388 IEEE JOURNAL OF SOLID-STATECIRCUITS,VOL. SC-9,NO.

6, DECEMBER 1974

A Simple Three-Terminal IC Bandgap Reference

A. PAUL BROKAW, MEMBER, IEEE

A?r.sfrac f—A new configuration for realization of a stabilized v+

,
bandgap voltage is described, The new two-transistor circuit uses
collector current sensing to eliminate errors due to base current.
Because the stabilized voltage appears at a high impedance point,
the application to circuits with higher output voltage is simplified.
Incorporation of the new two-transistor cell in a three-terminal
--f--Q%
2.5-V monolithic reference is described. The complete circuit is
outlined in functional detail together with analytical methods used
in the design. The analytical results include sensitivity coefficients,
gain and frequency response parameters, and biasing for optimum
temperature performance. The performance of the monolithic cir-
cuit, which includes temperature coefficients of 5 ppm/ “C over the 1 ~ !
military temperature range, is reported.
Fig. 1. Conventional bandgap circuit.
I. INTRODUCTION

HE REQUIREMENT for a stable reference volt- operated at different current densities to produce tem-
age is almost universal in electronic design. The perature proportional voltages across R~ and Rz. A
T
temperature-compensatecl avalanche breakdown third transistor Q3 is used to sense the output voltage
diode fills many of the needs, but cannot be used with through Rz. As a result, Q8 drives the output to a volt-
low voltage supplies and often suffers from long-term age which is the sum of its ~7~E and the tcmperature-
stability problems. Use of a transistor base emitter diode dependent voltage across Rz. When the output voltage
temperature compensated to the bandgap voltage of is set to approximate the banclgap voltage of silicon,
silicon is a technique which overcomes some of the the voltage across Rz will compensate the temperature
avalanche cliode limitations. Bandgap circuits can be coefficient of VBE, and the output voltage will be tem-
operated from low voltage sources and depend mainly perature invariant [1]. To minimize the output voltage
upon subsurface effects which tend to be more stable temperature coefficient the collector current of Qa must
than the surface breakdowns generally obtained with be made proportional to temperature, as are the cur-
avalanche diodes. rents in QI and Qz. This large temperature-clependent
The conventional three-transistor bandgap cell works current at the point where the stabilized voltage ap-
well for very low voltage two-terminal or ‘synthetic pears makes it inconvenient to produce an output greater
Zener cliocle” requirements. The tlmee-transistor cell is than the bandgap voltage. Higher voltages can be gen-
less flexible in three-terminal applications and in cir- erated by stacking several junctions to produce, in
cuits where the desired output is not an integral multiple effect, several circuits like Fig. 1 in series [2].
of the bandgap voltage. The theory used to predict the temperature behavior
The two-transistor cell presented here is simpler, of circuits like Fig. 1 neglects the effect of base current
more flexible in three-terminal applications, and elim- flowing in RI and R,. The variability in this current due
inates sources of error inherent in the three-transistor to processing and temperature effects on hrn gives rise
cell. The two-transistor cell offers separate control over to an output voltage error and drift. This effect is par-
output voltage and temperature coefficient in a circuit ticularly severe when the current in Q2 is made much
using only a single control loop. smaller than currents in Q1 and Q8 to produce the re-
The new bandgap circuit has been used as the basis quired current density difference. Use of “Super Beta”
of a monolithic three-terminal reference circuit sup- processing to reduce this problem results in low-voltage
plying a stable 2.5-V output and operating down to transistors not suitable for a three-terminal reference.
4-V input. An additional temperature stability problem arises out
of the nonlinearity and nonuniformity of the tempera-
11, CONVENTIONAL CIRCUIT
ture characteristics of diffused resistors. The nonlinearity
Conventional bandgap circuits are based on the con- cannot easily be compensatecl, ancl the nonuniformity
cept illustrated in Fig. 1. The transistors QI and Qz are cannot be accommodated in the design.
The idealized circuit shown in Fig. 2 minimizes the
Manuscript received May 6, 1974; revised July 25, 1974. This difficulties of obtaining outputs above the bandgap volt-
p~per was presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Con-
ference, Philadelphia, Pa., February 1974.
age, reduces of hj,E variability
the problem to one of ~
The author is with the Semiconductor Division, Analog De- match, and can be implemented with thin-film resistors
vices, Inc., Wilmington, Mass. on the monolithic chip to virtually eliminate nonlinear
BROKAW : THREEJTERMINAL IC BANDGAP REFERENCE 389
v+ v+
T T

R-R

*
CID
4
1b
‘OUT .

