Freescale Semiconductor,inc.

Nxp Usa, Inc.

L'institut National Polytechnique De Toulouse

Institut National Polytechnique De Toulouse

Eric Pierre Rolland

Patrice Besse

Jean Philippe Laine

Philippe Goyhenetche

Marc Michel Cousineau

Miguel Mannes Hillesheim

Guillaume Jacques Léon Aulagnier

Maxime Clairet

Philippe Givelin

Jean-Philippe Laine

Thierry Laplagne

Yean Ling Teo

Philippe Mounier

Guillaume Founaud

Franck Galtie

Bernard Pechaud

Salem Boudjelel

A controller is disclosed for a voltage regulator module including a power unit and providing an output current, I, at an output voltage, V, from an input current/voltage and being configured for use in a multi-module voltage regulator having a neighbouring voltage regulator module having a respective output connected in parallel, the controller comprising: a reference voltage source for providing a reference voltage; a current balancing unit, configured to receive a respective output current from the or each neighbouring voltage regulator module and to determine an adjusted reference voltage, from the reference voltage and for balancing the output current with the at least one respective output current; and a control unit configured to use the adjusted reference voltage to control the voltage regulator module, to provide the output current at the output voltage from the input current at the input voltage, based on adaptive voltage positioning regulation.

Distributed control of a voltage regulator

A power management integrated circuit comprises a modular interleaved clock generator comprising a plurality of interconnected modular elements, each element constructed to generate and output a clock signal, and each one comprising: a phase port high input; a phase port low input; a clock input; and a bypass switch coupled between the phase port high input and the phase port low input, wherein in response to the bypass switch of at least one of the plurality of elements in a closed state, the phase port high inputs or the phase port low inputs of the remaining elements absent the at least one interleaving controller having the bypass switch in the closed state each receives a voltage that interleaves the clock signals output from the remaining active elements to have an interleaving arrangement that includes equal phase delays.

Modular interleaving techniques for scalable power electronics converter

A controller for a switched mode power converter (SMPC) module for use in a multiphase SCMP is disclosed, comprising: a signal generator, configured to generate a periodic signal and a clock, both having a frequency and a signal phase, and for controlling the switched mode power converter module; a first-clock and second-clock inputs configured to receive respective first-clock and second-clock signal having the frequency and respective first and second phases from neighbouring controllers; and wherein the signal generator comprises a phase adjustment circuit configured to adjust the phase of the periodic signal so as to be equidistant from the first and second phase, wherein the phase adjustment circuit determines an error signal in dependence on an offset between the phase and a mid-point between the first phase and the second phase, and a feedback circuit configured to adjust the phase in dependence on the error signal.

Distributed interleaving control of multiphase SMPCs

An integrated circuit comprising: an input terminal configured to receive a failure-event-signal representative of a failure event; a first output terminal configured to provide a first-failure-signal; and a second output terminal configured to provide a second-failure-signal; and a processing block configured to: set the first-failure-signal based on the failure-event-signal; and set the second-failure-signal, at a predetermined time interval after the first-failure-signal is set. The processing block further comprises a switch configured selectively, based on a received digital-error-signal to either: set the second-failure-signal based on a digital-counter-output-signal; or set the second-failure-signal based on an analogue-trigger-signal.

Safety circuit for an electrical system

An ESD protection circuit and device structure comprises five transistors, two PNP and three NPN. The five transistors are coupled together so that a first NPN and PNP pair constitute a first silicon controlled rectifier, SCR. The NPN transistorof the first SCR and a third transistor of NPN type are coupled so that they constitute a Darlington pair. A further NPN and PNP pair are coupled together to form a second SCR with the collector of the PNP transistor of the first SCR being coupled with the emitter of the PNP transistor of the second SCR. The circuit is particularly suitable for high voltage triggering applications and two or more devices may be cascaded in series in order to further increase the triggering voltage.

Electrostatic discharge protection circuits and structures and methods of manufacture

An electrostatic discharge protection apparatus comprises a stack arrangement having a first electrostatic discharge protection element and a second electrostatic discharge protection element. The stack arrangement is arranged to provide a bias potential between the first and second electrostatic discharge protection elements. In one embodiment, the bias potential can be achieved by a clamp arrangement coupled across the stack arrangement.

