What is a Current Reference?

A voltage/current reference is an electronic device that produces a fixed (constant) voltage/current irrespective of the loading on the device, power supply variations, temperature changes, the passage of time and eventual manufacturing errors.

Voltage/current references are used in power supplies, analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analog converters, and other measurement and control systems. Voltage/current references vary widely in performance; a regulator for a computer power supply may only hold its value to within a few per cent of the nominal value, whereas laboratory voltage standards have precisions and stability measured in parts per million.