Analog Design Course

Lesson 1 • AC Analysis and Phasors

Introduces phasor representation and impedance to analyze sinusoidal steady-state circuits. Bridges DC analysis to frequency-domain design methods.

Lesson 2 • DC Circuit Analysis Techniques

Applies Kirchhoff's laws, nodal analysis, and Thevenin/Norton equivalents to resistive networks. Provides tools reused in every later amplifier analysis.

Lesson 3 • Passive Component Behavior

Covers resistors, capacitors, and inductors as ideal and real devices. Connects component parasitics to practical circuit performance limits.

Lesson 4 • RC and RLC Network Response

Derives time-domain and frequency-domain responses of first- and second-order networks. Introduces poles, zeros, and resonance as design handles.

Lesson 1 • MOSFET Small-Signal Model

Derives the small-signal model including gm, gds, and gate capacitances for AC analysis. Enables direct comparison with BJT performance in amplifier topologies.

Lesson 2 • MOSFET Large-Signal and Biasing

Covers NMOS and PMOS I-V characteristics, threshold voltage, and DC operating point selection. Connects device physics to practical bias network design.

Lesson 3 • BJT Small-Signal Model

Derives the hybrid-pi model from the Ebers-Moll equations for AC analysis. Links transconductance gm and rpi to bias current for amplifier design.

Lesson 4 • Diode Physics and Models

Covers p-n junction physics, the Shockley equation, and piecewise-linear models. Establishes device intuition applied to rectifiers and clamps.

Lesson 1 • Biasing and DC Operating Point

Designs stable bias networks using voltage dividers, feedback resistors, and current sources. Ensures Q-point stability over temperature and device variation.

Lesson 2 • Emitter and Source Follower Stages

Derives near-unity voltage gain, high input impedance, and low output impedance of follower stages. Positions these stages as impedance buffers in signal chains.

Lesson 3 • Frequency Response of Single Stages

Applies the Miller effect and open-circuit time constants to predict amplifier bandwidth. Provides a systematic method for locating dominant poles.

Lesson 4 • Common-Base and Common-Gate Stages

Covers low-input-impedance, high-bandwidth topologies used in RF and current-mode circuits. Connects these stages to cascode configurations introduced later.

Lesson 1 • Active Loads and Gain Enhancement

Replaces resistive loads with current mirror active loads to maximize differential gain. Demonstrates how active loads enable voltage gains exceeding 1000 V/V.

Lesson 2 • Differential Pair Frequency Response

Extends open-circuit time constant analysis to differential pairs with active loads. Identifies dominant poles limiting op-amp unity-gain bandwidth.

Lesson 3 • Basic Current Mirror Topologies

Covers simple, cascode, and Wilson current mirrors for precise current replication. Analyzes output resistance and systematic error in each topology.

Lesson 4 • Differential Pair Operation

Derives large-signal and small-signal behavior of BJT and MOSFET differential pairs. Establishes differential mode gain and common-mode rejection as key metrics.

Lesson 1 • Op-Amp AC and Dynamic Specifications

Covers gain-bandwidth product, slew rate, settling time, and noise spectral density. Links dynamic specs to closed-loop bandwidth and transient performance.

Lesson 2 • Frequency Compensation Techniques

Applies Miller compensation to achieve a dominant pole and adequate phase margin. Covers feed-forward and nulling resistor methods for right-half-plane zero cancellation.

Lesson 3 • Key Op-Amp DC Specifications

Quantifies input offset voltage, bias current, CMRR, PSRR, and output swing limits. Connects each parameter to circuit-level error budgets.

Lesson 4 • Two-Stage Op-Amp Architecture

Traces signal flow through a differential input stage and common-source second stage. Derives open-loop gain as the product of both stage gains.

Lesson 1 • Feedback Fundamentals

Defines loop gain, feedback factor, and the four feedback topologies using two-port analysis. Shows how feedback desensitizes gain and modifies impedances.

Lesson 2 • Compensation Strategies

Designs lag, lead, and lead-lag compensators to meet phase margin targets. Covers dominant-pole, zero-addition, and feed-forward compensation methods.

Lesson 3 • Loop Gain Analysis Methods

Applies Bode's return-ratio and Middlebrook's method to extract loop gain from complex circuits. Provides simulation-ready techniques for verifying stability.

Lesson 4 • Stability Criteria and Phase Margin

Uses Bode and Nyquist criteria to assess stability from loop gain magnitude and phase. Targets phase margin of 45–60 degrees for robust closed-loop response.

Lesson 1 • Switched-Capacitor Filter Concepts

Introduces switched-capacitor equivalents of resistors and their use in integrated filters. Explains clock-frequency tuning and aliasing considerations.

Lesson 2 • Signal Conditioning Circuits

Designs instrumentation amplifiers, precision rectifiers, and peak detectors for sensor interfaces. Connects filter output to ADC input requirements.

Lesson 3 • Filter Specifications and Approximations

Translates passband ripple, stopband attenuation, and transition bandwidth into filter order. Compares Butterworth, Chebyshev, and Bessel approximation trade-offs.

Lesson 4 • Passive LC Filter Design

Synthesizes ladder LC filters from normalized prototype tables and frequency scaling. Establishes passive filter benchmarks for active filter comparison.

Lesson 1 • Bandgap Voltage References

Derives the PTAT and CTAT currents that combine to produce a temperature-stable reference. Covers trimming and curvature correction for high-accuracy references.

Lesson 2 • Layout Techniques for Matching

Applies common-centroid, interdigitation, and dummy device strategies to minimize mismatch. Connects layout choices to offset voltage and mirror accuracy.

Lesson 3 • Noise Analysis in Analog Circuits

Models thermal, flicker, and shot noise sources in transistors and resistors. Derives input-referred noise for amplifier chains using noise figure methods.

Lesson 4 • Cascode and Folded-Cascode Amplifiers

Extends single-stage topologies with cascode devices to boost output resistance and gain. Introduces folded-cascode for low-supply-voltage operation.