Entries |
Document | Title | Date |
20080231350 | Internal voltage generating circuit for use in a semiconductor device - An internal voltage generating circuit for use in a semiconductor memory device includes a reference voltage input terminal to receive a reference voltage, a comparison unit to output a first internal voltage, the first internal voltage having a voltage level based at least in part on the reference voltage, a first feedback unit to receive the first internal voltage and an external voltage and to provide a first feedback internal voltage to the comparison unit, a loading circuit to output a second internal voltage, and a second feedback unit to receive the second internal voltage from the loading circuit and to provide a second feedback internal voltage to the comparison unit. | 09-25-2008 |
20080246537 | Programmable discontinuity resistors for reference ladders - A reference ladder having a plurality of embedded, programmable discontinuity resistors for adjusting the output voltages at a plurality of output taps of the ladder. In an embodiment, each discontinuity resistor has a programmable resistance. The reference ladder is factory tested to determine the voltage outputs at a plurality of output taps. A difference between the measured output voltages and the nominal output voltages is calculated. A determination is made of optimized resistances of the discontinuity resistors in order to minimize the differences between measured and nominal output voltages. The discontinuity resistors are then programmed, with the desired resistances stored in a non-volatile memory of the reference ladder. The output of the reference ladder may be further adjusted by using a trimming network at the bottom of the ladder to add a uniform offset to all the output voltages of all the output taps. | 10-09-2008 |
20080258805 | Semiconductor device having internal power supply voltage generation circuit - The composing circuit outputs a lower voltage out of voltages output from the constant voltage generation circuit and the dummy pump circuit as a voltage to the sensing circuit. The sensing circuit compares voltages to generate a pump activation signal for activating the pump circuit. Since when an external power supply voltage is a low voltage, the voltage applied to the sensing circuit will be an output voltage of the dummy pump circuit having the same output characteristics as those of the pump circuit in place of the reference voltage, no pump activation signal is generated. As a result, when the external power supply voltage is a low voltage, power consumption can be suppressed without uselessly outputting a pump activation signal. | 10-23-2008 |
20080265984 | OVER-VOLTAGE PROTECTION FOR POWER AND DATA APPLICATIONS - A power supply device is described comprising a DC voltage supply, a power section connected to the DC supply for supplying DC power from the DC voltage supply to first and second outlet ports for connection to a remote device via a cable connection, a voltage boosting circuit for generating a voltage above that of the DC supply, an energy absorbing circuit connected between an output of the voltage boosting circuit and a ground potential, and a diode connection means between the first outlet port and the energy absorbing circuit. The major components of the power supply device may be implemented as an integrated circuit. | 10-30-2008 |
20080290932 | SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DEVICE - A semiconductor integrated circuit device with reduced consumption current is provided. A first step-down circuit stationarily forms internal voltage lower than supply voltage supplied through an external terminal. A second step-down circuit is switched between first mode and second mode according to control signals. In first mode, the internal voltage is formed from the supply voltage supplied through the external terminal and is outputted through a second output terminal. In second mode, operating current for a control system that forms the internal voltage is interrupted and an output high impedance state is established. The first output terminal of the first step-down circuit and the second output terminal of the second step-down circuit are connected in common, and the internal voltage is supplied to internal circuits. | 11-27-2008 |
20080297233 | Semiconductor integrated circuit - A semiconductor integrated circuit having an internal circuit group, which includes at least one internal circuit, includes a plurality of process monitoring circuits, each of which is disposed at a different location in the internal circuit group, each of the process monitoring circuits, which is operated in response to a power supply voltage, detecting monitoring data in the area where one of the process monitoring circuits is disposed, and a power supply voltage generating circuit generating the power supply voltage corresponding to the monitoring data, and supplying the power supply voltage to the internal circuit group. | 12-04-2008 |
20080303587 | Multi-Level Voltage Generator - A multilevel voltage generator includes a first positive voltage generator generating a first output voltage using a first capacitor which receives a reference voltage and is charged to a voltage level corresponding to two times of the reference voltage, a second positive voltage generator generating a second output voltage and a third output voltage using a second capacitor and a third capacitor which receive the first output voltage and are charged to voltage levels corresponding to predetermined multiples of the reference voltage, and a negative voltage generator generating a fourth output voltage having predetermined negative voltage levels using a fourth capacitor which receives the reference voltage, the second output voltage, or the third output voltage and is charged to a voltage level corresponding to a negative voltage of the second or third output voltage. | 12-11-2008 |
20090002063 | Semiconductor Circuit - A semiconductor circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a first current mirror operating between a first power supply potential and a second power supply potential, a third power supply potential generated by the first current mirror, a second current mirror operating between the first power supply potential and the second power supply potential, a fourth power supply potential generated by the second current mirror, a circuit operating between the third power supply potential and the fourth power supply potential, and a first conductive type transistor and a second conductive type transistor connected to the circuit in parallel and connected to each other in series. | 01-01-2009 |
20090027112 | CONTROLLABLE PRECISION TRANSCONDUCTANCE - Techniques for providing precise transconductance values are disclosed. For instance, an apparatus includes a slave transconductance cell and a control loop. The control loop provides a tuning voltage to the slave transconductance cell. Moreover, the control loop includes a master transconductance cell that generates a master output current, and a current amplifier that generates the tuning voltage based on an error signal. The error signal reflects a difference between a reference current and the master output current. Further, the current amplifier provides the tuning voltage to the master transconductance cell. | 01-29-2009 |
20090027113 | REFERENCE VOLTAGE GENERATING CIRCUIT AND OFFSET-COMPENSATED CURRENT-VOLTAGE CONVERTING CIRCUIT USING THE SAME - There is provided a reference voltage generating circuit generating a reference voltage to be applied to a current-to-voltage converting circuit in order to compensate for an offset voltage of the current-to-voltage converting circuit converting an input current into a voltage and outputting the voltage, the reference voltage generating circuit including: a sampling conversion circuit having the same circuit characteristics as the current-to-voltage converting circuit and adding a predetermined offset to the reference voltage to generate an output voltage; and a comparator controlling the reference voltage so that the output voltage of the sampling conversion circuit is equal to a predetermined voltage, wherein the reference voltage is applied as an input to the sampling conversion circuit. | 01-29-2009 |
20090051418 | DISTRIBUTED VOLTAGE REGULATOR - An integrated circuit device and a method for providing distributed voltage regulation. The device includes a plurality of memory cell arrays and access circuitry dependent on one or more regulated voltages generated on the device and a plurality of pulsed digital distributed output units configured to generate the one or more regulated voltages. The device also includes a voltage regulator control logic configured to generate one or more control signals to control the distributed output units based, at least in part, on a comparison between one or more reference voltages and the one or more regulated voltages. | 02-26-2009 |
20090072892 | Minimizing The Number Of External Terminals Required When Compensation Is To Be Provided For Signal Drop In Bond Wire Of A Package In Which An Integrated Circuit Is Provided - Compensation is provided for signal drop in bond wires of an integrated circuit (IC) while minimizing the number of external terminals in the IC package. A functional circuit provides an output signal (e.g., voltage) on a pad of the IC, which is connected to an external terminal on the package via a bond wire. A second circuit contained in the IC determines the signal drop in the bond wire by examining a parameter (e.g., current) proportional to a strength of the output signal at or before the pad in a transmission path of the signal. Thus, additional external terminals to sense the signal strength at a point external to the IC to provide compensation for the drop may not be required. | 03-19-2009 |
20090072893 | VOLTAGE SUPPLY CIRCUIT - A voltage supply circuit which conducts a current from a power supply into a current supply line comprises a plurality of current drive circuits connected in parallel to the current supply line each of which conducts current from the power supply into the current supply line. Different reference voltages are respectively given to the plurality of current drive circuits, each of which compares a comparison voltage corresponding to a generated voltage developed across load resistors with the respective reference voltage and, when the comparison voltage exceeds the respective reference voltage, stops supplying current. | 03-19-2009 |
20090085652 | COMPENSATION OF OPERATING TIME RELATED DEGRADATION OF OPERATING SPEED BY ADAPTING THE SUPPLY VOLTAGE - By controlled increase of the supply voltage of sophisticated integrated circuits, the performance degradation over a lifetime may be significantly reduced. For this purpose, the upper limits of the supply voltage and the thermal design power are taken into consideration when increasing the supply voltage, which may then compensate for a typical performance degradation resulting in a more stable overall performance of integrated circuits. Thus, greatly reduced guard bands for parts classification may be used compared to conventional strategies. | 04-02-2009 |
20090085653 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE, CONTROL METHOD OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE, AND CONTROL INFORMATION GENERATING METHOD FOR SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - A semiconductor device | 04-02-2009 |
20090102544 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE INCLUDING DETECTOR CIRCUIT CAPABLE OF PERFORMING HIGH-SPEED OPERATION - A detector circuit and a negative voltage generating circuit capable of performing a high-speed operation are provided. A negative voltage generating circuit includes a charge pump circuit, a first voltage divider circuit that makes a voltage division between an output of the charge pump circuit and a power supply to output a detect potential, a reference voltage generating circuit that generates a reference potential, and a comparator circuit that compares the detect potential and the reference potential. The charge pump circuit is driven by an output signal of the comparator circuit and generates the negative voltage. In the first voltage divider circuit, NMOS transistors make the voltage division between the negative voltage and the power supply to obtain the detect potential. | 04-23-2009 |
20090115503 | Variability-Aware Scheme for High-Performance Asynchronous Circuit Voltage Reglulation - A system for automatically transforming a given synchronous circuit description into an equivalent and provably correct desynchronized circuit description. Included in the automated transformation are techniques for synthesizing a variability-aware controller using a two-phase protocol, techniques for synthesizing a variability-aware controller using gated clocks and testability circuits, techniques for synthesizing a variability-aware controller optimized for performance, techniques for initializing the synthesized controller, techniques for dynamically minimizing power requirements, and techniques for interfacing the desynchronized circuit with external synchronous circuits. Also disclosed are techniques for implementing a system for automatically transforming a synchronous circuit description into an equivalent and provably correct desynchronized circuit description within the context of an electronic design automation design flow. Exemplary circuits used in the application of the aforementioned techniques are provided. Application of mathematical models and techniques used for proving equivalence between the input description and the resulting desynchronized circuit are presented and explained. | 05-07-2009 |
