Apple Inc.

Hubert Attah

Sanjay Pant

Fabio Gozzini

Wenxun Huang

Jonathan F Bolus

Shawn Searles

Jay B Fletcher

Hao Zhou

Alberto Alessandro Angelo Puggelli

Vincent R Von Kaenel

Bo Yang

Nir Dahan

Olivier Girard

Karthik Manickam

Erick Omar Torres

Floyd L Dankert

Ofir Gilad

Yue Wen

Georg Diebel

Koushik Vaithyanathan

Alberto Puggelli

A power converter with slew rate detection is disclosed. A power converter comprises a plurality of phase circuits coupled to a regulated power supply line via corresponding ones of a plurality of inductors. A first control loop generates, using digital samples and based on comparisons of a reference voltage to a voltage on the regulated power supply line, a first plurality of control signals. A second control loop, using the digital samples, generates a second plurality of control signals based on a rate of change of the voltage of the regulated power supply line. The second control loop causes the first control loop to control the plurality of phase circuits in response to detecting that the rate of change is within a specified range, and causes the second control loop to control the plurality of phase circuits, in response to detecting that the rate of change exceeds the specified range.

Slew rate detection in power converter with digital current mode control

A voltage regulator circuit included in a computer system may include multiple phase circuits coupled to a regulated power supply line via corresponding one of multiple inductors. The phase circuits may modify a voltage level of the regulated power supply line using respective control signals generated by a digital control circuit that processes multiple data bits. An analog-to-digital converter circuit may compare the voltage level of the regulated power supply node to multiple reference voltage levels and sample the resultant comparisons to generate the multiple data bits.

Digital current mode control for multi-phase voltage regulator circuits

A power converter circuit included in a computer system regulates a power supply voltage used by other circuits in the computer system. During operation, the power converter circuit monitors the load current, and, in response to a transient in the load current, switches regulation modes to adapt to the new load conditions. Upon a detection of the end of the transient in the load current, the power converter returns to its original regulation mode.

Transient compensation for power converter circuits

An apparatus includes a control circuit and a voltage regulator circuit coupled to a regulated power supply node. The voltage regulator circuit is configured to generate a power signal on the regulated power supply node using a reference voltage level. The apparatus further includes a control circuit that is configured to determine an operating mode using results of a comparison of a threshold value and a load current being drawn from the regulated power supply node by a load circuit. The control circuit may be further configured to set, in a first operating mode, the reference voltage level independently of the load current, and set, in a second operating mode, the reference voltage level using the load current.

Multiphase power converter with different voltage positioning per phase

A voltage regulator circuit included in a computer system may generate a voltage level on a power supply signal using a source power supply signal and based initial values of one or more operation parameters derived from wafer-level test data. One or more operation characteristics of the voltage regulator circuit may be sampled, by a measurement circuit, at multiple time points to generated measurement data. A control circuit may adapt operation of the voltage regulator circuit based on the measurement data.

Computer system power monitoring

A voltage regulator circuit included in a computer system may include multiple phase circuits each coupled to a regulated power supply node via a corresponding inductor. The phase circuits may modify a voltage level of the regulated power supply node using respective control signals generated by a digital control circuit that processes multiple data bits. An analog-to-digital converter circuit may compare the voltage level of the regulated power supply node to multiple reference voltage levels and sample the resultant comparisons to generate the multiple data bits.

A power converter circuit that includes a switch node coupled to a regulated power supply node via an inductor is configured to regulate a voltage level of a power supply node using a particular one of multiple available operating modes. In response to receiving a command to reduce the voltage level of the power supply node, the power converter circuit begins to reduce the voltage level of the power supply node, while autonomously selecting different ones of available operating modes. The power converter circuit may compare to the voltage level of the power supply node to boundary levels and select a different operating mode when the voltage level of the power supply node exceeds one of the boundaries. By switching operating modes during the negative slew of the voltage level of the power supply node, the power converter may maintain a target efficiency during the reduction in voltage.

Negative slew rate control for power converters

An apparatus is disclosed, including a driver circuit, a comparator circuit, and a counter circuit. The driver circuit may be configured to source a current to a load circuit. The comparator circuit may be configured to perform a comparison of a reference voltage to a voltage across the load circuit. The counter circuit may be configured to modify a digital count value based on the comparison. The driver circuit may be further configured to adjust a value of the current using the digital count value.

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Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Hubert Attah