Structured Design - 1: end terms

Structured Design - 1: end terms#

This course discusses the theory and the application of basic structured design techniques to the design of application-specific amplifiers with operational amplifiers.

color coded resistors

What you will know at the end of this course#

  1. You will know the characteristic properties of amplifiers and you will be able to derive the functional requirements for amplifiers from their application:

    • The input and output impedance

    • The signal transfer from source to load

    • The port isolation requirements

  2. You are able to model and characterize the non-ideal behavior of amplifiers and you will know to derive performance requirements from the application description:

    • The small-signal noise behavior

    • The small-signal dynamic behavior

    • The static nonlinear behavior

    • The dynamic nonlinear behavior

    • The influence of temperature and ageing

  3. You will know about other relevant design aspects of amplifiers such as:

    • Environmental conditions

    • Cost factors

  4. You will be able to design low-noise and power efficient amplifier structures for arbitrary port impedance and port isolation requirements with the aid of feedback techniques, balancing techniques and isolation techniques:

    • Direct feedback and indirect (model-based) feedback

    • Nonenergic feedback, passive feedback and active feedback

    • Balancing and port isolation techniques

  5. You are able to relate the properties of the components in the feedback network to important performance aspects and costs factors of the amplifier:

    • Inaccuracy

    • Noise

    • Nonlinearity

    • Power dissipation

    • Area

    • Costs

  6. You are able to model individual performance aspects of voltage-feedback and current-feedback operational amplifiers:

    • Equivalent-input voltage and current noise sources

    • Equivalent-input voltage and current offset sources

    • Equivalent-input bias sources

    • Gain and input and output impedances, including their dynamic behavior

    • PSRR and CMRR

  7. You know about other relevant performance aspects of operational amplifiers, such as:

    • Input voltage range

    • Output voltage and current drive capability

    • Voltage slew rate

  8. You know in which way and to what extent the equivalent input noise sources of the feedback network affect the noise performance of a negative feedback amplifier.

  9. You know in which way and to what extent the equivalent input noise sources of the controller (operational amplifier) affect the noise performance of a negative feedback amplifier.

  10. You can apply the asymptotic-gain negative feedback model to derive budgets for the gain-bandwidth product of the operational amplifier:

    • Loop gain-poles product

  11. You are able to evaluate the frequency response stability of a negative feedback amplifier:

    • Routh array

    • Nyquist stability criterion

    • Root locus technique

  12. You can apply frequency compensation techniques to achieve the desired dynamic response of an amplifier:

    • Phantom-zero compensation

    • Pole-splitting by means of pole-zero canceling

    • Resistive broadbanding

    • Phase marging correction with lag and lead networks

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