Current-mode analog computational circuit

Abstract

A current-mode analog computational circuit can be controlled to produce multiplying, squaring, divider and inverse functions and corresponding current outputs. The current-mode analog computational circuit is based on an implementation using MOSFETs operating in a sub-threshold region as can provide relatively ultra-low power dissipation. Furthermore, the current-mode analog computational circuit can be operated from a ±0.75 V DC supply. Tanner simulation results conducted using a 0.35-μm TSMC CMOS process confirmed the functionality of the multiplying, squaring, divider and inverse functions of the circuit. The current-mode analog computational circuit advantageously can have a total power consumption of 2.3 μW, a total harmonic distortion is 1.1%, a maximum linearity error of 0.3% and a bandwidth of 2.3 MHz.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to electronic circuits, and particularly to a current-mode analog computational circuit.

2. Description of the Related Art

The growing demand for portable operation of electronic systems and biomedical instruments has led to a trend of focusing on low-voltage and low-power designs. Current mode analog circuits are, therefore, very attractive candidates for portable applications where low power consumption and long battery life are key factors. This is because in current-mode circuits, the input and output signals are currents. Furthermore, the circuit performance is determined by currents and the voltage levels are generally irrelevant in determining the circuit performance. Typically, the nodes inside current mode circuits are low-impedance nodes. Thus, the voltage swings are usually small and, therefore, operation from low-voltage supplies is feasible. With low impedance nodes, the time constant of the circuits is relatively low and this results in wide bandwidth circuits. Moreover, in current-mode, the circuits' high gain is, in large part, not required. This results in simpler hardware structures and justifies the growing range of applications of the current-mode circuits, such as in neural networks, microwave and optical systems, continuous time filters and sampled data filters.

A conventional analog multiplier has been widely used as a basic building block in many analog signal processing applications, such as modulators, equalizers, frequency doublers and neural network applications. Existing methods to realize low power consumption in the circuit include using MOSFETs working in weak inversion.

One typical multiplier is a voltage-mode multiplier, with input voltages and an output voltage. This typical multiplier is usually very sensitive to temperature variations. Another typical circuit is a current-mode based circuit that utilizes conventional differential techniques. A major disadvantage of these current-mode based circuits is usually a requirement for a relatively large number of current sources. Another major disadvantage, for example, is a requirement for relatively large aspect ratios for most of the transistors. Consequently, these requirements can increase the cost of the circuit, and can increase power dissipation and degrade the bandwidth of the circuit.

Alternative designs for a four-quadrant multiplier circuit typically are not current-mode based. These alternative design four-quadrant multiplier circuits are usually transresistance based with the output voltage proportional to the multiplication of the input currents. Others alternative design four-quadrant multiplier circuits are usually transconductance based where the output currents are proportional to the input voltages. However, these typical designs can be relatively sensitive to temperature variations. Also, an example of a known single-quadrant multiplier circuit 20 as can be used in a four-quadrant multiplier circuit is shown in FIG. 2.

Thus, a current-mode analog computational circuit addressing the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of a current-mode analog computational circuit include a current-mode CMOS four-quadrant analog multiplier circuit. The current-mode analog computational circuit includes MOSFETs operating in the sub-threshold region to form translinear loops. Embodiments of a current-mode analog computational circuit can be configured to provide multiplier, squaring, divider and inverse analog computational functions. These functions, respectively, provide a multiplier function output current, a squaring function output current, a divider function output current and an inverse function output current. Furthermore, these four functions can be performed for direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC) signals and can be controlled using an external digital circuit to select one function at a time. Embodiments of a current-mode analog computational circuit can have less power consumption and a higher bandwidth and can be fabricated using n-well CMOS technology, for example.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: is a block diagram illustrating embodiments of a current-mode analog computational circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 2: is a schematic diagram of a single quadrant multiplier circuit as can be used in a current-mode analog computational circuit.

FIG. 3: is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a current-mode analog computational circuit having a first and a second multiplier circuit and a current-inverting circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 4: is a schematic diagram of a biasing circuit for use with embodiments of a current-mode analog computational circuit according to the present invention.

FIG. 5: is a graph showing a DC transfer characteristic of an embodiment of a current-mode analog computational circuit of FIG. 3 according to the present invention.

FIG. 6: is a graph showing amplitude modulating characteristics of an embodiment of a current-mode analog computational circuit of FIG. 3 according to the present invention.

FIG. 7: is a graph showing simulation results of input versus output characteristics of a squaring function of an embodiment of a current-mode analog computational circuit of FIG. 3 according to the present invention.

FIG. 8: is a graph showing simulation results of input versus output characteristics of a divider function of an embodiment of a current-mode analog computational circuit of FIG. 3 according to the present invention.

FIG. 9: is a graph showing simulation results of input versus output characteristics of an inverse function of an embodiment of a current-mode analog computational circuit of FIG. 3 according to the present invention.

FIG. 10: is a graph showing a frequency response of an embodiment of a current-mode analog computational circuit of FIG. 3 according to the present invention.

FIG. 11: is a plot showing a harmonic distortion of an embodiment of a current-mode analog computational circuit of FIG. 3 according to the present invention.

FIG. 12: is a graph showing effects of temperature variations of a squaring function of an embodiment of a current-mode analog computational circuit of FIG. 3 according to the present invention.

Unless otherwise indicated, similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A schematic diagram of embodiments of a current-mode analog computational circuit 100 that can use low-voltage and low-power is shown in FIG. 1. The current-mode analog computational circuit 100 is typically a four-quadrant multiplier block circuit. The four-quadrant multiplier block circuit 100 can include a single-quadrant multiplier circuit that can be similar to the single-quadrant multiplier circuit 20 as shown in FIG. 2. The single-quadrant multiplier circuit 20 includes transistors MP1 through MP4 to form a translinear loop, with all MOSFETs operating in the sub-threshold region. Currents I₁, I₂, and I₃ are the input currents and I₄ is the output current. To provide a sub-threshold forward saturation mode of operation, two conditions typically must be satisfied. The first condition is that the drain current of any transistor must be less than the specific current I_s given by:I_s=2nβV_T².  (1)The second condition is that the drain-to-source voltage of any transistor must be greater than 4V_T.

In this regard, V_T is the thermal voltage, β=μ_nC_oxW/L, W is the channel width, L is the channel length, C_ox is gate oxide capacitance per unit area, μ_n is mobility of the electrons in the channel, and n is a slope factor. This implies that the aspect ratios of all the transistors involved in the translinear loop must be selected to meet the anticipated dynamic range of the input and output currents. That is, for larger input and output currents, the aspect ratio, W/L, of all the transistors forming the translinear loop must be increased to meet the aforementioned first and second conditions.

Referring to FIG. 2, applying the translinear principle, with the transistors MP1 through MP4 working in the sub-threshold region, it is shown that:

$\begin{array}{cc}{I}_{\mathrm{out}1}=I_4=\frac{I_1{I}_2}{I_3},& \left(2\right)\end{array}$ where, I_out1 is the output of the multiplier, I₁ and I₂ are the two input currents and I₃ is the bias current.

The four-quadrant multiplier block diagram of embodiments of a current-mode analog computational circuit 100, shown in FIG. 1, includes two single quadrant multiplier circuits (110, 120) as can be similar to the single-quadrant multiplier circuit 20 of FIG. 2. The current-mode analog computational circuit 100 further includes a current inversion circuit 130 to produce the inverted current signals for the second multiplier circuit 120.

