Voltage regulation subsystem
First Claim
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1. A voltage regulation system for regulating voltage in an integrated circuit, the system comprising:
- an auxiliary regulator;
a bandgap comparator; and
an interface with an external regulator,wherein the bandgap comparator compares an external regulator bandgap voltage with an internal reference voltage and outputs a comparison signal to the auxiliary regulator, wherein the auxiliary regulator is enabled if the comparison signal indicates that the external regulator bandgap voltage is less than the internal reference voltage and a predetermined offset,wherein the enabled auxiliary regulator boosts a first supply voltage in accordance with predetermined criteria, thereby ensuring that the integrated circuit exits reset,wherein the bandgap comparator is enabled only when the reference voltage is determined to be stable,wherein the first supply voltage is boosted using a second supply voltage, the second supply voltage being higher than the first supply voltage,wherein the second supply voltage also is supplied to a low voltage detection (LVD) unit, said LVD unit monitoring whether the second supply voltage falls below an LVD threshold value, andwherein the bandgap comparator is disabled when the second supply voltage falls below the LVD threshold.
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Abstract
A voltage regulation subsystem for a microprocessor has both internal and external regulation modes. An internal auxiliary voltage regulator is selectively enabled to overdrive the voltage. The enablement of the auxiliary voltage regulator is contingent upon a comparison of bandgap references of the internal and external regulators used in the respective regulation modes, which boosts the supply voltage, enables circuitry supplied by the external regulator (with the assistance of auxiliary voltage regulators) to boot robustly in extreme Process-Voltage-Temperature (PVT) conditions.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A voltage regulation system for regulating voltage in an integrated circuit, the system comprising:
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an auxiliary regulator; a bandgap comparator; and an interface with an external regulator, wherein the bandgap comparator compares an external regulator bandgap voltage with an internal reference voltage and outputs a comparison signal to the auxiliary regulator, wherein the auxiliary regulator is enabled if the comparison signal indicates that the external regulator bandgap voltage is less than the internal reference voltage and a predetermined offset, wherein the enabled auxiliary regulator boosts a first supply voltage in accordance with predetermined criteria, thereby ensuring that the integrated circuit exits reset, wherein the bandgap comparator is enabled only when the reference voltage is determined to be stable, wherein the first supply voltage is boosted using a second supply voltage, the second supply voltage being higher than the first supply voltage, wherein the second supply voltage also is supplied to a low voltage detection (LVD) unit, said LVD unit monitoring whether the second supply voltage falls below an LVD threshold value, and wherein the bandgap comparator is disabled when the second supply voltage falls below the LVD threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for regulating voltage in an electronic circuit, the method comprising:
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receiving an external regulator bandgap from a first voltage regulator, said first voltage regulator being external to the electronic circuit; receiving an internal reference voltage from a reference generator, said reference generator being internal to the electronic circuit; determining whether the external regulator bandgap is stable; comparing, in a bandgap comparator unit, the external regulator bandgap with the internal reference voltage; outputting a comparison signal to an auxiliary regulator; enabling the auxiliary regulator if the comparison signal indicates that the external regulator bandgap is less than the internal reference voltage and a predetermined offset; boosting, at the enabled auxiliary regulator, a supply voltage in accordance with a predetermined criterion, thereby ensuring that the electronic circuit comes out of reset, enabling the bandgap comparator unit only when the external regulator bandgap is stable; and wherein; the supply voltage is boosted using a second supply voltage that is higher than the supply voltage, the second supply voltage is also supplied to a low voltage detection, LVD, unit that monitors whether the second supply voltage falls below an LVD threshold, and determining whether the external regulator bandgap is stable comprises determining that the second supply voltage exceeds the LVD threshold. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification