Silicon Laboratories Inc.

Silicon Labs Cp, Inc.

Zilker Labs, Inc.

Intersil Americas Inc.

Cygnal Integrated Products, Inc.

Keterex, Inc.

Kenneth Wilson Fernald

Donald E Alfano

Paul Highley

Douglas S Piasecki

Douglas R Holberg

Danny Joe Allred

Ka Yin Leung

Brian Caloway

Axel Thomsen

Thomas Saroshan David

James Warren Templeton

Brent Wilson

John A Wishneusky

Mohamed M Elsayed

Scott Willingham

Pavel Konecny

Praveen Kallam

Douglas Edward Heineman

Alvin Chuck Storvik

Kartika Prihadi

Jinwen Xiao

Paul Zavalney

Phillip Matthews

James Dub Austin

Alvin C Storvik, Ii

Johnny Gudmund Bjornsen

Imranul Islam

Alan Storvik

Alan Lee Westwick

Matthew Powell

Marty Lynn Pflum

Dazhi Wei

Mark A Alexander

Gang Yuan

Chester Yu

Aaron Shreeve

Scott Kelly Herrington

Michael Keith Odland

Kenneth Alan Berringer

Erik Pankratz

Hegong Wei

Kris Dehnel

Pedro Pachuca

Milton Martin Hood, Jr

An apparatus includes a temperature measurement circuit. The temperature measurement circuit includes a bandgap circuit including an amplifier having an offset voltage that is compensated by using a set of trimming bits. The bandgap circuit provides first and second voltages related to a temperature to be measured. The temperature measurement circuit further includes a measuring circuit coupled to receive the first and second voltages. The measuring circuit further includes a comparator coupled to receive the first and second voltages, wherein the measuring circuit derives a temperature measurement from the first and second voltages.

Apparatus for sensing temperature in electronic circuitry and associated methods

An apparatus includes a circuit that has a normal mode of operation and a low-power mode of operation. The circuit consumes more power in the normal mode of operation than in the low-power mode of operation. The apparatus further includes a power-supply circuit. The power-supply circuit provides a normal supply voltage to the circuit in the normal mode of operation. The power-supply circuit includes a non-linear circuit to provide a compressed supply voltage to the circuit in the low-power mode of operation, wherein the normal supply voltage is greater than the compressed supply voltage.

Apparatus for power consumption reduction in electronic circuitry and associated methods

An apparatus includes a communication circuit coupled to a communication link, a wakeup detector, and a power control circuit. The communication circuit has a first state and a second state. The power consumption of the communication circuit is lower in the second state than in the first state. The wakeup detector is coupled to the communication link. The wakeup detector generates a wakeup signal to cause the communication circuit to make a transition from the second state to the first state in response to an occurrence of an event on the communication link. The power control circuit selectively supplies power to the communication circuit in response to the wakeup signal.

Low-power communication apparatus with wakeup detection and associated methods

An apparatus includes a slew rate regulation circuit, a plurality of switches and a controller circuit. The controller circuit controls the plurality of switches to decouple a first source supply voltage from a supply rail; control the plurality of switches to couple a second source supply voltage to the supply rail to replace the first source supply voltage with the second source supply voltage; and control the slew rate regulation circuit to regulate a slew rate of a voltage of the supply rail during a time interval in which the first source supply voltage is being replaced with the second source supply voltage.

Slew-rate controlled supply voltage switching

An apparatus includes a circuit that includes a communication circuit to communicate information via a link using two communication modes. In the first communication mode, the communication circuit communicates information using a communication protocol. In the second communication mode, the communication circuit communicates information without triggering communication using the communication protocol.

Communication apparatus with direct control and associated methods

An apparatus includes an integrated circuit (IC). The IC includes a current source, to sink or source an output current, in response to a control signal, and a switch-capacitor resistor coupled to the current source. The apparatus further includes a controller coupled to derive the control signal from a voltage across the switch-capacitor resistor, the controller further to provide a switch control signal to the switch-capacitor resistor.

