NEEI-6362 Advanced Integrated Circuits
for Communications (IC 775)
Note: The following provides a suggested course description,
objectives, and an outline. These may be modified pending discussion with
the Faculty Chairs, proposing faculty, and other curriculum reviewers.
Course Description: This course covers analog
integrated circuits for communications applications with a particular
emphasis on non-linear circuits. Basic theory is reviewed briefly, and
then the bulk of the class is spent evaluating and designing circuits,
covering a broad spectrum: from desirable non-linear functions, to
ultra-linear design, to oscillators. A sizable portion of the class is
spent developing theory for distortion. The material covered is
predominantly lecture material.
Course Objectives: The goal
of this course is to expose the student to a wide variety of practical
circuits and design techniques found present in modern communications
systems. This course is an excellent complement to a linear analog
integrated circuits course, and it broadens the student's analog design
skills.
Course Outline by Topical Areas:
- MOS, bipolar and BiCMOS circuits: Wideband nonlinear functions:
Electronic realization of square, square root, sine, log and vector
magnitude functions. High-speed limiters, sample-and-hold, peak
detectors, multipliers, comparators and mixers.
- Amplifier Distortion: Models for distortion analysis. Low frequency
distortion - power series; high frequency distortion - volterra series.
- Crossmodulation and intermodulation; ultra-linear amplifier design;
distortion in variable-gain amplifiers.
- Oscillators: sinusoidal and relaxation oscillators at low and high
frequencies.
- Waveform distortion.
- Start-up conditions; frequency stability.
- Crystal oscillators.
- Voltage-controlled oscillators.
- Noise.
