High voltage generator
First Claim
1. A circuit for generating a voltage having a peak amplitude that is greater than a voltage level of a supply voltage, comprising:
- a network of capacitors having an output node; and
a control circuit, for controlling a plurality of switching transistors having two modes of functioning, a first mode for isolating all the capacitors in the network and simultaneously charging them to the voltage level of the supply voltage, and a second mode for connecting all the capacitors in the network in series between the supply voltage and the output node of the network to instantaneously increase a voltage level of the output node to a voltage level that is greater than the voltage level of the supply voltage;
wherein switching transistors that are placed between each capacitor in the network so as to connect all the capacitors in series are controlled by a first signal having a peak voltage that is greater than the voltage level to be switched to the output node of the network.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A circuit including a network of capacitors and switching transistors having two modes of functioning. The first mode isolates all the capacitors and simultaneously charges them to the level of the supply voltage. The second mode connects all these capacitors in series between the supply voltage Vdd and an output node of the network in order to instantaneously increase the voltage level of this output node to a voltage level that is greater than the supply voltage Vdd. The capacitors are all connected in series by transistors that are placed between them and controlled by a signal that has a peak voltage that is greater than the voltage to be switched to the output node of the network.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. A circuit for generating a voltage having a peak amplitude that is greater than a voltage level of a supply voltage, comprising:
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a network of capacitors having an output node; and a control circuit, for controlling a plurality of switching transistors having two modes of functioning, a first mode for isolating all the capacitors in the network and simultaneously charging them to the voltage level of the supply voltage, and a second mode for connecting all the capacitors in the network in series between the supply voltage and the output node of the network to instantaneously increase a voltage level of the output node to a voltage level that is greater than the voltage level of the supply voltage; wherein switching transistors that are placed between each capacitor in the network so as to connect all the capacitors in series are controlled by a first signal having a peak voltage that is greater than the voltage level to be switched to the output node of the network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12)
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8. A high voltage charge pump type generator including a network of capacitors and switching transistors that are controlled by two non-overlapping clock signals that switch between a reference voltage level of a reference voltage and a supply voltage level of a supply voltage and two other clock signals that respectively switch substantially in phase with the two non-overlapping clock signals but between the reference voltage level and a voltage level that is greater than the supply voltage level, wherein the two other clock signals are respectively supplied by a circuit for generating a peak voltage comprising:
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a second network of capacitors having an output node; and a control circuit, for controlling a plurality of switching transistors having two modes of functioning, a first mode for isolating all the capacitors in the second network and simultaneously charging them to the supply voltage level, and a second mode for connecting all the capacitors in the second network in series between the supply voltage and the output node of the second network to instantaneously increase a voltage level of the output node to a voltage level that is greater than the supply voltage level; wherein switching transistors that are placed between each capacitor in the second network so as to connect all the capacitors in series are controlled by a first signal of the two other clock signals having a peak voltage that is greater than the voltage level to be switched to the output node of the network. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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11. A circuit to generate an output signal having an amplitude that is greater than a supply voltage, the circuit comprising:
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a plurality of capacitors forming a network of capacitors, each capacitor in the network having a first terminal and a second terminal, the first terminal of each capacitor being coupled to the supply voltage and the second terminal of each capacitor being coupled to a reference voltage; a plurality of switching transistors including a plurality of series switching transistors, each respective series switching transistor being coupled in series between the first terminal of a respective capacitor in the network and the second terminal of a next capacitor that is next in the network, a last series switching transistor being coupled between the first terminal of a last capacitor in the network and an output of the network; and a control circuit, coupled to each of the plurality of switching transistors, to generate a first signal that isolates each capacitor in the network and simultaneously charges each capacitor to a voltage level of the supply voltage and a second signal that connects each capacitor in the network in series between the supply voltage and the output of the network to generate the output signal; wherein the first signal has a peak amplitude that is approximately equal to the supply voltage, the second signal has a peak amplitude that is greater than the output signal, and the first signal is in phase opposition to the second signal. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A high voltage generator comprising:
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an oscillator circuit to generate an oscillating clock signal; a Schenkel type charge pump including an output transistor to supply an output voltage; and a phase generation circuit coupled between the oscillator circuit and the charge pump to receive the oscillating clock signal and generate two pairs of signals including a first pair of signals and a second pair of signals, the first pair of signals including a first signal and a second signal that are complementary to each other, non-overlapping, and switch between a reference voltage level of a reference voltage and a supply voltage level of a supply voltage, the second pair of signals including a third signal and a fourth signal corresponding to the first and second signals, respectively, and switching between the reference voltage level and a third voltage level when the first and second signals, respectively, are at the supply voltage level, the third and fourth signals having an amplitude that is greater than a threshold voltage of the output transistor of the charge pump in addition to a body effect of the output transistor, wherein the phase generation circuit includes; a first network of capacitors coupled to a first plurality of switching transistors having two modes of operation, a first mode isolating each of the capacitors in the first network and simultaneously charging each of the capacitors to the supply voltage level, and a second mode connecting each of the capacitors in the first network in series between the supply voltage and an output node of the first network to provide the third signal; and a second network of capacitors coupled to a second plurality of switching transistors having two modes of operation, a third mode isolating each of the capacitors in the second network and simultaneously charging each of the capacitors to the supply voltage level, and a fourth mode connecting each of the capacitors in the second network in series between the supply voltage and an output node of the second network to provide the fourth signal. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method of controlling a charge pump, comprising the steps of:
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(A) generating first and second signals that are complementary to each other, non-overlapping, and switch between a reference voltage level of a reference voltage and a supply voltage level of a supply voltage; (B) isolating and simultaneously charging each capacitor in a first network of capacitors to the supply voltage level when the first signal is at the reference voltage level; (C) isolating and simultaneously charging each capacitor in a second network of capacitors to the supply voltage level when the second signal is at the reference voltage level; (D) connecting each capacitor in the first network of capacitors in series between the supply voltage and an output node of the first network when the first signal is at the supply voltage level to generate a third signal, synchronized to the first signal, having a peak voltage level greater than the supply voltage level; (E) connecting each capacitor in the second network of capacitors in series between the supply voltage and an output node of the second network when the second signal is at the supply voltage level to generate a fourth signal, synchronized to the fourth signal, having a peak voltage level greater than the supply voltage level; and (F) limiting the peak voltage levels of the third and fourth signals to be less than a gate oxide breakdown voltage of an output transistor of the charge pump. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A voltage generator comprising:
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an oscillator to generate an oscillating clock signal; a Schenkel type charge pump to supply an output voltage that is greater than a supply voltage level of a supply voltage; a principal signal generator, coupled to the oscillator and the charge pump, to receive the oscillating clock signal, generate first and second signals that are complementary to each other, non-overlapping, and switch between a reference voltage level of a reference voltage and the supply voltage level, and provide the first and second signals to the charge pump; a first network of capacitors and switching transistors coupled to the charge pump, to generate a third signal and provide the third signal to the charge pump, the third signal corresponding to the first signal and switching between the reference voltage level and a third voltage level that is greater than the supply voltage level when the first signal is at the supply voltage level; a second network of capacitors and switching transistors coupled to the charge pump, to generate a fourth signal and provide the fourth signal to the charge pump, the fourth signal corresponding to the second signal and switching between the reference voltage level and the third voltage level when the second signal is at the supply voltage level; and secondary signal generation means, coupled to the principle signal generator and the first and second networks of capacitors and switching transistors, for generating first and second pairs of switching control signals to respectively generate the third and fourth signals. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification