Patent GB-1500085-A (GB)
Title: Multivibrators
IPC: H03L1/02
Filed: 1975-09-18
Abstract: 1500085 Semi-conductor pulse oscillator WESTERN ELECTRIC CO Inc 18 Sept 1975 [19 Sept 1974] 38442/75 Heading H3T In a multivibrator circuit formed from transistors 11, 12 with emitter current sources 19, 21 controllable by a reference voltage, with a timing capacitor 16 between the emitters and with collector currents controlled so that the circuit switches state when the voltage across the capacitor numerically equals the forward voltage of a PN junction carrying a current bearing a fixed ratio to the emitter source currents, the same drop is used as reference voltage so providing temperature compensation for frequency, the rate of supply of charge and the critical quantity of charge in the capacitor varying together with temperature. In the embodiment in integrated circuit form emitter current sources 19, 21 pass equal currents I, in the NPN current mirror circuit in which the junction drop of transistor 53 and resistor 54 is balanced by corresponding drops in sources 19, 29, 31, 21, the currents through 29, 31 being set by their resistors to be somewhat less than I 1 . Collector sources 41, 43 controlled in a PNP current mirror circuit by the junction drop of transistor 58 and resistor 59 each pass in the example I 1 /2, the total current being made up to 2I 1  by I 1  through diodes 48, 49; the whole current 2I 1  passes through whichever transistor 11, 12 is conducting. Square wave outputs are available at the collectors of 11, 12, and the voltage across the capacitor follows a triangular wave (Fig. 1B, not shown). It is shown that the switching voltage V c16  on capacitor 16 is equal to # 12 -# 11  + # 47  where # is the forward junction drop across the indicated component due to the current existing just before switching. From Kirch hoff's laws and the loop gain the corresponding currents are shown, for I 1 /2 from sources 41, 43, to be respectively I 12 =0À27I 1 , I 11 =1À73I 1 , I 47 =0À23I 1 . From the formula #=kT/q.ln(I/I 5 ), k being Boltzmann's constant, q the electronic charge, TK the temperature, and I s  the reverse saturation current, it is shown that V c16 =kT/q.ln (0À0359 I 1 /I s ). By making d=0À0359 through transistor 64, set by resistor 65, a junction drop at transistor 63 equal to V c16  is balanced by the current I through discrete resistor 62; temperature variation then affects the switching voltage V c16  and the capacitor current I, equally, leaving the frequency proportional to 1/R 62 .C 16 , the T.C.'s of R 62  and C 16  being preferably selected equal and opposite. The NPN and PNP current mirrors are linked va the current through transistors 53, 56. Transistor 67 with diode 68 ensure correct starting, respectively saturating and blocking as soon as current flows from source 66. In a further embodiment (Fig. 3, not shown), several of the critical source transistors are replaced by Darlingtons to reduce the errors due to base current, and several transistors are made with enlarged emitter areas to allow their currents to be increased to more practical values without increase in density. The PNP current mirrors are divided into two, the sources directly connected to the multivibrator being in one circuit separately linked to the NPN current mirror. Correction is also applied for temperature sensitive current gain in critical transistors by injecting base current with opposite temperature dependence. A differential amplifier receives a voltage signal across its input terminals to control the current I 1 , and hence the frequency, by injecting a voltage-controlled current into the NPN current mirror.