Compensation for electric drifts of MOS transistors

Abstract

An integrated circuit comprising at least one MOS-type transistor, further comprising a system for detecting the variations of the electrical quantities of the at least one transistor, and a biasing device modifying the bias voltage of the bulk of the at least one transistor according to the variations measured by the detection system.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An integrated circuit comprising:
 at least one MOS-type transistor; 
 a MOS-type monitor transistor; 
 a detector structured to detect a variation of an electrical quantity of said at least one monitor transistor; and 
 a biasing device structured to modify a bias voltage of a bulk of said at least one MOS-type transistor according to the variation measured by the detector, wherein the detector comprises: 
 a MOS-type monitor transistor; 
 a measurement device structured to measure a monitor value of the monitor transistor, wherein the measurement device is formed of a resistor placed between a drain of the monitor transistor and a first voltage reference, a source of the monitor transistor being connected to a second voltage reference, the monitor value being a voltage at a first intermediary node between the drain of the monitor transistor and the resistor of the measurement device; 
 a reference device structured to generate a reference value corresponding to a value which would be measured on the monitor transistor if electric characteristics thereof remained unchanged, wherein the reference device is formed of two resistors placed in series between the first voltage reference and the second voltage reference, and the reference value being a voltage at a second intermediary node between the resistors of the reference device; 
 a comparison device structured to compare the monitor value and a reference values value and measure a value difference between the monitor and reference values, the biasing device being structured to apply to a bulk of the monitor transistor and the bulk of said at least one MOS-type transistor the bias voltage which varies according to the value difference measured by the comparison device; and 
 a control device structured to apply between a gate and the source of the monitor transistor a control voltage representative of a gate-source voltage applied to said at least one MOS-type transistor, wherein the biasing device comprises an NPN-type bipolar transistor and a resistor in series between first and second voltage reference terminals, a first intermediary node between a collector of the bipolar transistor and the resistor of the biasing device being connected to the bulk of the monitor transistor and the bulk of said at least one MOS-type transistor, and a base of the bipolar transistor being connected to an output of the comparison device. 
 
     
     
       2. The integrated circuit of  claim 1 , further comprising a reference device structured to generate a reference value, which corresponds to a value which would be measured on the monitor transistor if electric characteristics thereof remained unchanged, wherein the reference device is formed of two resistors placed in series between a first voltage reference terminal and a second voltage reference terminal, and the reference value being a voltage at a second intermediary node between the resistors of the reference device, wherein the measurement device is formed of a resistor placed between a drain of the monitor transistor and the second voltage reference terminal, wherein the resistor of said measurement device has a resistance value substantially equal to a resistance value of a first one of two resistors of the reference device. 
     
     
       3. The integrated circuit of  claim 2 , wherein a second one of the two resistors of the reference device has a resistance value corresponding to an equivalent source-drain resistance of the monitor transistor for a determined source/gate voltage when the electric characteristics of the monitor transistor remain unchanged. 
     
     
       4. The integrated circuit of claim  1  2, wherein said at least one MOS-type transistor and the monitor transistor are PMOS-type transistors, wherein said first voltage reference terminal is a ground terminal, and wherein the second voltage reference terminal is a supply voltage terminal of the integrated circuit. 
     
     
       5. The integrated circuit of claim  1  2, wherein said at least one MOS-type transistor and the monitor transistor are of NMOS-type, wherein said first voltage reference terminal is a supply voltage terminal of the integrated circuit, and wherein the second voltage reference terminal is a ground terminal. 
     
     
       6. The An integrated circuit of  claim 1 , comprising:
 at least one MOS-type transistor; 
 a MOS-type monitor transistor; 
 a detector structured to detect a variation of an electrical quantity of said monitor transistor; and 
 a biasing device structured to modify a bias voltage of a bulk of said at least one MOS-type transistor according to the variation measured by the detector, wherein the detector comprises:
 a measurement device structured to measure a monitor value of the monitor transistor; 
 a comparison device structured to compare the monitor value and a reference value and measure a value difference between the monitor and reference values, the biasing device being structured to apply to a bulk of the monitor transistor and the bulk of said at least one transistor the bias voltage which varies according to the value difference measured by the comparison device; and 
 a control device structured to apply between a gate and the source of the monitor transistor a control voltage representative of a gate-source voltage applied to said at least one MOS-type transistor, wherein the comparison device comprises first and second branches, each formed of a branch resistor and of NMOS-type first and second transistors, the branch resistor being placed between the supply a first voltage reference terminal and a drain of the first transistor, a source of the first transistor being connected to a drain of the second transistor and a source of the second transistor being grounded coupled to a second voltage reference terminal, the two second transistors having gates connected to each other as well as to the drain of the second transistor of the first branch, the first transistors having gates respectively connected to the first an intermediary node between the resistor measurement device and the monitor transistor of the measurement device and to the second intermediary node between the two resistors of the reference device a node configured to provide the reference value, the second transistor of the second branch having a drain forming an output of the comparison device and being connected to the biasing device. 
 
