PWM CLOCK GENERATION SYSTEM AND METHOD TO IMPROVE TRANSIENT RESPONSE OF A VOLTAGE REGULATOR

• US 20100033153A1
• Filed: 06/24/2009
• Published: 02/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intersil Americas LLC (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intersil Americas LLC (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Inventors: Miller, Greg J., Xing, Kun
• Granted Patent: US 8,148,967 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 323/288
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/0025 Arrangements for modifying reference values, feedback values or error values in the control loop of a converter
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/156 with automatic control of output voltage or current, e.g. switching regulators
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/1584 with a plurality of power processing stages connected in parallel

Abstract

A pulse control clock generator for a voltage regulator including a comparator, a window circuit, a filter circuit, a ramp circuit, and a current circuit. The comparator compares a ramp voltage with a compensation voltage and provides a corresponding pulse control signal. The compensation voltage is indicative of output voltage error. The window circuit adds a window voltage to the compensation voltage to provide a hysteretic voltage. The filter circuit filters the hysteretic voltage to provide a filtered hysteretic voltage, such that a difference between the compensation voltage and the filtered hysteretic voltage is reduced in response to a load increase. The ramp circuit provides a repetitive ramp voltage which ramps between the filtered hysteretic voltage and the compensation voltage based on the pulse control signal. The current circuit increases a slope of the ramp voltage in response to the load increase.

Claims

1. A pulse control clock generator for a voltage regulator, comprising:

a comparator which compares a ramp voltage with a compensation voltage and which provides a corresponding pulse control signal, wherein said compensation voltage is indicative of an output voltage error;

a window circuit which adds a window voltage to said compensation voltage to provide a hysteretic voltage;

a filter circuit which filters said hysteretic voltage to provide a filtered hysteretic voltage, wherein a difference between said compensation voltage and said filtered hysteretic voltage is said window voltage during a steady state condition and wherein said difference is reduced in response to a change of said compensation voltage indicative of a load increase;

a ramp circuit which provides a repetitive ramp voltage which ramps between said filtered hysteretic voltage and said compensation voltage based on said pulse control signal; and

a current circuit which increases a slope of said ramp voltage in response to said load increase.

2. The pulse control clock generator of claim 1, wherein said filter circuit comprises a low pass filter circuit.

3. The pulse control clock generator of claim 1, wherein said filter circuit comprises:

a resistor having a first end receiving said hysteretic voltage and having a second end coupled to a filter node;

a capacitor having a first end coupled to said filter node and a second end coupled to a reference node; and

a buffer having an input coupled to said filter node and an output providing said filtered hysteretic voltage.

4. The pulse control clock generator of claim 1, wherein:

said ramp circuit comprises;

a ramp capacitor coupled between a ramp node and ground; and

a current sink coupled between said ramp node and ground which draws current from said ramp capacitor to reduced voltage on said ramp node; and

wherein said current circuit sinks additional current from said ramp capacitor in response to said load increase.

5. The pulse control clock generator of claim 4, wherein said current sink draws a current proportional to an adjustable reference voltage.

6. The pulse control clock generator of claim 4, wherein said current circuit comprises a transconductance error amplifier having an input coupled to sense an output voltage condition and an output coupled to said ramp node.

7. The pulse control clock generator of claim 4, wherein said current circuit comprises:

a capacitor having a first end coupled to an output voltage node and a second end;

a resistor having a first end coupled to said second end of said capacitor and a second end coupled to an output reference node; and

a transconductance amplifier having a non-inverting input coupled to said second end of said capacitor, having an inverting input coupled to said output reference node, and having an output coupled to said ramp node.

8. The pulse control clock generator of claim 1, wherein said window circuit develops said window voltage proportional to an adjustable reference voltage, and wherein said ramp circuit develops said ramp voltage having a steady state slope proportional to said reference voltage.

9. A voltage regulator, comprising:

at least one switching circuit for converting at least one input voltage to a regulated output voltage, wherein each of said at least one switching circuit is controlled by a corresponding one of at least one pulse-width modulation (PWM) clock signal;

an error amplifier which provides a compensation voltage indicative of error of said regulated output voltage; and

a pulse control clock generator, comprising;

a comparator which compares a ramp voltage with said compensation voltage and which provides a pulse control clock signal;

PWM logic which converts said pulse control clock signal into said at least one PWM clock signal;

a window circuit which adds a window voltage to said compensation voltage to provide a hysteretic voltage;

a filter circuit which filters said hysteretic voltage to provide a filtered hysteretic voltage, wherein a difference between said compensation voltage and said filtered hysteretic voltage is said window voltage during a steady state condition and wherein said difference is reduced in response to a change of said compensation voltage indicative of a load increase;

a ramp circuit which provides a ramp voltage which ramps between said filtered hysteretic voltage and said compensation voltage as controlled by said pulse control clock signal; and

a current circuit which increases the slope of said ramp voltage in response to said load increase.

10. The voltage regulator of claim 9, wherein said filter circuit comprises a low pass filter.

11. The voltage regulator of claim 9, wherein said filter circuit comprises:

a resistor having a first end receiving said hysteretic voltage and having a second end coupled to a filter node;

a capacitor having a first end coupled to said filter node and a second end coupled to a reference node; and

a buffer having an input coupled to said filter node and an output providing said filtered hysteretic voltage.

12. The voltage regulator of claim 9, wherein said ramp circuit comprises:

a ramp capacitor coupled between a ramp node and a reference node; and

a current sink coupled between said ramp node and said reference node which draws current from said ramp capacitor.

13. The voltage regulator of claim 12, wherein said current circuit draws additional current from said ramp capacitor in response to said load increase.

14. The voltage regulator of claim 12, wherein said current circuit comprises a transconductance error amplifier having an input coupled to sense an output voltage condition and an output coupled to said ramp node.

15. The voltage regulator of claim 12, wherein said current circuit comprises:

a capacitor having a first end coupled to an output voltage node and a second end;

a resistor having a first end coupled to said second end of said capacitor and a second end coupled to an output reference node; and

a transconductance amplifier having a non-inverting input coupled to said second end of said capacitor, having an inverting input coupled to said output reference node, and having an output coupled to said ramp node.

16. The voltage regulator of claim 9, wherein:

said at least one switching circuit comprises a plurality of switching circuits each controlled by a corresponding one of plurality of PWM clock signals; and

wherein said PWM logic comprises a phase sequencer which converts said pulse control clock signal into a master clock signal and into said plurality of PWM clock signals.

17. The voltage regulator of claim 16, wherein said ramp circuit resets said ramp voltage to said filtered hysteretic voltage for each assertion of said master clock signal.

18. A method of generating a pulse control signal for a voltage generator, comprising:

comparing a ramp voltage with a compensation voltage and providing a corresponding pulse control signal, wherein the compensation voltage is indicative of output voltage error;

providing a window voltage and adding the window voltage to the compensation voltage to provide a hysteretic voltage;

filtering the hysteretic voltage to provide a filtered hysteretic voltage, wherein a difference between the compensation voltage and the filtered hysteretic voltage is the window voltage during a steady state condition and wherein the difference is reduced in response to a change of the compensation voltage indicative of a load increase;

providing a repetitive ramp voltage which ramps between the filtered hysteretic voltage and the compensation voltage; and

increasing a slope of the ramp voltage in response to a load increase of the voltage generator.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said filtering the hysteretic voltage comprises filtering the hysteretic voltage with a low pass filter.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein said increasing a slope of the ramp voltage comprises increasing discharge of a ramp capacitor in response to the load increase.