A 0.9-V 0.5-μA rail-to-rail CMOS operational amplifier

A 0.9-V 0.5-μA, rail-to-rail CMOS operational amplifier designed with weak inversion techniques is presented. Depletion-mode nMOS transistors buffer a bulk-driven pMOS differential pair to realize wide input dynamic range, while the output stage architecture provides symmetric rail-to-rail output drive through the use of a low-voltage translinear control circuit     

An Ultra-Low-Voltage Ultra-Low-Power CMOS Miller OTA With Rail-to-Rail Input/Output Swing

An ultra-low-voltage ultra-low-power CMOS Miller operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) with rail-to-rail input/output swing is presented. The topology is based on combining bulk-driven differential pair and dc level shifters, with the transistors work in weak inversion. The improved Miller OTA has been successfully verified in a standard 0.35-mum CMOS process. Experimental results have confirmed that, at a minimum supply voltage of 600 mV, lower than the threshold voltage, the topology presents almost rail-to-rail input and output swings and consumes only 550 nW.     

CMOS buffer using complementary pair of bulk-driven super source followers

A power-efficient rail-to-rail CMOS analogue voltage buffer is presented. It consists of a complementary pair of super source followers, but a bulk-driven input device with the replica-biased scheme is utilised to eliminate the DC level shift, quasi-floating gate transistors to achieve class-AB performance, and a current switch which shifts between the complementary pair to allow rail-to-rail operation. The proposed buffer has been designed for a 0.35 mum CMOS technology to operate at a 1.8 V supply voltage. Simulated results are provided to demonstrate the total harmonic distortion for a 1.6 Vpp 100 kHz sine wave with a 68 pF load is as low as -46 dB, while the static current consumption remains under 8 muA.     

1-V Rail-to-Rail CMOS OpAmp With Improved Bulk-Driven Input Stage

This paper introduces a CMOS operational amplifier with rail-to-rail input and output voltage ranges, suitable for operation in extremely low-voltage environments. The approach is based on a bulk-driven input stage with extended input common-mode voltage range, in which the effective input transconductance is enhanced by means of a partial positive feedback loop. As a result, a gain and gain-bandwidth product performance similar to that of an amplifier using a gate-driven approach is obtained. Output rail-to-rail operation is achieved by means of a push-pull stage, which is biased in class-AB by using a static feedback loop, thus avoiding frequency limitations inherent in dynamic-feedback tuning schemes. The proposed two-stage operational amplifier was designed to operate with a 1-V supply, and a test chip prototype was fabricated in 0.35-mum standard CMOS technology. The experimental performance features an open-loop DC gain higher than 76 dB and a closed-loop unity-gain bandwidth above 8 MHz when a 1-MOmegapar17-pF load is connected to the amplifier output     

一种0.8V衬底驱动轨对轨运算放大器设计

采用衬底驱动技术设计低压低功耗轨对轨运算放大器。输入级采用衬底驱动MOSFET,有效避开阈值电压限制,将电源电压降至0.8V,实现低压下轨对轨共模输入范围。增加衬底驱动冗余差分对及反折式共源共栅求和电路实现恒定跨导控制,消除共模电压对输入级跨导的影响,输出采用前馈式AB类输出级,以提高动态输出电压范围。基于标准0.18μmCMOS工艺仿真运放,测得输出范围0.4～782.5mV,功耗48.8μW,电源抑制比58dB,CMRR65dB,直流开环增益63.8dB,单位增益带宽2.4MHz,相位裕度68°。版图设计采用双阱交叉空铅技术,面积为97.8μm×127.6μm。     

Transconductance enhancement in bulk-driven input stages and its applications

Two different circuit techniques to enhance the effective transconductance of a CMOS bulk-driven differential input stage are presented in this paper. Both approaches rely on a partial positive feedback, which leads to improved values for the DC gain and the gain-bandwidth product. The operation principle of the first solution is based on modifying the effective conductance of the active load of the input stage, while the second method acts directly on the input differential pair. The suitability of the presented techniques is demonstrated by the design of operational transconductance amplifiers operating at two different supply voltages, i.e., 2.4 and 1.0 V. Besides, the overall design of two applications, namely a 3 V input/output rail-to-rail operational amplifier with high linearity and a 1.2 V second-order OTA-C low-pass filter, is addressed. Simulated results obtained in standard 0.35 μm CMOS technology demonstrate the applicability of the solutions introduced.     

