Passive current source
The simplest non-ideal current source consists of a voltage sourcein series with a resistor. The amount of current available from such a source is given by theratio of the voltage across the voltage source to the resistance of the resistor (Ohm’s law; I = V/R). This value of cur- rent will only be delivered to a load with zero voltage drop across its terminals (a short circuit, an uncharged capaci- tor, a charged inductor, a virtual ground circuit, etc.) The current delivered to a load with nonzero voltage (drop) across its terminals (a linear or nonlinear resistor with a finite resistance, a charged capacitor, an uncharged in- ductor, a voltage source, etc.) will always be different. It is given by the ratio of the voltage drop across the resis- tor (the difference between the exciting voltage and the voltage across the load) to its resistance. For a nearly ideal current source, the value of the resistor should be very large but this implies that, for a specified current, the voltage source must be very large (in the limit as the resis- tance and the voltage go to infinity, the current source will become ideal and the current will not depend at all on the voltage across the load). Thus, efficiency is low (due to power loss in the resistor) and it is usually impractical to construct a 'good' current source this way. Nonetheless, it is often the case that such a circuit will provide ade- quate performance when the specified current and load resistance are small. For example, a 5 V voltage source in series with a 4.7 kilohm resistor will provide an ap- proximately constant current of 1 mA (±5%) to a load resistance in the range of 50 to 450 ohm.
AVan de Graaff generatoris an example of such a high voltage current source. It behaves as an almost constant current source because of its very high output voltage cou- pled with its very high output resistance and so it supplies the same few microamperes at any output voltage up to hundreds of thousands of volts (or even tens ofmegavolts) for large laboratory versions.
Active current sources without negative feedback In these circuits, the output current is not monitored and controlled by means ofnegative feedback.
Current-stable nonlinear implementation They are implemented by active electronic components (transis- tors) having current-stable nonlinear output characteristic when driven by steady input quantity (current or voltage). These circuits behave as dynamic resistors changing its
present resistance to compensate current variations. For example, if the load increases its resistance, the transistor decreases its present output resistance (andvice versa) to keep up a constant total resistance in the circuit. Active current sources have many important applica- tions inelectronic circuits. They are often used in place of ohmic resistors in analog integrated circuits(e.g., a differential amplifier) to generate a current that depends slightly on the voltage across the load.
Thecommon emitterconfiguration driven by a constant input current or voltage andcommon source (common cathode) driven by a constant voltage naturally behave as current sources (or sinks) because the output impedance of these devices is naturally high. The output part of the simplecurrent mirror is an example of such a current source widely used inintegrated circuits. Thecommon base,common gateandcommon gridconfigurations can serve as constant current sources as well.
AJFETcan be made to act as a current source by tying its gate to its source. The current then flowing is the IDSS of the FET. These can be purchased with this connection al- ready made and in this case the devices are calledcurrent regulator diodesor constant current diodes or current lim- iting diodes (CLD). An enhancement mode N channel MOSFET can be used in the circuits listed below.
Following voltage implementation An example: bootstrappedcurrent source.[1]
Figure 3: In an op-amp voltage-controlled current source the op-amp compensates the voltage drop across the load by adding the same voltage to the exciting input voltage.
Voltage compensation implementation The simple resistor current sourcewill become “ideal” if the voltage across the load is somehow held zero. This idea seems paradoxical since real loads always “create” voltage drops across themselves but it is yet implemented by applying a parallel negative feedback. In these circuits, an op-amp compensates the voltage drop across the load by adding the same voltage to the exciting input voltage. As a re- sult, the op-amp inverting input is held atvirtual ground
and the combination of the input voltage source, the resis- tor and the supplied op-amp constitutes an “ideal” current source with value IOUT = VIN /R. The op-amp voltage- to-current converter in Figure 3, atransimpedance am- plifierand anop-amp inverting amplifierare typical im- plementations of this idea.
