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Lecture

Current Mirrors: Passive and Active

In course

EE-423: Low power electronics: analog mixed signal design

This course deals with the analyze, design and optimization of CMOS analog circuits, emphasizing low-power solutions required in a broad range of applications (e.g. IoT, wearables, Biosensors ...). Some examples of mixed-signal design are also addressed. ...

Description

This lecture covers the design and analysis of passive and active current mirrors in analog circuits, focusing on basic structures, layout issues, high precision mirrors, low-voltage mirrors, and regulated drains. The instructor discusses the impact of channel-length modulation, PVT variations, and design trade-offs, emphasizing the importance of accuracy and dynamic range. Various layouts, including interdigitated and common-centroid configurations, are explored for better matching and reduced capacitance. Advanced topics such as wide swing mirrors and regulated drains are also addressed, highlighting practical implementations and small signal models to maintain output accuracy.

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Instructor

Adil Koukab

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Related concepts (32)

Analogue electronics

Analogue electronics (analog electronics) are electronic systems with a continuously variable signal, in contrast to digital electronics where signals usually take only two levels. The term "analogue" describes the proportional relationship between a signal and a voltage or current that represents the signal. The word analogue is derived from the word ανάλογος n(analogos) meaning "proportional". Analogue signal An analogue signal uses some attribute of the medium to convey the signal's information.

Digital-to-analog converter

In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC, D/A, D2A, or D-to-A) is a system that converts a digital signal into an analog signal. An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) performs the reverse function. There are several DAC architectures; the suitability of a DAC for a particular application is determined by figures of merit including: resolution, maximum sampling frequency and others. Digital-to-analog conversion can degrade a signal, so a DAC should be specified that has insignificant errors in terms of the application.

Current mirror

A current mirror is a circuit designed to copy a current through one active device by controlling the current in another active device of a circuit, keeping the output current constant regardless of loading. The current being "copied" can be, and sometimes is, a varying signal current. Conceptually, an ideal current mirror is simply an ideal inverting current amplifier that reverses the current direction as well. Or it can consist of a current-controlled current source (CCCS).

Design

A design is a concept of either an object, a process, or a system that is specific and, in most cases, detailed. Design refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, though it is sometimes used to refer to the nature of something. The verb to design expresses the process of developing a design. In some cases, the direct construction of an object without an explicit prior plan may also be considered to be a design (such as in some artwork and craftwork).

Current source

A current source is an electronic circuit that delivers or absorbs an electric current which is independent of the voltage across it. A current source is the dual of a voltage source. The term current sink is sometimes used for sources fed from a negative voltage supply. Figure 1 shows the schematic symbol for an ideal current source driving a resistive load. There are two types. An independent current source (or sink) delivers a constant current. A dependent current source delivers a current which is proportional to some other voltage or current in the circuit.

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