A -90-dB THD rail-to-rail input opamp using a new local charge pumpin CMOS

This paper describes the principle and design of a CMOS rail-to-rail input operational amplifier with THD performance of -90 dB which is suited for high-quality audio systems. A new output stage has been used featuring an output suing that extends to either supply rail and is capable of driving a low ohmic load (32 Ω). The opamp, which is realized in a 0.5-μm 3.3-V digital CMOS process, uses a standard two-stage Miller configuration. The rail-to-rail input functionality is achieved with a new area-efficient on-chip charge pump which provides the local supply voltage for the input differential pair. THD levels below -90 dB have not yet been shown with existing rail-to-rail techniques. This rail-to-rail input configuration also behaves independently of the common mode level with respect to transconductance and slewing characteristics     

Novel low-voltage low-power high-precision CCII± based on bulk-driven folded cascode OTA

This paper presents possible approaches to the design of a novel low-voltage, low-power, and high-precision current conveyor of the second generation (CCII±) based on the bulk-driven folded cascode operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) with extended input common-mode voltage range. This CCII± utilizes bulk-driven differential pairs to obtain a nearly rail-to-rail input stage at a low supply voltage. The proposed conveyor operates at a low supply voltage of ±400 mV with a reduced power consumption of only 64 μW. A current-mode multifunction filter is presented as an application of the CCII±. This filter provides five transfer functions simultaneously, namely low-pass, band-pass, high-pass, notch, and all-pass. The filter has the following properties and advantages: it employs three bulk-driven current conveyors BD-CCII±, three grounded resistors, and two grounded capacitors, which is suitable for integrated circuit implementation. Furthermore, the input signal is connected to the low-impedance X terminal of the BD-CCII± whereas the output signals are taken from the high-impedance output terminals Z+ and Z−. Finally, the pole frequency and quality factor of the designed filter are tunable independent of each other. PSpice simulation results using the 0.18 μm CMOS technology are included to prove the results.     

0.4-V bulk-driven differential-difference amplifier

A new solution for an ultra-low-voltage, low-power, bulk-driven fully differential-difference amplifier (FDDA) is presented in the paper. Simulated performance of the overall FDDA for a 50 nm CMOS process and supply voltage of 0.4 V, shows dissipation power of 31.8 μW, the open loop voltage gain of 58.6 dB and the gain-bandwidth product (GBW) of 2.3 MHz for a 20 pF load capacitance. Despite the very low supply voltage, the FDDA exhibits rail-to-rail input/output swing. The circuit performance has also been tested in two applications; the differential voltage follower and the second-order band-pass filter, showing satisfactory accuracy and dynamic range.     

0.9 V rail-to-rail constant gm CMOS amplifier input stage

Presented is a 0.9 V rail-to-rail constant g_m CMOS amplifier input stage consisting of complementary differential pairs and a g_m control circuit. The g_m control circuit eliminates the g_m dead zone, which occurs in the conventional rail-to-rail amplifier with ultra-low supply voltages. The proposed amplifier input stage has a constant g_m that varies by ±2.3% for rail-to-rail input common-mode levels. To verify the proposed amplifier design, an experimental prototype operational amplifier is also implemented using 0.35 mm standard CMOS technology.     

