This application relates to the field of electronic technologies, and in particular, to an operational amplifier and a chip.
An operational amplifier is the most fundamental module in an analog circuit. For example, the operational amplifier is an indispensable module in an integrator, a filter, an adder, and an analog-to-digital converter. In some extreme conditions, performance of a transistor is affected, and a speed of the operational amplifier is reduced or performance of the operational amplifier deteriorates. For example, as an operating temperature increases or decreases, a threshold voltage of the transistor varies inversely. This may cause an insufficient voltage margin of the transistor, and the transistor cannot maintain operating in a saturation region. Alternatively, a process variation or an unstable operating voltage may also cause an insufficient voltage margin of the transistor, and affects performance of the operational amplifier. With technology development and process evolution, a design requirement for the operational amplifier becomes increasingly high. It is expected in the industry that the operational amplifier can maintain good operating performance in some extreme conditions.
This application provides an operational amplifier and a chip, to improve performance of the operational amplifier.
According to a first aspect, an operational amplifier is provided. The operational amplifier includes a differential amplification circuit, configured to receive and amplify an input voltage to generate an output voltage, where the differential amplification circuit is further configured to receive a feedback signal, and the feedback signal is used to adjust a common-mode voltage of the output voltage, a reference voltage generation circuit, configured to detect status information of the operational amplifier, and generate a reference voltage based on the status information, where the status information includes a temperature and/or an operating voltage of the operational amplifier, and a common-mode feedback circuit, configured to receive the output voltage and the reference voltage, and provide the feedback signal to the differential amplification circuit based on the output voltage and the reference voltage.
In this embodiment of this application, the reference voltage that varies with the temperature and/or the operating voltage is provided to the common-mode feedback circuit, so that the common-mode voltage of the output voltage of the operational amplifier can be adjusted based on the temperature and/or the operating voltage. Therefore, a voltage margin of a transistor in the operational amplifier can be flexibly adjusted in real time based on the temperature and/or the operating voltage, and operating performance of the operational amplifier is improved.
In a possible implementation, the reference voltage generation circuit includes a first bias circuit and a first metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor, the first bias circuit is configured to provide a drain current to the first MOS transistor, and a gate of the first MOS transistor is short-circuited to a drain, and the reference voltage is a drain voltage of the first MOS transistor.
In a possible implementation, the reference voltage generation circuit includes a voltage divider circuit, the voltage divider circuit is located between the operating voltage and a ground, and the reference voltage is a voltage of a voltage divider node of the voltage divider circuit.
In a possible implementation, the reference voltage generation circuit includes a first bias circuit and a first MOS transistor, the first bias circuit is configured to provide a drain current to the first MOS transistor, and a gate of the first MOS transistor is short-circuited to a drain, and a first summation circuit, where an input terminal of the first summation circuit is configured to receive the drain voltage of the first MOS transistor and the operating voltage, and the reference voltage is a voltage at an output terminal of the first summation circuit.
In a possible implementation, a process of the first MOS transistor is the same as that of other MOS transistors in the operational amplifier.
In this embodiment of this application, because the process of the first MOS transistor is the same as that of the other MOS transistors in the operational amplifier, a process variation may also be reflected in the reference voltage. Therefore, the operational amplifier can adjust the voltage margin of the transistor in the operational amplifier based on the process, to improve operating performance of the operational amplifier.
In a possible implementation, the common-mode feedback circuit includes a second summation circuit, configured to receive the output voltage, and generate the common-mode voltage based on the output voltage, a first level switching circuit, configured to receive the common-mode voltage, and convert the common-mode voltage to obtain a first voltage, a second level switching circuit, configured to receive the reference voltage, and convert the reference voltage to obtain a second voltage, and an amplification circuit, including input pair transistors and an output terminal, where a gate of a second MOS transistor in the input pair transistors is configured to receive the first voltage, a gate of a third MOS transistor in the input pair transistors is configured to receive the second voltage, and the output terminal of the amplification circuit is configured to generate the feedback signal, where the first voltage output by the first level switching circuit enables the second MOS transistor to operate in a saturation region, and the second voltage output by the second level switching circuit enables the third MOS transistor to operate in the saturation region.
