An active inductor with a smaller voltage drop with respect to the power supply voltage of an integrated circuit can be realized by an active inductor which is biased from a voltage higher than the power supply voltage, the higher voltage being generatable on the integrated circuit. Advantageously, more headroom is left for the amplifying circuit coupled to the active inductor to operate properly than with prior art active inductors. Furthermore, by not simply operating the entire active inductor from a higher voltage, the power dissipation remains the same as if the active inductor were connected as in the prior art only to the power supply voltage, and the task of generating the voltage higher than the power supply voltage is simplified, because only leakage current, e.g., nanoamps, is required.