As the frequency of communication systems increases and the dimensions of transistors are reduced, more and more stringent performance requirements are placed on analogue circuits. This is a trend that is bound to continue and while it does, understanding performance trade-offs will constitute a vital part of the analogue design process. It is the insight and intuition obtained from a fundamental understanding of performance conflicts and trade-offs that ultimately provides the designer with the basic tools necessary for effective and creative analogue design. This text, which is devoted to the understanding of trade-offs in analogue design, draws together fundamental material from, and identifies interrelationships within, a number of key analogue circuits. It covers ten subject areas: design methodology, technology, general performance, filters, switched circuits, oscillators, data converters, transceivers, neural processing and analogue CAD. Within these subject areas it deals with a wide diversity of trade-offs ranging from frequency-dynamic range and power, gain-bandwidth, speed-dynamic range and phase noise, to trade-offs in design for manufacture and IC layout.