20090153235 | LOAD CONTROLLER - A load controller includes: a first input circuit which detects that a drive instruction signal by an operation of a drive instructing unit is less or equal to a first input threshold value; a first constant current source activated in accordance with the detection; a PWM signal supply unit that is activated by the first constant current source and supplies a PWM signal having a prescribed frequency and a duty ratio; a constant control signal supply unit that supplies a constant control signal during failure of the first input circuit or the first constant current source; a drive control unit that generates a PWM drive control signal in accordance with the PWM signal and generates a constant drive control signal in accordance with the constant control signal; and a load driving element that is controlled by the PWM drive or constant drive control signal to drive a load. | 06-18-2009 |
20090189682 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MODE SELECTION FOR HIGH VOLTAGE INTEGRATED CIRCUITS - A method is disclosed to add functionality to a terminal of a high voltage integrated circuit without the penalty of additional high voltage circuitry. The benefit is that alternative modes of operation can be selected for testing, trimming parameters of the integrated circuit, or any other purpose without the cost of an additional terminal. In one embodiment, ordinary low voltage circuitry monitors the voltage on the terminal that normally is exposed to high voltage. The configuration of a simple voltage detector and an ordinary latch allows easy entry into the test and trimming mode when the integrated circuit is not in the intended application, but prohibits entry into the test and trimming mode when the integrated circuit operates in the intended application. | 07-30-2009 |
20090206920 | SOFT-START DEVICE - A soft-start device including a current source, a first transistor, and a second transistor is described. The first transistor is coupled to the current source, and an amount of current conducted by the first transistor is determined according to a voltage. The second transistor is also coupled to the current source, and an amount of current conducted by the second transistor is determined according to a fixed bias. An initial voltage value of the voltage is smaller than a voltage value of the fixed bias. However, after a soft start, the voltage value of the first voltage is increased gradually to be larger than the voltage value of the fixed bias, such that the soft start may be implemented smoothly. | 08-20-2009 |
20090219083 | ELECTRIC CIRCUIT DEVICE - An electric circuit device includes: a power supply line; a load circuit; a current supply controller which compares a voltage of the power supply line with a certain voltage; and a current supply circuit which supplies a electric current from the power supply line to the load circuit and changes the electric current during a supply of the electric current. | 09-03-2009 |
20090231024 | Low Drop Out Voltage Regulator Circuit Assembly - An integrated circuit assembly includes a voltage level generator, a level shifter, a bandgap reference generator and a voltage regulator. The voltage level generator generates output voltage level signals in response to a supply voltage. The level shifter receives the output voltage level signals from the voltage level generator and generates first and second sets of control signals. The bandgap reference generator receives a reference voltage input and generates a bandgap reference signal. The voltage regulator receives a supply voltage, the bandgap reference signal the first and second sets of control signals from the level shifter and generates a constant output voltage under varying circuit conditions. | 09-17-2009 |
20090237152 | INTERNAL VOLTAGE GENERATOR - An internal voltage generator includes a pull-up driver to pull-up drive a supply terminal of an internal voltage, a pull-down driver to pull-down drive the supply terminal of the internal voltage, a pull-up driving control unit to turn on the pull-up driver when a first feedback voltage corresponding to the internal voltage becomes lower than a reference voltage, and a pull-down driving control unit to turn on the pull-down driver when a second feedback voltage becomes higher than the reference voltage, the second feedback voltage having a voltage level corresponding to that of the internal voltage and lower than that of the first feedback voltage. | 09-24-2009 |
20090243710 | FIREWALL/ISOLATION CELLS FOR ULTRA LOW POWER PRODUCTS - In an integrated circuit (IC) may have several functional blocks adapted to be inactivated independently from each other. At least one firewall cell may be embedded independently of other firewall cells in the vicinity of one functional block. The firewall cell may be electrically isolated from the functional block and may be powered by a constantly supplied voltage source in the IC. Firewall cells may be embedded in free locations on the IC in the functional block domain according to a design that may be free of constraints such as firewall cells array of firewall cells mini-island. | 10-01-2009 |
20090267684 | INTERNAL VOLTAGE GENERATING CIRCUIT OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - An internal voltage generating circuit of a semiconductor device includes a first voltage driver configured to pull up an internal voltage terminal during a period where a level of the internal voltage terminal is lower than a target level, and a second voltage driver configured to pull up the internal voltage terminal during a predefined time in each period corresponding to a frequency of an external clock. | 10-29-2009 |
20090267685 | Circuit and method for controlling internal voltage - A circuit for controlling an internal voltage is provided. | 10-29-2009 |
20100013550 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND BIAS GENERATION CIRCUIT - A first power supply voltage input section can input a first power supply voltage, a second power supply voltage input section can input a second power supply voltage, a regulator circuit generates a back bias voltage on the basis of the second power supply voltage, and an output section can output the back bias voltage generated by the regulator circuit as an output voltage. A substrate bias can be generated with low power consumption, and the circuit scale can be reduced. | 01-21-2010 |
20100026379 | POWER STEALING CIRCUITRY FOR A CONTROL DEVICE - A power stealing circuit for stealing power to operate a control device is disclosed. In one illustrative embodiment, power may be periodically or intermittently diverted from a power source to a power stealing block. When power is diverted to the power stealing block, the power stealing block may steal power from the power source and store the stolen power on a storage device. The storage device may then provide operating power to a control device. In some embodiments, the power stealing block may include a first path for charging the storage device when a switch is ON, and a second path for charging the storage device when the switch is off. The switch may be switched OFF when, for example, when the voltage provided by the rectifier is greater than a threshold voltage, the voltage detected on the storage device is greater than a threshold value, and/or when a control signal from a controller disables the switch. | 02-04-2010 |
20100033236 | PACKAGED VOLTAGE REGULATOR AND INDUCTOR ARRAY - Inductors packaged with a voltage regulator for an integrated circuit within the same package are deposited to a sufficient thickness to reduce resistance and improve the quality factor. Furthermore, the voltage regulator switches currents through the inductors at a relatively high frequency such that the overall size and inductances of the inductors may be reduced. As a consequence, integrating both the integrated circuits including a voltage regulator and associated inductor array in a single package is facilitated. Other embodiments are described and claimed. | 02-11-2010 |
20100039171 | CURRENT LIMIT CIRCUIT AND SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE - A current limit circuit comprising: a current limit element for limiting an output current level to within a predetermined range of a limiting current and including a first PMOS transistor having a source to which a predetermined voltage is applied and a drain through which the output current is supplied; and a gate voltage generating circuit for generating a gate voltage by a feedback control such that a difference between the predetermined voltage and a gate voltage of the first PMOS transistor coincides with a threshold voltage of a second PMOS transistor having approximately the same characteristic as that of the first PMOS transistor in a state in which a predetermined current is flowing through the second PMOS transistor. | 02-18-2010 |
20100045368 | Semiconductor Integrated Circuit - An integrated circuit formed on a semiconductor chip includes voltage regulators for stepping down an externally-supplied power voltage to produce an internal power voltage, and internal circuits which operate based on the internal power voltage. The voltage regulators are laid in the area of the buffers and protective elements for the input/output signals and power voltages so that the overhead area due to the on-chip provision of the voltage regulators is minimized. The internal power voltage is distributed to the internal circuits through a looped main power line, with an electrode pad for connecting an external capacitor for stabilizing the internal power voltage being provided on it, so that the internal power voltage is stabilized and the power consumption of the integrated circuit is minimized. | 02-25-2010 |
20100073079 | BIAS ARRANGEMENT AND APPARATUS - A biasing arrangement for an electronic apparatus having an input device is disclosed. The biasing arrangement comprises a bias voltage generator arranged to provide a bias voltage; a bias resistor connected between the bias voltage generator and the input device; and a reference voltage point of the input device, wherein a voltage of the reference voltage point of the input device is provided to the bias voltage generator for controlling the bias voltage in relation to the voltage of the reference voltage point of the input device. An electronic apparatus is also disclosed. | 03-25-2010 |
20100079199 | Internal voltage control device capable of reducing current consumption and semiconductor memory device using the same - An internal voltage control apparatus capable of reducing current consumption and a semiconductor memory device using the same includes an enable signal generating unit for generating an enable signal in response to an active signal and an internal voltage driving unit driven by the active signal and the enable signal, wherein the internal voltage driving unit drives an internal voltage by comparing the internal voltage and a reference voltage and then generating first and second driving signals, and wherein the enable signal generating unit receives the second driving signal and then determines enablement of the enable signal. | 04-01-2010 |
20100123515 | SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DEVICE - The present invention is directed to perform fine low-voltage control without largely increasing the circuit layout area in a low-power consumption structure. In the case of shifting a region to a low-speed mode, a system controller outputs a request signal and an enable signal to a power switch controller and a low-power drive circuit, respectively, to turn off a power switch and to perform a control so that the voltage level of a virtual reference potential becomes about 0.2 V to about 0.3V. The region operates on voltages between a power supply voltage and a virtual reference potential, so that it is controlled in the low-speed mode. | 05-20-2010 |
20100156520 | REFERENCE VOLTAGE GENERATOR - A reference voltage generator includes: a reference voltage source | 06-24-2010 |
20100182075 | Power energy supply system with ultracapacitor for vehicle - A power energy supply system includes a power generating device, at least one ultracapacitor, and an electronic control module (ECM) for supplying power energy to electric loads coupled to a vehicle circuit system under control of the ECM. The ECM includes a reference voltage value, a voltage-boosting circuit, and a voltage-stabilizing circuit. When the output voltage supplied from the ultracapacitor is smaller than the reference voltage value, the output voltage of the ultracapacitor is boosted by the voltage-boosting circuit and regulated by the voltage-stabilizing circuit before being supplied to the electric loads of the vehicle circuit system. And, when the output voltage from the ultracapacitor is larger than or equal to the reference voltage value, the output voltage of the ultracapacitor is regulated by the voltage-stabilizing circuit before being supplied to the electric loads of the vehicle circuit system. | 07-22-2010 |