High current efficiency single-stage bulk-driven subthreshold-biased class-AB OTAs with enhanced transconductance and slew rate for large capacitive loads

This paper introduces two high-performance single-stage bulk-driven (BD) operational transconductance amplifiers (OTA) in weak-inversion with rail-to-rail input and output voltage ranges suited for the excessively low-voltage of 0.5 V supply. The strategy depends on adopting a modified bulk-driven non-tailed input core to achieve high input core transconductance with a minimum power supply and an enhanced input common-mode range. Moreover, a partial positive feedback loop provides an overall improved DC gain and effective transconductance further. The input core of OTA1, named composite class-AB OTA, comprises two combined non-tailed differential pairs as composite differential pairs. The proposed OTA2, named composite super class-AB BD-OTA, exploits a matched bulk-input Flipped voltage follower (FVF) pair to adaptively bias the input core used in the composite class-AB BD OTA. As a result, a significant increase in large-signal input current to the output side due to super class-AB behavior improves the slew rate. The post-layout simulation results using the Cadence Spectre simulator with UMC 0.18 µm process technology confirm that the proposed OTAs have improved small-signal and large-signal performances over the conventional OTA driving a high capacitive load of 5 nF. The proposed composite class-AB and super class-AB BD OTA deliver 2.29 times, and 3.77 times open-loop DC gain, 10.6 times, and 117 times unity-gain bandwidth with 2 times, and 12.03 times slew rate at the expense of almost 0.52 times and 1.21 times power consumed over conventional counterpart, respectively.

     

一种恒跨导轨对轨CMOS运算放大器的设计

设计了一种新颖的恒跨导轨对轨CMOS运算放大器结构。输入级采用轨对轨的结构,在输入级采用4个虚拟差分对管来对输入差分对的电流进行限制,使运放的输入级跨导在工作范围内保持恒定。输出级采用前馈式AB类输出结构,以使输出达到全摆幅。仿真结果显示,在5 V电源电压和带有10 pF电容与10 kΩ电阻并联的负载下,该运放在共模输入范围内实现了恒跨导,在整个共模输入范围内跨导变化率仅为3%,输出摆幅也达到了轨对轨全摆幅,运放的开环增益为108.5 dB,增益带宽积为26.7 MHz,相位裕度为76.3°。     

A low-voltage complementary metal-oxide semiconductor adapter circuit suitable for input rail-to-rail operation

In this article, a low-voltage complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) input signal adapter (ISA) suitable for input rail-to-rail operation of various types of analogue basic building blocks is presented. The adapter acts as a pre-stage with infinite input resistance and linear transfer characteristics. Its input signal is translated into the region fitting the operating range of the following stage. The generality of the proposed method is proven through the application of the ISA in different types of analogue basic building blocks designed in 0.5 μm CMOS technology. They are the following: below-negative-rail-to-above-positive-rail voltage-controlled transconductor, quasi rail-to-rail voltage-controlled resistor (VCR), rail-to-rail operational amplifier (OA) and quasi rail-to-rail second generation current conveyor. The proposed negative resistance quasi rail-to-rail VCR and rail-to-rail OA have been used in a Sallen and Key band-pass filter. All of these analogue basic building blocks and their applications in the form of the Sallen and Key band-pass filter operate from a single supply of 1.5 V. Simulation results confirm the predictions of the analysis performed.     

Constant-Gm rail-to-rail common-mode rangeinput stage with minimum CMRR degradation

The inherent drawbacks associated with CMOS amplifiers with rail-to-rail input common-mode range (CMR) are addressed. It is shown how they impact on the amplifier and limit its performance. An input stage, suitable to be incorporated in the design of any amplifier topology with extended input range, is introduced. By controlling the bias current level as a function of the input common-mode voltage, the input stage provides simultaneously an almost constant total transconductance and over 18 dB of common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR) improvement in comparison to the classical approach with just 5 V of total supply voltage. Experimental results obtained from the evaluation of a prototype chip fabricated in a standard CMOS p-well process with 2-μm feature size are given     

Design and analysis of high Transconductance Current Follower Transconductance Amplifier (CFTA) and its applications

In this paper, a single-stage class AB bulk-driven amplifier operating in weak inversion region is proposed. The presented amplifier benefits from an improved high input swing structure using quasi-floating-gate technique. The composite transistors and recycling configuration used at the input stage enable the input differential pair to operate under low supply voltages with larger transconductance as compared to the conventional models at no expense of power budget. The circuit is designed in 0.18 µm CMOS technology and simulation results show 61.5 dB low frequency gain with the gain bandwidth of 30.15 kHz and 55.3 V/ms average slew rate. The total current of 275 nA and 0.6 V supply voltage make the proposed amplifier a suitable choice for ultra-low-power applications.     

