Patent · US Expired

Class AB amplifier for use in semiconductor memory devices

US6259280A · kind A · utility

15Cited by
6References
24Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateSep 25, 1998
Grant dateJul 10, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 25, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH03F3/45273
  • WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A class AB amplifier (400) is disclosed, having a first input node (402), a second input node (404), and an output node (406). A push-pull input stage (412) includes cross-coupled pairs of transistors, which form a charge current path and a discharge current path. When the voltage at the first input node (402) is greater than the voltage at the second input node (406), the amount of current drawn in the charge current path increases, and the amount of current drawn in the discharge current path decreases. When the voltage at the first input node (402) is less than the voltage at the second input node (404), the amount of current in the charge current path decreases while the amount of current in the discharge path increases. A first and fourth current mirror (422 and 428) are coupled to the charge current path, and a second and third current mirror (424 and 426) are coupled to the discharge current path. In response to increases in the amount of current drawn in the charge current path, the first current mirror (422) drives a discharge node (432) to a charge voltage, and the fourth current mirror (428) drives a charge node (434) to a charge voltage. In response to increases in the …

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.