EP0536063B1 - Générateur de courant précis - Google Patents

Générateur de courant précis Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0536063B1
EP0536063B1 EP19920420333 EP92420333A EP0536063B1 EP 0536063 B1 EP0536063 B1 EP 0536063B1 EP 19920420333 EP19920420333 EP 19920420333 EP 92420333 A EP92420333 A EP 92420333A EP 0536063 B1 EP0536063 B1 EP 0536063B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
transistor
current
base
emitter
mirror
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19920420333
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0536063A1 (fr
Inventor
Marc Ryat
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
STMicroelectronics SA
STMicroelectronics lnc USA
Original Assignee
SGS Thomson Microelectronics SA
SGS Thomson Microelectronics Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by SGS Thomson Microelectronics SA, SGS Thomson Microelectronics Inc filed Critical SGS Thomson Microelectronics SA
Publication of EP0536063A1 publication Critical patent/EP0536063A1/fr
Priority to US08/112,807 priority Critical patent/US5481180A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0536063B1 publication Critical patent/EP0536063B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05F—SYSTEMS FOR REGULATING ELECTRIC OR MAGNETIC VARIABLES
    • G05F3/00—Non-retroactive systems for regulating electric variables by using an uncontrolled element, or an uncontrolled combination of elements, such element or such combination having self-regulating properties
    • G05F3/02—Regulating voltage or current
    • G05F3/08—Regulating voltage or current wherein the variable is DC
    • G05F3/10—Regulating voltage or current wherein the variable is DC using uncontrolled devices with non-linear characteristics
    • G05F3/16—Regulating voltage or current wherein the variable is DC using uncontrolled devices with non-linear characteristics being semiconductor devices
    • G05F3/20—Regulating voltage or current wherein the variable is DC using uncontrolled devices with non-linear characteristics being semiconductor devices using diode- transistor combinations
    • G05F3/26—Current mirrors
    • G05F3/265—Current mirrors using bipolar transistors only

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a current generator and in particular a generator supplying, from a reference voltage Vref defined with respect to ground, a current equal to Vref / R to within a small error, where R is a resistance.
  • FIG. 1 represents a conventional circuit of such a generator as known from document DE-A1- 34 32 561 for example.
  • This generator comprises an operational amplifier 10 driving the base of an NPN transistor T1 whose emitter is connected to the inverting input of amplifier 10 and to ground G through a resistor R.
  • the non-inverting input of the amplifier 10 receives a reference voltage Vref with respect to ground.
  • This reference voltage is supplied, for example, by a reference voltage generator of "Band-Gap" type stabilized in temperature.
  • the collector of transistor T1 is connected to a current output terminal S which is connected to a circuit node.
  • the voltage across the resistor R is established at Vref causing an emitter current of the transistor T1 with a value Vref / R.
  • the collector current Ic of transistor T1 (the output current) is established at: Ic ⁇ (1-1 / ⁇ ) Vref / R, where ⁇ denotes the current gain of transistor T1.
  • This generator provides a current proportional to Vref, which has a temperature accuracy of the order of 2% over a range of -55 ° to 125 ° C.
  • the imprecision comes essentially from the term 1 / ⁇ .
  • the term 1 / ⁇ is zero, which improves the precision.
  • Vce sat designates the emitter-collector voltage of a bipolar transistor in saturation regime.
  • This minimum value is generally greater when a MOS transistor is used in place of the transistor T1. This means that one cannot properly supply a current to a node of a circuit, the potential of which risks varying and becoming less than Vref + Vce sat .
  • a current generator corresponding to the preamble of claim 1 comprising a current mirror is known from document US-A-4 330 744.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide a precise current generator which, integrated, occupies a small surface area of silicon.
  • Another object of the present invention is to provide such a generator capable of supplying a precise current to a node whose potential varies over a large range.
  • a current generator comprising a first bipolar transistor, the base of which is connected to a reference potential and the emitter to a first supply potential through a first resistor; a first current mirror whose input is connected to the collector of the first transistor and whose output is connected to the control electrode of a second transistor; a third bipolar transistor whose collector is connected to the output of the first current mirror, the base of which is connected, on the one hand, to a main electrode of the second transistor and, on the other hand, to a terminal of a second resistor whose other terminal is connected to the emitter of the third transistor; and a second current mirror, the input of which is connected to the emitter of the third transistor and the output of which supplies said current.
  • the second current mirror comprises a fourth transistor whose collector constitutes the input of the mirror, and whose emitter is connected to the first supply potential; at least a fifth transistor connected in parallel on the base and the emitter of the fourth transistor and the collector of which supplies said current; and a sixth transistor whose emitter is connected to the base of the fourth transistor and whose base is connected either to the base or to the emitter of the third transistor.
  • the second transistor is chosen from: a MOS transistor, a bipolar transistor, or a Darlington transistor.
  • the first current mirror is a Wilson type mirror.
  • An advantage of the present invention is that it is particularly suitable for making a current generator with several outputs.
  • a transistor Q1 receives on its base a reference voltage Vref.
  • the emitter of transistor Q1 is connected to ground G through a resistor R1 of value R.
  • a current mirror M1 assumed to be ideal, copies the current Ic1.
  • the copied current is divided into a base current Ib2 of an NPN transistor Q2 and a collector current Ic1-Ib2 of an NPN transistor Q3.
  • the mirror M1 is connected to a high supply voltage Vcc and its direction of copying is indicated by an arrow.
  • the collector of transistor Q2 is connected to voltage Vcc and its emitter is connected, on the one hand, to the base of the transistor and, on the other hand, to a terminal of a resistor R2 with the same value as the resistor R1.
  • the other terminal of the resistor R2 is connected to a node A to which the emitter of the transistor Q3 is connected.
  • the current Is in node A is copied to an output terminal S by a current mirror M2, assumed to be ideal,
  • the transistors have practically identical characteristics, in particular the same gain ⁇ , large in front of 1, and the same base-emitter voltage Vbe, which is easy to achieve in an integrated circuit.
  • Ic1 (Vref-Vbe) / R - Ib, where Ib denotes the base current of transistor Q1.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates another more detailed embodiment of the current generator according to the present invention.
  • this embodiment includes two other terminals S2 and S3.
  • the bipolar transistor Q2 has been replaced here by a Darlington transistor Q2 ′.
  • the mirror M1 shown is a conventional Wilson type mirror which is a mirror with bipolar transistors close to the ideal.
  • the mirror includes two PNP transistors Q4, Q5 in series between the collector of transistor Q1 and the supply voltage Vcc and two other PNP transistors Q6, Q7 in series between the collector of transistor Q3 and the supply voltage Vcc.
  • the input of the mirror M1 corresponds to the short-circuited base and to the collector of the transistor Q4.
  • the mirror output corresponds to the collector of transistor Q6, the base of which is connected to the base of transistor Q4.
  • the collector and the base of transistor Q7 are short-circuited and connected to the base of transistor Q5.
  • the mirror M2 comprises two NPN transistors Q8 and Q9 with emitters connected to ground and whose bases are connected together.
  • the collector of transistor Q8 constitutes the input of the mirror and it is connected to node A.
  • the collector of transistor Q9 constitutes the output of the mirror and is connected to terminal S.
  • Additional transistors Q10 and Q11 are connected in the same way as the transistor Q9 respectively to an output terminal S2 and to an output terminal S3.
  • the base current of the transistors Q8 to Q11 is supplied by the emitter of an NPN transistor Q12 whose collector is connected to the supply voltage Vcc and whose base is connected to the emitter of the transistor Q2 ′.
  • the basic current consumed by the transistor Q12 is negligible in front of Is, which makes this mirror close to the ideal.
  • the collector currents Is2 and Is3 will be equal to the current Is, that is to say Vref / R.
  • the gain (the surface) of the transistors Q10 and Q11 we can obtain output currents Is2 and Is3 which will be predetermined fractions or multiples of the current Is.
  • the minimum voltage on the terminals S, S2 and S3 is equal to the voltage Vce sat of the transistors Q9 to Q11, that is to say approximately 0.3 volts (instead of Vce sat + Vref in the generator of the prior art).
  • FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment in BICMOS technology of a generator according to the present invention.
  • the transistor Q2 has been replaced by an N-channel MOS transistor Q2 ⁇ , which results in a zero current Ib2 and a current Is exactly equal to Vref / R.
  • the present invention is susceptible of numerous variants and modifications which will appear to those skilled in the art, in particular, if a current source in the opposite direction is desired, all the transistors will be replaced by their complementary ones, the mass and the voltage. Vcc then being inverted.
  • the base of transistor Q12 can be connected to node A instead of being connected to the base of transistor Q3. All the transistors, in particular the transistors of the examples of bipolar current mirrors, can be replaced by corresponding MOS transistors, but the temperature stability will then be less good.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Nonlinear Science (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Radar, Positioning & Navigation (AREA)
  • Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
  • Control Of Electrical Variables (AREA)
  • Amplifiers (AREA)
EP19920420333 1991-09-30 1992-09-28 Générateur de courant précis Expired - Lifetime EP0536063B1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US08/112,807 US5481180A (en) 1991-09-30 1993-08-27 PTAT current source

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR9112278A FR2681961A1 (fr) 1991-09-30 1991-09-30 Generateur de courant precis.
FR9112278 1991-09-30

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0536063A1 EP0536063A1 (fr) 1993-04-07
EP0536063B1 true EP0536063B1 (fr) 1995-07-19

Family

ID=9417628

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19920420333 Expired - Lifetime EP0536063B1 (fr) 1991-09-30 1992-09-28 Générateur de courant précis

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0536063B1 (enExample)
DE (1) DE69203559T2 (enExample)
FR (1) FR2681961A1 (enExample)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5663674A (en) * 1994-05-11 1997-09-02 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Circut configuration for generating a reference current

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
BE1008031A3 (nl) * 1994-01-20 1995-12-12 Philips Electronics Nv Storingsongevoelige inrichting voor opwekken van instelstromen.
US5701133A (en) * 1994-10-13 1997-12-23 Lucent Technologies Inc. Cascaded multiplying current mirror driver for LED's
EP0731403A3 (en) * 1995-03-08 1997-07-23 Sgs Thomson Microelectronics Constant current source
WO2009035589A1 (en) * 2007-09-12 2009-03-19 Corning Incorporated Methods and apparatus for producing precision current over a wide dynamic range

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4330744A (en) * 1980-12-16 1982-05-18 Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated Precision converter/isolation circuit
US4437023A (en) * 1981-12-28 1984-03-13 Raytheon Company Current mirror source circuitry
JPS59107612A (ja) * 1982-12-10 1984-06-21 Hitachi Ltd レシオメトリック定電流装置
JPS60236308A (ja) * 1984-05-09 1985-11-25 Mitsubishi Electric Corp カレントミラ−回路
DE3432561A1 (de) * 1984-09-05 1986-03-13 C.A. Weidmüller GmbH & Co, 4930 Detmold Transistor-praezisionsstromquelle mit differenzeingang
US4742292A (en) * 1987-03-06 1988-05-03 International Business Machines Corp. CMOS Precision voltage reference generator

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5663674A (en) * 1994-05-11 1997-09-02 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Circut configuration for generating a reference current

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0536063A1 (fr) 1993-04-07
FR2681961B1 (enExample) 1995-02-17
DE69203559T2 (de) 1996-01-18
FR2681961A1 (fr) 1993-04-02
DE69203559D1 (de) 1995-08-24

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