Constant-g/sub m/ constant-slew-rate high-bandwidth low-voltage rail-to-rail CMOS input stage for VLSI cell libraries

This paper introduces a general-purpose low-voltage rail-to-rail input stage suitable for analog and mixed-signal applications. The proposed circuit provides, simultaneously, constant small-signal and large-signal behaviors over the entire input common-mode voltage range, while imposing no appreciable constraint for high-frequency operation. In addition, the accuracy of the circuit does not rely on any strict matching of the devices, unlike most of the traditional approaches based on complementary input pairs, which need to compensate for the difference in mobility between electrons and holes with the transistor aspect ratios. Also, the technique is compatible with deep submicrometer CMOS devices, where the familiar voltage-to-current square law in saturation is not completely satisfied. Based on the proposed input stage, a transconductor with rail-to-rail input common-mode range and an input/output rail-to-rail operational amplifier were developed. Both cells were designed to operate with a 3-V single supply and fabricated in standard 0.8-/spl mu/m CMOS technology. Experimental results are provided.     

一种宽带恒定跨导轨对轨运算放大器的设计

介绍了一种具有轨对轨输入功能的CMOS输入级电路。该电路克服了一般运算放大器只能工作在一定共模输入范围的输入级的缺陷，在各种共模输入电平下有着几乎恒定的跨导，使频率补偿更容易实现，且由于其工作原理与MOS晶体管的C—V解析关系无关，对制造工艺依赖性小，适用于深亚微米工艺。在此基础上，设计出了一种宽带的运算放大器，该运算放大器具有轨对轨输入、输出能力，可以作为常用模拟电路的基本单元模块。它没有严格的共模输入限制，跨导和整体性能稳定，适于为更大规模的数字／模拟混合信号系统提供行为级模型。     

一种输入输出轨到轨CMOS运算放大器的设计

随着电源电压的日益降低,信号幅度不断减小,在噪声保持不变的情况下,信噪比也会相应地减小。为了在低电源电压下获得高的信噪比,需提高信号幅度,而输入输出轨到轨运算放大器可获得与电源电压轨相当的信号幅度。中文在理论分析了输入输出轨到轨CMOS运算放大器主要架构优缺点后,给出了一种新的输入输出轨到轨CMOS运算放大器的设计,该电路在华润上华0.18 μm工艺平台上流片验证。测试结果表明,输入范围从0到电源电压,输出范围从50 mV到电源电压减去50 mV,实现了输入输出轨到轨的目标。     

Effective parameter extraction using multiple-objective function for VLSI circuits

In this paper an input stage and an output stage are presented for application in low-voltage CMOS operational amplifiers. The input stage operates in strong inversion and has a rail-to-rail common-mode input voltage range. The transconductance (g _m ) is insensitive to the common-mode input voltage. The class AB output stage has a rail-to-rail output range. A class AB control circuit prevents any transistors in the output stage from switching off. This improves the large-signal high-frequency behavior and the step response of the amplifier. A complete two-stage Op Amp employing the proposed input and output stages was realized in a semi-custom CMOS process with minimum channel lengths of 10µm and transistor threshold voltages of approximately 0.7 V. The measured minimum supply voltage is 2.5 V. The measured input voltage range exceeds the supply rails and the output voltage reaches both rails within 130 mV. The unity-gain bandwidth of the complete Op Amp is severely limited by the long channel lengths. Simulations show that a unity-gain bandwidth of 7 MHz is feasible if 2.5µm channel lengths are used.     

一种基于衬底驱动的亚1V轨至轨运放设计

基于衬底驱动技术,本文设计了一种亚1V Rail-to-Rail运算放大器.在差分对衬底端加信号避开低压环境MOS管阈值电压限制,运用局部正反馈技术来增加增益和带宽.在0.8 V电源电压,18pf的电容负载下用Hspice仿真,结果表明:直流增益达74.1 dB,相位裕度为62o,单位增益带宽为4.56 MHz,输出范围达2.72～782.17 mV,失调电压仅为12 μV,功耗为144.2 μW.