Common Source Amplifier: NMOS Inverter Amplifier with PMOS

Current Load.
Figure 1(a) is a common source amplifier with ideal current source load. Figure
1(b) is its implementation using PMOS with constant gate voltage.

1. Low Frequency Small Signal Equivalent Circuit

Figure 1( c) shows its low frequency equivalent circuit. That is, all the stray
capacitances are ignored. The two-port parameters are to be determined. Comparing
Figure 1( c) and Figure 1(d), one obtains:
YL = g ds2 (or Z L = rds2 ); YS = ∞ (or ZS = 0)

V1 = Vi = Vgs1
and
V2 = Vo
From Fig 1, the current equations are derived to obtain the Y parameters:

I1 = 0
I 2 = g m1V1 + g ds1 V2

That is, the Y-parameter matrix is given by:

0 0 
Y=  ; detY = 0
g m g ds1 
The input impedance of common source circuit,
y 22 + YL g + g ds2
Zi = = ds1 =∞
detY + y11 YL 0 + (0)g ds2
The output impedance of the common source circuit,

y11 + YS 1 1
Zo = = =
detY + y 22 YS y 22 g ds1

The dc voltage gain is,

y 21 g m1
A V0 = − =− or
y 22 + YL g ds1 + g ds2
1
A V0 = −g m1 ( Z o // Z L ) = −g m1R out ; R out = Z o // Z L =
g ds1 + g ds2

The current gain is,

1
 y 21 YL g g
AI = − = − m1 ds2 = ∞
detY + y11 YL 0+0

2
 (3) VDD

VDD

(5) (25.8U/5.4U)
VG
M2/MP
IP
(2)
Vo Vo

IN
Vi Vi (1)
M1 M1/MN
(9.6U/5.4U)
(4)
VSS

(a) (b)

Vi I1 G D1 I2
1
+ + D2
+

V1 Vo
vgs1 gm1v gs1 g ds1 V2 g ds2
- - -
S1 S2

(c)

I1 I2
+ +

V1 Y V2 YL

Zi Zo
(d)
Figure 1. Common Source Amplifier: (a) ideal current source load, (b) PMOS current
source load,
( c) low frequency small signal equivalent circuit, and (d) two-port representation.

3
2. Common Source NMOS Inverter Amplifier with PMOS Current
Load Static Characteristic

The small signal equivalent circuit assumes that its operating point has been
property set. To achieve this, one needs to determine the static or large signal
characteristics of the amplifier. It will be shown that the operating point range for a high
gain amplifier is very narrow. Hence, its selection is very critical. A little error will cause
the circuit to cease functioning as amplifier.

Figure 2 shows the various regions of operation for each transistor. It is

determined as follows:

MN Transistor Operating Regions:

• Cutoff
VGSN=VIN-VSS<VTN
VIN<VTN+VSS=1+(-2.5)=-1.5V
• Saturation
VIN>-1.5
and
VGSN-VTN<VDSN
VIN-VSS-VTN<VO-VSS
VIN-VTN<VO
VIN-1<VO
• Ohmic
VIN>-1.5
and
VIN-VTN>=VO

MP Transistor (Current Source) Operating Regions:

• Cutoff
|VGSP|=|VG-VDD|<|VTP|
|0-2.5|<|-1| ** Can’t be satisfied Î No cutoff region
• Saturation
|VGSP|-|VTP|<|VDSP|
|VG-VDD|-|VTP|<|VO-VDD|
(VDD –VG) +VTP < (VDD-VO)
-VG+VTP<-VO
VG-VTP>VO
0-(-1) >VO
VO<1
• Ohmic
VO>1

4
These are summarized as follows:

Operating Region MN MP
Cutoff VIN<-1.5 None
Saturation VIN>-1.5&VIN-1<VO VO<1
Ohmic VIN>-1.5&VIN-1>VO VO>1

The various regions of operation of inverting amplifier are summarized as follows:

Operating Region MN MP
Region I Cutoff Ohmic
Region II Saturation Ohmic
Region III Saturation Saturation
Region IV Ohmic Saturation
Region V Ohmic No Cutoff, always on

These regions are shown in the in the PSpice transfer characteristic graph.

The common source amplifier circuit is shown in Figure 1(b). The power supplies
and netlist used in PSpice simulation and numerical calculations are also indicated. From
Figure 1(b), the load current is equal to the driver current, i.e.
iP = iN

The PMOS transistor MP with a constant VGS behaves as a constant current source.
Subscripts P and N are used to distinguish the variables and parameters of the two types
of transistors. The current equation of the transistor MP in saturated case is given by:
i DS = − i P = − ( β P / 2 )[ VGSP − VTP ]
2
when VGSP − VTP ≤ VDS
Substituting for VGSP = VG - VDD,
i P = ( β P / 2 )[ VG − VDD − VTP ]
2
when VG − VDD − VTP ≤ Vo − VDD
The absolute value symbol can be eliminated by accounting for the sign of each term
within the symbol. For PMOS transistor the following hold: VG<VDD, VTP<0, Vo-VDD<0.
The above current equation reduces to:
i P = ( β P / 2 )[( VDD − VG ) + VTP ]
2
when ( VDD − VG ) + VTP ≤ VDD − Vo or VG − VTP > Vo

Similarly, the PMOS current equation for the ohmic case is given by:

i P = β P [(| VGSP | − | VTP |) | VDS | − | VDS | 2 / 2]

when VG − VTP ≤ Vo
i P = β P [(VDD − VG + VTP )(VDD − Vo ) − (VDD − Vo ) 2 / 2]

For the NMOS driver transistor MN current equations are given by:

5
 i N = ( β N / 2 )( VGSN − VTN ) when VGSN − VTN ≤ VDSN , MN is saturated.
2

Substituting for VGSN = Vi - VSS, and VDSN=VO - VSS

i N = ( β N / 2 )( Vi − VSS − VTN ) when Vi − VSS − VTN ≤ VO − VSS or Vi − VTN ≤ VO , MN is
2

saturated.
Similarly, the NMOS current equation for the ohmic case is given by:

i N = [( Vi − VSS − VTN )( VO − VSS ) − ( VO − VSS ) / 2 ] when Vi − VTN > VO , MN is ohmic.

2

The static characteristic is determined by equating the corresponding current equations at

each voltage range:

1. Vi - VSS< VTN and VG-VTP=0-(-1)=1<Vo. The driver transistor MN is off, and MP is

on (ohmic). Hence Vo = Vdd.

2. Vi - VSS > VTN , Vi-VTN <Vo, and (VG-VTP<Vo). The driver transistor MN is saturated,
and the load transistor MP is ohmic.
(β N / 2)(Vi − VSS − VTN ) 2 = β P [(VDD − VG + VTP )(VDD − VO ) − (VDD − VO ) 2 / 2]

Solving for Vo,

VO = (VG − VTP ) − (VDD − VG + VTP ) 2 − β R (Vi − VSS − VTN ) 2
where β R = β N / β P
3. Vi - VSS > VTN , Vi -VTN <Vo, and VG-VTP>Vo. The driver transistor MN is saturated,
and the load transistor MP is also saturated.
(β N / 2)(Vi − VSS − VTN ) 2 = (β P / 2)(VDD − VG + VTP ) 2
This equation is independent of Vo, it is used to determine the operating point Vbias of the
inverter.
Solving for Vbias,
Vi = Vbias = VSS + VTN + (VDD − VG + VTP ) / β R
This value is only an approximation. The exact value is obtained from the PSpice
simulation. The bias voltage corresponds to the input voltage Vi when the output voltage
Vo=(VDD+ VSS )/2=(2.5-2.5)/2=0.

4. Vi - VSS > VTN, Vi -VTN > VO , and VG-VTP>Vo . The driver transistor MN is ohmic,
and the load transistor MP is saturated.

β N [(Vi − VSS − VTN )(VO − VSS ) − (VO − VSS ) 2 / 2] = ( β P / 2)(VDD − VG + VTP ) 2

Solving for Vo,
VO = (Vi − VTN ) − (Vi − VSS − VTN ) 2 − (VDD − VG + VTP ) 2 / β R
5. Vo= VSS , when the load transistor MP is off. It occurs when VGSP=VG-VDD>VTP. But
for the given VG (=0) this can not happen. This is verified in the Pspice simulation.
Figure 2 shows that VSS = -2.5 V can never be reached.

