Internal voltage generation circuit and system including the same

• US 10,075,066 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2016
• Issued: 09/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SK Hynix Inc.
• Original Assignee: SK Hynix Inc.
• Inventors: Kim, Kyung Hoon, Keh, Jee Yeon
• Primary Examiner(s): Skibinski, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US15/190,278
• Publication Number:
  US 20170250599A1
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 327538, 327530, 327540-543, 327547, 327548, 323313, 341158, 341161
• CPC Class Codes: G05F 1/00 Automatic systems in which deviations of an electric quantity from one or more predetermined values are detected at the output of the system and fed back to a device within the system to restore the detected quantity to its predetermined value or values, i.e. retroactive systems
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/08 Circuits specially adapted for the generation of control voltages for semiconductor devices incorporated in static converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/04 by static converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/07 using capacitors charged and discharged alternately by semiconductor devices with control electrode , e.g. charge pumps

Abstract

An internal voltage generation circuit may be provided. The internal voltage generation circuit may include a first internal voltage generation circuit configured to provide a reference internal voltage to either an internal voltage control circuit or a node at which an output internal voltage is generated. The internal voltage generation circuit may include a second internal voltage generation circuit configured to change a level of the output internal voltage. The internal voltage generation circuit may include an internal voltage control circuit configured to compare the reference internal voltage with the output internal voltage and control the first and second internal voltage generation circuits to change the level of the output internal voltage according to a comparison.

Claims

1. An internal voltage generation circuit comprising:

an internal voltage control circuit configured to generate an enable signal and a switch control signal based on a comparison result between a reference internal voltage and an output internal voltage;

a first internal voltage generation circuit configured to generate the reference internal voltage based on a setting code, and provide the reference internal voltage to one of the internal voltage control circuit and a node from which the output internal voltage is outputted, based on the enable signal; and

a second internal voltage generation circuit configured to generate the output internal voltage based on the switch control signal.

2. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 1, wherein the first internal voltage generation circuit comprises:

a voltage generator configured to generate the reference internal voltage based on the setting code; and

a switching circuit configured to couple the voltage generator to either the comparator or the node, based on the enable signal.

3. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 2, wherein the voltage generator comprises a plurality of resistors coupled between a supply voltage and a ground voltage, and outputs one of a plurality of divided voltages outputted from the plurality of resistors as the reference internal voltage according to the setting code.

4. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 2, wherein the switching circuit provides the reference internal voltage to the comparator based on disablement of the enable signal, and provides the reference internal voltage to the node based on enablement of the enable signal.

5. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 1, wherein the switch control signal comprises first and second switch control signals, and

the second internal voltage generation circuit raises the level of the second internal voltage based on the first switch control signal, and lowers the level of the second internal voltage based on the second switch control signal.

6. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 1, wherein the internal voltage control circuit comprises:

a comparator configured to compare the reference internal voltage and the output internal voltage and generate a comparison signal; and

a control signal generator configured to generate the enable signal and the switch control signal based on the comparison signal.

7. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 6, wherein the comparison signal comprises an up signal and a down signal, and

the control signal generator enables the enable signal when the up signal and the down signal are alternately generated a predetermined number of times.

8. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 6, wherein the comparison signal comprises an up signal and a down signal, and

the comparator generates the up signal when the level of the second internal voltage is higher than the level of the first internal voltage, and generates the down signal when the level of the second internal voltage is lower than the level of the first internal voltage.

9. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 6, wherein the control signal generator enables the first switch control signal based on the up signal, and enables the second switch control signal based on the down signal.

10. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 1, wherein the switch control signal comprises first to third switch control signals, and

the second internal voltage generation circuit comprises:

a capacitor;

a first switch configured to charge the capacitor with a supply voltage based on the first switch control signal;

a second switch configured to discharge the capacitor to a ground voltage based on the second switch control signal; and

a third switch configured to couple the capacitor to the output internal voltage based on the third switch control signal.

11. An internal voltage generation circuit comprising:

a first internal voltage generation circuit configured to generate a reference internal voltage based on a setting code, and provide the reference internal voltage to a node from which an output internal voltage is outputted, when the level of the output internal voltage approaches the level of the reference internal voltage;

a second internal voltage generation circuit configured to generate the output internal voltage based on a switch control signal; and

an internal voltage control circuit configured to control the first and second internal voltage generation circuits to adjust the voltage level of the output internal voltage based on a comparison result between the reference internal voltage and the output internal voltage.

12. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 11, wherein the internal voltage control circuit comprises:

a comparator configured to compare the reference internal voltage and the output internal voltage and generate a comparison signal; and

a control signal generator configured to generate an enable signal and a switch control signal based on the comparison signal.

13. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 12, wherein the comparator generates an up signal when the level of the output internal voltage is higher than the level of the reference internal voltage, and generates a down signal when the level of the output internal voltage is lower than the level of the reference internal voltage.

14. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 13, wherein the control signal generator generates a first switch control signal based on the down signal, and generates a second switch control signal based on the up signal.

15. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 14, wherein the second internal voltage generation circuit raises the level of the output internal voltage based on the first switch control signal, and lowers the level of the output internal voltage based on the second switch control signal.

16. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 14, wherein the second internal voltage generation circuit comprises:

a capacitor;

a first switching unit configured to charge the capacitor with a supply voltage based on the first switch control signal;

a second switching unit configured to discharge the capacitor to a ground voltage based on the second switch control signal; and

a third switching unit configured to couple the capacitor to the node based on the third switch control signal.

17. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 13, wherein the control signal generator generates the enable signal when the up signal and the down signal are alternately generated a predetermined number of times.

18. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 12, wherein the first internal voltage generation circuit comprises:

a voltage generator configured to generate the reference internal voltage according to the setting code; and

a switching circuit configured to provide the reference internal voltage to one of the comparator and the node, based on the enable signal.

19. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 18, wherein the voltage generator comprises a plurality of resistors coupled between a supply voltage and a ground voltage, and outputs one of a plurality of divided voltages outputted from the plurality of resistors as the reference internal voltage according to the setting code.

20. The internal voltage generation circuit according to claim 18, wherein the switching circuit provides the reference internal voltage to the comparator based on disablement of the enable signal, and provides the reference internal voltage to the node based on enablement of the enable signal.