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MOSFET DIFFERENTIAL AMPLIFIER (TWO-WEEK LAB)

BACKGROUND
The MOSFET is by far the most widely used transistor in
both digital and analog circuits, and it is the backbone of
modern electronics. One of the most common uses of the
MOSFET in analog circuits is the construction of
differential amplifiers. The latter are used as input stages in
op-amps, video amplifiers, high-speed comparators, and
many other analog-based circuits. MOSFET differential
amplifiers are used in integrated circuits, such as
operational amplifiers, they provide a high input impedance
for the input terminals. A properly designed differential amplifier with its current-mirror
biasing stages is made from matched-pair devices to minimize imbalances from one side
of the differential amplifier to the other.
In this lab, you will design a differential amplifier by first verifying its operation in
PSPICE, then building and testing your circuit stage by stage.
In your lab kit, you will find one or more CD4007 integrated circuits. (The letter prefix
may vary; it's the number 4007 that matters.) This IC contains a number of NMOS and
PMOS devices, as shown below. You may assume that all the NMOS transistors are
matched to each other (same value of K and threshold voltage VTR), and that all the
PMOS devices are similarly matched to each other. Use the devices in this integrated
circuit when building your differential amplifier, as requested in Levels 2 and 3.

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BACKGROUND
The general topology of a differential amplifier is shown below. Two active devices are
connected to a positive voltage supply via passive series elements. The transistors must
be a matched pair (i.e., two matched MOSFETs or two matched BJTs). The "pull up"
loads are similarly matched to each other. The lower terminals of the active devices are
connected together, and a dc current source pulls current down toward the negative
voltage bus to effect the bias. The controlling input ports of the devices are connected to
input signals.

If the input signals are designated v1 and v2 , they can be decomposed into two linear
combinations, one called the differential mode, and the other the common mode. The
differential mode is defined by the following equation:
Similarly, the common mode, equal to the average value of the signals, is defined by:

These definitions allow the actual input signals v1 and v2 to be expressed as linear
combinations of their differential and common modes:

because the small-signal model of the amplifier is linear, its total response will be equal
to the superposition of its responses to, respectively, the differential and common modes
of the input signals.

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Current Mirror.
The common-mode gain of the differential amplifier will be small (desirable) if the
small-signal Norton, resistance rn of the biasing current source is large. As we have
discussed in class, the biasing current source is not a naturally occurring element, but
must be synthesized from other transistors. In most situations, the designer will choose
some form of current mirror to produce the equivalent current source. The circuit on the
left, shown below, is equivalent in all respects to the symbolic current-source component
on the right.

VDD

Io (Reference current)
Rref

Io

Io
rn

In the current mirror circuit shown on the left, the reference current is set by the resistor.
The voltage across the latter is given by the voltage drop across Because the two
MOSFETs are matched, and have precisely the same gate-source and threshold voltages
(vGSA = vGSB), their drain currents will be equal. Thus, the current Io becomes a replica, or
"mirror image" of the reference current. As long as QB remains in its constant current
region, then this replication will take place. Note that QA automatically operates in its
constant current region, because it's gate is connected to its drain.
The Norton resistance rn the current source will be equal to the output resistance ro of QB,
as determined by the upward slope of that transistor's voltage-current characteristic. The
latter is associated with the Early voltage, as discussed in class and in the text.
MOSFET Conductance Parameter.
If one studies the semiconductor physics that makes a MOSFET work, one can determine
that the following formula gives the value of conductance parameter K:

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The constant e is the electron mobility of the semiconductor, and ox is the dielectric
constant of the oxide layer under the MOSFET gate. The parameter tox is the physical
thickness of the gate oxide layer.
Two key parameters are the width W and length L of the MOSFET as it is laid out on the
integrated circuit. L is the distance between the drain and source terminals, and W is the
lateral width of the entire device, as shown below:

Level 1:
Consider the circuit shown below, for which the following parameters may be assumed:
|VTR | = 1 V, KN = 2 105 A/V2 , KP = 105 A/V2 and VA = 100 V (that is, the channelwidth parameter = 0.01 V1). Here, the conductance parameters KN and KP are the
values that a device of dimension 1 m 1 m device would have (i.e., W = L = 1 m).
The fractional number next to each MOSFET symbol shows its W/L ratio (length and
width values given in microns).

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a) Use PSPICE to find the bias values of all the numbered node voltages. Record them in
your notebook, then compare them with the values computed by hand , and provided in
the Appendix.
b) Use PSPICE to plot the output voltage at nodes 2, 3, and vout in response to a
differential-mode input. Specifically, sweep v1 from 1mV to +1 mV, and make E2
equal to v1.
Level 2
Build the current mirror circuit
shown to the right. Use two of the
NMOS devices on your 4007 chip.
Your current mirror will pull
current out of an external circuit
comprised of a 10-k resistor and
an 8-V dc source.
Measure ID3 with either an
ammeter, or by measuring the
voltage drop across R1 and
applying Ohm's law. Confirm that
ID4 is the mirror image of ID3; that
is ID4 = ID3.

Level 3
Using the current mirror from Level 2, use
additional transistors to build the
differential amplifier shown to the right.
a) Confirm that the bias values VD1 and VD2
to lie approximately midway between the
two supply voltages VDD and VSS.
b) Measure and record the differentialmode and common-mode gains of your
amplifier.

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APPENDIX

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