6
*PSpice file for NMOS Inverter with PMOS Current Load
*Filename="Lab3.cir"
VIN 1 0 DC 0VOLT AC 1V
VDD 3 0 DC 2.5VOLT
VSS 4 0 DC -2.5VOLT
VG 5 0 DC 0VOLT
M1 2 1 4 4 MN W=9.6U L=5.4U
M2 2 5 3 3 MP W=25.8U L=5.4U

.MODEL MN NMOS VTO=1 KP=40U

+ GAMMA=1.0 LAMBDA=0.02 PHI=0.6
+ TOX=0.05U LD=0.5U CJ=5E-4 CJSW=10E-10
+ U0=550 MJ=0.5 MJSW=0.5 CGSO=0.4E-9 CGDO=0.4E-9
.MODEL MP PMOS VTO=-1 KP=15U
+ GAMMA=0.6 LAMBDA=0.02 PHI=0.6
+ TOX=0.05U LD=0.5U CJ=5E-4 CJSW=10E-10
+ U0=200 MJ=0.5 MJSW=0.5 CGSO=0.4E-9 CGDO=0.4E-9
*Analysis
.DC VIN -2.5 2.5 0.05
.TF V(2) VIN
.PROBE
.END

Figure 2. The various operating regions of nmos common source amplifier with pmos
current l.oad

For the given parameters, the operating point Vbias is computed for the given example.
The W/L ratio must use the Leff = L - 2*LD = 5.4u - 2*(0.5u) = 4.4u.

7
 K N (WN / L Neff ) (40E - 6)(9.6E - 6/4.4E - 6)
βR = = =1
K P ( WPeff / L Peff ) (15E - 6)(25.8E - 6/4.4E - 6)
Vi = Vbias = VSS + VTN + (VDD − VG + VTP ) / β R = −2.5 + 1 + (2.5 − 0 − 1) / 1 = 0

The bias point from PSpice simulation is 7.6205mV reasonbly closed to the calculated
value of 0. From the transfer characteristic graph, a bias voltage of 0 is a reasobly good
choice, it will be used in the subsequent experiments.

Figure 1( c) shows the low frequency small signal equivalent circuit. The small
signal dc gain is given in section 1, as

A V0 = −g m1R out
where :
1
R out = Z O //Z L =
g ds1 + g ds2

In the analysis above, we used the N and P notation to distinguish the two-type of
transistor used in the common source amplifier. In Figure 1(b), MN is M1 and MP is M2
The small signal dc voltage gain is translated to:

Av=vo/vi = -gmN (RON // ROP)

where:

R ON = 1 /(λN I DSQ )
R OP = 1 /(λP I DSQ )
g mN = 2 β N I DSQ
I DSQ = I N = I P = ( β N / 2)(Vbias − VSS − VTN ) 2

β N = K N ( WN / L N ) = (40E - 6)(9.6u/4.4u) = 87.3 uA/V 2

I DSQ = ( β N / 2)(Vbias − VSS − VTN ) 2 = (87.3E - 6/2)(0 - (-2.5) - 1) 2 = 98.21uA
g mN = 2 β N I DSQ = 2(87.3E - 6)(98.21E - 6) = 130.95 umho
R ON = 1 /(λ N I DSQ ) = 1 /[(.02)(98.21E - 6)] = 0.509M
R OP = 1 /(λ P I DSQ ) = 1 /[(.02)(98.21E - 6)] = 0.509M
A V = −g mN (R ON // R OP ) = −(130.95E - 6)(.509M//.509M) = -33.18

8
The low frequency input resistance Rin = ∞ , since the input is capacitive. The output
resistance Rout=(RON//ROP)= .2545M. These calculations agree well with PSpice
simulation results of :

**** SMALL-SIGNAL CHARACTERISTICS

V(2)/VIN = -3.500E+01

INPUT RESISTANCE AT VIN = 1.000E+20

OUTPUT RESISTANCE AT V(2) = 2.536E+05

3. High Frequency Small Signal Equivalent Circuit

VDD

M2

VG
Cdb2
C gd2

Vo
Cgd1 Cdb1
CL
Vi
M1

C gs1

Figure 3. Common source amplifier parasitic capacitances.

