general

I found Franco's work to be as enthralling to read as it was complete and deep in coverage. Not since the immortal Huelsman and Allen (a work long ago "overcome by events") has such a titanic writing job been undertaken in the field of linear circuit and analog filter design. I would stop short of saying--as one reviewer did--that the book says "everything you could possibly want to know about analog design." (I certainly don't recall having seen Miller's theorem or the hybrid-pi model--nor did I expect to!). Unfortunately, the book still leaves one puzzle unanswered: does it really matter which input carries the "+" sign and which carries the "-" sign? (The answer is no: it's merely convention that an inverting/noninverting network attaches the source to the "-"/"+" terminal.) Bravo, Dr. Franco. This is a treasured addition to my library, even at $110.

Sergio Franco's book demonstrates important fundamental concepts of op-amps, which is crucial in the design of analog/digital circuits, and ICs. It should deserve a sixth star if it also comes with answers to selected problems on calculation and design. This is an excellent text for undergrads or working professionals in need of a good op-amp reference.

This book can be an excellent resource for any Analog Integrated Circuit Design Electrical Engineering student or practicing engineer. The book can assist in the modeling of IC devices such as transistors, resistors, and capacitors. It also sensibly covers the building blocks of analog integrated circuits: gain stages, output stages, level shifters, current sources and mirrors.

The reader is expected to have a general understanding of electronics, frequency-domain analysis procedures, and understand basic Pspice operations. The book generally covers enough material for a half-year of courses at the upper-division/graduate level although the book could certainly be useful for a single class.

The material generally starts out as basic and proceeds to a complex level. There are helpful figures and diagrams on nearly every page and the organization is generally sensible and intuitive. There are many worked examples and hundreds of end-of-chapter problems. The text is supported by a website that offers downloadable design projects, additional examples, and design software. Franco has done an admiral job at presenting a complicated subject.

Here's a brief description of SOME of the topics found in each chapter:

1) Basic amplifier concepts and arrangements are explored. Also covers negative feedback, the loop gain, and basic circuit analysis.

2) Current-to-Voltage & Voltage-to-Current Converters, Current, Difference, Instrumentation, and Transducer Bridge Amplifiers.

3) Active Filters. Transfer Function, 1st order, KRC, multiple-feedback, state-variable, audio, and biquad filters.

4) Filter Approximations, switched-capacitor, universal sc filters, and cascade design.

5) Low-input bias-current Op amps, low-input-offset-voltage Op Amps, Op Amp Circuit Diagrams, and Input offset Voltage.

6) Open and Closed loop response. Transient Response, Input and Output Impedances, and effect of Finite GBP on Filters and Integrator Circuits.

7) Noise Dynamics and Properties. Sources of Noise and Low-Noise Op Amps.

8) Stability problems. Stability of CFA Circuits and in Constant-GBP Op Amp Circuits. Internal and External Frequency Compensation.

9) Schmitt Triggers, analog switches, voltage comparators, and precision rectifiers.

10) Sine, Triangular, Sawtooth, and Monolithic Wave Generators. Also Multivibrators and V-F and F-V Converters.

11) Voltage References and Regulators. Switching, linear, and monolithic switching regulators.

12) Performance Specifications, D-A and A-D Conversion Techniques. Oversampling Converters and Multiplying DAC Applications.

13) Nonlinear Amplifiers. Phase-Locked Loops, Monolithic PLLs, Analog Multipliers. Log/Antilog and Operational Transconductance Amplifiers.