CMOS AS A POWER AMPLIFIER

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL
UNIVERSITY

ELECTRONICS AND
COMMUNICATION
RAJNI RANA

B TECH (ECE) + MBA

ROLL NO: R175A21

REGD NO: 3460070038

Abstract:

Complementary metal–oxide– Introduction:

semiconductor (CMOS), is a
major class of integrated circuits. Complementary metal–oxide–

Here I cover all the major semiconductor (CMOS), is a major

concepts of integrated circuits class of integrated circuits. CMOS

such as transistors, FETs, JFETs, technology is used in microprocessors,

CMOS and CMOS as power microcontrollers, static RAM, and

amplifier. other digital logic circuits. CMOS

technology is also used for a wide

1
variety of analog circuits such as
image sensors, data converters, and
highly integrated transceivers for many
types of communication. Frank
Wanlass successfully patented CMOS
in 1967. The term amplifier as used in
this article can mean either a circuit (or
stage) using a single active device or a
complete system such as a packaged
audio hi-fi amplifier.
An electronic amplifier is a device for
increasing the power and/or amplitude
of a signal.
History:
Transistor:
In electronics, a transistor is
semiconductor device commonly used
to amplify or switch electronic signals.
A transistor is made of a solid piece of
a semiconductor material, with at least
three terminals for connection to an
external circuit. A voltage or current
applied to one pair of the transistor's
terminals changes the current flowing
through another pair of terminals.
Because the controlled power can be
much larger than the controlling
power, the transistor provides
amplification of a signal. The transistor
is the fundamental building block of
modern electronic devices, and is used
in radio, telephone, computer and other
electronic systems. Some transistors
are packaged individually but most are
found in integrated circuits.
Importance:
The transistor is considered by many to
be the greatest invention of the
twentieth century. It is the key active
component in practically all modern
electronics. Its importance in today's
society rests on its ability to be mass
produced using a highly automated
process (fabrication) that achieves
astonishingly low per-transistor costs.
Field-effect transistor:
a The field-effect transistor (FET) is a
type of transistor that relies on an
electric field to control the shape and
hence the conductivity of a 'channel' of
one type of charge carrier in a
semiconductor material. FETs are
sometimes called unipolar transistors
to contrast their single-carrier-type
operation with the dual-carrier-type
operation of bipolar (junction)
transistors (BJT). The concept of the
FET predates the BJT, though it was
not physically implemented until after
BJTs due to the limitations of
semiconductor materials and relative
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ease of manufacturing BJTs compared MOSFET are connected in series such
to FETs at the time. that when one is on, the other is off.

Types of FETs are: The fragile insulating layer of the

MOSFET between the gate and
• The MOSFET (Metal–Oxide– channel makes it vulnerable to
Semiconductor Field-Effect electrostatic damage during handling.
Transistor) utilizes an insulator This is not usually a problem after the
(typically SiO2) between the device has been installed.
gate and the body .
• The JFET (Junction Field- In FETs electrons can flow in either

Effect Transistor) uses a direction through the channel when

reverse biased p-n junction to operated in the linear mode, and the

separate the gate from the naming convention of drain terminal

body. and source terminal is somewhat

• The MESFET (Metal– arbitrary, as the devices are typically

Semiconductor Field-Effect (but not always) built symmetrically

Transistor) substitutes the p-n from source to drain. This makes FETs

junction of the JFET with a suitable for switching analog signals

Schottky barrier; used in Ga As between paths (multiplexing).

and other III-V semiconductor

JFET:
materials.

Uses:

The most commonly used FET is the

MOSFET. The CMOS
(complementary-symmetry metal Fig 1
oxide semiconductor) process Electric current from source to drain in
technology is the basis for modern a p-channel JFET is restricted when a
digital integrated circuits. This process voltage is applied to the gate.
technology uses an arrangement where
The junction gate field-effect transistor
the (usually "enhancement-mode") p-
is the simplest type of field effect
channel MOSFET and n-channel
transistor. Like other transistors, it can

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be used as an electronically-controlled The third control terminal, the gate,
switch. It is also used as a voltage- surrounds the channel, and is doped
controlled resistance. An electric opposite to the doping-type of the
charge flows from one connection, channel, forming a p-n junction at the
called the "source", to a second interface of the two types of the
connection, called the "drain". A third material. Terminals to connect with the
connection, the "gate", determines how outside are usually made Ohmic.
much charge flows. By applying an
increasing negative (for an n-channel CMOS:
JFET) bias voltage to the gate, the
electric current from source to drain
can be impeded by pinching off the
channel, in effect switching off the
transistor.