The floating load is a serious disadvantage of this circuit solution.
Current compensation implementation A typical example are Howland current source[2]and its derivative Deboo integrator.[3]In the last example (see Fig. 1 there), the Howland current source consists of an input voltage source VIN, a positive resistor R, a load (the capacitor C acting as impedance Z) and a negative impedance con- verter INIC (R1 = R2= R3 = R and the op-amp). The input voltage source and the resistor R constitute an im- perfect current source passing current IR through the load (see Fig. 3 in the source). The INIC acts as a second current source passing “helping” current I-R through the load. As a result, the total current flowing through the load is constant and the circuit impedance seen by the in- put source is increased. However the Howland current source isn't widely used because it requires the four resis- tors to be perfectly matched, and its impedance drops at high frequencies.[4]
The grounded load is an advantage of this circuit solution.
Current sources with negative feedback
They are implemented as a voltage follower with se- ries negative feedback driven by a constant input voltage source (i.e., a negative feedback voltage stabilizer). The voltage follower is loaded by a constant (current sensing) resistor acting as a simple current-to-voltage converter connected in the feedback loop. The external load of this current source is connected somewhere in the path of the current supplying the current sensing resistor but out of the feedback loop.
The voltage follower adjusts its output current IOUT flowing through the load so that to make the voltage drop VR = IOUT.R across the current sensing resistor R equal to the constant input voltage VIN. Thus the voltage sta- bilizer keeps up a constant voltage drop across a constant resistor; so, a constant current IOUT = VR/R = VIN/R flows through the resistor and respectively through the load.
If the input voltage varies, this arrangement will act as avoltage-to-current converter(voltage-controlled cur- rent source VCCS); it can be thought as a reversed (by means of negative feedback) current-to-voltage con- verter. The resistance R determines the transfer ratio (transconductance).
Current sources implemented as circuits with series nega- tive feedback have the disadvantage that the voltage drop
2.7. CURRENT SOURCE 79
across the current sensing resistor decreases the maximal voltage across the load (the compliance voltage).
Simple transistor current sources
Circuit
Constant current diode The simplest constant-current source or sink is formed from one component: aJFET with its gate attached to its source. Once the drain-source voltage reaches a certain minimum value, the JFET enters saturation where current is approximately constant. This configuration is known as aconstant-current diode, as it behaves much like a dual to the constant voltage diode (Zener diode) used in simple voltage sources.
Due to the large variability in saturation current of JFETs, it is common to also include a source resistor (shown in the image to the right) which allows the current to be tuned down to a desired value.
Load
Vs (+)
R1
DZ1
Q1
GND (0V)
R2
Figure 4: Typical BJT constant current source with negative feed- back
Zener diode current source In this bipolar junction transistor(BJT) implementation (Figure 4) of the general idea above, a Zener voltage stabilizer (R1 and DZ1) drives an emitter follower (Q1) loaded by a constant emitter resis- tor (R2) sensing the load current. The external (floating) load of this current source is connected to the collector so that almost the same current flows through it and the emitter resistor (they can be thought of as connected in series). The transistor Q1 adjusts the output (collector) current so as to keep the voltage drop across the constant emitter resistor R2 almost equal to the relatively constant voltage drop across the Zener diode DZ1. As a result, the output current is almost constant even if the load resis- tance and/or voltage vary. The operation of the circuit is considered in details below.
AZener diode, when reverse biased (as shown in the cir- cuit) has a constantvoltage dropacross it irrespective of thecurrentflowing through it. Thus, as long as the Zener current (IZ) is above a certain level (called holding cur- rent), the voltage across the Zenerdiode(VZ) will be con- stant.ResistorR1 supplies the Zener current and the base current (IB) of NPNtransistor(Q1). The constant Zener voltage is applied across the base of Q1 and emitter re- sistor R2.
Voltage across R2 (VR₂) is given by VZ - VBE, where VBE is the base-emitter drop of Q1. The emitter current of Q1 which is also the current through R2 is given by
IR2(= IE) =
VR2
R2 =
VZ− VBE
R2 .
Since VZ is constant and VBE is also (approximately) constant for a given temperature, it follows that VR₂ is constant and hence IE is also constant. Due totransistor action, emitter current IE is very nearly equal to the col- lector current IC of the transistor (which in turn, is the current through the load). Thus, the load current is con- stant (neglecting the output resistance of the transistor due to theEarly effect) and the circuit operates as a con- stant current source. As long as the temperature remains constant (or doesn't vary much), the load current will be independent of the supply voltage, R1 and the transistor’s gain. R2 allows the load current to be set at any desirable value and is calculated by
R2 = VZ− VBE IR2
or
R2 = VZ− 0.65 IR2
since VBE is typically 0.65 V for a silicon device.[5] (IR₂ is also the emitter current and is assumed to be the same as the collector or required load current, provided
hFE is sufficiently large). Resistance R1at resistor R1 is calculated as
R1=
VS− VZ
IZ+ K· IB
where K = 1.2 to 2 (so that R1is low enough to ensure adequate IB),
IB=
IC(= IE = IR2)
hF E(min)
and hFE₍ ᵢ ₎ is the lowest acceptable current gain for the particular transistor type being used.
Load
Vs (+)
R1
LED1
Q1
GND (0V)
R2
Figure 5: Typical constant current source (CCS) using LED in- stead of Zener diode
LED current source The Zener diode can be replaced by any other diode, e.g. a light-emitting diode LED1 as shown in Figure 5. The LED voltage drop (VD) is now used to derive the constant voltage and also has the additional advantage of tracking (compensating) VBE changes due to temperature. R2is calculated as
R2= VDI−VR2BE and R1as
R1= IDVS+K−V·IDB , where ID is the LED current.
Load
Vs (+)
R1
DZ1
Q1
GND (0V)
R2
D
Figure 6: Typical constant current source (CCS) with diode com- pensation
Transistor current source with diode compensation Temperature changes will change the output current de- livered by the circuit of Figure 4 because VBE is sen- sitive to temperature. Temperature dependence can be compensated using the circuit of Figure 6 that includes a standard diode D (of the same semiconductor material as the transistor) in series with the Zener diode as shown in the image on the left. The diode drop (VD) tracks the VBE changes due to temperature and thus significantly counteracts temperature dependence of the CCS. Resistance R2is now calculated as
R2= VZ+VID−VBE R2
Since VD = VBE = 0.65 V,[6] R2= IVR2Z
(In practice VD is never exactly equal to VBE and hence it only suppresses the change in VBE rather than nulling it out.)
R1is calculated as
R1 = VISZ−V+KZ−V·IBD (the compensating diode’s forward voltage drop VD appears in the equation and is typically 0.65 V for silicon devices.[6])
This method is most effective forZener diodesrated at 5.6 V or more. For breakdown diodes of less than 5.6 V, the compensating diode is usually not required because the breakdownmechanism is not as temperature dependent
2.7. CURRENT SOURCE 81
as it is in breakdown diodes above this voltage.
Current mirror with emitter degeneration Series negative feedback is also used in thetwo-transistor cur- rent mirror with emitter degeneration. Negative feedback is a basic feature in somecurrent mirrors using multi- ple transistors, such as theWidlar current sourceand the Wilson current source.
Constant current source with thermal compensation One limitation with the circuits in Figures 5 and 6 is that the thermal compensation is imperfect. In bipolar transis- tors, as the junction temperature increases the Vbe drop (voltage drop from base to emitter) decreases. In the two previous circuits, a decrease in Vbe will cause an increase in voltage across the emitter resistor, which in turn will cause an increase in collector current drawn through the load. The end result is that the amount of 'constant' cur- rent supplied is at least somewhat dependent on temper- ature. This effect is mitigated to a large extent, but not completely, by corresponding voltage drops for the diode D1 in Figure 6, and the LED, LED1 in Figure 5. If the power dissipation in the active device of the CCS is not small and/or insufficient emitter degeneration is used, this can become a non-trivial issue.
