2.

1 An overview
Current sources are basic electronic building blocks that are used extensively in the
architectures of analog ICs, as well as in OEM circuit board designs. In both cases,
current sources are created by combining diodes, resistors, and transistors (BJTs or
FETs). They can also be created at the circuit board level by using discretes, matched
pairs, transistor arrays, or by combining op amps with precision voltage references.
The various techniques for doing so will be reviewed in Part 1 of this book. Although a
few dedicated monolithic current source ICs are commercially available, it is often nec-
essary to create one's own circuit to match the particular needs of the application.

Although most forms of today's instrumentation use either voltage or current refer-
ences, the former are far more available. As a result, designers frequently use voltage
references together with precision resistors, so that a stable reference voltage is con-
verted into a precise current. Applications for current sources range from biasing and
stabilization to reference and linearizing. For example, in the design of an op amp, the
IC designer will use current sources to create active loads for the amplifier stages and
to establish precise bias levels. By providing a constant current, this forces amplifier
stages to stay at the Q-points within their active linear regions (see Figure 2.1). In a
circuit board design, a current source may be used for linearly charging a capacitor
with a constant current, as in a precision timing circuit or in a peak detector. In a med-
ical instrument application, a sensor and a low-noise, front-end amplifier could be
biased using precision current sources to assist in recovering very-low-level signals.

The advantages of using these building blocks is their inherent constant current out-
puts, which are mostly independent of changes in supply voltage, temperature, load
resistance, or load voltage. One could liken the current source to that of a precision
current regulator. These advantages, when compared with using a simple fixed resis-
tor load, include the following:

9 Greater precision
9 Better repeatability
9 Improved temperature stability

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