Over Voltage Protection of a Switching Converter

• US 20110148200A1
• Filed: 12/23/2009
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Semiconductor, Inc.
• Original Assignee: R2 Semiconductor, Inc.
• Inventors: Fisher, David, Burns, Lawrence M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,233,250 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 307/43
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/32 Means for protecting converters other than automatic disconnection
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/348 Passive dissipative snubbers
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/158 including plural semiconductor devices as final control devices for a single load
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/1584 with a plurality of power processing stages connected in parallel
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/08142 in field-effect transistor switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/102 in field-effect transistor switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 19/018521 of complementary type, e.g. CMOS
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/0081 Power supply means, e.g. to the switch driver

Abstract

Embodiments for at least one method and apparatus of generating a regulated voltage are disclosed. One apparatus includes a voltage regulator. The voltage regulator includes regulator circuitry for generating a regulated voltage from a first power supply and a second power supply, and voltage spike protection circuitry for voltage-spike-protecting the regulator circuitry, wherein the voltage spike protection circuitry includes a dissipative element and a charge-storage circuit. One method includes a method of generating a regulated voltage. The method includes regulator circuitry generating a regulated voltage from an input voltage, and voltage-spike-protecting the regulator circuitry with voltage spike protection circuitry, wherein the voltage spike protection circuitry includes a dissipative element and a charge-storage circuit.

Claims

1. A voltage regulator, comprising:

regulator circuitry generating a regulated voltage from a first power supply and a second power supply;

voltage spike protection circuitry for voltage-spike-protecting the regulator circuitry, comprising a dissipative element and a charge-storage circuit.

2. The voltage regulator of claim 1, wherein a value of resistance of the dissipative element matches a characteristic impedance of a lumped-element approximation of a transmission line, wherein the transmission line comprises the charge-storage circuit and a parasitic inductance associated with the regulator circuitry.

3. The voltage regulator of claim 1, wherein a value of resistance of the dissipative element is based on a characteristic impedance of a lumped-element approximation of a transmission line, wherein the transmission line comprises the charge-storage circuit and a parasitic inductance associated with the regulator circuitry.

4. The voltage regulator of claim 3, wherein the parasitic inductance comprises an inductance associated with at least an integrated circuit package that includes the voltage regulator, and an integrated circuit that includes the voltage regulator.

5. The voltage regulator of claim 3, wherein the parasitic inductance comprises an inductance associated with a power supply of the regulator circuitry.

6. The voltage regulator of claim 1, wherein the dissipative element damps ringing of a power supply to the regulator circuitry.

7. The voltage regulator of claim 1, further comprising at least one MOS structure, wherein the MOS structure comprises the charge-storage circuit and at least a portion of the dissipative element.

8. The voltage regulator of claim 1, wherein charge-storage circuit comprises a plurality of MOS capacitors connected in series, wherein a voltage across each MOS capacitor is maintained below a predetermined threshold as determined by a maximum allowed DC voltage of each MOS capacitor.

9. The voltage regulator of claim 1, further comprising at least one switching element.

10. The voltage regulator of claim 9, wherein the dissipative element suppresses ringing of the regulated voltage during a switching period of the at least one switching element.

11. The voltage regulator of claim 9, wherein a value of resistance of the dissipative element is selected to prevent degradation of the at least one switching element.

12. The voltage regulator of claim 9, wherein the at least one switching element comprises a plurality of switching block segments.

13. The voltage regulator of claim 12, wherein at least a portion of the voltage spike protection circuitry is located between the plurality of switching block segments.

14. The voltage regulator of claim 12, wherein the charge-storage circuit comprises charge-storage circuit segments, and each charge-storage circuit segment of the spike protection circuit is physically closer to the switching block segment it protects than any other switching block segment.

15. A method of generating a regulated voltage, comprising:

regulator circuitry generating a regulated voltage from an input voltage;

voltage-spike-protecting the regulator circuitry with voltage spike protection circuitry, wherein the voltage spike protection circuitry comprises a dissipative element and a charge-storage circuit.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein a value of resistance of the dissipative element matches a characteristic impedance of a lumped-element approximation of a transmission line, wherein the transmission line comprises the charge-storage circuit and a parasitic inductance associated with generation of the regulated voltage.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein a value of resistance of the dissipative element is selected based on a characteristic impedance of a lumped-element approximation of a transmission line, wherein the transmission line comprises the charge-storage circuit and a parasitic inductance associated with generation of the regulated voltage.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the parasitic inductance comprises an inductance associated with at least an integrated circuit package and an integrated circuit.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the inductance comprises an inductance associated with a power supply to circuitry that generates the regulated voltage.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein a value of resistance of the dissipative element is selected to critically damp ringing of a power supply to circuitry that generates the regulated voltage.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein a resistance of the dissipative element damps ringing of a power supply to circuitry that generates the regulated voltage.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein at least one MOS structure includes the charge-storage circuit and at least a portion of the dissipative element.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein the charge-storage circuit comprises a plurality of MOS capacitors connected in series, wherein a voltage across each MOS capacitor is maintained below a predetermined threshold as determined by a maximum allowed DC voltage of each MOS capacitor.

24. The method of claim 15, further comprising generating the regulated voltage though controlled closing and opening of at least one switch element.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein a value of resistance of the dissipative element is selected to suppress ringing of the regulated voltage during a switching period of the at least one switching element.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein at least one characteristic of the dissipative element is additionally selected to prevent degradation of the at least one switch element.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein at least one switch element is segmented into a plurality of switching block segments.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein at least a portion of the voltage spike protection circuitry is located between the plurality of switching block segments.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein each charge-storage circuit segment of the spike protection circuit is physically closer to the switching block segment it protects than any other switching block segment.

30. A method of generating a regulated voltage, comprising:

regulator circuitry generating the regulated voltage though controlled closing and opening of a series switch element and shunt switch element, the series switch element being connected between a first voltage supply and a common node, and the shunt switch being connected between the common node and a second supply voltage, comprising;

closing the series switch element during a first period;

closing the shunt switch element during a second period;

wherein the series switch element and the shunt switch element form switching blocks, and each switching block comprises a plurality of switching block segments, and further comprising voltage-spike-protecting the regulator circuitry with voltage spike protection circuitry, wherein the voltage spike protection circuitry comprising a dissipative element and a charge-storage circuit.