Semiconductor chip power supply system

• US 10,630,181 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2018
• Issued: 04/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Delta Electronics Company Limited (Delta Electronics Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Delta Electronics Company Limited (Delta Electronics Incorporated)
• Inventors: Zeng, Jianhong, Ye, Haoyi, Xin, Xiaoni, He, Siyu, Zou, Xinjian
• Primary Examiner(s): Wells, Kenneth B
• Application Number:
  US16/122,844
• Publication Number:
  US 20190074771A1
• Time in Patent Office: 594 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/28 Supervision thereof, e.g. detecting power-supply failure by out of limits supervision
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/0655 the devices being arranged next to each other
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 1/08 Circuits specially adapted for the generation of control voltages for semiconductor devices incorporated in static converters
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/1584 with a plurality of power processing stages connected in parallel
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 3/1588 comprising at least one synchronous rectifier element H02M3/1582, H02M3/1584 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/10 Technologies improving the efficiency by using switched-mode power supplies [SMPS], i.e. efficient power electronics conversion e.g. power factor correction or reduction of losses in power supplies or efficient standby modes

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a semiconductor chip power supply system, including: a semiconductor chip including: a first data processing function area and a first power converter control area, the first data processing function area and the first power converter control area being formed on a first semiconductor substrate of the semiconductor chip; and a first power converter power stage located outside the first semiconductor substrate and electrically connected to the first power converter control area and the first data processing function area; wherein the first power converter control area controls the first power converter power stage to supply power to the first data processing function area.

Claims

1. A semiconductor chip power supply system, comprising:

a semiconductor chip comprising;

a first data processing function area and a first power converter control area, the first data processing function area and the first power converter control area being formed on a first semiconductor substrate of the semiconductor chip; and

a first power converter power stage located outside the first semiconductor substrate and electrically connected to the first power converter control area and the first data processing function area;

wherein the first power converter control area controls the first power converter power stage to supply power to the first data processing function area, and the first power converter control area receives a signal of an output voltage of the first power converter power stage and adjusts an output voltage of the first power converter power stage according to a working frequency of the first data processing function area;

wherein the first power converter power stage comprises;

at least a switch, a driver and at least a passive device,

wherein the semiconductor chip power supply system has a startup sequence as below;

the first power converter control area is supplied with a required voltage Vcon, after initiation of the first power converter control area, an input voltage to the first power converter power stage Vin is being detected, and when it is detected that the input voltage to the first power converter power stage enters into a pre-defined range, the first power converter control area controls the first power converter power stage to supply power Vo to other parts of the semiconductor chip besides the first power converter control area.

2. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip comprises:

a drive signal sending pin, the first power converter control area sends a drive signal to the driver via the drive signal sending pin, the driver drives the switch according to the drive signal, and the switch cooperates with the passive device to supply power to the first data processing function area.

3. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the first power converter power stage comprises:

a multi-phase paralleled buck circuit or a switched capacitor circuit.

4. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 2, wherein the first power converter power stage comprises:

a working status signal sending pin for sending a working status signal of the first power converter power stage to the first power converter control area, and the semiconductor chip comprises;

a working status signal receiving pin for receiving the working status signal and transmitting the working status signal to the first power converter control area inside the semiconductor chip.

5. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 4, wherein the drive signal sending pin and the working status signal receiving pin are multiplexed.

6. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip comprises:

a first power supply pin and a second power supply pin, the first power supply pin is electrically connected to the first data processing function area and receives a first voltage provided by the first power converter power stage to supply power to the first data processing function area, and the second power supply pin is electrically connected to the first power converter control area and receives a second voltage to supply power to the first power converter control area.

7. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 6, wherein the first power supply pin is further electrically connected to the first power converter control area, and when the first voltage is greater than a threshold value, the first voltage of the first power supply pin is used to supply power to the first power converter control area instead of the second voltage of the second power supply pin.

8. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip further comprises:

a first power management data register and a first semiconductor chip power management area, the first power management data register is electrically connected to the first semiconductor chip power management area, the first power management data register is electrically connected to the first power converter control area, the first semiconductor chip power management area provides a control parameter required by the first power converter control area and stores the control parameter into the first power management data register, and the first power converter control area adjusts a power output of the first power converter power stage by reading the control parameter in the first power management data register.

9. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the number of the first data processing function areas is N, and each of the first data processing function areas is electrically connected to the first power supply pin, N being greater than or equal to 2.

10. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 6, wherein the semiconductor chip further comprises:

a second data processing function area and a second power converter control area, the second data processing function area and the second power converter control area are formed on the first semiconductor substrate of the semiconductor chip; and

the semiconductor chip power supply system further comprises;

a second power converter power stage located outside the first semiconductor substrate and electrically connected to the second power converter control area and the second data processing function area;

wherein the second power converter control area controls the second power converter power stage to supply power to the second data processing function area.

11. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 10, wherein the semiconductor chip comprises:

a third power supply pin and a fourth power supply pin, the third power supply pin is electrically connected to the second data processing function area and receives a third voltage provided by the second power converter power stage to supply power to the second data processing function area, and the fourth power supply pin is electrically connected to the second power converter control area and receives a fourth voltage to supply power to the second power converter control area.

12. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 11, wherein the first voltage is different from the third voltage, or the second voltage is different from the fourth voltage, or the first voltage is different from the third voltage and the second voltage is different from the fourth voltage.

13. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 10, wherein the semiconductor chip comprises:

a third power supply pin, the third power supply pin is electrically connected to the second data processing function area and receives a third voltage provided by the second power converter power stage to supply power to the second data processing function area, and the second power supply pin is further electrically connected to the second power converter control area to supply power to the second power converter control area.

14. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 10, wherein the semiconductor chip further comprises:

a second power management data register and a second semiconductor chip power management area, the second power management data register is electrically connected to the second semiconductor chip power management area, the second power management data register is electrically connected to the second power converter control area, the second semiconductor chip power management area provides a control parameter required by the second power converter control area and stores the control parameter into the second power management data register, and the second power converter control area adjusts a power output of the second power converter power stage by reading the control parameter in the second power management data register.

15. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 10, wherein the semiconductor chip further comprises:

a first power management data register and a first semiconductor chip power management area, the first power management data register is electrically connected to the first semiconductor chip power management area, the first power management data register is electrically connected to the first power converter control area and the second power converter control area, the first semiconductor chip power management area provides control parameters required by the first power converter control area and the second power converter control area and stores the control parameters into the first power management data register, and the first power converter control area and the second power converter control area respectively adjust power outputs of the first power converter power stage and the second power converter power stage by reading the control parameters in the first power management data register.

16. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip further comprises:

a second data processing function area formed on the first semiconductor substrate of the semiconductor chip;

the semiconductor chip power supply system further comprises;

a second power converter power stage located outside the first semiconductor substrate and a power supply control chip formed on a second semiconductor substrate, the second power converter power stage being electrically connected to the power supply control chip and the second data processing function area;

wherein the power supply control chip controls the second power converter power stage to supply power to the second data processing function area.

17. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 16, wherein a process precision of the semiconductor chip is higher than or equal to 28 nm, and a process precision of the power supply control chip is lower than 28 nm.

18. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the first power converter power stage is mounted in a slot of the semiconductor chip.

19. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip is carried on a semiconductor chip carrier board, the semiconductor chip carrier board is plugged on a motherboard, and the first power converter power stage is disposed to contact to the semiconductor chip carrier board.

20. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 19, wherein the first power converter power stage is mounted between the semiconductor chip carrier board and the motherboard.

21. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 19, wherein the first power converter power stage penetrates through the motherboard and is mounted below the semiconductor chip carrier board.

22. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a high frequency capacitor integrated in the first power converter power stage, the high frequency capacitor having a resonant frequency greater than or equal to 2 MHz.

23. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 8, wherein the first semiconductor chip power management area, after receiving information that the first data processing function area is to change consumed current, provides the control parameter to the first power converter control area, so that the first power converter control area controls the output voltage of the first power converter power stage to be adjusted before the current consumed by the first data processing function area changes, and an adjustment direction of the output voltage of the first power converter power stage is opposite to a change direction of the output voltage of the first power converter power stage due to the change of the current consumed by the first data processing function area.

24. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 1, wherein a highest operation frequency of the semiconductor chip is greater than or equal to 500 MHz.

25. The semiconductor chip power supply system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a direct current-direct current converter electrically connected to an input end of the first power converter power stage.