‘OUT -

Q2
kO+(m-[)&
~ vGo+(m-l)~
q

“. R[
v-
Fig. 2. Idealized circuit illustrating two-transistor bandgap cell,

Eliminate error due to base current In R4 by aettlne:

temperature coefficients of resistance (TCR ) as an error
factor. The circuit uses two transistors and collector- R7. R4Rs
R3=—
Ri —
R4+R5
current sensing to establish the bandgap voltage. The
voltage appears at active transistor (as opposed to
Fig. 3. Simplified circuit for developing higher output voltages.
diode-connected) bases, so that it is a straight forward
and simple matter to obtain overall output voltages
above the bandgap voltage. Assuming that the resistor ratio and current density ratio
are invariant, this voltage varies directly with T, the
III. BASIS OF THE NEW CONFIGURATION absolute temperature. This is the voltage which is used
to compensate the negative temperature coefficient of
A. Generating the Bandgap Voltage T,
v BE.
In the circuit of Fig. 2 the emitter area of Qz is made The voltage at the base of QI is the sum of the V~~ of
larger than that of QI (by a ratio of 8-to-1 in t,he ex- QI and the temperature-dependent voltage across R,.
ample given). When the voltage at their common base This is analogous to the output voltage of the conven-
is small, so that the voltage drop across R2 is small, the tional bandgap circuit and can be set, hy adjustment of
larger area of Qz causes it to conduct more of the total R1/R2, to a temperature stable value, as described in the
current available through RI. The resulting imbalance in Appendix.
collector voltages drives the op amp so as to raise the
base voltage. Alternatively, if the base voltage is high, B. Increasing the Stabilized Output Voltage
forcing a large current through R,, the voltage developed
across Rz will limit the current through Qz so that it will Assuming that the amplifier of Fig. 2 has sufficient
be less than the current in Q1. The sense of the collector gain, it will balance the collector currents of QI and Qz
voltage imbalance will now be reversed, causing the op despite an additional voltage drop added between its out-
amp to reduce the base voltage. Between these two ex- put and the common-base connection, This additional
treme conditions is a base voltage at which the two drop will not affect the base voltage which results in col-
collector currents match, toward which the op amp drives lector current balance. If the voltage is introduced by
from any other condition. Assuming equal ti or common- means of a resistive voltage clivider, the op amp output
base current transfer ratio for QI and Qz, this will occur voltage will be proportional to the common-base voltage.
when the emitter current densities are in the ratio 8-to-1, The circuit of Fig. 3 uses an active load to sense the
the emitter area ratio. collector current of QI and Q2 more directly. The func-
When this difference in current density has been pro- tion of the op amp is replaced by Q,,, Q,,, and Q,. ‘I’he
duced by the op amp, there will be a difference in V~~, p-n-p transistors form a simple current mirror which

between QI and Qz, which will appear across Rg. This takes the difference of the collector currents of QI and
difference will be given by the expression Q2. This difference current drives the base of Q, which
supplies the circuit output voltage. This voltage is di-
vided by Rd and R5 and applied to the base of Q1. The
(1)
sense of the signal to Q, drives QI and Qz to minimize
Since the current in QI is equal to the current in Qz, the the collector current difference. By designing the circuit
current in RI is twice that in R2 and the voltage across to stabilize the base voltage at the bandgap voltage the
RI is given by output will be stabilized at a higher voltage. Since the
output voltage depends upon RA and R5 it can be set to”
any convenient value and need not be an integral nlul-
(2)
tiple of the bandgap voltage.
390 IEEE JOURNAL OF sOLID-STATECIRCUITS,DECEMBER 1974