Figure 3 shows all the parasitic capacitances in the common source amplifier.
Figure 4 shows the high frequency small signal equivalent circuit of the common source
amplifier circuit. Comparing Figure 4(b) and 4(c) one obtains:

9
V1 = VS = Vi = Vgs1 ; V2 = Vo

The current equation is:

I1 = sC gs1 V1 + sC gd1 (V1 − V2 ) = s (C gs1 + C gd1 )V1 − sC gd1 V2

I 2 = g m1V1 + sC gd1 (V2 − V1 ) + (g ds1 + sC o )V2 = (g m1 − sC gd1 )V1 + [g ds1 + s (C gd1 + C o )]V2

Cgd1
G1 D1 D2
+
gm1 v gs1

+ +
VS GL= V
Vi o
C gs1 g ds1 Cgd2 Cdb1 Cdb2 CL g ds2
-
S1 S2
(a)

C gd1
G1 D1 D2
+
+ +
VS Vi C gs1 GL=
Vo
gm1v gs1 g ds1 Cout g ds2
-
S1 S2
Cout=C gd2+Cdb1 +Cdb2+CL

(b)

I2
+
+
VS V1 Y V2 GL

(c)

Figure 4. The high frequency equivalent circuit: (a) All the parasitic capacitances, (b)
Combining capacitances, and (c) two-port representation.
The corresponding Y-parameter matrix is:

10
  s (C gs1 + C gd1 ) − sC gd1 
Y = 
 g m1 − sC gd1 g ds1 + s (C gd1 + C o )

detY = s (C gs1 + C gd1 )[g ds1 + s (C gd1 + C o )] + sC gd1 (g m1 − sC gd1 )

= s (g ds1C gs1 + g ds1C gd1 + g m1C gd1 ) + s 2 (C gs1C gd1 + C gs1C o + C gd1C o )

The overall voltage gain is:

V2 y 21 g m1 − sC gd1 g m1 − sC gd1
AV = =− =− =−
V1 y 22 + YL g ds1 + s (C gd1 + C o ) + g ds2 (g ds1 + g ds2 ) + s (C gd1 + C o )
 C   s 
 1 − s gd1  1− 
g m1  g m1   z1 
=-   = − A V0 
g ds1 + g ds2 C + Co s 
 1 + s gd1  1− 
 g ds1 + g ds2   p1 
where :
1
A V0 = −g m1R out ; R out =
g ds1 + g ds2
g m1
z1 =
C gd1
1
p1 = w BW = - ; C out = C gd1 + C o = C gd1 + C gd2 + C db1 + C db2 + C L
R out C out
 1  g m1
w GBW = A V0 w BW = (- g m1R out ) −  =
 R out C out  C out

That is, the wGBW is directly proportional to the transconductance of the driver transistor
and inversely proportional to the total output capacitance. The Bode Plot is shown in
Figure 5.

11
 Gain

AV0

z1
w
wBW =p1 wGBW =wu

Figure 5. Approximate bode plot of common source amplifier.

Experiments on Common Source Amplifier Circuits

1. Pspice Simulation Using the Netlist of NMOS Inverter with

PMOS Current Load Including Cgs and Cgd Transistor Parasitic
Capacitances Only.

Figure 1(b) is simulated with PSpice. Its netlist file is shown below. No area and
perimeter are supplied for the source and drain. That is, PSpice will only compute the CGS
and CGD in the simulation. This will be verified using the small signal circuit including
CGS and CGD only, discuss in section 3.

*PSpice file for NMOS Inverter with PMOS Current Load

*Filename="Lab3.cir"
VIN 1 0 DC 0VOLT AC 1V
VDD 3 0 DC 2.5VOLT
VSS 4 0 DC -2.5VOLT

12
VG 5 0 DC 0VOLT
M1 2 1 4 4 MN W=9.6U L=5.4U
M2 2 5 3 3 MP W=25.8U L=5.4U

.MODEL MN NMOS VTO=1 KP=40U

+ GAMMA=1.0 LAMBDA=0.02 PHI=0.6
+ TOX=0.05U LD=0.5U CJ=5E-4 CJSW=10E-10
+ U0=550 MJ=0.5 MJSW=0.5 CGSO=0.4E-9 CGDO=0.4E-9
.MODEL MP PMOS VTO=-1 KP=15U
+ GAMMA=0.6 LAMBDA=0.02 PHI=0.6
+ TOX=0.05U LD=0.5U CJ=5E-4 CJSW=10E-10
+ U0=200 MJ=0.5 MJSW=0.5 CGSO=0.4E-9 CGDO=0.4E-9
*Analysis
.DC VIN -2.5 2.5 0.05
.TF V(2) VIN
.AC DEC 100 1HZ 10GHZ
.PROBE
.END

The extracted parameters are:

A V = A V0 - 3 f BW = 44.218M
A V = 0 db f GBW = 1.6127G
PM = 75.826 o

:
The Bode Plot is shown below:

13
2. Pspice Simulation Using the Netlist of NMOS Inverter with
PMOS Current Load Including All Transistor Parasitic
Capacitances.
This is achieved by supplying the area and perimeter of the source and drain in the
Pspice netlist.

