Differential Amplifiers
Dr.R.Malmathanraj
Discrete and Integrated Circuits
A discrete circuit is constructed of components that are manufactured separately. Later,
these components are connected together, by conductors like wires, in a circuit board or a
printed circuit board (PCB).
On the other hand, in an integrated circuit, the components and their inter-connections are
manufactured concurrently by a sequence of processing steps.
The types of components that are available and their practical values depend heavily on
the approach taken for implementation. (for example, the capacitors in discrete circuits can
be in the range of 1pF to 1F, but only 1pF to 100pF in ICs. Also, inductors are almost
impractical in ICs. But in ICs, matching of components is much easier)
See table 7.1 in page 412 for detail.
Applications of discrete circuits will persist especially for some special circuits that are to be
mass produced, but today the bulk of electronic systems are based on ICs.
Processing steps in manufacturing ICs incur cost and failures and are usually different for
different technologies.
BJT technology are used more for high-quality analog circuits, while MOS are more for
general analog circuits and digital circuits. Today, semiconductor industry can manufacture
both BJT and MOS on the same chip, called BiCMOS technology.
DC biasing for Integrated Circuits
Different from biasing of discrete circuits, resistors and capacitors are “expensive” in terms
of cost and chip area, are therefore avoided whenever possible.
For amplifier circuits, the BJT transistors operate in active region.
The following circuits show how matched transistors, when combined with a few resistors,
can act as current sources that are useful in biasing IC amplifiers.
Collector of Q1 is connected to its base. Thus VCE1 VBE1 0,.6andV Q1 is in the active
region. If VCEis
2
larger than 0.2V, Q2 is also in the active region.
it can be shown that VCC VBE
I C1 I C 2 I ref
R
The current mirror.
DC biasing for Integrated Circuits II
To a first-order approximation, the base current of Q2 is independent of the output voltage
VCEthe
, therefore 2 output characteristics is almost identical to one of the collector characteristic
curves for Q2.
An important specification of a current source is the range of output voltage for which the
output current is approximately constant, which is called compliance range.
Another important specification of a current source is its dynamic output resistance, which
is the ratio of the incremental voltage divided by the incremental output current (ideally it
should be infinite). I
rO ( C 2 ) 1
VCE 2
In small-signal equivalent circuit, the current source is replaced by its dynamic resistance.
The current mirror.
Biasing an Emitter Follower
An example of how the current mirror can help establish the bias point of an IC amplifier is
shown below.
The current source is formed by R, Q1 and Q2, while Q3 is an emitter follower amplifying
the input signal and delivering it to the load.
Often, we can simplify the circuit diagram as in Figure.
Note:
(1) the amplifier is direct-coupled
compared to AC-coupling in discrete
amplifiers
(2) Output voltage is -0.7V for input
voltage of zero. In this case, the circuit
displays a DC offset, which is not
desirable. This problem can be solved
or reduced by the circuit shown in the
next slide.
Emitter follower with bias current source.
Biasing an Emitter Follower: reducing offset
A simple way to reduce offset for this follower is to cascade a second stage consisting of a
pnp emitter follower as shown in the figure below.
Note that in discrete circuits, offset is not an issue as a coupling capacitor is used.
The offset voltage can be reduced by cascading a complementary (pnp) emitter follower.
Effects of transistor area on current mirror
Doubling the area of a transistor is the same as connecting
two of the original transistors in parallel, as shown in the
Figure.
The output current of a current mirror for which the relative
junction areas of the transistors are A1 and A2 is given by
A2 A2
I C 2 I C1 I ref
A1 A1
Doubling the junction
area of a BJT is equivalent to connecting
two of the original BJTs in parallel.
Current mirror for Examples 7.1. Collector characteristic of Q2, illustrating the Early voltage.
Output characteristic for the Dynamic output resistance of the
current mirror of Figure 7.5. current mirror of Figure 7.5.
The Wilson current source
An improved circuit, called Wilson current source, with
higher output impedance that the previous current
mirror is shown in the Figure.
For the Wilson current source, the following holds:
V VBE 2 VBE 3
I ref CC
R
A3
IC2 I ref
A1
A1, A3 are the relative junction areas of the Q1 and Q3
respectively.
The Wilson current source,
which has a high output resistance.
The Widlar current source
When the desired current is small, the Widlar current
source may be a better alternative, as shown in the Figure.
For Widlar current source, the following holds :
VT I
R2 ln( C1 )
IC2 IC2
V VBE1
I C1 I ref CC
R1
The Widlar current source,
which is useful for small currents.
The combined current sources
In an Integrated Circuit amplifier, several current sources use the same reference current,
as shown below.
The current through R1 is the reference current for all four current sources. Q1, Q2 forms a
current mirror, and Q1, Q3 forms a Widlar source. Notice the pnp current source by Q4, Q5
and Q6.
Typical biasing circuit for a bipolar IC.
IC biasing with MOSFET
The BJT current sources have counterparts constructed
with MOSFET.