Structure Fig 4 Static CMOS Inverter

Complementary metal–oxide–
semiconductor (CMOS), is a major
:
class of integrated circuits. CMOS
Fig 2
technology is used in microprocessors,
Circuit symbol for an n-Channel JFET
microcontrollers, static RAM, and
other digital logic circuits. CMOS
technology is also used for a wide
variety of analog circuits such as
Fig 3
image sensors, data converters, and
Circuit symbol for a p-Channel JFET
highly integrated transceivers for many

The JFET consists of a long channel of types of communication. Frank

semiconductor material. This material Wanlass successfully patented CMOS

is doped so that it contains an in 1967 (US Patent 3,356,858).

abundance of positive charge carriers

CMOS was also sometimes referred to
(p-type), or of negative charge carriers
as complementary-symmetry metal–
(n-type). There is a contact at each
oxide–semiconductor (or COS-MOS).
end; these are the source and drain.

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The words "complementary-
symmetry" refer to the fact that the
typical digital design style with CMOS
uses complementary and symmetrical
pairs of p-type and n-type metal oxide
semiconductor field effect transistors
for logic functions.
Two important characteristics of
CMOS devices are high noise
immunity and low static power
consumption. Significant power is only
drawn when the transistors in the
CMOS device are switching between
on and off states. Consequently,
CMOS devices do not produce as
much waste heat as other forms of
logic, for example transistor-transistor
logic (TTL) or NMOS logic, which
uses all n-channel devices without p-
channel devices. CMOS also allows a
high density of logic functions on a
chip.
Technical details:
"CMOS" refers to both a particular
style of digital circuitry design, and the
family of processes used to implement
that circuitry on integrated circuits
(chips). CMOS circuitry dissipates less
power when static, and is denser than
other implementations having the same
functionality. As this advantage has
grown and become more important,
CMOS processes and variants have
come to dominate, so that the vast
majority of modern integrated circuit
manufacturing is on CMOS processes.
CMOS circuits use a combination of p-
type and n-type to implement logic
gates and other digital circuits found in
computers, telecommunications
equipment, and signal processing
equipment. Although CMOS logic can
be implemented with discrete devices
(for instance, in an introductory
circuits class), typical commercial
CMOS products are integrated circuits
composed of millions (or hundreds of
millions) of transistors of both types on
a rectangular piece of silicon of
between 0.1 and 4 square centimeters.
These devices are commonly called
"chips".
Composition:
The main principle behind CMOS
circuits that allows them to implement
logic gates is the use of p-type and n-
type metal–oxide–semiconductor field-
effect transistors to create paths to the
output from either the voltage source
or ground. When a path to output is
created from the voltage source, the
circuit is said to be pulled up. On the
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other hand, the circuit is said to be
pulled down when a path to output is
created from ground.
Inversion:
Fig 5 Static CMOS Inverter
CMOS circuits are constructed so that
all PMOS transistors must have either
an input from the voltage source or
from another PMOS transistor.
Similarly, all NMOS transistors must
have either an input from ground or
from another NMOS transistor. The
composition of a PMOS transistor
creates low resistance when a low
voltage is applied to it and high
resistance when a high voltage is
applied to it. On the other hand, the
composition of an NMOS transistor
creates high resistance when a low
voltage is applied to it and low
resistance when a high voltage is
applied to it.
The image on the right shows what
happens when an input is connected to
both a PMOS transistor and an NMOS
transistor. When the voltage of input A
is low, the NMOS transistor has high
resistance so it stops voltage from
leaking into ground, while the PMOS
transistor has low resistance so it
allows the voltage source to transfer
voltage through the PMOS transistor to
the output. The output would therefore
register a high voltage.
On the other hand, when the voltage of
input A is high, the PMOS transistor
would have high resistance so it would
block voltage source from the output,
while the NMOS transistor would have
low resistance allowing the output to
drain to ground. This would result in
the output registering a low voltage. In
short, the outputs of the PMOS and
NMOS transistors are complementary
such that when the input is low, the
output would be high, and when the
input is high, the output would be low.
Because of this, the CMOS circuits'
output is by default the inversion of the
input.
Logic:
Fig 6 NAND gate in CMOS logic
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More complex logic functions such as when switched on, unlike the load
those involving AND and OR gates resistors in NMOS logic. In addition,
require manipulating the paths between the output signal swings the full
gates to represent the logic. When a voltage between the low and high rails.
path consists of two transistors in This strong, more nearly symmetric
series, then both transistors must have response also makes CMOS more
low resistance for voltage to pass, resistant to noise.
modelling an AND. When a path
consists of two transistors in parallel, Example: NAND gate in
then either one or both of the physical layout:
transistors must have low resistance for
voltage to pass, modelling an OR.