Electrostatic discharge protection apparatus and method therefor

A self-bootstrap driving circuit includes a first input receiving a first control signal; an output, to which a load having an electro-inductive component may be connected; a power switch having first and second current terminals and a control terminal, and being arranged to drive power from a power supply terminal to the load; a bootstrap circuitry arranged to drive the control terminal of the power switch based on the control signal; and a current path between the electro-inductive component of the load and the control terminal of the switch, said current path being arranged to provide direct transfer from said electro-inductive component to said control terminal of the switch of an overvoltage generated at the electro-inductive component to provide an overdrive voltage to said control terminal of the switch.

Self-bootstrap driving circuit and DC-DC converter

An integrated circuit comprising voltage modulation circuitry arranged to convert an input voltage level at an input node to an output voltage level at an output node. The voltage modulation circuitry comprises a switching element arranged to connect the input node to the output node when in an ON condition, and switching control module operably coupled to the switching element and arranged to control the connection of the input node to the output node by the switching element in accordance with a switching frequency. The voltage modulation circuitry further comprises frequency control module operably coupled to the switching control module and arranged to receive an indication of the input voltage level at the input node, and to configure the switching frequency based at least partly on the input voltage level indication.

Integrated circuit comprising voltage modulation circuitry and method threfor

A detection circuit for an alternator regulator, and method therefor. The detection circuit comprises an input circuit arranged to receive a phase signal from an alternator regulator and to output an attenuated sense signal representative of the received phase signal, a detection component operably coupled to the input circuit and arranged to receive the attenuated sense signal output by the input circuit, and a blocking capacitance operably coupled between the input circuit and the detection component and arranged to block a DC component of the attenuated sense signal. The detection component is arranged to compare the received attenuated sense signal to at least one reference voltage signal, and to output a signal representative of a frequency of the phase signal from the alternator regulator based at least partly on the comparison of the received attenuated sense signal to the at least one reference voltage signal.

Method and apparatus for detecting a state of an alternator regulator

A voltage regulation apparatus comprises a plurality of individually switchable current sources coupled to an output for coupling the voltage regulation apparatus to an external load. The output is monitored using a bridge divider and a comparator. The bridge divider generates a feedback voltage, that is compared with a reference voltage, representative of a target voltage to be maintained at the output, when loaded. A digital sequencer unit is coupled to the comparator and responds to the comparator to increase or decrease a number of the plurality of individually switchable current sources activated, thereby causing a collective current generated by the activated number of the plurality of individually switchable current sources to converge on a load current, demanded by the external load.

Voltage regulation apparatus and method of varying a number of current sources to provide a regulated voltage

An integrated circuit device comprises at least one clock monitor. The at least one clock monitor comprises a timer arranged to receive a clock signal, generate a first timing signal arranged to toggle between states in response to a trigger edge of the clock signal, and generate a second timing signal arranged to toggle between states in response to a trigger edge of the clock signal such that a state transition of the second timing signal in response to a trigger edge of the clock signal is delayed by a period T with respect to the trigger edge of the clock signal in response to which that transition occurs. The at least one clock monitor further comprises a detector arranged to receive at a first input thereof the first timing signal, receive at a second input thereof the second timing signal, compare states of the first and second timing signals, and configure an indication of a timing discrepancy based at least partly on the comparison of the first and second timing signals.

Integrated circuit device, electronic device and method for detecting timing violations within a clock signal

An integrated circuit (IC) device including an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection network for a high voltage application. The ESD protection network includes a common diode structure coupled between an external contact of the IC device and a substrate of the IC device, such that the common diode structure is forward biased towards the external contact, a Darlington transistor structure coupled between the external contact and the substrate of the IC device, and the Darlington transistor structure includes: an emitter node coupled to the external contact; a collector node coupled to the substrate; and a base node coupled between the emitter node of the Darlington transistor structure and the common diode structure. The at least one ESD protection network further comprises an isolation diode structure coupled between the emitter node and the base node of the Darlington transistor structure such that the isolation diode structure is forward biased towards the base node.

Growing community of inventors

Grepiac, France

Eric Pierre Rolland