Preparing for Integrated Circuit (IC) Design Technical Interviews

50 Questions to Sharpen Your Circuit Intuition
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-394-43107-6
Verlag: Wiley

Buch, Englisch

Develop circuit intuition through fifty real technical interview questions

Circuit intuition separates successful IC designers from those who struggle in interviews and real-world projects. Preparing for Integrated Circuit (IC) Design Technical Interviews: 50 Questions to Sharpen Your Circuit Intuition connects classroom equations to practical design thinking through systematic two-part analyses. Each question receives both intuitive and quantitative treatment, accelerating the transition from graduate to seasoned circuit designer.

Six chapters progress from impedance analysis through amplifiers, bias and reference circuits, discrete-time analog circuits including switched capacitor and switched inductor topologies, and digital circuitry from an analog perspective covering inverters, D Flip-Flops, digital phase frequency detectors in PLLs. The final chapter addresses the often-neglected skill of circuit layout preparation for interviews.

The author also provides: - Comprehensive coverage spanning analog, mixed-signal, and digital domains representing the major portion of IC design interview content
- Detailed treatment of switched capacitor circuits, comparators, and switched inductor circuits used in discrete-time analog applications
- Analysis of phase lock loops and digital phase frequency detectors from the analog designer's perspective for mixed-signal positions
- Practical circuit layout guidance addressing a critical but frequently overlooked component of technical interview preparation

Analog and mixed-signal IC designers preparing for technical interviews will find systematic guidance for developing the intuitive skills interviewers expect. Graduate students, senior undergraduates, and junior engineers gain accelerated pathways from textbook knowledge to professional-level circuit analysis capabilities.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Liu, Song

Fachgebiete

• Technische Wissenschaften Elektronik | Nachrichtentechnik Elektronik Halb- und Supraleitertechnologie
• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Technische Informatik Hardware: Grundlagen und Allgemeines
• Technische Wissenschaften Elektronik | Nachrichtentechnik Elektronik Schaltungsentwurf

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface 3

Chapter 1 Impedance 7

Question 1 Input and output resistance of a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) 13

Question 2 Input capacitance of a source follower 17

Question 3 Input capacitance of a differential pair 21

Question 4 Output resistance of a tied-gate current source 23

Question 5 Folded cascode amplifier and input Miller effect reduction 28

Question 6 Impedance of a cross-coupled load 30

Chapter 2 Amplifiers – Open-Loop and Closed-Loop 34

Question 7 Stability of an uncompensated two-stage op-amp 35

Question 8 Compensation for a two-stage op-amp, pole splitting 38

Question 9 Nyquist stability criterion and conditional stability 43

Question 10 Device noise contribution in a folded cascode amplifier 49

Question 11 Slew rate limitations of a two-stage op-amp 56

Question 12 Distortion in a common-source amplifier due to device nonlinearity 60

Question 13 Common-emitter amplifier (BJT) with emitter degeneration 63

Question 14 Amplifier input common-mode range and distortion 66

Question 15 Common mode feedback control (CMFB) in fully differential amplifiers 69

Question 16 Frequency response of two op-amp based low-pass filters 74

Question 17 Feedback factors of inverting amplifiers and unity-gain buffers 78

Question 18 Power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) of a voltage regulator 83

Question 19 Power optimization of multistage open-loop amplifiers 89

Question 20 Frequency response of a source follower 93

Chapter 3 Bias and References 98

Question 21 Designing a precision current mirror 99

Question 22 Degeneration in current mirrors 103

Question 23 Impact of resistance in current mirrors 106

Question 24 Bandgap reference basics 111

Question 25 Stability of beta-multiplier references 115

Chapter 4 Switched-Capacitor Circuits and Comparators 120

Question 26 Input impedance and kickback noise of switched-capacitor circuits 121

Question 27 Sizing the switch for better linearity and less charge injection 126

Question 28 Bottom plate sampling and signal-dependent charge injection 131

Question 29 Requirements of the amplifier in a charge-transfer track/hold circuit 134

Question 30 Impact of the amplifier input capacitance in switched-capacitor circuits 140

Question 31 Thermal noise in switched-capacitor circuits 143

Question 32 Switched-capacitor common-mode feedback (CMFB) circuits 148

Question 33 Comparator – regenerative latch 152

Question 34 Comparator – preamplifier 158

Question 35 Comparator – offset cancellation (IOS) 162

Question 36 Switched-inductor circuits – buck converters 167

Chapter 5 Digital Circuits from an Analog Perspective 174

Question 37 Inverter-based ring oscillators 175

Question 38 Inverter optimization of propagation delay and duty cycle distortion 177

Question 39 Designing buffers for driving long RC lines 181

Question 40 Inverter switching current and power consumption 184

Question 41 Master/slave D flip-flops and setup/hold time 188

Question 42 Clock divider with D flip-flops 192

Question 43 Digital phase-frequency detectors and phase-locked loops (PLLs) 195

Question 44 Metastability in digital systems 202

Chapter 6 Circuit Layout Techniques 206

Question 45 Transistor layout for parasitic reduction 207

Question 46 Interdigitation for matching 210

Question 47 Layout of decoupling capacitors 213

Question 48 Substrate/well contact and latch-up 215

Question 49 Shielding in layout – grounded or not grounded? Which ground? 219

Question 50 Optimizing the padframe for power and ground 225

Appendix 1 Device Equations 231

Section 1 MOSFET (long-channel) equations 231

Section 2 Bipolar transistor (BJT) equations 234

Section 3 Diode (PN junction) equations 238

Section 4 Resistor, capacitor and inductor equations 239

Appendix 2 Circuit Theorems 240

Section 1 Kirchhoff's circuit laws 240

Section 2 Thévenin's theorem and Norton's theorem 242

Section 3 The superposition theorem 244

Section 4 Miller theorem 245

Appendix 3 Circuit Analysis in the Complex Frequency Domain (s-domain) 246

Section 1 Laplace transform and transfer functions 246

Section 2 First-order systems 250

Section 3 Transfer function of feedback systems 252

Section 4 Second-order systems 254

Section 5 S-domain and frequency domain 258

Appendix 4 Basic Circuit Analysis Examples 261

Section 1 Voltage and current dividers 261

Section 2 RC circuits – transient and frequency response 265

Section 3 Basic amplifiers 270

Section 4 Basic op-amp based closed-loop circuits 278

Section 5 Types of negative feedback in amplifier circuits 283

Section 6 Circuit noise fundamentals 288

Section 7 Basic digital circuits 297

Über Autor(innen)

Song Liu is a Technical and Product Line Director at Monolithic Power Systems in San Jose, California. With extensive experience in analog and mixed-signal IC design, he brings real-world industry expertise to guide readers through the circuit intuition skills that distinguish successful candidates in technical interviews and enable effective transitions into professional circuit design roles.