The shown MOSFET current mirror is very similar to the
BJT current mirror.
In typically cases, the MOSFET M1 operates in saturation
region, as drain-to-gate voltage is zero.
Assuming the transistors are identical and that the output
voltage is large enough so that M2 is in saturation as well.
The current I O I1
By using devices with different W/L ratios, circuits having
output current equal to a predetermined constant times
reference current can be designed.
W /L
I O 2 2 I1
W1 / L1
NMOS current mirror.
IC biasing with MOSFET
An improved current source is shown below, which
has higher output resistance than the simple current
mirror.
The output current is related to the reference current
by the equation below as well (assuming the
transistors operating in saturation region):
W /L
I O 2 2 I1
W1 / L1
The reference current I1 may be approximated by
V 2Vto
I1 DD
R
NMOS Wilson current source.
Emitter-coupled differential pair
The emitter-coupled differential pair is a very
important circuit that is used many bipolar
analog integrate circuits.
The circuit is shown in the figure and the two
transistors are assumed identical. The current
source IEE is typically implemented as a current
source circuit discussed before (eg. Current
mirror, wilson current source).
The input voltages vi1 and vi2 can be
considered to be composed of a differential
signal vid and a common mode signal vicm
defined below:
vid vi1 vi 2
vicm 1 / 2(vi1 vi 2 )
Differential output voltage is defined as
vod vo1 vo 2 ,
since vo1 VCC RC iC1 , vo 2 VCC RC iC 2
so vod RC (iC 2 iC1 )
Basic BJT differentiial amplifier.
Emitter-coupled differential pair II
First, consider the two input signal vi1 and vi2 are equal. Then the differential input voltage
vid is 0 and we have a pure common-mode input signal.
In this case, the current IEE splits equally between the Q1 and Q2, therefore vod=0.
In other words, the circuit does not respond to the common-mode component of the
input.
Basic BJT differential amplifier with waveforms.
Emitter-coupled differential pair III
For a pure differential input (when vicm=0), it can be shown the a non-zero differential
output voltage vod is resulted, as a differential input signal steers IEE twoard one side or the
other.
In summary, the circuits rejects common-mode input and responds to the differential input.
In amplifiers, a small differential input signal is amplified to a differential output signal.
Basic BJT differential amplifier with waveforms.
Emitter-coupled differential pair: pnp version
pnp emitter-coupled pair.
Signal transfer characteristics I
The following collector current versus differential input voltage can be obtained.
I EE I EE
iC1 , iC 2
1 exp( vid / VT ) 1 exp( vid / VT )
Note that in the plot, when vid=0, ic1=ic2. For vid>5VT, the current is steered almost entirely
through Q1 and similarly when vid<-5VT, the current is entirely through Q2.
Figure 7.25 Collector currents versus differential input voltage.
Signal transfer characteristics II
Using the previous equation of vod RC (iC 2 , iC1 ) one can find
v
vod I EE RC tanh( id )
2VT
exp( x) exp( x)
where tanh ( x)
exp( x) exp( x)
A plot of this transfer characteristics is shown in the following figure. The curvature
Shows that the differential amplifier can distort a signal if the amplitude is too large.
For input voltage less VT, the characteristics is quite straight giving linear gain.
Voltage transfer characteristic of the BJT differential amplifier.
Emitter degeneration
Sometimes it is advantageous to add emitter generation resistor REF to the circuit, as shown
in the Figure.
There resistors have the disadvantage of reducing the differential voltage gain of the circuit.
However, two reasons for this is to increase input impedance and to reduce distortion due
to the nonlinearity of the BJTs.
The right figure shows the transfer characteristic of the differential amplifier (REF=40VT/IEE).
Differential amplifier with emitter Voltage transfer characteristic with
degeneration resistors. emitter degeneration resistors. REF = 40(VT/IEE).
Balanced versus single-ended outputs
The output of a differential amplifier can be balanced, in which case the output voltages
from both collectors are connected to the inputs of another differential amplifier.
On the other hand, the output can be taken from one collector, in which case we say the
output is single-ended. If a single-ended output is desired, there is no need for a resistor
in the collector of the other resistor. (resistor at collector of Q1 omitted as shown).
Either a balanced or single-ended output is available\break from the differential amplifier.
The current mirror as a load
The following figure shows a variation of the
emitter-coupled pair in which the collector
resistors are replaced by a current mirror.
This circuit is particularly favored in ICs, as
transistors are much cheaper than resistors.
A simple analysis by assuming large sothat
base currents of Q3 and Q4 are neglected, results
in the equation as follows:
v
iO I EE tanh( id )
2VT
For | vid | VT , iOis approximately proportional to
vid. Notice furthermore that the common-mode
input component does not affect the output
current.
Emitter-coupled pair
with current-mirror load.
Small-signal analysis of the Emitter-coupled
differential pairc
Using small-signal analysis, we can derive expressions for voltage gain, input impedance
and output impedance of the emitter-coupled differential pair.
