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US 6,693,332 B2Granted
Current reference apparatus
AssigneeIntel Corporation
InventorsSiva G. Narendra, Stephen H. Tang, Zachary Keer, Vivek K. De
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A current reference, which may be fabricated on a die, as part of an integrated circuit, or in various other forms, is disclosed. The current reference includes two current sources, both of which provide a substantially temperature stable output current, which may use a differencing circuit to provide a reference output current having a magnitude approximately equal to the difference between the magnitudes of the two substantially temperature stable output currents.
Claims15
A current reference, comprising:
- a first current source to provide a first substantially temperature stable output current having a first magnitude;
- a second current source to provide a second substantially temperature stable output current having a second magnitude shifted by a predetermined amount from the magnitude of the first substantially temperature stable output current;
- and
- a differencing circuit to provide a reference output current having a reference magnitude approximately equal to the difference between the second magnitude and a product of the first magnitude and a preselected scaling constant.
1 more element
An integrated circuit, comprising:
- a first current source to provide a first substantially temperature stable output current having a first magnitude;
- a second current source to provide a second substantially temperature stable output current having a second magnitude shifted by a predetermined amount from the magnitude of the first substantially temperature stable output current;
- a differencing circuit to provide a reference output current having a reference magnitude approximately equal to the difference between the second magnitude and a product of the first magnitude and a preselected scaling constant;
- and
- an output node in electrical communication with the differencing circuit and to carry the reference output current.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.