Techniques to Power Down Output Power Rails for a Storage Device

• US 20170177057A1
• Filed: 12/21/2015
• Published: 06/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SK Hynix NAND Product Solutions Corporation (SK Hynix Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: MORNING-SMITH, ANDREW, MOCANU, ADRIAN, NGO, MIKE M., SCHMIDT, KAI-UWE
• Granted Patent: US 9,857,859 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/28 Supervision thereof, e.g. detecting power-supply failure by out of limits supervision
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/30 Means for acting in the event of power-supply failure or interruption, e.g. power-supply fluctuations for resetting only G06F1/24
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3287 by switching off individual functional units in the computer system

Abstract

Examples include techniques to power down output power rails for a storage device. In some examples, energy discharged from output capacitors for output power rails and energy discharged from input capacitors may be used to facilitate power down of power rails for the storage device.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

power loss imminent (PLI) logic for a storage device, at least a portion of the PLI logic in hardware, the PLI logic to;

detect that a source voltage received from a power source has dropped below a threshold voltage, the power source arranged to provide operational power to the storage device;

cause a first output capacitor for a first output power rail of the storage device to discharge a first energy away from a first output capacitor and through a first voltage regulator for the first output power rail to a power input for the first output power rail and one or more other output power rails including a second output power rail; and

cause the first energy and a second energy discharging from an input capacitor for the power input to be a second power source to provide source power to a second voltage regulator for the second output power rail to enable the second output power rail to ramp down power provided to a second output load.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising the PLI logic to:

monitor the voltage resulting from the first energy during discharge of the first output capacitor; and

cause the voltage of the first energy to be reduced based on whether the voltage of the first energy exceeds a voltage threshold.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, the PLI logic to reduce the voltage of the first energy comprises the PLI logic to:

activate a controlled load in parallel with the input capacitor to cause the voltage of the first energy to fall below the voltage threshold.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, the PLI logic to reduce the voltage of the first energy to the lower voltage comprises the PLI logic to:

activate a resistive discharge of the first energy before the first energy passes through the first voltage regulator to cause the voltage of the first energy to fall below the voltage threshold.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, the PLI logic to reduce the voltage of the first energy to the lower voltage comprises the PLI logic to:

activate a resistive discharge of the first energy after the first energy passes through the first voltage regulator to cause the voltage of the first energy to fall below the voltage threshold.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, comprising the voltage threshold based on a voltage rating for the first regulator, the second regulator or the input capacitor, the voltage rating based on a voltage tolerance level set to prevent damage to the first regulator, the second regulator or the input capacitor if the voltage threshold is exceeded.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising the PLI logic to:

detect that the second output power rail has completed operation and can be powered down;

cause a second output capacitor for the second output power rail to discharge an energy away from the second output capacitor and through the second voltage regulator for the second output power rail to the power input; and

cause the first energy, the second energy and the fourth energy to be a third power source to provide source voltage to a third voltage regulator for a third output power rail to enable the third output power rail to ramp down power provided to a third output load.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising the PLI logic to:

cause a holdup capacitor to discharge a fourth energy to the power input; and

add the fourth energy to the power input to provide the additional power to the second power source.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, the storage device comprising a solid state drive including one or more non-volatile memory devices comprising at least one of a 3-dimensional cross-point memory, a memory that uses chalcogenide phase change material, a flash memory, a ferroelectric memory, a silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, a polymer memory, ferroelectric polymer memory, ferroelectric transistor random access memory (FeTRAM or FeRAM), an ovonic memory, a nanowire, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a phase change memory, memristors or a spin transfer torque-magnetoresistive random access memory (STT-MRAM).

10. A method comprising:

detecting, at a processing circuit, that a source voltage received from a power source arranged to provide operational power to a storage device has dropped below a threshold voltage;

causing a first output capacitor for a first output power rail of the storage device to discharge a first energy away from a first output capacitor and through a first voltage regulator for the first output power rail to a power input for the first output power rail and one or more other output power rails including a second output power rail; and

combining the first energy and a second energy discharging from an input capacitor for the power input, the combined first and second energy to serve as a second power source to provide source power to a second voltage regulator for the second output power rail to enable the second output power rail to ramp down power provided to a second output load.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising:

monitoring the voltage of the first energy during discharge of the first output capacitor; and

reducing the first energy based on whether the voltage of the first energy exceeds a voltage threshold.

12. The method of claim 11, reducing the first voltage comprising:

activating a controlled load in parallel with the input capacitor to cause the first energy to fall below the voltage threshold.

