Radiation-Hardening Technique for Voltage Reference Circuit in a Standard 130 nm CMOS Technology

A radiation-hardening technique for a CMOS voltage reference circuit is proposed. Its operation principle consists in combining linearly two different NMOS threshold voltages and a Proportional-To-Absolute-Temperature (PTAT) voltage, which allows the compensation of both temperature-induced and radiation-induced discrepancies. This circuit was implemented in a standard 130 nm CMOS technology and designed in two different layouts. Measurements show a good operation with a minimal supply voltage of 2.5 V, a PSRR of 80 dB at 3.3 V. The voltage output shift is around 0.5% under irradiation up to 40 krad(Si). The active area of the circuit is about 0.04 mm².