Shown on the right is a circuit diagram

of a NAND gate in CMOS logic. If
both of the A and B inputs are high,
then both the NMOS transistors
(bottom half of the diagram) will
conduct, neither of the PMOS
transistors (top half) will conduct, and
a conductive path will be established Fig 7 The physical layout of a NAND
between the output and Vss (ground), circuit
bringing the output low. If either of the
A or B inputs is low, one of the NMOS This example shows a NAND logic

transistors will not conduct, one of the device drawn as a physical

PMOS transistors will, and a representation as it would be

conductive path will be established manufactured. The physical layout

between the output and Vdd (voltage perspective is a "bird's eye view" of a

source), bringing the output high. stack of layers. The circuit is

An advantage of CMOS over NMOS is
that both low-to-high and high-to-low
output transitions are fast since the
pull-up transistors have low resistance
constructed on a P-type substrate. The
polysilicon, diffusion, and n-well are
referred to as "base layers" and are
actually inserted into trenches of the P-
type substrate. The contacts penetrate

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an insulating layer between the base
layers and the first layer of metal
(metal1) making a connection.

The inputs to the NAND (illustrated in

green coloring) are in polysilicon. The
CMOS transistors (devices) are formed
by the intersection of the polysilicon
and diffusion: N diffusion for the N Fig 8 Cross section of two transistor in
device; P diffusion for the P device a CMOS gate, in an N-well CMOS
(illustrated in salmon and yellow process
coloring respectively). The output
("out") is connected together in metal Power: switching and leakage:
(illustrated in cyan coloring).
Connections between metal and CMOS logic dissipates less power than

polysilicon or diffusion are made NMOS logic circuits because CMOS

through contacts (illustrated as black dissipates power only when switching

squares). The physical layout example (dynamic power). On a typical ASIC

matches the NAND logic circuit given in a modern 90 nanometer process,

in the previous example. switching the output might take 120

picoseconds, and happen once every
The N device is manufactured on a P- ten nanoseconds. NMOS logic
type substrate. The P devices is dissipates power whenever the output
manufactured in an N-type well (n- is low (static power), because there is a
well). A P-type substrate "tap" is current path from Vdd to Vss through
connected to VSS and an N-type n-well the load resistor and the n-type
tap is connected to VDD to prevent network.
latchup.
CMOS circuits dissipate power by
charging the various load capacitances
(mostly gate and wire capacitance, but
also drain and some source
capacitances) whenever they are
switched. The charge moved is the

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capacitance multiplied by the voltage
change. Multiply by the switching
frequency on the load capacitances to
get the current used, and multiply by
voltage again to get the characteristic
switching power dissipated by a
CMOS device: P = CV2f.
A different form of power
consumption became noticeable in the
1990s as wires on chip became
narrower and the long wires became
more resistive. CMOS gates at the end
of those resistive wires see slow input
transitions. During the middle of these
transitions, both the NMOS and PMOS
networks are partially conductive, and
current flows directly from Vdd to Vss.
The power thus used is called crowbar
power. Careful design which avoids
weakly driven long skinny wires has
ameliorated this effect, and crowbar
power is nearly always substantially
smaller than switching power.
frequencies. Indeed, CMOS
technology is used for mixed-signal
applications.
Temperature range:
Conventional CMOS devices work
over a range of -55 °C to +125
°C . Electronic amplifier:
The term amplifier as used in this
article can mean either a circuit (or
stage) using a single active device or a
complete system such as a packaged
audio hi-fi amplifier.
An electronic amplifier is a device for
increasing the power and/or amplitude
of a signal. It does this by taking
power from a power supply and
controlling the output to match the
input signal shape but with a larger
amplitude. In this sense, an amplifier
may be considered as modulating the

Analog CMOS: output of the power supply.

