New CMOS Fully‐Differential Transconductor and Application to a Fully‐Differential Gm‐C Filter

A new CMOS voltage‐controlled fully‐differential transconductor is presented. The basic structure of the proposed transconductor is based on a four‐MOS transistor cell operating in the triode or saturation region. It achieves a high linearity range of ± 1 V at a 1.5 V supply voltage. The proposed transconductor is used to realize a new fully‐differential Gm‐C low‐pass filter with a minimum number of transconductors and grounded capacitors. PSpice simulation results for the transconductor circuit and its filter application indicating the linearity range and verifying the analytical results using 0.35 μm technology are also given.     

A linear compact tunable transconductor for Gm-C applications

A CMOS highly linear voltage-controlled transconductor suitable for Gm-C filter design is presented. The control loop to program the transconductance maintains the input transistors in triode region with a compact topology. Measurement results for the transconductor fabricated in a 0.5-??m CMOS technology feature a spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) of 72?dB for 1 V_pp differential inputs at 1?MHz. The voltage to current converter ensures a high linearity level for a wide transconductance range. Functionality of the transconductor is shown in a fifth-order Gm-C tunable complex filter well suited for a dual-mode Bluetooth/Zigbee transceiver.     

New CMOS triode transconductor

A new CMOS transconductor is proposed, which is built around two conversion transistors operating in the triode region with their source and drain voltages kept constant. The proposed transconductor has an input swing range of 7 V peak to peak within 1% THD at supply voltages of ±5 V and a large transconductance tuning range. Moreover, it can operate satisfactorily regardless of the transistor body connection     

A Tunable Pseudo-Differential OTA With $-78~{hbox {dB}}$ THD Consuming 1.25 mW

A novel linear tunable transconductor based on a combination of linearization techniques is presented. The input signal is transferred to the V-I conversion element by means of a high-speed feedback loop. Then, the linear V-I conversion is accomplished using quasi-floating-gate MOS transistors biased in the triode region. Finally, the absence of current mirrors in the signal path provides low sensitivity to transistor mismatch and reduces the harmonic distortion. The operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) was fabricated in a 0.5-mum CMOS technology with a single 3.3-V supply voltage. Experimental results show a total harmonic distortion of -78 dB at 1 MHz with 1-V_pp input signal. High linearity of the OTA is obtained over a two octave tuning range with only 1.25-mW power consumption.     

Multimode $G_{m}$– $C$ Channel Selection Filter for Mobile Applications in 1-V Supply Voltage

A CMOS transconductor for multimode channel selection filter is presented. The transconductor includes a voltage-to-current converter and a current multiplier. Voltage-to-current conversion employs linear region MOS transistors, and the conversion features high linearity over a wide input swing range. The current multiplier which operates in the weak inversion region provides a wide transconductance tuning range without degrading the linearity. A third-order Butterworth low-pass filter implemented with the transconductors was designed by TSMC 0.18 mum CMOS process. The measurement results show that the filter can operate with the cutoff frequency of 135 kHz to 2.2 MHz. The tuning range and the linearity performance would be suitable for the wireless specifications of GSM, Bluetooth, cdma2000, and wide-band CDMA. In the design, the maximum power consumption at the highest cutoff frequency is 2 mW under a 1-V supply voltage.     

Highly Linear Tunable CMOS $Gm{hbox{-}}C$ Low-Pass Filter

A comprehensive analysis of tunable transconductor topologies based on passive resistors is presented. Based on this analysis, a new CMOS transconductor is designed, which features high linearity, simplicity, and robustness against geometric and parametric mismatches. A novel tuning technique using just a MOS transistor in the triode region allows the adjustment of the transconductance in a wide range without affecting the voltage-to-current conversion core. Measurement results of the transconductor fabricated in a 0.5- mum CMOS technology confirm the high linearity predicted. As an application, a third-order Gm-C tunable low-pass filter fabricated in the same technology is presented. The measured third-order intermodulation distortion of the filter for a single 5-V supply and a 2-V_pp two-tone input signal centered at 10 MHz is -78 dB.     

Low-Voltage Continuous-Time Filter Based on a CMOS Transconductor with Enhanced Linearity

The proposed design of a low-voltage continuous time filter is based on a CMOS transconductor with enhanced linearity. The compensation principle is used for the reduction of transconductor non-linear distortions. The discussed transconductor consists of two transconductors connected in parallel. The input transistors of the first transconductor are working in the triode region, while the input transistors of the further one are in the saturation. A fifth-order 1 MHz low-pass Bessel filter is synthesized and simulated using transconductors. The supply voltage is equal to +2.5 V. A tuning system of the filter is also simulated and discussed. A comparison shows that the discussed filter provides a higher linearity (from 4 to 9 dB) than the known circuits with the exception of filters based on the amplifier with degeneration. But it is noted that the last approach is difficult to use for the low-voltage application, because the voltage drop on the degeneration resistors limits the possible decrease of the voltage supply.     

