Radiation-Hardened Bandgap Voltage and Current Reference for Space Applications with 2.38 ppm/°C Temperature Coefficient

This paper describes a radiation-hardened bandgap voltage reference (BGR) for space applications. The BGR has a second-order curvature compensation and can deliver a stable output voltage and current for N-type and P-type loads through internal resistors or, optionally, through an external precision resistor. The circuit includes three 8-bit trimming resistive ladders for post-fabrication calibration of the temperature compensation slope, output voltage, and output current value. The circuit is designed for reliable performance in space application, considering process, voltage, and temperature variations and the impact of single-event transients and total ionizing dose. The BGR was designed in a 180 nm silicon-on-insulator CMOS technology, using radiation-hardened devices to provide a 1.25 V reference voltage and a 20 μA current reference, and occupies a 920×430 μm
²
area. After trimming, the nominal post-layout simulation over the temperature range of −40 to 125°C shows the BGR achieving a 2.7 ppm/°C temperature coefficient, 6.13 ppm/°C in the worst case.