Besides digital applications, CMOS

technology is also used for analog
applications. For example, there are
CMOS operational amplifier ICs Fig 9 A vacuum-tube Hi-Fi amplifier.

available in the market. CMOS

Voltage, current, and power
technology is also widely used for RF
applications all the way to microwave
amplification:

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Amplifiers can be specified according
to their input and output properties.
They have some kind of gain, i.e. a
factor between the output and input
signal. The gain may be specified as
"output voltage/input voltage", "output
power/input power" or any other
combination of current, voltage and
power. In many cases, with input and
output in the same units, gain will be
unitless; for others this is not
necessarily so – for example, a Tran
conductance amplifier has a gain with
units of conductance (output current
per input voltage).
In most cases an amplifier should be
linear, that is the gain should be
constant for any combination of input
and output signal. If the gain is not
linear, e.g. by clipping the output
signal at the limits of its capabilities,
the output signal is distorted.
Power amplifier classes:
Power amplifier circuits (output
stages) are classified as A, B, AB and
C for analog designs, and class D and
E for switching designs based upon the
conduction angle or 'angle of flow' Θ
of the input signal through the
amplifying device, that is, the portion
of the input signal cycle during which
the amplifying device conducts. The
image of the conduction angle is
derived from amplifying a sinusoidal
signal. (If the device is always on, Θ =
360°.) The angle of flow is closely
related to the amplifier power
efficiency. The various classes are
introduced below, followed by more
detailed discussion under individual
headings later on.
Class A:
Class A amplifying devices operate
over the whole of the input cycle such
that the output signal is an exact
scaled-up replica of the input with no
clipping. Class A amplifiers are the
usual means of implementing small-
signal amplifiers. They are not very
efficient; a theoretical maximum of
50% is obtainable with inductive
output coupling and only 25% with
capacitive coupling.
In a Class A circuit, the amplifying
element is biased so the device is
always conducting to some extent, and
is operated over the most linear portion
of its characteristic curve (known as its
transfer characteristic or
transconductance curve). Because the
device is always conducting, even if
there is no input at all, power is drawn
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from the power supply. This is the
chief reason for its inefficiency.
Fig 10 Class A Amplifier
If high output powers are needed from
a Class A circuit, the power waste (and
the accompanying heat) will become
significant. For every watt delivered to
the load, the amplifier itself will, at
best, dissipate another watt. For large
powers this means very large and
expensive power supplies and heat
sinking. Class A designs have largely
been superseded for audio power
amplifiers, though some audiophiles
believe that Class A gives the best
sound quality, due to it being operated
in as linear a manner as possible which
provides a small market for expensive
high fidelity Class A amps. In addition,
some aficionados prefer thermionic
valve designs instead of transistors, for
several claimed reasons:
Tubes are more commonly used in
class A designs, which have an
asymmetrical transfer function. This
means that distortion of a sine wave
creates both odd- and even-numbered
harmonics. The claim is that this
sounds more "musical" than the higher
level of odd harmonics produced by a
symmetrical push–pull amplifier.[4][5]
Though good amplifier design can
reduce harmonic distortion patterns to
almost nothing, distortion is essential
to the sound of electric guitar
amplifiers, for example, and is held by
recording engineers to offer more
flattering microphones and to enhance
"clinical-sounding" digital technology.
Class A amplifiers are often used in
output stages of op-amps; they are
sometimes used as medium-power,
low-efficiency, and high-cost audio
amplifiers. The power consumption is
unrelated to the output power. At idle
(no input), the power consumption is
essentially the same as at high output
volume. The result is low efficiency
and high heat dissipation.
Class B and AB:
Class B amplifiers only amplify half of
the input wave cycle. As such they
create a large amount of distortion, but
their efficiency is greatly improved and
is much better than Class A. Class B
has a maximum theoretical efficiency
of 78.5% (i.e., π/4). This is because the
amplifying element is switched off
altogether half of the time, and so
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cannot dissipate power. A single Class
B element is rarely found in practice,
though it can be used in RF power
amplifier where the distortion levels
are less important. However Class C is
more commonly used for this.
Fig 11 class B amplifier
A practical circuit using Class B
elements is the complementary pair or
"push–pull" arrangement. Here,
complementary or quasi-
complementary devices are used to
each amplify the opposite halves of the
input signal, which is then recombined
at the output. This arrangement gives
excellent efficiency, but can suffer
from the drawback that there is a small
mismatch at the "joins" between the
two halves of the signal. This is called
crossover distortion. An improvement
is to bias the devices so they are not
completely off when they're not in use.
This approach is called Class AB
operation.
In Class AB operation, each device
operates the same way as in Class B
over half the waveform, but also
conducts a small amount on the other
half. As a result, the region where both
devices simultaneously are nearly off
(the "dead zone") is reduced. The
result is that when the waveforms from
the two devices are combined, the
crossover is greatly minimised or
eliminated altogether.
Class AB sacrifices some efficiency
over class B in favor of linearity, so
will always be less efficient (below
78.5%). It is typically much more
efficient than class
Fig 12 Class B push–pull amplifier
Class B or AB push–pull circuits are
the most common design type found in
audio power amplifiers. Class AB is
widely considered a good compromise
for audio amplifiers, since much of the
time the music is quiet enough that the
signal stays in the "class A" region,
where it is amplified with good
fidelity, and by definition if passing
out of this region, is large enough that
the distortion products typical of class
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B are relatively small. The crossover
distortion can be reduced further by
using negative feedback. Class B and
AB amplifiers are sometimes used for
RF linear amplifiers as well. Class B
amplifiers are also favored in battery-
operated devices, such as transistor
radios.
Digital Class B
A limited output Class-B amplifier
with a single-ended supply rail of 5V
+/- 10%.
Power Class C:
Class C amplifiers conduct less than
50% of the input signal and the
distortion at the output is high, but
high efficiencies (up to 90%) are
possible. Some applications (for
example, megaphones) can tolerate the
distortion. A much more common
application for Class C amplifiers is in
RF transmitters, where the distortion
can be vastly reduced by using tuned
loads on the amplifier stage. The input
signal is used to roughly switch the
amplifying device on and off, which
causes pulses of current to flow
through a tuned circuit.
The Class C amp has two modes of
operation: tuned, and untuned. The
diagram below shows a waveform
from a simple class C circuit without
the tuned load. This is called untuned
operation, and the analysis of the
waveforms shows the massive
distortion that appears in the signal.
When the proper load (e.g., a pure LC
filter) is used, two things happen. The
first is that the output's bias level is
"clamped", so that the output variation
is centered at one-half of the supply
voltage. This is why tuned operation is
sometimes called a "clamper". This
action of elevating bias level allows
the waveform to be restored to its
proper shape, allowing a complete
waveform to be re-established despite
having only a one-polarity supply. This
is directly related to the second
phenomenon: the waveform on the
center frequency becomes much less
distorted. The distortion that is present
is dependent upon the bandwidth of the
tuned load, with the center frequency
seeing very little distortion, but greater
attenuation the farther from the tuned
frequency that the signal gets.
The tuned circuit will only resonate at
particular frequencies, and so the
unwanted frequencies are dramatically
suppressed, and the wanted full signal
(sine wave) will be extracted by the
tuned load (e.g., a high-quality bell
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will ring at a particular frequency D amplifiers. The term usually applies
when it is hit periodically with a to devices intended to reproduce
hammer). Provided the transmitter is signals with a bandwidth well below
not required to operate over a very the switching frequency.
wide band of frequencies, this
These amplifiers use pulse width
arrangement works extremely well.
modulation, pulse density modulation
Other residual harmonics can be
(sometimes referred to as pulse
removed using a filter.
frequency modulation) or more
advanced form of modulation such as
Delta-sigma modulation (for example,
in the Analog Devices AD1990 Class-
D audio power amplifier).

