Method and apparatus for measuring charge pump output current
First Claim
1. A method for measuring output current (Iout) of a charge pump, the method comprising:
- providing a charge pump comprising a plurality of n charge pump stages, wherein an output of stage n−
1(Von−
1) is output to stage n, an output voltage of stage n being referred to as charge pump voltage output Vout;
connecting an additional output pass device to the output of stage n−
1, an output voltage of said additional output pass device being referred to as Voutm;
forcing Voutm to be at least approximately equal to Vout;
drawing at least one of output voltage (Voutm) and output current (Ioutm) from the additional output pass device;
measuring Ioutm; and
correlating Iout with Ioutm.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for measuring output current of a charge pump, the method including providing a charge pump including a plurality of n charge pump stages, wherein an output of stage n−1(Von−1) is output to stage n, an output voltage of stage n being referred to as charge pump voltage output Vout, connecting an additional output pass device to the output of stage n−1, an output voltage of the additional output pass device being referred to as Voutm, forcing Voutm to be at least approximately equal to Vout, drawing at least one of output voltage (Voutm) and output current (Ioutm) from the additional output pass device, measuring Ioutm (e.g., comparing Ioutm with a reference current), and correlating Iout with Ioutm.
534 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for measuring output current (Iout) of a charge pump, the method comprising:
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providing a charge pump comprising a plurality of n charge pump stages, wherein an output of stage n−
1(Von−
1) is output to stage n, an output voltage of stage n being referred to as charge pump voltage output Vout;connecting an additional output pass device to the output of stage n−
1, an output voltage of said additional output pass device being referred to as Voutm;forcing Voutm to be at least approximately equal to Vout; drawing at least one of output voltage (Voutm) and output current (Ioutm) from the additional output pass device; measuring Ioutm; and correlating Iout with Ioutm. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. Circuit architecture for measuring output current (Iout) of a charge pump, comprising:
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a charge pump comprising a plurality of n charge pump stages, wherein an output of stage n−
1 (Von−
1) is output to stage n, an output voltage of stage n being referred to as charge pump voltage output Vout;an additional output pass device connected to the output of stage n−
1, an output voltage of said additional output pass device being referred to as Voutm;a first circuit portion for forcing Voutm to be at least approximately equal to Vout and for drawing at least one of output voltage (Voutm) and output current (Ioutm) from the additional output pass device; and a second circuit portion for measuring Ioutm and correlating Iout with Ioutm. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification