A 21.4 pW Subthreshold Voltage Reference with 0.020 %/V Line Sensitivity Using DIBL Compensation

This paper presents an ultra-low-power voltage reference designed in 180 nm CMOS technology. To achieve near-zero line sensitivity, a two-transistor (2-T) voltage reference is biased with a current source to cancel the drain-induced barrier-lowering (DIBL) effect of the 2-T core, thus improving the line sensitivity. This compensation circuit achieves a Monte-Carlo-simulated line sensitivity of 0.035 %/V in a supply range of 0.6 to 1.8 V, while generating a reference voltage of 307.8 mV, with 21.4 pW power consumption. The simulated power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) is −54 dB at 100 Hz. It also achieves a temperature coefficient of 24.8 ppm/°C in a temperature range of −20 to 80 °C, with a projected area of 0.003 mm2.