 
     
     
       7. The integrated circuit of  claim 1 , wherein the biasing device comprises an NPN-type bipolar transistor and a resistor in series between the supply voltage and the ground, a third intermediary node between a collector of the bipolar transistor and the resistor of the biasing device being connected to the bulk of the monitor transistor and the bulk of said at least one transistor, and a base of the bipolar transistor being connected to the output of the comparison device. 
     
     
       8. The integrated circuit of claim  7  1, wherein the control voltage is constant. 
     
     
       9. The integrated circuit of claim  7  1, wherein the control voltage is, outside of phases of measurement by the measurement device, equal to a gate/source voltage applied to said at least one transistor and equal, in phases of measurement by the measurement device, to a predefined constant voltage. 
     
     
       10. An integrated circuit comprising:
 a monitored first transistor having a gate, source, drain, and bulk; 
 a monitor second transistor coupled to the monitored first transistor and having a gate, source, drain, and bulk; 
 a detector structured to detect a variation of an electrical quantity of the monitor first transistor; and 
 a biasing device structured to modify a bias voltage of the bulk of the monitored second transistor according to the variation detected by the detector, wherein the detector includes: 
 a measurement device structured to measure a monitor value of the monitor first transistor; 
 a reference device structured to generate a reference value corresponding to an initial monitor value of the monitor, the reference device including first and second resistances connected to one another at a first intermediary node; 
 a comparator comparison device connected to the measurement device and the first intermediary node and structured to measure a value difference between the monitor value and a reference values value, the biasing device applying being structured to apply to a the bulk of the monitor first transistor and the bulk of the monitored second transistor the bias voltage which varies according to the value difference measured by the comparator comparison device; and 
 a control device structured to apply between the gate and source of the monitor first transistor a control voltage representative of a gate-source voltage applied to the monitored second transistor, wherein the control voltage is a constant voltage during a measurement phase in which the detector detects the variation of the electrical quantity and the control voltage is equal to the gate/source voltage applied to the second transistor when not in the measurement phase. 
 
     
     
       11. The integrated circuit of  claim 10 , wherein the control voltage is constant. 
     
     
       12. The integrated circuit of  claim 10 , wherein the control voltage is a constant voltage during a measurement phase in which the detector detects the variation of the electrical quantity and the control voltage is equal to a gate/source voltage applied to the monitored transistor when not in the measurement phase. 
     
     
       13. The An integrated circuit of  claim 10 , comprising:
 a first transistor having a gate, source, drain, and bulk; 
 a second transistor coupled to the first transistor and having a gate, source, drain, and bulk; 
 a detector structured to detect a variation of an electrical quantity of the first transistor; and 
 a biasing device structured to modify a bias voltage of the bulk of the second transistor according to the variation detected by the detector, wherein the detector includes: 
 a measurement device structured to measure a monitor value of the first transistor; 
 a comparison device connected to the measurement device and structured to measure a value difference between the monitor value and a reference value, the biasing device being structured to apply to the bulk of the first transistor and the bulk of the second transistor the bias voltage which varies according to the value difference measured by the comparator; 
 a control device structured to apply between the gate and source of the first transistor a control voltage representative of a gate-source voltage applied to the second transistor; and 
 a reference device structured to generate a reference value corresponding to an initial monitor value of the monitor value, the reference device including first and second resistances connected to one another at a first intermediary node, wherein the measurement device includes a resistor connected in series with the monitor first transistor between first and second supply voltage terminals, and wherein the first and second resistances are in series between the first and second supply voltage terminals, the monitor value being a voltage at a second intermediary node between the monitor first transistor and the resistor of the measurement device, and the reference value being a voltage at the first intermediary node. 
 
