Patent ID: 8154263

Claim:
A voltage regulator circuit comprising: an input terminal coupled to receive an input voltage; an output terminal coupled to a load; a gain stage having a first input coupled to a reference voltage, a second input coupled to the output terminal of the voltage regulator circuit, and an output terminal for providing a difference signal between the reference voltage and a regulator output voltage; and a voltage to current converter having a first input coupled to the input terminal of the voltage regulator circuit for receiving the input voltage, a second input coupled to the output terminal of the gain stage, and an output coupled to the output terminal of the voltage regulator circuit for providing an output current into the load, wherein the voltage to current converter includes: an amplifier having a first input coupled to the output terminal of the gain stage, a second input, and an output; a resistor having a first terminal coupled to the input terminal of the voltage regulator circuit and a second terminal coupled to the second input of the amplifier; and a transistor having a control terminal coupled to the output of the amplifier, a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the resistor, and a second terminal coupled to the output terminal of the voltage regulator circuit, and wherein a transconductance of the voltage to current converter is constant across a range of values of the output current.