Low-voltage micropower super class AB CMOS OTA

Novel class AB OTA topologies result from the combined use of local common-mode feedback and class AB input stages. They can operate at low supply voltage and feature very low static power consumption, bandwidth enhancement, and very high slew rate. Measurement results of a 0.5 /spl mu/m CMOS prototype show slew rate and unity-gain bandwidth enhancement factors of 180 and 4.5, respectively, compared to a conventional one-stage OTA.     

A CMOS 140-mW fourth-order continuous-time low-pass filter stabilized with a class AB common-mode feedback operating at 550 MHz

A 550-MHz linear-phase low-pass continuous-time filter is described. The operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) is based on complementary differential pairs in order to achieve high-frequency operation. A common-mode feedback (CMFB) based on a Class AB amplifier with improved stability at high frequencies is introduced. Results for the stand alone OTA show a unity gain frequency of 1 GHz while the excess phase is less than 5/spl deg/. The filter is based on G/sub m/-C biquads and achieves IM3 <-40 dB for a two-tone input signal of -10 dBm each. The power consumption of the fourth-order filter is 140 mW from supply voltages of /spl plusmn/1.65 V. The chip was fabricated in a standard 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS technology.     

Rail-to-rail super class AB CMOS operational amplifiers

Novel class AB single-stage operational amplifiers are presented. They feature rail-to-rail operation owing to the use of floating-gate input transistors. Initial charge of the floating gates is removed during fabrication, without any post-processing. The amplifiers are fast, simple, and able to operate at low supply voltages. They are highly power efficient owing to the enhanced (super) class AB operation based on adaptive biasing and local common-mode feedback. A 0.5 /spl mu/m CMOS implementation shows rail-to-rail operation with slew rates of about 40 V//spl mu/s for a load of 80 pF and 144 /spl mu/W of quiescent power consumption.     

A rail-to-rail amplifier input stage with /spl plusmn/0.35%g/sub m/ fluctuation

A new scheme for achieving rail-to-rail input to an amplifier is introduced. Constant g/sub m/ is obtained by using tunable level shifters and a single differential pair. Feedback circuitry controls the level shifters in a manner that fixes the common-mode input of the differential pair, resulting in consistent and stable operation for rail-to-rail inputs. As the new technique avoids using complimentary input differential pairs, this method overcomes problems such as common-mode rejection ratio and gain-bandwidth product degradation that exist in many other designs. The circuit was fabricated in 0.5-/spl mu/m process. The resulting differential pair had a constant transconductance that varied by only /spl plusmn/0.35% for rail-to-rail input common-mode levels. The input common-mode range extended well past the supply levels of /spl plusmn/1.5V, resulting in only /spl plusmn/1% fluctuation in g/sub m/ for input common modes from -2 to 2 V.     

A low-voltage BiMOS op amp

Describes the development of a threshold implanted BiMOS amplifier IC optimized for 2-5 V operation at a supply current of 300 /spl mu/A. A nonlinear operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) buffer having on-chip feedback provides a low-impedance rail-to-rail output, and a bulk-modulated PMOS input pair extends the common-mode range. Protective-network bootstrapping makes possible subpicoampere input-bias currents below 85/spl deg/C, and improved offset stability is achieved by the choice of threshold-level stage currents. Amplifier design is straightforward and readily applied from `micropower' to `broad-band' operating ranges. The combination of these features has produced a unique high-performance integrated circuit.     

OTA linearity enhancement technique for high frequency applications with IM3 below -65 dB

A technique to enhance the linearity of continuous-time operational transconductance amplifiers (OTA)-C filters working at high frequencies is proposed. Each OTA consumes 10.5 mW and the transconductance can be tuned from 70 to 160 /spl mu/A/V while the IM3 remains below -70 dB up to 50 MHz for a 1.3-V/sub pp/ differential input. For a 20-MHz low-pass second-order filter implementation, the measured IM3 with an input voltage of 1.3 V/sub pp/ is below - 65 dB. The supply voltage is 3.3 V. Experimental results of the circuit, fabricated in a standard CMOS 0.35-/spl mu/m technology, are presented.     

New low-voltage class AB/AB CMOS op amp with rail-to-rail input/output swing

A new low-voltage CMOS Class AB/AB fully differential opamp with rail-to-rail input/output swing and supply voltage lower than two V/sub GS/ drops is presented. The scheme is based on combining floating-gate transistors and Class AB input and output stages. The op amp is characterized by low static power consumption and enhanced slew-rate. Moreover the proposed opamp does not suffer from typical reliability problems related to initial charge trapped in the floating-gate devices. Simulation and experimental results in 0.5-/spl mu/m CMOS technology verify the scheme operating with /spl plusmn/0.9-V supplies and close to rail-to-rail input and output swing.     

Robust highly linear high-frequency CMOS OTA with IM3 below - 70 dB at 26 MHz

An enhanced configuration for a linearized MOS operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) is proposed. The proposed fully differential OTA circuit is based on resistive source degeneration and an improved adaptive biasing technique. It is robust to process variation, which has not been fully shown in previously reported linearization techniques. Detailed harmonic distortion analysis demonstrating the robustness of the proposed OTA is introduced. The transconductance gain is tunable from 160 to 340 /spl mu/S with a third-order intermodulation (IM3) below -70 dB at 26 MHz. As an application, a 26-MHz second-order low-pass filter fabricated in TSMC 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS technology with a power supply of 3.3 V is presented. The measured IM3 with an input voltage of 1.4 Vpp is below - 65 dB for the entire filter pass-band, and the input referred noise density is 156nV//spl radic/Hz. The cutoff frequency of the filter is tunable in the range of 13-26 MHz. Theoretical and experimental results are in good agreement.     

A fully balanced pseudo-differential OTA with common-mode feedforward and inherent common-mode feedback detector

A pseudo-differential fully balanced fully symmetric CMOS operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) architecture with inherent common-mode detection is proposed. Through judicious arrangement, the common-mode feedback circuit can be economically implemented. The OTA achieves a third harmonic distortion of -43 dB for 900 mV/sub pp/ at 30 MHz. The OTA, fabricated in 0.5-/spl mu/m CMOS process, is used to design a 100-MHz fourth-order linear phase filter. The measured filter's group delay ripple is 3% for frequencies up to 100 MHz, and the measured dynamic range is 45 dB for a total harmonic distortion of -46 dB. The filter consumes 42.9 mW per complex pole pair while operating from a /spl plusmn/1.65-V power supply.     

900 mV differential class AB OTA for switched opamp applications

A novel fully differential class AB OTA in standard CMOS for application with the switched opamp technique is presented. It makes use of a current buffer loop in the input stage as a low voltage current mirror. A new common mode feedback error amplifier, especially suited for the class AB OTA, is also presented. It is based on a differential stage of which the concept is introduced here. A totally new way of switching the amplifiers is introduced as well. Simulations demonstrate the operation of these novel circuits down to a 900 mV supply voltage     

Winner-Take-All Class AB Input Stage

A novel technique to implement class AB differential amplifier input stages is proposed. It is based on the use of Winner-Take-All circuits for achieving dynamic current boosting, and is well suited for low-voltage operation. Experimental measurements of an OTA using this technique, fabricated in a 0.5-μm CMOS technology, show a slew rate of 92 V/μs for an 80-pF load and 120 μW of static power consumption.     

A 2-V/sub pp/ 80-200-MHz fourth-order continuous-time linear phase filter with automatic frequency tuning

A CMOS 80-200-MHz fourth-order continuous-time 0.05/spl deg/ equiripple linear phase filter with an automatic frequency tuning system is presented. An operational transconductance amplifier based on transistors operating in triode region is used and a circuit that combines common-mode feedback, common-mode feedforward, and adaptive bias is introduced. The chip was fabricated in a 0.35-/spl mu/m process; filter experimental results have shown a total harmonic distortion less than -44 dB for a 2-V/sub pp/ differential input with a single 2.3-V power supply. The group delay ripple is less than 4% for frequencies up to 1.5 f/sub c/. The frequency tuning error is below 5%.     

Class AB CMOS amplifiers with high efficiency

A new class AB CMOS operational-amplifier principle is presented. A transconductance amplifier based on this principle exhibits small-signal characteristics comparable to those of a conventional OTA. It has, however, a superior current efficiency and its settling time is not slew-rate limited. The new class AB principle can also be used in an output stage with a well-defined quiescent current, a rail-to-rail output swing, and a good driving capability. A two-stage amplifier with both the input and output stages based on the new principle has been realized. It features a rail-to-rail input and output common-mode range, a gain-bandwidth of 370-kHz, a settling time of less than 5 μs independent of the applied step, and a power consumption of 247 μW. It drives a resistive load of 3 kΩ in parallel with a capacitive load of 400 pF when operated on a 2.5-V/-2.5-V power supply     

A 60-mW 200-MHz continuous-time seventh-order linear phase filter with on-chip automatic tuning system

A full CMOS seventh-order linear phase filter based on g/sub m/-C biquads with a -3-dB frequency of 200 MHz is realized in 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS process. The linear operational transconductance amplifier is based on complementary differential pairs in order to achieve both low-distortion figures and high-frequency operation. The common-mode feedback (CMFB) employed takes advantage of the filter architecture; incorporating the load capacitors into the CMFB loop improves further its phase margin. A very simple automatic tuning system corrects the filter deviations due to process parameter tolerances and temperature variations. The group delay ripple is less than 5% for frequencies up to 300 MHz, while the power consumption is 60 mW. The third-harmonic distortion is less than -44 dB for input signals up to 500 mV/sub pp/. The filter active area is only 900 /spl times/ 200 /spl mu/m/sup 2/. The supply voltages used are /spl plusmn/1.5 V.     

Continuous-time common-mode feedback for high-speed switched-capacitor networks

This paper deals with the design of a continuous-time common-mode feedback (CMFB) for switched-capacitor networks. Its reduced input capacitance decreases the capacitive load at the output of the fully differential amplifier, improving its achievable gain-bandwidth (GBW) product and slew rate. This topology is more suitable for high-speed switched-capacitor applications when compared to a conventional switched-capacitor CMFB, enabling operation at higher clock frequencies. Additionally, it provides a superior rejection to the negative power supply noise (PSRR/sup -/). The performance of the CMFB is demonstrated in the implementation of a second-order 10.7-MHz bandpass switched-capacitor filter and compared with that of an identical filter using the conventional switched-capacitor CMFB (SC-CMFB). The filter using the continuous-time CMFB reduces the error due to finite GBW and slew rate to less than 1% for clock frequencies up to 72 MHz while providing a dynamic range of 59 dB and a PSRR/sup -/>22 dB. Both circuits were fabricated in 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS technology.     

A low-voltage micropower JFET/bipolar operational amplifier

A single cell supply (operable down to 1.2 V) micropower operational amplifier using compatible low pinchoff voltage JFET's (V/SUB p/=0.4 V) in conjunction with standard bipolar technology has been developed. The subvolt pinchoff JFET's have proved useful in the common-mode feedback-assisted biasing of a simple p-n-p input stage to permit single supply operation, the design of a low-voltage high-performance current mirror and a differential to single-ended converter. The amplifier exhibits excellent ac performance (unity gain slew rate=0.25 V//spl mu/s, unity gain bandwidth=850 kHz) with low power dissipation (245 /spl mu/W).     

A CMOS analog front-end IC for portable EEG/ECG monitoring applications

A new digital programmable CMOS analog front-end (AFE) IC for measuring electroencephalograph or electrocardiogram signals in a portable instrumentation design approach is presented. This includes a new high-performance rail-to-rail instrumentation amplifier (IA) dedicated to the low-power AFE IC. The measurement results have shown that the proposed biomedical AFE IC, with a die size of 4.81 mm/sup 2/, achieves a maximum stable ac gain of 10 000 V/V, input-referred noise of 0.86 /spl mu/ V/sub rms/ (0.3 Hz-150 Hz), common-mode rejection ratio of at least 115 dB (0-1 kHz), input-referred dc offset of less than 60 /spl mu/V, input common mode range from -1.5 V to 1.3 V, and current drain of 485 /spl mu/A (excluding the power dissipation of external clock oscillator) at a /spl plusmn/1.5-V supply using a standard 0.5-/spl mu/m CMOS process technology.     

An 8-Gb/s capacitively coupled receiver with high common-mode rejection for uncoded data

An 8-Gb/s receiver is demonstrated in 0.35-/spl mu/m SiGe with two on-chip 60-fF ac-coupling capacitors. These capacitors are formed by on-chip metal layers and have a breakdown voltage of at least /spl plusmn/690 V, which is the dc input range of the receiver. The receiver especially resists strong ac common-mode edges with a slew rate up to 4V/ns for enhanced EMI rejection. The self-clocked quantized feedback technique used, features uncoded data that contains long sequences of consecutive identical digits or ac-unbalanced data. The differential input sensitivity is 0.5-1.1Vpp with a supply voltage between 2.5 and 3.5 V.     

A novel CMOS operational transconductance amplifier based on a mobility compensation technique

This brief describes a new linear operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) and its application to a ninth-order Bessel filter. To improve the linearity of the OTA, we employ a mobility compensation circuit which combines the transistors operating in the triode and the subthreshold regions. The proposed technique enhances the linearity of the transconductance without loss of the input swing range. The proposed OTA shows /spl plusmn/0.5% Gm variation and the total harmonic distortion of less than - 60-dB over the input range of /spl plusmn/0.8-V. The ninth-order Bessel filter employing the proposed OTA has been implemented in a 0.35-/spl mu/m n-well CMOS process under 3.3-V supply voltage. It shows the cutoff frequency of 8 MHz and the power consumption of 65 mW.