KR-20260066965-A - Low Drop-Out Regulator

KR20260066965AKR 20260066965 AKR20260066965 AKR 20260066965AKR-20260066965-A

Abstract

A low dropout regulator according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure comprises a floating circuit, a class AB circuit, a plurality of small transistors connected to a main transistor and a pass transistor that senses an output load current by feedback and controls the operating state of the floating circuit and the class AB circuit based on the magnitude of the output load current, and changes the operating state according to the magnitude of the output load current, and a bulk bias circuit that increases the magnitude of the output load current by controlling the operating state of the plurality of small transistors.

Inventors

유현재
김두호

Assignees

주식회사 뷰웍스

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20241105

Claims (18)

Floating circuit; Class AB circuit; A main transistor that senses the output load current by feedback, controls the operating state of the floating circuit and the Class AB circuit based on the magnitude of the output load current, and changes the operating state according to the magnitude of the output load current; and A low dropout regulator comprising: a bulk bias circuit that includes a plurality of small transistors connected to a pass transistor, and increases the magnitude of the output load current by controlling the operating state of the plurality of small transistors.
In paragraph 1, The above main transistor is, A low dropout regulator characterized by transitioning to a turn-on state in response to the magnitude of the output load current becoming equal to or greater than a preset magnitude.
In paragraph 2, A low dropout regulator characterized by the fact that when an output load current smaller than a preset size is sensed, the sub-transistor and the main transistor are turned on and turned off, respectively, and when an output load current equal to or greater than a preset size is sensed, both the sub-transistor and the main transistor are turned on.
In paragraph 1, The above floating circuit and the above Class AB circuit are, A low dropout regulator characterized by transitioning to a turn-on state in response to the magnitude of the output load current becoming equal to or greater than a preset magnitude.
In paragraph 4, The above floating circuit and the above Class AB circuit are, A low dropout regulator characterized by turning off all when an output load current smaller than a preset size is detected, and turning on all when an output load current equal to or greater than a preset size is detected.
In paragraph 1, Including a controller; further The above plurality of small transistors are, It includes a first small transistor and a second small transistor, The above controller is, A low dropout regulator characterized by providing a control signal to at least one gate terminal of the first small transistor and the second small transistor.
In paragraph 6, The above pass transistor is, It includes at least one of a sub-transistor and a main transistor, and One end of the above pass transistor is connected to one end of the above first small transistor, and The other end of the above pass transistor is connected to one end of the above second small transistor, and A low dropout regulator characterized in that the first small transistor and the second small transistor are connected by their respective other terminals.
In paragraph 6, The above pass transistor is, A low dropout regulator comprising at least one of a sub-transistor and a main transistor, characterized by being connected through the body terminals of the first small transistor and the second small transistor and the pass transistor.
In paragraph 1, A low dropout regulator further comprising a Flipped Voltage Follower Circuit (FVF) that raises the frequency position of the non-dominant pole by lowering the impedance magnitude of the amplifier circuit when the magnitude of the output load current is smaller than a preset magnitude.
Flipped Voltage Follower Circuit (FVF) that raises the frequency position of the non-dominant pole by lowering the impedance of the amplifier circuit when the magnitude of the output load current is smaller than a preset magnitude; A main transistor that senses an output load current by feedback and changes its operating state according to the magnitude of the output load current; and A low dropout regulator comprising: a bulk bias circuit that includes a plurality of small transistors connected to a pass transistor, and increases the magnitude of the output load current by controlling the operating state of the plurality of small transistors.
In Paragraph 10, Floating circuit; and It further includes a Class AB circuit, A low dropout regulator characterized in that the floating circuit and the class AB circuit change their operating state based on the magnitude of the output load current.
In Paragraph 11, A low dropout regulator characterized in that the main transistor transitions to a turn-on state in response to the magnitude of the output load current being equal to or greater than a preset magnitude.
In Paragraph 12, A low dropout regulator characterized by controlling the sub-transistor and the main transistor to turn on and turn off, respectively, when an output load current smaller than a preset size is sensed, and controlling both the sub-transistor and the main transistor to turn on when an output load current equal to or greater than a preset size is sensed.
In Paragraph 11, A low dropout regulator characterized in that, in response to the magnitude of the output load current being equal to or greater than a preset magnitude, the floating circuit and the class AB circuit transition to a turn-on state.
In Paragraph 14, A low dropout regulator characterized by the fact that when an output load current smaller than a preset size is sensed, both the floating circuit and the Class AB circuit are turned off, and when an output load current equal to or greater than a preset size is sensed, both the floating circuit and the Class AB circuit are turned on.
In Paragraph 11, Including a controller; further The above plurality of small transistors are, It includes a first small transistor and a second small transistor, The above controller is, A low dropout regulator characterized by providing a control signal to at least one gate terminal of the first small transistor and the second small transistor.
In Paragraph 16, The above pass transistor is, It includes at least one of a sub-transistor and a main transistor, and One end of the above pass transistor is connected to one end of the above first small transistor, and The other end of the above pass transistor is connected to one end of the above second small transistor, and A low dropout regulator characterized in that the first small transistor and the second small transistor are connected by their respective other terminals.
In Paragraph 16, The above pass transistor is, A low dropout regulator comprising at least one of a sub-transistor and a main transistor, characterized by being connected through the body terminals of the first small transistor and the second small transistor and the pass transistor.

Description

Low Drop-Out Regulator The technical concept of the present disclosure relates to amplifier circuits, and more specifically, to amplifier circuits including a Low Drop-Out (LDO) regulator. With the advancement of industry today, various technologies are being proposed across diverse industrial fields to acquire images of subjects and process information based on those images. Among these, the demand for Low Drop-Out (LDO) regulators—a type of amplifier circuit that does not use external capacitors—is continuously increasing due to the miniaturization of mobile devices such as smartphones and IoT devices. However, by not using an external capacitor, the amplifier circuit came to be equipped with a capacitor integrated inside the circuit, and a problem arose that regulation performance could be degraded due to the internalization of the capacitor. Conventional technology attempts to improve transient response characteristics by increasing the speed of the LDO regulator itself, but this results in a trade-off of increased current consumption, which consequently leads to problems in terms of power management, which is critical for mobile devices. FIG. 1 is a system diagram according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an amplifier circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of an amplifier circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIGS. 4 and 5 are intended to illustrate the operating state of circuit configurations according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of a bulk bias circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The transistor described below is based on a Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET) for the sake of convenience; however, the technical concept is not limited thereto and may include various switching devices of a similar nature. For example, the gate terminal can be interpreted as the control terminal of the switching device, and the source/drain terminals as the current-carrying terminals of the switching device. Furthermore, although the units and numerical values expressed in the following description are result values based on simulation results, the effect of the technical concept is not to be interpreted restrictively based on said units and numerical values. In the following, it goes without saying that, according to Ohm's law, an electrical signal expressed in voltage can be interpreted by substituting it with current, and conversely, an electrical signal expressed in current can be interpreted by substituting it with voltage. Meanwhile, the meaning of connection below can be interpreted in various ways depending on the context, such as electrical, structural, or physical connections. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. FIG. 1 is a system diagram according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The electronic system (1) may include a control circuit (10), an integrated circuit (20), and an amplifier circuit (30). Hereinafter, the amplifier circuit (30) may refer to a low dropout regulator or may be a concept including a low dropout regulator. Additionally, below, a low dropout regulator refers to an electrical circuit or an electrical configuration composed of circuits. Voltage regulators are used to provide a constant voltage to a circuit. Depending on the method of voltage regulation, voltage regulators can be broadly classified into linear regulators and switching regulators. A low drop-out regulator (LDO) is a type of linear regulator. LDO regulators are used to reliably supply power to various types of electronic devices. For example, LDO regulators can be used in power management integrated circuits (PMICs) of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs. For example, the control circuit (10) may include a power management integrated circuit (PMIC), the integrated circuit (20) may include a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an AP (Application Processor), and the amplifier circuit (30) may include an LDO regulator. For example, the integrated circuit (20) may be a circuit used for the operation of the electronic system (1), and the control circuit (10) may provide power voltage to the integrated circuit (20) through a power line. At this time, the amplifier circuit (30) may include at least one LDO regulator to stably supply current consumed by various internal circuits or components included in the integrated circuit (20) to the internal circuits or components. As a result, the amplifier circuit (30) supplies voltage stably with low noise, and specifically, the amplifier circuit (30) can minimize power fluctuations to supply a constant voltage and minimize noise. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an amplifier circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the prese