In this embodiment of this application, the first level switching circuit and the second level switching circuit are disposed in the common-mode feedback circuit, to perform level switching on the input voltage of the common-mode feedback circuit, to ensure operating performance of the amplification circuit in the common-mode feedback circuit, and improve operating performance of the operational amplifier.
In a possible implementation, the differential amplification circuit includes K stages of amplification circuit, a (K−1)th stage of amplification circuit includes a second bias circuit, and a gate of a fourth MOS transistor in the second bias circuit is configured to receive the feedback signal, where K≥2.
In a possible implementation, the common-mode feedback circuit further includes a filter circuit, the filter circuit is configured to receive the common-mode voltage and filter out a direct current component of the common-mode voltage, to obtain a fast path feedback signal, and the fast path feedback signal is an alternating current component of the common-mode voltage, and the differential amplification circuit includes the K stages of amplification circuit, a Kth stage of amplification circuit includes a third bias circuit, and a gate of a fifth MOS transistor in the third bias circuit is configured to receive the fast path feedback signal, where K≥2.
In this embodiment of this application, to compensate for a phase margin of the common-mode feedback circuit, the common-mode voltage is directly coupled to the last stage of amplification circuit in the amplification circuit via a filter circuit, to form a one-stage amplification effect on the common-mode voltage. Because there is only one pole, the common-mode voltage attenuates relatively slowly at a high frequency, so that a phase margin compensation effect is formed, and performance of the operational amplifier when operating at a high frequency is improved.
According to a second aspect, a chip is provided, and the operational amplifier according to any one of the first aspect or the possible implementations of the first aspect is disposed on the chip.
The following describes technical solutions of this application with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Embodiments of this application provide an operational amplifier, to improve operating performance of the operational amplifier in a low-voltage operating state.
In the related art, the operational amplifier usually includes a common-mode feedback circuit, and the common-mode feedback circuit is configured to adjust a common-mode voltage of an output voltage of the operational amplifier. An input terminal of the common-mode feedback circuit is configured to receive the output voltage and a reference voltage of the operational amplifier, and output a feedback signal based on the output voltage and the reference voltage. The feedback signal is used to adjust the common-mode voltage of the output voltage. In the embodiments of this application, the common-mode voltage is a signal relative to a common ground, and a differential-mode voltage is a difference between two signals. In this application, the common-mode voltage of the input voltage may also be referred to as an input common-mode voltage. The common-mode voltage of the output voltage may also be referred to as an output common-mode voltage. In a conventional design, an input common-mode voltage and an output common-mode voltage of an operational amplifier are usually constant, and do not vary with a process, an operating voltage, and a temperature (PVT). The process refers to a difference that is between performance parameters of devices in different production batches, different wafers, or different positions in a same wafer and that is caused in a process of manufacturing a circuit due to an error in a manufacturing process, for example, an error of doping density. For example, a difference between threshold voltages of transistors is caused by a process error.
The embodiments of this application provide an operational amplifier. A common-mode voltage of an output voltage of the operational amplifier may vary in real time with a process, an operating voltage, and/or a temperature, so that a voltage margin of a transistor in a circuit can be flexibly adjusted and allocated in real time. Therefore, a problem of circuit performance deterioration caused by an insufficient voltage margin of the transistor in extreme conditions is resolved. The voltage margin may refer to a voltage constraint condition in which the transistor operates in a saturation region.
It should be noted that the operational amplifier in the embodiments of this application may be implemented by a MOS field-effect transistor (MOSFET). In this application, the MOSFET may also be referred to as a MOS transistor or a transistor. The MOS transistor includes two types, namely, an N-type MOS transistor and a P-type MOS transistor. The N-type MOS transistor and the P-type MOS transistor may be referred to as an NMOS transistor and a PMOS transistor, or an NMOS and a PMOS, respectively.
The differential amplification circuit 110 is configured to receive and amplify an input voltage VIN to generate an output voltage VOUT. The differential amplification circuit is further configured to receive a feedback signal VFB, and the feedback signal VFB is used to adjust a common-mode voltage VCM of the output voltage.