13. The method of claim 11, reducing the voltage of the first energy to the lower voltage comprising:

activating a resistive discharge of the first energy before the first energy passes through the first voltage regulator to cause the voltage of the first energy to fall below the voltage threshold.

14. The method of claim 11, reducing the voltage of the first energy to the lower voltage comprising:

activating a resistive discharge of the first energy after the first energy passes through the first voltage regulator to cause the first energy to fall below the voltage threshold.

15. The method of claim 11, comprising the voltage threshold based on a voltage rating for the first regulator, the second regulator or the input capacitor, the voltage rating based on a voltage tolerance level set to prevent damage to the first regulator, the second regulator or the input capacitor if the voltage threshold is exceeded.

16. The method of claim 10, comprising:

detecting that the second output power rail has completed operation and can be powered down;

causing a second output capacitor for the second output power rail to discharge an energy away from the second output capacitor and through the second voltage regulator for the second output power rail to the power input; and

combining the first energy, the second energy and the fourth energy, the combine first, second and third energies to serve as a third power source to provide source voltage to a third voltage regulator for a third output power rail to enable the third output power rail to ramp down power provided to a third output load.

17. The method of claim 10, the storage device comprising a solid state drive including one or more non-volatile memory devices comprising at least one of a 3-dimensional cross-point memory, a memory that uses chalcogenide phase change material, a flash memory, a ferroelectric memory, a silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, a polymer memory, ferroelectric polymer memory, ferroelectric transistor random access memory (FeTRAM or FeRAM), an ovonic memory, a nanowire, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a phase change memory, memristors or a spin transfer torque-magnetoresistive random access memory (STT-MRAM).

18. A system comprising:

one or more memory devices; and

a power management module to manage power provided to the one or more memory devices, the power management module including a power loss imminent (PLI) logic, at least a portion of the PLI logic in hardware, the PLI logic to;

detect that a source voltage received from a power source has dropped below a threshold voltage, the power source arranged to provide operational power to the one or more memory devices;

cause a first output capacitor for a first output power rail of the one or more memory devices to discharge a first energy away from a first output capacitor and through a first voltage regulator for the first output power rail to a power input for the first output power rail and one or more other output power rails including a second output power rail; and

cause the first energy and a second energy discharging from an input capacitor for the power input to be a second power source to provide source power to a second voltage regulator for the second output power rail to enable the second output power rail to ramp down power provided to a second output load.

19. The system of claim 18, comprising the PLI logic to:

monitor the voltage of the first energy during discharge of the first output capacitor; and

cause the voltage of the first energy to be reduced based on whether the first energy exceeds a voltage threshold.

20. The system of claim 19, the PLI logic to reduce the first energy comprises the PLI logic to:

activate a controlled load in parallel with the input capacitor to cause the voltage of the first energy to fall below the voltage threshold.

21. The system of claim 19, the PLI logic to reduce the voltage of the first energy to the lower voltage comprises the PLI logic to:

activate a resistive discharge of the first energy before the first energy passes through the first voltage regulator to cause the voltage of the first energy to fall below the voltage threshold.

22. The system of claim 19, the PLI logic to reduce the voltage of the first energy to the lower voltage comprises the PLI logic to:

activate a resistive discharge of the first energy after the first energy passes through the first voltage regulator to cause the voltage of the first energy to fall below the voltage threshold.

23. The system of claim 18, comprising the PLI logic to:

detect that the second output power rail has completed operation and can be powered down;

cause a second output capacitor for the second output power rail to discharge an energy away from the second output capacitor and through the second voltage regulator for the second output power rail to the power input; and

cause the first energy, the second energy and the fourth energy to be a third power source to provide source voltage to a third voltage regulator for a third output power rail to enable the third output power rail to ramp down power provided to a third output load.

24. The system of claim 18, comprising the PLI logic to:

cause a holdup capacitor to discharge a fourth energy to the power input; and

add the fourth energy to the power input to provide the additional power to the second power source.

25. The system of claim 18, comprising a solid state drive, the one or more non-volatile memory devices comprising at least one of a 3-dimensional cross-point memory, a memory that uses chalcogenide phase change material, a flash memory, a ferroelectric memory, a silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, a polymer memory, ferroelectric polymer memory, ferroelectric transistor random access memory (FeTRAM or FeRAM), an ovonic memory, a nanowire, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a phase change memory, memristors or a spin transfer torque-magnetoresistive random access memory (STT-MRAM).

26. The system of claim 18, comprising one or more of:

one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memory devices;

a network interface communicatively coupled to the system;

a battery coupled to the system;

or

a display communicatively coupled to the system.