Patent Abstract:
An amplifier includes: a class AB input stage, receiving an input signal, for generating an inner signal according to the input signal; class AB output stage, includes: a biasing circuit, for providing a first voltage and a second voltage according to the inner signal; and an output stage, for generating an output signal according to the first voltage and the second voltage; wherein a voltage difference between the first voltage and the second voltage generated by the biasing circuit is corresponding to the input signal.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to an amplifying circuit, and more particularly, to an amplifying circuit with high linearity and low power consumption. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    As well known by the person of ordinary skilled in the art, input/output stage circuits can be basically divided into three categories, that is, class A circuit, class B circuit, and class AB circuit. Where the performance of class AB circuit falls between the performance of the class A circuit and the class B circuit. In contrast to the class A circuit, the class AB circuit&#39;s power consumption is lower. Furthermore, in contrast to the class B circuit, the class AB circuit can provide an improved linear relationship between an amplified signal and an input signal. 
         [0005]    For details about the related circuit, please refer to “A Pipelined 5-M Sample 9-bit Analog-to-Digital Converter” published in the December 1987 issue of the JSSC. Another paper titled “A High-performance Micropower Switched-Capacitor Filter” published in the December 1985 issue of the JSSC. Finally, the paper titled “A Programmable 1.5V CMOS Class-AB Operational Amplifier with Hybrid Nested Miller Compensation for 120 dB Gain and 6 MHz UGF” is found in the 1994 edition of the ISSCC. 
         [0006]    In the paper titled “A Compact Power-efficient 3V CMOS Rail-to-Rail Input Output Operational Amplifier for VLSI Cell Libraries” published in the ISSSC in 1994, an operational amplifier circuit is disclosed. Please refer to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  is a circuit diagram of an operational amplifier  100  as disclosed in the said ISSSC&#39;s 1994 paper. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the operational amplifier  100  comprises a class A input stage circuit  110 , a biasing circuit  120 , and an output circuit  130 , where the biasing circuit  120  and the output circuit  130  form a class AB output stage circuit. 
         [0007]    In reference to  FIG. 1 , the static current Iq of the output circuit  130  should be appropriately designed such that the entire operational amplifier circuit  100  can be operated at a best operational point when it performs a signal amplifying operation. This means a better linear relationship can be achieved such that the signal will have a larger swing. 
         [0008]    Please refer to  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2  is a diagram showing a characteristic curve of the output circuit  130  as shown in  FIG. 1 . In  FIG. 2 , Iq represents a static current when the input signal is a common-mode voltage (i.e., the differential voltage Vid is 0). I MAX  and I MIN  represent the maximum and minimum currents sustained by the output circuit  130  under the situation of input signal and output signal still keeping linearity. (That is, the transistors M 25  and M 26  operated in the saturation region). 
         [0009]    As well known by the person of ordinary skilled in the art, in order to make the output signal achieve a maximum swing, the difference between I MAX  and I MIN  needs to be designed as large as possible. Please note that the swing can be equivalently regarded as an amplified degree without distortions. On the other hand, when there is no input signal (i.e., when the differential voltage Vid is 0), in order to reduce the power consumption, the static current Iq should be designed as small as possible. 
         [0010]    However, the above-mentioned circuit cannot obtain the two advantages of amplified degree and the power consumption at the same time. Please note, the above-mentioned circuit uses the class A input stage circuit  110 , which indicates that the current from the input stage circuit  110  to the biasing circuit  120  is determined by the current sources Ib 1  and Ib 2 . Therefore, when the gate voltages of the transistor M 19  and M 20  are determined, the voltage difference V AB  between the gate voltages of the transistors M 25  and M 26  and the static current Iq of the output stage circuit are also correspondingly determined at the same time. In other words, the operational point is determined. Finally, when the input signal is inputted into the operational amplifier  100 , the operational point does not change (e.g., the above-mentioned voltage V AB  and the static current Iq remain the same). 
         [0011]    Therefore, to achieve reduced power consumption of the entire circuit  100 , the static current Iq should be set to a smaller value. For example, this can be achieved through setting the gate voltages of the transistors M 21  through M 24 ). However, this action also influences the voltage difference V AB  between the gate voltages of the transistors M 25  and M 26  such that the gate voltages of the transistors M 25  and M 26  are getting higher. In this way, the voltage differences between the gate and the source of the transistors M 25  and M 26  are also made smaller. As a result, the linearity of the output stage becomes worse and the maximum swing of the output signal is smaller. 
         [0012]    Alternatively, if the maximum swing of the output signal is desired to be larger and a better linearity should be needed, the cross voltages of the transistors M 21  through M 24  should be larger. For example, adjusting the cross voltages of the transistors M 21  through M 24  to make the voltage difference between the gate and the source of the transistors M 25  and M 26  lower. However, in this way, when there is no input signal (i.e., the differential voltage Vid is 0), the static current Iq consumes more power. 
         [0013]    From the above disclosure, it can be seen the power consumption and the signal swing cannot be optimized at the same time. It is apparent that a solution is needed. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the claimed invention is to provide an amplifying circuit, which can have a better linear relationship when an input signal is inputted into the circuit and can have a smaller power consumption when there is no input signal inputted into the circuit, to solve the prior art problems. 
         [0015]    According to an embodiment of the claimed invention, an amplifying circuit is disclosed. The amplifying circuit comprises: a class AB input stage circuit, configured to receive an input signal and generating an inner signal according to the input signal; and a class AB output stage circuit, coupled to the class AB input stage, the class AB output stage circuit includes: a biasing circuit, configured to generate a first biasing signal and a second biasing signal according to the inner signal; and an output circuit, for generating an output signal according to the first biasing signal and the second biasing signal; wherein a voltage difference between the first biasing signal and the second biasing signal is corresponding to the input signal. 
         [0016]    According to another embodiment of the claimed invention, an amplifying circuit is disclosed. The amplifying circuit comprises: an input stage circuit, configured to receive an input signal and generate a first current signal and a second current signal; an output stage circuit, the output stage circuit includes: a voltage generating circuit, configured to provide a voltage difference according to the first current signal and the second current signal; and an output circuit, configured to generate an output signal according to the voltage difference; wherein a sum of the first current signal and the second current signal is corresponding to a swing of the input signal. 
         [0017]    The claimed invention amplifying circuit has better linearity when the input signal is swing, and has smaller power consumption when the input signal is not swing. Therefore, the amplifying circuit of present invention can simultaneously achieve optimized signal amplifying qualities and power consumptions. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a circuit diagram of an operational amplifier according to the prior art. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a diagram showing a characteristic curve of the output circuit as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a diagram of an operational amplifier according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  is a diagram of the class AB output stage circuits as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  is a diagram showing the characteristic curves of the present invention output stage circuit and the prior art output stage circuit. 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  is a diagram of an operational amplifier according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0024]    Please refer to  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  is a diagram of an operational amplifier  300  according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the operational amplifier  300  comprises a class AB input stage circuit  310 , biasing circuits  320  and  321 , and output circuits  330  and  331 . Please note, the biasing circuit  320  and the output circuit  330  form a first class AB output stage, and the biasing circuit  321  and the output circuit  331  form a second class AB output stage. 
         [0025]    Please note, because the operational amplifier  300  is a differential circuit, in order to help illustrate more simply hereinafter, only half of the operational amplifier  300 , specifically those comprising the class AB input stage  310 , the biasing circuit  320 , and the output circuit  330 , are illustrated. The operation and function of the half of the circuit  300  is the same as the other half of the circuit  300 , and thus the other half circuit is omitted herein for the sake of brevity and clarity. 
         [0026]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the output circuit  330  comprises two cascaded transistors M 25  and M 26  for driving the output end Von. Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the gates (i.e., node A and node B) of the cascaded transistors M 25  and M 26  are coupled to the biasing circuit  320 . Therefore, the biasing circuit  320  can provide an appropriate cross voltage on the gates of the cascaded transistors through the node A and node B. 
         [0027]    Please refer to  FIG. 4 , which is a diagram of the class AB output stage circuits  320  and  330  shown in  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the transistors M 12  and M 18  are utilized as a current source for respectively providing fixed currents I BP  and I BN . Please note that in  FIG. 4 , only the transistors M 12  and M 18  are shown and the other transistors of the current mirror are omitted. The nodes C and D respectively receive current signals I PP  and I PN  from the class AB input stage  310 . 
         [0028]    The PMOS transistor M 19  and the NMOS transistor M 20  form a resistor unit coupled between the nodes A and B. Moreover, the gates of the transistors M 19  and M 20  are respectively coupled to predetermined voltages V BP  and V BN . In addition, the transistors M 19  and M 20  determine their gate-to-source voltage difference (Vgs) according to the current passing through them such that the gate voltages V A  and V B  of the transistors M 25  and M 26  are determined. Therefore, the circuit designer can appropriately design the currents I BP  and I BN  or the resistance of the resistor unit (i.e., M 19  and M 20 ) to determine an idea voltage difference (e.g., V A  and V B ). Furthermore, a resistor can be also be used to replace the transistors M 19  and M 20  to generate the voltages V A  and V B . 