*PSpice file for NMOS Inverter with PMOS Current Load

*Filename="Lab31.cir"
VIN 1 0 DC 0VOLT AC 1V
VDD 3 0 DC 2.5VOLT
VSS 4 0 DC -2.5VOLT
VG 5 0 DC 0VOLT
M1 2 1 4 4 MN W=9.6U L=5.4U AD=40.32P AS=40.32P PD=27.6U PS=27.6U
M2 2 5 3 3 MP W=25.8U L=5.4U AD=108.36P AS=108.36P PD=60U PS=60U

.MODEL MN NMOS VTO=1 KP=40U

+ GAMMA=1.0 LAMBDA=0.02 PHI=0.6
+ TOX=0.05U LD=0.5U CJ=5E-4 CJSW=10E-10
+ U0=550 MJ=0.5 MJSW=0.5 CGSO=0.4E-9 CGDO=0.4E-9
.MODEL MP PMOS VTO=-1 KP=15U
+ GAMMA=0.6 LAMBDA=0.02 PHI=0.6
+ TOX=0.05U LD=0.5U CJ=5E-4 CJSW=10E-10
+ U0=200 MJ=0.5 MJSW=0.5 CGSO=0.4E-9 CGDO=0.4E-9
*Analysis
.DC VIN -2.5 2.5 0.05

14
.TF V(2) VIN
.AC DEC 100 1HZ 10GHZ
.PROBE
.END

The extracted parameters are:

A V = A V0 - 3 f BW = 6.6672M
A V = 0 db f GBW = 223.441M
The Bode Plot is shown below:

3. Pspice Simulation Using Small Signal Equivalent Circuit

Including Cgs and Cgd Transistor Parasitic Capacitances Only.

The following MATLAB m file has been written to calculate the parasitic capacitance for
each transistor by specifying W, L, VBD, and VBS.

function [CGS, CGD, CBD, CBS] = cap(W,L,VBD,VBS)

% Mfile must be save under /MATLAB directory
%SPICE PARAMETERS
TOX = 0.05; % 0.05U
COX = 0.69; % 0.69 fF/um^2 COX=(3.9eo/TOX)
CGSO = 0.4; % 0.4E-9 F/m=0.4fF/um
CGDO = 0.4; % 0.4E-9 F/m=0.4fF/um
CJ = 0.5; % 5E-4 F/m^2=0.5fF/um^2
CJSW = 1; % 10E-10 F/m = 1fF/um

15
LD = 0.5 % 0.5U
MJ = 0.5;
MJSW = 0.5;
PHI=0.6; % 0.5 V
%SPICE PARAMETERS END
LEFF=L-2*LD;
LMIN = 4.2; % 7*(.6)=4.2;4.5u actual measurement from LAB3 layout
CGC = COX * W * LEFF;
CGSOX = CGSO * W;
CGDOX = CGDO * W;
CGS = CGSOX + (2/3) * CGC;
CGD = CGDOX;
AD = W * LMIN;
PD = 2*(W + LMIN);
AS = W * LMIN;
PS = 2*(W + LMIN);
CBDJ = CJ/(1 - VBD/PHI)^MJ;
CBDJSW = CJSW/(1 - VBD/PHI)^MJSW;
CBDO = AD*CBDJ + PD*CBDJSW;
CBD = CBDO;
CBCJ = CJ;

CBC = CBCJ*W*LEFF;
CBSJ = CJ/(1 - VBS/PHI)^MJ;
CBSJSW = CJSW/(1 - VBS/PHI)^MJSW;
CBSO = AS*CBSJ + PS*CBSJSW;
CBS = CBSO + (2/3)* CBC;

The following is a sample call using the circuit for lab3.

For the NMOS transistor,

[CGS, CGD, CBD, CBS] = cap (9.6, 5.4, -2.5, 0)

CGS = 23.2704 CGD = 3.8400 CBD = 21.0116 CBS = 61.8400

For the PMOS transistor,

[CGS, CGD, CBD, CBS] = cap (25.8, 5.4, -2.5, 0)

CGS = 62.5392 CGD = 10.3200 CBD = 50.2325 CBS = 152.0200

Co = CDBn + CDBp + CDGp = 21.0116 + 50.2325 + 10.32 = 81.5641 fF

CGSn = 23.2704 fF
CGDn = 3.8400 fF
* Small signal equivalent circuit of NMOS inverter with PMOS
* Current load. Only CGS CGD are calculated
* Filename=lab3eqn.cir"

16
Vin 1 0 AC 1V
Rin 1 0 1E+20
Cgd 1 2 3.84fF
Cgs 1 0 23.27fF
Gm 2 0 1 0 130.95u
Ro 2 0 .2545Meg
Co 2 0 10.32fF
.TF V(2) Vin
.AC DEC 100 1HZ 10GHZ
.PROBE
.END

The extracted parameters are:

A V = A V0 - 3 f BW = 42.341M
A V = 0 db f GBW = 1.5493G
Comparing with theoretical calculation:
g 130.95E - 6
w GBW = m = = 12.69 x10 9
C O 10.32E - 15
w GBW 12.69E9
f GBW = = = 2.02x10 9 = 2.02G
2π 2π
1 1
w BW = = = 0.381x10 9
R O C O (.2545E6)(10.32E - 15)
w BW 0.38E9
f BW = = = 60x10 6 = 60M
2π 2π
The Bode Plot is shown below:

17
4. Pspice Simulation Using Small Signal Equivalent Circuit
Including All Transistor Parasitic Capacitances.

* Small signal equivalent circuit of NMOS inverter with PMOS

* Current load.
* Filename = "lab3eq.cir"
Vin 1 0 AC 1V
Rin 1 0 1E+20
Cgd 1 2 3.84fF
Cgs 1 0 23.27fF
Gm 2 0 1 0 130.95u
Ro 2 0 .2545Meg
Co 2 0 81.5641fF
.TF V(2) Vin
.AC DEC 100 1HZ 10GHZ
.PROBE
.END

The extracted parameters are:

A V = A V0 - 3 f BW = 7.3485M
A V = 0 db f GBW = 235.957M
Comparing with theoretical calculation:

18
 gm 130.95E - 6
w GBW = = = 1.6054G
C O 81.5641E - 15
w GBW 1.6054E9
f GBW = = = 256M
2π 2π
1 1
w BW = = = .048G
R O C O (.2545E6)(81.56E - 15)
w BW 0.048E9
f BW = = = 7.64M
2π 2π
The Bode Plot is shown below:

Common Source Amplifier Design Procedure

Design Specification
Design a common source amplifier with a gain of AV=50 and output impedance of
Ro=1Meg.

R O = R ON //R OP

Assume RON=ROP, hence

R ON = R OP = 2R O = 2Meg

19
 1 1
R ON = = R OP =
λ N I DSQ λ P I DSQ

Solving for IDSQ,

1 1 1
I DSQ = = = = 25uA
λ N R ON λ P R OP (0.02)(2E6)

From the gain equation the (W/L), can be obtained as follows:

A V = -g mN R O = − 2 β N I DSQ R O = − 2K N (WN /L Neff )I DSQ R O

(A V /R O ) 2 (50 / 1E6) 2 5
( WN /L Neff ) = = =
2K N I DSQ 2(40E - 6)(25E - 6) 4

Using technology with λ=0.6u, the W, L are selected as follows:

WN = 5λ = 5(0.6) = 3u
L Neff = 4λ = 4(0.6) = 2.4u
L N = L Neff + 2LD = 2.4u + 2(0.5u) = 3.4u

The drawn length must be multiple of λ , hence LN=3.6u (=6λ), the nearest computed
value must be selected.

The W, L of the PMOS are computed to achieve βR=1, that is

K P (WP /L Peff ) K W
βR = = P P = 1 ; since L Neff = L Peff
K N (WN /L Neff ) K N WN
K N WN (40E - 6)(3u)
WP = = = 8u; select 7.8u (= 13λ )
KP (15E - 6)
L P = L N = 3.6u

20
 (3) VDD

VG (5)

M3/MP2 M2/MP1

(2)
Vo

Ibias
(1) M1/MN1
Vi
(4)
VSS
(4)
VSS

Figure 1. Common source amplifier using current mirror to establish the bias current.

The common source amplifier is initially simulated using Pspice with Vbias set to 0 to
obtain the DC transfer characteristic. The actual Vbias is then located at the center of the
transition region, region 3 of DC transfer characteristic.

*PSpice file for NMOS Inverter with PMOS Current Load

*Filename="Lab3tst.cir"
VIN 1 0 DC 0VOLT AC 1V
VDD 3 0 DC 2.5VOLT
VSS 4 0 DC -2.5VOLT

M1 2 1 4 4 MN W=3U L=3.6U
M2 2 5 3 3 MP W=7.8U L=3.6U
M3 5 5 3 3 MP W=7.8U L=3.6U
IB 5 4 25U

.MODEL MN NMOS VTO=1 KP=40U

+ GAMMA=1.0 LAMBDA=0.02 PHI=0.6
+ TOX=0.05U LD=0.5U CJ=5E-4 CJSW=10E-10
+ U0=550 MJ=0.5 MJSW=0.5 CGSO=0.4E-9 CGDO=0.4E-9
.MODEL MP PMOS VTO=-1 KP=15U
+ GAMMA=0.6 LAMBDA=0.02 PHI=0.6
+ TOX=0.05U LD=0.5U CJ=5E-4 CJSW=10E-10
+ U0=200 MJ=0.5 MJSW=0.5 CGSO=0.4E-9 CGDO=0.4E-9
*Analysis

21
.DC VIN -2.5 2.5 0.05
.TF V(2) VIN
.AC DEC 100 1HZ 1000GHZ
.PROBE
.END

The simulation results are for Vbias=0. Hence the following small signal characteristics
are not what we are looking for.

**** SMALL-SIGNAL CHARACTERISTICS

V(2)/VIN = -4.066E-01

INPUT RESISTANCE AT VIN = 1.000E+20

OUTPUT RESISTANCE AT V(2) = 1.986E+04

The above simulation results will give us the node voltage V5=VG.

NODE VOLTAGE NODE VOLTAGE NODE VOLTAGE NODE

VOLTAGE

( 1) 0.0000 ( 2) -2.0602 ( 3) 2.5000 ( 4) -2.5000

( 5) .4667

With node voltage VG known, the approximate Vbias can be calculated as follows:
Vbias = VSS + VTN + (VDD - VG + VTP )/ β R = −2.5 + 1 + (2.5 − VG − 1) / 1 = −VG

Vbias=-V5=-VG=-.4667

The node voltage VG can also be calculated theoretically, this will be shown in the next
section.

To obtain the desired small signal characteristics, the Vbias must be set correctly by
changing one line in the Pspice netlist.

VIN 1 0 DC –0.4667VOLT AC 1V

The small signal characteristics show that the design specifications are achieved within
5%: Av=-50.8, Ro=1.027Meg.

**** SMALL-SIGNAL CHARACTERISTICS

22
 V(2)/VIN = -5.080E+01

INPUT RESISTANCE AT VIN = 1.000E+20

OUTPUT RESISTANCE AT V(2) = 1.027E+06

NODE VOLTAGE NODE VOLTAGE NODE VOLTAGE NODE

VOLTAGE

( 1) -.4667 ( 2) -.6650 ( 3) 2.5000 ( 4) -2.5000

( 5) .4667

Increasing The Gain of Common Source Amplifier

The new specification is to increased the gain to Av=70, and maintaining
Ro=1Meg.

Using the current mirror principle the IDSQ=25uA=Ibias can be maintained by passing
Ibias to M3. With a constant IDSQ, Ro will also be constant. The new gain can be achieved
as follows:

A V2 − g m2 R O g m2 2K N (WN2 /L Neff )I DSQ WN2

= = = =
A V1 − g m1R O g m1 2K N (WN1 /L Neff )I DSQ WN1
2 2
A   70  49
WN2 =  V2  WN1 =   3u = 3u ≈ 6u
 A V1   50  25

Theoretical Calculation of VG
PMOS transistor is in saturation whenever,

| VGSP | − | VTP | < | VDSP | --(1)

For PMOS transistor M3, the drain is connected to gate, hence eq (1) is always satisfied.
M3 is always operating in saturation mode. Hence, the drain current is given by:

I bias = I P3 = ( β P / 2)(| VG - VDD | - | VTP |) 2 = ( β P / 2)(1.5 − VG ) 2 --(2)

Solving for VG,

23
 2I bias 2I bias 2(25E - 6)
VG = 1.5 - = 1.5 − = 1.5 − = 0.4459
βP K P ( WP /L Peff ) (15E − 6)(7.8 / 2.6)
Simulation result is 0.4667

Changing the W/L of M1 to increase the gain will alter the βR ratio.

