An Ultra Low-Power Programmable Voltage Reference for Power-Constrained Electronic Systems

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel architecture for the generation of a programmable voltage reference: the background-calibrated (BC)-PVR. Our mixed-signal architecture periodically calibrates a static ultra low-power voltage reference generator, from an accurate bandgap reference. The portion of the chip used for the calibration can be powered down with a programmable duty-cycle. The system aims to fully exploit the small temperature derivative vs time DT of several application domains to minimize the average current consumption. The BCPVR has been designed and implemented in TSMC 55-nm CMOS technology, and it achieves the largest reported programming reference output range [0.42 - 2.52] V, over the temperature range [-20, 85] degrees C. The duty-cycle mode allows nanoampere current consumption, and the large design flexibility permits to optimize the system performance for the specific application. These features make the BC-PVR very well-suited for power-constrained electronic systems. Index Terms-