The concept of operational rank extractor

An operational rank extractor (ORE) is introduced in this paper as an operational amplifier having rank extractors at its inputs. This versatile building block can implement a variety of nonlinear transfer functions such as a dead-zone amplifier, a limiter, a full-wave rectifier, and a tri-state comparator (including hysteretic behavior). A 6-input circuit has been implemented in a 2 mu m CMOS process. The total silicon area is 460 \times 100 mu m(2), and the circuit dissipates 0.7 mW from a single 5 V supply. Various circuit configurations are analyzed theoretically, and experimental results are also provided.