Em Microelectronic-marin Sa

Mario Dellea

Mathieu Coustans

Athos Canclini

Yves Theoduloz

Lubomir Plavec

Jerome Saby

Cyril Marti

Jérôme Saby

Can Baltaci

Clement Cheung

Tu Cao-Thong

An output driver (), including: a first supply rail (A) configured to receive a high supply electrical voltage (Vdd); a second supply rail (B) configured to receive a low supply electrical voltage (Vss); a pad terminal () configured to output an output electrical voltage (V_pad_out); an output stage () connected to the pad terminal () and to the first and second supply rails (A,B). The output stage () has an electrical clamping circuit (A,B) including a semiconductor electronic switching component (Q, Q) made of a first type of semiconductors and a semiconductor electronic switching component (Q, Q) made of a second type of semiconductors. A resistor (R, R) is connected between the first or second supply rail and the semiconductor electronic switching component (Q, Q) of the first type, at an intermediate terminal ().

Output driver provided with an active overvoltage protection

According to an aspect of the disclosure a ring-oscillator control circuit includes a voltage reference, a ring oscillator, a power supply and a supply controller. The supply controller may be configured to select the power supply among an energy storage and an energy source such as to supply the ring oscillator in function of the voltage reference.

Ring-oscillator control circuit and method thereof

The invention relates to a DC-DC converter () for a power source () generating extremely low voltage, the converter () operating in discontinuous mode, wherein the converter () comprises a self-oscillating charge pump () having an array of interconnected ring oscillators (RO-RON) for successively stepping up an input voltage (Vin) so as to result in the accumulated voltage (XN) at the last ring oscillator (RON), an amplifier () and a pulse signal generator () that generates a pulse signal that actuates a switch () so that the stepped-up, output voltage may be provided via a diode (). The invention further relates to a method for actuating the DC-DC converter () for a power source () generating extremely low voltage.

DC-DC converter for a low voltage power source

The elementary pumping cell comprises an input (E) receiving an input voltage (Vin), a clock terminal (H) receiving a first clock signal (CK) and an output (S), a first capacitor (C) having a first terminal connected to the clock terminal and a second terminal, a first transistor (A) having a first source/drain terminal coupled to the input, a second source/drain terminal and a gate terminal, a second transistor (A) having a first source/drain terminal, a second source/drain terminal coupled to the input and a gate terminal coupled to the second terminal of the first capacitor, a third transistor (A) having a first source/drain terminal coupled to the first source/drain terminal of the second transistor, a second source/drain terminal coupled to the gate terminal of the second transistor and a gate terminal coupled to the input, and a fourth transistor (A) having a first source/drain terminal coupled to the second source/drain terminal of the first transistor, a second source/drain terminal coupled to the first source/drain terminal of the second and third transistors and a gate terminal coupled to the input. The gate terminal of the first transistor is coupled to the gate terminal of the second transistor.

Elementary cell and charge pumps comprising such an elementary cell

The present invention concerns an electronic oscillator comprising: an LC resonant circuit comprising an inductive component and a capacitive component, the LC resonant circuit being connected to a first reference voltage node and to an oscillator output node; a first transistor connected to the oscillator output node and arranged to periodically operate in a conducting state and a non-conducting state; and a phase shift circuit. A phase shift circuit output is connected to the first transistor, while a phase shift circuit input is connected by a first feedback circuit to the oscillator output node. The phase shift circuit comprises a signal phase shifter for shifting the phase of a first feedback signal from the first feedback circuit by substantially 180 degrees. The phase shift circuit further comprises a signal adder for adding a first signal from the signal phase shifter and a second signal to obtain a summed signal; and a second transistor connected to the signal adder for mirroring the summed signal to the oscillator output node through the first transistor.

Growing community of inventors

La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

Mario Dellea