The present disclosure relates to a current source circuit.
There are available conventional current source circuits capable of supplying a current to other circuit blocks. Such conventional current source circuit includes a constant current circuit, and a startup circuit for starting the constant current circuit (for example, referring to patent publication 1).
However, in the above current source circuit having a startup circuit, there is an issue of a prolonged time from inputting a power supply voltage to rising to a stable current.
In view of the issue above, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a current source circuit capable of shortening a startup time.
For example, a current source circuit of the present disclosure is configured to include: a constant current circuit; and a current supply unit, configured to supply a current to the gate of a first metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor; wherein the constant current circuit includes: the first MOS transistor, having a source connectable to an applying end of a fixed voltage, a drain, and a gate that is shorted with the drain; a second MOS transistor, having a threshold voltage lower than a threshold voltage of the first MOS transistor, and having a gate connected to the gate of the first MOS transistor; and a first resistor, connected between a source of the second MOS transistor and the source of the first MOS transistor.
The current source circuit according to the present disclosure is capable of shortening a startup time.
Details of the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are given with the accompanying drawings below.
The inverter 1 includes a PMOS transistor 1A and an n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (NMOS transistor) 1B. A source of the PMOS transistor 1A is connected to an applying end of a power supply voltage applying terminal VCC. A drain of the PMOS transistor 1A is connected to a drain of the NMOS transistor 1B at a node ND1. A source of the NMOS transistor 1B is connected to an applying end of a ground potential. A power down signal PDB is applied to a gate of the PMOS transistor 1A and a gate of the NMOS transistor 1B. The power down signal PDB is a signal at a high level or a low level.
The inverter 2 includes a PMOS transistor 2A and an NMOS transistor 2B. A source of the PMOS transistor 2A is connected to the applying end of the power supply voltage applying terminal VCC. A drain of the PMOS transistor 2A is connected to a drain of the NMOS transistor 2B at a node ND2. A source of the NMOS transistor 2B is connected to the applying end of the ground potential. A gate of the PMOS transistor 2A and a gate of the NMOS transistor 2B are commonly connected at the node ND1.
Accordingly, the power down signal PDB is level inverted by the inverter 1, and is further level inverted by the inverter 2.
The power supply unit 3 is a circuit that supplies a current to a gate of an NMOS transistor 4A in the constant current circuit 4 to be described below, and includes a PMOS transistor 3A and a current supply resistor 3B.
The PMOS transistor 3A is a switch that switches on and off of a current supplied to the gate of the NMOS transistor 4A. A source of the PMOS transistor 3A is connected to the applying end of the power supply voltage applying terminal VCC. A drain of the PMOS transistor 3A is connected to a first end of the current supply resistor 3B. A gate of the PMOS transistor 3A is connected at the node ND1. Accordingly, a signal generated by level inverting by the inverter 1 based on the power down signal PDB switches on and off of the PMOS transistor 3A.
The constant current circuit 4 includes an NMOS transistor 4A, an NMOS transistor 4B and a constant current resistor 4C. A drain of the NMOS transistor 4A is connected to a second end of the current supply resistor 3B. A gate of the NMOS transistor 4A and a drain of the NMOS transistor 4A are shorted. A source of the NMOS transistor 4A is connected to the applying end of the ground potential. Gates of the NMOS transistors 4A and 4B are connected to each other. A source of the NMOS transistor 4B is connected to a first end of the constant current resistor 4C. A second end of the constant current resistor 4C is connected to the applying end of the ground potential.
When a current is supplied from the current supply unit 3 to the gate of the NMMOS transistor 4A, a constant current is generated in the constant current resistor 4C. Details for generating the constant current are to be described below.
The output current mirror 5 is a circuit that mirrors and outputs the constant current generated in the constant current circuit 4, and includes PMOS transistors 5A and 5B. A source of the PMOS transistor 5A on an input side is connected to the applying end of the power supply voltage applying terminal VCC. A gate of the PMOS transistor 5A and a drain of the PMOS transistor 5A are shorted. A drain of the PMOS transistor 5A is connected to a drain of the NMOS transistor 4B. Gates of the PMOS transistors 5A and 5B are connected to each other. A source of the PMOS transistor 5B is connected to the applying end of the power supply voltage applying terminal VCC. A drain of the PMOS transistor 5B is connected to an output terminal Tout used to output an output current.
A PMOS transistor 6 is a switch that switches between validity and invalidity of the PMOS transistors 5A and 5B in the output current mirror 5. A source of the PMOS transistor 6 is connected to the applying end of the power supply voltage applying terminal VCC. A drain of the PMOS transistor 6 is connected to a drain of the PMOS transistor 5A. A gate of the PMOS transistor 6 is connected to the node ND2. Accordingly, a signal from level inverting by the inverters 1 and 2 based on the power down signal PDB switches on and off of the PMOS transistor 6.
The boost circuit 7 is a circuit used to speed up the startup of the output current mirror 5, and includes a capacitor 7A and a boost resistor 7B. A first end of the capacitor 7A is connected to the node ND1. A second end of the capacitor 7A is connected to a first end of the boost resistor 7B. A second end of the boost resistor 7B is connected to the drain of the PMOS transistor 5A. That is to say, the capacitor 7A and the boost resistor 7B are connected in series.
