Silicon Laboratories Inc.

Michael D Mulligan

Hatem M Osman

Jeffrey Lee Sonntag

Joselyn Torres-Torres

Srikanth Govindarajulu

Dazhi Wei

Mohamed M Elkholy

Zachary A Kaufman

A method for operating a DC-DC converter circuit includes, in response to detecting a startup condition, charging an output capacitance coupled to an output node of the DC-DC converter circuit at a first rate in a first phase of a multi-phase startup mode of operation of the DC-DC converter circuit. The method includes, in response to an indication of an output voltage on the output node approaching an input voltage on an input node of the DC-DC converter circuit, controlling a current through an inductor using an oscillating signal in a second phase of the multi-phase startup mode of operation, thereby adjusting the output voltage to equal a target voltage level. The first rate may be the rate of charging an RC circuit including the output capacitance coupled to the output node.

Low power boost converter startup with soft start and output voltage overshoot limiting

A method for operating a DC-DC converter includes generating an output voltage on an output node of the DC-DC converter based on an input voltage on an input node of the DC-DC converter using a transistor having a bulk terminal and a gate terminal, the output voltage being greater than the input voltage. The method includes coupling the input node to the bulk terminal and the gate terminal in response to the output voltage being less than the input voltage. The method includes coupling the output node to the bulk terminal in response to the output voltage exceeding the input voltage or a predetermined threshold voltage.

Dynamically biasing a bulk node and a gate node of a transistor in a DC-DC voltage converter

In one embodiment, a method includes: enabling a pulse pair circuit of an integrated circuit in response to determining that a receiver associated with the integrated circuit is active; identifying that at least one comparator of a multi-output DC-DC converter trips, the DC-DC converter having a plurality of comparators each to compare a regulated voltage output by the DC-DC converter to a corresponding reference voltage; and generating, in the pulse pair circuit, a control pulse pair according to the tripped output, and driving a driver circuit of the DC-DC converter using the control pulse pair.

Apparatus, method and system for pulse pairing in a multi-output DC-DC converter

A pulse frequency modulated (PFM) voltage converter autonomously switches between buck, buck-boost, and boost modes as a function of the input and output voltages. The voltage converter may also switch autonomously between buck mode and a low drop out (LDO) mode when configured in a system in which the battery voltage is known to always be higher than the output voltage.

PFM power management system with autonomous mode switching

A DC-DC converter with a programmable pulse time limit. A charge pulse begins when the output voltage reaches a minimum threshold and terminates in response to a discharge indication, in which charge current flows through an inductive element while the charge pulse is provided. The discharge indication is provided to initiate a discharge pulse when the charge current reaches a peak threshold, which terminates in response to a reset indication. Current is discharged from the inductive element during the discharge pulse. A zero crossing detector provides the reset indication when the discharge current reaches a minimum level. A programmable timing circuit limits a duration of either one or both of the charge pulse and the discharge pulse to prevent hangup or excessive output voltage ripple. The DC-DC converter may include a memory that stores a digital value used to program the programmed time duration of the programmable timing circuit.

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Michael D Mulligan