Component for current and voltage amplification

Question

I have a first current-generating circuit that produces an adjustable source/sink current (between + 10 mA and - 10 mA) with an output voltage range of ± 10 V.

I want to amplify this current by a fixed value to reach ± 100 mA as well as increase the maximum voltage output to ± 100 V so that it can deliver this current in typical impedance conditions.

Designing a custom circuit for this is an option but I'm surprised that I can't find any off-the-shelf component that can perform this.

Am I missing something, is there any keyword that would be useful in this search or is just not something that exists off-the-shelf?

Answer 1

Try something like this behavioral model:

^{simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab}

I'll leave the details of design to you, since you know your application space better. At such high compliance voltages and over such potentially high sink/source currents you will certainly have to do some thermal analysis and make adjustments. You'll also need to select appropriate BJTs that can stand off the required voltages (2N5550 and 2N5401 are examples having \$V_\text{CEO}=150\:\text{V}\$ but not necessarily the dissipation requirements.)

I use the above design with a smaller compliance range (\$\pm 60\:\text{V}\$) and for a much smaller range of currents. So I know it works fine.

And no, I do not know of an OTS option in IC form that handles even a \$\pm 80\:\text{V}\$ compliance range for \$-5\:\text{mA} \le I_O \le 5\:\text{mA}\$. If you find one, please let me know.