Imagine in Figure 5, at power up, that the LED has 1V across it driving the base of the transistor. At room tem- perature there is about 0.6V drop across the Vbe junction and hence 0.4V across the emitter resistor, giving an ap- proximate collector (load) current of 0.4/Re amps. Now imagine that the power dissipation in the transistor causes it to heat up. This causes the Vbe drop (which was 0.6V at room temperature) to drop to, say, 0.2V. Now the volt- age across the emitter resistor is 0.8V, twice what it was before the warmup. This means that the collector (load) current is now twice the design value! This is an extreme example of course, but serves to illustrate the issue. The circuit to the left overcomes the thermal problem. (See Also: Current limiting) To see how the circuit works, assume the voltage has just been applied at V+. Current runs through R_load to the base of Q1, turning it on and causing current to begin to flow through the load into the collector of Q1. This same load current then flows out of Q1’s emitter and consequently through R_sense to ground. When this current through R_sense to ground is sufficient to cause a voltage drop that is equal to the Vbe drop of Q2, Q2 begins to turn on. As Q2 turns on it pulls more current through its collector resistor R1, which lowers the voltage at the base of Q1, causing Q1 to conduct less current through the load. This creates a negative feedback loop within the circuit, which keeps the voltage at Q1’s emitter almost exactly equal to the Vbe drop of Q2. Since Q2 is dissipating very little power compared to Q1 (since all the load current goes through Q1, not Q2), Q2 will not heat up any significant amount and the reference (current setting) voltage across R_sense
Current limiter with NPN transistors
will remain rock steady at ~0.6V, or one diode drop above ground, regardless of the thermal changes in the Vbe drop of Q1. The circuit is still sensitive to changes in the am- bient temperature in which the device operates as the BE voltage drop in Q2 varies slightly with temperature.
Load
Sense
Figure 7: Typical op-amp current source.
Op-amp current sources The simple transistor cur- rent source from Figure 4 can be improved by inserting the base-emitter junction of the transistor in the feed- back loop of an op-amp (Figure 7). Now the op-amp increases its output voltage to compensate for the VBE drop. The circuit is actually a buffered non-inverting am- plifier driven by a constant input voltage. It keeps up this
constant voltage across the constant sense resistor. As a result, the current flowing through the load is constant as well; it is exactly the Zener voltage divided by the sense resistor. The load can be connected either in the emitter (Figure 7) or in the collector (Figure 4) but in both the cases it is floating as in all the circuits above. The tran- sistor is not needed if the required current doesn't exceed the sourcing ability of the op-amp. The article oncurrent mirrordiscusses another example of these so-called gain- boosted current mirrors.
IN OUT LM317 1.25 ohm 1.5 W 5V >1A Green 100 1A current source 0 ... 1.8V (open circuit approx. 3.5V) ADJ
Figure 8: Constant current source using theLM317voltage reg- ulator
Voltage regulator current sources Thegeneral neg- ative feedback arrangementcan be implemented by an IC voltage regulator (LM317 voltage regulatoron Figure 8). As with the bareemitter followerand the preciseop- amp followerabove, it keeps up a constant voltage drop (1.25 V) across a constant resistor (1.25 Ω); so, a con- stant current (1 A) flows through the resistor and the load. The LED is on when the voltage across the load exceeds 1.8 V (the indicator circuit introduces some error). The grounded load is an important advantage of this solution..
Curpistor tubes Nitrogen-filled glass tubes with two electrodes and a calibratedBecquerel(fissions per sec- ond) amount of226Raoffer a constant number of charge carriers per second for conduction, which determines the maximum current the tube can pass over a voltage range from 25 to 500 V.[7]