point is 5x larger than the CE configuration, allowing for a larger midband gain. Unfortunately, this is a tradeoff, as the magnitude of the midband gain is significantly lower. This is an understandable result of the CB configuration, due to the lower input resistance.

Cascode Amplifier
1. Schematic

2. Components

The cascode amplifier is a combination of the CE and the CB amplifiers, and uses their component values. In order to provide the same small-signal midband gain as the original CE amplifier, the emitter degeneration ( ) was reduced slightly. While this increases the magnitude of the gain, it does take away from the linearity of the circuit and its stability. Given Values:

Chosen Values:

3. Spectre

Component

Estimated Frequency

Simulated Frequency

4. Small Signal Model

In the case of the cascode amplifier, the method of short-circuit and open-circuit time constants often provided problems. Although the isolated output capacitors pole and the top base capacitors pole were accurately estimated, the other two poles had too many dependencies to approximate away. This affected the cumulative 3dB point estimation as well. This was the only amplifier which underestimated both the low and high frequency 3dB points. In contrast with the other two amplifiers, the size of the midband region has shrunk. In addition, due to the increase in poles, the drop off in frequency response at high frequencies is quicker.

Netlists
// Common Emitter Amplifier .include npnc.inc vdd top 0 dc 2.5 vee bottom 0 dc -2.5 vin n1 0 ac 1 rs n1 n2 100 c1 n2 b 15u r1 top b 6.5k r2 b bottom 3.5k q c b e npnc re e bottom 1k ce e bottom 100u rc top c 2.5k c2 c n3 15u rl n3 0 2k .ac dec 10 1 1e10 .pz q vin .end // Common Base Amplifier .include npnc.inc vdd top 0 dc 2.5 vee bottom 0 dc -2.5 cb b 0 15u r1 top b 6.5k r2 b bottom 3.5k q c b e npnc re e bottom 1k vin n1 0 ac 1 rs n1 n2 100 c1 n2 e 100u rc top c 2.5k c2 c n3 15u rl n3 0 2k .ac dec 10 1 1e10 .pz q vin .end // Cascode Amplifier .include npnc.inc

vdd top 0 dc 2.5 vee bottom 0 dc -2.5 vin n1 0 ac 1 rs n1 n2 100 cap1 n2 b1 15u r11 top b1 6.5k r21 b1 bottom 3.5k capb b2 0 15u r12 top b2 6.5k r22 b2 bottom 3.5k qce c1 b1 e npnc qcb c2 b2 c1 npnc re e bottom 650 ce e bottom 100u rc top c2 2.5k cap2 c2 n3 15u rl n3 0 2k .ac dec 10 1 1e10 .pz q vin .end Note: For Operating Point analysis (parasitic capacitances), the spectre commands were needed, and a DC sweep was required on any of the components in the circuit. I simply added the following lines to the end of the netlist: simulator lang=spectre dcsweep dc param=r dev=r1 start=6k stop=7k step=100 save q:oppoint