K N (WN /L Neff ) K N WN (40E - 6)(6E - 6)

βR = = = = 2.05
K P (WP /L Peff ) K P WP (15E - 6)(7.8E - 6)

The new theortical Vbias is calculated,

Vbias = VSS + VTN + (VDD - VG + VTP )/ β R = −2.5 + 1 + (2.5 − 0.4459 − 1) / 2.05 = −0.764

Again the actual Vbias is determined from the DC transfer characteristics, Vbias =-0.777
which is very closed to the theoretical calculation above.

The new circuit is simulated by changing the following two lines in the Pspice netlist:

VIN 1 0 DC –0.777VOLT AC 1V

M1 2 1 4 4 MN W=6U L=3.6U

The simulation results show that the desired small signal characteristics are within 5%,
Av=-72.61, and Ro=1.038Meg

**** SMALL-SIGNAL CHARACTERISTICS

V(2)/VIN = -7.261E+01

INPUT RESISTANCE AT VIN = 1.000E+20

OUTPUT RESISTANCE AT V(2) = 1.038E+06

NODE VOLTAGE NODE VOLTAGE NODE VOLTAGE NODE

VOLTAGE

( 1) -.7770 ( 2) -.1122 ( 3) 2.5000 ( 4) -2.5000

( 5) .4667

24
Replace the current source by resistor R

(3) VDD =2.5

Vgs
VG (5)

M3/MP2 M2/MP1

(2)
Vo

Ibias R (1) M1/MN1

Vi
(4)

VSS =-2.5
(4)
VSS =-2.5

Figure 2. Replacing IB by R

In Figure 2,
VG - VSS VG + 2.5 V + 2.5 0.4667 + 2.5
I bias = = R= G = = 0.119Meg ≈ 120k
R R I bias 25E - 6

To simulate the new circuit, the Pspice netlist is modified as follows:

IB 5 4 25U (Delete this line)

R 5 4 120k (Add this line)

Simulation results are very closed with the circuit with current source.

**** SMALL-SIGNAL CHARACTERISTICS

25
 V(2)/VIN = -7.261E+01

INPUT RESISTANCE AT VIN = 1.000E+20

OUTPUT RESISTANCE AT V(2) = 1.043E+06

NODE VOLTAGE NODE VOLTAGE NODE VOLTAGE NODE

VOLTAGE

( 1) -.7770 ( 2) -.3597 ( 3) 2.5000 ( 4) -2.5000

( 5) .4716

The Effect of Eliminating Parasitic Capacitance Parameters

Eliminate terms in the MODEL that refers to parasitic capacitances. The new Pspice
netlist is shown below. The simulation results show that the bandwidth of amplifier
becomes infinite.

*PSpice file for NMOS Inverter with PMOS Current Load

*Filename="Lab3tst1.cir"
VIN 1 0 DC -0.777VOLT AC 1V
VDD 3 0 DC 2.5VOLT

26
VSS 4 0 DC -2.5VOLT

M1 2 1 4 4 MN W=6U L=3.6U
M2 2 5 3 3 MP W=7.8U L=3.6U
M3 5 5 3 3 MP W=7.8U L=3.6U
R 5 4 120k
*IB 5 4 25U

.MODEL MN NMOS VTO=1 KP=40U

+ GAMMA=1.0 LAMBDA=0.02 PHI=0.6
+ TOX=0.05U LD=0.5U
.MODEL MP PMOS VTO=-1 KP=15U
+ GAMMA=0.6 LAMBDA=0.02 PHI=0.6
+ TOX=0.05U LD=0.5U
*Analysis
.DC VIN -2.5 2.5 0.05
.TF V(2) VIN
.AC DEC 100 1HZ 1000GHZ
.PROBE
.END

27