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EP-4742521-A2 - APPARATUS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR RECONFIGURABLE DICKSON STAR SWITCHED CAPACITOR VOLTAGE REGULATOR

EP4742521A2EP 4742521 A2EP4742521 A2EP 4742521A2EP-4742521-A2

Abstract

A voltage regulator provides a final voltage signal based on a first received voltage signal. The voltage regulator comprises a switched-inductor regulator (2702) consisting of an inductor. A first inductor terminal comprises an input terminal of the switched-inductor regulator configured to receive the first voltage signal (202). A second inductor terminal comprises an output terminal of the switched-inductor regulator configured to provide an intermediate voltage signal. The voltage regulator further comprises a step-down regulator (2704) configured to receive the intermediate voltage signal from the output terminal of the switched-inductor regulator, a switch matrix, a plurality of capacitors, and an output terminal, configured to provide the final voltage signal (208). The voltage regulator further comprises a control module configured to cause the switch matrix in the step-down regulator to alternate between first/second configurations to arrange the plurality of capacitors in first and second arrangements with a predetermined duty cycle, thereby duty-cycling the inductor.

Inventors

  • PUGGELLI, Alberto Alessandro Angelo
  • LI, THOMAS
  • KIM, WONYOUNG
  • CROSSLEY, JOHN
  • LE, HANH-PHUC

Assignees

  • Lion Semiconductor Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20170414

Claims (15)

  1. A voltage regulator comprising: a switched capacitor regulator configured to receive an input voltage and generate an intermediate voltage, wherein the switched capacitor regulator comprises: a first switched capacitor regulator module comprising a first plurality of capacitors and a first switch matrix; and a second switched capacitor regulator module comprising a second plurality of capacitors and a second switch matrix; a switched inductor voltage regulator configured to receive the intermediate voltage and generate an output voltage; and a control module for controlling switching of each of first and second switched capacitor regulator modules between two configurations such that the first and second switched capacitor regulator modules are each switched at a duty cycle of 0.5 and in antiphase with one another.
  2. The voltage regulator of claim 1 wherein control module is further configured to control switching of the switched inductor regulator with a controlled duty-cycle which is independent of the duty-cycle of the first and second switched capacitor regulator modules.
  3. The voltage regulator of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the voltage regulator is a step-down voltage regulator.
  4. The voltage regulator of any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the switched capacitor regulator is a step-down voltage regulator.
  5. The voltage regulator of any preceding claim wherein each of the first and second switched capacitor regulator modules has a reconfigurable voltage conversion ratio.
  6. The voltage regulator of any preceding claim wherein the first switched capacitor regulator module and the second switched capacitor regulator module comprise an identical switched capacitor regulator topology.
  7. The voltage regulator of any preceding claim wherein the each of the first and second switched capacitor regulator modules comprises a Dickson star topology.
  8. The voltage regulator of any of claims 1 to 6 wherein the each of the first and second switched capacitor regulator modules comprises a ladder topology.
  9. The voltage regulator of any preceding claim wherein the switched inductor voltage regulator comprises a buck-converter.
  10. The voltage regulator of any preceding claim implemented as a system-on-a-chip.
  11. An electronic device comprising voltage regulator of any preceding claim.
  12. A method of voltage regulation comprising: operating a switched capacitor voltage regulator to receive an input voltage and generate an intermediate voltage, wherein the switched capacitor regulator comprises: a first switched capacitor regulator module comprising a first plurality of capacitors and a first switch matrix; and a second switched capacitor regulator module comprising a second plurality of capacitors and a second switch matrix; and operating a switched inductor voltage regulator to receive the intermediate voltage with and generate an output voltage; wherein operating the switched capacitor voltage regulator comprises controlling switching of each of first and second switched capacitor regulator modules between two configurations such that the first and second switched capacitor regulator modules are each switched at a duty cycle of 0.5 and in antiphase with one another.
  13. The method of claim 12 wherein operating the switched inductor voltage regulator comprises switching of the switched inductor regulator with a controlled duty-cycle which is independent of the duty-cycle of the first and second switched capacitor regulator modules.
  14. The method of claim 12 or claim 13 wherein the output voltage is a stepped-down with respect to the input voltage.
  15. The method of any of claims 12 to 14 wherein the each of the first and second switched capacitor regulator modules comprises an identical switched capacitor regulator topology which is one of a Dickson star topology and a ladder topology.

Description

Cross reference to related applications This application claims benefit of the earlier filing date, under 35 U.S.C. §119(e), of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/324,091, filed on April 18, 2016, entitled "RECONFIGURABLE DICKSON STAR SWITCHED CAPACITOR VOLTAGE REGULATOR", which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Statement Regarding Federally Sponsored Research or Development This invention was made with government support under 1353640 and 1519788 awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The government has certain rights in the invention. Technical Field The present disclosure relates to apparatuses, systems, and methods for providing a reconfigurable Dickson Star switched capacitor voltage regulator and/or providing a hybrid (e.g., two-stage) voltage regulator. Background There is a strong demand to reduce the size of electronic systems. The size reduction is especially desirable in mobile electronics where space is a premium, but is also desirable in servers that are placed in big data centers since it is important to squeeze in as many servers as possible in a fixed real estate. One of the largest components in electronic systems includes voltage regulators (also referred to as power regulators). Power regulators often include a large number of bulky off-chip components to deliver voltages to integrated chips, including processors, memory devices (e.g., a dynamic read access memory (DRAM)), radio-frequency (RF) chips, WiFi combo chips, and power amplifiers. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the size of the voltage regulators in electronic systems. Power regulators include semiconductor chips, such as a DC-DC regulator chip, that deliver power from a power source (e.g., a battery) to an output load. The output load can include a variety of integrated chips (e.g.,an application processor, a DRAM, a NAND flash memory) in an electronic device. To efficiently deliver power, a voltage regulator can use a "buck" topology. Such a regulator is referred to as a buck regulator. A buck regulator transfers charges from the power source to the output load using an inductor. A buck regulator can use power switches to connect/disconnect the inductor to one of multiple voltages, thereby providing an output voltage that is a weighted average of the multiple voltages. A buck regulator can adjust the output voltage by controlling the amount of time the inductor is coupled to one of the multiple voltages. Unfortunately, a buck regulator is not suitable for highly integrated electronic systems. The conversion efficiency of a buck regulator depends on the size of the inductor, in particular when the power conversion ratio is high and when the amount of current consumed by the output load is high. Because an inductor can occupy a large area and is bulky to integrate on-die or on-package, existing buck regulators often use a large number of off-chip inductor components. This strategy often requires a large area on the printed circuit board, which in turn increases the size of the electronic device. The challenge is exacerbated as mobile system-on-chips (SoCs) become more complex and need increasingly larger number of voltage domains to be delivered by the voltage regulator. Summary Some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter include a voltage regulator for regulating an input voltage at an input terminal to an output voltage at an output terminal. The regulator includes a capacitor matrix having a first capacitor sub-matrix and a second capacitor sub-matrix. The regulator also includes a switch matrix having a first switch sub-matrix, a second switch sub-matrix, a third switch sub-matrix, a fourth switch sub-matrix, and a fifth switch sub-matrix. A capacitor in the first capacitor sub-matrix is coupled to the output terminal through an associated switch in the first switch sub-matrix and is further coupled to a ground terminal through an associated switch in the second switch sub-matrix. A capacitor in the second capacitor sub-matrix is coupled to the output terminal through an associated switch in the third switch sub-matrix and is further coupled to the ground terminal through an associated switch in the fourth switch sub-matrix. Also, the fifth switch sub-matrix has an N number of switches arranged in series between the input terminal and the output terminal, and each switch in the fifth switch sub-matrix is connected to an associated capacitor in the first capacitor sub-matrix and an associated capacitor in the second capacitor sub-matrix. A K number of switches in the fifth switch sub-matrix that are closest to the input terminal are turned on to reconfigure the voltage regulator to provide a conversion ratio of (N-K):l, wherein K is a non-negative value less than N. In one or more embodiments disclosed herein, the switch matrix is configured to alternate between a first configuration and a second configuration at a predetermined duty-cycle while keeping the K number of switches turned o