Patent ID: 8890612

Claim:
An integrated circuit including a transconductance amplification stage, the transconductance amplification stage comprising: a differential pair of transistors, wherein a first input terminal of the amplification stage includes a control electrode of a first transistor of the differential pair, wherein a second input terminal of the amplification stage includes a control electrode of a second transistor of the differential pair, and wherein a current equal to a bias current flows through a conducting electrode of the first transistor and through a conducting electrode of the second transistor when a first input voltage at the first input terminal is equal to a second input voltage at the second input terminal; first circuitry, coupled to the conducting electrode of the first transistor and to a node, for providing a first current; second circuitry, coupled to the node, for sinking a second current from the node, wherein the second current is equal to the first current minus the bias current; tail current boosting circuitry, coupled to the node, for providing a translinear expansion of tail current of the differential pair, the tail current responsive to a voltage at the node; a feedback loop that dynamically biases the differential pair by controlling the voltage at the node by negative feedback during operation, wherein the current through the conducting electrode of the second transistor is maintained at a constant value during operation, and wherein a conducting electrode of the first transistor provides an output current responsive to a difference between the first input voltage and the second input voltage; and an output terminal for outputting the output current.