Lion Semiconductor Inc.

Skyworks Solutions, Inc.

Micro Linear Corporation

Thomas Li

Alberto Alessandro Angelo Puggelli

John Crossley

Zhipeng Li

Wonyoung Kim

Hanh-Phuc Le

Hans Meyvaert

Bertram J Rodgers

Ghader Razmafrouz

Lui Ray Lam

Fred Chen

Jeffrey H Hwang

Aaron Melgar

Alberto Puggelli

Circuits comprising: a capacitor; switches that, when State0, couple the capacitor in parallel with the load and, when State1, couple the capacitor in series with the load, wherein a first of the switches connects the capacitor to ground when in State0 and wherein a second of the switches connects the capacitor to an input voltage when in State1; a third switch, wherein a first side of the third switch is connected to the capacitor identically to one of the first switch and the second switch (OFWSW), wherein the third switch switches identically to the OFWSW, wherein the third switch is smaller than the OFWSW; a first resistor connected to the second side of the third switch; and a hardware processor that measures a current flowing through the first resistor and estimates the current provided to the load based on the current measured as flowing through the first resistor.

Circuits and methods for measuring the output current of a switched capacitor regulator

Circuits for a voltage regulator are provided, comprising: an inductor having a first side coupled to an input voltage; a first flying capacitor; a second flying capacitor; and a plurality of switches, wherein: in a first state, the plurality of switches couple: a second side of the inductor to a second side of the first flying capacitor and an output node; a first side of the first flying capacitor to a first side of the second flying capacitor; and a second side of the second flying capacitor to a voltage supply, in a second state, the plurality of switches couple: the second side of the inductor to the first side of the second flying capacitor; the second side of the second flying capacitor to the output node and the first side of the first flying capacitor; and the second side of the first flying capacitor to the voltage supply.

Circuits and methods for hybrid 3:1 voltage regulators

Circuits comprising: an inductor having a first side connected to V; a first switch having a first side connected to a second side of the inductor; a second switch having a first side connected to V; a first capacitor having a first side connected to a second side of the second switch; a third switch having a first side connected to a second side of the first switch; a fourth switch having a first side connected to a second side of the third switch; a fifth switch having a first side connected to a second side of the first capacitor and to a second side of the fourth switch, and having a second side coupled to a voltage source; and a second capacitor having a first side connected to the first side of the fourth switch, and having a second side connected to the second side of the fifth switch.

Circuits for a hybrid switched capacitor converter

A switching capacitor regulator, comprising: a switching capacitor configured to switch between a first state and a second state, wherein, in the first state, a first node of the switching capacitor is coupled to a second terminal, and a second node of the switching capacitor is coupled to a fixed voltage level, and wherein, in the second state, the first node is coupled to a first terminal, and the second node is coupled to the second terminal; a power switch configured to couple the second node to the second terminal when the switching capacitor is in the second state; and a flying inverter configured to control the power switch, wherein the flying inverter has a positive power terminal and a negative power terminal, wherein the positive power terminal is coupled to the first node, and wherein the negative power terminal is coupled to the second node.

Switched capacitor regulators with flying-inverter-controlled power switches

The present disclosure shows a reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator that can support multiple conversion ratios by reconfiguring between various modes. The reconfigurable Dickson Star SC regulator is designed to reduce the number of redundant capacitors by reusing capacitors and switches across multiple modes of operation (across multiple conversion ratios). The present disclosure also shows a hybrid (e.g., two-stage) voltage regulator.

Reconfigurable dickson star switched capacitor voltage regulator

Circuits comprising: a first capacitor(C1); a first switch(S1) having a first side coupled to a VIN and a second side coupled to a first side of C1; a second switch(S2) having a first side coupled to the second side of S1; a third switch(S3) having a first side coupled to a second side of S2 and a second side coupled to a second side of C1; a fourth switch(S4) having a first side coupled to a second side of S3 and a second side coupled to a V, wherein: in a first state, S1 and S3 are off, and S2 and S4 are on; in a second state, S1 and S3 are on, and S2 and S4 are off; and at least one of a control of S1, a control of S2, a control of S3, and a control of S4 is coupled to a time-varying-slew-rate signal.

Circuits and methods for slew rate control of switched capacitor regulators

Voltage regulator systems include, in part, a regulator comprising an input terminal and an output terminal, wherein the regulator is configured to receive an input voltage from an adapter at the input terminal and provide an output voltage at the output terminal, wherein the regulator comprises at least one switched capacitor regulator operating in a first conversion mode corresponding to a first conversion factor. The voltage regulator systems also include a controller configured to control an operation of the regulator, wherein the controller is configured to determine when a conversion ratio of the regulator is greater than the first conversion factor, and, in response, to send a request to the adapter to decrease the input voltage.

Voltage regulator systems configured to control input voltage

Apparatus, systems and methods for reconfigurable dickson star switched capacitor voltage regulator

A voltage regulator system, comprising: a switched capacitor (SC) regulator that operates at a switching frequency and receives an input voltage; and a controller configured to control an operation of the SC regulator by adjusting the switching frequency of the SC regulator based on efficiency. In some embodiments, the switching frequency is swept to determine a best efficiency. In some embodiments, the switching frequency is swept at each of a plurality of values for the input voltage. In some embodiments, the system includes further one or more switches in series with the SC regulator. In some embodiments, the SC regulator includes an output terminal that is coupled to a battery.

Feedback control for efficient high-speed battery charging

Circuits, devices and methods for achieving fast changes in voltage regulator outputs are disclosed. In some embodiments, a voltage regulation system can include a voltage regulator configured to receive an input voltage Vin and generate an output voltage Vout at an output node, and a transition circuit coupled to the output node, the transition circuit including one or more voltage sources, each voltage source switchably coupled to the output node and configured to provide a respective voltage.

Circuits, devices and methods for achieving fast changes in voltage regulator outputs

Circuits, devices and methods for achieving small duty cycles in switching regulators. In some embodiments, a method for generating a low duty cycle output voltage can include setting a ramp signal to a first level substantially with a first edge of a clock signal, and ramping the ramp signal from the first level towards a second level such that voltage level of the ramp signal crosses a compensation level, with the ramping beginning at a time before a second edge of the clock signal. The method can further include starting an output pulse substantially with the second edge of the clock signal, and ending the output pulse substantially with an edge of a pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal that results from the ramp signal crossing the compensation level during the ramping.

Growing community of inventors

Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Thomas Li