ECE354: Electronic Circuits University of Toronto 2019

Lab 2: Current Mirrors

Introduction
A current mirror is used to copy or multiply the input current. It is often used as a bias circuit that
provides a known current to an analog circuit like a common-source amplifier with an active load.
A current mirror in CMOS relies on the property that ideal transistors of the same size (W /L) with
the same VGS have the same drain current (ID ) regardless of VDS as long as both are in saturation.
A simple NMOS current mirror is shown in Figure 1(a).
With real transistors, however, ID changes slightly with VDS because of the channel-length
modulation. In small signal, this effect appears as a finite output impedance (as opposed to the
inifinite output impedance of an ideal current mirror). A cascode transistor can be stacked on top
of the current-mirror transistor to improve the output impedance of a current mirror as shown in
Figure 1(b).
A current mirror can be also used as an active load of a common-source amplifier as shown in
Figure 2. A very high small-signal gain is achievable with an active load because of its high output
impedance.
In this lab, you will measure ID2 versus Vo of a current mirror without and with a cascode
transistor to determine their output impedance and output swing. A common-source amplifier with
a current mirror as an active load will also be tested.

Preparation
1. Current mirrors
Do the following for both of the current mirrors in Figure 1. Use ID1 = 1 mA and VDD = 5 V.
For the cascoded current mirror, set VB2 wisely to maximize the output swing while keeping the
transistors in saturation.

1. Run a DC sweep to plot ID2 versus Vo . You need to connect a DC voltage source to the output
of the current mirror to provide Vo and sweep it.

2. Show the output swing and output impedance of the current mirror on the plot in the previous
step.

3. Organize the results for presentation to your TA.

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ECE354: Electronic Circuits University of Toronto 2019

VDD VDD

RB RB Vo
VB2 M3
Vo
VB VB1
ID1 ID2 ID1 ID2

M1 M2 M1 M2

(a) (b)

Figure 1: An NMOS current mirror (a) without and (b) with a cascode transistor.

VDD VDD

M1 M3

ID1
RB Vo

Vi
M2

Figure 2: An NMOS common-source amplifier with a PMOS current mirror as an active load.

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ECE354: Electronic Circuits University of Toronto 2019

Table 1: Minimum parts list

Part Description Quantity
ALD1101 NMOS transistor pair 1
ALD1102 PMOS transistor pair 1
- 10-kΩ multi-turn potentiometer 2

2. Common-source amplifier with an active load

Do the following for the common-source amplifier with an active load shown in Figure 2. Use
ID1 = 1 mA and VDD = 5 V.

1. Run a DC sweep to plot Vo and Av = dVo /dVi versus Vi . Determine the input bias point for
maximum singnal swing.

2. Run a transient analysis for 10 ms with a 10-mVpp 1-kHz sinusoidal input biased at the
voltage found in the previous step. Plot Vo and verify the small-signal gain found in the
previous step.

3. Organize the results for presentation to your TA.

Lab - Part I: LTSpice Simulation Challenge

The first part of this lab will be an LTSpice simulation challenge that will be announced at the
beginning of the lab session by your TA. You will work in groups of two and have 50 minutes to
finish. Completing the preparation part of the lab and general knowledge of the course should be
enough to finalize this part.

Lab - Part II: Current Mirror Implementation

A minimum parts list for this lab is shown in Table 1. This is the absolute minimum. You may
bring more parts for your convenience and backup.

1. Current mirrors
Repeat the following for the normal current mirror and cascoded current mirror.

1. Assemble the current mirror on the bread board and connect a power supply to provide VDD .

2. Adjust the potentiometer (RB ) for ID1 = 1 mA.

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ECE354: Electronic Circuits University of Toronto 2019

3. Connect another power supply and a multimeter to the output side of the current mirror for
providing Vo and measuring ID . Remember that the multimeter has a separate port for current
measurement and it has to be inserted in series with the circuit unlike voltage measurement.
Connect another multimeter to measure VD accurately as the power supply doesn’t provide
accurate voltage reading.

4. Vary Vo from 0 V to 5 V and measure ID to plot an ID versus VD curve.

5. Label and comment on the plot as necessary to clearly show the output impedance and swing
of the current mirror.

6. Organize the results for presentation to your TA.

2. Common-source amplifier with a current-mirror load

1. Assemble the common-source amplifier with an active load on the breadboard. The input
should be biased with a potentiometer and capacitor for fine tuning of the input bias voltage
(same as Lab 1).

2. Adjust the potentiometer (RB ) for ID1 = 1 mA.

3. Adjust the potentiometer for input biasing for maximum output swing.

4. Apply a 1-kHz 10-mVpp sinusoid and find the small-signal gain of the amplifier.

5. Change the amplitude of the input to determine the output swing of the amplifier.

6. Organize the results for presentation to your TA.

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