Texas Instruments Corporation

University of Colorado

Vahid Yousefzadeh

Dragan Maksimovic

Daniel Ross Herrington

Sumeet Prakash Kulkarni

James Harbison Masson

James Michael Patterson

Michael James Drake

Toru Takayama

Bhavesh G Bhakta

Tuan Van Tran

Arie Van Staveren

John Hoversten

Steven Berg

Carsten Barth

Anthony Carosa

Bert Helleman

Eduard Alarcon

In examples, an apparatus includes a transistor, a switch, a diode, a capacitor, a voltage divider, a second transistor, a resistor, and a controller. The transistor has a transistor drain, a transistor source, and a transistor gate. The switch is adapted to couple a power supply to the transistor drain through an inductor. The diode has a cathode and an anode, the diode cathode coupled to the transistor drain. The capacitor is coupled between the diode anode and ground. The voltage divider is coupled between the diode anode and ground and having a voltage divider output. The second transistor has a second transistor source and a second transistor gate. The resistor is coupled between the diode anode and the second transistor source. The controller is coupled to the transistor gate, the transistor source, the voltage divider output, the diode anode, the second transistor gate, and the second transistor source.

Single power phase buck and boost converters

A light emitting diode system allows for high current end user LED matrix applications while mitigating internal damage to control circuitry that may be caused by excess current flow. In one example, multiple switches operate in parallel across an LED. When an overvoltage condition is detected in a first switch, a logic circuit determines those switches programmed to operate in parallel and causes them to conduct current. This reduces the amount of current flowing through any one switch and mitigates harm to the device. The parallel configuration of switches may be driven by a single pulse width modulated current. This allows the drive current to be divided between parallel transistors, limiting the damaging effects that can be caused by high currents flowing through the transistors.

Overvoltage detection circuit with first and longer second response times

Configurable switch array

A switched mode assisted linear (SMAL) amplifier/regulator architecture can be configured to supply regulated power to a dynamic load, such as an RF power amplifier. Embodiments of a SMAL regulator can include a linear amplifier and a switched mode converter parallel coupled at a supply node, and configured such that the amplifier sets load voltage, while the amplifier and the switched converter are cooperatively controlled to supply load current. The amplifier can include separate feedback loops: an external relatively lower speed feedback loop for controlling signal path bandwidth, and an internal relatively higher speed feedback loop for controlling output impedance bandwidth of the linear amplifier. The linear amplifier can be AC coupled to the supply node, and the switched converter can be configured with a capacitive charge control loop that controls the switched converter to effectively control the amplifier to provide capacitive charge control.

Switched mode assisted linear regulator with decoupled output impedance and signal path bandwidth

An exemplary extended switched-mode controller is provided for controlling the switching of a switched-mode power converter. This exemplary extended switched-mode controller further comprises a standard switched-mode controller and an auxiliary controller configured to receive standard switch control signals from the switched-mode controller and to (1) pass the standard switch control signals to the switched-mode power converter during non-transient operation, and (2) provide auxiliary switch control signals to the switched-mode power converter during transient operation instead of the standard switch control signals. The auxiliary controller is further configured to determine when to provide the auxiliary switch control signals and to determine what control signals to provide at least partially based on an auxiliary feedback input signal comprising at least one of: sensed converter voltages, converter currents, and an error signal. Where the error signal is at least partially based on the difference between a feedback signal and a reference signal.

Method, apparatus and system for extended switched-mode controller

A hybrid digital pulse width modulator (DPWM) with digital delay-locked loops (DLLs) is provided. In this implementation, the digital pulse-width-modulator is synthesizable and includes a digital delay-locked loop around a delay-line to achieve constant frequency clocked operation. In this implementation, the resolution of the modulator is consistent over a wide range of process or temperature variations. The DPWM may implement trailing-edge, leading-edge, triangular, or phase-shift modulation. In an implementation suitable for DC-DC converters with synchronous rectifiers, for example, the DPWM may include two or more outputs for programmable dead-times. In another implementation, a digital pulse-width-modulator with a digital phase-locked loop is also provided.

Digital pulse-width-modulator with discretely adjustable delay line

A hybrid analog to digital converter circuit for a feedback input to a digital controller of a power supply includes a high resolution, analog to digital converter circuit in communication with a voltage error signal. The high resolution analog to digital converter circuit is configured to provide a first correction signal to the digital controller when the voltage error signal is within a first error range. The hybrid analog to digital converter circuit also includes at least one flash analog to digital converter circuit in communication with the voltage error signal. The flash analog to digital converter circuit(s) is configured to provide at least a second correction signal to the digital controller when the voltage error signal is within at least a second error range.

Hybrid analog to digital converter circuit and method

Systems, methods, and apparatuses are disclosed for determining dead-times in switched-mode DC-DC converters with synchronous rectifiers or other complementary switching devices. In one embodiment, for example, a controller for a DC-DC converter determines dead-times for switching devices of a synchronous rectifier or other complementary switching device of the converter in which a dead-time is derived from an output voltage or current that is already sensed and used in the output regulation of the converter. In another embodiment, a controller is provided for controlling a switched-mode DC-DC converter comprising a pair of power switches. The controller comprises an input, a reference generator, a comparator, a compensator, a dead-time sub-controller, and a modulator. In another embodiment, the controller may adjust the dead-times during the operation of the converter to adjust periodically and/or in response to changes in operating conditions. In addition, methods of determining dead-times of control signals for a switched-mode DC-DC converter comprising a pair of power switches and of controlling a DC-DC converter are also disclosed.

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Boulder, CO, United States of America

Vahid Yousefzadeh