Low-Quiescent Current Class-AB CMOS LDO Voltage Regulator

A low-quiescent current output-capacitorless class-AB CMOS low-dropout voltage regulator (LDO) capable to source/sink current to/from the load is presented, which is suitable for hybrid or linear-assisted structures utilized in envelope elimination and restoration (EER) applications. The proposed LDO regulator is designed and characterized in 0.18 μm CMOS process to provide a 1 V stable output voltage with 200 mV dropout without any off-chip output capacitor and can deliver a current range of 160 mA between -80 mA and +80 mA to the load, while consumes only 1.8 μA quiescent current.