With reference to the single-quadrant multiplier circuit 20 of FIG. 2 and the current-mode analog computational circuit 100 of FIG. 3, the AC input currents i₁ and i₂ are added to the DC input currents, I₁ and I₂, and the two input currents of the first multiplier circuit 110 can be written as (I₁+i₁) and (I₂+i₂), thus the output of the first multiplier circuit 110 is given by:

$\begin{array}{cc}{I}_{\mathrm{out}1}=\frac{\left(I_1+i_1\right)\left(I_2+i_2\right)}{I_3}=\frac{I_1{I}_2+I_1{i}_2+i_2{I}_2+i_1{i}_2}{I_3}.& \left(3\right)\end{array}$ The output current of the second multiplier circuit 120, with currents i₁ and i₂ inverted, is given by:

$\begin{array}{cc}{I}_{\mathrm{out}2}=\frac{\left(I_1-i_1\right)\left(I_2-i_2\right)}{I_3}=\frac{I_1{I}_2-I_1{i}_2-i_2{I}_2+i_1{i}_2}{I_3}& \left(3\right)\end{array}$

Adding the two outputs of the single-quadrant multipliers, or the first and second multiplier circuits (110, 120), the output current I_out1 is given by:

$\begin{array}{cc}{I}_{\mathrm{out}}=I_{\mathrm{out}1}+I_{\mathrm{out}2}=\frac{2I_1{I}_2}{I_3}+\frac{2i_1{i}_2}{I_3}.& \left(5\right)\end{array}$

In embodiments of the current-mode analog computational circuit 100, Equation (5) can selectively implement four functions, namely a multiplying function, a squaring function, a dividing function and an inversing function. The four functions correspond to a multiplying function output current, a squaring function output current, a dividing function output current, and an inversing function output current, respectively. Furthermore, these four functions can be performed for DC or AC signals. These four functions can be controlled using an external circuit, such as a digital circuit, to select one function at a time, for example. Moreover, if operations are to be performed on DC currents only, then AC components of the current must be set to zero and vice versa. These features of embodiments of the current-mode analog computational circuit 100 can be attractive and advantageous for analog signal processing applications.

In regards to the multiplier function of embodiments of the current-mode analog computational circuit 100, if only an AC output current is required, then a DC current component,

$K=\frac{2I_1{I}_2}{I_3},$ may be subtracted from the output. Accordingly, the multiplying function output current I_m, will be proportional to the multiplication of the two AC input currents i₁ and i₂, which may be described by a multiplying function relation:

$\begin{array}{cc}{I}_m=\frac{2}{I_3}{i}_1{i}_2=I_o.& \left(6\right)\end{array}$

Inspection of equation (6) shows that the multiplying function output current is proportional to the multiplication of the two AC input currents i₁ and i₂. Furthermore, the multiplying function output current may be scaled by the DC input current I₃, for example.

In regards to the squaring function of embodiments of the current-mode analog computational circuit 100, using equation (6), the squaring function output current I_sq is obtained by forcing the two AC input currents i₁ and i₂ to be approximately equal. Accordingly, equation (6) may be simplified to a squaring function relation:

$\begin{array}{cc}{I}_{\mathrm{sq}}=\frac{2}{I_3}{i}_1^2=I_o.& \left(7\right)\end{array}$

As given by equation (7), the squaring function output current I_sq is proportional to the square of the AC input current i₁ and can be scaled by the DC biasing input current I₃, for example.

In regards to the divider function embodiments of the current-mode analog computational circuit 100, using equation (6), the divider function output current I_d is obtained by maintaining the current i₁ at a constant value, setting i₂ as the dividend and setting i₃ as the divisor. Accordingly, equation (6) may be simplified to a divider function relation where k₁=2i₁:

$\begin{array}{cc}{I}_d=k_1\frac{i_2}{I_3}=I_o.& \left(8\right)\end{array}$

As described by equation (8), the divider function output current I_d is proportional to the ratio between the two input currents i₂ and I₃, and the ratio can be scaled by the current i₁, for example.

In regards to the inverse function of embodiments of the current-mode analog computational circuit 100, it is a modified version of the divider function. It can be obtained by keeping i₁ and i₂ constant and making I₃ as the input signal. Equation (6) then reduces to a divider function relation where k₂=2i₁i₂ given by:

$\begin{array}{cc}{I}_i=k_2\frac{1}{I_3}=I_o.& \left(9\right)\end{array}$

As described by equation (9), the inversing function output current I_i is proportional to the inverse of the input current I₃ and can be scaled by the currents i₁ and i₂, for example.

