Analog performance of advanced CMOS in weak, moderate, and strong inversion

Reduced overdrive voltage in advanced CMOS technology requires analog circuitry to operate in moderate and weak inversion. A systematic analysis of scaling of transconductance, output conductance and intrinsic gain with technology, channel length but also bias conditions is presented for a deep submicron CMOS process. The analog properties are represented versus normalized current, so as to provide an easy means of interpretation and comparison. Measured transconductances and derived quantities such as intrinsic gain are investigated for NMOS and PMOS devices of an 110 nm CMOS technology, covering a large range of channel length and inversion conditions. This reveals novel properties of advanced CMOS technology and some useful guidelines for designers are given.