         [0029]    However, please note that the operation and the function of the biasing circuit  320  are different from those of the prior art biasing circuit  120 . As mentioned in the prior art, because the current signal outputted from the class A input stage circuit  110  is determined by the current sources Ib 1  and Ib 2 , the sum of the currents I PP  and I PN  respectively passing through the transistors M 19  and M 20  does not change according to the input signal. In other words, in the prior art, even the class A input stage  110  receives the differential input signal, the gate voltages V A  and V B  of the transistors M 25  and M 26  vary in the same amplitude and direction. The voltage difference V AB  and the static current Iq do not change, and thus the power consumption and the signal swing cannot be optimized at the same time. 
         [0030]    In this embodiment, unlike the prior art, the present invention utilizes the class AB circuit  310  as the input stage. The sum of the currents I PP  and I PN  vary according to the amplitude of the input differential input signal, therefore, the currents respectively passing through the transistor M 19  and M 20  vary accordingly such that the voltage difference V AB  between the gate voltages of the transistors M 25  and M 26  change. 
         [0031]    From the above disclosure, it can be seen that the voltage difference V AB  between the gate voltages of the transistors M 25  and M 26  change according to the input signal. Therefore, through an appropriate parameter design, the present invention can cause the voltage difference V AB  to be larger when the differential input voltage is 0 and thereby reduce the static current Iq of output circuit  330  such that the power consumption of the operational amplifier  300  can be reduced when there is no input signal inputted. On the other hand, when a differential signal is inputted into the operational amplifier  300 , the voltage difference V AB  can be controlled to be a smaller value through appropriately assigning the sum of the currents outputted from the input stage  310  to the biasing circuit  320  such that the operational amplifier  300  can have a better linearity of the amplified signal and the input signal when the operational amplifier  300  performs an amplifying operation. 
         [0032]    In other words, when the input differential voltage is 0, because the sum of the currents I PP  and I PN  outputted from the class AB input stage  310  to the biasing circuit is a known value, if the gate voltages V BN  and V BP  of the transistors M 19  and M 20  (or the current IBP and IBN) are well designed, an optimized static current Iq can be obtained. 
         [0033]    On the other hand, when a differential signal is inputted into the operational amplifier  300 , because the sum of the currents I PP  and I PN  outputted from the class AB input stage  310  to the biasing circuit change, if the parameters of the class AB input stage  310  is well designed to make the voltage difference V AB  smaller such that the entire circuit  300  can have an optimized linearity. 
         [0034]    Please refer to  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 5  is a diagram showing the characteristic curves of the present invention output stage circuit  330  and the prior art output stage circuit  130 . Please note that in  FIG. 5 , curve ( 1 ) is a characteristic curve of the present invention class AB output stage circuit  330  and curves ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) are associated with the prior art class AB output stage circuit. 
         [0035]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , in the prior art, if the linearity of the entire circuit should be raised, the curve ( 3 ) should be raised to the curve ( 2 ). In this way, the static current Iq is also raised to increase the power consumption accordingly. 
         [0036]    But, in the curve ( 1 ) according to the present invention, it can be seen that the present invention operational amplifier  300  consumes the same static current of curve ( 3 ) yet achieves the same linearity (i.e., signal swing) of curve ( 2 ). From the above disclosure, it could be known that the present invention operational amplifier  300  can achieve better performance. 
         [0037]    Furthermore, as mentioned previously, the biasing current  320  provides the voltage difference V AB  according to the sum of the currents, and the sum of currents is generated according to the differential input signal. Therefore, the biasing current  320  can be regarded as changing the output current according to the input signal. The above-mentioned mechanism is called “feed-forward biasing.” In contrast to the prior art&#39;s local feedback biasing mechanism, the above-mentioned feed-forward biasing mechanism is not required to reference the feedback signal and can therefore be operated at a greater speed. 
         [0038]    Please refer to  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 6  is a diagram of an operational amplifier  600  according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 6 , the operational amplifier  600  comprises a class AB input stage  610 , biasing circuits  620  and  621 , and output circuits  630  and  631 . 
         [0039]    Please note, the difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that in the second embodiment the transistors M 5  through M 8  of the class AB input stage  610  are coupled as a diode to provide an appropriate bias to the inner transistors M 1  through M 4  of the class AB input stage  610 . The other circuits are all the same as those of the first embodiment of the operational amplifier  300  and have similar operations and functions, therefore, they are omitted herein for the sake of brevity. 
         [0040]    In contrast to the prior art, the amplifying circuit of the present invention has an improved linear relationship when the input signal swing, and reduced (i.e., improved) power consumption when input signal is not swing. Therefore, the present invention amplifying circuit can simultaneously achieve optimized signal amplifying qualities and power consumption. 
         [0041]    While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments are merely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, and that this invention is not limited to the specific construction and arrangement shown and described, since various other

Technology Classification (CPC): 7