     
     
       14. The integrated circuit of  claim 13 , wherein the comparator comparison device comprises:
 a first branch that includes a first branch resistor and first and second branch transistors, the first branch resistor being connected between the first supply voltage terminal and the first branch transistor, the first branch transistor having a gate coupled to the second intermediary node, and the second branch transistor being connected between the first branch transistor and the second supply voltage terminal and having a gate and a conduction terminal coupled to one another; and 
 a second branch that includes a second branch resistor and third and fourth branch transistors, the second branch resistor being connected between the first supply voltage terminal and the third branch transistor, the third branch transistor having a gate coupled to the first intermediary node, and the fourth branch transistor being connected between the third branch transistor and the second supply voltage terminal and having a gate coupled to the gate of the second branch transistor, and a conduction terminal forming an output of the comparison device and being connected to the biasing device. 
 
     
     
       15. The integrated circuit of  claim 14 , wherein the biasing device comprises a bipolar transistor and a resistor in series between the first and second supply voltage terminals, a third intermediary node between the bipolar transistor and the resistor of the biasing device being connected to the bulk of the monitor first transistor and the bulk of the monitored second transistor, and a base of the bipolar transistor being connected to the output of the comparison device. 
     
     
       16. The integrated circuit of  claim 10 , wherein the monitored first transistor and the monitor second transistor are PMOS transistors. 
     
     
       17. An integrated circuit comprising:
 a monitored first transistor having a gate, source, drain, and bulk; 
 a monitor second transistor coupled to the monitored first transistor and having a gate, source, drain, and bulk; and 
 a detector structured to detect a variation of an electrical quantity of the monitorfirst transistor, the detector including: 
 a measurement device structured to measure a monitor value of the monitor first transistor; 
 a reference device generating configured to generate a reference value corresponding to an initial monitor value of the monitor value, the reference device including first and second resistances connected to one another at a first intermediary node; 
 a comparator comparison device connected to the measurement device and the first intermediary node and structured to measure a value difference between the monitor value and a reference values value; and 
 a control device structured to apply between the gate and source of the monitor first transistor a control voltage representative of a gate-source voltage applied to the monitored second transistor, wherein: 
 the measurement device includes a resistor connected in series with the first transistor between first and second supply voltage terminals, and wherein the first and second resistances are in series between the first and second supply voltage terminals, the monitor value being a voltage at a second intermediary node between the first transistor and the resistor of the measurement device, and the reference value being a voltage at the first intermediary node; and 
 the comparison device comprises:
 a first branch that includes a first branch resistor and first and second branch transistors, the first branch resistor being connected between the first supply voltage terminal and the first branch transistor, the first branch transistor having a gate coupled to the second intermediary node, and the second branch transistor being connected between the first branch transistor and the second supply voltage terminal and having a gate and a conduction terminal coupled to one another; and 
 a second branch that includes a second branch resistor and third and fourth branch transistors, the second branch resistor being connected between the first supply voltage terminal and the third branch transistor, the third branch transistor having a gate coupled to the first intermediary node, and the fourth branch transistor being connected between the third branch transistor and the second supply voltage terminal and having a gate coupled to the gate of the second branch transistor, and a conduction terminal forming an output of the comparison device. 
 
 
     
     
       18. The integrated circuit of  claim 17 , further comprising a biasing device structured to modify a bias voltage of the bulk of the monitored second transistor according to the variation detected by the detector. 
     
     
       19. The An integrated circuit of  claim 17 , comprising:
 a first transistor having a gate, source, drain, and bulk; 
 a second transistor coupled to the first transistor and having a gate, source, drain, and bulk; and 
 a detector structured to detect a variation of an electrical quantity of the first transistor, the detector including: 
 a measurement device structured to measure a monitor value of the first transistor; 
 a comparison device connected to the measurement device and structured to measure a value difference between the monitor value and a reference value; and 
 a control device structured to apply between the gate and source of the first transistor a control voltage representative of a gate-source voltage applied to the second transistor wherein the control voltage is a constant voltage during a measurement phase in which the detector detects the variation of the electrical quantity and the control voltage is equal to a the gate/source voltage applied to the monitored second transistor when not in the measurement phase. 
 
     
     
       20. The integrated circuit of  claim 17 , wherein the measurement device includes a resistor connected in series with the monitor transistor between first and second supply voltage terminals, and wherein the first and second resistances are in series between the first and second supply voltage terminals, the monitor value being a voltage at a second intermediary node between the monitor transistor and the resistor of the measurement device, and the reference value being a voltage at the first intermediary node. 
     
     
       21. The integrated circuit of  claim 20 , wherein the comparator comprises:
 a first branch that includes a first branch resistor and first and second transistors, the first branch resistor being connected between the first supply voltage terminal and the first transistor, the first transistor having a gate coupled to the second intermediary node, and the second transistor being connected between the first transistor and the second supply voltage terminal and having a gate and a conduction terminal coupled to one another; and   a second branch that includes a second branch resistor and third and fourth transistors, the second branch resistor being connected between the first supply voltage terminal and the third transistor, the third transistor having a gate coupled to the first intermediary node, and the fourth transistor being connected between the third transistor and the second supply voltage terminal and having a gate coupled to the gate of the second transistor, and a conduction terminal forming an output of the comparison device and being connected to the biasing device.   
     
     
       22. An integrated circuit, comprising
 at least one MOS-type transistor;   a MOS-type monitor transistor;   a detector structured to detect a variation of an electrical quantity of said monitor transistor;   a biasing device structured to modify a bias voltage of a bulk of said at least one MOS-type transistor according to the variation measured by the detector, wherein the detector comprises:
 a measurement device structured to measure a monitor value of the monitor transistor; 
 a comparison device structured to compare the monitor value and a reference value and measure a value difference between the monitor and reference values, the biasing device being structured to apply to a bulk of the monitor transistor and the bulk of said at least one MOS-type transistor the bias voltage which varies according to the value difference measured by the comparison device; and 
 a control device structured to apply between a gate and the source of the monitor transistor a control voltage representative of a gate-source voltage applied to said at least one MOS-type transistor; and 
   a reference device structured to generate the reference value, which corresponds to a value which would be measured on the monitor transistor if electric characteristics thereof remained unchanged, wherein the reference device is formed of two resistors placed in series between a first voltage reference terminal and a second voltage reference terminal, and the reference value being a voltage at an intermediary node between the resistors of the reference device.   
     
     
       23. The integrated circuit of claim 22, wherein the measurement device is formed of a resistor placed between a drain of the monitor transistor and the second voltage reference terminal, a source of the monitor transistor being connected to the first voltage reference terminal, the monitor value being a voltage at a first intermediary node between the drain of the monitor transistor and the resistor of the measurement device. 
     
     
       24. A method of compensating for drift of an electric quantity of a first transistor of an integrated circuit, the first transistor having a bulk, the method comprising:
 detecting a variation of an electrical quantity of a second transistor of the integrated circuit, the detecting including detecting a monitor value of the second transistor;   comparing the monitor value with a reference value that reflects an initial value of the second transistor;   modifying a bias voltage of the bulk of the first transistor according to the detected variation; and   applying to the second transistor a gate-source control voltage representative of a gate-source voltage applied to the first transistor, wherein detecting the monitor value includes:   measuring the monitor value using a measurement device formed of a resistor placed between a drain of the monitor transistor and a first voltage reference, a source of the monitor transistor being connected to a second voltage reference, the monitor value being a voltage at a first intermediary node between the drain of the monitor transistor and the resistor of the measurement device.   
     
     
       25. The method of claim 24, further comprising modifying a bias voltage of a bulk of the second transistor according to the detected variation. 
     
     
       26. The method of claim 24 wherein the first and second transistors are PMOS transistors. 
     
     
       27. A method of compensating for drift of an electric quantity of a first transistor of an integrated circuit, the first transistor having a bulk, the method comprising:
 detecting a variation of an electrical quantity of a second transistor of the integrated circuit, the detecting including detecting a monitor value of the second transistor;   comparing the monitor value with a reference value that reflects an initial value of the second transistor;   modifying a bias voltage of the bulk of the first transistor according to the detected variation;   applying to the second transistor a gate-source control voltage representative of a gate-source voltage applied to the first transistor;   generating the reference value, which corresponds to an initial monitor value of the second transistor, using a reference device that includes first and second resistances connected to one another at a first intermediary node; and   measuring a value difference between the monitor value and the reference value, wherein modifying the bias voltage of the bulk of the first transistor includes modifying the bias voltage of the bulk of the first transistor based on the measured value difference.