Notch filter for ripple reduction in chopper stabilized amplifiers

• US 7,292,095 B2
• Filed: 01/26/2006
• Issued: 11/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Inventors: Zhang, Joy Y., Burt, Rodney T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Choe; Henry
• Application Number:
  US11/340,223
• Publication Number:
  US 20070170981A1
• Time in Patent Office: 649 Days
• Field of Search: 330/9, 330/69, 330/310, 330/98, 330/150, 330/252, 330/260, 327/124, 327/307
• US Class Current: 330/9
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/26 Modifications of amplifiers to reduce influence of noise generated by amplifying elements
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/261 Amplifier which being suitable for instrumentation applications
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/459 Ripple reduction circuitry being used in an amplifying circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/45212 the differential amplifier being designed to have a reduced offset
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/005 using switched capacitors, e.g. dynamic amplifiers; using switched capacitors as resistors in differential amplifiers H03F3/45 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/387 with semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/45968 by offset reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 19/004 Switched capacitor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 2011/0488 Notch or bandstop filters

Abstract

A chopper-stabilized amplifier receiving an input signal includes a first operational transconductance amplifier having an input chopper and an output chopper for chopping an output signal produced by the first operational transconductance amplifier. A switched capacitor notch filter filters the chopped output signal by operating synchronously with the chopping frequency of output chopper to filter ripple voltages that otherwise would be produced by the output chopper. In one embodiment, a second operational transconductance amplifier amplifies the notch filter output. The input signal is fed forward, summed with the output of the second operational transconductance amplifier, and applied to the input of a fourth operational transconductance amplifier. Ripple noise and offset are substantially reduced.

Claims

1. A chopper-stabilized amplifier comprising:

(a) a first operational transconductance amplifier;

(b) first chopper circuitry coupled to an input of the first operational transconductance amplifier for chopping an input signal and applying the chopped input signal to the input of the first operational transconductance amplifier, and second chopper circuitry coupled to an output of the first operational transconductance amplifier for chopping an output signal produced by the first operational transconductance amplifier; and

(c) a switched capacitor notch filter having an input coupled to an output of the second chopper circuitry and performing an integrate and transfer function on a chopped output signal produced by the second chopper circuitry to filter a chopped output signal produced by the second chopper circuitry by operating synchronously with a chopping frequency of the second chopper circuitry to notch filter ripple voltages that otherwise would occur in the output of the second chopper circuitry.

2. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 1 wherein switching of the switched capacitor notch filter is 90 degrees out of phase with the chopping of the output signal produced by the first operational transconductance amplifier.

3. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 1 wherein the integrate and transfer function is performed without loss of signal charge.

4. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 1 including a second operational transconductance amplifier having an input coupled to an output of the notch filter.

5. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 1 wherein the input of the notch filter includes first and second input terminals, wherein the notch filter includes first and second output terminals, and wherein the notch filter includes

i. a first path including a first switch coupled between the first input terminal and a first conductor, a second switch coupled between the first conductor and the first output terminal, a third switch coupled between the second input terminal and a second conductor, and a fourth switch coupled between the second conductor and the second output terminal,

ii. a second path including a fifth switch coupled between the first input terminal and a third conductor, a sixth switch coupled between the third conductor and the first output terminal, a seventh switch coupled between the second input terminal and a fourth conductor, and an eighth switch coupled between the fourth conductor and the second output terminal, and

iii. a first integrate and transfer capacitor coupled between the first and second conductors and a second integrate and transfer capacitor coupled between the third and fourth conductors.

6. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 5 wherein the first, third, sixth and eighth switches are controlled by a first clock signal and the second, fourth, fifth, and seventh switches are controlled by a second clock signal, wherein the first and second clock signals are out of phase with each other.

7. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 6 wherein transitions of the first and second clock signals are shifted with respect to transitions of a chopping signal of the second chopper circuitry.

8. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 7 wherein transitions of the first and second clock signals are shifted by 90 degrees with respect to transitions of a chopping signal of the second chopper circuitry.

9. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 1 wherein the notch filter operates synchronously with a chopping signal of the second chopper circuitry to cause a charge at the input of the notch filter to be integrated onto a first integrate and transfer capacitor during the first clock signal and onto the second integrate and transfer capacitor during the second clock signal and to cause the charge held on the first integrate and transfer capacitor to be transferred to the output of the notch filter during the second clock signal and to cause the charge held on the second integrate and transfer capacitor to be transferred to the output of the notch filter during the first clock signal.

10. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 1 wherein the notch filter operates at the same or lower frequency than the chopping frequency.

11. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 4 including a third operational transconductance amplifier having an input coupled to an output of the second operational transconductance amplifier, and a fourth operational transconductance amplifier having an input coupled to receive the input signal and an output coupled to the output of the second operational transconductance amplifier.

12. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 4 including an operational amplifier having an input coupled to an output of the second operational transconductance amplifier, and a third operational transconductance amplifier having an input coupled to receive the input signal and an output coupled to the output of the second operational transconductance amplifier.

13. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 11 including compensation capacitance coupled on the input side of the notch filter and the output side of the notch filter.

14. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 13 wherein the amount of compensation capacitance coupled on the input side of the notch filter is substantially greater than the amount of compensation capacitance coupled on the output side of the notch filter to provide stability and fast signal settling in the chopper-stabilized amplifier.

15. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 11 wherein no compensation capacitor is coupled to the output of the notch filter.

16. The chopper-stabilized amplifier of claim 11 wherein no compensation capacitor is coupled to the input of the notch filter.

17. A method of operating a chopper-stabilized amplifier including a first operational transconductance amplifier, the method comprising:

(a) chopping an input signal and applying the chopped input signal to the input of the first operational transconductance amplifier, and chopping an output signal produced by the first operational transconductance amplifier at a chopping frequency to produce a chopped output signal; and

(b) operating a switched capacitor notch filter having an input coupled to receive the chopped output signal by performing an integrate and transfer function on a chopped output signal produced by the second chopper circuitry synchronously with the chopping frequency to notch filter ripple voltages that otherwise would occur in the chopped output signal.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein switching of the switched capacitor notch filter is 90 degrees out of phase with the chopping of the output signal produced by the first operational transconductance amplifier.

19. The method of claim 17 including performing the integrate and transfer function without loss of signal charge.

20. A chopper-stabilized amplifier comprising:

(a) a first operational transconductance amplifier;

(b) first chopper circuitry coupled to an input of the first operational transconductance amplifier for chopping an input signal and applying the chopped input signal to the input of the first operational transconductance amplifier, and second chopper circuitry coupled to an output of the first operational transconductance amplifier for chopping an output signal produced by the first operational transconductance amplifier; and

(c) switched capacitor notch filter means having an input coupled to receive the chopped output signal for performing an integrate and transfer function on a chopped output signal produced by the second chopper circuitry synchronously with the chopping frequency to notch filter ripple voltages that otherwise would occur in the chopped output signal.