
698 Part 2 Analog Electronics
If we replace I
C1
by I
C2
in Equation (10.21), the reference current becomes
I
REF
= I
C2
+ I
B3
=
1 + β
2 + β
I
C3
+
I
C3
β
(10.24)
Rearranging terms, we can solve for the output current,
I
C3
= I
O
= I
REF
×
1
1 +
2
β(2 +β)
(10.25)
This current relationship is essentially the same as that of the previous three-
transistor current source.
The difference between the two three-transistor current-source circuits is the
output resistance. In the Wilson current source, the output resistance looking into the
collector of Q
3
is
R
o
∼
=
βr
o3
/2
, which is approximately a factor
β/2
larger than that
of either the two-transistor source or the basic three-transistor source. This means
that, in the Wilson current source, the change in bias current I
O
with a change in out-
put collector voltage is much smaller.
Output Voltage Swing
If we consider the equivalent circuit in Figure 10.3, we see that the maximum possi-
ble swing in the output voltage is a function of the minimum possible collector–
emitter voltage of Q
2
. For the two-transistor current source in this figure, the
minimum value of
V
CE2
= V
CE
(sat), which may be on the order of 0.1 to 0.3 V.
For the cascode and Wilson current sources, the minimum output voltage is
V
BE
+ V
CE
(sat) above the negative power supply voltage, which may be on the
order of 0.7 to 0.9 V. For circuits biased at
±5
V, for example, this increased mini-
mum voltage may not be a serious problem. However, as the voltages decrease in
low-power circuits, this minimum voltage effect may become more serious.
Problem-Solving Technique: BJT Current Source Circuits
1. Sum currents at the various nodes in the circuit to find the relation between
the reference current and the bias current.
2. To find the output resistance of the current source circuit, place a test voltage
at the output node and analyze the small-signal equivalent circuit. Keep in
mind that the reference current is a constant, which may make some of the
base voltages constant or at ac ground.
Widlar Current Source
In the current-source circuits considered thus far, the load and reference currents
have been nearly equal. For a two-transistor current source, such as that shown in
Figure 10.2(a), if we require a load current of
I
O
= 10 μ
A, then, for
V
+
= 5
V and
V
−
=−5
V, the required resistance value is
R
1
=
V
+
− V
BE
− V
−
I
REF
∼
=
5 − 0.7 −(−5)
10 × 10
−6
= 930 k
In ICs, resistors on the order of 1 M
require large areas and are difficult to fabricate
accurately. We therefore need to limit IC resistor values to the low kilohm range.
10.1.3
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