Apparatus for electric current measurement or calibration and associated methods

An apparatus includes an integrated circuit (IC). The IC includes a differencing comparator. The differencing comparator receives a differential input signal. The differencing comparator compares the differential input signal to a threshold value. The differencing comparator includes a transconductance circuit coupled to receive the differential input signal and to provide a differential output signal.

Apparatus for differencing comparator and associated methods

A method includes providing supply voltages to a supply voltage switching circuit that controls routing of the supply voltages to power consuming circuitry associated with the supply voltage switching circuit. The method includes comparing the supply voltages, including using at least one relatively lower precision comparator to compare the supply voltages for a relatively large difference between the supply voltages; and using at least one relatively higher precision comparator to compare the supply voltages for a relatively smaller difference between the supply voltages. The method further includes, based on a result of comparing the supply voltages, selectively coupling the supply voltages to at least one of an isolation well and a power supply rail of the supply voltage switching circuit.

Maximum supply voltage selection

A signal gating circuit includes a logic circuit that receives a stop signal and an input signal and provides an intermediate signal in response, and a pulse stretcher. The pulse stretcher provides an output signal with no pulse when a width of a pulse of the intermediate signal is less than a first amount, with a pulse having a first pulse width that begins after a start of the pulse of the intermediate signal and ends at a predetermined delay thereafter when a pulse width of the intermediate signal is greater than the first amount but less than a second amount, and with a pulse having a second pulse width that begins after the start of the pulse of the intermediate signal and ends after an end of the pulse of the intermediate signal when a pulse width of the intermediate signal is greater than the second amount.

Signal gating circuit for use in digital circuits and method therefor

An apparatus includes a first set of circuits adapted to operate in a first mode of operation of the apparatus. The apparatus further includes a second set of circuits adapted to operate in a second mode of operation of the apparatus, where a power consumption of the apparatus is lower in the second mode of operation of the apparatus than in the first mode of operation of the apparatus. The apparatus also includes a charge pump adapted to convert a first supply voltage of the apparatus to a second supply voltage, and the second supply voltage powers the second set of circuits.

Charge pump for low power consumption apparatus and associated methods

In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a controller to control a voltage regulator. The controller may have a first comparator circuit to compare a first reference voltage to a feedback voltage. In turn, the first comparator circuit may include: a first comparator having a first input terminal to receive the feedback voltage and a second input terminal to receive the reference voltage and an output node to output an error signal based on the comparison; and a first pre-charge circuit coupled between the first input terminal and the output node configured to pre-charge a first portion of a compensation network to a pre-charge level. The first controller may further include a second comparator circuit coupled to the first comparator circuit compare the error signal to a ramp signal and to generate a first control output to control a power train of the voltage regulator in a first mode of operation.

Pre-charge technique for a voltage regulator

A system for communicating information includes one device that communicates information via a communication link. The system also includes a second device to communicate information via the communication link. The second device includes a receiver to receive information from the communication link. The second device also includes an oscillator that provides at least one timing signal to the receiver. The oscillator is disabled when the communication link is in an idle state. The oscillator is enabled when the communication link is in a non-idle state.

Communication apparatus having an oscillator that is disabled based on idle state detection of a communication link and associated methods

An integrated circuit (IC) includes a first circuit that is powered by a first supply voltage, and a second circuit that is powered by a second supply voltage. The second supply voltage has a lower level than the first supply voltage. The IC further includes a power management circuit. The power management circuit includes a switch-mode DC-DC regulator that is coupled to a plurality of pins of the IC in a pre-defined configuration. The power management circuit provides the first and second supply voltages to power up the IC in a default configuration without knowledge of the pre-defined configuration.

System and apparatus for improving the utility of regulators and associated methods

An apparatus includes a detector to detect an idle state of a communication link that communicates bursts or packets of information. The apparatus also includes an oscillator having low-power and normal modes of operation. The oscillator makes a transition to the low-power mode during the idle state of the communication link. The oscillator leaves the low-power mode of operation and enters the normal mode of operation when the communication link is in a non-idle state.

Low-power communication apparatus and associated methods

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Kenneth Wilson Fernald