The operation of the current source circuit 10 in the above configuration is to be described with reference to
Herein, the threshold voltage Vth of the NMOS transistor 4B is lower than the threshold voltage Vth of the NMOS transistor 4A. The potentials of the gates of the NMOS transistors 4A and 4B are common, and the constant current resistor 4C is connected between the source of the NMOS transistor 4B and the source of the NMOS transistor 4A. Thus, if a difference between the threshold voltages Vth of the NMOS transistors 4A and 4B is set to ΔVth, a constant current Ic=ΔVth/R (where R is a resistance vale of the constant current resistor 4C) is generated at the constant current resistor 4C.
At this point in time, a signal generated at the node ND2 by inverting the level of the signal generated at the node ND1 by the inverter 2 is at a high level. Accordingly, the PMOS transistor 6 becomes an off state. Thus, the PMOS transistors 5A and 5B in the output current mirror 5 are valid. Herein, because the low level signal generated at the node ND1 is applied to a first end of the capacitor 7A in the boost circuit 7, the gate voltages of the PMOS transistors 5A and 5B are lowered from the boost circuit 7. That is to say, the boost circuit 7 changes the gate voltages of the PMOS transistors 5A and 5B in the output current mirror 5 in a direction to turn on the PMOS transistors 5A and 5B. Accordingly, the constant current Ic generated in the constant current circuit 4 is mirrored by the output current mirror 5, and is used as an output current Tout output from the output terminal Tout. In addition, in the boost circuit 7, the changes in the gate voltages of the PMOS transistors 5A and 5B are buffered by the boost resistor 7B.
With the configuration of the constant current circuit 4 in this embodiment, without involving any startup circuit, the startup time from the power down signal PDB is switched from a low level to a high level to the output current Tout rises and reaches stabilization can be shortened. In addition, with the boost circuit 7 provided, the startup of the output current mirror 5 can be sped up, further shortening the startup time. Moreover, the circuit area can be reduced as no startup circuit is required.
Herein, configuration examples of the NMOS transistors 4A and 4B in the constant current circuit 4 are described.
In the structure shown in
In both the NMOS transistors 4A and 4B, the gate electrode 45 is formed of P-type polysilicon or N-type polysilicon. In addition, the Fermi level of the gate can be made different according to a difference between doping amounts of the impurities in the gate electrode 45, thereby setting a difference between the threshold voltages Vth of the NMOS transistors 4A and 4B.
Alternatively, the gate electrode 45 of the NMOS transistor 4A may be formed of P-type polysilicon, and the gate electrode 45 of the NMOS transistor 4B may be formed of N-type polysilicon, such that the threshold voltage Vth of the NMOS transistor 4B is lower than the threshold voltage Vth of the NMOS transistor 4A.
The power down switch 8 is formed by an NMOS transistor. The source of the NMOS transistor 4A and the second end of the constant current resistor 4C are commonly connected to a drain of the power down switch 8. A source of the power down switch 8 is connected to the applying end of the ground potential. A gate of the power down switch 8 is connected to the node ND2.
According to the above configuration, as shown in
In the current source circuit, the constant current circuit 4 may also be implemented as the configuration shown in
The threshold voltage Vth of the PMOS transistor 4E is lower than the threshold voltage Vth of the PMOS transistor 4D. Accordingly, a difference between the threshold voltages Vth of the PMOS transistors 4D and 4E is used as ΔVth, and the constant current Ic=ΔVth/R is generated at the constant current resistor 4C.
Herein, a current source circuit capable of performing temperature characteristics compensation is described.
In the current source circuit 10 shown in
The current supply unit 3 is a constant current source including an NMOS transistor 31 composed of a depletion-type MOSFET and a bias resistor 32. A source of the NMOS transistor 31 is connected to a first end of the bias resistor 32. A second end of the bias resistor 32 is connected to a gate of the NMOS transistor 31. A second end of the bias resistor 32 is connected to the drain of the NMOS transistor 4A.
The drain of the PMOS transistor 5B in the output current mirror 5 is connected to a current source 9. The current source 9 includes an NMOS transistor 91. A drain of the NMOS transistor 91 is connected to the drain of the PMOS transistor 5B. A gate of the NMOS transistor 91 is connected to the gate of the NMOS transistor 4A. The current mirror is formed by the NMOS transistor 4A and the NMOS transistor 91.
Herein, a reference current Iref generated by the current supply unit 3 is set to have a positive temperature characteristic that increases as the temperature gets higher. In this case, a current IB that flows to the PMOS transistor 5B based on the reference current Iref has a positive temperature characteristic. Herein, a current I9 that flows through the current source 9 is based on the reference current Iref, and thus has a positive temperature characteristic. Thus, an output current IoutB output from a node NB at which the drain of the PMOS transistor 5B and the current source 9 are connected is generated by subtracting the current I9 from the current IB, and so the temperature characteristic is canceled to thereby inhibit a current change corresponding to the temperature.
