How to start learning analog circuit design

learning analog circuit

I have been a digital system designer for about 3 years. My former experience has been in logic design and verification. But I would like to change my job to analog circuit design. Could anyone tell me how to start learning analog circuit design, and figure out a road to become skilled in this field. Any suggestion is welcome!

learning analog circuits

I'm similar to your case, I do many tries and I found an IEEE book deals with CMOS digital and analog circuits and use l@zi software to guide you through analog design, I think it will help you. currently I did not remember the Book titel but I'll retutn to you with its details.

regards

way of learning analog circuit design

you can get good ebooks in this area from elektroda or mcu .

analog circuit design bible

I would recommend to read "Mixed analog digital vlsi devices and tecnology" of Tsividis then Design of Analog CMOS Integrated Circuits of Razavi. I hope you are looking for Analog Vlsi

hi,

this post might help u,

**broken link removed**

regards,
Arun.

Hi,
Thank all for you help!

I know there are several good analog books, and I have also got some of them (Virtually MCU owns many analog ebooks). What I would like to know can be summarized into 4 aspects:
1) How to get hand on experience in analog design. Find a spice to simulate circuit demostrated in the book? Any other way if I could not get a analog design job immediately?

2) Are there any interesting topics deserve PHD research in analog design field?

3) What is the basic knowledge required for learning analog design. Some guys told me I should learn solid state physics, signal and system first before learning analog circuit. I think not all contents in these fields are required. So, what is the minimum required knowledge?

4) What tools should I learn except Spice?

Regards

Choose one text book and read it very carefully> Try to do all of the exercise. Start to design a very simple Op-amp. Use your hand calculation to calculate the gain, bandwidth, pole etc..Change the size of the cap, the transistors and observe how these affect to the output. Use your spice simulatio to check the result. This is a very good start.

There are many books about analog desing, I say, start with audio applications, then you can simulate it before assembly using softwars like Microcap7 or similar, they work great.
If the model you use is right, then when you make the board will work exactly like simulation.

Good book is "Theory and design of electronic circuits" from E.TAIT and it's free.
Other is Integrated electonics from Millman

The theory of signal and systems is required to analysis the circuits behavior, such as stablity, step response. Solid state physics is helpful to
understand some phenomena, especially thouse related to the nonlinearity, but it is not necessary.

Anyone can make a list of the book you think is helpful in Analog circuit design? I am also interested in that! THanks!

First, you should be aware that it is quite hard to make such career transitions unless really necessary(Get laid off and could not find same kind of job as before, bored with current job, etc.)
It is only fair to tell you that 80% of the people that I know has given up at the end winding up going back to where they were previously.

Of course i know analog ic design is a better choice in the long run, but not a lot people has the opportunity to be trained toward that career path.
Be prepared for the difficulties you will be facing, and most of the time you will be on your own.

Good luck!

Sweesw:
Thanks a lot for giving me the reminding.

Actually I have known some of the difficulties you mentioned. I would like to switch to analog design not only that I believe it promise a good choice in the long run, but also it owns more interest than digital circuits design.

In order to successfully switch to analog field, I think many steps could be taken, such as getting a degree in university, learn the course by myself. I know I do not have much time to do these, but I could try.

Also, does anyone know what topics in this field deserve PHD reseach?

sweesw said:

First, you should be aware that it is quite hard to make such career transitions unless really necessary(Get laid off and could not find same kind of job as before, bored with current job, etc.)
It is only fair to tell you that 80% of the people that I know has given up at the end winding up going back to where they were previously.

Of course i know analog ic design is a better choice in the long run, but not a lot people has the opportunity to be trained toward that career path.
Be prepared for the difficulties you will be facing, and most of the time you will be on your own.

Good luck!

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Hi,

Thank you all for your kindness and giving me so many suggestion.

I think the following some fields may have bright perspective in the future:
1) RF/Mixed signal circuits design
2) MEMS design
3) Wireless communication

What's your opinion?

i like to take old analog ic and take it apart, finding all the clever things that the designer did. maybe the equations help, but knowing when to cascode and when not to - much more important.

grey and meyer (an excellent text i think) does this for 741, 506 PLL, and several other sub circuits in later chapters. it's the text used by most graduate classes in pure analog, but very theory-based and only a little application-based.

johns & martin is another good source, but they travel from cmos diff amp into D/A and switched cap too fast i think - if you are interested in switched cap (a big field, true) then check this one out, but i think discrete-time is kind of new-age analog, and sometimes it hurts to skip the basics.

the must-have reference book is probably allen and holberg, cmos analog circuit design. these guys do less math than grey and meyer, so it doesn't offend someone who already knows what saturation region is. instead, they collect all the useful design approaches and make sort of a cookbook of the analog building blocks, assuming you know that current flows when mosfet is on, and stops flowing when off. this book i think will help you transition fastest into working analog designs.

ps - i think if you want to do analog, you can achieve that. i work with lots of people who happened to be good at drawing, so in silicon valley that means you are IC layout engineer (it's the only jobs here!). they don't know ohms law, just scalable cmos rules! for them it would be hard - like it would be hard for me to be an ariplane pilot. if it's just a job, maybe you should treat it as just a job. if you want to do analog, there is no reason you can't succeed.

Analog design needs inspiration and the feel of fine art.
You can teach monkey to play digital design and you can never tell human how to design analog circuit.

I am surprised to see that no one has mentioned the " Analog integrated circuit by Behzad Razavi ". One of the must have tppe of book.

Does anybody has "allen and holberg" analog book?

Zerox100 said:

Does anybody has "allen and holberg" analog book?

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Check MCU. It is there. However, it is different from the text book I bought. :lol:

Hi all

If I may add to all the precious inputs the other guys have made so far .... the things that worked for me a while ago:
1. get something real to design for yourself once u decide you want to try (e.g. an opamp ..)
2.u can get enough free software from the internet to help you in the first steps( simulation, layout..)

After taht it depends how much you enjoy it. Advices from more experienced guys will help

Good luck! Cretu

start it by reading the electronic's Bible : Gray Meyers Book in the below link for download :

**broken link removed**