20100207685 | Method and System for Safe and Efficient Chip Power Down Drawing Minimal Current When a Device is not Enabled - Certain embodiments of a method and system for safe and efficient power down and drawing minimal current when a device is not enabled may comprise receiving within a network adapter chip (NAC) a signal that indicates a reduced power mode. Based on this signal, the NAC may control an off-chip voltage source that provides reduced voltage to circuitry within the NAC. The off-chip voltage source, which may comprise a first PNP transistor and a second PNP transistor, may reduce a voltage to a first voltage and a second voltage. The NAC may also reduce current through the off-chip voltage source to approximately zero amperes and an output voltage of the off-chip voltage source to approximately zero volts. The first voltage and/or the second voltage may be fed back to control the output voltage and current of the off-chip voltage source. | 08-19-2010 |
20100231291 | POWER SUPPLY - A power supply which supplies power to a circuit board includes a support unit, an electricity output unit and a voltage converting module. The circuit board, the electricity output unit and the voltage converting module are electrically connected to the support unit. The voltage converting module can convert an output voltage of the electricity output unit to a working voltage of the circuit board. The power supply has a low manufacturing cost and can support an electricity output unit with different voltage. | 09-16-2010 |
20100244939 | Internal voltage generation circuit - An internal voltage generation circuit includes an initial driver configured to sense an internal voltage for a predetermined period of time from the beginning of an active mode and to drive a driving signal, which is used for driving the internal voltage to a level of an external voltage, to a first level, an initial driving terminator configured to drive the driving signal to a second level if the internal voltage is higher than a target level, and a comparison driver configured to drive the driving signal so as to maintain the internal voltage at a target level. | 09-30-2010 |
20100253420 | Power Efficiency of a Line Driver - An apparatus comprising a first line driver, a second line driver, a charge pump, and a control logic circuit coupled to the first line driver and the second line driver and configured to disable the charge pump when both a first control signal associated with the first line driver and a second control signal associated with the second line driver indicate a charge pump disable state. A network component comprising at least one processor configured to implement a method comprising receiving a first control signal and a second control signal, disabling a charge pump when both the first control signal and the second control signal indicate a charge pump disable state, and operating the charge pump to boost a voltage when the first control signal, the second control signal, or both indicate a charge pump active state. | 10-07-2010 |
20100259316 | SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DEVICE - A semiconductor integrated circuit device includes at least one first transistor configured to control conductance between an input power line and an output power line, at least one second transistor configured to control conductance between the input power line and the output power line, a first buffer configured to supply a first control signal for driving the at least one first transistor to a first control line connected to the at least one first transistor, a second buffer configured to generate a second control signal for driving the at least one second transistor upon receipt of the first control signal supplied through the first control line and supply the second control signal to a second control line connected to the at least one second transistor, and at least one capacitor connected between the first control line and the output power line. | 10-14-2010 |
20100264983 | Systems and Methods for Power Dissipation Control in a Semiconductor Device - Various embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for governing power dissipation in a semiconductor device. For example, various embodiments of the present invention provide semiconductor devices that include a first function circuit, a second function circuit, and a power state change control circuit. The power state change control circuit is operable to determine a combination of power states of the first function circuit and the second function circuit that provides an overall power dissipation within a power dissipation level. | 10-21-2010 |
20100271114 | SYSTEM CORRECTED PROGRAMMABLE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT - A system corrected programmable integrated circuit is applied to a power supply and includes a comparator unit, a digital output unit and a programming unit. The comparator unit includes an external feedback voltage input end and a reference voltage input end for inputting a feedback voltage and a reference voltage respectively, such that when the feedback voltage equals the reference voltage, the comparator unit transmits a control signal to the digital output unit. When receiving the control signal, the digital output unit stops outputting the reference voltage and the current reference voltage is recorded as a programming voltage for outputting to the programming unit. When receiving the programming voltage, the programming unit programs the programming voltage and transmits the voltage to the reference voltage input end. Accordingly, the present invention automatically detects and compensates a system error to reduce external element, yet still achieving a qualified range of product specification. | 10-28-2010 |
20100271115 | INTERNAL VOLTAGE GENERATING CIRCUIT OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - An internal voltage generating circuit of a semiconductor device includes a first voltage driver configured to pull up an internal voltage terminal during a period where a level of the internal voltage terminal is lower than a target level, and a second voltage driver configured to pull up the internal voltage terminal during a predefined time in each period corresponding to a frequency of an external clock. | 10-28-2010 |
20100277229 | MICROELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEM (MEMS) DEVICE WITH SENSTIVITY TRIMMING CIRCUIT AND TRIMMING PROCESS - A microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device includes a diaphragm capacitor, connected between a capacitor biasing voltage source and a ground. A source follower circuit is coupled to the diaphragm capacitor. An amplifier is coupled to the source follower circuit to amplify the voltage signal as an output voltage signal. A programmable trimming circuit is implemented with the amplifier to trim a gain or implemented with the capacitor biasing voltage source to trim voltage applied on the diaphragm capacitor. Whereby, the output voltage signal has a target sensitivity. | 11-04-2010 |
20100301926 | Optimization of Circuits Having Repeatable Circuit Instances - Techniques for forming a first electronic circuit including a plurality of instances of a repeatable circuit element include the steps of: obtaining a total number of instances of the repeatable circuit element in a design of an IC including the first electronic circuit and at least a second electronic circuit; and configuring at least one functional parameter of the first electronic circuit as a function of the total number of instances of the repeatable circuit element in the IC to thereby satisfy a prescribed minimum composite manufacturing yield of the IC and/or at least one specification of the IC under prescribed operating conditions. | 12-02-2010 |
20100327961 | SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT DEVICE AND POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGE CONTROL SYSTEM - A semiconductor integrated circuit device includes: a target circuit whose at least power supply voltage is variable; a power supply voltage providing circuit feeding the target circuit with a power supply voltage; and a minimum energy point monitor circuit detecting an energy-minimizing power supply voltage which minimizes a change in the energy consumed by the target circuit upon a change in the power supply voltage. The power supply voltage delivered by the power supply voltage providing circuit is controlled so as to be equal to the energy-minimizing power supply voltage detected by the minimum energy point monitor circuit. | 12-30-2010 |
20100327962 | SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT - A semiconductor integrated circuit includes a reference voltage generating block, a circuit block, and a transmission line. The reference voltage generating block generates a first reference voltage and generates and outputs a digital code corresponding to the level of the first reference voltage. The circuit block converts the digital code into a second reference voltage and uses the second reference voltage for operation related to the function of the semiconductor integrated circuit. The transmission line is connected between the reference voltage generating block and the circuit block to allow transmission of the digital code to the circuit block. | 12-30-2010 |
20110001556 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT - An integrated circuit includes a first internal voltage generating unit configured to receive an external power and to generate a first internal voltage, and a second internal voltage generating unit configured to receive the first internal voltage, and to generate a second internal voltage having an absolute value of a target voltage level that is less than an absolute value of the first internal voltage, wherein the second internal voltage generating unit is initially enabled at a later time than the first internal voltage generating unit is initially enabled. | 01-06-2011 |
20110006838 | DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING A POWER TRANSISTOR - The invention relates to a gate control device for a JFET-type transistor comprising a gate, a drain and a source, said device comprising:
| 01-13-2011 |
20110063021 | POWER SUPPLY UNIT - High-accuracy overcurrent detection is performed, while a loss resulting from the current detection is significantly reduced. A switch section outputs the voltage between the both terminals of a current detection resistor using an AND signal between an output signal from a hysteresis comparator and an output signal from a pre-driver. The voltage is filtered by an electrostatic capacitor element and a resistor, and inputted to a comparator. The comparator makes a comparison between the signals inputted to the two input terminals thereof, and outputs the result of the comparison to a digital filter. When an overcurrent begins to flow in a power supply unit, the levels of the voltages inputted to the two input terminals of the comparator are inverted so that the comparator outputs an inversion signal to the digital filter. The digital filter outputs a detection signal to an overcurrent detection circuit when an arbitrary time has elapsed. | 03-17-2011 |
20110068859 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - A semiconductor device includes: a power supply voltage generating circuit generating a power supply voltage corresponding to delay information; and an integrated circuit to which the power supply voltage is supplied from the power supply voltage generating circuit, wherein the integrated circuit includes at least one delay information monitor monitoring delay information at the time of operation when the power supply voltage is supplied from the power supply voltage generating circuit and a delay information manager managing delay information acquired by the delay information monitor, the power supply voltage generating circuit includes a delay information register which can hold delay information relating to delay information by the delay information monitor and a voltage control circuit generating the power supply voltage corresponding to delay information stored in the delay information register and supplies the voltage to the integrated circuit. | 03-24-2011 |
20110074497 | POWER SUPPLY STABILIZING CIRCUIT, ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND TEST APPARATUS - A test apparatus that tests a device under test, comprising a signal input section that supplies a test signal to a device under test and a judging section that judges acceptability of the device under test based on a response signal output by the device under test in response to the test signal. The signal input section includes an operation circuit that operates to generate the test signal and a power supply stabilizing circuit provided in the same chip to stabilize power supply voltage supplied to the operation circuit. The power supply stabilizing circuit includes a high-speed compensating section compensating for a change in the power supply voltage supplied to the operation circuit, at a predetermined compensation speed, and a low-speed compensating section compensating for the change in the power supply voltage supplied to the operation circuit, at a predetermined compensation speed lower than that of the high-speed compensating section. | 03-31-2011 |
20110089999 | DYNAMIC ENABLING PUMP FOR POWER CONTROL - A voltage generation system that can dynamically calibrate a time period for enabling the system includes: a voltage generation circuit, for providing an output voltage; an oscillator, coupled to the voltage generation circuit, for driving the voltage generation circuit to generate the output voltage at a specific frequency according to an enable signal; a limiter, coupled to the oscillator and the output voltage fed back from the voltage generation circuit, for generating the enable signal to the oscillator according to the output voltage; and an enable controller, coupled to the limiter, the oscillator, the voltage generation circuit and the enable signal generated by the limiter, for enabling the limiter, the oscillator and the voltage generation circuit according to an estimated time between enable signals, wherein the estimated time is dynamically calibrated. | 04-21-2011 |
