Williams - Analog Circuit Design

This is a weird book. When I was asked to write it I refused, because I didnt believe anybody could, or should, try to explain how to do analog design. Later, I decided the book might be possible, but only if it was written by many authors, each with their own style, topic, and opinions. There should be an absolute minimum of editing, no subject or style requirements, no planned page count, no outline, no nothing! I wanted the books construction to reflect its subject. What I asked for was essentially a mandate for chaos. To my utter astonishment the publisher agreed and we lurched hopefully forward.

A meeting at my home in February 1989 was well-attended by potential participants. What we concluded went something like this: everyone would go off and write about anything that could remotely be construed as relevant to analog design. Additionally, no author would tell any other author what they were writing about. The hope was that the reader would see many different styles and approaches to analog design, along with some commonalities. Hopefully, this would lend courage to someone seeking to do analog work. There are many very different ways to proceed, and every designer has to find a way that feels right.

This evolution of a style, of getting to know oneself, is critical to doing good design. The single greatest asset a designer has is self-knowledge. Knowing when your thinking feels right, and when youre trying to fool yourself. Recognizing when the design is where you want it to be, and when youre pretending it is because youre only human. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses, prowesses and prejudices. Learning to recognize when to ask questions and when to believe your answers.

Formal training can augment all this, but cannot replace it or obviate its necessity. I think that factor is responsible for some of the mystique associated with analog design. Further, I think that someone approaching the field needs to see that there are lots of ways to do this stuff. They should be made to feel comfortable experimenting and evolving their own methods.

The risk in this book, that it will come across as an exercise in discord, is also its promise. As it went together, I began to feel less nervous. People wrote about all kinds of things in all kinds of ways. They had some very different views of the world. But also detectable were commonalities many found essential. It is our hope that readers will see this somewhat discordant book as a reflection of the analog design process. Take what you like, cook it any way you want to, and leave the rest.

Things wouldnt be complete without a special thanks to Carol Lewis and Harry Helms at HighText Publications, and John Martindale at Butterworth-Heinemann Publishers. They took on a book with an amorphous charter and no rudder and made it work. A midstream change of publishers didnt bother Carol and Harry, and John didnt seem to get nervous over a pretty risky approach to book writing.

I hope this book is as interesting and fun to read as it was to put together. Have a good time.