dB-linear voltage-to-current converter
US8072245B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 2, 2009 |
| Grant date | Dec 6, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 13, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03F2203/45646
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A dB-linear voltage-to-current (V/I) converter that is amenable to implementation in CMOS technology. In a representative embodiment, the dB-linear V/I converter has a voltage scaler, a current multiplier, and an exponential current converter serially connected to one another. The voltage scaler supplies an input current to the current multiplier based on an input voltage. The current multiplier multiplies the input current and a current proportional to absolute temperature and supplies the resulting current to the exponential current converter. The exponential current converter has a differential MOSFET pair operating in a sub-threshold mode and generating an output current that is proportional to a temperature-independent, exponential function of the input voltage.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.