Stability and Frequency

Compensation
Chapter 10
General Consideration
Unstable if
Alternatively,
(to add in phase)
(to grow in magnitude)
Body Plots
(GX,Gain cross
over frequency)
(PX, phase crossover
point)
Worst Case Scenario (=1)
( increases)
Assumptions:
1. does not depend on frequency.
2. 1
The magnitude plots are shifted down. The system becomes
more stable as is reduced.
H() with =1 represents the worst case stability.
H () is often used to analyze stability.
increases
Review Slides
Laplace Transform/Fourier
Transform for RC LPF

() = 1/(1 + )

() = 1/(1 +)
=
|()|=1/| +p|
Phase(())=-tan
-1
(/p)
p=1/(RC)
(Fourier Transform)
(Laplace Transform)

-p

| +p|
Location of the pole in the left complex
plane

Complex s plane
Rules of thumb: (applicable to a pole)
Magnitude:
1. 20 dB drop after the cut-off frequency
2. 3dB drop at the cut-off frequency
Phase:
1. -45 deg at the cut-off frequency. Phase is more significantly affected by the pole than
magnitude.
2. 0 degree at one decade prior to the cut-frequency
3. 90 degrees one decade after the cut-off frequency
Laplace Transform/Fourier
Transform for RC HPF

() = /(1 + )

() = /(1 + )
=
|()|=| |/| +p|
Phase(())=90-tan
-1
(/p)
p=1/(RC)
Zero at DC.
(Fourier Transform)
(Laplace Transform)

-p

| +p|
Location of the pole in the left complex
plane

Complex s plane
Zero at the origin.
Thus phase(f=0)=90 degrees.
The high pass filter has a cut-off frequency of 100.
Time-Domain Response of a
System Versus Position of Poles
(unstable)
(constant magnitude
Oscillation)
(exponential decay)
The location of the
poles of a closed
Loop system is shown.
One-Pole System
(one-pole feedforward amplifier)
Ione pole system is
Unconditionally
Stable.
Root Locus Plot for a One Pole
System
As the loop gain increase (e.g. ), the pole
moves away from the origin.
Two-Pole System
The system is stable since the
loop gain is less than 1 at a frequency
For which the angle(H())=-180.
When is reduced,
the system becomes
more stable.

Assumption:
does not depend
on frequency.
Root Locus Plot for a Two-Pole
System (1)
Root Locus Plot for a Two-Pole
System (2)
Three-Pole System
Relative Location of GX and PX
Case 1: <H(j1)=-175
o
Case 2: <H(j1) such that GX<<PX

Case 3: <H(j1)=-135


Case 1: <H(j1)=-175
o

The system is technically stable, but
it suffers from ringing.
Case 2: <H(j1) such that
GX<<PX
Case 3: <H(j1)=-135
(30% peaking)
Phase Margin
Phase Margin=Phase at GX +180
o
Transient Response Versus PM
Peaking is usually correlated with
ringing in the time domain!
PM=60
o
, usually the optimum value.
Caution
PM is useful for small signal analysis.
For large signal step response of a
feedback system, the nonlinear
behavior is usually such that a system
with satisfactory PM may still exhibit
excessive ringing.
Transient analysis should be used to
analyze large signal response.
Example: A system with PM =60
but still exhibit ringing when
driven by a large signal
Frequency Compensation
Reason for frequency compensation:
|H()| does not drop to unity when
<H() reaches -180
o
.
Possible Solution:
(Push PX Out)
(push GX in)
Option 1: Push PX OUT
(minimize the #
of poles)

Whats the problem?
Each stage contributes a pole.

Reduce # of stages implies
difficult trade-off of gain versus
output swings.
Option 2: Push GX In
Problem:

Bandwidth is
sacrificed
for stability.
Typical Approach
Minimize the number of poles first.
Use compensation to move the GX
towards the origin next.
Review:
Small Signal Equivalent Model
(Transmission Zero)
Review:
Differential Pair with Current
Mirror
(Slow Path)
(Fast Path)
Caution:
Not a good Idea to cancel the non-dominant pole with
The zero.
You may have settling problem due to a step response.
Telescopic Op-Amp
(Dominant pole)
(Non-dominant
Pole, and a zero)
C
GS5
+C
GS6
+C
DB5
+2C
GD6
+C
DB3
+C
GD3
Bode Plot of the Telescopic
Op-Amp
(Zero at 2
p
is neglected)
(Typically
Limits the
Phase Margin)
Compensation Strategy (1)
Key points:
1. The phase contribution of the dominant pole
near the PX is approximatelyl -90 degrees.
2. Moving the dominant pole towards the origin
affects the gain, but not the phase near PX.
Compensation Strategy (2)
Assumptions:
1. The second non-dominant
pole occupies a much higher frequency.
2. Design for a phase margin of 45 deg.
The desired phase at
p,A
is -135 deg.


Steps:
1. Determine the desired location of the
the dominant pole. ('
p,A
). Start from
p,A,
Assume -20 dB/dec roll-off.

2. The load capacitance must increase by

p,A
/'
p,A.

3. The unity-gain bandwidth is
p,A
Increasing the Output
Resistance does not
Compensate the Op-Amp
Fully Differential Telescopic
Cascode
If M5 and M3 have the
same gmoverid, g
m5
=g
m3
.

Since
p
<
n
, W
5,6
>W
3,4
and
N,K are more capacitive
than X,Y.

X, Y are the non-dominant
pole. (reason: 1/gm of
M
3,4
)
(Dominant Pole)
Effect of the Capacitance at
N,K
N, K lowers the dominant pole, but
does not introduce an additional pole.
Mirror pole is
avoided!
Two Stage Op-Amp
(low impedance node,
high freq pole)
Cascode,
High impedance
node, dominant
pole
High impedance
node, CL may be
large, dominant
pole
Bode Plots for the Two-Stage
Op-Amp
Assumption:
p,E
<
p,A
Stability Problem!
Compensation strategy:
1. Move GX below PX.
2. Move the unity gain bandwidth below or equal to the second pole.

Problem: A large compensation capacitor may be required!
Miller Compensation
Create a larger capacitor at E using Miller effect.

Net effect: a moderate value capacitor (Cc) can be
used to lower
p,E
,

thus saving chip area
.

High Frequency Model of CS
Stage (Review)
Dominant Pole Approximation
(Review)
A zero in the right-half-plane.
Pole Splitting as a Result of Miller
Compensation
(Simplified Model)
(Cc provides a low impedance path, thus
reducing the resistance at node E to 1/gm.
Observations
By using Cc,
Only a moderate value capacitor is
required.
The output pole is shifted to a higher
frequency, allowing a greater unity
bandwidth.
Zero In the Right-Half Plane
Zero Frequency:
Zero is produced by Cc and CGD9 which introduced a low
impedance path from input to output.

Effect of a zero:
1. A RHP zero slows down the drop in the magnitude by contributing 20dB/dec.
2. A RHP zero decreases phase by contributing a phase of tan
-1
(/
z
)

Net effect on phase:
1. GX is pushed to a higher frequency.
2. PX is pushed to a lower frequency
A RHP Zeros effect on PM
GX is pushed out
PX is pushed in
Moving the RHP Zero
(Derive this!)

(Cancel the non-dom. pole
with the left plane zero)
Downside of Miller
Compensation
Increase CL will lower
p2
Dominant
pole
See next slide.
Susceptibility of Miller
Compensation Due to an
Increased CL (Revised)
As CL increases,
the stability of the circuit
can degrade.
Other Compensation
Techniques (1)
Feedback path : CC
Feedfoward path
Feedfoward current flows through
M2 to the power supply.
Other Compensation
Techniques (2)
The DC of output is not tied to the DC of X.

Note the current of the feedback current.

The feedforward path is broken since
VX is not sensitive to small signal at Vd2.
Misc. Slides
Slewing in Two-Stage Op-Amps
The negative feedback
of the amplifier makes it
such that V+ ~V-
Small Signal Intuition
Virtual ground
Positive Slew Rate
Slew Rate:
If M5 is not wide
enough to support
ISS+I1, VX drops to
drive M1 into triode
Region.
Negative Slew Rate
If ISS=I1, M5 will be turned off.
If ISS>I1, V3 will enter the triode region.