A Widlar current source is a modification of the basic two-transistor current mirror that incorporates an emitter degeneration resistor for only the output transistor, enabling the current source to generate low currents using only moderate resistor values.
The Widlar circuit may be used with bipolar transistors, MOS transistors, and even vacuum tubes. An example application is the 741 operational amplifier, and Widlar used the circuit as a part in many designs.
This circuit is named after its inventor, Bob Widlar, and was patented in 1967.
Read more about Widlar Current Source: Analysis, Design Procedure With Specified Currents, Finding The Current With Given Resistor Values, Output Impedance
Famous quotes containing the words current and/or source:
“If the current is right, one can drift to success.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“When the object is perceived as particular and unique and not merely the member of a family, when it appears independent of any general notion and detached from the sanity of a cause, isolated and inexplicable in the light of ignorance, then and only then may it be a source of enchantment.”
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)