Multislice DC-DC converter
First Claim
1. A dc-dc voltage converter comprising:
- a slice comprising;
a step-down converter comprising at least one monolithically formed regulator coupled to a capacitor and an inductor, wherein the at least one monolithically formed regulator comprises a switching controller, a switch, and a rectifier in a buck-type configuration, and wherein the switching controller operates at a load-dependent switching frequency in excess of approximately one megahertz; and
an oscillator-less-control circuit that monitors an output voltage of the step-down converter and when the converter falls below a given threshold voltage the oscillator-less-control circuit produces at least one set of dynamic switching pulses usable for triggering the switch and the rectifier.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A novel monolithic step-down dc-dc buck converter that uses two or more (“n”) parallel slices to achieve a high output current with a small filter capacitor is provided. Each of the n slices may be operated with a phase difference of 360°/n. Each of the converter slices may be based on a synchronous rectifier topology to avoid the excessive power losses introduced by the diode component of conventional step-down buck converters. Hysteretic control may be used (with or without pulse-width modulation and pulse-frequency modulation) to provide an internal gate-drive waveform without the need to provide a dedicated clock signal or oscillator circuit.
The hysteretic control is further refined using digital control techniques to enforce a brief dead time between the activation of each slice such that undesirable circulating currents are prevented. A significant advantage of the proposed multi-slice step-down dc-dc buck converter and its associated control is that the semiconductor switches, filter inductors and capacitor, and the control circuit may be fabricated as part of a single monolithic integrated circuit.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A dc-dc voltage converter comprising:
a slice comprising;
a step-down converter comprising at least one monolithically formed regulator coupled to a capacitor and an inductor, wherein the at least one monolithically formed regulator comprises a switching controller, a switch, and a rectifier in a buck-type configuration, and wherein the switching controller operates at a load-dependent switching frequency in excess of approximately one megahertz; and
an oscillator-less-control circuit that monitors an output voltage of the step-down converter and when the converter falls below a given threshold voltage the oscillator-less-control circuit produces at least one set of dynamic switching pulses usable for triggering the switch and the rectifier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 31)
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26. A monolithic multislice step-down dc-dc converter comprising:
a plurality of slices, wherein each of the plurality of slices comprises;
a first switch having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected to a high side of a power supply;
a second switch having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected to the second end of first switch at a first common connection point, and wherein the second end is connected to a low side of the power supply; and
an inductor having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected to the common connection point of the first and second switches;
a capacitor having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end of the capacitor is connected at a second common connection point to the second end of each of the inductors of the plurality of slices, wherein the second end the capacitor is connected to the low side of the power supply, and wherein an voltage available across the capacitor defines a multislice step-down dc-dc converter output; and
a controller operating a load-dependent switching frequency in excess of approximately one megahertz comprising;
a feedback and startup circuit providing at least one feedback signal as a function of the multislice step-down dc-dc converter output and a reference voltage;
an oscillator-less-control circuit that monitors the at least one feedback signal and when the at least one feedback signal falls below a given threshold voltage, oscillator-less-control circuit produces at least one set of dynamic switching pulses usable for triggering the switch and the rectifier. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
Specification