A bidirectional constant current driving circuit is connected between the positive and negative terminals of a power supply. This drive circuit has an input terminal and an output terminal with a load coupled to the output terminal, and with the current supplied thereto being controlled to vary in either a positive or a negative electrical direction. The inventive driving circuit has four transistors . A first and second of these transistors have a first electrode connected to the first power supply terminal. The second transistor has second and third electrodes connected to a second electrode of the first transistor. A third and fourth of these transistors have a first electrode connected to the second power supply terminal. The fourth of these transistors has second and third electrodes connected to a second electrode of the third transistor. First and second resistors are serially connected between the third electrodes of the second and fourth transistors. The junction of the first and second resistors are connected to the input terminal. The third electrodes of the first and third transistors are coupled to the output terminal.
A circuit for producing output pulses in response to an alternating signal supplied to the input thereof which is comprised of a pair of complementary transistors cascoded between a pair of current mirror circuits which source and sink currents to and from a common terminal respectively. The alternating input signal is applied to the interconnected emitters of the two transistors thereby rendering one more conductive while the other is rendered less conductive and vice versa. The currents which are sourced or sunk at the common terminal are proportional to the currents flowing in the two transistors and are compared to cause an output transistor to switch operating states thereby producing the output pulse.
An amplifier is operated with a low power source voltage and has a reference voltage of 1.25 V or less. The temperature characteristic of the amplifier is controllable. The amplifier comprises substantially similar circuits and constants on its left and right sides under a condition that a voltage source is not connected to an input terminal, except that a diode-connected transistor is provided. Paying attention to the left-side circuit, the circuit which has the diode-coupled transistor having a forward voltage and resistors 22 and 23, is expressed by an equivalent circuit by the (Ho)-Thevenin theorem.
A current mode driver capable of driving both 10 Base-T signalling and 100 Base-T signalling in a Local Area Network (LAN) includes two or four current sources. In a first embodiment, a differential signal generator drives four current sources. The generator outputs four signals, one of which is received by each current source. Using these signals, two of the current sources push or pull current across the load in one direction, while the other two current sources push or pull current across the load in the other direction, such that a full differential signal is generated across the load. In another embodiment, a signal generator drives two current sources which drive into the load one at a time. Two switches provide either high resistance or low resistance during half of a signal cycle such that current is pulled through the load in one direction, and prevented from flowing through the load in the other direction. When one current source turns on upon receipt of an input signal, one switch provides low resistance such that when the current source drives current into the load a voltage is generated across the load. At the same time, the other switch provides high resistance such that virtually no current is conducted. In this manner, only one current source pulls current across the load at a given time, while the other current source remains in a standby state.
A sense amplifier comprising first and second CMOS inverters, an pMOS current mirror, a nMOS current mirror, a source pMOSFET to source current, and a sink nMOSFET to sink current. The gate voltage of the first CMOS inverter is the input voltage and the gate voltage of the second CMOS inverter is at the reference voltage. The output voltage is at the drains of the first CMOS inverter. The pMOS and nMOS current mirrors provide active loads to the first and second CMOS inverters. The sense amplifier is self-biasing by connecting the gate of the source pMOSFET to the gates of the pMOS current mirror and by connecting the gate of the sink nMOSFET to the gates of the nMOS current mirror.
A bi-directional current switch is provided which serves as a DC coupler mixer driver for PSK modulators. The invention includes a first switchable current source for selectively providing one of at least two current flow rates at an output node. A second current source acts as a sink and provides a steady state current flow rate out of said node. When the first current source is switched on, the output current is reversed. The invention thereby provides bi-directional current switching in response to a logical input signal.