A CMOS “soft-switched” transconductor and itsapplication in gain control and filters

This paper presents a transconductor suitable for implementation in submicron CMOS technology. The transconductor is nearly insensitive for the second-order effects of the MOS transistors, which become more and more prevalent in today's submicron processes. The transconductor relies on a differential pair with variable degeneration resistance, while the degeneration resistors are “soft-switched” by means of MOS transistors. The transconductance is continuously tunable. A transconductor, using a device in which the degeneration resistors and “soft switches” are merged, is optimized for a maximum tuning range and can be used in variable gain stages like in an automatic gain control (AGC) circuit. Besides, a third-order 5.5 MHz low-pass filter has been realized in a 0.5-μm CMOS process using the “soft-switched” transconductor. At a 3.3 V supply voltage the filter dissipates 12 mW and the dynamic range equals 62 dB where the total harmonic distortion (THD) is -48 dB for an input voltage of 1 Vpp     

A CMOS transconductor with multidecade tuning using balanced current scaling in moderate inversion

A versatile CMOS transconductor is proposed. Voltage-to-current conversion employs a polysilicon resistor and features high linearity over a wide input range and high current efficiency. Programmable balanced current mirrors able to operate in weak or moderate inversion regions provide wide transconductance gain tuning range without degrading other performance parameters like input range and linearity. The transconductor has two degrees of freedom for gain tuning. A 0.5-/spl mu/m implementation achieves a SFDR of 68 dB and a THD of -66.5dB using a dual supply of /spl plusmn/1.3 V with differential input swings equal to 77% of the total supply voltage, transconductance tuning over two decades, and 1.7 mW of static power consumption. Measurements demonstrate that operation in moderate inversion can lead to much less distortion levels than in strong inversion.     

A novel CMOS triode transconductor based on current division

A compact transconductor based on transistors operating in the triode region is presented. A novel V–I conversion stage made up of current dividers is proposed. The circuit allows tunability by adjusting a dc current and the transconductance is independent of transconductance parameter of the triode transistors. Besides, the circuit is simple because feedback structures to fix source-drain voltages of triode transistors are not needed, saving area and featuring low power consumption. Measurement and simulation results are presented and analyzed for validating the proposed technique.     

Low-voltage pseudo-differential transconductor with improved tunability-linearity trade-off

A new low-voltage pseudo-differential CMOS transconductor using transistors in the saturation region is presented. It keeps the input common-mode voltage constant, while its transconductance is easily tunable through a DC voltage preserving linearity for a moderate range of G/sub m/ values. Post-layout results for a 2.7 V-0.5 /spl mu/m CMOS design dissipating less than 1.5 mW show a 1:2 G/sub m/ tuning range with an almost constant bandwidth over 600 MHz. Total harmonic distortion figures are below -60 dB over the whole range at 10 MHz up to a 100 /spl mu/A/sub p-p/ differential output.     

Low-voltage CMOS triode transconductor with wide-range and lineartunability

A triode transconductor is proposed which has a transconductance that is linearly tuneable over a wide range (more than two decades) when the circuit is operated from a 3.3 V power supply. The THD is <1% within the whole linear tuning range, for a 10 MHz differential input signal of 1 V_peak     

Broadband linearly tunable CMOS transconductor

A 2.2-V positive variable CMOS transconductor designed in a low-cost 0.35 μm CMOS digital process intended for wideband applications is presented. The cell achieves in worst cases 1.5 mS, 2 GHz and a total noise contribution of 1.45 μA_rms. The circuit presents high linearity, thanks to the use of the parallel connection between two NMOS transistors, one working in the saturation region and the other in the triode region. Models for different key responses are provided and compared with simulation results.     

A low-power low-voltage OTA-C sinusoidal oscillator with a large tuning range

A new operational transconductance amplifier and capacitor based sinusoidal voltage controlled oscillator is presented. The transconductor uses two cross-coupled class-AB pseudo-differential pairs biased by a flipped voltage follower, and it exhibits a wide transconductance range with low power consumption and high linearity. The oscillator has been fabricated in a standard 0.8-/spl mu/m CMOS process. Experimental results show a frequency tuning range from 1 to 25 MHz. The amplitude is controlled by the transconductor nonlinear characteristic. The circuit is operated at 2-V supply voltage with only 1.58 mW of maximum quiescent power consumption.     

