Ultra low-voltage circuit and method for nanopower boost regulator
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for providing an ultra-low-voltage startup for energy harvesting, the apparatus comprising:
- a ring oscillator that is powered by a power supply;
a first charge pump that is driven by a clock output of the ring oscillator and that outputs a boosted voltage;
a second charge pump to produce an output, wherein a boosted clock signal is generated by a clock boost generation element, when the output of the second charge pump is higher than a designated voltage;
a first N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) transistor having a gate connected to the first charge pump and that receives the boosted voltage; and
a second NMOS transistor in series with the first NMOS transistor, the second NMOS transistor having a drain connected to a source of the first NMOS transistor and a gate that receives an input at least based on the boosted clock signal.
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Abstract
At least one embodiment provides a method for a nanopower boost regulator to startup from an ultra-low-voltage (such as 0.3V˜0.5V) for energy harvesting applications. The method does not necessarily require a special process or any external components such as mechanical switches. The startup circuit can include an asynchronous boost circuit to charge up an output with stacked power NMOS transistors, a ring oscillator, and/or a charge pump, along with accompanying circuitry.
20 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for providing an ultra-low-voltage startup for energy harvesting, the apparatus comprising:
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a ring oscillator that is powered by a power supply; a first charge pump that is driven by a clock output of the ring oscillator and that outputs a boosted voltage; a second charge pump to produce an output, wherein a boosted clock signal is generated by a clock boost generation element, when the output of the second charge pump is higher than a designated voltage; a first N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) transistor having a gate connected to the first charge pump and that receives the boosted voltage; and a second NMOS transistor in series with the first NMOS transistor, the second NMOS transistor having a drain connected to a source of the first NMOS transistor and a gate that receives an input at least based on the boosted clock signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method implemented by an ultra-low-voltage startup for energy harvesting, the method comprising:
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generating a clock output with a ring oscillator; boosting an input voltage at least based on the clock output, to produce a boosted voltage with a first charge pump; producing an output of a second charge pump, wherein a boosted clock signal is generated by a clock boost generation element, when the output of the second charge pump is higher than a designated voltage; receiving the boosted voltage at a gate of a first N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) transistor; and receiving, at a gate of a second NMOS transistor, the second NMOS transistor in series with the first NMOS transistor, an input at least based on the boosted clock signal, wherein a drain of the second NMOS transistor is connected to a source of the first NMOS transistor. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification