Patent · US Expired

Apparatus and method for employing gain dependent biasing to reduce offset and noise in a current conveyor type amplifier

US6724251B1 · kind B1 · utility

15Cited by
2References
16Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 12, 2002
Grant dateApr 20, 2004
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 12, 2022

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH03F1/34
  • WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A circuit with low noise and reduced offset that feeds an input of an opamp with a programmable feedback resistor that provides variable gain settings. Input biasing currents are varied using control bits that are also used to adjust the gain. When the input signal is small (gain at higher setting), a minimum bias current is provided to source the input voltage swing. This scheme reduces the noise and offset generated by the lower transconductance of a biasing transistor while maintaining a constant SNR and fixed offset even in the presence of relatively small input swings. Also, when the input signal is large (gain at lower setting), a maximum bias current can be provided to accommodate the relatively large input swing level. Although the overall noise and offset current are increased for large input swings, the overall SNR and offset is maintained for relatively lower input swings.

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