A reference circuit comprising first and second field effect transistors connected to form a first current mirror, and third and fourth field effect transistors connected to form a second current mirror, wherein a property of the first transistor is mismatched relative to the second transistor such that the threshold voltage of the first transistor is significantly higher than the threshold voltage of the second transistor, and the drain current versus gate-source voltage responses of the first and second transistors have substantially different gradients for current levels at which the reference circuit is operated.