The differential amplification circuit 110 may be of a fully differential structure. That is, both the input voltage VIN and the output voltage VOUT may be differential signals. The differential amplification circuit 110 may include a single stage of amplification circuit, or the differential amplification circuit 110 may include multiple stages of amplification circuits. When the differential amplification circuit includes the multiple stages of amplification circuits, an output voltage of a previous stage of amplification circuit is configured as an input voltage of a current stage of amplification circuit.
In an example,
In another example,
The reference voltage generation circuit 120 is configured to detect status information of the operational amplifier 100, and generate a reference voltage VRef based on the status information, and the status information includes a temperature and/or an operating voltage VDD of the operational amplifier 100.
The foregoing reference voltage VRef is generated based on status information. That is, the reference voltage VRef may vary in real time depending on the temperature and/or the operating voltage VDD of the operational amplifier. The operating voltage VDD is also a source voltage.
The foregoing reference voltage generation circuit 120 has a plurality of implementations. In an example,
Further, the drain voltage VPT of the first MOS transistor M23 may be expressed by using the following formula:
Parameters in formula (1) are shown as follows. It can be learned from the following descriptions of the parameters that VPT can reflect the temperature variation and the process variation.
μ represents electron mobility or hole mobility of the transistor, and is in 1/T2 relationship with the temperature. That is, the higher the temperature, the lower μ, and the higher VPT, or the lower the temperature, the higher μ, and the lower VPT.
Cox represents a unit gate oxide parasitic capacitance of a transistor, and is equal to a dielectric constant of an oxidized layer divided by a thickness of the oxidized layer. Both the dielectric constant of the oxidized layer and the thickness of the oxidized layer are affected by the process. For example, generally, the faster the process (FF), the larger Cox, and the lower VPT, or the slower the process (FF), the smaller Cox, and the higher VPT. Fast or slow process means that a conduction speed of the MOS transistor increases or decreases due to a difference in the process. For example, FF represents that conduction speeds of an NMOS and a PMOS are both high, SS represents that the conduction speeds of the NMOS and the PMOS are both low, FS represents that the conduction speed of the NMOS is high and the conduction speed of the PMOS is low, and SF represents that the conduction speed of the NMOS is low and the conduction speed of the PMOS is high.
represents a width-to-length ratio of the transistor M23.
I1 represents the drain current of the transistor M23.
Vth represents a threshold voltage of the transistor M23, and is affected by both the temperature and the process. Generally, the higher the temperature, the lower Vth, or the lower the temperature, the higher Vth. The faster the process, the lower Vth, or the slower the process, the higher Vth.
In another example,
In still another example,
To prevent the resistor R3 from shunting the drain current provided by the first bias circuit to the first MOS transistor M28, a resistance value of R3 may be set to be far greater than an equivalent resistance 1/gm28 of the first MOS transistor M28, and gm28 represents a transconductance of the first MOS transistor M28. Alternatively, a buffer may be disposed between the drain of the first MOS transistor M28 and the resistor R3, to avoid shunting of R3. The buffer may include an amplifier.
Optionally, to enhance a driving capability of the reference voltage VRef, a buffer may be added to the output terminal of the circuit in each of
Optionally, a first summation circuit 1222 may be implemented in another manner, provided that a function of the first summation circuit 1222 is to implement proportional summation of VPT and VDD. Details are not described herein one by one.
The common-mode feedback circuit 130 is configured to receive the output voltage VOUT and the reference voltage VRef, and provide the feedback signal VFB to the differential amplification circuit 110 based on the output voltage VOUT and the reference voltage VRef.
In an example,
The second summation circuit 131 is configured to receive the output voltage VOUT, and generate the common-mode voltage VCM based on the output voltage VOUT. The input voltage VIN may include differential input voltages Vin and Vip, the output voltage VOUT may include differential output voltages Von and Vop, and the second summation circuit 131 may also be a proportional summation circuit. The second summation circuit 131 may be configured to generate a common-mode voltage VCM of the output voltages Von and Vop. VCM meets the following condition VCM=(Von+Vop)/2.
The first level switching circuit 132 is configured to receive the common-mode voltage VCM, and convert the common-mode voltage VCM to obtain a first voltage V1. The second level switching circuit 133 is configured to receive the reference voltage VRef, and convert the reference voltage VRef to obtain a second voltage V2. The first level switching circuit 132 and the second level switching circuit 133 may be composed by passive resistors. A passive device can reduce power consumption of the level switching circuit, improve linearity, and speed up an operation.
