CMOS: Sixed-Signal Circuit Design [Rilegato]

After the fundamentals of data converters are established, the text covers noise-shaping converters (including a review of some of the digital filtering concepts required to understand/implement these devices). This is one of the hottest topics in solid-state circuit design today, with journal articles appearing monthly on new topologies and uses for sigma-delta data converters. Very few textbooks are available that cover this topic, and it is great to have a book that teaches the noise-shaping concepts in such a straightforward manner.

There are a few chapters that cover implementation of data converters, including a very useful chapter on submicron CMOS circuit design. Rather than simply focus on the academic and `ideal' implementations of circuitry, this text takes a practical approach and recognizes that the real world is not perfect. This approach is seen throughout the text and gives a deeper appreciation for the specifications used to characterize converter performance, as well as the limitations with various circuit topologies.

In addition to data converters, there is a chapter on integrator-based CMOS filters (this is very applicable in today's mixed-signal CMOS designs), including filters that use the noise-shaping concepts discussed earlier.

Very few technical textbooks are as well thought as this one. From start to finish, the text is filled with practical examples that aid in the learning process. There are SPICE examples throughout the book, and the netlists will all run using WinSPICE (all netlists and WinSPICE are available for download ...). It is great to be able to play with these netlists and get a feel for how the circuits operate.

The final chapter in the book takes the concepts taught and shows real implementations of several circuits (on a breadboard and with hand-soldered circuits), including a noise-shaping modulator and a discrete analog integrator. The author proves that the concepts work with these implementations and discusses proper laboratory measurement and characterization techniques.

This book is a great teaching tool as a classroom text or as a self-study reference. The problems at the end of each chapter and the prototypes at the end of the book allow the reader to verify understanding, whether on paper or in the laboratory.