Power control semiconductor device, variable output voltage power supply, and designing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11353902-B2
Application number	US-202016861340-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 29, 2020
Priority date	May 20, 2019
Publication date	Jun 7, 2022
Grant date	Jun 7, 2022

Abstract

A power control semiconductor device includes: a voltage control transistor connected between an input terminal and an output terminal; a control circuit that controls the voltage control transistor in accordance with a voltage of the output terminal; and an external terminal that controls an output voltage externally. The control circuit includes: a first divider which has resistor elements connected in series to the output terminal and which divides the output voltage of the output terminal; a first error amplifier that outputs a voltage corresponding to a potential difference between a predetermined reference voltage and a voltage divided by the first divider; and an output voltage change circuit that changes the divided voltage in accordance with a voltage input to the external terminal to change the output voltage in accordance with the voltage of the external terminal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A power control semiconductor device, comprising:
a voltage input terminal to which a direct current is input;
an output terminal;
a voltage control transistor which is connected between the voltage input terminal and the output terminal and which includes a control terminal;
a control circuit that controls the voltage control transistor in accordance with a voltage of the output terminal; and
an external terminal that controls an output voltage externally,
wherein:
the control circuit comprises:
a first divider which has a first resistor element and a second resistor element that are connected in series to the output terminal and which divides the output voltage of the output terminal;
a first error amplifier that applies, to the control terminal of the voltage control transistor, a voltage corresponding to a potential difference between a predetermined reference voltage and a voltage divided by the first divider; and
an output voltage change circuit that changes the voltage which is divided by the first divider and which is input to the first error amplifier in accordance with a voltage of the external terminal to change the output voltage in accordance with the voltage of the external terminal,

the output voltage change circuit comprises:
a second error amplifier to which the voltage of the external terminal is input;
a second transistor that includes a control terminal to which output of the second error amplifier is applied; and
a third resistor element and a fourth resistor element that are connected in series with the second transistor,

a voltage of a connection node between the third resistor element and the fourth resistor element is negatively fed back to an input terminal of the second error amplifier,
each of the third resistor element and the fourth resistor element consists of a diffusion layer formed in a first common island area, and
a voltage of a connection node between the second transistor and the third resistor element is applied as an island potential to the first common island area.

2. The power control semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein:
each of the first resistor element and the second resistor element consists of a diffusion layer formed in a second common island area, and
the output voltage is applied as an island potential to the second common island area.

3. The power control semiconductor device according to claim 2 , wherein:
the output voltage change circuit further comprises:
a first current mirror circuit which is connected to the voltage input terminal and which transfers a current flowing through the second transistor; and
a second current mirror circuit which is connected to the voltage input terminal and which turns a current flowing through the first current mirror circuit, and

the current transferred by the second current mirror circuit is subtracted at a node from which the voltage divided by the first divider is extracted.

4. The power control semiconductor device according to claim 3 , wherein:
the output voltage change circuit further comprises a second divider which includes a fifth resistor element and a sixth resistor element that are connected in series to the external terminal and which divides a voltage input to the external terminal, and
the voltage divided by the second divider is supplied to the second error amplifier.

5. A variable output voltage power supply, comprising:
the power control semiconductor device according to claim 1 ; and
an external capacitor connected to the output terminal of the power control semiconductor device.

6. A method of designing the power control semiconductor device according to claim 1 , comprising:
determining a resistance value of the third resistor element to reduce difference in a fluctuation range between an island potential applied to the first common island area and the output voltage that changes in accordance with the voltage of the external terminal.

7. The power control semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein:
a resistance value R 1 of the first resistor element, a resistance value R 2 of the second resistor element, and a resistance value R 4 of the fourth resistor element are determined based on a set value of the output voltage of the output terminal, and
a resistance value R 3 of the third resistor element is determined to satisfy an equation R 3 =R 1 −R 4 .

Assignees

• Maki Shinichiro
• Takano Yoichi
• Yokoyama Katsuhiro
• Mitsumi Electric Co Ltd

Inventors

• Maki Shinichiro
• Takano Yoichi
• Yokoyama Katsuhiro

Classifications

• G05F1/56 Primary

  using semiconductor devices in series with the load as final control devices (G05F1/461 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G05F1/462

  as a function of the requirements of the load, e.g. delay, temperature, specific voltage/current characteristic · CPC title

• G05F1/575

  characterised by the feedback circuit · CPC title

• G05F1/468

  characterised by reference voltage circuitry, e.g. soft start, remote shutdown · CPC title

• G06F30/32

  Circuit design at the digital level (reconfigurable circuits G06F30/34) · CPC title