Current Mirrors

Basic Current Mirrors

Cascode Current Mirrors

Hassan Aboushady
University of Paris VI

References
B. Razavi, Design of Analog CMOS Integrated Circuits,
McGraw-Hill, 2001.

H. Aboushady

University of Paris VI

Copying Currents
Definition of current by a resistive divider

I out

nCox W
2

R2

VDD VTH
L R1 + R2

Iout depends upon supply, process and temperature.

A relatively complex circuit is used to
generate a stable reference current IREF

IREF is then copied to the different

current sources of the system.
H. Aboushady

University of Paris VI

Basic Current Mirror

How to guarantee that Iout = IREF ?

2 identical MOS devices that have equal gate-source voltages

and operating in saturation carry equal currents (assuming =0).

I REF =

I out =

H. Aboushady

nCox W
2

(VGS VTH )
L 1

nCox W
2

(VGS VTH )
L 2

I out =

(W / L )2 I
(W / L )1 REF

University of Paris VI

Taking channel Length modulation into account

I D1 =
I D2 =

nCox W
2

(VGS VTH ) (1 + VDS 1 )

L 1
2

nCox W
2

(VGS VTH ) (1 + VDS 2 )

L 2
2

VDS1 VDS 2

If

I D1 (W / L )2 (1 + VDS 2 )
=
I D 2 (W / L )1 (1 + VDS 1 )

I D1 I D 2

H. Aboushady

University of Paris VI

Cascode Current Mirror

VGS 0 + VX = VGS 3 + VY
if

(W / L )3 = (W / L )2
(W / L )0 (W / L )1

Then VGS 3 = VGS 0

and VY = V X
H. Aboushady

University of Paris VI

Limited Voltage Swing

VDS 3 = VGS 3 VTH
VP min VY = VN VY VTH
VP min = VN VTH
VP min = VGS 1 + VGS 0 VTH
VP min = (VGS1 VTH ) + (VGS 0 VTH ) + VTH
Low Voltage Cascode Current Mirror:

VP min = (VGS 3 VTH ) + (VGS 4 VTH )

H. Aboushady

University of Paris VI