In extreme conditions, for example, when a temperature is extremely high or extremely low, or a process deviates greatly from normal, performance of a MOS transistor is affected, and the MOS transistor may not operate in a saturation region. Therefore, performance deterioration of the circuit is caused. That the MOS transistor operates in the saturation region means that when the MOS transistor is operating, a gate-source voltage and a drain-source voltage of the MOS transistor meet the following condition:
V
DS
≥V
GS
−V
th. (3)
VDS represents a voltage between a drain and a source of the MOS transistor, VGS represents a voltage between a gate and the drain of the MOS transistor, and Vth represents a threshold voltage of the MOS transistor. Functions of the foregoing first level switching circuit 132 and the foregoing second level switching circuit 133 are to perform level switching on an input voltage of the amplification circuit 134, that is, adjust gate-source voltages VGS of input pair transistors to ensure that the input pair transistors of the amplification circuit 134 operate in the saturation region. Therefore, the operational amplifier can operate properly in extreme conditions.
The amplification circuit 134 includes input pair transistors and an output terminal, where a gate of a second MOS transistor in the input pair transistors is configured to receive the first voltage V1, a gate of a third MOS transistor in the input pair transistors is configured to receive the second voltage V2, and the output terminal of the amplification circuit is configured to generate the feedback signal VFB. The first voltage V1 output by the first level switching circuit 132 enables the second MOS transistor to operate in the saturation region, and the second voltage V2 output by the second level switching circuit 133 enables the third MOS transistor to operate in the saturation region.
In some examples, alternatively, the common-mode feedback circuit 130 may not include the first level switching circuit 132 and the second level switching circuit 133. In this case, an input terminal of the amplification circuit 134 may be configured to receive the common-mode voltage VCM and the reference voltage VRef.
In an example,
Still referring to
Optionally, the common-mode feedback circuit 130 may alternatively include a filter circuit 135. The filter circuit 135 is configured to receive the common-mode voltage VCM, and filter out a direct current component of the common-mode voltage VCM, to obtain a fast path feedback signal VFBF. The fast path feedback signal VFBF is an alternating current component of the common-mode voltage. It is assumed that the differential amplification circuit 110 includes the K stages of amplification circuits, where K≥2, and a Kth stage of amplification circuit includes a third bias circuit. A gate of a fifth MOS transistor in the third bias circuit is configured to receive the fast path feedback signal VFBF, where K≥2. For example, referring to
The filter circuit 135 may include any circuit module that can implement the foregoing functions. For example,
Similar to the principle of the three-stage feedforward circuit described above, the filter circuit 135 herein also introduces a feedforward circuit, to compensate for the phase margin of the common-mode feedback circuit. The operating principle is as follows The common-mode voltage is directly coupled to the last stage of amplification circuit through the feedforward circuit, to form a one-stage amplification effect on the common-mode voltage. Because there is only one pole, the common-mode voltage attenuates slowly at a high frequency, thereby forming a phase margin compensation effect. Optionally, still referring to
Optionally, the common-mode feedback circuit 130 described above is merely an example. Various variations or optimizations may be further performed based on the foregoing circuit. For example, as shown in
Optionally, to achieve circuit matching, the circuit of the input terminal of the amplification circuit 134 can be symmetrically distributed. For example, to ensure symmetry, in the common-mode feedback amplification circuit in
In this embodiment of this application, the reference voltage that varies with the temperature and/or the operating voltage is provided to the common-mode feedback circuit, so that the common-mode voltage of the output voltage can be adjusted based on the temperature and/or the operating voltage. Therefore, a voltage margin of a transistor in the operational amplifier can be flexibly adjusted in real time based on the temperature and/or the operating voltage, and operating performance of the operational amplifier is improved.
Further, in this embodiment of this application, because the process of the first MOS transistor is the same as that of the other MOS transistors in the operational amplifier, a process variation may also be reflected in the reference voltage. Therefore, the operational amplifier can also adjust the voltage margin of the transistor in the operational amplifier based on the process, to improve operating performance of the operational amplifier.
