Patent ID: 7535305

Claim:
An apparatus for facilitating sensing of current, comprising: a current sink configured to sink current proportional to a current to be sensed, the current sink coupled to a first circuit node; an operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) having an OTA output coupled to the first circuit node to source current to the current sink, the OTA having a first OTA input and a second OTA input, the first OTA input coupled to the first circuit node, the second OTA input coupled to a second circuit node, wherein the OTA is configured to source a maximum output current that is less than the current of the current sink; and a comparator with a first comparator input and a second comparator input coupled to the first and second OTA inputs respectively, wherein a comparator output is in a first state when the OTA output is sinking current or sourcing less than the maximum output current and the comparator output is in a second state when the OTA output is sourcing at least the maximum output current.