C. Base Current Error Correction

In the circuit of Fig. 3 the base current of QI and Qz
must flow through R4. This current will require an in-
crease above the nominal output voltage to bring the
base of QI to the proper level. This increase will be an
hp~ dependent output voltage error which will vary from
lot to lot and drift with temperature, The effect can be
minimized by using relatively low values for R4 and R5,
or R3 can be added to compensate the effect. The proper
value of R3 is given by the following analysis.
To simplify the analysis, neglect the effects of finite
hflE and output conductance in Fig. 3 to idealize the
performance of the Q1O, Qll, Q7 amplifier function.
If E is taken to be the circuit output voltage in the
absence of base current for Q1 and Q2, then E’ resulting
from considering R, and the two base currents is given by
E’ = E + R,(i,, + ~bZ)
Fig. 4. Complete circuit of the monolithic three-terminal refer-
– i*,R,(2R,/RJ (1 + R,/R,) . (3) ence chip.

This relation contains a term due to the base currents

through R. and an offsetting term due to reduction of signal to the base of Q4. This transistor forms a Darling-
AVBE by base current through R3. If E’ is set equal to E, ton connection with Q7) the output transistor, and pro-
(3) can be reduced to a constraint on R,. Expressing the vides the current-mirror bootstrap voltage as well.
relationship between the base currents in terms of a The circuit, as shown in Fig. 3, has a stable “off” or
parameter P, = ibl/i~z permits (3) to be reduced to no-current state. An epitaxial layer FET, Q15, is incor-
porated into the circ,uit of Fig. 4 to provide starting. The
R, = (P, i- l) R,R4R,/2R,(R4 + R,). (4) FET insures that a minimum current flows into the
In the case shown in Fig. 3 the collector currents and current mirror Q13 and Q14 even when the base voltage
hence the base currents are assumed to match, making of Q1 and Q2 is zero. This current is “reflected” by Q13
PI equal to 1 and resulting in the reduced expression and Q14 to drive Q~ and turn on the circuit. Once the
shown in the figure. The general form of (4) is useful circuit is on, the collector current of Q14 becomes nearly
in circuits where the current density ratio is controlled equal to the currents in Qlo and Q1l. As a result, the
by forcing unequal collector currents, rather than by V~~ of Qs is equal to that of Q1 which has twice the
emitter area ratios. emitter area and supplies roughly twice the current.
Moreover, the voltage drop across R6 (which is equal in
IV. PRACTICAL REALIZATION OF THE CONCEPT
resistance to RT and Rs) is made equal to the voltage
Although the circuit of Fig. 3 can be used in some drops across RT and Ra. The emitter of Qlz is the same
simple applications a number of factors limit its ap- size as the emitters of Qlo and Q1l so that they all op-
plicability. Base width modulation of Q1 and Qz, finite erate at the same current density and provide nearly
output impedance of Qll and the finite hzw of Q7, QIO, equal emitter voltages for Q8 and Qq. The collector of
and Qll all combine to raise the circuit’s dynamic im- Q12 is split to provide equal emitter currents for Q~
pedance ancl to degrade its input-voltage rejection. The and Qg.
configuration shown in Fig. 4 reduces these problems and The operating bias level for Ql~ is controlled by Q5.
has been built and tested in monolithic form. This transistor is matched to QI and has its emitter cur-
The circuit elements shown in Fig. 4 correspond, rent forced by RIO and R1l. These resistors are in inverse
roughly, to similarly numbered elements in the other ratio to Rb and R5 so that their open-circuit equivalent
figures. The basic two-transistor bandgap cell consisting voltage with respect to the output is the same as the
of Ql, Q2, Rl, and R12is the same in all the figures. In voltage across the base emitter of QI in series with RI.
Fig. 4 the current mirror transistor Qlo and Qll are boot- Their parallel resistance is twice the resistance of RI so
strapped to the output voltage to improve the supply that the current in Q5 is matched to the current in Q1.
voltag,e rejection of the circuit. Degeneration resistors The fraction of the current bypassed by Ql~ has a neg-
RT and R~ have been added to raise the output impedance ligibly small effect on the V~~ of Q5 and hence on the
of Q1l and improve the emitter current match of the pair. total current forced by RIO and R1l. The total current
To minimize the effect of p-n-p hr~ Qa drives the common through Qb and Q16 drives Q13. The resistors R12 and R13
-bases of Qlo and Ql,. The output control voltage is raise the output impedance and improve the current
picked off at the collector of QII by Q~. A level translator matching of the simple current mirror Q13 and Q14.
consisting of Q12, R6, and Qs then applies the output Output current limiting is provided by R. and Q6.
BROKAW : THREE-TERMINAL IC BANDGAP REFERENCE 391

which neglects R. as compared with the value of RI.

After eliminating common factors and assuming i,, = i,,,
the combination of (6) and (7) can be manipulated to
form
Q,

i21L.1
1c,
Q2 “A ~ &“,l – Ai., 1 In (J,/J,)
R2 (8)
E
AE = % ( 2 + in (J,/J3 ) “
RI The difference in the Ql, Qz collector currents is the out-
put current iO and is approximately given by the differ-
ence of the emitter current increments. Taking (8) to the
limit at iO = O yields

d
~ 1 in (J1/J,)
(9)
dE ,0=, = z (2 + in (J,/J,) ) “

Fig. 5. Transconductance and frequency compensation model, With a current density ratio of 8:1, the term in J1/J2 is
approximately 2, so that the “transconductance” of the
entire circuit is approximately 1/ (2R1).
V. FREQUENCY COMPENSATION
A capacitive load on the current output of the circuit
The amplifier in this circuit operates in a closed loop in Fig. 5 will give a 6 dB/octave rolloff of voltage trans-
to regulate the output voltage. A composite junction- fer ratio. The frequency at which the capacitive re-
MOS capacitor Cl is used to control the open-loop cross- actance equals the transconductance will be the unity-
over frequency and stabilize the closed-loop response. gain frequency of the simple circuit. This is given by the
The analytical basis for this compensation is illustrated expression for F. in the figure. In the circuit of Fig. 4,
by Fig. 5. When the two-transistor bandgap cell is op- the loop attenuation due to R4 and R5 reduces the overall
erated into a current mirror an output current is pro- unity-gain frequency by the ratio of the bandgap voltage
duced whenever the common-base voltage departs from to 2.5 V, which is approximately two.
the nominal voltage determined by the current density The transconductance can also be used to estimate
ratio and by RI and R2. The change in this current as a a low frequency ‘{gain.” In the simple circuit of Fig. 3,
function of the departure of base voltage from its nom- the gain is expressed as the ratio of the voltage at the
inal value has the dimensions of transconductance and base of Q, to a small-signal input applied to the base
can be used as such in design. The following incremental of Q1 at balance. Using a value of 3 k~ for RI and esti-
approximation gives a simple result which is more than mating the output impedance of Qll at about 300 k~
adequate for most design procedures. gives a gain of about 50. In the monolithic circuit, the
Incremental changes in the base voltage of Q1 give effective open-loop gain is increased several orders of
rise to changes in collector current which can be approxi- magnitude by the bootstrap connection to the current
mated by the ratio of the voltage change to R., the incre- mirror.
mental emitter resistance. This same voltage increment
also drives R2 and the incremental impedance of Qz. If VI. MONOLITHIC CIRCUIT PERFORMANCE

the transistors are operating at equal currents, the two The circuit of Fig. 4 is shown in Fig. 6 as it appears
Re terms will be equal, making the total effective resist- in monolithic form. Several diffusion lots have been made
ance in the Q2 branch higher. This will result in a lower and measurements of these units indicate the typical
incremental current in Q2. Equating the incremental base properties given by the following table.
voltage changes gives

Ai., Ret = Ai., (R,, + R,). (5) Typical Reference Circuit Parameters
(–55 to +125°C)
Substituting for Re and for Rz in terms of the voltage
across it and current through it converts (5) to Output voltage 2.5 V +2 percent

