Linearly regulated voltage multiplier
First Claim
1. A charge pump circuit having an input terminal for receiving a supply voltage and an output terminal for providing a boosted voltage with respect to the supply voltage, the charge pump circuit comprising:
- a charge transfer capacitor having first and second terminals;
a first switch connected between the first terminal of the charge transfer capacitor and the input terminal;
a charge storage capacitor connected between the output terminal and a first voltage reference;
a second switch connected between the first terminal of the charge transfer capacitor and the output terminal;
a first resistor connected to the output terminal; and
an error amplifier including;
an operational amplifier having a first input terminal coupled to the output terminal of the charge pump circuit, a second input terminal coupled to a second voltage reference, and an output line connected solely to the second terminal of the charge transfer capacitor and not directly connected to any other components; and
a single feedback loop comprising the charge transfer capacitor, the second switch, and the first resistor connected between the first input terminal and the output line of the operational amplifier, the operational amplifier and the single feedback loop forming an integrator to integrate a difference between the second voltage reference and a voltage at the first input terminal of the operational amplifier based on the boosted voltage.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A regulating circuit for the output voltage of a voltage booster, of the type which comprises a first charge transfer capacitor adapted to draw electric charges from the supply terminal and transfer them to the output terminal, through electronic switches controlled by non-overlapped complementary phase signals, and a second charge storage capacitor connected between the output terminal and ground, further comprises an error amplifier which generates, during one of the operational phases, a DC voltage corresponding to the difference between a reference voltage and a divided voltage of the output voltage of the voltage booster; this DC voltage is applied directly to one end of the transfer capacitor.
-
Citations
27 Claims
-
1. A charge pump circuit having an input terminal for receiving a supply voltage and an output terminal for providing a boosted voltage with respect to the supply voltage, the charge pump circuit comprising:
-
a charge transfer capacitor having first and second terminals; a first switch connected between the first terminal of the charge transfer capacitor and the input terminal; a charge storage capacitor connected between the output terminal and a first voltage reference; a second switch connected between the first terminal of the charge transfer capacitor and the output terminal; a first resistor connected to the output terminal; and an error amplifier including; an operational amplifier having a first input terminal coupled to the output terminal of the charge pump circuit, a second input terminal coupled to a second voltage reference, and an output line connected solely to the second terminal of the charge transfer capacitor and not directly connected to any other components; and a single feedback loop comprising the charge transfer capacitor, the second switch, and the first resistor connected between the first input terminal and the output line of the operational amplifier, the operational amplifier and the single feedback loop forming an integrator to integrate a difference between the second voltage reference and a voltage at the first input terminal of the operational amplifier based on the boosted voltage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. A charge pump circuit for use in an integrated semiconductor device, the charge pump circuit having an input terminal for receiving a supply voltage and an output terminal for providing a boosted voltage with respect to the supply voltage, the charge pump circuit comprising:
-
a charge transfer capacitor having first and second terminals; a first switch connected between the first terminal of the charge transfer capacitor and the input terminal, the first switch being controlled by a first clock signal to couple the input terminal to the first terminal of the charge transfer capacitor in order to charge the charge transfer capacitor; a charge storage capacitor connected between the output terminal and a first voltage reference; a second switch connected between the first terminal of the charge transfer capacitor and the output terminal, the second switch being controlled by a second clock signal to couple the first terminal of the charge transfer capacitor to the output terminal in order to transfer the charge in the charge transfer capacitor to the charge storage capacitor; a first resistor connected to the output terminal; and an error amplifier including; an operational amplifier having a first input terminal coupled to the output terminal of the charge pump circuit through the first resistor, a second input terminal coupled to a second voltage reference, and an output terminal connected to the second terminal of the charge transfer capacitor, wherein the charge transfer capacitor, the second switch, and the first resistor comprise a single integrating feedback loop connected between the first input terminal and the output terminal of the operational amplifier when the second switch couples the first terminal of the charge transfer capacitor to the output terminal wherein the single integrating feedback loop is the only feedback loop connected between the first input terminal and the output terminal of the operational amplifier. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A voltage booster having an input terminal for receiving a supply voltage and an output terminal for supplying a boosted voltage with respect to the supply voltage, comprising:
-
a charge transfer capacitor; a first switch controlled by a first drive signal to couple a first terminal of said charge transfer capacitor to the input terminal; a second switch controlled by a second drive signal to couple the first terminal of said charge transfer capacitor to the output terminal; a charge storage capacitor connected between the output terminal and a first voltage reference; an error amplifier comprising an operational amplifier having a first input terminal coupled to the output terminal, a second input terminal coupled to the first voltage reference through a third switch controlled by a third drive signal and coupled to a second voltage reference through a fourth switch controlled by a fourth drive signal, and an output terminal coupled to a second terminal of said charge transfer capacitor; and a single integrating feedback loop comprising the charge transfer capacitor, the second switch, and the output terminal coupled between the first input terminal and the output terminal of the operational amplifier. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
-
-
22. A charge pump circuit having an input terminal coupled to receive a supply voltage and an output terminal for providing a boosted voltage with respect to the supply voltage, the charge pump circuit comprising:
-
an amplifier having a first input, a second input and an output line, the output line having only a single integrated component directly connected thereto; a charge transfer capacitor having a first terminal coupled to the input terminal for receiving the supply voltage and a second terminal directly connected to the output line of the amplifier, the charge transfer capacitor being that single integrated component directly connected to the output line; a charge storage capacitor connected to the output terminal for retaining the boosted voltage; a first switch coupled between the first terminal of the charge transfer capacitor and the output terminal for coupling the first terminal of the charge transfer capacitor to the charge storage capacitor to provide the boosted voltage to the output terminal; and an integrator comprising the amplifier having the first input coupled to the output terminal through a first resistor, the integrator integrating a difference between a voltage at the first input of the amplifier and a first reference voltage when the first switch is in a conducting state to generate an error signal at the output of the amplifier, the error signal being coupled to the second terminal of the charge transfer capacitor to regulate the boosted voltage, the charge transfer capacitor being the sole element directly connected to the amplifier output line. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
-
-
26. A method for providing a boosted voltage to an output terminal of a charge pump circuit coupled to receive a supply voltage, the method comprising:
-
coupling the supply voltage to a first plate of a charge transfer capacitor through a first switch by rendering the first switch conductive during a first period; rendering the first switch non-conductive and coupling the first plate of the charge transfer capacitor to the output terminal and to a charge storage capacitor through a second switch by rendering the second switch conductive during a second period to provide the boosted voltage to the output terminal; and generating an error signal by integrating a difference between a voltage based on the boosted voltage and a reference voltage through an amplifier and a single integrating feedback loop comprising the charge transfer capacitor, the second switch, and a voltage divider coupled to the output terminal; and regulating the boosted voltage during the second period by applying the error signal to a second plate of the charge transfer capacitor from an output terminal of the amplifier. - View Dependent Claims (27)
-
Specification