20110090000 | SIGNAL TRANSMISSION CIRCUIT - To provide an inverter including first and second transistors connected in series between first and second power supply lines, a source transistor that is provided between the first power supply line and the first transistor and is conductive based on a control signal, and a load transistor that serves as a load circuit provided between the second power supply line and the second transistor. According to the present invention, because a difference between a load between the first power supply line and the first transistor and a load between the second power supply line and the second transistor is reduced, a difference between a signal propagation rate at which an input signal supplied to the inverter changes from a low level to a high level and a signal propagation rate at which the input signal changes from the high level to the low level is reduced. | 04-21-2011 |
20110102072 | Power management of an integrated circuit - An integrated circuit | 05-05-2011 |
20110109378 | Method and Device For Supplying Power to a Microelectronic Chip - A method and a device for supplying power to one or more microelectronic chips. The method comprises the steps of reading a process characteristic parameter associated with the chip from a non-volatile storage, wherein the process characteristic parameter represents a manufacturing process characteristics of the chip; determining a minimal voltage (VDD_min) based on the parameter; and supplying electric power to the chip ( | 05-12-2011 |
20110115556 | CIRCUIT DEVICES AND METHODS OF PROVIDING A REGULATED POWER SUPPLY - In an embodiment, a circuit includes a regulated power supply terminal, a processing circuit coupled to the regulated power supply terminal, and a low frequency responsive circuit having a first transistor adapted to be coupled to a power source and having first circuitry configured to control current flow from the power source through the first transistor to supply a low frequency current to the regulated power supply terminal. The circuit device further includes a high frequency responsive circuit having a second transistor coupled to the regulated power supply terminal and having second circuitry configured to control the second transistor to selectively modulate high frequency current components at the regulated power supply terminal to reduce voltage variations on the regulated power supply. | 05-19-2011 |
20110133824 | MICROPROCESSOR DIE WITH INTEGRATED VOLTAGE REGULATION CONTROL CIRCUIT - An integrated circuit die includes a microprocessor and a control circuit to control elements of a voltage regulator to supply power to the microprocessor. | 06-09-2011 |
20110148511 | AUTARKES FELDGERAT - An automation technology, autarkic, field device, which is connected via two connecting terminals to an I/O module. The I/O module is embodied as a 4-20 mA/HART I/O module. The I/O module is associated with a controllable energy source via which the field device is supplied with energy. An electrical current measuring unit is provided which ascertains the electrical current supplied by the energy source. In the I/O module, internal resistors are provided, across which occurs in each case a voltage drop dependent on the flowing electrical current. A control unit is provided, which operates the energy source in such a way that a predetermined terminal voltage is supplied on the connecting terminals for powering the field device. | 06-23-2011 |
20110169562 | System on chip power management through package configuration - There is provided a semiconductor package configured for externally controlled power management. Instead of integrating voltage regulation on-chip as done conventionally, power regulation is moved externally to the PCB level, providing numerous package advantages including size, simplicity, power efficiency, integration flexibility, and thermal dissipation. In particular, the use of flip-chip package configurations provides ready access to power supply bumps, which also allows the use of a universal receiving PCB and power supply through simple reconfiguring of voltage traces. As a result, flexible power management can be implemented, and portions of semiconductor packages may be managed for performance or thermal considerations, which may be of particular use for applications such as multi-core processors. | 07-14-2011 |
20110199153 | Simultaneous Multi-Voltage Rail Voltage Regulation Messages - Methods and mechanisms to simultaneously regulate two or more supply voltages provided to an integrated circuit by a voltage regulator. In an embodiment of the invention, a voltage regulation message exchanged between the integrated circuit and the voltage regulator includes an identifier indicating two or more supply voltages selected from a plurality of supply voltages provided to the integrated circuit by the voltage regulator, where the voltage regulation message relates to the indicated two or more supply voltages. In another embodiment, the voltage regulation message indicates a desired supply voltage level to which the indicated two or more supply voltages are to transition. | 08-18-2011 |
20110227634 | SEMICONDUCTOR CIRCUIT DEVICE - The semiconductor circuit device includes a power line receiving first voltage; each of internal circuits being provided with different operating voltages by the operation mode; a power supply circuit connected with one of internal circuits and the power line to provide second voltage lower than the first voltage to the one of internal circuits; and a control circuit controlling the power supply circuit in accordance with each of the operation modes, wherein when a change of a operation mode is performed, if a operating voltage after the change of a operation mode is higher than a operating voltage before the change of a operation mode, firstly the control circuit controls the power supply circuit to supply a second voltage higher than the operating voltage and secondly the control circuit controls the power supply circuit to supply the operation voltage after the change of a operation mode to the internal circuit. | 09-22-2011 |
20110227635 | VOLTAGE DIVIDER CIRCUIT AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - Provided are a voltage divider circuit with high detection precision, a small circuit area, and a reduced chip size, and a semiconductor device including the voltage divider circuit. The voltage divider circuit includes: a first resistor circuit formed to have a resistance that is weighted according to a binary code; a second resistor circuit formed to have a resistance that is weighted according to the same binary code; and a third resistor circuit including a third resistor having a resistance that is weighted according to the same binary code to have a maximum weighted bit count, in which both ends of the third resistor are alternatively connected to an output terminal by two transmission gates. | 09-22-2011 |
20110248777 | SEMICONDUCTOR CHIP WITH VOLTAGE ADJUSTABLE FUNCTION AND MANUFACTURE METHOD THEREOF - The present invention provides a semiconductor chip with voltage adjustable function, said semiconductor chip is supplied with a power supply device and comprises a voltage regulating module for adjusting the voltage supplied to said semiconductor chip from said power supply device, based on the best operating voltage at which said semiconductor chip operates. | 10-13-2011 |
20110260783 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - A semiconductor device includes a plurality of internal circuits, a plurality of low drop output regulators, and a power management unit. The plurality of low drop output regulators are configured to reduce a power source voltage applied from an outside and generate supply voltages which are to be supplied to the plurality of internal circuits. The power management unit is configured to change a voltage value of the power source voltage in accordance with a state of combination of voltage values of the plurality of supply voltages generated by the plurality of low drop output regulators. | 10-27-2011 |
20110298530 | REMOTE TESTING SYSTEM - An apparatus is provided that comprises a test circuit; a first receiver unit arranged to receive test commands and to provide the test commands to the test circuit; a power supply unit arranged to supply power to the test circuit and to the first receiver unit; a second receiver unit arranged to receive power commands. The second receiver is arranged to control the operation of the power supply unit in response to the power commands received by the second receiver unit. | 12-08-2011 |
20120007664 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR RECOVERY OF WASTED POWER FROM DIFFERENTIAL DRIVERS - An apparatus and method for supplying power to circuits of an integrated circuit (IC) from the wasted power in low-swing high-speed differential line drivers used in the IC, is disclosed. In a high speed line driver the load resistors of the driver are connected to a power supply, either the local power supply or the receiver power supply. DC power for the driver is supplied through these resistors. A large portion of this power, supplied from the power supply is wasted in the DC set-up circuit of the differential line driver. It is proposed to use this wasted power to power selected circuits of an IC. The use of this wasted power from the drivers for powering the circuits reduces the overall power dissipation of the system. | 01-12-2012 |
20120013396 | SEMICONDUCTOR CIRCUIT AND CONSTANT VOLTAGE REGULATOR EMPLOYING SAME - A semiconductor circuit includes a voltage regulator and a buffer transistor. The voltage regulator converts an input voltage input to an input terminal thereof into an output voltage output to an output terminal thereof. The buffer transistor is an n-channel depletion-mode metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor, disposed between the power supply terminal and the voltage regulator with a gate terminal thereof connected to the power supply terminal, a drain terminal thereof connected to the power supply terminal, and a source terminal thereof connected to the input terminal of the voltage regulator. | 01-19-2012 |
20120068762 | Method and Apparatus for Regulating a Power Supply of an Integrated Circuit - Disclosed is a circuit for adjusting a voltage supplied to an IC by a power supply circuit that produces a regulated-output voltage based on an output-control signal generated by a resistive voltage divider. The circuit includes a PVT detector configured to generate an interface control signal and an interface circuit (i) connected to PVT detector and to the resistive voltage divider and (ii) configured to adjust its resistance in response to the interface control signal. Adjusting the resistance of the interface circuit causes the voltage of the output-control signal to be adjusted, thus causing the power supply circuit to adjust the regulated output voltage. | 03-22-2012 |
20120112820 | CIRCUIT AND METHOD FOR GENERATING BODY BIAS VOLTAGE FOR AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT - A circuit and method for generating body bias voltage for an integrated circuit is disclosed. The circuit includes a PMOS body bias circuit including a PMOS charge pump for generating a positive supply voltage, a PMOS reference voltage generator for providing a PMOS reference voltage, and a PMOS linear voltage regulator circuit for generating a PMOS body bias voltage upon receiving the positive supply voltage and the PMOS reference voltage. The circuit also includes a NMOS body bias circuit including a NMOS charge pump for generating a negative supply voltage, a NMOS reference voltage generator for providing a NMOS reference voltage, and a NMOS linear voltage regulator circuit for generating a NMOS body bias voltage upon receiving the negative supply voltage and the NMOS reference voltage. The PMOS body bias voltage and the NMOS body bias voltage drive bulk of PMOS and NMOS devices in the integrated circuit. | 05-10-2012 |
20120112821 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - Sharp fluctuations of an internal voltage when an internal voltage generating circuit is activated or inactivated are prevented. The internal voltage generating circuit to supply the internal voltage generated from an external voltage to an internal power supply line, a control circuit to control an operation of the internal voltage generating circuit, and a voltage detection circuit to detect a level of a first voltage are included. When, for example, the internal voltage generating circuit is activated, the control circuit stepwise increases supply ability of the internal voltage at a first speed and when the internal voltage generating circuit is inactivated, the control circuit stepwise reduces the supply ability of the internal voltage at a second speed that is different from the first speed. Accordingly, wild fluctuations of the internal voltage when the internal voltage generating circuit is activated/inactivated can optimally be prevented for each case. | 05-10-2012 |
20120139624 | POWER CONTROL BASED ON DUAL LOOP WITH MULTIPLE PROCESS DETECTION CIRCUITS - According to an example embodiment, an apparatus for controlling a power supply voltage for an integrated circuit may be provided, which may include a plurality of different types of process region detection circuits, each process region detection circuit configured to identify a respective process region of a plurality of process regions. The apparatus may also include a voltage selection circuit configured to determine a highest voltage among the voltages associated with the identified process regions and to select a power supply voltage for the integrated circuit that is equal to the highest voltage, one or more functional test circuits configured to perform a functional test using the selected power supply voltage, and a voltage adjuster circuit configured to increase the selected power supply voltage if the functional test fails. | 06-07-2012 |
20120146716 | Apparatus for Controlling Slew Rate - An apparatus for controlling slew rate is coupled to two adjustable voltage rails. The output of the apparatus is coupled to the gate of a switching element. By employing two adjustable voltage rails, the slew rate of the switching element is proportional to the voltage difference between the first adjustable rail and the second adjustable rail. The slew rate control apparatus can be applied to a variety of switching elements including N channel Field Effect Transistors (NFETs), P channel Field Effect Transistors (PFETs), current mode logic circuits and level shifter circuits. | 06-14-2012 |
20120182064 | VOLTAGE CHARACTERISTIC REGULATING METHOD OF LATCH CIRCUIT, VOLTAGE CHARACTERISTIC REGULATING METHOD OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE, AND VOLTAGE CHARACTERISTIC REGULATOR OF LATCH CIRCUIT - The voltage Vdd is set to be lower than in the normal operation (step S | 07-19-2012 |
20120218034 | VOLTAGE CALIBRATION METHOD AND APPARATUS - A method and apparatus for power supply calibration to reduce voltage guardbands is disclosed. In one embodiment, an integrated circuit (IC) includes a voltage measurement unit configured to measure an operating voltage during a start-up procedure. The IC further includes a comparator configured to compare the measured operating voltage to a target voltage. The comparator is further configured to cause a change to a supply voltage (upon which the operating voltage is based) if the operating voltage is not within a target voltage range and to repeat the measurement of the operating voltage. If the operating voltage is within the target voltage range, the comparator is configured to inhibit further changes to the operating voltage. | 08-30-2012 |
20130021091 | POWER CONTROL CIRCUIT AND METHOD THEREFOR - Power supply is facilitated. In accordance with one or more embodiments, a power regulator circuit includes first and second regulators and a controller for controlling operation of the power regulator circuit in standby and normal operational modes. The first and second regulators respectively provide regulated power at main and standby power levels, the standby power level being lower than the main power level. For the standby mode, the controller operates the second regulator for supplying power to an integrated circuit at the standby power level. For transitioning to the normal mode, the controller turns the first regulator on while continuing to operate the second regulator for supplying power to the integrated circuit during a start-up period. After a start-up period (e.g., when the first regulator is up to full power), the controller operates the first regulator for supplying power for operating the processor in a high-frequency mode. | 01-24-2013 |
20130033306 | PERFORMANCE OF DIGITAL CIRCUITS USING CURRENT MANAGEMENT - A method, system, and computer program product for improving the performance of a digital circuit are provided in the illustrative embodiments. A real frequency of operation of the digital circuit is adjusted using a control loop in the digital circuit, the adjusting the real frequency being responsive to a change in an operating condition of the digital circuit. A measurement of a current drawn by the digital circuit is received from a voltage regulator supplying electrical power to the digital circuit. An over-current target current value is received. A voltage output from the voltage regulator to the digital circuit is adjusted such that the current drawn by the digital circuit does not exceed the over-current target current value. | 02-07-2013 |
20130038385 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND VOLTAGE DIVIDER - A semiconductor device includes first and second resistors. The first resistor is formed in a first substrate region and coupled between a first node and an output node. The second resistor is formed in a second substrate region and coupled between the output node and a second node. The first substrate region is coupled to the first node which has a first voltage. The second node has a second voltage. The second substrate region is coupled to a voltage dividing node that is set in the first resistor. | 02-14-2013 |
20130043937 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ELECTRICAL BIASING - As provided herein, in some embodiments, power consumption and/or chip area is reduced by bias circuits configured to provide bias conditions for more than one active circuit, thereby reducing the number of bias circuits in a design. Shared bias circuits may reduce the aggregate amount of on-chip area utilized by bias circuitry and may also reduce the total power consumption of a chip. Additionally and/or alternatively, bias circuits disclosed herein are configured to provide outputs that are less susceptible to changes in the voltage supply level. In particular, in some embodiments, bias circuits are configured to provide relatively constant bias conditions despite changes in the voltage supply level. In some embodiments, bias circuits are configured to provide bias conditions that compensate for perturbations caused by changes other inputs, in order to stabilize a particular operating point. | 02-21-2013 |
20130082764 | APPARATUS AND METHOD TO COMBINE PIN FUNCTIONALITY IN AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT - An apparatus and method are disclosed to combine pad functionality in an integrated circuit. A power, ground, or signal pad is connected to a power, ground, or signal source, respectively. The power, ground, or signal pad is additionally connected to an additional signal source, such as automatic test equipment in a testing environment. By temporarily disconnecting either the power, ground, or signal source, from the functional block within the integrated circuit to which the source is delivered, the same pad may pass in another signal to other portions of the integrated circuit. In the alternative, the same pad may pass in another signal to other portions of the integrated circuit without disconnecting the original signal by coupling the additional signal over the original signal. Further, combining pad functionality enables reuse of an input pad as an output pad for signals originating from within the integrated circuit. | 04-04-2013 |
20130088285 | DC VOLTAGE CONVERSION CIRCUIT OF LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY APPARATUS - Disclosed is a DC voltage conversion circuit of a liquid crystal display apparatus, including: a main pumping circuit including a plurality of thin film transistors and configured to output voltage for driving a liquid crystal display apparatus when the plurality of thin film transistors are alternately turned on or off; and a switch control signal generator configured to control voltages applied to gates of the plurality of thin film transistors by inversion of a clock signal, in which each thin film transistor is turned on when positive gate-source voltage is applied thereto, and turned off when negative gate-source voltage is applied thereto. | 04-11-2013 |
20130093505 | ON-CHIP VOLTAGE REGULATOR - A digital logic controller for regulating a voltage of a SoC includes a first input for receiving a reference signal having a first property that is constant over a range of operating conditions of the SoC, and a second input for receiving a second signal that has a second property that is indicative of an operating condition of the SoC. The second property may vary over a range of operating conditions of the SoC. A comparator compares the first and second properties and the digital logic controller, based on the comparison, outputs to a regulation signal to a voltage regulator to regulate the voltage of the SoC at or near a target voltage that is higher than a minimum operating voltage of the SoC. | 04-18-2013 |
20130093506 | SOLID STATE DISK POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM - A solid state disk (SSD) power supply system includes power supply switching circuit. The power supply switching circuit comprises a first power input to receive a first direct current (DC) voltage signal, a second power input connected to a super capacitor to receive a second DC voltage signal provided by the super capacitor, a switching chip connected to the first and second power inputs and configured to select the second DC voltage signals to output in a situation that the first power input is disabled to receive the first DC voltage signal, a voltage converting chip to receive the voltage signal output from the switching chip, and a voltage output to output an operation voltage to an SSD according to the voltage signal. The switching chip and the voltage converting chip respectively output a first and second test signals for testing a discharging time of the super capacitor. | 04-18-2013 |
20130120056 | POWER SUPPLY PROTECTION CIRCUIT AND METHOD - A method of protecting a power supply voltage in an integrated circuit is disclosed. The method includes storing charge in a charge reservoir capacitor ( | 05-16-2013 |
20130135038 | SEMICONDUCTOR APPARATUS - A semiconductor apparatus includes a power supply changing unit. The power supply changing unit is configured to receive an enable signal and power supply voltage, generate first voltage or second voltage according to the enable signal, change a voltage level of the second voltage according to a level signal, and supply the first voltage or the second voltage as a driving voltage of an internal circuit, wherein the internal circuit receives a first input signal to output a second input signal. | 05-30-2013 |
20130154722 | VOLTAGE-STABILIZING CIRCUIT - A voltage-stabilizing circuit includes a comparator and an RC circuit. A positive input of the comparator receives an enable signal. A negative input of the comparator receives a reference voltage. The RC circuit includes a first resistor and a capacitor. A first terminal of the capacitor is connected to an output of the comparator, a second terminal of the capacitor is grounded through a first resistor, and the first terminal of the capacitor is further connected to an enable pin of a power integrated circuit. | 06-20-2013 |
20130154723 | PERFORMANCE, THERMAL AND POWER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ASSOCIATED WITH AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AND RELATED METHOD - The performance, thermal and power management system is configured to perform DVFS calibration, temperature compensation adjustment, aging calibration, and DC offset calibration in an IC. The initial voltage supplied to the IC may be set to an initial value which takes chip-to-chip process variations into account and then dynamically adjusted according to temperature variations, DC offset and/or aging effects. Therefore, the performance, thermal and power management system may achieve optimized thermal and power performance of the IC. | 06-20-2013 |
20130169354 | INTERNAL VOLTAGE GENERATION CIRCUIT - An internal voltage generation circuit includes a comparison signal generation unit configured to compare an internal voltage with first and second reference voltages and generate first and second comparison signals; a transfer unit configured to transfer the first comparison signal as a pull-up signal in response to the second comparison signal, transfer the second comparison signal as a pull-down signal in response to the first comparison signal, transfer a power supply voltage as the pull-up signal when the second comparison signal is enabled and transfer a ground voltage as the pull-down signal when the first comparison signal is enabled; and a driving unit configured to drive a node in response to the pull-up signal and the pull-down signal and generate the internal voltage. | 07-04-2013 |
20130257525 | CIRCUIT BOARD WITH INTEGRATED VOLTAGE REGULATOR - Various circuit board voltage regulators and methods of making and using the same are disclosed. In one aspect, a method of manufacturing is provided that includes fabricating at least one inductor in a circuit board and coupling a semiconductor chip to the circuit board. The at least one inductor is electrically coupled to the semiconductor chip. Regulator logic is electrically coupled to the at least one inductor, the regulator logic and the at least one inductor are operable to deliver a regulated voltage to the semiconductor chip. | 10-03-2013 |
20130293290 | SUPPLY VOLTAGE CONTROL BASED AT LEAST IN PART ON POWER STATE OF INTEGRATED CIRCUIT - Disclosed is a switching voltage regulator circuitry controlled to supply a voltage to at least a portion of an integrated circuit (IC). Information corresponding to a current load for a different power state of at least a portion of the IC is received. The switching voltage regulator circuitry is controlled to adjust the voltage to a different value based at least in part on the received information. Disclosed is a voltage received for a power state of at least a portion of an IC having first logic to perform one or more functions and second logic integrated with the first logic. Information corresponding to a current load for a different power state of at least a portion of the IC is sent from the second logic to voltage regulator control logic to adjust the voltage to a different value. | 11-07-2013 |
20130300496 | INTERNAL VOLTAGE GENERATING CIRCUIT - An internal voltage generating circuit may include a first pull up resistor activated by a first range signal and connected between a pull up voltage terminal and a pull up common node; a second pull up resistor activated by a second range signal and connected between the pull up voltage terminal and the pull up common node; a first pull down resistor activated by the first range signal and connected between a pull down voltage terminal and a pull down common node; a second pull down resistor activated by the second range signal and connected between the pull down voltage terminal and the pull down common node; a resistor string including a plurality of series resistors connected between the pull up common node and the pull down common node; and a voltage selection circuit select voltage in response to voltage selection information. | 11-14-2013 |
20130321071 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING BYPASS OF A VOLTAGE REGULATOR - A voltage regulator bypass circuit to control bypass of a voltage regulator of an integrated circuit device, the voltage regulator bypass circuit including a first voltage detector, a second voltage detector, and circuit. The first voltage detector to detect that a core circuitry voltage level is above a first threshold and to assert a first detect signal at an output in response to the detection. The second voltage detector to detect that an unregulated supply voltage is above a second threshold and to assert a second detect signal at an output in response to the detection. The circuit having a first input coupled to the output of the first voltage detector and a second input coupled to the output of the second voltage detector, the circuit to bypass the voltage regulator in response the output of the latch being cleared. | 12-05-2013 |
20130321072 | Method, Apparatus and System for Adaptively Adjusting Voltage - The present invention discloses a method, an apparatus, and a system for adaptively adjusting a voltage. The method includes: acquiring an internal temperature code of a system chip and a time sequence code of a system logic circuit, where the internal temperature code is detected by a temperature sensor and the time sequence code is output by a time sequence monitoring unit; selecting a time sequence reference calibration code from multiple configured time sequence reference calibration codes according to the acquired temperature code; and comparing the acquired time sequence code with the selected time sequence reference calibration code and determining, according to a comparison result, an adjustment voltage to be output for a system load. By using the foregoing method, the present invention can better reduce a power loss and achieve a better power reduction effect. | 12-05-2013 |
20140002179 | INTERNAL VOLTAGE TRIMMING CIRCUIT, METHOD THEREOF AND SEMICONDUCTOR CIRCUIT DEVICE COMPRISING THE SAME | 01-02-2014 |
20140002180 | INTEGRATED CIRCUIT WITH VOLTAGE CONVERSION | 01-02-2014 |
20140022008 | Compensating for Aging in Integrated Circuits - An age compensation method and apparatus for an integrated circuit (IC). An IC may be configured to operate at an initial operating voltage at the beginning of its operational life. Various circuits may be used to detect aging of the IC, and indications of aging may be stored to determine the aging of the IC. The information indicative of the determined aging of the IC may be compared to an aging threshold. If the information indicates that the aging is greater than or equal to the determined aging threshold, the operating voltage of the IC may be increased. This process may be repeated over the life of the IC, increasing the operating voltage as the IC ages. Raising the operating voltage in response to aging may compensate for various age related degradation mechanisms that can occur over the operational life of the IC. | 01-23-2014 |
20140028384 | REFERENCE VOLTAGE CIRCUITS IN MICROCONTROLLER SYSTEMS - A microcontroller system includes a higher power reference voltage circuit and a lower power reference voltage circuit configured to draw less power than the higher power reference voltage circuit when enabled. The system includes a power state logic controller configured to enable the lower power reference voltage circuit to provide a first regulated voltage during a power saving mode, and, on exiting the power saving mode, enable the higher power reference voltage circuit to provide a second regulated voltage. | 01-30-2014 |
20140028385 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD FOR DRIVING THE SAME - A semiconductor device includes an internal voltage generation unit configured to generate an internal voltage in response to an enable signal, an enable setting logic unit configured to define a starting time point for generating the internal voltage in response to the enable signal, a monitoring unit configured to monitor whether or not the internal voltage reaches a target level, and define an ending time point for generating the internal voltage in response to the monitoring result, and a measurement result signal generation unit configured to generate a measurement result signal corresponding to a developing time of the internal voltage in response to an output signal of the enable setting logic unit and an output signal of the monitoring unit. | 01-30-2014 |
20140077870 | DIGITALLY CONTROLLED NON-INVERTING BUCK-BOOST DC-DC CONVERTER SYSTEM - A digitally controlled non-inverting buck-boost DC-DC converter system including a non-inverting buck-boost DC-to-DC converter control module and a negative feedback module and applicable for a radio frequency circuit module is revealed. By locking a duty cycle to two specific levels, the non-inverting buck-boost DC-to-DC converter control module only needs a single operation mode to achieve the required effects. Simultaneously, pulse-skipping phenomenon is also avoided. Furthermore, a reference voltage is modified through a reference voltage correction circuit of the negative feedback module to eliminate errors between previous DC output voltage and the reference voltage. Thereby the DC output voltage can remain in a stable state so as to reduce operational defects during the mode transition. | 03-20-2014 |
20140091860 | SYSTEM AND METHOD OF IMPLEMENTING INPUT/OUTPUT DRIVERS WITH LOW VOLTAGE DEVICES - An input/output (I/O) driver is disclosed that employs a compensation circuit to limit the voltages across devices of the driver from exceeding a defined threshold to allow lower voltage devices to implement the operation of the driver. In particular, the driver employs a pull-up circuit including first and second switching devices coupled between a first voltage rail and an output of the driver. The driver employs a pull-down circuit including third and fourth switching devices coupled between the output and a second voltage rail. The I/O driver employs a compensation circuit configured to apply a compensation voltage to the node between the first and second switching devices and to the node between the third and fourth switching devices at the appropriate times to maintain the respective voltages across the second and third switching devices at or below a defined threshold, such as a reliability limit, during the operation of the driver. | 04-03-2014 |
20140103993 | CHIP DYNAMIC VOLTAGE REGULATOR CIRCUIT AND TERMINAL DEVICE - The present invention provides a chip dynamic voltage regulator circuit and a terminal device. The voltage regulator circuit includes: a parameter detecting module, configured to detect an attribute parameter of a chip; a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signal generating module, configured to generate a corresponding PWM digital signal according to the detected attribute parameter, and convert the PWM digital signal into an analog signal having a direct-current voltage; and a power supply module, including a DC-DC converter or a low-dropout regulator, which is configured to regulate an output voltage according to the analog signal that is fed back and a feedback signal of the voltage output end of the voltage regulator circuit. The present invention is capable of accurately regulating an output voltage according to an analog signal converted from a PWM digital signal, thereby implementing dynamic voltage regulation for a chip at a low cost and avoiding power waste. | 04-17-2014 |
20140203866 | POWER SUPPLY FOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT - A power supply that provides a supply voltage to an integrated circuit (IC) includes high and low power regulators and a power management circuit. The high power regulator regulates the supply voltage at a first voltage level and the low power regulator is set to an inactive mode when the IC is in a RUN mode. When the IC transitions from the RUN mode to a STOP mode, the high power regulator stops regulating and the supply voltage is maintained at a second voltage level, while the lower power regulator is set to an active mode for regulating the supply voltage at a third voltage level. A fallback signal is generated when the supply voltage drops below a first threshold value after which the low power regulator is set in the inactive mode and the high power regulator is configured to regulate the supply voltage at a fourth voltage level. | 07-24-2014 |
20140210545 | ON-CHIP REGULATOR WITH VARIABLE LOAD COMPENSATION - An integrated circuit includes a voltage regulator to supply a regulated voltage and a data output that couples to an unterminated transmission line. The circuit draws a variable amount of power from the voltage regulator according to the data. The voltage regulator includes a first current generation circuit to provide a data transition-dependent current. | 07-31-2014 |
20140218101 | PERIOD SIGNAL GENERATION CIRCUITS - A period signal generation circuit including a control voltage generator and a period controller. The control voltage generator selecting one of temperature-dependent voltages to output the selected temperature-dependent voltage as a control voltage. The first and second temperature-dependent voltages varying according to a temperature and the third temperature-dependent voltage is constant regardless of variation of the temperature. The period controller configured to determine an amount of a current discharging from an internal node in response to the control voltage and outputs a periodic signal whose cycle time is determined according to a level of an internal signal induced at the internal node. | 08-07-2014 |
20140232454 | POWER SUPPLY PROTECTION SYSTEM - Devices and methods provide a protection device for maintaining a steady output on a gate driver terminal despite fluctuations in a power supply, the protection device including low voltage detection circuitry configured to monitor the power supply and detect fluctuations in the power supply; and gate isolation circuitry configured to isolate the gate driver terminal from the power supply if the low voltage detection circuitry detects a fluctuation in the power supply, wherein a voltage of the gate driver terminal is maintained within a preselected range when the gate is isolated. | 08-21-2014 |
20140253227 | Integrated High Voltage Isolation Using Low Value Capacitors - High voltage rated isolation capacitors are formed on a face of a primary integrated circuit die. The isolation capacitors AC couple the primary integrated circuit in a first voltage domain to a second integrated circuit in a second voltage domain. The isolation capacitors DC isolate the primary integrated circuit from the second integrated circuit die. Isolated power transfer from the first voltage domain to the second voltage domain is provided through the high voltage rated isolation capacitors with an AC oscillator or PWM generator. The AC oscillator voltage amplitude may be increased for an increase in power through the high voltage rated isolation capacitors, and a larger value capacitor in the second voltage domain may provide for peak current demand from circuits in the second voltage domain. | 09-11-2014 |
20140340142 | MULTI-LEVEL STACK VOLTAGE SYSTEM FOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS - An integrated circuit supplied by a rail-to-rail power supply voltage includes a multi-level stack voltage generator configured to partition the rail-to-rail power supply voltage into one or more reduced supply voltages each having a voltage value between positive and negative power supply voltages of the rail-to-rail power supply. The reduced supply voltages and the positive and negative power supply voltages being configured in series to form a stack of circuit layers. The integrated circuit further includes a core circuit including core circuit units coupled in a circuit layer or coupled between two or more circuit layers. Each core circuit unit is coupled to at least one of the reduced supply voltages. The core circuit units are coupled in the stack of circuit layers to form a serial connection of core circuit units between the positive power supply voltage and the negative power supply voltage. | 11-20-2014 |
20150022260 | PERFORMANCE, THERMAL AND POWER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ASSOCIATED WITH AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AND RELATED METHOD - The performance, thermal and power management system is configured to perform DVFS calibration, temperature compensation adjustment, aging calibration, and DC offset calibration in an IC. The initial voltage supplied to the IC may be set to an initial value which takes chip-to-chip process variations into account and then dynamically adjusted according to temperature variations, DC offset and/or aging effects. Therefore, the performance, thermal and power management system may achieve optimized thermal and power performance of the IC. | 01-22-2015 |
