A Low Noise CMOS Low Dropout Regulator with an Area-Efficient Bandgap Reference

In a low dropout (LDO) linear regulator whose reference voltage is supplied by a bandgap reference, double stacked diodes increase the effective junction area ratio in the bandgap reference, which significantly lowers the output spectral noise of the LDO. A low noise LDO with the area-efficient bandgap reference is implemented in 0.18 μm CMOS. An effective diode area ratio of 105 is obtained while the actual silicon area is saved by a factor of 4.77. As a result, a remarkably low output noise of 186 nV/sqrt(Hz) is achieved at 1 kHz. Moreover, the dropout voltage, line regulation, and load regulation of the LDO are measured to be 0.3 V, 0.04%/V, and 0.46%, respectively. key words: low dropout regulator (LDO), bandgap reference, CMOS