The invention provides a temperature reference circuit that is adapted to provide a .DELTA.V.sub.be of sufficiently large value that no amplification is required, and therefore any offset contribution is not gained. Using a stacked arrangement of three pairs of transistors, the invention reduces the requirement for multiple resistors within a circuit and can therefore minimize errors due to resistor matching and value. By driving at least some of the transistors with a proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT) current it is possible to ensure that the .DELTA.V.sub.be as a temperature sensitive variable.