Structured Electronic Design

This course focuses on the structured design of analog electronic circuits using CMOS transistors. The methodology integrates principles from network theory, control theory, signal processing, and physics to provide a rigorous foundation for analog circuit development.

Analog design is often seen as complex due to the wide range of performance criteria and the multitude of ways to achieve them. The design space spans theoretical models, circuit topologies, device characteristics, operating conditions, and physical layout, making it easy to lose direction. As a result, analog design is sometimes regarded more as an art than a structured discipline.

Experienced designers often rely on intuition, but intuition, being hard to transfer, is not a suitable basis for education. This course addresses that gap by promoting a systematic and teachable approach: students learn to clearly define design goals, distinguish between abstract concepts and physical implementations, and navigate the design space effectively.

Rather than relying on existing solutions, students are encouraged to start from first principles, using theory to guide implementation in ways that fully exploit the potential of modern technologies. This leads to robust, transparent, and reusable designs with predictable performance.

A key element of the course is that students work in design teams to collaboratively develop analog circuit solutions. Through this process, they practice higher-level design skills, including:

• Critically evaluating the impact of design decisions

• Balancing performance and cost

• Exploring innovative solutions

• Communicating and justifying engineering trade-offs

This team-based, problem-driven approach introduces a strong systems engineering perspective, preparing students to handle the complexities of real-world circuit design and integration.

During the engineering phase, students identify or define components, set their operating conditions, and derive design equations—mathematical relationships that connect device behavior to system-level requirements. These equations, particularly at the transistor level, are challenging and require an understanding of device modeling, circuit behavior, and symbolic analysis. To support this, students will use SLiCAP (Symbolic Linear Circuit Analysis Program), which facilitates robust symbolic calculations:
https://analog-electronics.tudelft.nl/SLiCAP.html

The course builds on prior knowledge from EE3C11 and is closely related to EE4C10. The textbook of EE3C11 is also used in this course. Students should be familiar with:

• Chapters 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10 (except 10.3.5, 10.3.7, 10.3.8)

• Chapter 11 (except 11.4.4, 11.4.6, 11.4.7, 11.5.1)

• Sections 12.1 and 12.2

Students without this background are encouraged to complete the homologation program:
https://analog-electronics.tudelft.nl/Homologation/courseWebSite/index.html

Support for mastering the prerequisite material is available from the teaching team. Additional lectures on key background topics (e.g. poles and zeros) can be arranged for external or international students upon request.

At the start of the course, students are encouraged to form or join a design team. Each team will collaboratively work on the design of a negative feedback amplifier using CMOS technology, applying the structured design methodology introduced during lectures and colstructions.

The course concludes with a group oral examination, organized as a design review, which assesses both the team’s design approach and the individual contributions of each student.

The assessment consists of two key sessions:

• Design Preview (Formative Assessment)
  In this session, each team presents and defends their amplifier design in an interactive discussion with the examiners. The preview is not graded, but provides valuable feedback that can be used to improve the design and prepare for the final review.

• Design Review (Summative Assessment)
  In the final session, teams again present and defend their design. This graded session focuses on both the technical quality of the design and the individual insight of each team member. Students are assessed individually based on their:

  • Understanding of the design process

  • Justification of design decisions

  • Contribution to the discussion and team effort

To ensure clarity and reproducibility, it is strongly recommended that teams use SLiCAP to support analysis and documentation during both sessions.

If there are logistical or personal reasons that make it impossible for a student to participate in a team, an individual design review (oral exam) is available as an alternative. In such cases, please contact the course educators as early as possible.

In case of an insufficient final result, repair options may be available in accordance with Article 17A, Times and number of examinations, subsection 1 of the Teaching and Examination Regulations (TER).

Disclaimer: Information in this section is subject to change in response to unforeseen circumstances or institutional measures (see TER Article 2, subsection 5).