A 1.2-V 2.83-ppm/°C 0.33-μW bandgap reference with nonlinear compensation of V_BE

Abstract

A low-power, low-temperature-coefficient (TC), and compact bandgap reference (BGR) circuit is presented. Comparing with conventional multi-BJT structures, the proposed design employs a differential-pair voltage generator to produce proportional-to-absolute-temperature (PTAT) voltage without a large active area consumption. By compensating the nonlinear component of V_BE (base-emitter voltage), the TC is effectively reduced. The proposed BGR circuit has been implemented using a 0.18 μm technology, occupying an area of 0.027 mm². Simulation results demonstrate that at 1.2 V output, the BGR achieves an average TC of 2.83 ppm/°C over the temperature range from -40°C to 125°C, with a power consumption of merely 0.33 μW.