A High FOM Current Reference Circuit Utilizes a Novel Temperature Stabilization Method
摘要
The primary challenge in designing current reference sources is achieving robust resistance to process, voltage, and temperature variations while maintaining power and area efficiency. A novel temperature-stabilizing method is proposed in this paper, thereby obtaining excellent overall performance metrics. The three-branch reference current source subcircuit is used to generate currents with opposing temperature characteristics. The complementary to absolute temperature (CTAT) and proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT) currents in the upper and down branches are intrinsically balanced by the circuit topology, thereby reducing process and voltage fluctuations. Following that, a square-root technology is adopted to combine two-branch current generation subcircuit for temperature compensation. The proposed all-MOS current reference circuit is realized in a 0.18 μm CMOS technology with an effective area of only 0.004 mm2. Experimental results demonstrate that the temperature coefficient from − 40 °C to 100 °C is 196 ppm/°C with a reference current of 10 µA. The proposed design achieves a 10-times improvement in Figure-Of-Merit (FOM) compared to the same current-level circuit, making it a highly efficient and compact solution for applications in wearable devices, astrophysics mission electronic equipments, etc.