Voltage compensation circuit including low dropout regulators and operation method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016357205-A1
Application number	US-201615173189-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 3, 2016
Priority date	Jun 3, 2015
Publication date	Dec 8, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method of recovering a voltage drop at an output terminal of a voltage compensation circuit connected to a load including a variable load current according to a condition of the load. A circuit portion for a regulator having an output terminal connected to a load including a variable load current may be provided, The circuit portion may include a plurality of stages connected in parallel to said output terminal. Each of said stages may be configured as a current driver having an output connected to the output terminal of said regulator. The circuit portion may include a comparator in each of said stages configured for receiving from a first input a reference voltage value and a predetermined threshold voltage from an other input. Each of said stages may receive a corresponding different threshold voltage value on said other input. The threshold voltage values may be correlated to the variable load current. At least a group of said stages may be sequentially enabled by each corresponding comparator to drive an extra current on said output terminal according to the amount of load current required by the load.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A voltage compensation circuit including a regulator having an output terminal connected to a load including a variable load current, said circuit portion comprising:
a plurality of stages connected in parallel to said output terminal; each of said stages being configured as a current driver having an output connected to the output terminal of said regulator; a comparator in each of said stages configured for receiving from a first input a reference voltage value and a predetermined threshold voltage from an other input; each of said stages receiving a corresponding different threshold voltage value on said other input; the threshold voltage values being correlated to the variable load current; and at least a group of said stages being sequentially enabled by each corresponding comparator to drive an extra current on said output terminal according to the amount of load current required by the load.

2 . The voltage compensation circuit portion of claim 1 , wherein the threshold voltage values to be supplied to said other input of each corresponding comparator are obtained at the outputs of a digital-to-analog converter, receiving as inputs, digital values related to the variable load currents of the load connected to the output terminal of said regulator.

3 . The voltage compensation circuit portion of claim 2 , wherein said digital values correspond to different amounts of load current needed by the load in different working conditions or environmental situations.

4 . The voltage compensation circuit portion of claim 1 , wherein said load is a memory matrix or an associated peripheral circuitry of a memory device.

5 . The voltage compensation circuit portion of claim 1 , wherein each of said plurality of stages is structurally independent from the other but include substantially similar modular structures.

6 . The voltage compensation circuit portion of claim 1 , wherein each of said plurality of stages include an overshoot prevent circuit comprising at least two inverting transistors, and wherein an upper side is a PMOS transistor and a lower side is an NMOS transistor.

7 . The voltage compensation circuit portion of claim 1 , wherein each of said plurality of stages include a comparator having a first input terminal connected to a reference voltage value and a second input terminal receiving a predetermined threshold voltage generated by a corresponding output of the digital-to-analog converter coupled to a look-up table.

8 . The voltage compensation circuit portion of claim 1 , wherein different digital values are stored in said look-up table and are correlated to the different variable load currents of said load and/or to the different amount of load current required by the load.

9 . The voltage compensation circuit portion of claim 6 , wherein a width dimension of each of the upper side PMOS transistor of each of the stages are selected according to the required recovery time that the corresponding stage must reach upon a voltage drop on said output terminal

10 . The voltage compensation circuit portion of claim 1 , wherein the circuit portion includes a high speed circuit portion for a low dropout regulator LDO regulator.

11 . A method of recovering a voltage drop at an output terminal of a voltage compensation circuit connected to a load including a variable load current, said method comprising:
providing a plurality of stages connected in parallel connected to the output terminal of said regulator; each of said stages being configured as a current driver enabled by a corresponding comparator receiving from a first input a reference voltage value and a predetermined threshold voltage from an other input; applying a corresponding different threshold voltage value to each other input of the comparators of said plurality of stages; enabling the driving of an extra current on said output terminal according to the amount of load current required by the load according to the different threshold voltage values applied to said comparators.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the different threshold voltage values to be supplied to each said other input of each corresponding comparator are obtained at the outputs of a digital-to-analog converter, receiving as inputs, digital values related to the variable load currents of the load connected to the output terminal of said regulator.

13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein said regulator includes a low dropout regulator (LDO) regulator.

Assignees

• Sk Hynix Inc

Inventors

• Sanasi Alessandro
• Caracciolo Herve'

Classifications

• G05F1/575 Primary

  characterised by the feedback circuit · CPC title

• G11C5/147

  Voltage reference generators, voltage or current regulators; Internally lowered supply levels; Compensation for voltage drops (G11C5/141 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G05F1/569

  for protection · CPC title

• G05F1/567

  for temperature compensation · CPC title

• G05F1/462 Primary

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