Low-power CMOS voltage follower using dual differential amplifiers driving high-current constant-voltage push-pull output buffer
US6285256A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 20, 2000 |
| Grant date | Sep 4, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 20, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03F2203/45674
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An amplifier designed from CMOS transistors provides a high current output, despite having a unity-gain configuration. A push-pull output stage drives the output using a p-channel pull-up transistor and an n-channel pull-down transistor. The pull-down transistor's gate is driven by an output from an inverting differential amplifier, that has one differential transistor gate driven by an input voltage and the other driven by the output voltage. A second differential amplifier is configured as a non-inverting differential amplifier, with one differential transistor gate driven by the input voltage and the other driven by the output voltage. The second differential amplifier drives an n-channel gate of an inverting stage, and the output of the inverting stage drives the p-channel pull-up transistor's gate. When the input voltage is above the output voltage, the inverting differential amplifier drives a lower voltage to the gate of the pull-down transistor, reducing sink current, while the inverting stage drives a lower voltage to the gate of the pull-up transistor, increasing source current. Both the pull-up and pull-down transistors work together to raise the output voltage.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.