Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.

Daocheng Huang

Jinghai Zhou

Dianbo Fu

Junjie Feng

Xinmin Zhang

Chao Liu

Tao Zhao

Hang Shao

Xu Han

Fengchun He

Yishi Su

Wenyang Huang

Yuhang Sun

Lijie Jiang

Ming Chen

Wangmiao Hu

Chiahsin Chang

Fangyu Zhang

Faisal Ahmad

Xintong Lyu

Ting Ge

Yingxin Zhou

Cong Deng

Zhe Yang

Odai Alsmadi

Zhao Yuan

A controller for a multiphase switching converter has a logic circuit, to provide a plurality of switching control signals to control the plurality of switching circuits. When as a master controller, the controller provides a first total current signal based on a sum of a plurality of currents flowing through the plurality of switching circuits. When as a slave controller, the controller receives the first total current signal, provides a second total current signal based on the sum of the plurality of currents flowing through the plurality of switching circuits, and turns on the plurality of switching circuits in sequence based on the first total current signal and the second total current signal.

Multiphase switching converter with stackable controllers

A sandwich structure power supply module, having: an inductor pack having at least one inductor; a top PCB (Printed Circuit Board) on top of the inductor pack; and at least one power device chip on top of the top PCB, wherein each one of the power device chips has at least one pin connected to an associated inductor via the top PCB; wherein the inductor pack is wrapped with metal layers, wherein each two metal layers are lied against to a same surface of the inductor pack, with an isolation layer in between, and wherein the two metal layers are connected to different potentials.

Sandwich structure power supply module

A power module includes a first power module and a second power module arranged below the first power module. The first power module includes at least one input pad configured to receive an input voltage and at least one power pad configured to provide an intermediate voltage. The at least one input pad is mounted on a top surface of the first power module, and the at least one power pad is mounted on a bottom surface of the first power module. The second power module includes at least one signal pad configured to receive the intermediate voltage and at least one output pad configured to provide an output voltage. The at least one signal pad is mounted on a top surface of the second power module, and the at least one output pad is mounted on a bottom surface of the second power module.

Sandwich structure power module

A power supply module having at least one inductor modules, a top PCB mounted on top of the at least one inductor modules, and at least one pair of power device chips mounted on top of the top PCB, wherein power pins and signal pins for connecting the top PCB and a board that the at least one inductor modules are attached to, are implemented by metal layers wrapping each of the at least one inductor modules.

A sandwich structure power supply module, having: an inductor pack having a first inductor and a second inductor; a bottom PCB (Printed Circuit Board) at the bottom of the sandwich structure power supply module; a top PCB on top of the inductor pack; a connector coupled between the bottom PCB and the top PCB, coupling solder pads on the bottom PCB to solder pads on the top PCB; and a first and a second power device chips on top of the top PCB, wherein the first power device chip and the second power device chip respectively has at least one pin coupled to the first inductor and the second inductor via the top PCB; wherein each inductor comprises one winding having a first end and a second end bent to and extended at a plane perpendicular to an axis along a length of the winding.

A power module has a printed circuit board (PCB) having an output inductor substrate layer and an output capacitor substrate layer. Power converters of the power module are implemented using monolithic integrated circuit (IC) switch blocks that are mounted on a surface of the power module. Output voltages of the power converters are provided at output voltage nodes. The power converters include output inductors that are embedded within the output inductor substrate layer and output capacitors that are embedded within the output capacitor substrate layer. Embedded output inductors and capacitors are connected to corresponding output voltage nodes.

Power module with output inductors and output capacitors that are embedded within substrate layers

A power module has a substrate with a bottom side and a component side. Power converters of the power module are implemented using monolithic integrated circuit (IC) switch blocks that are mounted on the component side of the substrate. The power converters include output inductors that are disposed within the substrate. An end of an output inductor is connected to a switch node of a monolithic IC switch block and another end of the output inductor is connected to an output voltage node of the power module.

Low-profile power module

A resonant converter has a primary resonant tank circuit and a secondary resonant tank circuit. An inverter circuit converts an input DC voltage received by the resonant converter at an input voltage node to a pulsating signal that is fed to the primary resonant tank circuit to generate a resonant tank current that flows through a primary winding of a transformer. The resonant tank current induces current in a secondary winding of the transformer. The induced current is rectified by a rectifier and the rectified signal is filtered to generate an output DC voltage at an output voltage node. The secondary resonant tank circuit is disposed between the secondary winding of the transformer and the output voltage node, and a tank node of the secondary resonant tank is connected to the primary resonant tank circuit through the inverter circuit.

Resonant converter with multiple resonant tank circuits

A multiphase converter provides an output voltage to a load. The multiphase converter receives a load event signal from the load and turns ON at a same time the phases of the multiphase converter to increase the output voltage in response to the load event signal indicating that a load current drawn by the load from the multiphase converter is about to increase. The multiphase converter increases an impedance of low-side switches of the multiphase converter in response to the load event signal indicating that the load current is about to decrease.

Voltage regulation at load transients

A resonant converter has a primary resonant tank circuit and a secondary resonant tank circuit. An inverter circuit converts an input DC voltage received by the resonant converter at an input voltage node to a pulsating signal that is fed to the primary resonant tank circuit to generate a resonant tank current that flows through a primary winding of a transformer. The resonant tank current induces current in a secondary winding of the transformer. The induced current is rectified by a rectifier and the rectified signal is filtered by an output capacitor to generate an output DC voltage at an output voltage node. The secondary resonant tank circuit is disposed between the input voltage node and the output voltage node to inject odd order harmonics of the operating frequency to the primary tank circuit to shape the resonant tank current.

A hybrid DC-DC converter includes a converter circuit, a bridge circuit with a bridge path that includes a winding of a transformer, and another bridge circuit with a bridge path that includes another winding of the transformer. Current through the bridge path of the other bridge circuit flows through the converter circuit in one direction and bypasses the converter circuit in the other direction. The converter circuit can operate in buck, boost, or buck-boost mode.

Hybrid DC-DC converter

An LLC resonant converter including a transformer, a switching full-bridge circuit, a resonant circuit, and a bridge rectifier. The switching full-bridge circuit has a first pair of switches and a second pair of switches, with the first pair of switches being connected between a DC input voltage and a second end of a secondary winding of the transformer, the second pair of switches being connected between a DC input voltage and a first end of the secondary winding of the transformer.

LLC resonant converter with rectifiers processing partial load current

A trans-inductor voltage regulator (TLVR) circuit has multiple phases and a regulator block for each phase. Each regulator block has a winding of a transformer as an output inductor. The other windings of the transformers are connected in series with a nonlinear compensation inductor. The compensation inductor has a large inductance when the compensation inductor current is responsive to a steady state load current and has a small inductance when the compensation inductor current is responsive to a transient load current.

Trans-inductor voltage regulator with nonlinear compensation inductor

A trans-inductor voltage regulator (TLVR) circuit has multiple phases and a switching circuit for each phase. Each switching circuit has a winding of a transformer as an output inductor. The other windings of the transformers are connected in series with a nonlinear compensation inductor. An on-time period of each switching circuit is reduced when a load transient condition occurs or when a load current starts to be stable after the load transient condition.

Control circuit for multi-phase voltage regulator and associated control method

A voltage regulator has a switching circuit and a control circuit. The switching circuit receives an input voltage and provides an output voltage and an output current. The control circuit provides a control signal to the switching circuit, such that the output voltage is maintained at a clamp voltage level when the output current is lower than a transition current level, and the output voltage decreases as the output current increases when the output current is higher than the transition current level.

Growing community of inventors

Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Daocheng Huang