The small-signal equivalent circuit for the differential pair is shown below by replacing the
transistors by their small-signal models.
Note that power supply has
been shorted to GND in small-
signal circuit.
Also note that the IEE current
source is replaced by a
resistance REB in the small-
signal circuit, as practical
current sources has a finite
output impedance.
Figure 7.33 Small-signal equivalent circuit
for the differential amplifier of Figure 7.27.
(REB is the output impedance of the current source IEE.)
Small-signal analysis: differential input
First, we analyze the circuit for a pure differential
input signal. Therefore the input voltage are vi1=-
vi2=vid/2.
The analysis can be simplified by observing that the
equivalent circuit is symmetrical. Due to this
symmetry and opposite polarity of the independent
sources, the voltage at point J is zero. The circuit
behavior would not change by shorting point J to
Ground.
We can then consider only the left-hand side circuit
as shown in the Figure. We need to analyze only this
half circuit as the right half is the same except
different polarity.
Half-circuit for a differential input signal.
Small-signal analysis: differential input II
The half circuit, we then find out the gain and input
impedance:
v
Rid id 2[r ( 1) REF ]
ib1
Notice that we have defined Rid as the ratio of the
entire differential voltage vid to the input current.
Thus, Rid is the input impedance between the input
terminals of the complete circuit.
The voltage gain is:
vO1 RC v
Avds , Avdb od 2 Avds
vid 2[r ( 1) REF ] vid
subscript v for volta ge gain,
d for differenti al input,
s for single - ended output
For output impedance, we have:
ROs RC
ROb 2 RC
Half-circuit for a differential input signal.
Small-signal analysis: common-mode input
When the input voltage are vi1=vi2=vicm, the equivalent circuit is depicted in the figure.
We have shown the output impedance of the current source as the parallel combination of
two resistors.
The equivalent circuit is symmetrical with respect to the dashed line including the polarities
of the signal sources. Therefore, we conclude that current iJ must be zero.
As such, we can open the connection and consider only left or right hand half circuit.
Small-signal equivalent circuit with a pure common-mode input signal.
Small-signal analysis: common-mode input
From the half circuit, we can then
compute the gain, input impedance and
output impedance.
vicm r ( 1) REF
Rid ( 1) REB
ib1 ib 2 2
Note that we have defined the common-
mode input impedance to be the voltage
divided by the total current the source
must deliver to both terminals.
The gain from a single-ended load to
common-mode input is:
v RC v
Avcm O1 Ocm
vicm r ( 1)( REF 2REB ) vicm
As vo1=vo2=vocm.
For output impedance, we have:
ROs RC
ROb 2 RC
Half-circuit for a pure common-mode input signal.
Small-signal analysis: CMRR
In amplifier circuits, it is often desirable to reject common-mode signal while amplifying the
differential signal.
A measure of how well the amplifier rejects the common-mode signal relative to the
differential signal is the common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR). By definition, the CMRR is
ratio of the gain for the differential signal to the gain for common-mode signal.
From results of previous results, the CMRR for the single-ended output and balanced output
can be defined respectively as follows:
Avds r ( 1)( REF 2 R EB ) ( REF 2 R EB )
CMRR S
Avcm 2[r ( 1) R EF ] 2 R EF
A r ( 1)( R EF 2 REB ) ( REF 2 REB )
CMRR b vdb
Avcm r ( 1) R EF R EF
It can be seen that CMRR is nearly independent of . To increase CMRR, it is desired to
select a larger value for REB and a small REF.
Amplifier design: how to increase input
impedance?
Addition of emitter followers to increase input impedance.
An design example for high CMRR
Differential amplifier of
using the Wilson current source.
Waveforms for
the differential amplifier of Example 7.4.
The source-coupled differential pair
Using MOSFET, we can construct an source-coupled differential pair, which is a counterpart
of the emitter-coupled differential pair using BJTs.
The main advantage of using MOSFET for a differential pair compared to BJTs is the nearly
infinite input impedance, while the disadvantage is lower gain magnitude.
Source-coupled differential amplifier.
The source-coupled differential pair II
Assuming the two MOSFETs are the same.
The analysis of the source-coupled differential pair proceeds in the same way as the
emitter-coupled differential pair for both common-mode signal and differential input
signal.
The transfer characteristics for drain current Id1 and Id2 are shown in the figure.
Drain currents versus Differential output voltage versus
normalized input voltage. normalized input voltage.
The source-coupled differential pair III
The small-signal equivalent circuit fir the source coupled differential pair is shown in the
figure.
The power supply is replaced by a short circuit and the resistance RSB represents the output
impedance of the bias current source.
The circuit can be analyzed for differential and common-mode input signal in almost the
same way as the emitter-coupled differential pair discussed before.
Small-signal equivalent circuit for the source-coupled amplifier of Figure 7.43.
(Note: RSB is the output resistance of the bias current source I.)
Thank you