~i rkT_
“ qie,
Ai
(
LcT / r%Tln~
“ q%., qi, J, )
(6)
Minimum input voltage
Load regulation, O to 10 mA
Supply rejection, 4.5 to 7 V
4V
3 mV
0.25 mV
Supply rejection, 7 to 30 V 0.25 mV
A second approximation made is that the total incre- Standby current 1 mA
Output voltage temperature 5 to 60 ppm/°C
mental current is due to the voltage change across RI
coefficient (7)
resulting from a voltage change AE at the common bases. (Vmri – Vmin)
That is (7 = (vnomi.a,)(AT) )

Ai., + Ai,, = $, (7)

1 The observed variation in temperature coefficients
392 IEEE JOURNAL OF SOLID-STATECIRCUITS,DECEMBER
1974

APPmwm

THEORETICAL TEMPERATURE BEHAVIOR

A. Optimum Cell Voltage

The optimum voltage at the base of QI is approxi-
mately the bandgap voltage. A general analysis of the
two-transistor bandgap cell yields a more-exact result
and some insight into the residual temperature drift in an
optimally adjusted circuit.
As a matter of convenience, the circuit description
has involved the assumption that the required current
density ratio is established by the use of emitter area
ratio alone. The circuit can also be based on different
collector currents and equal areas or a combination of
unequal areas and currents.
The equation describing the voltage across R, can be
Fig. 6. Illustration of 37 x 62 mil monolithic die showing thin- generalized by including- a parameter P, which is the
film resistors and balanced thermal layout.
ratio of emitter currents 2’6,/i@,, as follows:

arises mainly from variability in absolute voltage at the (lo)

base of QI and variation in the coefficient m (see Ap-
pendix). Unite showing a very constant temperature co- An expression given by Brugler [3] has been modified
efficient generally show a good correlation between ab- by the addition of a current-dependent term to give the
solute output voltage and drift.
Several units showing large but constant temperature
coefficients have been adjusted to very small final tem-
perature coefficients. This has been done by measuring
the temperature coefficient calculating the ideal zero
mlcT
temperature coefficient voltage correction and laser-trim- +~ ln$+~ln$- (11)
ming RI or R2 as required. Other units which are closer .
to the nominal output voltage exhibit very stable tem- where VOOis the bandgap voltage of silicon and VB~Ok
perature characteristics initially. In extremely low-drift the value of 1’~~1 at a reference temperature TO.
units, the performance of the basic cell appears to be Since the voRages across both RI and Rz are propor-
masked by other drifts arising in the remainder of the tional to temperature, it follows that the current and the
circuit. These residual drifts are on the order of 2 to 4 current density in Q1 are also proportional to temperature.
ppm/°C over a temperature range of –55 to -I-125°C. Therefore, the current density ratio in the last term of
Some diffusion lots have shown a greater curvature (11) can be equated to a temperature ratio as J/JO =
in the temperature characteristic. These units exhibit the T/TO. This relation can be used to reduce the sum of
roughly parabolic temperature characteristic, which is VI and V~,l to the form
implied by (14) of the Appendix. They show good tem-
perature performance around a peak which occurs at a E = v..+ ; (V,,.– VaO)+(m–l)~ln~
temperature related to initial output voltage. At tem- o
perature extremes the temperature coefficient may in-
crease to 60 ppm/° C or morej if the peak is not cen- +(Pl+l)#~ln$ (12)
tered in the –55 to +125°C range. 2 2