The input signal is converted to a

sequence of pulses whose averaged
value is directly proportional to the
instantaneous amplitude of the signal.
The frequency of the pulses is typically
ten or more times the highest
Fig 13 class C amplifier
frequency of interest in the input
signal. The output of such an amplifier
Class D:
contains unwanted spectral

Class D amplifiers are much more components which must be removed

efficient than Class AB power by a passive filter. The resulting

amplifiers. As such, Class D amplifiers filtered signal is then an amplified

do not need large transformers and replica of the input.

heavy heats sinks, which means that

The main advantage of a class D
they are smaller and lighter in weight
amplifier is power efficiency. Because
than an equivalent Class AB amplifier.
the output pulses have fixed amplitude,
All power devices in a Class D
the switching elements are switched
amplifier are operated in on/off mode.
either on or off, rather than operated in
Output stages such as those used in
linear mode. This means that very little
pulse generators are examples of class
power is dissipated by the transistors,

14
except during the very short interval 1. www.wikipedia .com
between the on and off states. 2. www.google.com
3. www.ecelab.com
Conclusion:

Hence from above conclusion we

conclude that CMOS has various
applications in field of electronics such
as microprocessors, microcontrollers,
static RAM, and other digital logic
circuits. The main advantage of power
amplifiers is the power efficiency
which is the main requirement of any
equipment. Hence there are many uses
of CMOS power amplifier.

Acknowledgement:

I would like to express my gratitude to

all those who gave me the possibilities
to complete this term paper. I express
my sincerest thanks to my project
guide and subject teacher Ms.
Navpreet Kaur deptt.of ECE for
helping me to understand this term
paper and encourage me to work on
such an interesting topic. He gave me
inspiration for completing my work
efficiently. I would also like to thank
god and my parents who made me
capable for doing the things in right
manner

References:

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