In addition, in the configuration shown in
Herein, the reference current Iref generated by the current supply unit 3 is set to have a positive temperature characteristic that increases as the temperature gets higher. In this case, the current I9 generated by the current source 9 is injected into the node N4, and the current I9 has a positive temperature characteristic. Accordingly, as the temperature gets higher, a gate-source voltage Vgs of the NMOS transistor 4B gets smaller, and the temperature characteristic of the current flowing to the NMOS transistor 4B is canceled. Thus, the output current Tout flowing to the PMOS transistor 5B can inhibit a current change corresponding to the temperature.
In addition, because the first configuration (
In addition, in either of the first and second configurations, if the reference current Iref has a negative temperature characteristic, the current I9 generated by the current source 9 has a negative temperature characteristic.
Further, in addition to the described embodiments, various modifications may be made to the technical features disclosed by the present disclosure without departing from the scope of the technical inventive subject thereof. That is to say, it should be understood that all aspects of the embodiments are illustrative rather than restrictive, and it should also be understood that the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments, but includes all modifications that equal to meanings of the claims and fall within the scope of the claims.
As described above, for example, a current source circuit (10) of the present disclosure is configured to include:
a constant current circuit (4); and
a current supply unit (3), configured to supply a current to a gate of a first metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor; wherein the constant current circuit (4) includes:
In addition, the first configuration may be configured to further include:
an output current mirror (5), having an input side connected to the drain of the second MOS transistor (4B); and
a boost circuit (7), configured to change a gate voltage of a MOS transistor (5A, 5B) in the output current mirror in a direction to turn on the MOS transistor (second configuration).
In addition, the second configuration may be configured as, wherein the boost circuit (7) has a configuration in which a capacitor (7A) and a second resistor (3B) are connected in series (third configuration).
In addition, any one of the first to third configurations may be configured to further include a power down switch (8), the power down switch (8) including a first end commonly connectable to the source of the first MOS transistor (4A) and the first resistor (4C), and a second end connectable to the applying end of the fixed voltage (GND) (fourth configuration).
In addition, any one of the first to fourth configurations may be configured as, wherein both the first MOS transistor (4A) and the second MOS transistor (4B) are NMOS transistors, and the fixed voltage is a ground potential (fifth configuration).
In addition, the fifth configuration may be configured as, wherein the current supply unit (3) includes a switch element (3A) and a third resistor (3B) that are connectable in series between an applying end of a power supply voltage applying terminal applying terminal (VCC) and the drain of the first MOS transistor (4A) (sixth configuration).
In addition, any one of the first to sixth configurations may be configured as, wherein both a gate electrode of the first MOS transistor (4A) and a gate electrode of the second MOS transistor (4B) are formed of P-type polysilicon or N-type polysilicon, and a difference in threshold voltages (Vth) is provided between the first MOS transistor and the second MOS transistor by providing a difference in doping amounts of impurities in the gate electrodes (seventh configuration).
In addition, any one of the first to sixth configurations may be configured as, wherein a gate electrode of the first MOS transistor (4A) is formed of P-type polysilicon, and a gate electrode of the second MOS transistor (4B) is formed of N-type polysilicon (eighth configuration).
Further, the first configuration may also be configured to further include:
an output current mirror (5), having an input side connected to the drain of the second MOS transistor (4B); and
a current source (9), configured to generate a current having a temperature characteristic of a same polarity as a temperature characteristic of the current of the current supply unit (3),
wherein an output current is generated by subtracting the current generated by the current source from an output of the output current mirror (ninth configuration).
Further, the ninth configuration may also be configured to further include:
a plurality of output-side transistors (5B, 5C, 5D), having gates connected to a gate of an input-side transistor (5A) in the output current mirror (5),
wherein any one of the plurality of output-side transistors (5B, 5C) is configured corresponding to the current source (9), while any one of the plurality of output-side transistors (5D) is not configured corresponding to the current source (tenth configuration).
In addition, the ninth or tenth configuration may also be configured as, wherein the current source (9) includes a MOS transistor (91) having a gate connected to the gate of the first MOS transistor (4A) (eleventh configuration).
Further, the first configuration may also be configured to further include:
an output current mirror (5), having an input side connected to the drain of the second MOS transistor (4B); and
a current source (9), configured to generate a current having a temperature characteristic of a same polarity as a temperature characteristic of the current of the current supply unit (3),
wherein the current generated by the current source is injected into a node (N4) at which the source of the second MOS transistor and the first resistor (4C) are connected (twelfth configuration).
In addition, the twelfth configuration may also be configured as, wherein the current source (9) includes:
an NMOS transistor (92), composed of a depletion-type MOSFET; and
a bias resistor (93), having a first end connected to a source of the NMOS transistor and a second end connected to a gate of the NMOS transistor (thirteenth configuration).
In addition, any one of the first to thirteenth configurations may be configured as, wherein the first MOS transistor is composed of an enhancement-type MOSFET, and the second MOS transistor is composed of a depletion-type MOSFET (fourteenth configuration).
The present disclosure may be used as a current source to supply a current to various circuits.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2021186400 | Nov 2021 | JP | national |
2022117243 | Jul 2022 | JP | national |