Not done in 2013, therefore the material is not complete.
Gm-C filter optimization
This exercise is a modification of the old computer exercise. A working Gm-cell is given; the task is to optimize the circuit with respect to a figure of merit. Instructions in the following document:
Design exercise - DVD read channel filter
The second exercise is an application of the Gm-cell from the first part. Instructions in the following document:
The specifications are based on the following paper:
Old Computer Exercise: Design of a Gm-C Filter
In this exercise, a 9th order Gm-C low-pass filter is designed in two sessions of 4 hours each. The specifications of the filter are derived from the requirements of a DVD read channel pulse shaping filter. An example of such a filter is given in the following paper:
Part 1
In the first part of the exercise, the main task is the design of a differential transconductance amplifier. While the amplifier topology is given, the transistor sizes have to be calculated according to the specifications. After doing the calculations 'manually', the circuit is simulated and optimized using the CADENCE design environment.
Part 2
In the second part of the design exercise, the building blocks of the filter (transconductance amplifiers and capacitors) are connected to a low-pass filter with multiple stages. The main challenge is to simulate the filter and to make it work properly.
Note: The tutorials are written in German.