Voltage regulation with active supplemental current for output stabilization
First Claim
1. A voltage regulation circuit having an input terminal for receiving a supply voltage and having an output terminal, comprising:
- an amplifier that receives the supply voltage and produces a regulated output voltage at the output terminal wherein said amplifier responds to a change to the regulated output voltage only after an amplifier response delay time;
a feedback circuit operatively connected to the output terminal and to a feedback terminal of said amplifier;
a decoupling capacitor operatively connected to the output terminal arranged to provide a decoupling capacitor current to the output terminal only during the amplifier response delay time; and
a supplemental current source operatively connected to the output terminal, said supplemental current source controllably providing a supplemental current to the output terminal in co-operation with the decoupling capacitor providing the decoupling capacitor current only during the amplifier response delay time thereby stabilizing the regulated output voltage by substantially eliminating a downward going voltage transition at the output terminal during the amplifier response delay time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques for efficiently stabilizing an output voltage produced by a voltage regulation circuit are disclosed. One embodiment pertains to a voltage regulation circuit that includes a supplemental current source that can be controllably activated to provide a supplemental current to an output terminal of the voltage regulation circuit. This supplemental current can then assist in stabilizing the output voltage level at the output terminal of the voltage regulation circuit even in the presence of high current surges by a load (i.e., electronic circuitry). Advantageously, given the availability of the supplemental current, the required amount of capacitance for a decoupling capacitor (also coupled to the output terminal of the voltage regulation circuit) can be significantly reduced. In the case of semiconductor electronic devices, the reduction in the needed capacitance yields substantial die area savings with respect to decoupling capacitors.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A voltage regulation circuit having an input terminal for receiving a supply voltage and having an output terminal, comprising:
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an amplifier that receives the supply voltage and produces a regulated output voltage at the output terminal wherein said amplifier responds to a change to the regulated output voltage only after an amplifier response delay time; a feedback circuit operatively connected to the output terminal and to a feedback terminal of said amplifier; a decoupling capacitor operatively connected to the output terminal arranged to provide a decoupling capacitor current to the output terminal only during the amplifier response delay time; and a supplemental current source operatively connected to the output terminal, said supplemental current source controllably providing a supplemental current to the output terminal in co-operation with the decoupling capacitor providing the decoupling capacitor current only during the amplifier response delay time thereby stabilizing the regulated output voltage by substantially eliminating a downward going voltage transition at the output terminal during the amplifier response delay time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A voltage regulation circuit having an input terminal for receiving a supply voltage and having an output terminal, comprising:
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an amplifier that receives the supply voltage and produces a regulated output voltage at the output terminal wherein said amplifier responds to a change to the regulated output voltage only after an amplifier response delay time; a decoupling capacitor operatively connected to the output terminal arranged to provide a decoupling capacitor current to the output terminal only during the amplifier response delay time; a resistor divider operatively connected to the output terminal to provide a divided voltage to a feedback terminal of said amplifier; a current limiter operatively connected to the supply voltage; and a transistor operatively connected to said current limiter and to the output terminal wherein the current limiter and the transistor controllably providing a supplemental current to the output terminal in co-operation with the decoupling capacitor providing the decoupling capacitor current only during the amplifier response delay time thereby stabilizing the regulated output voltage by substantially eliminating a downward going voltage transition at the output terminal during the amplifier response delay time. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A memory product, comprising:
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data storage elements; a controller for performing data storage and retrieval with respect to the data storage elements; and at least one voltage generation circuit coupled to the controller, the voltage generation circuit comprising; an amplifier that receives a supply voltage and produces a regulated output voltage at an output terminal wherein said amplifier responds to a change to the regulated output voltage only after an amplifier response delay time; a feedback circuit operatively connected to the output terminal and to a feedback terminal of said amplifier; a decoupling capacitor operatively connected to the output terminal arranged to provide a decoupling capacitor current to the output terminal only during the amplifier response delay time; and a supplemental current source operatively connected to the output terminal, said supplemental current source controllably providing a supplemental current to the output terminal in co-operation with the decoupling capacitor providing the decoupling capacitor current only during the amplifier response delay time thereby stabilizing the regulated output voltage by substantially eliminating a downward going voltage transition at the output terminal during the amplifier response delay time. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An electronic system, comprising:
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a data acquisition device; and a data storage device removably coupled to the data acquisition unit, the data storage device storing data acquired by the data acquisition device, and the data storage device including at least; data storage elements; a controller for performing data storage and retrieval with respect to the data storage elements; and at least one voltage generation circuit coupled to the controller, the voltage generation circuit including at least; an amplifier that receives a supply voltage and produces a regulated output voltage at an output terminal wherein said amplifier responds to a change to the regulated output voltage only after an amplifier response delay time; a feedback circuit operatively connected to the output terminal and to a feedback terminal of said amplifier; a decoupling capacitor operatively connected to the output terminal arranged to provide a decoupling capacitor current to the output terminal only during the amplifier response delay time; and a supplemental current source operatively connected to the output terminal, said supplemental current source controllably providing a supplemental current to the output terminal in co-operation with the decoupling capacitor providing the decoupling capacitor current only during the amplifier response delay time thereby stabilizing the regulated output voltage by substantially eliminating a downward going voltage transition at the output terminal during the amplifier response delay time. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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Specification