Analysis of the transistor chain operation in CMOS gates for short channel devices

A detailed analysis of the transistor chain operation in CMOS gates is presented. The chain is diminished to a transistor pair taking into account the actual operating conditions of the structure. The output waveform is obtained analytically, without linear approximations of the output voltage and for ramp inputs. The α-power transistor current model which takes into account second order effects of submicron devices is used, while previous inconsistencies in the chain currents are eliminated by introducing a drain-to-source voltage modulation factor. The exact time when the chain starts conducting is efficiently calculated removing a major source of errors. The calculated output waveform results according to the proposed model are in excellent agreement with SPICE simulations