HWN - Real "Analog Design Engineer" Interview Questions

If you ever wondered how tech giants and start-ups actually test your knowledge during interviews, this video is for you! In this episode we continue the trend of open-ended questions and examine a real interview question for an SoC design engineer - Analog. Enjoy!
Need FREE help preparing for your interview? E-mail us at: [e-mail]
Welcome back to another episode of Hardware Ninja! Ever wondered how to get a job as a Hardware Designer in some of the top tech companies like Microsoft, Google, Tesla, Apple, Facebook, etc?
The interview process employs many application based questions whether you're a recent college grad or an experienced applicant. It doesn't matter if you want to work for Elon Musk, Tim Cook, or the up and coming start-up you heard about. We're here with curated material of real life technical interview questions.
Please consider subscribing to the channel and supporting our movement. Prospective job seekers (including yourself some day) will benefit from this resource.
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Background Music Merry Bay - Ghostrifter Official
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#analogelectronics
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#designengineer

[@mrinalkantidebnath1301]

Hope you give more video in this channel , very good job keep it up.

[@lixiang7349]

To add emphasis, we can use not only at the beginning of a clause. When we do this, we invert the subject and the verb: Not only was it raining all day at the wedding but also the band was late. Not only will they paint the outside of the house but also the inside.

[@HardwareNinja]

Hi Sean, We're not sure how to interpret this, so we'll thank you for contributing to the community instead! XD

[@lixiang7349]

@@HardwareNinja To add emphasis, we can use not only at the beginning of a clause. When we do this, we invert the subject and the verb: Not only was it raining all day at the wedding but also the band was late. Not only will they paint the outside of the house but also the inside.

[@sevakantonyan9833]

In cmos digital process its possible to build +/-10% current source

[@akashghosh1151]

Thanks for this, really great initiative, will be helpful for hardware Engineer like us, it would be more helpful if you guys could also mention topics/chapters to prepare for the technical exam they take in the 1st round

[@HardwareNinja]

You're welcome! Thank you for being a part of the community. We believe you're referring to technical exams in India. Unfortunately, our team is US based and none of us have experience with the Indian system. However, we're more than willing to share more general advice.

[@kolobok8201]

You can make a current source using CMOS "psuedo nmos" topology, by replacing the current source with a PMOS which his gate is biased, resulting in "controllable" current source

[@sohamroy7668]

You would need to generate the bias for that Mosfet which would in turn lead to area and power wastage

[@hritabratamandal7642]

Current source could be nmos in diode mos configuration...

[@ymmen041294]

can you answer last question asked if current would change if ground has noise? i simulated and found that input branch current changes but not output branch current. why is that?

[@Coolgiy67]

Because everything is referenced to ground it doesn’t matter what ground is

[@ashishchauhan5623]

@@Coolgiy67 I assume you mean same ground... if there is resistance between ground connections of two mosfets their vgs will differ.

[@QwertYuiop-yt3uh]

I hope one day I can become analog engineer at a company like nvidia, amd, etc

[@HardwareNinja]

We're cheering for you! :)

[@sohamroy7668]

Do Nvidia and Amd have positions for analog engineers?

[@ymmen041294]

we can use beta multiplier as current source

[@utsavv1167]

My guess for the current source is an OTA

[@brwang01]

“What is wrong with infinite output impedance?” You think it worked. Went home early. Find out later then stay up all night. Interviewer laughed. You got offer

[@HardwareNinja]

Could you elaborate a little bit into this? We got somewhat confused. :)

[@andrewbevelhymer2440]

Are these the type of questions that will be asked for entry level positions?

[@HardwareNinja]

Hi Andrew, these are easily questions that can be asked for entry level engineers. However, it can also be used to set a baseline for experienced engineers. Hope that helps. Cheers!

[@jiesteve]

Good phone interview questions there

[@HardwareNinja]

Thank you for your support, James! It could be a good phone screening question or a primer for more complex questions for an on-site interview

[@coolwinder]

What are wide-swing cascodes, you mean folded cascodes?

[@henrychenandtaylor7607]

Why is the Rout is infinite for the very first question

[@Niftypsycho]

An ideal current source has infinite output impedance because ideally it can provide its set current regardless of load demands. It's drawn a little confusingly in the video since the impedance would be across the current source. An infinite output impedance would mean no current flows through it and all goes to the load. This is why there's no such thing as an ideal current source.

[@gaproman123]

Is the 3rd way a diode connected transistor? the mosfet will always be in saturation and should provide a constant current independent of the voltage?

[@HardwareNinja]

Thank you so much for your comment and contributing to the community! Do you mean a diode device connected directly to the supply voltage? If so, that wouldn't be correct. We will give you a hint as to why. Think of the same problem of noise and DC level in your power supply. Hope that helps!

[@placementdas3997]

@@HardwareNinja Can you please tell the answer I am really confused.

[@davidlynch1263]

@@HardwareNinja Diode is commonly used with BJT to provide current source independent of changing Vcc but it seems there is no diode+mosfet combination, I dont know why too.

[@arthurswanson3285]

Glad I went into software.

[@ebadurrahmankhan9033]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@pavankori6986]

Current mirror

[@coolwinder]

🍿🍿

[@pavankori6986]

Infinite resistance for ideal current source

[@yunusdification]

Poorly asked question. You say that we could use BGR then ask to use resistor. A bit confusing tbh

[@HardwareNinja]

Hi Yunus, Thank you for being here, we appreciate your support! If you listen carefully, ByTor says "Let's imagine you did say a bandgap but the interviewer wanted to push you, which may happen, and said "OK imagine for now i do not have a bandgap circuit available" what else can we do?""

[@yunusdification]

@@HardwareNinja Seems like you say that u want to use resistor then ask what’s incorrect in the circuit. Because the issue is related to the resistor and you ask to use a resistor, it can a bit confusing. That’s why I thought it would be good to reformulate the question

[@HardwareNinja]

Hi Yunus, Our goal is to make the material as real as possible. During interviews, it's always best to keep answers simple, hence the resistor. That being said, we merely try to show what questions one might face when picking a certain topology, configuration, or component. The interviewers are trying to probe the depth of your knowledge, they're not after right/wrong answers. Hope that helps clarify our approach! We truly appreciate your feedback!