It should be noted that the operational amplifier is usually applied to a scenario in which a plurality of operational amplifiers are connected in series, to implement a multi-stage filtering effect. An output of a previous operational amplifier is usually used as an input of a current operational amplifier. Therefore, an output common-mode voltage of the previous operational amplifier is usually an input common-mode voltage of the current operational amplifier. This scenario is common in a filter or Delta-Sigma analog-to-digital converter (ADC) design.
It can be learned from the foregoing descriptions of formula (1) that the slower the process, the lower the temperature, and the higher the threshold voltage. For example, Table 1 shows an example of a correspondence between an operating state of the operational amplifier and the threshold voltage of the transistor. With reference to
Referring to
When an operating process of the operational amplifier is the normal process (TT) and the operational amplifier operates at 25° C., the threshold voltages Vth of the input pair transistors M1 and M2, M5 and M6, and M8 and M10 are equal to 0.38 V according to Table 1. The input common-mode voltage of the current operational amplifier is 0.55 V. After the threshold voltages Vth and the overdrive voltage are subtracted (that is, VGS−Vth), drain-source voltages YDS reserved for M20, M21, and M22 are 100 millivolts (mV). M20, M21, and M22 can operate in a saturation region, and in this case, the current operational amplifier can operate properly.
When the operational amplifier operates in the slow process (SS) and the operating temperature is −40° C., the threshold voltages Vth of the input pair transistors M1 and M2, M5 and M6, and M9 and M10 are up to 0.45 V according to Table 1. If the reference voltage VRef remains 0.55 V, the input common-mode voltage of the current operational amplifier also remains 0.55 V. After the threshold voltages Vth 0.45 V and the overdrive voltages 70 mV of M1 and M2, M5 and M6, and M9 and M10 are subtracted from the input common-mode voltage, the overdrive voltages reserved for M20, M21, and M22 are only 30 mV. M20, M21, and M22 enter a linear region, and the current operational amplifier cannot operate properly. If the reference voltage generation circuit in
Similarly, if the operational amplifier operates in extreme conditions in which a process is fast, a temperature is high, or an operating voltage fluctuates, the operational amplifier may also perform corresponding adjustment based on the temperature, the process, or the operating voltage, so that the transistor can maintain operating in the saturation region, thereby improving operating performance of the operational amplifier and the circuit in the extreme conditions.
The operational amplifier 100 provided in this embodiment of this application may be applied to various operating environments. For example, the operational amplifier 100 may be applied to a low-voltage operating scenario. With process evolution and a requirement for low power consumption, an operating voltage provided for a circuit is increasingly low. However, for an analog circuit, if the operating voltage is decreased, the voltage margin for maintaining the transistor to operate in the saturation region is increasingly small. The output common-mode voltage of the operational amplifier in this application may be adjusted based on the temperature and/or the operating voltage. Therefore, the voltage margin of the transistor in the operational amplifier may be flexibly adjusted in real time based on the temperature and/or the operating voltage, and operating performance of the operational amplifier is improved when the operational amplifier operates at a low voltage.
The operational amplifier provided in this embodiment of this application may be applied to a plurality of types of circuits. For example, in a Delta-Sigma ADC, or in a circuit such as an integrator or a filter.
In addition, an embodiment of this application further provides a chip 1000.
The foregoing descriptions are merely specific implementations of this application, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of this application. Variations or replacements readily figured out by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application shall fall within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.
In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the described apparatus embodiments are merely examples. For example, the unit division is merely logical function division and may be other division in actual implementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented through some interfaces, indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units, or electrical connections, mechanical connections, or connections in other forms.
The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments in this application.
In addition, functional units in the embodiments of this application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. The integrated unit may be implemented in a form of hardware, or may be implemented in a form of a software functional unit.
The foregoing descriptions are merely specific implementations of this application, but are not intended to limit the protection scope of this application. Various equivalent modifications or replacements readily figured out by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application shall fall within the protection scope of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of this application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201810078364.X | Jan 2018 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2019/070343 filed on Jan. 4, 2019, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201810078364.X filed on Jan. 26, 2018. The disclosures of the aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/CN2019/070343 | Jan 2019 | US |
Child | 16938067 | US |