Nano-Power CMOS Voltage Reference for RF-Powered Systems

This brief presents a fully CMOS voltage reference based on a self-biased topology, which provides low current consumption while saving silicon area. Temperature compensation is achieved by means of a subthreshold triode-based Widlar current reference and a proper arrangement of an active load. The proposed voltage reference was fabricated in a standard 0.13-μm CMOS technology and occupies a core area as low as 0.003 mm
²
. The circuit properly operates with a power supply ranging from 2.4 V to 1.1 V while providing a reference voltage of around 800 mV with an average temperature coefficient of 100 ppm/°C and an overall current consumption below 25 nA. This performance makes the proposed voltage reference very suitable for RF-powered applications.