In electronic circuits, a programmable gain amplifier is an electronic amplifier that has a gain on its output signal that can be controlled by an external digital signal or an external analog signal. The realized gain of the programmable gain amplifier can differ from the intended gain due to process variations, voltage variations, and/or temperature variations. Therefore, it can be difficult to design a programmable gain amplifier that operates as intended over a multitude of operating conditions.
Since the various variations are not known to the external device(s) that control the gain of the programmable gain amplifier, attempts to control the gain have to be made without knowledge of the variations that are experienced by the programmable gain amplifier. Therefore, in an attempt to compensate for the various variations, a programmable gain amplifier is usually overdesigned in order to function satisfactorily over as many variation considerations as possible. This overdesign can include finer gain steps and a larger range of gain programmability. Further, such overdesign of programmable gain amplifiers can result in larger components and/or more components, which has a corresponding increased power consumption due to the overdesign as well as a larger footprint (e.g., a larger device).
The above-described deficiencies of conventional approaches to electronic circuits and programmable gain amplifier design are merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of conventional approaches and techniques, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with conventional circuits and techniques, and corresponding benefits of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein may become further apparent upon review of the following description.