The charge pump as a signal amplifier: enabling small-signal gain boosting

Exploiting the recently introduced concept of the Dickson charge pump (CP) used as a signal amplifier, this paper introduces a new class of gain boosted amplifiers that can be obtained when the small-signal model of the charge transfer device depends on the input signal. The original design equations are enhanced, resulting in a new effective equivalent model for amplifiers based on CP circuits. The analytical predictions are validated by simulation and experimental results on a silicon prototype implemented in 65-nm standard CMOS technology.