An embodiment of the current-mode analog computational circuit 100 is illustrated in embodiment of a current-mode analog computational circuit 300, including a current inversion circuit 330, illustrated in FIG. 3. In the current-mode analog computational circuit 300, transistors MP1-MP8 implement the first and second multiplier circuits (310, 320, respectively), similar to the two single quadrant multiplier circuits (110, 120). Transistors P1-P4 and N1-N4 implement the current inversion circuit 330, similar to the current inversion circuit 130.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, in the current-mode analog computational circuit 300, the first multiplier circuit 310 includes a plurality of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) MP1-MP4 that are configured to operate in a sub-threshold region to form at least one translinear loop, the first multiplier circuit 310 is configured to generate a first circuit output current related to a plurality of AC input currents, a plurality of DC input currents, and at least one DC biasing input current, for example.

The current inversion circuit 330 of the current-mode analog computational circuit 300 inverts a portion of the plurality of AC input currents to generate a plurality of inverted AC input currents.

The second multiplier circuit 320 includes a plurality of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) MP5-MP8 configured to operate in a sub-threshold region to form at least one translinear loop, the second multiplier circuit 320 is configured to generate a second circuit output current related to the plurality of inverted AC input currents, the plurality of DC input currents, and the at least one DC biasing input current.

The current-mode analog computational circuit 300 generates a resulting output current including the first circuit output current and the second circuit output current, the resulting output current corresponding to a function output current, the function output current corresponding to at least one of a multiplying function output current, a squaring function output current, a divider function output current, and an inverse function output current, the function output current being related to the plurality AC input currents, the plurality of DC input currents, and the at least one DC biasing input current, as discussed.

The embodiment of the current-mode analog computational circuit 300 was simulated in relation to a multiplying function, a squaring function, a dividing function and an inversing function, the simulation results being illustrated in FIGS. 5-12. Both the layouts, and the post-layout simulations, were carried out using Tanner in 0.35-μm Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) process parameters. The DC currents I₂ and I₃ were set to 50-nA. In order to generate the 50-nA bias current, a supply-independent approach in the embodiment of a DC biasing circuit 400, as shown in FIG. 4, was used with R=60 K. The relatively successful operation of the circuit 400 was confirmed through the experimental testing, and a relatively stable bias current was obtained. Also, the multiplying function output current, the squaring function output current, the divider function output current, and the inverse function output current can be selected based on an input from an external circuit, such as the biasing circuit 400, to select at least one of a corresponding multiplying function, a squaring function, a divider function, and an inverse function.

In the simulation, the current I₁ was varied from −30-nA to 30-nA. The aspect ratios of all the transistors of the current-mode analog computational circuit 300 and the DC biasing circuit 400 used in the simulation are shown in Table 1. These ratios were chosen such that all the transistors involved in the translinear loops of FIG. 3 remain in the weak inversion mode for the entire input current range.

TABLE 1
Transistor aspect ratios
	MP1-MP8	P1-P4	N1-N4	TP1-TP7
W/L	$\frac{10\mathrm{\mu m}}{5\mathrm{\mu m}}$	$\frac{1.7\mathrm{\mu m}}{5\mathrm{\mu m}}$	$\frac{1\mathrm{\mu m}}{5\mathrm{\mu m}}$	$\frac{5\mathrm{\mu m}}{2\mathrm{\mu m}}$
	TN1-TN3	TN4	TN5
W/L	$\frac{1\mathrm{\mu m}}{5\mathrm{\mu m}}$	$\frac{20\mathrm{\mu m}}{0.35\mathrm{\mu m}}$	$\frac{1\mathrm{\mu m}}{1\mathrm{\mu m}}$

The DC transfer characteristic of the four-quadrant multiplier of the current-mode analog computational circuit 300 is shown in the plot 500 of FIG. 5. The plot 500 shows the post-layout DC transfer characteristic which verifies a proper operation of the current-mode analog computational circuit 300.

FIG. 6 in the plot 600 demonstrates the use of the current-mode analog computational circuit 300 as a double-sideband suppressed carrier (DSBSC) amplitude modulator. These results were obtained with a sine-wave of 1-kHz frequency modulating a 100-kHz carrier frequency.

Additionally, the squaring function of the current-mode analog computational circuit 300 was verified by simulation. The simulation results, shown in the plot 700 of FIG. 7, verify a proper operation of the squaring function.

Simulation of the divider function of the current-mode analog computational circuit 300 is shown in the plot 800 of FIG. 8. The simulation results, shown in the plot of FIG. 8, show an operation of the divider function. Simulation of the inverse function of the current-mode analog computational circuit 300 was also carried out and the simulation results are shown in the plot 900 of FIG. 9. The simulation results, shown in the plot of FIG. 9, show an operation of the inverse function. It is well known that it is not possible to divide by zero. For this reason, the input signal is shifted up by a 40-nA DC current, for example.

Also, a frequency response of the current-mode analog computational circuit 300 of FIG. 3 was investigated. A 10-kΩ resistor was used as the load. The −3 dB frequency was found to be approximately 2.3 MHz, as shown in the plot 1000 of FIG. 10. The offset in FIG. 10 is due to the factor 2 in equation (4). Simulation for the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the current-mode analog computational circuit 300 was carried out for the squaring function having the bias current I₃ set to 50-nA and 100-nA. The results are shown in the plots 1100 of FIG. 11. Inspection of the plots 1100 reveals that the total harmonic distortion is less than 1.1% at an input amplitude of 35-nA. The simulation was repeated for a 10% variation in supply voltage and the effects on THD and linearity was nearly negligible. The total power dissipation was found to be 2.3-μW. The maximum linearity error, calculated as the difference between simulated and calculated results, was found to be 0.3%.

Simulations of the effect of temperature variations on the squaring circuit performance of the current-mode analog computational circuit 300 were conducted. The temperature was varied from 20° C. to 70° C. The simulation result is shown in the plot 1200 of FIG. 12, which indicates that the effect of temperature variations is generally very small. However, it appears that the offset increases with the increase in temperature.

The simulation results for the multiplying, dividing, inverse and squaring functions of the current-mode analog computational circuit 300 are in substantial agreement with the aforementioned relations and calculations. A comparison between the performance of the embodiment of a current-mode analog computational circuit 300 and various known comparison circuits is depicted in Table 2. Comparison circuit 1 in Table 2 is described in M. Gravati et. al., “A novel current-mode very low power analog CMOS four-quadrant multiplier,” in Proceedings of ESSCIRC, France (2005), pp. 495-498. Comparison circuit 2 in Table 2 is described in C.-C. Chang, S. I. Liu, “Weak inversion four-quadrant multiplier and two-quadrant divider,” Electron Letter 34(22), 2079-2080 (1998). Comparison circuit 3 in Table 2 is described in W. Liu, S. I. Liu, “Design of a CMOS low-power and low-voltage four-quadrant analog multiplier,” Analog Integrated Circuits Signal Process, 63(2), 307-312 (2010). As evidenced from Table 2, embodiments of the current-mode analog computational circuit have a relatively better performance than the comparison circuits 1-3 in terms of the total harmonic distortion (THD), linearity error, bandwidth and the power consumption.

TABLE 2
Performance Comparison with conventional approaches
	Current-mode
	analog
	computational	Comparison	Comparison	Comparison
	circuit	circuit 1	circuit 2	circuit 3
Functions	Multiplying,	Multiplying	Multiplying	Multiplying
	Dividing,			and
	Squaring,			Dividing
	and Inverse
THD	0.7%	4.2%	0.9%	NA
Linearity error	0.3%	3.2%	5%	3%
Bandwidth	2.3 MHz	268 kHz	200 kHz	NA
Supply voltage	±0.75 V	1.5 V	2 V	±0.75 V
Power	2.3 μW	NA	5.5 μW	NA
dissipation
Process used	0.35 μm	0.35 μm	0.35 μm	0.8 μm