The elapsed time since obtaining the first completed This represents the stable voltage established at the base
units has not been sufficient to accumulate long-term drift of QI in the circuit of Fig. 1. Differentiating this result
results. Accelerated life tests have been made at high twice with respect to temperature yields
temperatures to uncover any gross drift problems. The
temperature stability and monitoring equipment have not
been adequate to determine the ultimate stability of the
device. Examination of data taken over the course of
1000 hours at + 125° C does not reveal any trends or +(m–1)~ln~–1 (13)
systematic drifts at the 100 ppm level, which approxi-
mates the repeatability of the measurements. and
BROKAW : THREE-TERMINAL IC BANDGAP REFERENCE

d2E — _(~
—-. – 1) !!$. (14)
dT’ –
Equating the first derivative to zero results in the equa- and
tion
(18)

which at room temperature is about –26 mV or –260 pV/

(15) percent. Dividing this coefficient by the cell’s output
The left side of (15) is the value of E at T = TO. This voltage of about 1.22 V gives a relative coefficient of
means that, in principle, if the base voltage of Q1 is set about —2.13 x 10-4/percent of output voltage change as
to VgO+ (VZ– 1) lcTO/qat temperature TO,the tempera- a function of relative resistance change. This is a reduc-
ture coefficient of the output voltage will be zero. As- tion in sensitivity of about 47 times.
suming values of m greater than one in (14) implies, Despite this reduction, the TCR of diffused resistors
however, a nonzero temperature coefficient at tempera- is so large, nonlinear, and nonuniform that it still repre-
tures other than To. Experimental data indicate that sents a serious temperature drift. The monolithic circuit
values of m as low as 1.2 have been achieved. described here uses thin-film-on-silicon resistors with a
Examination of (13) and (15) shows that departures total TCR of about – 60 ppm so that the 47 times re-
from the optimum output voltage will result in an ap- duction makes the uncorrectable component of TCR
proximately constant temperature coefficient. The mag- sensitivity less than 1 ppm/ ‘C.
nitude of this coefficient will be the absolute error voltage The effects of the TCR of other resistors, or of ratios
divided by the absolute temperature. For example, a 3 such as R1 and Rs, are readily evaluated by standard
percent absolute voltage error at 300 K will result in a analytical techniques. The low differential TCR inherent
3 percent/300 K = 100 ppm/°C temperature coefficient. in thin-film resistor pairs keeps these effects on the out-
put voltage at a minimum.
B. Eflects of Resistor Temperature Coejicients
REFERENCES
Both the common and differential temperature co-
efficients of resistance of RI and R2 enter into the overall [1] R. J. Widlar, “New developments in IC voltage regulators,”
IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. SC-6, pp. 2-7, Feb. 1971.
output voltage stability. The differential TCR may be
[2] K. E. Kuijk, “A precision reference voltage source,” IEEE
treated by assuming that the total change in resistor J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. SC-$, pp. 222-226, June 1973.
ratio is due to change in RI, Since the remainder of the [3] J. S. Brugler, “Silicon transistor biasing for linear collector
current temperature dependence,” IEEE J. Sol&Wa te G“ir-
circuit forces a predetermined current in RI, its tempera<
cuits ( Corresp.), vol. SC-2, pp. .57-58, June 1967.
ture coefficient of resistance is translated to an error
voltage in equal proportion. The effect on the overall
output voltage is reduced by the fact that the voltage
across RI accounts for only a fraction of the total output.
This fraction is variable, but is about 1/2 at room tem-
perature. Therefore, the differential TCR of RI and Rz
appears as about half the equivalent proportional change A. Paul Brokaw ( M’73) was born in Minne-
in the output voltage. apolis, Minn., on January 18, 1935. He re-
ceived the B.S. degree in physics from
The common TCR affecting both resistors equally does
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, in
not affect the volt+ge across RI, which depends only upon 1962.
their ratio. It does affect the total current in the tran- From 1962 to 1%.3, he was a Design 13ngi-
neer at Labko Scientific, Inc. In 1963, he
sistors, however, and therefore affects the V~~ of Q1.
joined the technical staff of Arthur D.
This effect can be evaluated by expressing VBE1 as Little, Inc. as an Electronic Circuit De-
signer. After six years at ADL, he joined
vE=~ln&
B,
q18” () (16)
the design staff of Communication Tech-
nology, Inc. In 1971, he started at Nova Devices, Inc., now the
Semiconductor Division of Analog Devices, Inc., where he is the
Differentiating Director of Advanced Product Development.