A linear transconductor utilizing body transconductance for low-power and low frequency applications

Abstract

Low-frequency and low-power circuits for medical devices used in daily life, such as biomedical implants, are required. For the applications, a linear low-transconductance and low-power transconductor is needed. In this paper, a low-transconductance linear transconductor which is improved in a power efficiency of the transconductance utilizing control of the body transconductances of the input transistors is proposed. The validity of proposed transconductor is confirmed by simulations on condition that the transconductance was 1.0 uS. The linearity of the proposed transconductor, whose linear input range is 112 mV, is improved. The power consumption is 976 nW, and the power consumption of the conventional transconductor is reduced by 27%. Considering the linearity of transfer characteristics and power efficiency, availability of the proposed transconductor is confirmed.