U18EC605 – VLSI Circuits andSystems
Topic: BiCMOS Inverter
Objective/s of the topic
➢ Analyzing the operation of BiCMOS Inverter.
BiCMOS
• The speed of BJT is very high compared to CMOS
• The power dissipation in CMOS is extremely low
compared to BJT
BICMOS circuits are built to combine such advantages, .
BiCMOS Inverter
• The logical approach is to use MOS switches to perform the
logic function and bipolar transistors to drive the output
loads.
• With Vin=0volts (GND)
T3 isoff sothat T1 will [Link]
T4 isonandsuppliescurrent to the baseof T2
which will conduct and act asacurrent source to charge the load
CLtoward +5 volts(VDD). The output of the inverter will rise
to +5 volts lessthe · baseto emitter voltageVBEofT2.
• WithVin = +5 volts· (VDD)
T4 isoff sothat T2 will benon-conducting. ButT3
will now be on and will supply current to the base of T1 which
will conduct and act as a current sink to the' load CL
discharging it toward 0 volts (GND). The output of the
inverter will fall to 0 volts plus the saturation voltage VCEsat
from the collector to the emitter of T1.
• T1 and T2 will present low impedances when turned on into
saturation and the load CL will be charged or discharged
rapidly.
The transistor T1 charges the parasitic load capacitance CL at
a very fast rate. Thus the output voltage Vo rises very fast,
which is usually much faster than the charging of CL by an
MOS transistor by itself.
A BiCMOS inverter circuit having complementary MOS
transistors and complementary bipolar transistors enables
a high speed inverting operation as well as high degree of
integration when it is fabricated on a semiconductor chip.
Drawbacks
The circuit shown in has two major defects.
1. The first of these is that whenever the input is at
logic 1, since T3 is ON, there will be a continuous path
from +VDD to ground. As a result, steady power drain
will occur in this case. This is totally against the
advantages of CMOS gates.
2. The second defect is that there is no discharge path
for the base currents of T1 and T2. This will therefore
reduce the speed of the circuit.
An alternative BICMOS Inverter with no static
current flow.
An Improved BICMOS Inverter using MOS transistorsfor
base current discharge
Features of BICMOS gates:
1. This has the advantages of both the BJTs and CMOS gates.
2. The power driver (BJT amplifier) in the output stage is
capable of driving large loads.
3. The circuit, because of its CMOS input transistors, has high
input impedance.
4. The output impedance of the circuit is low.
5. The noise margin is high because of the CMOS input stage.
6. The supply voltage VDD is 5 V.
7. The chip area is small.
Outcome/s of the topic
➢ Analyzed the operation of BiCMOSInverter.