Voltage-to-current converter with complementary current mirrors

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11323085-B2
Application number	US-202016849080-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 15, 2020
Priority date	Sep 4, 2019
Publication date	May 3, 2022
Grant date	May 3, 2022

Abstract

Voltage-to-current converters that include two current mirrors are disclosed. In an example voltage-to-current converter each current mirror is a complementary current mirror in that one of its input and output transistors is a P-type transistor and the other one is an N-type transistor. Such voltage-to-current converters may be implemented using bipolar technology, CMOS technology, or a combination of bipolar and CMOS technologies, and may be made sufficiently compact and accurate while operating at sufficiently low voltages and consuming limited power.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system for converting a voltage signal to a current signal, the system comprising:
an input transistor, to receive the voltage signal as an input;
a first current mirror, having a first mirror input transistor and a first mirror output transistor; and
a second current mirror, having a second mirror input transistor and a second mirror output transistor,
where:
the first mirror input transistor is coupled to the input transistor via a resistor,
the first mirror output transistor is coupled to the second mirror input transistor,
the second mirror output transistor is coupled to the input transistor,
the second current mirror is to provide the current signal to an output,
one of the first mirror input transistor and the first mirror output transistor is a transistor of an N-type and the other one is a transistor of a P-type, and
one transistor of the second mirror input transistor and the second mirror output transistor is a transistor of the N-type and the other one is a transistor of the P-type.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the input transistor is a transistor of a type that is same as the first mirror input transistor.

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the second mirror output transistor is a transistor of a type that is same as the first mirror input transistor.

4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the first mirror output transistor is a transistor of a type that is same as the second mirror input transistor.

5. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising an output transistor, where the second current mirror is to provide the current signal to the output by mirroring a current signal through the second mirror input transistor to the output transistor.

6. The system according to claim 5 , wherein the second mirror input transistor is an input transistor of a third current mirror and the output transistor is an output transistor of a third current mirror.

7. The system according to claim 5 , wherein the output transistor is a transistor of a type that is same as the input transistor.

8. The system according to claim 1 , wherein:
each of the input transistor, the first mirror input transistor, the first mirror output transistor, the second mirror input transistor, and the second mirror output transistor includes a first terminal, a second terminal, and a third terminal,
the first terminal of the input transistor is coupled to each of the second terminal of the second mirror output transistor and a first terminal of the resistor,
the first terminal of the first mirror input transistor is coupled to each of the third terminal of the first mirror output transistor and a second terminal of the resistor, and
the second terminal of the first mirror output transistor is coupled to each of the first terminal of the second mirror input transistor and the third terminal of the second mirror output transistor.

9. The system according to claim 8 , further comprising an output transistor, where the output transistor includes a first terminal, a second terminal, and a third terminal, and where:
the third terminal of the output transistor is coupled to each of the first terminal of the second mirror input transistor and the third terminal of the second mirror output transistor, and
the second current mirror is to provide the current signal to the output by mirroring a current signal at the first terminal of the second mirror input transistor to the second terminal of the output transistor.

10. The system according to claim 8 , wherein, for each of the input transistor, the first mirror input transistor, the first mirror output transistor, the second mirror input transistor, and the second mirror output transistor that is implemented as a bipolar transistor, the first terminal is an emitter terminal, the second terminal is a collector terminal, and the third terminal is a base terminal.

11. The system according to claim 8 , wherein, for each of the input transistor, the first mirror input transistor, the first mirror output transistor, the second mirror input transistor, and the second mirror output transistor that is implemented as a field-effect transistor, the first terminal is a source terminal, the second terminal is a drain terminal, and the third terminal is a gate terminal.

12. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the system is a transimpedance amplifier.

13. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the system is a voltage-to-current converter.

14. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the system is a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system.

15. An electronic component, comprising:
an input transistor, to receive a voltage signal; and
a first current mirror and a second current mirror, each having a first transistor at an input and a second transistor at an output; and
where:
for each of the first current mirror and the second current mirror, one of the first transistor and the second transistor is a transistor of an N-type and other one of the first transistor and the second transistor is a transistor of a P-type,
the first transistor of the first current mirror is coupled to the input transistor via a resistor,
the second transistor of the first current mirror is coupled to the first transistor of the second current mirror,
the second transistor of the second current mirror is coupled to the input transistor,
the second current mirror is to provide a current signal to an output, and
the current signal is based on the voltage signal.

16. The electronic component according to claim 15 , wherein each of the input transistor and the second transistor of the second current mirror is a transistor of a type that is same as the first transistor of the first current mirror.

17. The electronic component according to claim 15 , wherein the second transistor of the first current mirror is a transistor of a type that is same as the first transistor of the second current mirror.

18. The electronic component according to claim 15 , further comprising an output transistor, where the second current mirror is to provide the current signal to the output by mirroring a current signal through the first transistor of the second current mirror to the output transistor.

19. The electronic component according to claim 18 , wherein the first transistor of the second current mirror is an input transistor of a third current mirror and the output transistor is an output transistor of a third current mirror.

20. The electronic component according to claim 15 , wherein the electronic component is a transimpedance amplifier.

Assignees

• Analog Devices International Unlimited Co

Inventors

• Adut Joseph
• Wong Jeremy
• Hamilton Brian
• Fung Gregory

Classifications

• H03F3/087

  with IC amplifier blocks (H03F3/085 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H03F3/45174

  Mirror types · CPC title

• H03F2203/45528

  the FBC comprising one or more passive resistors and being coupled between the LC and the IC · CPC title

• G05F3/262 Primary

  using field-effect transistors only · CPC title

• G05F3/26 Primary

  Current mirrors · CPC title