A low-voltage BiCMOS transconductor with improved linearity for VHF continuous-time filters

A new low-voltage Bipolar Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (BiCMOS) triode transconductor with improved linearity suitable for very-high frequency continuous-time filters is proposed. The transconductance is tunable with a control voltage. Improved linearity is achieved using a translinear cross-coupled circuit that suppresses the major cause of nonlinearity. The output resistance of the transconductor is compensated, and the resulting output resistance can be fine-tuned by means of a separate voltage. The transconductor has a large bandwidth due to its parasitic poles that are at extremely high frequencies. The performance of the transconductor is demonstrated by simulation results.     

A <Emphasis Type="Italic">G</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis></Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">-C</Emphasis> continuous-time analog filter for IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless LANs

A CMOS transconductor for multi-mode wireless channel selection filter is presented. The linear transconductor is designed based on the flipped-voltage follower (FVF) circuit and an active resistor to achieve the transconductance tuning. The transconductance tuning can be obtained by changing the bias current of the active resistor. A third-order Butterworth low-pass filter implemented with the transconductors was designed by TSMC 0.18-μm CMOS process. The results show that the filter can operate with the cutoff frequency of 10–20 MHz. The tuning range would be suitable for the specifications of IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n Wireless LANs under the consideration of saving chip areas. In the design, the maximum power consumption is 13 mW with the cutoff frequency of 20 MHz under a 1.8 V supply voltage.     

A switch‐controlled multimode narrowband receiver RF front‐end

This work illustrates a flexible and convenient method to build a multimode narrowband receiver RF front‐end by means of controlled switches, switched capacitors, and switched inductors. The front‐end comprises a dual‐gain‐mode narrowband low‐noise amplifier (LNA) and a dual‐linearity‐mode mixer. A four‐mode receiver RF front‐end constructed with the dual‐gain‐mode LNA and the dual‐linearity‐mode mixer operating in frequency band range from 1800 to 2050 MHz was demonstrated with an IBM 90‐nm CMOS process. The front‐end achieves a 1/1.6 dB noise figure, 30/20 dB power gain, and 16/?10 dBm third‐order input intercept point while draws a 5.9/3.6 mA current from a 1.8‐V supply voltage at the low noise mode and high linearity mode, respectively. The proposed technique can be employed to build an intelligent mobile system.     

A compact tunable CMOS transconductor with high linearity

A novel CMOS linear transconductor is presented. The use of simple and accurate voltage buffers to drive two MOS transistors operating in the triode region leads to a highly linear voltage-to-current conversion. Transconductance gain can be continuously and precisely adjusted using dc level shifters. Measurement results of a balanced transconductor fabricated in a 0.5-/spl mu/m CMOS technology show a total harmonic distortion of -54 dB at 100 kHz for an 80-/spl mu/A peak-to-peak output, using a supply voltage of 2 V. It requires 0.07-mm/sup 2/ of silicon (Si) area and features 0.96 mW of static power consumption.     

Highly Stretchable,High‐Mobility,Free‐Standing All‐Organic Transistors Modulated by Solid‐State Elastomer Electrolytes

Highly stretchable, high‐mobility, and free‐standing coplanar‐type all‐organic transistors based on deformable solid‐state elastomer electrolytes are demonstrated using ionic thermoplastic polyurethane (i‐TPU), thereby showing high reliability under mechanical stimuli as well as low‐voltage operation. Unlike conventional ionic dielectrics, the i‐TPU electrolyte prepared herein has remarkable characteristics, i.e., a large specific capacitance of 5.5 µF cm^?2, despite the low weight ratio (20 wt%) of the ionic liquid, high transparency, and even stretchability. These i‐TPU‐based organic transistors exhibit a mobility as high as 7.9 cm² V^?1 s^?1, high bendability (R_c, radius of curvature: 7.2 mm), and good stretchability (60% tensile strain). Moreover, they are suitable for low‐voltage operation (V_DS = ?1.0 V, V_GS = ?2.5 V). In addition, the electrical characteristics such as mobility, on‐current, and threshold voltage are maintained even in the concave and convex bending state (bending tensile strain of ≈3.4%), respectively. Finally, free‐standing, fully stretchable, and semi‐transparent coplanar‐type all‐organic transistors can be fabricated by introducing a poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonic acid layer as source/drain and gate electrodes, thus achieving low‐voltage operation (V_DS = ?1.5 V, V_GS = ?2.5 V) and an even higher mobility of up to 17.8 cm² V^?1 s^?1. Moreover, these devices withstand stretching up to 80% tensile strain.     

截止频率可调的CMOS低电压低功率高通滤波器

本文基于对传统的ＣＭＯＳ反相器的低电压工作状态的分析，提出了新颖的ＣＭＯＳ高通滤波器，其截止频率可以通过调节工作于亚阈值区的ＣＭＯＳ管的沟道导纳来实现连续可调。本文提出的电路结构简单，功耗极低，可全集成。文中设计结果经ＰＳＰＩＣＥ仿真验证是正确的。