Optimizing CMOS transconductor-C filters for low power wide band operation
A novel figure of merit to describe the bandwidth power efficiency of CMOS transconductors-g(ac)/P-diss is proposed and optimized for cross-coupled differential pair transconductor structures. The optimization is done in two different ways: univariable unconstrained and multivariable constrained. It is revealed that not only dc biases but also ac input phases can affect the bandwidth power efficiency of the transconductor. The bias voltages which can lead to best g(ac)/P-diss ratio at different ac phase combinations are obtained and presented in the article. HSPICE simulations are conducted to verify the theoretical predictions. On the basis of the cross-coupled differential pair transconductor, a biquadratic transconductor-C filter configuration is implemented. The frequency vs. power characteristic of the filter is studied for both optimally- and non-optimally-biased transconductor. It is shown that the g(ac)/P-diss optimization of the transconductor structure can result in performance improvement of the transconductor-C filter. The deviation of the optimal bias condition between the transconductor alone and the transconductor-C filter due to the inclusion of peripheray circuitries in the filter is discussed in the article.
cmos hspice biquadratic transconductor-c filter configuration