20150028942 | SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AND POWER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM - An embodiment of a semiconductor integrated circuit, which receives a power supply voltage at an input terminal and outputs a feedback voltage for controlling a level of the power supply voltage, includes a feedback voltage generating unit that generates the feedback voltage corresponding to the level of the power supply voltage at the input terminal. The feedback voltage generating unit includes a variable resistance element. A resistance control unit controls the resistance value of the variable resistance element to account for changes in a desired target level for the power supply voltage. | 01-29-2015 |
20150035590 | INTERNAL VOLTAGE GENERATION CIRCUITS - An internal voltage generation circuit including a drive control signal generator and an internal voltage driver. The drive control signal generator generates a drive control signal in response to an active pulse signal and a drive signal. The internal voltage driver, electrically coupled to the drive control signal generator, divides a level of an internal voltage signal in response to the drive control signal to generate a division voltage signal, compares a level of the division voltage signal with a level of a reference voltage signal to generate the drive signal, and drives the internal voltage signal in response to the drive signal. | 02-05-2015 |
20150042400 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTEGRATED VOLTAGE REGULATORS - A multi-chip module (MCM) is disclosed, which in some embodiments can include a packaging substrate, an interposer coupled to the substrate and having a power converter coupled to one or more vias, and a CMOS integrated circuit comprising one or more connecters aligned with and disposed proximate to the one or more vias to electrically couple the interposer to the integrated circuit. Methods of forming a voltage regulator on an interposer of a multi-chip module (MCM) are also provided. | 02-12-2015 |
20150054573 | INDUCTORS FOR INTEGRATED VOLTAGE REGULATORS - An active component of an integrated voltage regulator (IVR) circuit is deployed within an IC device for regulating an operating voltage thereof. An interposer interconnects the IC device with a power source. A passive inductive component of the IVR circuit is deployed upon a surface of the IC device or the interposer. The inductive component has a magnetic core and a winding (e.g., wire-bond), wound about the magnetic core. | 02-26-2015 |
20150054574 | DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTED VOLTAGE REGULATORS - A system and method to regulate voltage on a chip are described. The system includes a central controller to output a digital code based on a voltage measurement from a sense point on a power grid of the chip. The system also includes a plurality of micro-regulators, each of the plurality of micro-regulators outputting a respective voltage to the power grid based on the digital code. | 02-26-2015 |
20150054575 | DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTED VOLTAGE REGULATORS - A system and method to regulate voltage on a chip are described. The system includes a central controller to output a digital code based on a voltage measurement from a sense point on a power grid of the chip. The system also includes a plurality of micro-regulators, each of the plurality of micro-regulators outputting a respective voltage to the power grid based on the digital code. | 02-26-2015 |
20150061757 | LOW DROPOUT LINEAR REGULATORS AND STARTING METHODS THEREFOR - A low dropout linear regulator, a starting method, an electronic device, and a chip are provided. The starting method includes the steps of beginning a soft-starting process of the low dropout linear regulator and providing a first current; when an output voltage of the low dropout linear regulator reaches a starting voltage, providing a second current; and dynamically adjusting a threshold of an over current during the soft-starting process of the low dropout linear regulator, wherein the over current includes at least one of the first current and the second current. Through the low dropout linear regulator, the starting method, the electronic device, and the chip, there is short starting time and less overshoot of the output voltage, thereby achieving a fast and safe starting process. Moreover, the circuit is protected, and the usage quality and life is enhanced. | 03-05-2015 |
20150070086 | REGULATOR CIRCUITRY CAPABLE OF TRACKING REFERENCE VOLTAGES - An integrated circuit having a regulator circuit capable of tracking reference voltages is provided. The integrated circuit includes shunt regulator circuitry. The shunt regulator circuitry includes a shunt regulator circuit and a voltage tracking circuit. The shunt regulator circuit has an output on which a regulated voltage is provided. The shunt regulator circuit also provides electrical current to the output when the regulated voltage is outside of a voltage range bounded by first and second reference voltages. The voltage tracking circuit may be coupled to the shunt regulator circuit. The voltage tracking circuit may generate the first and second reference voltages. In one instance, the first voltage is greater than the regulated voltage and the second voltage is less than the regulated voltage. | 03-12-2015 |
20150077177 | REFERENCE VOLTAGE GENERATING APPARATUS AND SWITCHING POWER APPARATUS - There is provided a reference voltage generating apparatus including: a reference voltage source, a voltage retaining circuit, a switch and a controller. The reference voltage source generates a reference voltage. The voltage retaining circuit includes a first element circuit and a second element circuit, and the voltage retaining circuit outputs a voltage of a connection node between a first terminal of the first element circuit and a second terminal of the second element circuit. The switch is connected between the connection node and the reference voltage source. The controller controls the reference voltage source and the switch. The first element circuit includes at least a resistance component and the first element circuit is supplied with a first voltage at a third terminal and the second element circuit includes a resistance component and a capacity component and the second element circuit is supplied with a second voltage at a fourth terminal. | 03-19-2015 |
20150077178 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - A semiconductor device is capable of generating an internal voltage having a voltage level that is dependent on an external power supply voltage. The semiconductor device includes an internal voltage generation unit configured to generate a plurality of internal voltages having different voltage levels by using an external power supply voltage, a voltage level detection unit configured to detect a voltage level of the external power supply voltage, and a selection unit configured to selectively output one of the internal voltages in response to a detection result of the voltage level detection unit. | 03-19-2015 |
20150091638 | Dynamically Adjusting Supply Voltage Based On Monitored Chip Temperature - In an embodiment, a method includes monitoring a temperature of a semiconductor chip and adjusting a supply voltage to the semiconductor chip based on the monitored temperature. The temperature may be monitored by a temperature sensor located on-chip or off-chip. Adjusting the supply voltage includes increasing the supply voltage as a function of the monitored temperature decreasing. The increase to the supply voltage occurs only if the monitored temperature is below a threshold temperature. The supply voltage adjustment is determined by a linear relationship having a negative slope with temperature. | 04-02-2015 |
20150102857 | VOLTAGE GENERATOR, INTEGRATED CIRCUIT, AND VOLTAGE GENERATING METHOD - A voltage generator includes: a first pump configured to generate and output a first voltage to a first node in response to a first clock signal; a second pump configured to generate and output a second voltage to a second node in response to the first clock signal; a third pump configured to generate and output a third voltage to the first and second nodes in response to the first clock signal; a first switch configured to deliver the third voltage to the first node in response to a first control signal; and a second switch configured to deliver the third voltage to the second node in response to a second control signal, in which the first pump has a first drivability, the second pump has a second drivability, and the third pump has a third drivability greater than the first and second drivabilities. | 04-16-2015 |
20150109051 | SUPPLY VOLTAGE CONTROL BASED AT LEAST IN PART ON POWER STATE OF INTEGRATED CIRCUIT - Disclosed is a switching voltage regulator circuitry controlled to supply a voltage to at least a portion of an integrated circuit (IC). Information corresponding to a current load for a different power state of at least a portion of the IC is received. The switching voltage regulator circuitry is controlled to adjust the voltage to a different value based at least in part on the received information. Disclosed is a voltage received for a power state of at least a portion of an IC having first logic to perform one or more functions and second logic integrated with the first logic. Information corresponding to a current load for a different power state of at least a portion of the IC is sent from the second logic to voltage regulator control logic to adjust the voltage to a different value. | 04-23-2015 |
20150130533 | POWER SUPPLY DEVICE AND POWER SUPPLY METHOD USING THE SAME - A power supply for supplying power to a chipset includes a first voltage regulating circuit, which is configured to convert an applied power supply signal into a group of first supply voltages, and a second voltage regulating circuit, which is configured to convert the applied power supply signal into a group of second supply voltages. A control circuit is provided, which is configured to selectively enable the second voltage regulating circuit to generate the group of second supply voltages. An output discharge circuit is provided, which is configured to discharge an output stage of the first voltage regulating circuit in response to a transition of the first voltage regulating circuit from an active state to an inactive state. This transition of the first voltage regulating circuit from an active state to an inactive state can occur in response to a change in magnitude of the power supply signal. | 05-14-2015 |
20150137879 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING POWER SUPPLIED TO CIRCUITS BASED ON TIME DELAY TO PRODUCE DATA - An apparatus and method for controlling power supplied to data generating circuits based on performance, such as time delay associated with generating data. The apparatus includes a plurality of data generating circuits configured to generate data at respective outputs in response to a first signal; a plurality of timing circuits configured to generate a plurality of second signals related to time delays between the first signal initiating the generation of the data and an appearance of the data at the respective outputs of the data generating circuits; a power supply circuit configured to generate a voltage for supplying power to the data generating circuits; a power controller configured to control the voltage generated by the power supply circuit based on the plurality of second signals; and a serial data transfer circuit configured to serial transfer the plurality of second signals from the respective timing circuits to the power controller. | 05-21-2015 |
20150301540 | CAPLESS ON CHIP VOLTAGE REGULATOR USING ADAPTIVE BULK BIAS - An FDSOI integrated circuit die supplies on an output node a regulated output voltage based on a reference voltage. A pass transistor that passes a first current to the output node. A feedback loop regulates the output voltage by generating a second current based on the first current and applying a control signal to the pass transistor based on the second current. A loop current adaptor adapts a ratio of the first and second currents by adjusting a back gate bias voltage applied to a back gate of loop transistor of the feedback loop. | 10-22-2015 |
20150309524 | SENSE CURRENT GENERATION APPARATUS AND METHOD - A sense current generation apparatus constituted of: a main electronically controlled switch arranged to provide a current path for an input current; a sense electronically controlled switch arranged to generate a sense current; a voltage matching circuit arranged to adjust the voltage across the first and second terminals of the sense switch to equal the voltage across the first and second terminals of the main switch, within a predetermined maximum error voltage, such that the sense current is representative of the input current; and a voltage governor arranged to: receive an indication of the voltage across the first and second terminals of the main switch; and responsive to the received voltage indication, adjust the control voltage of the main switch such that the absolute value of the voltage across the terminals thereof is maintained above a predetermined voltage threshold greater than a boundary of the error range. | 10-29-2015 |
