Theory and applications of MOS transistors as distributed circuit elements

This dissertation consists of two parts. The first part investigates the analog nonquasistatic operation of MOS transistors, with emphasis on four-terminal operation. The aspects considered are: (a) numerical evaluation of large-signal nonlinearities, leading to the prediction of harmonic distortion; (b) development of expressions for the y parameters, with closed-form expressions for the associated series terms of any order; and (c) development of expressions for the thermally induced noise drain, gate, and substrate currents as well as drain voltage. The results presented are verified through extensive comparisons to measured results, and to results obtained by simulation of a many-segment device. Such comparisons have been extended up to frequencies two orders of magnitude above the intrinsic cutoff frequency with positive results.; The distributed characteristics of MOS transistors are then applied in the second part of this dissertation to the design of MOS transistor-only frequency-selective filters with a goal of achieving the implementation of these circuits with a 'purely digital' CMOS process. Both lumped-parameter and distributed-parameter networks are considered. Main issues are the synthesis of MOS transistor-only filters, integrator phase-shift considerations, sensitivity analysis of filters, and oscillators, with emphasis on the effects of distributed behavior of MOS transistors on the circuit performance. Both theoretical results and measurements on experimental chips are presented.