A CMOS Voltage Reference Based on Weighted Difference of Gate-Source Voltages between PMOS and NMOS Transistors for Low

Dropout Regulators

Ka Nang Leung and Philip K. T. Mok

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
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Outlines
Brief Review on Conventional MOS Voltage Reference Based on Threshold Voltages Proposed CMOS Voltage Reference Conclusions

Conventional MOS Voltage Reference Based on Threshold Voltages

Vref = Vth1 - Vth2

[1]

B.-S. Song and P. R. Gray, Threshold-Voltage Temperature Drift in Ion-Implanted MOS Transistors, IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, vol. SC-17, pp. 291-298, Apr. 1982.

Requirements of Conventional Reference

Good matching of TC of Vth for low-TC Vref Require extensive process controls Expensive Require NMOS (PMOS) transistors with different Vth Require multi-threshold-voltage process or depletion-enhancement transistor process Not compatible in standard CMOS process

General Idea of Proposed CMOS Reference

|VTHP|

Temp

PMOS Threshold Voltage Generator

VTHN

VREF

S
Scaling Factor k

Temp

Vref = kV THN - VTHP

Temp

NMOS Threshold Voltage Generator

Controlled by circuit parameters

Core Circuit
VCC

IB

PMOS R1

R VREF = 1 + 1 VGS( NMOS ) - VGS ( PMOS ) R2 R1 VTHN - VTHP = 1 + VREF R2 + W mP R1 2 IB L P 1 + - 1 R2 W W m P COX mN L P L N

NMOS

R2

Proposed CMOS Voltage Reference

R Vref = 1 + 1 VGSn - VGSp R2

Implemented in 0.6-mm CMOS process Simple and OpAmp-less structure

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Minimum Supply Voltage

R Vs min = 1 + 1 VGSn @ 0 o C + VDS5 ( sat ) R2

Vsmin = 1.4V
(Vthn |Vthp| 0.9V@0oC)

Sub-1-V supply voltage is possible for Vth < 0.6V

Design Considerations
Vref R1 VGSn VGSp = 1 + T - T T R2 = F1 ( threshold voltage ) + F2 ( current and mobilities )
non-linear temp dependence
W L W L p n m n ( To ) Tr m p ( To ) To bvthp b vthn
2 b mp - b mn

linear temp dependence

b vthp R1 = -1 R2 b vthn

1 b + mn 2 2 b mp

Experimental Results
313.3 313.2 313.1 313.0 312.9 312.8 312.7 312.6 312.5 312.4 312.3 0 20 40 60 80 100
Temperature (degree C) Reference voltage (mV)

Vs = 1.40 V

Vs = 2.00 V

Vs = 3.00 V

With optimum resistor ratio - TC = 24 ppm/oC

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Resistor Ratio Sensitivity

bvthp R1 = -1 R2 bvthn
Typically, 0 < R1/R2 < 1 since bvthp is close to bvthn (~1.2 to 4 mV/K) So, the error on the resistance ratio in the proposed design is better than that in bandgap reference since
R R D 1 D 1 R R 2 << 2 R1 R1 1+ R2 R2
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Comparison with Bandgap Reference

Comparison on Resistor Ratio Variation
600% 500%

Vref TC Variation

400% 300% 200% 100% 0% 1% -100% 2% 3%

Resistor Ratio Variation

BGVEF

CMOSVREF

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Experimental Results on Change of R Ratio

313.3 313.2 313.1 313.0 312.9 312.8 312.7 312.6 312.5 312.4 312.3 0 20 40 60 80 100
Temperature (degree C)
334.5 Reference voltage (mV) 334.0 333.5 333.0 332.5 332.0 331.5 0 20 40 60 80 100 Temperature (degree C) Vs = 1.40 V Vs = 2.00 V Vs = 3.00 V

Reference voltage (mV)

Vs = 1.40 V

Vs = 2.00 V

Vs = 3.00 V

With optimum resistor ratio TC = 24 ppm/oC

Resistor ratio off by 6.23% TC = 50 ppm/oC

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Summary of the Measurement Results

Measured results of 11 samples of 2 runs Supply voltage Supply current Reference voltage TC (0 to 100 oC) Line regulation 1.4 to 3 V 9.7 mA (max) 302.2412 mV ~ 25 ppm/oC (typical) 62 ppm/oC (max) ~ 0.03%/V (typical) 0.17%/V (max)
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Applications of the Proposed Voltage Reference

Low Supply Voltage (down to 1.5V) True CMOS Technology Output Voltage is adjusted by resistor network
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Conclusions
A CMOS Voltage Reference is proposed Compatible and reproducible in standard CMOS technology Simple and OpAmp-less structure Temperature dependence is controlled by circuit parameters instead of requiring extensive process controls Low sensitivity on the resistor ratio Small size Good TC performance for power converter applications
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