Experts’ understanding of analog electronics
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Electronic science and technology is a first-level discipline, and at a higher level it is divided into several second-level disciplines, such as microelectronics and solid-state electronics, circuits and systems, etc. In reality, the difference between the two is not as clear as in concept. Microelectronics has always been a discipline passed down, but the emphasis of circuits and systems in different schools varies greatly.
Some schools’ circuits and systems are still microelectronics, such as Southeast University; some schools’ circuits and systems are actually communications, such as Jiaotong University. Electronic science and technology (microelectronics) can be divided into two directions: science and engineering. For example, all electronic products are regarded as human bodies, and integrated circuits/chips are brains. The science direction is to study the molecular organization structure of the brain, and the engineering direction is to think about how to design a brain from scratch.
The science direction mainly studies semiconductor device materials, chip manufacturing and other physical aspects of microelectronic circuits, which we commonly call "making devices". Jilin University, Shandong University and Peking University are strong. In China's IC industry, the employment scope of "making devices" is relatively narrow, and many students in this direction go to research institutes and foundries.
The engineering direction mainly studies integrated circuit design, test verification, etc., which we commonly call "doing design", with Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Harbin Institute of Technology, Tianjin University, etc. as typical examples. Pure integrated circuit design includes two directions: digital IC and analog IC. They have different application fields. Generally, the device density of digital IC can reach tens of millions and billions per square millimeter, while analog IC is several orders of magnitude lower.
Digital IC is basically about writing code and programming, and then using software to automatically convert the code into the designed physical circuit. Digital IC is a job for young people. As you get older, it becomes more and more difficult to design circuits. Moreover, students who are not from professional schools can also switch to digital IC, such as many people with computer science majors. Because digital IC Design requires strong logic and responsiveness, digital integrated circuit engineers are all talented people. People like me who are a little slow in reaction are born to work in analog IC because of their sharp intuition and sensibility.
Analog IC inherits the essence of traditional circuit design. Designers use design software tools to calculate parameters and layout circuit components to complete a circuit. Analog IC relies on experience and endurance, and the older you are, the more popular you are. It usually takes ten years to train a qualified analog IC engineer. It is basically impossible to engage in design work right after graduating from college. I once read a sentence that the basic tools of analog engineers are: a pencil, a calculator, a piece of draft paper and a computer.
Analog IC can be divided into several directions, such as RF IC design, digital analog hybrid IC design AD/DA and conventional analog IC design. What I am doing now is AD chip design.
According to Master Razavi, the three elements of an analog IC engineer are: an engineer’s intuition, a mathematician’s rigor, and an artist’s creativity.
To design analog integrated circuits, you can gradually enter the world of analog ICs after you have learned at least "Semiconductor Physics", "Bipolar Transistors and Metal Oxide Field Effect Transistors" and "Integrated Circuit Design Fundamentals". There is one thing to be particularly pointed out here. The public course "Analog Electronic Technology" that everyone has to learn is extremely important to analog IC designers, even more than the three courses mentioned above. If you don't learn this course well, it will be extremely painful when you get started with analog ICs, and all you can do is to find "Analog Electronics" from the pile of books and read it again from the beginning. I made a big mistake on this, suffered a great loss, and wasted a lot of time and energy.
For students who like analog ICs, the topic selected for the senior year graduation project is roughly oriented. If you work on an analog IC topic, you can be considered to have started in this direction.
About teaching materials
People who work with analog ICs know three bibles: 1. "Analog CMOS Integrated Circuit Design", written by Razavi; 2. "CMOS Analog Integrated Circuit Design", written by Allen; 3. "Analog Integrated Circuit Analysis and Design", written by Gray.
Razavi and Allen's textbooks are the two most popular ones. Each has its own strengths. Razavi focuses on theoretical explanations, while Allen focuses on engineering practicality. The Chinese version of Razavi's textbook was translated by Professor Chen Guican of Xi'an Jiaotong University. Both the translation level and the printing quality of the book are first-class, so most teachers will recommend this book to beginners. However, at the graduate level, these two books are indispensable, and the best way to use them is to cooperate with each other.
As for Gray's book, it is a classic among classics, but because the Chinese version translated by Beihang University is so bad and the English version is inefficient to read, it is less popular. However, Gray has the greatest academic achievements and the highest level among the three. He is a master among masters. Many great, talented, and master-level figures in analog IC are his disciples, such as Sansen, the European analog IC saint from the Catholic University of Leuven.
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