Embodiments of a current-mode analog computational circuit with low-voltage and low-power were described using MOSFETS operating in the sub-threshold region. Various embodiments of the current-mode analog computational circuit can be configured to implement multiplying, dividing, inverse and squaring functions. The design of the current-mode analog computational circuit is relatively easy to fabricate using a CMOS n-well process, for example. Post-layout simulation confirms the functionality of the multiplying, dividing, inverse and squaring functions.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A current-mode analog computational circuit, comprising: a first multiplier circuit, wherein a plurality of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) are configured to operate in a sub-threshold region to form at least one translinear loop, the first multiplier circuit configured to generate a first circuit output current related to a plurality of AC input currents, a plurality of DC input currents, and at least one DC biasing input current;a current inversion circuit, wherein a portion of the plurality of AC input currents are inverted to generate a plurality of inverted AC input currents;a second multiplier circuit, wherein a plurality of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) are configured to operate in a sub-threshold region to form at least one translinear loop, the second multiplier circuit configured to generate a second circuit output current related to the plurality of inverted AC input currents, the plurality of DC input currents, and the at least one DC biasing input current; andwherein the current-mode analog computational circuit generates a resulting output current comprising the first circuit output current and the second circuit output current, the resulting output current corresponding to a function output current, the function output current corresponding to at least one of a multiplying function output current, a squaring function output current, a divider function output current, and an inverse function output current, the function output current being related to the plurality AC input currents, the plurality of DC input currents, and the at least one DC biasing input current.

2. The current-mode analog computational circuit according to claim 1, wherein the first multiplier circuit includes a first single quadrant multiplier configured to generate the first circuit output current described by the relation:

3. The current-mode analog computational circuit according to claim 1, wherein the resulting output current is described by the relation:

4. The current-mode analog computational circuit according to claim 1, wherein the multiplying function output current is implemented by subtracting a DC current component K, where

5. The current-mode analog computational circuit according to claim 4, wherein the squaring function output current is implemented by setting the first AC input current, i1, approximately equal to the second AC input current, i2, the squaring function output current configured to be proportional to a square of at least one of the first and second AC input currents and being described by a squaring function relation:

6. The current-mode analog computational circuit according to claim 5, wherein the divider function output current is implemented by maintaining a constant value for the first AC input current, i1, setting the second AC input current, i2, as a dividend, and setting the at least one DC biasing input current, I3, as the divisor, the divider function output current configured to be proportional to the ratio between the second AC input current, i2, and the at least one DC biasing input current, I3, and being described by a divider function relation:

7. The current-mode analog computational circuit according to claim 6, wherein the inverse function output current is implemented by maintaining a constant value for the first and second AC input currents, i1 and i2, respectively, and configuring the at least one DC biasing input current I3 as an input current I′3, the inverse function output current being proportional to the inverse of the input current I′3, and being described by an inverse function relation:

8. The current-mode analog computational circuit according to claim 1, wherein the squaring function output current is implemented by setting a first AC input current, i1, approximately equal to a second AC input current, i2, the squaring function output current configured to be proportional to a square of at least one of the first and second AC input currents and being described by a squaring function relation:

9. The current-mode analog computational circuit according to claim 1, wherein the divider function output current is implemented by maintaining a constant value for a first AC input current, i1, setting a second AC input current, i2, as a dividend, and setting the at least one DC biasing input current, I3, as the divisor, the divider function output current configured to be proportional to the ratio between the second AC input current, i2, and the at least one DC biasing input current, I3, and being described by a divider function relation:

10. The current-mode analog computational circuit according to claim 1, wherein the inverse function output current is implemented by maintaining a constant value for first and second AC input currents, i1 and i2, respectively, and configuring the at least one DC biasing input current I3 as an input current I′3, the inverse function output current being proportional to the inverse of the input current I′3, and being described by an inverse function relation:

11. The current-mode analog computational circuit according to claim 1, wherein the multiplying function output current, the squaring function output current, the divider function output current, and the inverse function output current are selected based on an input from an external circuit to select at least one of a corresponding multiplying function, a squaring function, a divider function, and an inverse function.

12. The current-mode analog computational circuit according to claim 11, wherein the external circuit comprises a biasing circuit.