20150323967 | POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGE CONTROL SYSTEM - A system comprises a semiconductor integrated circuit including a data processing unit that operates in any of a plurality of states, and a selection unit that selects a state from the plurality of states in accordance with a voltage supplied from a power supply unit and makes the data processing unit operate in the selected state, and a power supply unit including a control unit that starts supplying a voltage to the semiconductor integrated circuit based on an initial voltage value setting at startup and makes a voltage to be supplied transit to a predetermined voltage based on information of voltage value in response to a supply voltage having reached the initial voltage value, wherein the selection unit switches the data processing unit to a predetermined state when a supplied voltage has reached the predetermined voltage value from the initial voltage value. | 11-12-2015 |
20150326119 | VOLTAGE REGULATOR AND VOLTAGE REGULATING METHOD AND CHIP USING THE SAME - A voltage regulator with an on/off control on the control terminal of the power transistor of the voltage regulator. The power transistor of the voltage regulator drives the conversion from a first voltage to a second voltage. The voltage regulator provides a power-saving switch at the control terminal of the power transistor, and includes a power-saving control circuit controlling the power-saving switch. When the power-saving switch is turned on, the control signal for the power transistor is conveyed into the control terminal of the power transistor. When the power-saving switch is turned off, the connection between the control signal for the power transistor and the control terminal of the power transistor broken. | 11-12-2015 |
20150333735 | BLOCK PARTITION TO MINIMIZE POWER LEAKAGE - Disclosed herein is a system to minimize power leakage. The system is configured to include a system-on-chip (SOC). The SOC is configured to include a Universal Serial Bus (USB) physical subsystem and system firmware, wherein the system firmware conveys USB related events to the SOC. The system is configured to include a power management apparatus, where the power management apparatus includes USB wake functionality and USB On-the-Go (OTG) functionality. | 11-19-2015 |
20150346742 | ENERGY RECYCLING FOR A COST EFFECTIVE PLATFORM TO OPTIMIZE ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOR LOW POWERED SYSTEM - A system including: a voltage converter configured to convert a voltage from a power source to a different voltage; a memory coupled to the voltage converter; a digital logic circuit; and a level shifter coupled between the memory and digital logic circuit; wherein leakage current from the memory is stored in a capacitance in the digital logic circuit, wherein the voltage converter is further coupled to a node between the memory and digital logic circuit, and wherein the voltage converter is configured to: monitor a voltage at the node wherein the node has a desired operating voltage value; and adjust the voltage at the node when the voltage at the node varies from the desired operating voltage value. | 12-03-2015 |
20150346743 | BIAS TECHNIQUES AND CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS TO REDUCE LEAKAGE CURRENT IN A CIRCUIT - An apparatus includes an input/output (I/O) pin and an electrostatic discharge device. The electrostatic discharge device is coupled to the I/O pin and to a voltage regulator. | 12-03-2015 |
20150355660 | ENHANCED CORE POWER REDUCTION - An IC includes a first core and a second core configured to operate in a common power domain. In a case tasks are running on the at least two cores, a control circuit is configured to adjust a voltage for the common power domain based on an electrical characteristic of the first core with a higher threshold operating voltage than the second core, and to adjust an operating frequency for the second core which can run at a higher operating frequency than the first core based on the voltage for the common power domain. In another case, a task or tasks are run on one core only. An IC includes a control circuit configured to select a core with lower minimum operating voltage for the task or tasks based on electrical characteristics of the cores to lower the voltage of the common power domain. | 12-10-2015 |
20150357900 | Transitioning from Normal Mode to Low-Power Retention Mode - A retention mode manager circuit, including: a resistor and a capacitor configured as an RC filter, and the RC filter is configured to receive a retention voltage and output a filtered retention voltage; a retention amplifier configured to receive the filtered retention voltage at a first input terminal and to provide current to a load corresponding to the filtered retention voltage; and a transition amplifier configured to receive the filtered retention voltage and an offset voltage, and to guide the filtered retention voltage to make a transition to the offset voltage while minimizing undershoot or overshoot to prevent a loss of data in the load. | 12-10-2015 |
20150362943 | ADAPTIVE VOLTAGE SCALING CIRCUIT AND CHIP - The present invention discloses an adaptive voltage scaling circuit and a chip. The adaptive voltage scaling circuit includes a performance classification monitor and an adaptive controller, where the performance classification monitor is disposed inside the chip, and is configured to detect working performance of the chip at a current working voltage, and output a detection result signal to the adaptive controller; and the adaptive controller is connected to the performance classification monitor, and is configured to output a control signal to a power management module of the chip according to the detection result signal output by the performance classification monitor, where the control signal is used to control the power management module to adjust a working voltage of the chip. In embodiments of the present invention, test workload can be reduced. | 12-17-2015 |
20160011621 | CONTROLLING DISTRIBUTED POWER STAGES RESPONSIVE TO THE ACTIVITY LEVEL OF FUNCTIONS IN AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT | 01-14-2016 |
20160011622 | CONTROLLING DISTRIBUTED POWER STAGES RESPONSIVE TO THE ACTIVITY LEVEL OF FUNCTIONS IN AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT | 01-14-2016 |
20160026195 | VOLTAGE OPTIMIZATION CIRCUIT AND MANAGING VOLTAGE MARGINS OF AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT - A voltage margin controller, an IC included the same and a method of controlling voltage margin for a voltage domain of an IC are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the voltage margin controller includes: (1) monitoring branches including circuit function indicators configured to indicate whether circuitry in the voltage domain could operate at corresponding candidate reduced voltage levels and (2) a voltage margin adjuster coupled to the monitoring branches and configured to develop a voltage margin adjustment for a voltage regulator of the voltage domain based upon an operating number of the circuit function indicators. | 01-28-2016 |
20160049369 | SYSTEM-ON-CHIP, ELECTRONIC APPARATUS INCLUDING THE SAME, AND METHOD OF DESIGNING THE SAME - A system-on-chip includes a substrate, a plurality of unit cells on the substrate, a first power mesh, and a second power mesh. The first power mesh includes a power rail that is connected to power terminals of the plurality of unit cells and is provided in a first metallization layer. The first power mesh also includes a power strap in a second metallization layer. The second power mesh is provided in a third metallization layer and a fourth metallization layer. | 02-18-2016 |
20160054746 | VOLTAGE REGULATION SYSTEM FOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT - An integrated circuit (IC) includes a power grid having first, through fourth nodes for receiving first supply, first ground, second supply, and second ground voltage signals, respectively, a voltage regulator, a reference voltage calibration circuit, a dual-rail sense circuit, and a voltage monitor circuit. The reference voltage calibration circuit receives the first supply, first ground, second supply, and second ground voltage signals and generates a reference voltage signal based on differences between voltage levels of the first supply and ground voltage signals, and the second supply and ground voltage signals. The voltage regulator regulates the first supply voltage signal based on the reference voltage signal and the second supply voltage signal. The dual-rail sense circuit generates a sense signal based on the second supply and ground voltage signals. The voltage monitor generates a voltage monitor signal based on the sense signal that indicates a state of the IC. | 02-25-2016 |
20160087609 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR OBTAINING POWER VOLTAGE FROM CONTROL SIGNALS - An power voltage generating unit for a radio frequency switch includes a first input and a second input respectively configured to receive a first control signal and a second control signal, wherein the first control signal and the second control signal are configured to control which one of a plurality of paths in the radio frequency switch is enabled, and at least one output, configured to output an auxiliary voltage, derived from at least one of the first control signal or the second control signal, that is used to operate the radio frequency switch. The power voltage may be a voltage used to power an inverting circuit used to enable a selected branch as an isolation branch or shunt branch. | 03-24-2016 |
20160091915 | POWER MANAGEMENT CIRCUIT AND ASSOCIATED POWER MANAGEMENT METHOD - A power management circuit includes a voltage sensing circuit and a supply voltage adjusting circuit. The voltage sensing circuit is arranged for sensing a plurality of voltages respectively of a plurality of nodes of a PCB to generate a sensing result. The supply voltage adjusting circuit is coupled to the voltage sensing circuit, and is arranged for determining a voltage level of a supply voltage supplied to a power plane of the PCB by referring to the sensing result. | 03-31-2016 |
20160103159 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE - A semiconductor device operates with electric power supplied from a direct-current power supply to an internal circuit in a state where a bypass capacitor is connected to a power supply terminal. The semiconductor device includes a load current control unit and a detection unit. The load current control unit changes an electric current supplied from the power supply terminal only in a predetermined operation period. The detection unit detects a voltage of the power supply terminal. The detection unit outputs a detection signal when the voltage is higher than a threshold upper limit in a case of being provided with the threshold upper limit. Alternatively, the detection unit outputs a detection signal when the voltage is lower than a threshold lower limit in a case of being provided with the threshold lower limit. | 04-14-2016 |
20160111958 | POWER MANAGEMENT INTEGRATED CIRCUIT FOR SUPPLYING LOAD CURRENT INFORMATION AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE HAVING THE SAME - An electronic device includes a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) including a plurality of regulators. Each of the plurality of regulators has a current meter configured to measure a respective load current. A load device is configured to receive real-time load current information from the PMIC and to perform a performance improvement operation based on the real-time load current information. | 04-21-2016 |
20160133567 | IO POWER BUS MESH STRUCTURE DESIGN - A MOS device includes an IO pad ring. The MOS device includes a first IO pad located on a first side of the IO pad ring, and a second IO pad located on a second side of the IO pad ring. The first IO pad includes a metal x layer power interconnect extending in a first direction. The first metal x layer power interconnect is of a metal x layer. The second side is 90° from the first side. The second IO pad includes a second metal x layer power interconnect extending in the first direction. The second metal x layer power interconnect is of the metal x layer. The second IO pad may further include at least one of a metal x+1 layer power interconnect or a metal x−1 layer power interconnect that extends orthogonal to the second metal x layer power interconnect of the second IO pad. | 05-12-2016 |
20160172970 | EFFICIENT VOLTAGE CONVERSION | 06-16-2016 |
20160179111 | SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT AND POWER SUPPLY CONTROL SYSTEM PROVIDED WITH A PLURALITY OF SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS | 06-23-2016 |
20160181199 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE | 06-23-2016 |
20160195889 | SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND SEMICONDUCTOR SYSTEM INCLUDING A VOLTAGE DETECTION BLOCK | 07-07-2016 |
20160254745 | PACKAGED INTEGRATED CIRCUIT INCLUDING A SWITCH-MODE REGULATOR AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME | 09-01-2016 |
20190146536 | ADAPTIVE BODY BIAS FOR VOLTAGE REGULATOR | 05-16-2019 |
20190146541 | ALTERNATINGLY-SWITCHED PARALLEL CIRCUIT, INTEGRATED POWER MODULE AND INTEGRATED POWER PACKAGE | 05-16-2019 |
20190149045 | POWER MANAGEMENT INTEGRATED CIRCUIT FOR SUPPLYING LOAD CURRENT INFORMATION AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE HAVING THE SAME | 05-16-2019 |